You're Allowed to Let Go of the Plan You've Been Forcing

Summary

Podcast Summary: She’s So Lucky
Host: Les Alfred
Episode: "You're Allowed to Let Go of the Plan You've Been Forcing"
Date: July 7, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this reflective solo episode, host Les Alfred explores the theme of relinquishing control and letting go of the painstaking plans we often force in our lives. Drawing from her personal journey, career transitions, and honest self-questioning, Les invites listeners to consider what it means to embrace uncertainty, redefine luck, and lean into both discomfort and possibility. This monthly solo deviates from her usual structured style, offering listeners an authentic, vulnerable glimpse into her current mindset and challenges.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Struggles with Structure and Planning

• Les opens up about her discomfort recording a solo episode without a clear plan—mirroring the episode's central theme.
  • Quote: “Usually I’m somebody who likes to be very prepared… and y’all, today, I have nothing.” (03:20)
• She discusses the challenge of creating content without the former series-based structure, noting how letting go of themes helped guest bookings but left solos adrift.

2. Life in Transition: Personal and Career

• Les shares her experience of thriving in her personal life—enjoying community and friends in New York—while feeling deeply unfulfilled and stuck in her career.
  • “My life outside of work has felt so good… but I kind of can’t afford to stay as stuck in my career as I have been.” (09:50)
• She candidly explains leaving a traditional corporate career, the unpredictable nature of entrepreneurship, and the fear of not knowing the next professional step.
  • “It has become abundantly clear that this career that I’ve created for myself is just not… giving me the sense of accomplishment and growth that I’m really looking for.” (10:47)

3. The “Lucky Girl Summer” Reflection

• Inspired by feedback that the show feels more serious than its whimsical title, Les ponders what it would mean to “release” and have a more magical, playful summer:
  • “If I were to have my ultimate Lucky Girl summer, I think I would want to really release the things that I’m struggling with or that aren’t really serving me.” (06:25)
• She recalls her childhood summers—simple joys, community, and presence—as a way of finding magic and mindfulness in adulthood.
  • “I think the magic is in the simplicity… being so fully present in the current season.” (24:17)

4. Redefining Luck and Effort

• Les challenges her own long-held belief that luck is purely a result of effort, consistency, and grind.
  • “What I have lacked in talent, in personality, in charisma, I have always made up for in work ethic… But I think I’ve gone as far as I can go on work ethic alone.” (19:04)
• She bravely questions what it would look like to stop forcing, to rest, and to see if luck can be found in releasing control—not just in achievement.
  • “What could it look like to just do the opposite for a while? I don’t know. I’m a little nervous to find out.” (20:33)

5. Grappling with Societal Promises and Burnout

• Les reflects on generational messaging: Were we truly promised career or financial security, or did we inherit outdated scripts for success?
  • “I don’t know if I necessarily even agree with this idea that we were promised xyz… The adults at that time told us what they knew based off of what worked at that time.” (27:15)
• She distinguishes between those who advocate ‘rest’ from a place of financial security and the reality of needing to pause without yet ‘making it.’
  • “You’re telling people to do it from a different position… What does it look like to ease up on the gas when you haven’t made it, when you don’t have that nest egg…?” (30:04)

6. The Courage to Let Go and Stay Open

• Les encourages listeners to consider what might happen if they simply let go of what isn’t working and allowed new paths to show up.
  • “Maybe always finding a way to figure it out is the luck… maybe there is luck to be had in the relief of letting that go.” (32:12, 32:46)
• She emphasizes expanding the definition of luck beyond achievements, and staying flexible about the path to one’s goals.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “There’s a part of me that feels really scared of that. There’s a part of me that feels really excited for the potential of that… of what completely starting over for the millionth time could look like.” (12:32)
• “If you also want to have a Lucky Girl Summer, thinking about what it is you want to let go of, that may not be working for you, could potentially be a good thing. Where it’s just like, honestly, fuck it.” (18:49)
• “The only way out is through. The only way out is being even more present in the reality of where we are today.” (26:55)
• “I think for me, my Lucky Girl Summer is about being really, really flexible… not fully throwing caution to the wind, but wondering if there is a different space and a different path in life where I’m more appreciated and just have a lot more room to grow.” (41:21)
• “I do feel a little bit self-conscious about this episode because I feel like I talked about myself a lot and that makes me incredibly uncomfortable… But then on the other hand, I’m like, well girl, it’s your show.” (43:08, 44:17)

