If you're trying to figure out how to start something when you don't have a business degree, if you're bootstrapping and wondering when or if funding will come, or if you're afraid of what people will say when you make moves they don't understand, this conversation is for you. Monique shares about the grief that catalyzed her pivot to entrepreneurship, the unglamorous reality of building without resources, how she finally secured investment after constant rejection, and why the P&G acquisition wasn't selling out, it was selling up.

What You'll Learn:

• How Monique went from registered nurse to founder with no business background
• Why grief and loss became the catalyst for starting Mielle Organics
• How to bootstrap a business and the unglamorous reality of it all 
• How she raised investment after getting rejected by dozens of investors
• What the 9-figure P&G acquisition actually means for Black founders
• How to deal with criticism from your community when you "sell up"
• How she uses social listening to develop products her customers actually need
• Why setting boundaries with social media is essential for mental health

EPISODE CHAPTERS

[00:35] - From registered nurse to 9-figure founder with no business background

[04:30] - Why she chose nursing over her real passion

[08:15] - How grief became the catalyst for starting her business

[12:45] - How do you know when to quit your job and go full-time?

[16:20] - How to bootstrap a product business

[19:30] - What bootstrapping actually looks like 

[23:15] - How do you raise investment for your business?

[27:40] - What happens when investors keep saying no

[31:20] - How the 9-figure P&G acquisition happened (how to 

[35:50] - How do you deal with criticism from your community?

[39:15] - What's the difference between selling out and selling up?

[43:30] - How to use social listening for product development

[47:20] - How do you protect your mental health as a founder?

[50:45] - Why she limits social media and avoids doom scrolling

[53:30] - What's next: longevity science and health equity

WHERE TO FIND ALEXIS & TOO COLLECTIVE

Instagram:

@alexisbarber: https://www.instagram.com/alexisbarber/?hl=en

@toocollective: https://www.instagram.com/toocollective/?hl=en

Substack:

Too Smart For This Newsletter: https://toocollective.substack.com/

TikTok:

@alexisbarber_: https://www.tiktok.com/@alexisbarber_

YouTube:

Subscribe here: http://www.youtube.com/@alexis_barber

Shop the Episode: https://shopmy.us/shop?Curator_id=250549

Book Office Hours: Work with Alexis Here:

https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=22112790&appointmentType=79833937

Get the Journal: Too Smart For This: A Guided Journal Here:

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/761193/too-smart-for-this-by-alexis-barber/

Questions, thoughts, or want to collaborate? Email Alexis at alexis@alexisbarber.com

This show is supported by Other Kind Media — otherkindmedia.com

The truth is, power isn't something you build from scratch. It's not waiting for you at the next job title, the next salary bump, or the next milestone. The power is already within you — you just need to stop giving it away to circumstances, external validation, and the need to be chosen.

In this episode, Alexis walks through 6 frameworks for standing in your power: taking inventory of resources you already have, using capability transfer to unlock new areas of your life, first principles thinking to find creative solutions, building alter egos to activate powerful energy, dressing like the woman you want to be, and metabolizing chaos instead of letting it derail you.

If you've been playing small, waiting for permission, or giving your power away without realizing it — this one's for you.

What You'll Learn:

• Why power isn't something you build from scratch
• How to take inventory of your actual resources instead of focusing on what you lack
• The capability transfer technique: how to apply your natural strengths to new areas
• What first principles thinking is and how it unlocks creative solutions
• How to use alter egos and music to activate powerful energy on demand
• Why metabolizing chaos – not avoiding it – is the key to staying grounded

EPISODE CHAPTERS

[00:00] - Why you're already powerful, you just don't realize it yet

[04:15] - How to stop waiting for external validation to feel worthy

[08:30] - The resource inventory: what you already have that you're not using

[12:45] - Capability transfer: how to apply your strengths to new areas of life

[16:20] - What is first principles thinking 

[20:10] - How to build an alter ego and use music to activate power

[23:40] - Why powerful women dress however they want (enclothed cognition)

[26:50] - How to metabolize chaos instead of reacting to it

[30:15] - Your bounce back rate matters more than never getting triggered

WHERE TO FIND ALEXIS & TOO COLLECTIVE

Instagram:

@alexisbarber: https://www.instagram.com/alexisbarber/?hl=en

@toocollective: https://www.instagram.com/toocollective/?hl=en

Substack:

Too Smart For This Newsletter: https://toocollective.substack.com/

TikTok:

@alexisbarber_: https://www.tiktok.com/@alexisbarber_

YouTube:

Subscribe here: http://www.youtube.com/@alexis_barber

Shop the Episode: https://shopmy.us/shop?Curator_id=250549

Book Office Hours: Work with Alexis Here:

https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=22112790&appointmentType=79833937

Get the Journal: Too Smart For This: A Guided Journal Here:

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/761193/too-smart-for-this-by-alexis-barber/

Questions, thoughts, or want to collaborate? Email Alexis at alexis@alexisbarber.com

ABOUT TOO SMART FOR THIS

You're ambitious. You're overwhelmed. And you're definitely too smart to keep sacrificing your well-being for someone else's definition of success.

Too Smart For This is the show for ambitious material girls just like you who are learning how to channel their chaotic energy into a more intentional and fun life.

Join your host, Alexis Barber (author, Wharton MBA, former Google/YouTube strategist, and certified ambitious material girl), every Monday for the frameworks, authentic conversations, and tangible tools you need to build a life that's both driven and deeply enjoyable. Because self-care is part of the business plan—and you're too smart to settle for anything less.

Subscribe now and follow @alexisbarber and @toocollective for more.

ABOUT YOUR HOST

Hello, love!

I'm an ambitious material girl obsessed with wellness, business, consumer culture, and the creator economy. I write from New York City, where I'm busy enjoying being young, gifted, and Black, oversharing online, and remembering that self-care is part of the business plan.

This show is supported by Other Kind Media — otherkindmedia.com

If you're feeling stuck in a role that looks good on paper but doesn't feel right, if you're trying to figure out your non-negotiables, or if you're tired of optimizing for everyone else's definition of success, this episode is for you. Pauline shares the exact exercise that helped her identify what matters most, how to recognize when something is deeply misaligned and being brave enough to walk away, what aesthetic intelligence actually is and why it's your competitive advantage in the age of AI, and how to stop giving your power away to hierarchies, proving energy, and other people's expectations.

People pay thousands of dollars to learn from Pauline at Columbia and Harvard, and we're getting this wisdom for free. Let's dive in.

What You'll Learn:

• The 100 cards exercise that helped Pauline figure out her non-negotiables 30 years ago 
• What aesthetic intelligence actually is and why it's your superpower in the age of AI
• The 4 steps to developing taste 
• Why work-life balance is a myth
• How to redefine wealth when you're no longer optimizing for money
• Why being yourself is the only thing you do better than anyone else

EPISODE CHAPTERS

[06:30] - What it was like being an ambitious woman at Wharton in the 90s

[12:15] - How to find your career non-negotiables using the 100 cards exercise

[18:45] - Why she left consulting for products, creativity, and New York

[24:30] - Watching entrepreneurs get rich from her expertise while she stayed on salary

[31:20] - The decision to leave Carlyle Group

[38:15] - What happened when she stopped defending "what do you do?"

[44:50] - Aesthetic intelligence: the other AI

[52:30] - How to develop taste in 4 steps 

[58:40] - Why partnership as an ambitious woman requires the right plant

[65:20] - Why work-life balance is a myth and what actually works

[71:45] - Ambitious material girl rapid fire

WHERE TO FIND ALEXIS & TOO COLLECTIVE

Instagram:

@alexisbarber: https://www.instagram.com/alexisbarber/?hl=en

@toocollective: https://www.instagram.com/toocollective/?hl=en

Substack:

Too Smart For This Newsletter: https://toocollective.substack.com/

TikTok:

@alexisbarber_: https://www.tiktok.com/@alexisbarber_

YouTube:

Subscribe here: http://www.youtube.com/@alexis_barber

Shop the Episode: https://shopmy.us/shop?Curator_id=250549

Book Office Hours: Work with Alexis Here:

https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=22112790&appointmentType=79833937

Get the Journal: Too Smart For This: A Guided Journal Here:

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/761193/too-smart-for-this-by-alexis-barber/

Questions, thoughts, or want to collaborate? Email Alexis at alexis@alexisbarber.com

ABOUT TOO SMART FOR THIS

You're ambitious. You're overwhelmed. And you're definitely too smart to keep sacrificing your well-being for someone else's definition of success. Too Smart For This is the show for ambitious material girls just like you who are learning how to channel their chaotic energy into a more intentional and fun life.

Join your host, Alexis Barber (author, Wharton MBA, former Google/YouTube strategist, and certified ambitious material girl), every Monday for the frameworks, authentic conversations, and tangible tools you need to build a life that's both driven and deeply enjoyable. Because self-care is part of the business plan—and you're too smart to settle for anything less. Subscribe now and follow @alexisbarber and @toocollective for more.

This show is supported by Other Kind Media — otherkindmedia.com

Power isn't the money, the titles, or the degrees. It's not even the relationship or the job. Those things can amplify your power if you let them, but they can also mute it if you're not careful. Your power lives in your energy, and wherever your energy goes, that's where your power flows. So if you're constantly exhausted, resentful, or feeling like you're performing for everyone else, you're leaking power somewhere.

In this episode, Alexis walks through the 5 ways ambitious women give their power away, and the one question to ask yourself this week: where has my energy gone that I didn't consciously send it? That's where your power is — and it's time to go get it back.

