Blog | Entrepreneurship

10 Things that Make a Woman Successful

Hint: It’s not money

This just in: women who spend hours getting dolled up make more money. This comes from researchers from University of Chicago and University of California Irvine.

A study of more than 14,000 people revealed “practices such as applying makeup and styling hair and clothing—was actually what accounted for nearly all of the salary difference for women of varying attractiveness.”

Couple this with the fact that employers in the UK can still force women to wear high-heels to work , and it’s enough for a woman to wonder if she’ll ever be rewarded for things that really count in the workplace, like results.

Of course, I’m still waiting for the study that shows if those who make more money by covering themselves in thousands of dollars in makeup, hair goop, and designer clothes are actually richer than their frumpier counterparts—or whether it’s a zero sum game with all that “extra” money going towards those apparently necessary supplies for success.

After all, it’s not how much money you make that makes you rich—it’s how much money you keep.

Now, I’m not suggesting we women stop trying to look pretty or don’t enjoy nice clothes, but the idea that these things make you more successful in the long run is a quite ridiculous, isn’t it? But that goes to show the lunacy that still reigns in the workplace for women who wish to make their mark.

At Rich Woman, we have a different idea of success, and it has nothing to do with the sentiment that “maybe it’s Maybelline.”

Here are ten things we identify that make a woman successful:

1. Cultivating an abundance mindset. Once you open your mind to the abundance of wealth all around you, you can harness it to achieve your dreams.
2. Viewing fear as a temporary hurdle, not a state of being. Go under it, over it, around it, through it—but don't hang around in it.
3. Removing the words "can't" and "try" from your vocabulary. Instead, consider how you can do it, and then either choose to do it or not to do it.
4. Taking responsibility for your actions. If you make a mistake, learn from it and move on. Don't shift blame to others, but don't wallow in self-recrimination either. Act, learn, grow. Act, learn, grow...
5. Being generous. We live in a world of abundance, remember? Give for the sake of giving, not because you're expecting something in return.
6. Being kind. Why not? It's easy, it's free, and it benefits you as well as others.
7. Setting and enforcing healthy boundaries. This is how you can be generous and kind without getting walked all over.
8. Always learning. Life's just more interesting that way. Every day, every experience provides lessons—if you're paying attention.
9. Paying attention. To yourself. To others. To opportunities. To the beauty and small miracles in everyday life.
10. Being powerful. You can embrace your personal power without reducing anyone else's power. In fact, the most powerful women empower others while embracing their own power

Perhaps those women who think their makeup routine will lead to success should tape a copy of these ten things on their bathroom mirror. At least they’ll have plenty of time to contemplate them.