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Important Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment | |-----------|---------------------------------------------------| | 03:20 | Les reflects on recording without a script | | 09:50 | Contrasting joys in personal life vs. career | | 10:47 | On feeling stuck in her career | | 18:49 | Challenging listeners to let go ("fuck it") | | 19:04 | Work ethic vs. talent and redefining luck | | 24:17 | Childhood summers and seeking the magic today | | 26:55 | “The only way out is through…” | | 27:15 | Interrogating generational promises | | 30:04 | “Rest” advice from a position of security | | 32:12-32:46| Redefining luck and letting go | | 41:21 | Flexibility, openness to new paths | | 43:08 | Les’ discomfort with self-focus | | 44:17 | Embracing the right to tell her own story |

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The Original Tone

True to Les Alfred’s candid, warm, and introspective style, the episode is a blend of vulnerability, gentle wisdom, and real-time self-work. While she confesses to feeling off-balance and unscripted, the honesty serves as inspiration for listeners navigating uncertainty and seeking permission to release forced blueprints of success.

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Takeaway Message

"You're Allowed to Let Go of the Plan You’ve Been Forcing" is less a how-to guide and more a permission slip: to release control, trust in new possibilities, and find luck not only in accomplishment, but in presence, self-compassion, and adaptability. This summer—and beyond—sometimes the luckiest thing is to simply let go and see what unfolds.

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Transcript

[Podcast Announcer]

The following podcast is a Dear Media production.

[Les Alfred]

So before we get into today's solo

episode, I have to give a shout out to one of our sponsors, Nuuly.

If you know me and if you've

been following me for a minute, you know I'm the biggest Nuuly fan girl. I've been a pain paying subscriber to Nuuly for years. I find all of my favorite clothes on Nuuly. If you've ever complimented one of my

outfits, it's probably something that I rented on Nuuly. And it only makes sense that I wear my favorite Nuuly pieces while I'm recording the podcast. Like this jumpsuit is a staple of

mine rented from Newly that I loved

so much I had to buy it and I had to keep it. So if you're ever watching the podcast and you're like, I love Les's outfit. What's she wearing? It's probably something that I've rented from Nuuly.

Welcome back to she's so Lucky. My name is Les. I am your host. I will admit I'm getting over my 87th cold of 2026, so hopefully I don't sound too nasally. Hopefully I don't snap, fold too much into the mic or have to stop and cough. But if I do, please forgive me because your girl's immune system has been going through it. I have literally gotten sick every month this year. The year's halfway done and every single month I have gotten sick and I don't know what the deal is. If I get one bad night of sleep, you can bet within 48 hours I'm going to get sick, which is really hindering on my plans of being young and turn this summer. I guess that is a sign that I am no longer young, as I do have a birthday coming up that is sounding like a very large serious number.

So I guess that's my sign that

I can't be young in turn and I have to sleep at least seven

hours if I don't want to catch whatever bug is going around at the time. But we're jumping in with this month's solo episode.

So if you don't know how things

work here at she's so Lucky.

I come out with new episodes every single Tuesday and the first Tuesday of every month is a solo and then the rest of the month we have amazing guests. So with it being a new month, with it being July, if you're listening to this episode when it comes out, it is your monthly solo. Now last month I announced that with the Visibility series, that was going to be our last series, because, as I had mentioned, it made things really challenging with booking guests. We would have amazing guests come up and be like, oh, yeah, but they don't really fit the themes. Where do we put them in? How do we make this conversation work? Do we have to pass? Or if we had a guest cancel it last minute, then it's like, how do we find a replacement that also fits the theme? It just made recording interviews really challenging. However, the inverse of that is the themes really helped me when it came to solo episodes because it gave me something to talk about. And so, though doing away with the themes is great for being able to have a little bit more flexibility with guests, it is not good for my

solo episodes because, y', all, I will be so for real with you.