What You'll Learn:

• What power actually is
• The 5 ways ambitious women accidentally give their power away
• Why you're giving your power to your circumstances and how to stop
• Locus of control: internal vs external validation
• Why smart girls have nothing to prove
• The one question to ask yourself this week to reclaim your power

EPISODE CHAPTERS

[01:30] - Welcome: Why we're talking about power this month

[03:15] - What power actually is and what it's not

[06:30] - Power leak #1: Following rules you've never questioned

[09:45] - Power leak #2: Proving energy and auditioning for approval

[13:00] - Power leak #3: Giving your power away to mirrors

[16:15] - Power leak #4: Your circumstances don't define your ceiling

[19:30] - Power leak #5: Keeping yourself small to avoid responsibility

[22:45] - Everything you want is on the other side of Cringe Mountain

[25:00] - The one question to ask yourself this week

WHERE TO FIND ALEXIS & TOO COLLECTIVE

Instagram:

@alexisbarber: https://www.instagram.com/alexisbarber/?hl=en

@toocollective: https://www.instagram.com/toocollective/?hl=en

Substack:

Too Smart For This Newsletter: https://toocollective.substack.com/

TikTok:

@alexisbarber_: https://www.tiktok.com/@alexisbarber_

YouTube:

Subscribe here: http://www.youtube.com/@alexis_barber

Shop the Episode: https://shopmy.us/shop?Curator_id=250549

Book Office Hours: Work with Alexis Here:

https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=22112790&appointmentType=79833937

Get the Journal: Too Smart For This: A Guided Journal Here:

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/761193/too-smart-for-this-by-alexis-barber/

Questions, thoughts, or want to collaborate? Email Alexis at alexis@alexisbarber.com

ABOUT TOO SMART FOR THIS

You're ambitious. You're overwhelmed. And you're definitely too smart to keep sacrificing your well-being for someone else's definition of success.

Too Smart For This is the show for ambitious material girls just like you who are learning how to channel their chaotic energy into a more intentional and fun life.

Join your host, Alexis Barber (author, Wharton MBA, former Google/YouTube strategist, and certified ambitious material girl), every Monday for the frameworks, authentic conversations, and tangible tools you need to build a life that's both driven and deeply enjoyable. Because self-care is part of the business plan—and you're too smart to settle for anything less.

Subscribe now and follow @alexisbarber and @toocollective for more.

ABOUT YOUR HOST

Hello, love!

I'm an ambitious material girl obsessed with wellness, business, consumer culture, and the creator economy. I write from New York City, where I'm busy enjoying being young, gifted, and Black, oversharing online, and remembering that self-care is part of the business plan.

This show is supported by Other Kind Media — otherkindmedia.com

Phoebe Dodds is a global connector, ecosystem builder, co-founder of Social Capital, and the woman Harvard Business Review, Vogue, and Forbes turn to when they want to talk about the future of relationships and business. She's built connections across companies like Apple and Airbnb — not by hustling harder, but by understanding how human connection actually works.

This conversation is full of concrete tools you can use immediately. From what to actually say when you're meeting someone for coffee and why you should network at your level instead of only reaching for the C-suite to how one message a week can completely change your trajectory. Phoebe breaks down her approach to moving across continents and boardrooms while building a network that genuinely opens doors without feeling like a second job.

What You'll Learn:

• How Phoebe got hired from one cold message on LinkedIn
• The 100 new connections challenge and why it works
• Why you should network at your level, not just C-suite
• How to use jealousy as a tool for your vision board
• Network stacking: bringing people together strategically
• Low-lift conversation starters that actually work
• How to keep networking organic without tracking systems

Find Phoebe here:

Substack: Social Currency | @phoebedodds1

LinkedIn: Phoebe Dodds

EPISODE CHAPTERS

[01:39] - Welcome: Phoebe Dodds on networking without the sleaze

[06:15] - How every cool thing Phoebe's done came through her network

[12:30] - The cold LinkedIn message that led to a year-long contract

[18:45] - Why networking is your safety net in an uncertain economy

[24:20] - The 100 new connections challenge

[36:40] - Jealousy as a vision board tool

[42:15] - Moving across continents and building networks everywhere

[48:30] - Network stacking and making it easy on yourself

[54:20] - Low-lift conversation starters that work

[56:00] - Rapid fire Q&A

WHERE TO FIND ALEXIS & TOO COLLECTIVE

Instagram:

@alexisbarber: https://www.instagram.com/alexisbarber/?hl=en

@toocollective: https://www.instagram.com/toocollective/?hl=en

Substack:

Too Smart For This Newsletter: https://toocollective.substack.com/

TikTok:

@alexisbarber_: https://www.tiktok.com/@alexisbarber_

YouTube:

Subscribe here: http://www.youtube.com/@alexis_barber

Shop the Episode: https://shopmy.us/shop?Curator_id=250549

Book Office Hours: Work with Alexis Here:

https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=22112790&appointmentType=79833937

Get the Journal: Too Smart For This: A Guided Journal Here:

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/761193/too-smart-for-this-by-alexis-barber/

Questions, thoughts, or want to collaborate? Email Alexis at alexis@alexisbarber.com

ABOUT TOO SMART FOR THIS

You're ambitious. You're overwhelmed. And you're definitely too smart to keep sacrificing your well-being for someone else's definition of success.

Too Smart For This is the show for ambitious material girls just like you who are learning how to channel their chaotic energy into a more intentional and fun life.

Join your host, Alexis Barber (author, Wharton MBA, former Google/YouTube strategist, and certified ambitious material girl), every Monday for the frameworks, authentic conversations, and tangible tools you need to build a life that's both driven and deeply enjoyable. Because self-care is part of the business plan—and you're too smart to settle for anything less.

Subscribe now and follow @alexisbarber and @toocollective for more.

ABOUT YOUR HOST

Hello, love!

I'm an ambitious material girl obsessed with wellness, business, consumer culture, and the creator economy. I write from New York City, where I'm busy enjoying being young, gifted, and Black, oversharing online, and remembering that self-care is part of the business plan.

This show is supported by Other Kind Media — otherkindmedia.com

Jodie is a Senior Director of DEI at Sony Music Group, Northwestern alum, and one of the most followed voices in the ambitious women space. She's been featured in the New York Times, Vogue, and The Cut — and she's one of the first people Alexis has seen put into actual words what it feels like to navigate dating and career as a successful woman.

This episode is full of the big sister advice we all need to hear — dating as an ambitious woman, the two types of men you attract, why physical capital matters more than most high-achieving women want to admit, and why a bias towards action is the only thing standing between you and the life you want.

Find Jodie: @jodyktayl (IG) | @jodyktay (TikTok) | glowupmasterclass.com

What You'll Learn:

• The two types of men ambitious women attract (and why both are exhausting)
• Jodie's dating framework: pacing, time boundaries, and filtering out love bombers
• How to find your non-negotiables (look at your childhood, not TikTok)
• Why physical capital is one of the most underrated investments you can make
• What "visible currency" means and why a stylist changes everything
• How to map your social network and create proximity with the women you want around you
• Why you need to be 70-80% of the way there before reaching out to a mentor
• Why alignment will always outperform effort
• Why having a bias towards action is everything

EPISODE CHAPTERS

[00:00] - Welcome back Jodie Taylor

[05:30] - Mindset shifts for becoming visible

[11:45] - Alignment vs effort: zone of genius

[17:20] - Dating as an ambitious woman

[23:40] - The dating framework: pacing, boundaries, vetting

[30:15] - Non-negotiables as an ambitious woman

[36:50] - Physical capital and why women undersell it

[49:10] - Networking: mapping your social circle and creating proximity

[55:30] - Bias towards action: the big sister advice you need to hear

WHERE TO FIND ALEXIS & TOO COLLECTIVE

Instagram:

@alexisbarber: https://www.instagram.com/alexisbarber/?hl=en

@toocollective: https://www.instagram.com/toocollective/?hl=en

Substack:

Too Smart For This Newsletter: https://toocollective.substack.com/

TikTok:

@alexisbarber_: https://www.tiktok.com/@alexisbarber_

YouTube:

Subscribe here: http://www.youtube.com/@alexis_barber

Shop the Episode: https://shopmy.us/shop?Curator_id=250549

Book Office Hours: Work with Alexis Here:

https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=22112790&appointmentType=79833937

Get the Journal: Too Smart For This: A Guided Journal Here:

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/761193/too-smart-for-this-by-alexis-barber/

Questions, thoughts, or want to collaborate? Email Alexis at alexis@alexisbarber.com

ABOUT TOO SMART FOR THIS

You're ambitious. You're overwhelmed. And you're definitely too smart to keep sacrificing your well-being for someone else's definition of success.

Too Smart For This is the show for ambitious material girls just like you who are learning how to channel their chaotic energy into a more intentional and fun life.

Join your host, Alexis Barber (author, Wharton MBA, former Google/YouTube strategist, and certified ambitious material girl), every Monday for the frameworks, authentic conversations, and tangible tools you need to build a life that's both driven and deeply enjoyable. Because self-care is part of the business plan—and you're too smart to settle for anything less.

Subscribe now and follow @alexisbarber and @toocollective for more.

ABOUT YOUR HOST

Hello, love!

I'm an ambitious material girl obsessed with wellness, business, consumer culture, and the creator economy. I write from New York City, where I'm busy enjoying being young, gifted, and Black, oversharing online, and remembering that self-care is part of the business plan.

This show is supported by Other Kind Media — otherkindmedia.com

We chat about her career pivot from finance to marketing, why today's job market requires you to take agency over your own career path, and how building your personal brand on LinkedIn isn't optional anymore whether you're a creator, corporate girly, or entrepreneur. Julia breaks down the exact LinkedIn profile upgrades you need to make, how to start creating content even if you're not a "content person," and why the question "what energizes you vs what drains you" changed her entire career trajectory.

