Why can't women be Rich?
Elsa Morgan
The Six-Figure Mentor | Podcast Host "The Consistency Queen"| I mentor high-achieving women scale from 6-figure years to $50K+ months.
(an opinion piece)
Head ups… I may ruffle some feathers.
And I am okay with that.
You see, this year, I have decided I will be my pure, authentic self.
I will speak to the truth because, frankly, this vanilla game is just not cutting it any longer.
Now, for those of you new to my world… here are four important things you need to know about me:
Why have I just shared that? Well, frankly, you will better understand how I am well-qualified to speak to both ends of the spectrum.
Having nothing and having something.
I have been broker-than-broke and am now in the top 3 per cent of wealth in Australia. Truth be told, it doesn't “matter”, and yet it does.
Let me explain.
You see when I was broker-than-broke, I was not a nice person. I hated being broke, and yet it was not until I filed for bankruptcy that I made “any” effort to change my poor habits.?
I had this ridiculous idea of how important I was, and wanted the world to think that I was “rich”... really I was ‘fake rich’. On the outside, looked rich, but behind closed doors, I had maxed all my cards.??
So, filing for bankruptcy was my obvious choice because I needed to rebuild myself and my life from the ground up—inside out. And it was the best thing that ever happened.
It forced me to do the inner work.?
While I did not always get it right, I paid everything I owed the State Trustee and also my car (while being bankrupt). I learned how to manage money and maximise every dollar.?
I find this chapter interesting because I fit in with the masses when I was not that fancy. I had many friends. I fell in love all over again with one of my passions, running, and began to train for marathons and half-marathons. This is when I spent hours thinking my thoughts and really being at peace with my life.?
I went out with friends and had a great life. Still broke, happy and had many friends.
When I discovered the online space in 2015, quite by accident, I had no idea what I was doing.?
(Quick recap: I needed to lose the last of my 5 kilos of my pregnancy weight. My good friend was promoting a product, so I opted in and lost it all. Then, I had many inquiries about how I did it.)? That is how I discovered Network Marketing. Now, before you unsubscribe, this is not a bait-and-switch article. Network Marketing is a legitimate form of building a business. Contrary to popular belief, people do make money from it. It's just that most people don’t stay long enough to develop the right skillset, mindset, and focus to have a successful business.
Anyway, I digress, back to asking why women can’t be rich.
I know I built my business all wrong in the beginning.. I know I did. I pestered people day and night. Begged people. Never scammed, but really wanted to be successful because I believed in what I was doing.
I often spoke on social media about how building your own thing was (and still is) the way of the future, and this triggered so many people. I even had a Messenger intervention with long-time friends demanding I quit my side hustle.
In fact, People I would call “friends” no longer wanted to speak with me. I was no longer invited to things. And I was just shut out because I was no longer part of the norm—going to work 9-5, fitting in and complaining about how broke I was, and drinking my nights away because I was that unhappy.?
That norm was no longer me anymore.
I closed that door.?
I had found my fire in building my thing.. And I struggled with how society just “DOES.NOT.LIKE.IT”
Society did not like it at all, yet I accepted it because I learned this was part of the journey.?
As painful as it was, I learned that when you pursue something that makes you happy, suddenly, people find it offensive -? to see you happy.
I often think about what Taylor Swift must think about how fickle society can be. When she was, let’s say, in hiding, locked away writing two very successful albums… she was revered and celebrated.?
She was heard and not seen. People loved that.
Then she decided she was done with that and wanted to take her music to the world…Now, after showcasing and delivering on the most successful tour globally by any artist, let alone a female artist, you will find, almost on a daily basis, the Media looking for “Anything” to poke holes in her character, her business, and her songs. It is tiring to see how much people want to bring her down a peg or two.
Why can’t a successful, talented, business-savvy woman build an empire like Taylor Swift? Or Beyonce?
Why must they be singled out simply because they have done things most people won’t do? These ladies have gone against the grain, and rather than be celebrated… they are mocked, laughed at and made as an example.
They have conspiracy theories written about them, and they get cancelled because they don’t use their influence for everything that people get offended at. Yet these same people choose not to do anything near as much. But they are great at “knowing” so much more.?
I never really understood the “Tall Poppy Syndrome” effect until then, but it is funny how people love you when you are not winning and then start a campaign against you when you are winning.
Yes, you read that right.
They celebrate you when you lose and hate you for winning.
Why?
I already know I will be cancelled after this, so I am going down fighting….