I am sitting here struggling about what this episode's even gonna be. So we're gonna walk on a journey together. Usually I'm somebody who likes to be very prepared. I don't really script things super closely, and even when I have guests, I don't have prescriptive questions that I plan to ask them. I have top I want to cover with them. And then we have an organic conversation. And a lot of the questions that I usually ask will be kind of off the cuff while we're having a conversation, still keeping in mind the topics that I want them to hit. So I never script things super prescriptively, but I always at least have an idea of what an episode is going to be. And y', all, today, I have nothing. When I tell you I have been racking my brain for. For the past week trying to prepare for this episode, and I came up with nothing. And I think also what's tricky, I'm recording this episode in the middle of June. It's going live at the beginning of July because I have travel at the end of June. And sometimes we have to work a little timeline magic to make things happen. And so it's like things that are relevant today in mid June, while I'm sitting here, are probably not gonna be relevant in two weeks when you're actually

listen to this episode.

Or it's like things are happening, but I don't know what the outcome is going to be because I'm not, unfortunately, skilled at telling the future. So it made preparing for today's episode really, really tricky, I would say. I'm not somebody who it's ever appealed to me to have kind of a run of the mill influencer show where I'm like, here's what I ate this

week and here's what I watched this week. And here I'm just like, who cares?

I don't know.

I feel like the people who are

like organically in my life don't care

when I'm sharing those things. So I'm like, why would you care? You usually come here so that I

can help you with something, but I'm a little perplexed on what it is that I can help you with.

So we're just gonna kind of navigate this together.

Something that I've been kind of thinking about is what it could look like to have more of a Lucky Girl Summer. I got some feedback recently that the name of the show, the new name of the show and is very whimsical, but our episodes feel very serious and that that's a mismatch.

And I think that that's really interesting feedback.

I wouldn't necessarily say that I feel

like our episodes are serious per se.

I think where people may get seriousness is just particularly when I'm interviewing people, I give people a lot of space to talk and I'm not inserting my personality over what a guest has got going on. So it's like I'm not necessarily here cracking a lot of jokes per se. I give people the space to talk and sometimes people will share things that are more vulnerable or are work related or are a variety of things. I don't know. I still don't know if I would

describe the show as serious, but that

person's perception is their reality. So I'm like, okay, well, if we make the content match the title a little bit more and we're creating space for more whimsy and. And it's now Summertime. What could it look like to have a Lucky Girl Summer? And so when I think about what having a Lucky Girl Summer is going to look like, for me it really looks like a season of releasing things because I do think with Summer we tend to have a bit more energy and we tend to have a little bit more spaciousness for new things to come in. And so if I were to have my ultimate Lucky Girl summer, I think I would want to really release the things that I'm struggling with or that aren't really serving me to create space for the things that I really want to have come in. And I don't know if you guys feel this way where it's like you'll have certain areas of your life that are going so well and things feel really good and then another area that doesn't feel so great or vice versa, but it's like everything isn't good altogether all at the same time. That is completely the season that I'm in. Like my life outside of work I'm really enjoying. I mean, this has been an amazing summer to be in New York City and I'm so grateful that I live here. And I'm coming up on three years being here, which is absolutely wild to me that it has been three years. And I know a lot of our listeners now are newer to the show and don't know much about me moving around in my backstory, but I'm originally from Seattle where I lived for the first 30 years of my life. That was actually where I lived when I first started this show. When I turned 30, I moved to LA. I lived in LA for several years. I had a really difficult time in LA because it was incredibly isolating and I just was very depressed and really struggled with living there and kind of stumbled into living in New York. That wasn't necessarily a plan that I had or an intention that I had, but I just felt found myself here and I just stayed. And so it's been three years since that happened. And so I do have people who have listened to the show all the way from when I was in Seattle to LA to now. But the fact that it's been three years that I've been here is wild to me. And I would say the things that I really felt like I was lacking in la, which was that true sense of community and feeling like I had people and like I had people who really cared about me and who checked on me and who cared about my well being, I feel like I have here and that has been so great. Like I have an amazing community here, I have really wonderful friends and I just have really great people here. And so when it's nighttime or when it's the weekend and when I'm out and when I'm frolicking and when I'm with my girls and when I'm out on the town, like I'm having such an amazing, amazing experience being surrounded by just really cool like, like minded people who I get to enjoy being in community with and, and spending so much time with. And so like my life outside of work has felt so good. And then if you've been listening to the podcast all year, you have probably heard or if you follow me on social media, it's going to come as no surprise that I'm really, really struggling when it comes to work. Like I just cannot sit to get to a. What feels like a good place in my career. And I would say struggling in my career has kind of always been a theme for me because I worked in corporate for 13 years and I left corporate almost three years ago around the time I moved to New York to work on this podcast full time and work. I've never had a period where I felt fully satisfied and like, I truly enjoyed my career. That just has never been a thing. Like I was in corporate and I absolutely hated corporate. And I worked at big companies, I worked at startups, I worked at mid sized companies. I worked my way up from being an intern to a people manager to principal. And it was like I just never enjoyed any of it. And so being more entrepreneurial, there are

elements of being entrepreneurial that I really enjoy.

