EXPANDED Podcast Ep. 343
Top Mindset Shifts for Manifesting Your Dream Career with Les of Balanced Black Girl
Date: February 21, 2025
Hosts: Jessica Gill & Lacy Phillips (To Be Magnetic™)
Guest: Les Alfred (Balanced Black Girl)
Episode Overview
This episode explores the practical and psychological mindset shifts necessary for manifesting your dream career, featuring Les Alfred, founder of Balanced Black Girl and recent full-time podcaster and entrepreneur. Les shares her journey of transitioning from corporate work to her creative passion, highlighting the inner work, incremental steps, and actionable strategies that made her leap both safe and sustainable. The discussion also delves into financial blocks, navigating rejection, honoring authentic work rhythms, and embracing evolving aspirations in entrepreneurship.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Les’s Background and Cultural Influences
- Affirming Upbringing: Les attributes much of her self-belief and willingness to try new things to her parents, who provided consistent positive affirmation and encouraged her to use her voice and foster creativity.
- “I grew up hearing how smart I was and how capable I was kind of over and over. And I think that that definitely had a profound impact on me and my ability to believe in myself.” (13:13)
- Eldest Daughter Dynamic: She reflects on growing up as the eldest with a significant sibling age gap, identifying with certain only-child tendencies in phase one of her life. (15:49)
2. Astrology & Identity
- Astrological Profile: Les is a Leo Sun, Taurus Moon, Libra Rising. She discusses how, over time, she's grown into her Leo identity while maintaining strong Taurus traits.
- “The older I get, the more I actually am resonating with my Leo sun...not dimming the shine that I am just meant to have and just letting it out there.” (10:01)
3. The Transition from Corporate to Creative Entrepreneurship
- Incremental Leaps: Les attempted the transition multiple times before finding lasting success, emphasizing the importance of timing and preparation over impulsive leaps.
- “A door closing doesn't mean it's not possible for you. It means you need to find another door, or you need to find another way to get there.” (21:21)
- Building Safety Nets: Les spent years building savings, healing her relationship with money, paying down debt, and setting up business infrastructure to create a foundation for sustainable self-employment. (16:58–20:08)
4. Healing Financial Blocks & Money Mindset
- Conscious Earning & Spending: Les intentionally avoided lifestyle inflation after increasing her income, attributing this shift to inner work and understanding her relationship with money.
- “I wasn’t looking for money to fill this void. And I think sometimes that's what gets people into trouble...” (22:02)
- Worthiness Work: She credits reading the book Worthy and doing inner exercises about income and value as pivotal in transforming her experience with money. (22:02–24:06)
5. Integration & Up-Leveling After Manifestation
- Adjusting to New Realities: Both Les and Jessica discuss the necessity of integrating new manifestations, understanding the practical challenges and adjusting identity post-success.
- “There's that up level integration period of like, oh, whoa, this is my reality now.” (25:20)
- Demystifying the Dream: The gap between a dream reality and the present can feel profound, but is often more mundane and nuanced on arrival.
- “The gap isn’t as far as you think...because it’s a lot more realistic and gritty and challenging and nuanced.” (26:37)
6. Navigating the Emotional & Practical Lulls of Self-Employment
- Seasonality of Business: Les’s first months post-corporate were challenging with business lulls and rejection, but her previous planning (savings, systems) allowed her to weather the storm creatively rather than out of panic.
- “Having those safeguards in place...was key...because I was able to not operate from a state of panic...” (30:20)
- Adapting Working Style: Her full-time creative life required unlearning the “grind” mentality in favor of honoring her unique work rhythms and energy cycles.
- “I actually do better with a little bit more rest and taking a little bit more of a methodical approach.” (33:33)
- Human Design Reflection: As a 5/1 Manifesting Generator, she embraces periods of high energy and equally deep rest, urging others to know their own energetic needs. (35:42–37:28)
7. Authentic Content Creation
- Boundaries & Depth in Sharing: Les shares deeply on certain topics (wellness habits, business behind the scenes) while maintaining privacy in other areas, arguing that authenticity comes from depth rather than breadth.