If you want to build your dream career and launch your personal brand in 2026, this episode is your guide for getting started and how to leverage LinkedIn to your advantage.

What You'll Learn:

• Why reflecting on what energizes vs drains you can change your career
• How Julia pivoted from finance to marketing and understanding transferable skills 
• Why the job market has shifted to skills-based hiring instead of title-based
• The importance of building your personal brand online even if you're not a creator
• Easy LinkedIn profile upgrades:
• 3 low-pressure post ideas to get started on LinkedIn today
• Why "personality over personal" is the rule for LinkedIn content

ABOUT THE GUEST

Julia Cabral is the Senior Director of Product Marketing at LinkedIn, where she leads marketing strategy for LinkedIn's feed and video products. She's also a content creator herself, sharing career advice and marketing insights on LinkedIn. Before pivoting to marketing, Julia spent years in finance at LinkedIn, and she's been a spin instructor on the side for nearly a decade. She's all about multifaceted careers, owning your narrative, and helping people put themselves out there authentically.

Follow Julia on LinkedIn: Julia Cabral Flavin

WHERE TO FIND ALEXIS & TOO COLLECTIVE

Follow along with Alexis:

Instagram:

@alexisbarber: https://www.instagram.com/alexisbarber/?hl=en

@toocollective: https://www.instagram.com/toocollective/?hl=en

Substack:

Too Smart For This Newsletter: https://toocollective.substack.com/

TikTok:

@alexisbarber_: https://www.tiktok.com/@alexisbarber_

YouTube:

Subscribe here: http://www.youtube.com/@alexis_barber

Shop the Episode: https://shopmy.us/shop?Curator_id=250549

Book Office Hours: Work with Alexis Here:

https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=22112790&appointmentType=79833937

Get the Journal: Too Smart For This: A Guided Journal Here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/761193/too-smart-for-this-by-alexis-barber/

Questions, thoughts, or want to collaborate with Alexis or Too Collective? Email Alexis at alexis@alexisbarber.com

ABOUT TOO SMART FOR THIS

You're ambitious. You're overwhelmed. And you're definitely too smart to keep sacrificing your well-being for someone else's definition of success.

Too Smart For This is the show for ambitious material girls just like you who are learning how to channel their chaotic energy into a more intentional and fun life.

Join your host, Alexis Barber (author, Wharton MBA, former Google/YouTube strategist, and certified ambitious material girl), every Monday for the frameworks, authentic conversations, and tangible tools you need to build a life that's both driven and deeply enjoyable. Because self-care is part of the business plan—and you're too smart to settle for anything less.

Subscribe now and follow @alexisbarber and @toocollective for more.

ABOUT YOUR HOST

Hello, love!

I'm an ambitious material girl obsessed with wellness, business, consumer culture, and the creator economy. I write from New York City, where I'm busy enjoying being young, gifted, and Black, oversharing online, and remembering that self-care is part of the business plan.

This show is supported by Other Kind Media — otherkindmedia.com

We’re back for Week 5 of the Alignment Edit and this week is allll about your look. And before you think this is going to be some superficial beauty standards thing, it's not. Well, mostly. This is about the mental energy you're spending every single day either actively criticizing how you look or passively not showing up the way you want to because you haven't figured out what actually works for you.

When Alexis talks about "your look," she's not just talking about clothes. She's talking about the entire vibe you give off – your style, your beauty routine, your accessories, your hair, and the way you show up when you walk into a room. Two people can wear the exact same thing and have completely different looks.

This episode is about removing the friction between who you are right now and who you want to be, getting back the time and mental energy you lose when you spend three hours deciding what to wear, finding your signature pieces, your color palette, and your style words. Listen ladies, you’re allowed to care about how you look! And this is your permission slip to do just that. 

What You'll Learn:

• Why your appearance affects your confidence more than you think
• How to find your style words and color palette
• Getting rid of fantasy self clothes and the 20% rule
• Dressing for your proportions and body type
• High maintenance to be low maintenance beauty philosophy
• Skincare routines, laser hair removal, body care, and treatments that actually work
• Why caring about your appearance isn't vain and is actually about getting time and energy back

EPISODE CHAPTERS

[00:00] - Welcome to Week 5: your look 

[07:30] - Finding your style ethos

[13:45] - Style tips: style words, color palette, and signature pieces

[21:20] - Fantasy self clothes, proportions, and the things you actually wear

[26:50] - Beauty and appearance: laser hair removal, body care, skincare routines

[32:15] - Deciding your personal commitment to beauty 

WHERE TO FIND ALEXIS & TOO COLLECTIVE

Follow along with Alexis:

Instagram:

@alexisbarber: https://www.instagram.com/alexisbarber/?hl=en

@toocollective: https://www.instagram.com/toocollective/?hl=en

Substack:

Too Smart For This Newsletter: https://toocollective.substack.com/

TikTok:

@alexisbarber_: https://www.tiktok.com/@alexisbarber_

YouTube:

Subscribe here: http://www.youtube.com/@alexis_barber

Shop the Episode: https://shopmy.us/shop?Curator_id=250549

Book Office Hours: Work with Alexis Here:

https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=22112790&appointmentType=79833937

Get the Journal: Too Smart For This: A Guided Journal Here: 

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/761193/too-smart-for-this-by-alexis-barber/

Questions, thoughts, or want to collaborate with Alexis or Too Collective? Email Alexis at alexis@alexisbarber.com

ABOUT TOO SMART FOR THIS

You're ambitious. You're overwhelmed. And you're definitely too smart to keep sacrificing your well-being for someone else's definition of success.

Too Smart For This is the show for ambitious material girls just like you who are learning how to channel their chaotic energy into a more intentional and fun life.

Join your host, Alexis Barber (author, Wharton MBA, former Google/YouTube strategist, and certified ambitious material girl), every Monday for the frameworks, authentic conversations, and tangible tools you need to build a life that's both driven and deeply enjoyable. Because self-care is part of the business plan—and you're too smart to settle for anything less.

Subscribe now and follow @alexisbarber and @toocollective for more.

ABOUT YOUR HOST

Hello, love!



I'm an ambitious material girl obsessed with wellness, business, consumer culture, and the creator economy. I write from New York City, where I'm busy enjoying being young, gifted, and Black, oversharing online, and remembering that self-care is part of the business plan.

This show is supported by Other Kind Media — otherkindmedia.com

Hii angels! Welcome to Week 4 of the Alignment Edit, where Alexis is talking about your space and why the environment you live in matters more than you think.

Alexis has been obsessed with beautiful environments since she discovered a Pottery Barn catalog in her aunt's bathroom at age 6 (she’s obviously been an aesthetic icon ever since). Growing up in chaotic, difficult spaces made her hyper-aware of how much your environment affects everything. Your space isn't just about aesthetics. It's about signaling to yourself that you're worth taking care of, and creating an environment that supports your actual habits instead of the ones you think you should have.

In this episode, Alexis breaks down how to organize your space based on who you actually are, why small investments matter more than you think, and how to create flow instead of friction in your daily life. Plus: feng shui tips, the closing shift ritual, romanticizing winter with candlelight, and why folding your clothes is grown woman behavior.

This one's for the girls who know their space is affecting their mood but don't know where to start.

SEE YOU AT THE ALIGNMENT EDIT IRL: https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/6829649?c=.pi129.pkpartner_social_host_experiences_alexis_barber&utm_campaign=T2 

What You'll Learn:

• Why your space signals to yourself (and the universe) whether you deserve to be taken care of
• How to organize based on your actual habits, not the ones you think you should have
• Why everything needs a place and how to declutter without guilt
• Feng shui basics: money corners, mirrors, and why you should never live somewhere with a 5 in the address
• How to use scent to anchor different activities (work candles vs. relaxation candles)
• Small luxuries that make a huge difference 
• How to romanticize winter and make your space feel like a safe haven

EPISODE CHAPTERS 

[00:00] - Welcome to Week 4: Your space 

[06:15] - Why your space signals to yourself whether you deserve to be taken care of

[11:30] - Organizing based on your actual habits (the ADHD-friendly approach)

[18:45] - Taking inventory of what bothers you daily 

[24:20] - Feng shui, scent anchoring, and defining spaces for specific activities

[29:50] - Small luxuries that make a huge difference: bedding, bathroom, kitchen, and taper candles

[34:10] - Wrapping up

WHERE TO FIND ALEXIS & TOO COLLECTIVE

Follow along with Alexis:

Instagram:

@alexisbarber: https://www.instagram.com/alexisbarber/?hl=en

@toocollective: https://www.instagram.com/toocollective/?hl=en

Substack:

Too Smart For This Newsletter: https://toocollective.substack.com/

TikTok:

@alexisbarber_: https://www.tiktok.com/@alexisbarber_

YouTube:

Subscribe here: http://www.youtube.com/@alexis_barber

Shop the Episode: https://shopmy.us/shop?Curator_id=250549

Book Office Hours: Work with Alexis Here:

https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=22112790&appointmentType=79833937

Get the Journal: Too Smart For This: A Guided Journal Here: 

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/761193/too-smart-for-this-by-alexis-barber/

Questions, thoughts, or want to collaborate with Alexis or Too Collective? Email Alexis at alexis@alexisbarber.com

ABOUT TOO SMART FOR THIS

You're ambitious. You're overwhelmed. And you're definitely too smart to keep sacrificing your well-being for someone else's definition of success.

Too Smart For This is the show for ambitious material girls just like you who are learning how to channel their chaotic energy into a more intentional and fun life.