But it has become abundantly clear that this career that I've created for myself is just not. It's just not giving me the sense of accomplishment and growth that I'm really looking for. I'm not growing professionally in the ways that I'm looking to grow. I'm not having the opportunities that I'm really looking to have. And I'm realizing, like, I think that I'm almost in the wrong career path. But to not know what is the right career path is really scary. And to know that going back to corporate is just like, not an option for me is like the only bit of clarity that I have. And so I've been really, really struggling with like, okay, what am I going to do next? Because I just feel so stuck and I feel so unfulfilled and I feel like such a failure and like, it's just so hard. But then on the other hand, my life outside of work is like, really beautiful. And I have really beautiful things that are like, growing and becoming. But like, I kind of can't afford to stay as stuck in my career as I have been. And so thinking about what I would want a lucky girl summer to be is like, what would it look like if I fully just let all of this go and didn't have a plan? Which is very unlike me. Maybe it's not unlike me because I walked into the studio today without a plan. I have no plan for this episode, to have no plan for this episode, to have no plan for my life, to have no plan for how I'm gonna make money and just do what? Vibe out, hope that something really lucky happens.

I would feel really lucky if that were the case.

I don't know. But there's a part of me that feels really scared of that. There's a part of me that feels

really excited for the potential of that

of of what completely starting over for the millionth time could look like.

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[Les Alfred]

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So I think as I walk into my Lucky Girl summer, I'm really leaving space for the possibility, I'm considering everything

of maybe I should go back to school.

But then I'm like, well I also worked really hard to pay off my student loans.

Do I take out more?

And then what would I study? And then if I think about what it is I would want to study, I would probably want to go to journalism school because that was always what I wanted to do. But also like talk about lighting money on fire. Because journalists are having a really hard time right now. And honestly, a lot of them are getting into the work that I'm doing here. So why would I go take out a bunch of student loans and study something just to end up right back in the same job that, like, isn't really working? I. I don't know. So these are all the things that I'm currently pondering. And figuring out what it looks like to create my own luck when I don't know what that is going to be is equal parts scary, but also a little bit exciting. And that's kind of where I'm at. I'm wanting to spend my lucky girl summer just being really open to what could be next for me and really releasing expectations that anyone else has of me or what anyone else thinks that I should do and just fully letting it go and letting it be. And so I think if you also want to have a lucky girl summer, thinking about what it is you want to let go of, that may not be working for you could potentially be

a good thing where it's just like, honestly, fuck it. The thing that's stressing you out that you feel like you have no control over, that you're trying to make work that just isn't working. Like, what would it collectively look like if we all were just kind of

like, well, fuck it, you know, that's where I'm at in a lot of ways, and being a little bit less prepared and being a little bit less particular about how I do things than just letting the chips fall as they may. And that sounds so opposite of a lot of what I usually share. That sounds so opposite of this idea of creating our own luck. Because when I think about what my perception of creating my own luck has been, it has always been about effort. Everything that I've done has always been about effort, and it has been about consistency, and it has been about pushing. And what I have lacked in talent, in personality, in charisma, I have always made up for in work ethic and just my ability to show up day after day, week after week. But I've realized that I think I've gone as far as I think I can go on work ethic alone. And all I've kind of done is, like, run myself into the ground. And maybe that's why I keep, you know, getting sick and having these colds and child getting the shingles and everything else that I've had happen this year because of just my constant, constant going, going, going, pushing, pushing, pushing with Absolutely no reaping. Even though I still have all the great wellness habits and for the most part sleep really well and obviously exercise and all of those things, I don't think that it has made up for the almost spiritual imbalance that I have of pouring so much out of me and into other people and not really receiving in the. And so almost at a point where I'm ready to do the opposite of what I've always done. And so it's like, yeah, if I push really hard, if I'm really consistent, if I think that creating my own luck means doing more and seeing how much I can do and forcing myself to show up and all of that stuff, like, what could it look like to just kind of do the opposite for a while? I don't know. I'm a little nervous to find out, but I feel like I don't really know what else to do. And so I'm coming back to this idea of thinking about what I loved about summer so much as a kid. Now I will also say, living in another part of the country, I have learned so much about other people and about this idea of summer as like a verb and how people in other parts of the country spend their summers and where people go and to summer at such and such location. A little bit about my background as I mentioned. Born and raised in Seattle, I do not come from money. I have a low income background. I was a first generation college kid, corporate baddie in a lot of ways. You know, kind of first gen, like well to do person. So I did not grow up going to Martha's Vineyard in the summer. I did not grow up going to the Hamptons in the summer. I grew up going to my granny's house every day in the summer while my parents went to work and riding my bike up and down her sidewalk thousands and thousands of times. Like there was no summer trip. There was no fancy. It was none of that.