- “What has really worked is going deep, but not necessarily wide.” (37:59)
- Helpful, Intentional Content: Les prefers to provide tangible takeaways with a touch of humor, centering the value for her audience rather than simply sharing private details. (41:24)
8. Evolving Identity & Expanding Aspirations
- From Founder to Investor: A transformative experience at a woman-founded startup inspired Les’s aspiration to become an investor, especially supporting underrepresented founders.
- “I want to be able to fund businesses...who have really great solutions but may not be invested in in the same way.” (42:36–45:01)
- Living a ‘Different Lifetime’ Every Decade: Les sees each decade of her life as a distinct chapter focused on a new area, advocating for embracing evolution rather than chasing a monolithic “purpose.”
- “I've almost started taking this approach of, like, living a different lifetime in each decade.” (46:35, 48:07)
9. Advice for Listeners: Claiming Your Calling
- Get Curious About Fear: Instead of shaming or ignoring fear, investigate it and proactively identify what would help you feel safe enough to take your next step.
- “Get curious about what your fears are. Get curious about what is preventing you from claiming whatever it is that has been put on your heart.” (53:53)
10. Self-Reflection, Wellness, and Current Rituals
- Admiring Her Younger Self: Les commends her younger self’s willingness to be different and not care about external validation. (54:53)
- Current Wellness Routine: Les feels particularly strong and joyful in a varied movement practice—blending heavy lifting, Pilates, barre, and yoga, prioritizing enjoyment and releasing self-imposed pressure.
- “I just have such a beautiful blend of the types of movement that I really love and letting myself enjoy it and have fun with it.” (57:51)
- Manifesting for the Next Year: Les is rebranding her podcast and aiming to manifest a dream living space in NYC, while also intentionally savoring her current chapter. (60:42)
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
-
Les on Rejection & Finding New Paths:
“A door closing doesn't mean it's not possible for you. It means you need to find another door, or you need to find another way to get there.” (21:21) -
Les on Preparation and Safety:
“It took about two and a half years of me really chipping away at those things...till I got to the point where I said, okay, I’m out of excuses...” (16:58) -
Les on Integration After Success:
“We spend a lot of time wanting to get the thing, but we don’t necessarily think a lot about, okay, how will it feel once I have it and what is needed to maintain it?” (26:09) -
Les on Content Boundaries:
“What has really worked is going deep, but not necessarily wide...the audience doesn’t really miss what I don’t talk about.” (37:59) -
Les on Evolving Identity:
“I've almost started taking this approach of, like, living a different lifetime in each decade.” (48:07)
Key Timestamps
- Manifesting & Mindset Transitions Begin: 16:31
- Addressing Money Blocks & Worthiness: 22:02
- Integration and Up-leveling After Manifestation: 25:20
- Seasonality of Business, Navigating Lulls: 30:20
- Knowing Your Energy & Working Style (Human Design): 35:42
- Authentic Content Creation Philosophy: 37:59
- Big Picture Aspirations (Investing, Decades): 42:36–48:07
- Advice for Listeners on Following Callings: 53:53
- Les’s Current Wellness Rituals: 57:51
- Manifestations for the Year: 60:42
Final Words
Les’s journey provides a nuanced, pragmatic, and uplifting roadmap for anyone contemplating a major career transition or seeking to manifest a more authentic professional and personal life. Her blend of deep inner work, incremental practical steps, and a refusal to conform to external timelines empowers listeners to chase big dreams while honoring their unique rhythms and evolving aspirations.
Check out Les’s work:
Explore TBM tools & workshops for manifestation:
“Get curious about what is preventing you from claiming whatever it is that has been put on your heart to do.”
— Les (00:00, 53:53)