Week 8: The Million Dollar Challenge

Take Back Your Power, Know Your Numbers!

Do you know your numbers?

Maybe you know your bank balance, if you aren’t avoiding it like the plague.

Maybe you know how to read a profit and loss statement, if someone taught you how.

Maybe you have a budget, if you understand how important it is to take control of your money.

I’ve spent most of my life being afraid of numbers, or more specifically scared of math.

In 7th grade, a math teacher discovered I was finishing my classwork faster than anyone else in the room. She decided I was so brilliant at math that I needed to go to advance Algebra right away.

The next day, I was tossed into a new class, with a new teacher.

The class was 4 weeks into the foundational lessons of Algebra and I missed it.

I was starting out behind, and my mean ole teacher, REFUSED to teach me the basics of Algebra. She figured if I was “brilliant” enough to be in her class, then I must be capable of figuring it out myself. She offered me ZERO guidance.

Take a guess what happened next ?

I failed miserably and her classroom crushed my pre-teen self-esteem daily.

This mean ole algebra teacher was so cruel she would read students grades aloud as she passed them out, and I was always on the bottom of the pile.

She’d announce “Whitney…F”, as if the red sharpie letter scribbled across the page wasn’t enough to cause self-destruction.

From that point forward, I decided I was bad at math and numbers were my mortal enemy.

According to a recent study, my experience isn’t unique:

Teachers have an implicit bias that makes them think girls have lower mathematical ability than boys.

So many girls and women in this World are under the misguided belief that they are inherently bad at math. Born bad with numbers and money.

What price are women paying for believing the lie they aren’t good with math, money, and numbers?

Believing this systematic lie is costing women the chance at economic equality, opportunities and financial freedom, and that is one high price to pay!

It’s also a damn good reason to face our numbers. Head on, scared, unsure!

If we want to take back our power, we gotta start doing the math and understanding how numbers and money work to our advantage. Instead of letting it be the “disadvantage” we believe we were born with.

We can overcome this lie, by proving it is false through daily acts of courage. Whether that is figuring out how to budget, hiring a bookkeeper to support us and our business or simply admiting we don’t know how to read a profit and loss statement and asking for help.

Today, I am a grown-ass woman who is determined to become rich, and no longer can afford to avoid the numbers. But it doesn’t mean the wound from the past doesn’t hurt.

My experience with the mean old algebra teacher 26 years ago still stings, but I refuse to let it hold me back from reaching my highest potential. When I am knee deep in the books of my business or unsure of how to calculate a percentage for sales tax purposes, I figure it out! I seek expert knowledge, do the work, pay for help at times and commit daily acts of courage by facing my numbers.

I may still do multiplication on my fingers and need a calculator to figure out the tip at the dinner, but that doesn’t mean I am not capable of so much more! And so are you boo!

How would knowing your numbers make you feel empowered? Share in the comments below.

If you want to join the #onemilliondollarchallenge set your intention in the comments below. I also highly recommend reading blog post #1.

Xo Whitney Anne Ellis

P.S. I am a Money Life Coach and I can help you. Learn how here

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See you next Friday!

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//DISCLAIMER: All content has been prepared for informational, entertainment, and educational purposes only, and is not intended as Financial, Legal, or Tax Advice. Seek a professional, if you need it.

© Copyright Whitney Anne Ellis