It was a trip over to Columbia

City where she lived.

If you're from, if you're familiar with Seattle, then you know where Columbia City is.

It's a neighborhood in Seattle from Skyway, where I grew up, which is, I don't know, maybe like a 15 minute drive down Rainier. And it was, it was riding my bike outside up until she either made us come in the house or until my parents came to pick us up. But with that, even though we didn't have a lot and it wasn't fancy and I wasn't in Jack and Jill and in these fancy places doing these fancy Things. It was so much fun. I loved being outside and riding bikes and scooters with my cousins and, like, begging my granny to buy us ice cream when we would hear the ice cream man go by. All of those things. Now that I'm an adult and, you know, I don't spend my summers in Columbia City anymore, I'm thinking about what version of that summer and that magic of summer even that I loved as a kid, even though I didn't know how much we didn't have at the time. How can I apply that to my adult life? Even though I still have bills, even though I still have burdens, even though I still have responsibilities, how can I apply a little bit of that magic to my adult life to have a lucky girl summer? I think the magic is in the simplicity. I think the magic is in not realizing what it is you don't have. I think the magic is being so fully present in the current season. And the things that I loved about summer, like, was pumped that there was no school, even though I was a kid that liked school is also, like, the only thing better than school was no school. Loved the warm weather, loved being outside, loved that my birthday was during the summer, Loved how long the days were. Loved just, like riding my bike for hours on end. And so when I think about the adult version of what that looks like, it looks like very similar. I'm not. I'm now a level of New York that I have not unlocked yet is being comfortable riding a city bike, doing all the things that people out here be doing, because I feel like people do not value their lives. I can't be in a city bike on the street. I'm not that level of city girl.

I'm too scared. I'm too scared.

However, I love being outside. And maybe for me, that looks like just spending more time outside and exploring the city. And there's still so much to the city that in three years I have not uncovered and seen and done yet. Because there's just. There's so much to this place. And it's so, like, wonderful. There's so much that I still need to uncover and see and burrows that I need to spend more time in and. And places to go and restaurants to explore. And I think if I focus more on having that mentality of, like, playing outside and expanding my horizons a little bit and leaning into my imagination and giving more space for play and frolicking and being outside, I mean, I be outside, but outside, literally, not as much figuratively and really making the most of this kind of summer space until I figure out what I'm doing with my life next. I think in a lot of ways, that could be really healing. And I think for a lot of us, I think that we need that. I think, and speaking more so for people of my age group, because that's. That's kind of the only experience that I have to go off of. I think a lot of us are so focused on what we were promised and didn't get, and I understand that, and I understand the grief that comes with that. But I also think that we just have to focus a little bit more on the space that we're actually in and really putting our feet on the ground in how things are now. And whether that's making the most of

how things are now or whether that is appreciating how things are now, or

whether that is fully being in whatever season it is that we're in. Literally and figuratively, I think that that's the only way out. The only way out is through. The only way out is being even more present in the reality of where we are today. So if that means that we're, like, really focusing on getting into that inner child this summer and making it a