Join your host, Alexis Barber (author, Wharton MBA, former Google/YouTube strategist, and certified ambitious material girl), every Monday for the frameworks, authentic conversations, and tangible tools you need to build a life that's both driven and deeply enjoyable. Because self-care is part of the business plan—and you're too smart to settle for anything less.

Subscribe now and follow @alexisbarber and @toocollective for more.

This show is supported by Other Kind Media — otherkindmedia.com

Hello Angels! Alexis is calling in from Miami (at the EDITION hotel, living her best life, obviously) to talk about the hardest part of the Alignment Edit: money.

Money has been the biggest thing in her life since she was a kid — growing up on food stamps, being the scholarship kid at boarding school, then taking out six figures in student loans at Wharton. After graduating into a completely different financial reality than she expected, all the old scarcity patterns came rushing back: the anxiety, the shame, the feeling like a failure. So she had to take money off the pedestal, stop making it mean things about her worth or safety, and interrogate every belief she had, including why she was so afraid to say out loud that she wants to make a million dollars this year.

This episode breaks down the five shifts that completely transformed her relationship with money: separating worth from net worth, stopping the overwork cycle that made her think she had to earn safety, letting herself want a lot without apologizing for it, stopping the judgment of people who have money (because that judgment blocks you from making more), and getting strategic about actually making more money instead of just saving harder.

PLUS, the Alignment Edit is coming to you IRL!!!! Alexis is launching in-person workshops at Bon Studio in Williamsburg — first session is January 25th! Learn more and grab your tickets here: ALIGNMENT EDIT IRL https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/6829649?c=.pi129.pkpartner_social_host_experiences_alexis_barber&utm_campaign=T2 

What You'll Learn:

How to take money off the pedestal and stop making it mean things about your worth

The 5 shifts that transformed her relationship with money:

Shift #1: Your worth is not your net worth

Shift #2: Stop making money do emotional jobs (overworking doesn't equal safety)

Shift #3: Let yourself want a lot of money without apologizing

Shift #4: Stop judging people with money (it's blocking you from making more)

Shift #5: Get strategic about making more money instead of just saving harder

Why wanting material things doesn't make you greedy (and why women moralizing money keeps us small)

How to normalize wealth in your nervous system and reframe greed as generosity

EPISODE CHAPTERS

[00:28] - Hello from Miami

[01:44] - Announcement: The Alignment Edit IRL workshops at Bon Studio in Williamsburg

[04:36] - Week 3: Money (and why this was the hardest alignment edit to write)

[05:47] - How money became everything

[12:26] - Graduating Wharton with six-figure debt and falling back into scarcity

[10:04] - The core shift: taking money off the pedestal

[13:50] - Shift #1: Stop assigning your worth to your net worth

[16:28] - The graduation story

[18:12] - Shift #2: Separate money from men, work, and protection

[19:19] - Why overworking doesn't equal deservingness

[21:18] - Shift #3: Let yourself want a lot of money 

[22:59] - Why women are better with money and why wanting things isn't shallow

[25:03] - Shift #4: Stop judging people with money

[27:04] - The influencer overconsumption conversation and moralizing money

[28:11] - Shift #5: Make more money (get compensated, build visibility, take initiative)

[31:53] - Reframing greed and why not all rich people are bad

[34:41] - Wrapping up + journal prompts

WHERE TO FIND ALEXIS & TOO COLLECTIVE

Follow along with Alexis:

Instagram:

@alexisbarber: https://www.instagram.com/alexisbarber/?hl=en

@toocollective: https://www.instagram.com/toocollective/?hl=en

Substack:

Too Smart For This Newsletter: https://toocollective.substack.com/

TikTok:

@alexisbarber_: https://www.tiktok.com/@alexisbarber_

YouTube:

Subscribe here: http://www.youtube.com/@alexis_barber

Shop the Episode: https://shopmy.us/shop?Curator_id=250549

Book Office Hours: Work with Alexis Here:

https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=22112790&appointmentType=79833937

Get the Journal: Too Smart For This: A Guided Journal Here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/761193/too-smart-for-this-by-alexis-barber/

Questions, thoughts, or want to collaborate with Alexis or Too Collective? Email Alexis at alexis@alexisbarber.com

ABOUT TOO SMART FOR THIS

You're ambitious. You're overwhelmed. And you're definitely too smart to keep sacrificing your well-being for someone else's definition of success.

Too Smart For This is the show for ambitious material girls just like you who are learning how to channel their chaotic energy into a more intentional and fun life.

Join your host, Alexis Barber (author, Wharton MBA, former Google/YouTube strategist, and certified ambitious material girl), every Monday for the frameworks, authentic conversations, and tangible tools you need to build a life that's both driven and deeply enjoyable. Because self-care is part of the business plan—and you're too smart to settle for anything less.

Subscribe now and follow @alexisbarber and @toocollective for more.

ABOUT YOUR HOST

Hello, love!

I'm an ambitious material girl obsessed with wellness, business, consumer culture, and the creator economy. I write from New York City, where I'm busy enjoying being young, gifted, and Black, oversharing online, and remembering that self-care is part of the business plan.

My career TLDR:

Bounced from Google Marketing to YouTube creator strategy before getting my MBA from The Wharton School at The University of Pennsylvania.

Started and ran a premium bathrobe brand that collaborated with Rare Beauty & Bumble, and I'm the author of Too Smart for This: A Journal to Build Self-Trust and Stop Settling for Less Than You Deserve, published by Tarcher Books.

Been a lifestyle influencer for 5 years, collaborating with 75+ brands across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, and was named by the American Influencer Council as a Trailblazer in the microinfluencer category.

This show is supported by Other Kind Media — otherkindmedia.com

Welcome to Part 2 of the Alignment Edit, where we're tackling health and wellness. But this isn't about becoming an Olympic-level athlete or a wellness queen, this is about shifting from viewing wellness as punishment to seeing it as a practice that protects your mind, your energy, and your ability to show up for the life you're building.

After all, we are nothing without our health.

In this episode, Alexis gets honest about her relationship with her body — from being diagnosed with MS at 15 and deprioritizing her health for years, to finally learning how to nourish herself from a place of love instead of control. We're talking winter wellness routines, the alter ego effect for stubborn habits, eating patterns that need major editing (hi, entire box of Ritz crackers for dinner), and why scheduling your preventive health appointments is an act of self-trust.

This isn't about perfection, angels, it's about building a better baseline so your health can hold the big life you're dreaming of.

What You'll Learn:

Why wellness needs to shift from punishment to practice

The alter ego effect: how to embody a different version of yourself for stubborn habits

Why your eating habits might be stuck in an old identity (and how to edit them)

The importance of scheduling preventive health appointments as an act of self-trust

How to approach wellness from a place of nourishment, not optimization

Winter wellness essentials: steps, supplements, and small rituals that actually work

EPISODE CHAPTERS

[00:30] - Welcome to Week 2: why health is the foundation that holds everything else

[03:22] - You are nothing without your health (and what MS taught me about control)

[05:25] - Shifting from punishment to practice: reframing your wellness why

[07:58] - The alter ego effect: embodying a different version of yourself

[12:55] - Eating habits that need editing (those Ritz crackers for dinner are doing nothing for us, sister)

[15:02] - Letting go of old identities around food and movement

[16:40] - Preventive health appointments: gynecologist, dentist, blood work, and more

[18:15] - Winter wellness essentials: steps, supplements, and small upgrades

[20:07] - Week 2 wrap-up: finding alignment without becoming a wellness perfectionist

WHERE TO FIND ALEXIS & TOO COLLECTIVE

Follow along with Alexis:

Instagram:

@alexisbarber: https://www.instagram.com/alexisbarber/?hl=en

@toocollective: https://www.instagram.com/toocollective/?hl=en

Substack:

Too Smart For This Newsletter: https://toocollective.substack.com/

TikTok:

@alexisbarber_: https://www.tiktok.com/@alexisbarber_

YouTube:

Subscribe here: http://www.youtube.com/@alexis_barber

Shop the Episode: https://shopmy.us/shop?Curator_id=250549

Book Office Hours: Work with Alexis Here:

https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=22112790&appointmentType=79833937

Get the Journal: Too Smart For This: A Guided Journal Here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/761193/too-smart-for-this-by-alexis-barber/

Questions, thoughts, or want to collaborate with Alexis or Too Collective? Email Alexis at alexis@alexisbarber.com

ABOUT TOO SMART FOR THIS

You're ambitious. You're overwhelmed. And you're definitely too smart to keep sacrificing your well-being for someone else's definition of success.

Too Smart For This is the show for ambitious material girls just like you who are learning how to channel their chaotic energy into a more intentional and fun life.

Join your host, Alexis Barber (author, Wharton MBA, former Google/YouTube strategist, and certified ambitious material girl), every Monday for the frameworks, authentic conversations, and tangible tools you need to build a life that's both driven and deeply enjoyable. Because self-care is part of the business plan—and you're too smart to settle for anything less.

Subscribe now and follow @alexisbarber and @toocollective for more.

ABOUT YOUR HOST

Hello, love!

I'm an ambitious material girl obsessed with wellness, business, consumer culture, and the creator economy. I write from New York City, where I'm busy enjoying being young, gifted, and Black, oversharing online, and remembering that self-care is part of the business plan.

My career TLDR:

Bounced from Google Marketing to YouTube creator strategy before getting my MBA from The Wharton School at The University of Pennsylvania.

Started and ran a premium bathrobe brand that collaborated with Rare Beauty & Bumble, and I'm the author of Too Smart for This: A Journal to Build Self-Trust and Stop Settling for Less Than You Deserve, published by Tarcher Books.

Been a lifestyle influencer for 5 years, collaborating with 75+ brands across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, and was named by the American Influencer Council as a Trailblazer in the microinfluencer category.