They hate it when you win because you make them realise how “little” they are doing. Oh yes, Ouch.
Back to my journey - I am getting to the point.
Once again, I found myself with $134 in my bank account, which was for Christmas at the end of 2019. Again, I knew I needed things to change, so I did.
And here is when I really want this to begin.
Since 2020, I have been on this journey of really getting to know “ME.” I am rewiring old thoughts, embracing positive, high-level thinking, and consciously creating every day the life I desire.
I have worked on my money mindset every day.
My energy has been my focus.
My connections have shrunk, and my vices are practically nonexistent. Except for coffee—a skinny latte with no sugar once per day reminds me that I can have what I want and still do great things.
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Aside from that, I love who I am.
I love the life we have created (my partner in crime and myself).?
Not only have I built a successful business that is scaling to 7 figures per year, but we have also created a 7-figure property portfolio and a successful wealth portfolio. Last year, for the first time, we became millionaires, and we have doubled our net worth in a little over 12 months.
For me, this has been achieved mainly through work on myself: my mindset, my energy, my focus, and my priorities.
I have worked on my self-worth. I discovered I have been an “overdeliver,” a people-pleaser if you will. In the past, this has led to burnout because I believed I had to do more, to be more, to earn more.
And this is NOT the formula for wealth. Quite the opposite.
You need to align yourself with the right people and direct your focus on things that will accelerate you more. This often means working more on yourself, like resting, studying, creating, and just being.
So, it is during this period, when I have achieved a huge amount of success, that I have started to hear the chatter about how people are sick and tired of seeing me win, how people don’t want to hear that I am successful or building a seven-figure business.
Why don't they want to hear about it?
What is so offensive about someone who was once broke, who filed for bankruptcy and is now creating a successful women’s empowerment business?
Why is it that women, in particular, “want” the freedom of choice, they want to have the ability to make money, and yet when they see women succeed… it is a chance to poke fun or roll their eyes… why is that?
Why can’t a woman be Rich?
Does she just have to be rich only in values (which are important, by the way), and not in a bank account to fit in?
Can she not have the opportunity to build wealth to do incredibly good things (like T.Swift who bonused truck drivers on her Eras Tour over $100,000), or does she just have to pipe down and blend in with everyone else?
I own a successful women’s empowerment company, and one of our core values is providing women with access to tools, knowledge, and people to help them succeed in their goals.?
We never mention that they must only be women who are less than, who have not achieved as much, or who don’t have a bigger following—no. We say ALL Women.
That means ALL women.
Not just for women with whom we feel comfortable.?
ALL women.
And if we are really going to be championing this “women’s empowerment” tune, where we push back on outdated themes like we recently had the ‘pleasure’ of hearing from Harrison Butker, the kicker from the Kansas City Chiefs, who proudly announced that women's happiest days are when they decide their vocation is to be a wife and run the household.
Ah, yes, to be living in the ’50s.
And whilst I raised my eyebrows, ever so slightly, at those comments, I celebrated any woman who really wanted that. They are not my views; however, if that is what a woman wants, then congratulations.
So, why can't the same be said for women who are winning and making a significant amount of money?
Or is this still taboo?
Mind you, the stats still show that ten per cent of all CEOs in America’s Fortune 500 companies are women.? And even with that small representation of women, we poke holes at them.
Is it still not right for a woman to earn money? To be a rich wife? To be seen as wealthy?
Or is this not part of the women’s empowerment agenda?
I believe Women’s empowerment means we empower ALL women.?
Young and old.
Poor, rich, broke, “doing okay”
Whoever you are, if you are winning in your life - congrats.
If you are building something incredible - I celebrate you.
If you are at home coordinating the responsibilities of running a home and a family, you are amazing.
If you are someone who has not got her “ISH” together - we have got you.
If you are someone who does - I am so happy for you.
And if you are someone who has broken generational curses, become the first millionaire in your family, for beating the odds at life (yes, I almost died twice), was born poor, financially bankrupt, and is now creating a movement of women who are facing head-on society's expectations of what they should be doing and breaking them by building something for themselves….. I am proud of you.
I am proud of me. .
Because I believe that women can be RICH. Not just rich in values and in self, but money too.
And I want you to know that if you are reading this and feel alone in your journey, you are not.?
You have got me.?
It is okay to desire more for yourself, to put yourself first, and to create more for yourself.
I will always be cheering women because I believe in women’s empowerment—what it truly means: championing for ALL women, not just those we can bring down a peg or two.
I champion all women,
And that means you, too.
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