summer of all summers, which I know

everybody in New York is really doing, I think we've really been enjoying the start to summer. And I know summer is still young, but it's gotten off to a really good start here. No matter where you are, I think that there are always ways that we can be firmly planted. But the longer we ruminate on what it is we were promised that was not given to us, I think the worse we are going to feel. I think that it's okay to let yourself feel that. But at some point, we have to move forward. We have to what we thought we were promised, which, honestly, I don't even know if I necessarily agree. And maybe that's my hot take. I don't know if I feel like I was promised anything. I think that when we were growing up, we were given a certain set of values and told that there was a certain path because of up until that point, that was the path. Like the adults at that time told us what they knew based off of what worked at that time. I don't necessarily think they were promising anything. I think they were giving us the best information they had at that time. And now, several decades later, we see, okay, maybe that wasn't the best information. I don't. I don't know if I necessarily even agree with this idea that, like, oh, we were promised xyz. I don't feel like anybody ever promised me anything, but I don't know, maybe that's. Maybe that's the chip on my shoulder. I think that we were just given information that worked at a time, and we're in a time where it's like that that information needs to be modified a bit. And so what are we going to do with it? You know, it's kind of up to us in a lot of ways how we apply that to our own lives. I think how I applied it to my life was constantly doing, doing, doing. And I think where I've struggled a little bit with not doing so much is I feel like the people who have perpetuated that message have been people who have made it, have been people who have had a certain level of success or who have built a certain level of wealth and can't afford to take their foot off the gas. What does it look like when you've burned yourself out without reaping the benefits and without getting the fruit of exiting the company and getting the nest egg and being able to afford to take a beat? What does that look like? And I think that's why I've resisted it and I've taken, you know, when I hear those people speak, and that's no shade. Like, it's a lot of people who

I look up to, who I respect

dearly, but I'm like, yeah, you're working with some millions that I'm not working with. So, yeah, it's a little bit. I don't want to say easier for

you to tell people to rest, but, like, you're telling people to do it

from a different position. And what does it look like to ease up on the gas when you haven't made it, when you don't have that nest egg, when you kind of

can't afford to, but you also can't

afford not to at the same time. And you have to ease up. But, like, you also don't really know

how the bills are going to get paid.

What does that look like? You know what I mean? And I think going back to the

conversation about things that were, like, promised

and this idea that I don't think anything was. Was promised to us. It's like, unfortunately, when you're in that situation, when you're tasked with it, that's just what you're tasked with figuring out. And I feel like that's the space that I'm in where I'm tasked of really figuring it out, where I feel like I've reached that level of burnout that people have talked about, but I don't have the success to go with it. That has afforded me the ability to, like, really take my time with it. You know what I mean? Where I've, like, sold a company and have a bit of profit that I can rest on, or where I have enough success that I know something will be waiting for me on the other side. I feel like I have fought so hard and struggled to have momentum and still don't have it. And then I'm like, if I pause, is there even going to be anything waiting for me on the other side? Because it feels like there's nothing waiting for me even when I'm working incredibly hard. So, like, what does that even look like? But I think where I find some comfort is realizing that ultimately, at the end of the day, all of this is made up. And I don't know necessarily what's next, but I know that I can always figure something else out. And I think that in reframing how I'm viewing luck and this idea of creating my own luck, it's not that everything always works out how I think it should, or that every goal goes, you know, met or exceeded, but it's that I just always find a way

to figure it out, you know, and maybe, maybe always finding a way to

figure it out is the luck. Maybe having that top podcast that is so successful in all of the things, maybe that's not the luck. But I don't know, maybe me finally having a higher sleep score is the luck. And maybe taking the time to have a really fun summer with my friends and not knowing what's around the corner, maybe that in and of itself is the luck. And learning to release how we think things should be and accepting that maybe that thing that we were shooting for just isn't in the cards for us and isn't there. Maybe there is luck to be had in that release, and maybe there is luck to be had in the relief of letting that go a little bit and of no longer holding on so tight to something that may not exist for us or may not be a part of the world that we truly have today.

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Last year, I went through many different life changes. I needed to take a pause and examine how I was feeling in the inside to better show up for the ones who need me to be my best version of myself.

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[Les Alfred]

by O Pill, the first over the counter daily birth control pill available in the us. We talk a lot on the show about creating your own luck. And a huge part of that is having control over your own life and your own choices. And reproductive autonomy is the epitome of being able to create your own luck. But here's something worth knowing. Nearly half of all pregnancies in the US each year are unintended. That's over 2 million pregnancies a year. And on top of that, about a third of women face real barriers to accessing prescription birth control. The appointments, the time off work, the travel, the insurance.

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see if it's right for you. So something we don't talk about enough is how hard it is to find a therapist. Not just finding someone you connect with, but finding someone who also takes your insurance. Because most people go looking, they hit that wall immediately and then they don't

get the help that they need. And I get it.