This show is supported by Other Kind Media — otherkindmedia.com

Your problem isn't that your life is a disaster. Your problem is that you have a pretty good situation, and you want a great one.

Welcome to Week 1 of the Alignment Edit, where we're tackling personal systems — the foundation for everything else. Most of you are already killing it. You're smart, you're capable, and you're checking all the boxes. But you're stuck in what Gay Hendricks calls the "zone of excellence" — doing what you're good at instead of what you're meant for. You've got the curse of competence, and it's keeping you comfortable but not fulfilled.

In this episode, Alexis breaks down why "good enough" is the real enemy, how to do an energy audit on your life, and the practical systems you need to clear out the mental clutter and make room for what you actually want. We're talking digital decluttering, building a second brain (yes, even if you think Notion is too hard), and creating routines that make your day feel as good as it possibly can.

This is for the ambitious material girls who are ready to turn their B+ life into an A+. Let's get aligned.

What You'll Learn:

Why the enemy of great is good — and how "pretty good" keeps you stuck

The difference between operating in survival mode vs. contributing to greatness

How to conduct an energy audit and identify what's draining you

Practical steps to clear your digital space and refresh your brain

How to build a second brain (even if you're not a Notion girlie)

Why the curse of competence is blocking your next level

The ambitious material girl commandment: you work hard so you can enjoy your life

EPISODE CHAPTERS

[1:01] - Welcome to the Alignment Edit: why you're already killing it (but want more)

[2:02] - The enemy of great is good — Melody Hobson on choosing greatness over "getting it done"

[5:50] - Good vs. great: when things feel functional but not fulfilling

[7:44] - The curse of competence and the zone of excellence

[11:44] - How to do an energy audit on your life

[17:29] - Personal systems 101: clearing your digital space

[17:52] - Building a second brain (yes, even if Notion scares you)

[19:09] - Wrapping up Week 1 + what's coming next in the Alignment Edit

WHERE TO FIND ALEXIS & TOO COLLECTIVE

Follow along with Alexis:

Instagram:

@alexisbarber: https://www.instagram.com/alexisbarber/?hl=en

@toocollective: https://www.instagram.com/toocollective/?hl=en

Substack:

Too Smart For This Newsletter: https://toocollective.substack.com/

TikTok:

@alexisbarber_: https://www.tiktok.com/@alexisbarber_

YouTube:

Subscribe here: http://www.youtube.com/@alexis_barber

Shop the Episode: https://shopmy.us/shop?Curator_id=250549

Book Office Hours: Work with Alexis Here:

https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=22112790&appointmentType=79833937

Get the Journal: Too Smart For This: A Guided Journal Here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/761193/too-smart-for-this-by-alexis-barber/

Questions, thoughts, or want to collaborate with Alexis or Too Collective? Email Alexis at alexis@alexisbarber.com

ABOUT TOO SMART FOR THIS

You're ambitious. You're overwhelmed. And you're definitely too smart to keep sacrificing your well-being for someone else's definition of success.

Too Smart For This is the show for ambitious material girls just like you who are learning how to channel their chaotic energy into a more intentional and fun life.

Join your host, Alexis Barber (author, Wharton MBA, former Google/YouTube strategist, and certified ambitious material girl), every Monday for the frameworks, authentic conversations, and tangible tools you need to build a life that's both driven and deeply enjoyable. Because self-care is part of the business plan—and you're too smart to settle for anything less.

Subscribe now and follow @alexisbarber and @toocollective for more.

ABOUT YOUR HOST

Hello, love!

I'm an ambitious material girl obsessed with wellness, business, consumer culture, and the creator economy. I write from New York City, where I'm busy enjoying being young, gifted, and Black, oversharing online, and remembering that self-care is part of the business plan.

My career TLDR:

Bounced from Google Marketing to YouTube creator strategy before getting my MBA from The Wharton School at The University of Pennsylvania.

Started and ran a premium bathrobe brand that collaborated with Rare Beauty & Bumble, and I'm the author of Too Smart for This: A Journal to Build Self-Trust and Stop Settling for Less Than You Deserve, published by Tarcher Books.

Been a lifestyle influencer for 5 years, collaborating with 75+ brands across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, and was named by the American Influencer Council as a Trailblazer in the microinfluencer category.

This show is supported by Other Kind Media — otherkindmedia.com

She's so back, angels. After 186 episodes and a 10-month break, Alexis is returning to the mic for good, and we're all the better for it.

After burning out hard and spending the last 10 months writing on Substack, Alexis learned some things. Actually, she learned a lot of things. About what it means to run toward something you want to enjoy versus running away from what scares you, about why agency determines everything, and about the core commandments that make ambitious material girls successful without sacrificing their sanity.

In this episode, Alexis breaks down the Ambitious Material Girl Commandments that are shaping this next era of Too Smart For This. We're talking about never looking like your problems (and why that's about reminding yourself who you want to be, not vanity), the "isn't this fun?" commandment (because you work hard so you can actually enjoy your life), and why women need to stop apologizing for wanting more when we've literally always run the world.

Plus, Alexis introduces the six weeks of refinement we all need — AKA The Alignment Edit — a six-week series designed to help you turn your "good enough" life into "great" with intentional ambition. This one's for the ambitious material girls rebuilding their foundations and refusing to settle for less than extraordinary.

See you every Monday at 5am ET!

What You'll Learn:

Why "never look like your problems" is Alexis's #1 rule for ambitious living

The real reason she took 10 months off from podcasting (and what she learned from her Substack era)

How to shift from running away from your circumstances to running toward something you want to enjoy

The difference between agency and victimhood — and why this determines everything

Why wanting material things doesn't make you shallow (and why Alexis stopped beating herself up about it)

What's coming in the Alignment Edit series and how to follow along

EPISODE CHAPTERS

[00:25] - Welcome back: 186 episodes, 10 months, and why I disappeared

[03:00] - What I learned from my Substack era + the articles you need to read

[16:44] - Never look like your problems: the #1 rule for ambitious women

[21:55] - Running from vs. running toward: what really drives ambition

[29:35] - Commandment: "Isn't this fun?" — you work hard so you can enjoy your life

[32:05] - Agency is everything: how successful people think differently about problems

[37:20] - Women have always run the world — it's time to stop apologizing for wanting more

[39:17] - Introducing the Alignment Edit series + how to follow along on Substack, Apple Podcasts, Spotify & YouTube

WHERE TO FIND ALEXIS & TOO COLLECTIVE

Follow along with Alexis:

Instagram: 

@alexisbarber: https://www.instagram.com/alexisbarber/?hl=en

@toocollective: https://www.instagram.com/toocollective/?hl=en

Substack: 

Too Smart For This Newsletter: https://toocollective.substack.com/

TikTok: 

@alexisbarber_: https://www.tiktok.com/@alexisbarber_

YouTube: 

Subscribe here: http://www.youtube.com/@alexis_barber

Shop the Episode: https://shopmy.us/shop?Curator_id=250549

Book Office Hours: Work with Alexis Here: 

https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=22112790&appointmentType=79833937

Get the Journal: Too Smart For This: A Guided Journal Here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/761193/too-smart-for-this-by-alexis-barber/

Questions, thoughts, or want to collaborate with Alexis or Too Collective? Email Alexis at hello@alexisbarber.com

ABOUT TOO SMART FOR THIS

You're ambitious. You're overwhelmed. And you're definitely too smart to keep sacrificing your well-being for someone else's definition of success.

Too Smart For This is the show for ambitious material girls just like you who are learning how to channel their chaotic energy into a more intentional and fun life.

Join your host, Alexis Barber (author, Wharton MBA, former Google/YouTube strategist, and certified ambitious material girl), every Monday for the frameworks, authentic conversations, and tangible tools you need to build a life that's both driven and deeply enjoyable. Because self-care is part of the business plan—and you're too smart to settle for anything less.

Subscribe now and follow @alexisbarber and @toocollective for more.

ABOUT YOUR HOST

Hello, love!

I'm an ambitious material girl obsessed with wellness, business, consumer culture, and the creator economy. I write from New York City, where I'm busy enjoying being young, gifted, and Black, oversharing online, and remembering that self-care is part of the business plan.

My career TLDR:

Bounced from Google Marketing to YouTube creator strategy before getting my MBA from The Wharton School at The University of Pennsylvania.

Started and ran a premium bathrobe brand that collaborated with Rare Beauty & Bumble, and I'm the author of Too Smart for This: A Journal to Build Self-Trust and Stop Settling for Less Than You Deserve, published by Tarcher Books.

Been a lifestyle influencer for 5 years, collaborating with 75+ brands across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, and was named by the American Influencer Council as a Trailblazer in the microinfluencer category.

This show is supported by Other Kind Media — otherkindmedia.com

According to childhood developmental statistics, I highly doubt that this was true, but I do have proof that I listed “author” as my dream job in kindergarten. By second grade, I took great pride in my daily struts to the fifth-grade classroom to get new chapter books, sporting pigtails and purple wire glasses.

Having devoured everything from The Hunger Games to Anna Karenina by my teenage years, I thankfully developed some handy critical thinking and storytelling skills undoubtably crucial to success in my life and career. But when I pull back the curtain on why I was constantly nose deep in a novel, the picture isn’t very pretty.

I turned to books to avoid my chaotic childhood. Plenty of kids do this, regardless of their circumstances, but I immersed myself in books so I wouldn’t have to confront the difficulties of living in a 2 bedroom house with 7 other people in a dangerous St. Louis neighborhood. The librarian was always my best friend, and the characters in books like Magic Tree House, The Mysterious Benedict Society, and The Clique gave me a much-needed escape from the chaos I faced at home.

As an adult, I left fiction behind for biographies and personal development books, searching for any skill or trick that would help me pull myself out of the environment I grew up in. Even today, in particularly overwhelming moments, my body’s autopilot navigates me to a library or bookstore, where I can scan titles for hours, looking for the answers to my problems.

Five years ago, staring at a pile of self-help books I’d panic ordered during the pandemic, I felt a sharp knowing that none of them would solve my problems this time (not even The Secret!) I’d checked off the boxes and gotten into my dream college, sorority, clubs, and internships, and was heading to work at Google after graduating that upcoming June.

But after an uncharacteristic outburst and a traumatic event amidst an unprecedented global pandemic, I internally rocked, and my psyche was begging me to go within.

So, I picked up a journal. It was one of many I’d excitedly written in for three days and forgotten about in a failed attempt to be a consistent diarist. Luckily, that didn’t stop me, because I will never forget the day I sat cross-legged in my Evanston apartment and poured everything on the page.

Even though I didn’t know where to start, I got really real. I questioned my family, career, friendships, and future. After suppressing my feelings for the sake of my external performance, it was the first time in 21 years that I honestly reconciled with my anxieties, frustrations, and fears.

I finally (!) faced my reality.

I’d spent my whole life avoiding the present and searching for how to feel fulfilled or happy through stories and self-help tips, but without going inward, I was blind to the beauty I’d actually created in my polished external world.

Somehow, through the honesty in each word I wrote, the answers I’d been searching for started piecing themselves together. I found a strong sense of self and began making choices aligned with the values I identified in my long reflection sessions. I journaled consistently after that, often for hours, developing a dialogue with myself that helped me unlock the gratitude, confidence, and strength that are core to my essence now. Today, a drawer of black spiral journals in my living room holds the ins and outs of every emotion, relationship, decision, and setback I’ve navigated in my twenties.

With unlimited access to information in today’s world, it’s overwhelming to decide who you are and what you care about. But you aren’t going to figure it out by mindlessly consuming and reacting to everything. When you’re confused, you have to go within.

The secret weapon is within you, it’s just up to you to find it. The more you can be honest with yourself, the more you can harness and alchemize the beautiful insights around you to create a life aligned with the truest version of yourself.

Today, the Too Smart For This journal is available for purchase everywhere. I wrote this over my first year at business school, crafting a journey that I wish the frazzled 21-year-old me would’ve had access to when she hit rock bottom five years ago.

We start by uncovering your past and childhood beliefs before diving into the fun part: dreaming about your ideal future. But we don’t stop there: the journal devotes an entire section to creating a handbook for you: how you best rest, recover and relate to others. Then, we dig into frameworks for real life, helping you identify how you’ll piece through inevitable setbacks that come with being an ambitious person.

In today’s episode, we dive into the importance of self-reflection amidst a difficult climate. I hope this inspires you not to be more numb to the injustices in the world but to get more in touch with yourself and transmit the magic within you into communities that need it now more than ever.

You’re too smart to not know yourself (and love yourself!)

xx

Alexis

Get the Too Smart For This Guided Journal here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/761193/too-smart-for-this-by-alexis-barber/

Get access to the full guide by preordering my book: Too Smart For This, A Journal to Build Self-Trust and Stop Settling for Less Than You Deserve

Submit your preorder receipt to receive the full guide here

Let's make 2025 different ✨

The year my frontal lobe developed I was in business school, surrounded by people largely my senior. I’ve met exactly 3 people younger than me and even then, only by weeks. I’ve faced friendship breakups, racial confrontations, career crises, an election and political unrest at a school and in a city central to massive political debates, and I entertained every type of toxic situationship you could imagine. I give thanks to God alone for getting me through this because, girl. Why???

Ok, welllll….I guess I asked for it! Becoming single for the first time in the midst of jumping into a brand new social scene full of overachievers, confronting my biggest academic insecurity (that I was bad at math: NOW PROVEN FALSE!!!), and thinking I could run two businesses while I learned what business really was-ok like let’s be very serious-WAY too tall of an order, even for the delusional.

The thing is, even though 25 was insane, I was comforted by the lessons from year 24, when I learned to stop settling and to say no to the things that weren’t serving me. In addition to ending my relationship, removed my birth control against the advice of my doctors, prompting a bodily transformation that has been critical to my mental and physical health. I left my (literally cannot express enough how great it was) amazing job at YouTube to pursue my own dreams and further my education.

In each realm of my life, I saw what I needed, and I stopped pretending I didn’t need it. I don’t know why, but I guess the frustration with being under-satisfied was so great that it prompted my welcoming of the unknown. Could the labels and the “you should be grateful”s really be fulfillment? Could I survive without feeling disconnected to my body, unchallenged in my job, or unseen in a relationship?

25 was the year to answer those questions.

Yes. I could. And I did.

Professionally and socially, at least, I thrived. I got a book deal, worked with dream brands, grew my social following, and travelled to several countries. I flirted, partied, and failed almost hourly. It was an awe-inspiring year full of fabulous outfits (you already know) and utter social chaos (one day I’ll share the tea - it could be an HBO series so I might save it for that!)

At 25 I lived. I really lived. I had successes. I made mistakes. I built a new bond with myself I didn’t know was possible. And I learned probably more than I ever have.

And in today’s episode, I’m sharing what I learned into 7 key lessons. Real ones, you’ve probably heard a bunch of them on the show over the last few months, but today I’m really distilling it.

I hope that by hearing me go through this, you’re either comforted that you aren’t alone, or somehow more prepared via perspective for when you encounter these battles on your own journey. It’s a process, and I’m just going through it with you.

It was my birthday last Saturday, and I felt more grateful for life than I ever have. Nothing was perfect, except I could see the good in everything, even the bad.

26, for me, will be about feeling gratitude and fully recieving the love and abundance that’s all around. It’s sooooo easy to latch on to pessimism. And I’ve been there - until somewhere along the line (at 24) I saw that it wasn’t good enough, and I loved myself enough to want more.

I love myself enough now to believe I deserve more. And today’s podcast dives into why.

Preorder the Too Smart For This Journal: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/761193/too-smart-for-this-by-alexis-barber/ Get custom embroidered robes for a perfect holiday gift: https://toocollective.com/collections/all/products/too-classic-robe Subscribe to the Too Smart For This Substack: https://alexisbarber.substack.com/ Shop Too Collective: https://toocollective.com/ Follow Too Collective on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/toocollecti... Follow Alexis on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexisbarbe... Follow Alexis on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@alexisbarber_...

Preorder the Too Smart For This Journal here

Buy one get one 50% on all too collective robes until 12/7

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Skincare

* Sulwhasoo Gentle Cleansing Oil Makeup Remover

* Caudalie Vinoclean Instant Foaming Cleanser

* Josie Maran Vanilla Bean Whipped Argan Oil Body Butter

* Skinfix Barrier+ Niacinamide Activating Serum

* Daily UV Defense Sunscreen by Innisfree

* Summer Fridays Jet Lag Mask

* Summer Fridays Jet Lag Deep Hydration Serum

* Shea Moisture Body Wash

* CurrentBody Skin LED Light Therapy Mask

* Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Niacinamide Dew Drops

Makeup

* Kosas Revealer Concealer

* Kosas Cloud Set

* Makeup Gift Set by Dior

Haircare

* Shark Hair Dryers

* Cecred Reconstructing Treatment Mask

* Amika Smooth Over Frizz-Fighting Treatment Mask

Clothing & Accessories

* Lululemon Align Mini Flare Pants

* Lululemon Cropped Define Jacket

* Alo Yoga Straight Leg Sweatpant

* Dolce Vita Sandals

* Puma Speedcat OG Sneakers

* En Route Jewelry

* Caitlyn Minimalist Jewelry

Home

* Harlem Candle Company

* Forvr Mood Candles

* Silk pillow

* Be Rooted Deck of Cards

Books

* How to Build a Fashion Icon by Law Roach

* Africa's Fashion Diaspora

Tech

* Beats Fit Pro Earbuds

* ChatGPT

* Claude

* Poppy AI

Follow Too Collective on Instagram

Follow Alexis on Instagram

Follow Alexis on TikTok

When I first saw the “women in male fields” TikToks, I immediately resonated and hopped on to make my own. Social media is nothing if not a reinforcement that none of us have ever had a unique experience ever, evidenced by my group chats exchanging countless versions of this trend with “NO LITERALLY” and “lmfao this is so you” over DM this week. If you haven’t seen them yourself, the trend includes women sharing things men have done to them in their perspective and captioning it #WomeninMaleFields. Some examples:

I audibly cackled while making my way through the hashtag: if one toxic behavior hadn’t been done to me, it had been done to one of my girlfriends. As the trend grew and spread to Twitter, I stopped scrolling when I saw a comment: “if we really want men to start acting different, then we actually need to start giving them a taste of their own medicine.”

Bam!!! An internet trend helped me integrate a lesson I’d been mulling over since a startup bootcamp session with two former Wharton bros running an almost $100M company. Picture the stereotypical founder nerd, akin to Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network: smart, often clad in Uniqlo basics, uninterested in appearances, spending their days Citibiking around NYC and coding late into the night.

They candidly chronicled the background of their startup taking off: classic stories of grit, running out of money, products failing, faking it until they made it, and bold negotiation tactics with investors. Many of their stories were things I’d never do, especially since much of the time they’d had nothing but an idea to stand on.

After the session, I caught the eye of the only other woman in the accelerator, and we shared an unspoken moment of disbelief. It wasn’t that these guys had done anything wrong—their business was undeniably smart and impactful—but it was impossible to ignore how much higher the standards were that we, as women, had been holding ourselves to.

We’d been taught to put our heads down and work. We had to perfect our products before bringing them to market. We had to be kind, pay our dues, look perfect (of course), and have a stellar resume that undeniably includes working at the top firm in your industry. We wouldn’t dare approach an investor without a billion-dollar idea. We never would think to play hardball with investors or not have data to back up our decisions. When less than 3% of VC funding goes to women, it doesn’t feel like there’s a lot of room for imperfections, right?

Of course, the standards we hold ourselves to are not unfounded. At Wharton’s end-of-year pitch competition last year, three of us were influencers pitching our startups. The other two were male food and travel influencers who got great feedback, but after my pitch for Too Collective (the only startup that already had any revenue, and 6 figures at that) the first question an investor asked me was “why not just be an influencer?”

You guessed it: neither of the male influencers got that question. It makes sense that we over-index on being perfect - we are literally held to different standards.

Looking back on the startup bootcamp session, it wasn’t hubris that triggered me, but rather these founders’ unfazed belief in themselves despite not really knowing what they were doing.

The hard truth is that no one really knows what they’re doing—literally, no one. I certainly don’t! Yet the women we idolize are expected to “have it all together” and never let anyone down, while the men we look up to will break every rule and disregard others’ feelings to get what they want. (Just look at the presidential election, for crying out loud!)

We feel like we have to know and do it all to get what we want. But no one actually knows it all, and the people (men!) who hold the wealth and power in this country aren’t letting not knowing hold them back.

As we discussed last week, financial independence is key to protecting ourselves from exploitation. And if we want to thrive in a world largely designed by men, sometimes we have to play by their rules.

In today’s episode, I dive into three lessons we can take from men to help us get what we want: asking for what we want, finding evidence that our dreams are possible, and believing in ourselves unapologetically. I challenge you to try out these small shifts in your own life—you might just surprise yourself and laugh at ever doubting your own power.

xx

Alexis

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During the election, more of these opportunities I’d taken for granted came to light. It’s not that I didn’t know history (hello, literal Political Science degree), but I hadn’t contextualized it with my daily life. Reminded of the recency of women’s rights to vote, get credit cards, sign a lease, and even get birth control on their own, I thought of my grandmothers.

Ruth, my white grandmother who raised me, and my godmother Lorraine, a Black family friend who she enlisted to ensure I had representation growing up, were both serendipitously born on the same day in 1953. Ruth went on to drop out of college to get married and raise five children, and of course she did - she wouldn’t have even been able to get a bank account on her own until she was 20. Lorraine was the first woman in her family who would be able to vote when she turned 18 - a right Black women weren’t granted until she was 12.

These women raised me to love and believe in myself constantly, resulting in an optimistic confidence core to my identity. And if you’re lucky enough to know first-hand, there’s nothing stronger than a grandmother’s prayer. These ladies kneeled at their beds every night to ask God for my health, happiness, and success. But at the same time, they wanted me to be safe, and that meant getting married.

Subliminally, overtly, consciously and unconsciously, women have been taught that security comes from a relationship and children (hello, Disney princesses.) The recent rise of TradWife culture, #SoftLife vlogs, and the prominence of picture-perfect Mormon mom bloggers on the zeitgeist has shifted young womens’ ideals back towards a “traditional” model, but the world around us has evolved.

Today, 50% of marriages end in divorce. One in three women will experience domestic violence. With an economy that’s constantly changing, a climate that’s crumbling, and relying on a relationship to be your saving grace could leave you devastated. To be truly free, women must be economically and emotionally free.

And it’s hard. We forget this is all new. Women have not had the opportunity to build our own futures for very long, so of course we are stressed out. Of course we’re holding on to outdated opinions on what we need to do to be happy. Of course we retreat to fantasy to make up for the fact that yes, we are alone in this, and we’ve never really seen how that plays out at scale. The world has shifted, and to quote a bretman rock tiktok, I’ve only been doing this for two fucking days!!!

In my time at Wharton, I’ve watched the most amazing, intelligent women shrivel into emotional wrecks over mediocre men who can barely get themselves dressed in the morning (disclaimer: I’m talking about myself too, IYKYK) If I haven’t already said this enough - we are too smart to be doing that.

This isn’t to say I plan to decenter men from my life - flirting is a lifestyle for me - but it’s to say that letting go of the idea of being “saved” or “chosen” is the best way to keep ourselves safe. It’s my mission with my content and this podcast to show you the realities of women opting into crafting fulfilling lives without having to dim their dreams.

To be truly free as a woman today is to have your own life. When you make your own money and make your own happiness, no one can control you. Yes, it’s way WAY harder for us to do that given the discrimination in this country, but there are ways. And those ways are what we’re talking about in today’s episode.

As I wrote this, I got a text from my mom, who I’ve barely updated all semester while I juggle my 2384238 responsibilities.

We’re evolving. This is new for us. But we can do it. We’re evolving. Sending you a grandmother’s prayer.

In the post-election landscape, I'm sharing tips on building emotional and financial autonomy so that you can't be controlled or manipulated by anyone. 

PHILLY: Join me for a candle making class with Cork & Candle. Select Nov 19 at 6pm here: https://tables.toasttab.com/restaurants/dfde9e56-62d5-4113-9c36-b6d8e579783d/findTime

Resources mentioned:

* The Psychology of Money

* I Will Teach You To Be Rich

* Ellevest

Too Collective:

* Too Collective Website

* Too Collective Affirmation Texts

* Follow Too Collective on Instagram

Follow Alexis on Social Media:

* Instagram

* TikTok

* YouTube

6:04 - 4 types of rests report

11:06 - creating your winter character

12:47 - time management

15:00 - journaling

17:06 - using ai as your personal assistant

19:06 - redefine your relationship with social media

22:00 - wellness tips and recs

28:00 - leveling up

NEW: get your Robe customized at toocollective.com/shop

Hope in a Jar Philosophy Moisturizer

Then I Met You Rich Cream (get as gift with purchase with a robe)

Supergoop Glow Screen

Summer Fridays Jet Lag Mask

Skin Fix Collagen Plus Serum

Josie Maran Body Butter

Nivea Cream

Johnson & Johnson Baby Gel

LMNT Electrolytes - Mango Chili Salt

Awola Water Bottle

Binto Supplements

Satori Laser

but today’s perspective shift helps us interrogate our goals so we can be less skeptical of them and more in tune with ourselves. if your current life missions are starting to feel a little less resonant, this episode will give you the tools to help clarify what really makes you tick.

EPISODE NOTESQuote:

"I have already settled it for myself so flattery and criticism go down the same drain and I am quite free" - Georgia O'Keeffe

Previous episodes about perfectionism:- He broke up with me for being too much:

- How to deal with people who try to make you feel small:

LINKS:

Reformation Low Rise Jeans

Shop Too Collective

Preorder the Too Smart For This Guided Journal

in this episode, I dive into the frameworks I use to manage my time, energy, and emotions in the insane life I live! this was highly requested, so I hope you enjoy!

Shop the Too Chill Robe

Follow Too Collective on Instagram

Follow Alexis on Instagram

Follow Alexis on TikTok

While my reality looks like overgrown nails, frozen Trader Joe’s meals, and staring at a (brand new because mine broke the day of our launch party 🙃) computer screen flush with asks from school and work, I still feel an inner sense of peace. This is shocking to me, Little Miss Frantic™️, who has won the award for Most Dramatic in multiple camp, school AND work settings.

I shared in a few episodes back that adjusting back to the second year of my MBA hasn’t been as easy as I thought it would be, with new and old interpersonal dynamics threatening my carefully crafted routines. As I’ve actively stepped into the role of ~entrepreneur~ by joining the Wharton startup accelerator and worked on launching our third Too Collective product, new commitments and sacrifices have me meeting a new version of myself.

And it’s uncomfortable. From learning to stand on business and not text an ex back to unexpected brand invoices or receiving difficult business feedback, I’ve been exercising my emotional regulation skills often, with one new insight being the secret weapon to staying afloat.

Once the first few minutes of a setback have stung my soul and I might even feel some tears well up, two thoughts automatically sweep in to ease the pain: “everything happens to teach me something,” and “this is temporary.”

The Everything Happens For A Reason self-soother has been a constant thanks to my grandmother’s constant repetition of the phrase, but I think I was always afraid to face the “this is temporary.” If everything is temporary, how would I feel stable?

Ah ha! I’ve long tried to untangle where my perfectionism comes from and deduced it to some combination of trauma (duh) and my astrology, maybe(?). But it was only recently that I realized why I like the feeling of getting it right so much - it’s safe.

I always wanted things to feel stable, but I erroneously extrapolated that that feeling would somehow be there forever if I got it right. The logic went: If I’m perfect, I’ll never have to deal with this uncomfortable emotion again, yay!!

Bffr. Pain, sadness, disappointment, and envy are inevitable. Without them, we don’t get to feel pleasure, happiness, surprise, or contentment. These feelings - good and bad - are temporary, whereas the stability I was searching for in hoarding them is actually my own ability to face and conquer them.

I think I’m really starting to get what they mean by “enjoy the journey.” Because things don’t have to be permanent to be perfect - or perfect at all, really.

I hope this episode resonates with you. Love you longtime, and shop the latest Too Collective drop now.

xx

Alexis

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Shop Too Collective, use code PODCAST15 for 15% off: https://toocollective.com/Follow Too Collective on Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/toocollecti...Follow Alexis on Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/alexisbarbe...Follow Alexis on TikTok:https://www.tiktok.com/@alexisbarber_...

Yes, I’m only 25, but the culture I grew up in prioritized having a relationship and children above all else. 

When I decided to go to college out of state, move to New York City, start my own business, and even go to graduate school, I was the only person I knew who did anything of the sort. 

But every time I returned from the big city, the question would remain the same: “do you have a boyfriend?” It evolved when I got into a long-term relationship: “why don’t you get married? You need to have kids soon or you’ll be an old mom.”

Questions about my education, business, or extensive travels were rare. While I thought I was above it because I was building my own life, I subconsciously was programmed to cling to a partner, plan for marriage, and stay with that person at all costs.

There had never been any room to question what I wanted out of a relationship, I simply was focused on being in one. 

So in my first year being single since I was 17 years old, I was not only struggling to figure out how to text a man back (my least favorite activity BY FAR) or get dressed for a date, but I also grappled with defining my standards for a partner.

When I’d dish to my girlfriends (and therapist) about my boy problems, one simple question kept taking the breath out of me:

“Well, what do you want?”

What do you MEAN? I get to decide what I want and what works for me out of a relationship?

It sounds silly to say, but I didn’t know I had the power to choose that. I thought relationships were fated, and that once you had a connection with someone you would focus on giving it your all. Many women operate the same way: focusing on the title instead of deciding exactly what they need, want, and deserve, and sticking to it.

Through a few Raya dates, way-too-long situationships, and a lot of experiencing what I didn’t want, I settled on what I did want, and thought I’d found someone who wanted to be that for me.

But when he abruptly ended things because “my standards were too high,” instead of lowering them, I started to feel a sense of pride for believing in myself and my dreams above all else. Now, the standards are just getting higher.

I hope this episode reminds you that you’re never too much for the right person. It’s one of my favorites ever.

xx,

Alexis

Watch this Episode on YouTube

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A calendar invite for your girls’ dinner? Iconic. An organized grocery list with the exact right amount of ingredients? Sign me up.

Back-to-school planning has always been my favorite time of year. I was, in fact, that child After months of unstructured hot days filled with the expectation of “FUN! AT! ALL! COSTS!” it feels refreshing to return to productivity.

Something in the air (literally - we got crisper mornings and it was also a Virgo New Moon) shifted after Labor Day, and it feels like a real fresh start. In the season of Beyonce’s birthday, I’m taking inspiration from her to focus in on how I want to spend the rest of 2024. In this episode, we’re talking reorganizing, mindset shifts, and some favorites for the season.

whether you’re into fall or mourning the summer, I hope this episode gets you excited for whatever aspirations you’re working towards.

avorite products mentioned:

Acupuncture mat

Edikted

Fall back to school fit (low rise jeans and cardigan)

Nutraful (hair growth)

Kaai bag

Subscribe to the Too Smart For This Substack:

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Follow Too Collective on Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/toocollecti...F

ollow Alexis on Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/alexisbarbe...

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TOO COLLECTIVE X THEN I MET YOU LABOR DAY SALE

Did somebody say free product? You can now get a FREE full-size Then I Met You Rich Cream (worth $60!) with any purchase of a Too Collective product, while supplies last!

And for Labor Day, we’re offering 25% off our celebrity-approved bathrobes. These will go fast, so get yours and be prepped for the crisp days ahead this fall. Subscribe to our email list to get the code in your inbox!

Shop Too Collective here

Would I make any friends who weren’t just dying for a LinkedIn connection? Would my rusty math skills lead me to fail out? Would my peers take me seriously as an “influencer?”

Would my book deal get sold? Would my relationship last? Would my business survive?

A year later, a new version of Alexis Barber prepares to step on campus with a multitude of failures (see: a C- in statistics?) and extremely (!!!) unexpected successes: Too Collective prepares to launch our third and fourth products this fall fresh off a major celebrity collaboration, I finished writing the Too Smart For This journal with Penguin Random House (huh???) while doing a little too much drinking socializing with the new friends I’m obsessed with, and I’m still somehow an influencer you all tune in to watch every day (thank you for that, fr!)

And, I think you know what happened to my relationship. Business school is not for the weak!

My mental health was entirely hanging on by a thread as I bounced between feeling heartbroken, overwhelmed, challenged, and hungover. Still, I now credit every experience with introducing me to a new version of myself, one that was lowkey there all along.

I’m more myself, and that’s become my measure of confidence. 

In this week’s episode of Too Smart For This, I share the identity shift philosophy that I have applied as I’ve morphed into a more confident version of myself.

Could I credit all of this to my frontal lobe developing? Sure, but I also think these tactics I’ve identified can help you make progress in any area of your life.

Remember, if your “confidence” is coming from anywhere but within, it’s not real. I hope you love this episode. 

xx, Alexis

p.s., if you do love the ep, leave a comment! we have that now! that’s so fun!

SUBSCRIBE TO THE SUBSTACK: https://alexisbarber.substack.com/subscribe

Watch this episode on YouTube

JOURNAL PROMPTS FOR THIS EPISODE:

* How have I been showing up the past few weeks?

* What identities would I want to be defined by?

* How would I want people to describe me when I’m not in the room?

* What environment do I have to create to show up as the person that I want to authentically become?

THIS WEEK’S FAVORITES: 

Revolve Beauty is 20% off till Saturday, so it’s a perfect time to pick up some of my favorite wellness essentials like my Acupressure mat that I lay on every night to unwind, The Skinny Confidential Mouth Tape that’s helped me reduce mouth breathing, and my tried-and-true Arrae Bloat pills.

My beauty go-tos like the magical SuperGoop Glow Screen and Charlotte Tilbury Lip Liners are also part of the sale so stock up!

SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW:

Also, like, welcome to my substack? To get even more juicy content each month, subscribe for $5 a month to get

* a close-friends q&a ep where we talk ab the things I’m too afraid to say on TikTok

* an extra episode featuring resources from our illustrious guests

* a monthly “what I’m learning in b-school” round-up sharing the highlights of my $250k degree 🙃

* my everlasting love and gratitude

SUBSCRIBE HERE: https://alexisbarber.substack.com/subscribe

Check out the video version on YouTube here:

Listen to the first part of this conversation over on the Boardroom Beauty podcast:

Learn more about these founders and their businesses in the links below:

Desiree Verdejo:

https://www.instagram.com/desiree.ver...

Hyper Skin:

https://www.instagram.com/hyperskin/?...

Karen Young:

/ karen-young-2a166622

Oui the People:

/ ouithepeople

Listen to my conversation with Temi: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0w5G0IXOF2MPq3VyNhxvue?si=3db3868e9fd94700

Too Collective:

• Too Collective Website
• Too Collective Affirmation Texts
• Follow Too Collective on Instagram

Follow Alexis on Social Media:

• Instagram
• TikTok
• YouTube

Too Collective:

• Too Collective Website
• Too Collective Affirmation Texts
• Follow Too Collective on Instagram

Follow Alexis on Social Media:

• Instagram
• TikTok
• YouTube

Too Collective:

• Too Collective Website
• Too Collective Affirmation Texts
• Follow Too Collective on Instagram

Follow Alexis on Social Media:

• Instagram
• TikTok
• YouTube

4:47 - How do you not resent family for having opposite life choices?

11:04 - How to get the most out of a job you settled for?

13:59 - Can you share a hot take about being an entrepreneur or having a side hustle?

17:11 - What’s something you used to believe in that you’ve changed your mind on?

19:27 - Book recs for personal finance?

24:04 - Dating life updates?

27:12 - What are your current health routines?

Too Collective:

• Too Collective Website
• Too Collective Affirmation Texts
• Follow Too Collective on Instagram

Follow Alexis on Social Media:

• Instagram
• TikTok
• YouTube

Clothing favorites

• Alo dress
• Agolde Parker shorts
• Skims wireless push-up bra

Food favorites

• Chomps
• Nora Grab & Go Seaweed
• Dolcezza Gelato (Mascarpone & Berries flavor)

Body care

• L'occitane almond shower oil
• Naturium Bio-Lipid Restoring Body Lotion
• Sol de Janeiro Delícia Drench Body Butter
• Sol de Janeiro Cheirosa 59 Perfume Mist

For glowy skin

• Supergoop glow screen
• Loreal Lumi Glotion
• Nars Light Reflecting Foundation
• Biossance squalane body oil
• Patrik Ta body oil

Skin care

• Bioderma Micellar Water
• Summer Fridays serum
• Skinfix collagen perfecting serum
• Clinique Moisture Surge
• Innesfree sunscreen
• Clarins Anti Pollution Face Sunscreen

Other healthy stuff

• Skinny Confidential Mint Roller
• Skinny Confidential Mouth Tape
• Creatine for muscle growth
• Form pilates

Too Collective:

• Too Collective Website
• Too Collective Affirmation Texts
• Follow Too Collective on Instagram

Follow Alexis on Social Media:

• Instagram
• TikTok
• YouTube

Too Collective:

• Too Collective Website
• Too Collective Affirmation Texts
• Follow Too Collective on Instagram

Follow Alexis on Social Media:

• Instagram
• TikTok
• YouTube

From big corporate to being a DJ, Temi has been there and done that, and she offers invaluable insights for anyone looking to build a highly ambitious and fulfilling professional path.

She shares:

• The pressure to prove yourself, especially as a black woman
• How she hustled her way into top institutions early in her career
• Advice for those looking to break into finance
• The challenge of holding back her authentic self at work
• Her unique upbringing by parents who are dedicated artists
• How she landed on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list
• Her pivot from investment banking to working for a startup
• Why she chose to pursue an MBA
• Her biggest takeaways from business school

Follow Temi on Instagram: @temiautomatic

Too Collective:

• Shop our Rare Beauty collab
• Too Collective Website
• Too Collective Affirmation Texts
• Follow Too Collective on Instagram

Follow Alexis on Social Media:

• Instagram
• TikTok
• YouTube