ABOUT THIS EPISODE
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 [email protected]
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
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit toocollective.substack.com/subscribe