But I don't want that to be the reason that you don't get support. And that is why I keep keep talking about Rula, their healthcare company that has genuinely figured out the access problem. Rula works with over 100 insurance plans. So the average co pay is just 15 a session, not a monthly subscription, not out of pocket actual in care network at a price that makes sense. And what makes them different beyond the cost is how they match you. You're not just getting whatever's available. Rula considers your goals, your background, your preferences and gives you a curated list of licensed therapists who are actually the right fit for you. Over 15,000 therapists and psychiatrists nationwide appointments available as soon as the next day and they stay with you throughout the process to make sure the care is actually working. We use insurance for everything else that keeps us healthy and our mental health deserves the same energy. Go to rula.com Lucky to get started today. That's R U L A.com Lucky for quality therapy that's covered by insurance. Rula.com Lucky.

Now the tricky part about recording this episode so early, before it's being released

is the time that I'm recording this. It is currently the NBA Finals and being in New York, everybody is really excited.

And hopefully in July when this comes out, we can say that the Knicks have won, hopefully. But I, I would like to think that as I sit here and record this, it is not yet over. As I sit here and record this, we actually just saw them pull through in the fourth game where they had like the crazy comeback. And their coach, I think Mike Brown, his name is, He's. He's kind of gone viral for the comments that he said about luck, about having a little bit and then about creating it. I've had a lot of people send it to me and I've had people tag me in the comments, which I love because I really appreciate that you guys saw that and that you guys, you know, thought of me in that. And I still do believe that there is a lot of truth to that, that there is a lot of truth to this idea of creating our own luck and our ability to do that. But I am wondering if there are different methods to doing that that I just hadn't considered before or that we might all feel a little bit luckier and a little bit more empowered to create our own love if we opened up our definition of what luck could be. I think for me, luck looked very narrow when it was like it was all about hitting certain numbers and making a certain amount of money and having a certain amount of security and being able to afford to take care of my parents. That is always my ultimate North Star and why I'm so ambitious and want a really big life. And I still feel that way. That is still ultimately what I'm striving for. But I wonder if there's another way to get there. And I wonder if the true secret to feeling luckier is having a little bit more flexibility in how we get there and expanding our definition of what we would consider luck to be. And so, as I get ready to embark on the rest of my lucky girl summer and hopefully feeling really lucky from now until the fall, when I need to really figure out what it is I'm doing with my life, like, in the fall, I do have some kind of hard deadlines and, like, harder decisions to make about what direction I'm gonna move my life in and my career and what's gonna happen with all of that. I think for me, my lucky girl summer is about being really, really flexible and what that looks like and how I get there. So, yes, the deadline is hard, right?

Rent.

No matter how lucky I'm feeling like rent is always due on the first of the month. Okay? And my name is the only one on the lease, and it's gotta come out of my account. That is not. I can't be flexible with that, but from a broad standpoint, I can be flexible with the means of how I treat myself and what I am open to.

And I think that is more so

the season that I am in. Not fully throwing caution to the wind, but wondering if there is a different space and a different path in life where I'm more appreciated and just have a lot more room to grow. Instead of feeling like there's only one path to get to being able to, like, take care of my family. There's only one path that's gonna get me, Lord, hopefully one of these days out of that studio apartment. You know, it's like, I haven't made that joke in a little while where it's like, my biggest goal is to have a bedroom. I haven't had a bedroom in a few years, and I would love to

be able to afford a bedroom.

That's like, something that I'm just like,

one of these days.

And I thought that there was only one way that I was going to be able to do that. But what if I can get really flexible in, in how I let that happen?

It doesn't mean that it won't happen,

and it doesn't mean that it won't

happen when it needs to happen.

But maybe there's a way to get there that I just haven't been seeing yet because I've had so much tunnel vision on things having to be one particular way. So those are some of my thoughts about Lucky Girl Summer. I do feel a little bit self conscious about this episode because I feel like I talked about myself a lot and that makes me incredibly uncomfortable, which is very un Leo, like you would think as a Leo that I would like that. But I actually feel really nervous about it because I am like, girl, people just want to be helped. And I'm like, does talking about myself

actually help other people?

Were there gems in there that are

helpful to you guys?

And I also have a lot of wounds from my childhood where I think a big part of why I do so much letting other people do the talking and asking questions is because I

felt very talked over when I was

younger in favor of people who had bigger personalities and who took up more space in a room. And a lot of the feedback that I would get when I was younger was that I was very uninteresting. And it made me from a very young age feel like personality wise that I didn't have much to offer. So I get very like self conscious talking a lot about myself. And it's, I think on one hand

it's made me a really good interviewer

because that's why I don't interrupt people and that's why I let them talk. But then on the other hand I'm like, oh, I think that's like my, that's like middle school less and like college less that had people say really mean things coming out. And so I don't know, I'm grappling with like, is it okay that I

just sat here for 40 minutes and talked about myself?

And then on the other hand I'm

like, well, girl, it's your show. You can kind of talk about whatever you want.

And then I'm like, yeah, but do

people actually want to listen to that?

Because it's not really like a hobby that I'm doing out of my basement. Like, I need actually, I need to

say things that people want to listen to. So these are all the things that

are currently going through my head as I just went off about my lucky girl summer and what that looks like for me. And it was not as structured.

I don't have like three simple tips

for having a lucky girl summer wrapped up in a bow. But I think for me, that was just kind of my honest, off the cuff kind of where I'm at and temperature check for what's on my heart to share. And even though I think I I centered myself in this episode a little bit more than I feel comfortable doing and a little bit more than you guys may be used to hearing, I hope that there was enough in there that was hopefully helpful for you to be able to have your own version of A Lucky Girl Summer from what I shared. So that is this month's solo episode. That is what I have for you today. We did it.

We made it.

You know, I didn't really walk into

the studio with a plan today, but I think that's a pretty honest snapshot of where I'm at. So if you did enjoy this episode, please make sure that you're subscribed to she's so Lucky. Wherever you get your podcasts, I find it most helpful when you guys subscribe and tune in on YouTube and Spotify. If you don't mind. For my Apple podcast Growlies, you can totally do that too. Wherever you like to listen is great,

but I have had people ask what platforms would be most helpful and from

my perspective, YouTube and Spotify are actually the most helpful because they just have

platforms where it's a little bit easier

to actually see how many people are listening.

And I have a little bit better insight.

But like wherever you want to consume the show, whatever your regular habits already are, just keep doing whatever it is that you're doing.

I will be back with more episodes

the rest of this month that will

have a little bit more structure and tangible takeaways because I will be having interviews for the rest of the month and those usually do have a little

bit more structure to them. But thank you so much for joining me and for hanging in there with

me today because I didn't fully know where this episode was going to go.

But again, if you enjoyed this episode, please make sure you subscribe to she's so Lucky. Give us a follow on Instagram at She's so Lucky Pod. You can follow me on Instagram Les Alfred subscribe to she's so Lucky on Spotify, on YouTube, wherever you get your podcasts so that you don't miss an episode and I will see you next week.

[Sponsor Voiceover]

Foreign

[Les Alfred]

thank you for tuning in to this week's episode of she's so Lucky. If you're ready to create your own luck, hit that subscribe button wherever you get your podcasts or on YouTube so you don't miss an episode and head to the show. Notes for resources, links and discount codes. And if you are really feeling lucky, we would appreciate your rating and your review. It really helps us be able to improve the show, to get great guests and to understand what you want to hear more of. Thank you for tuning in and I'll see you next week.

[Erin Daniella]

Are you recording me?

[Abe]

We're about to go deep.

[Erin Daniella]

This is my first time. I'm kind of nervous. Wait, did you say come together?

[Abe]

You've been spending too much time with me.

[Erin Daniella]

Hey, I'm Erin Daniella, and this is my husband, Abe.

[Abe]

Hey.

[Erin Daniella]

We've been married for over 10 years. We have almost four kids, and we've started and survived more businesses than we can count.

[Abe]

Some were great. Some. Let's just say we learned a lot.

[Erin Daniella]

Reality tv, that's just part of our story. But TV has limits. And this show doesn't.

[Abe]

Our new podcast, Come Together dives into everything. Love, sex, parenting, business, and what it's really like to mix marriage with work. It's raw, it's funny, it's honest, and yes, sometimes it's a little awkward.

[Erin Daniella]

Nothing is off the table because, let's be real, if you're not coming together, you're probably falling apart.

[Abe]

Join us every week on Come Together. Wherever you listen to podcasts,

[Sponsor Voiceover]

Please note

[Les Alfred]

that this episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode.