The Science of Mindset and Sustainable Success  ## Document Notes ## Highlights - **More Means Becoming, Not Doing** - 'More' means becoming more of who you're meant to be, not doing more tasks. - Shift from limiting beliefs to empowering identity to unlock potential. Transcript: Diana Pagano Love that. Great question, John. I get asked that a lot too. So it is not definitely, let me tell you what it's not. It's not about you doing more. It's about becoming more of who you were meant to become, which a lot of times people think that, you know, they don't have it all figured out. They don't, they're not ready to do that thing. And so it's coming, really breaking down those mental barriers that we place on ourselves. Hard for people to swallow sometimes because oftentimes you're like, this is my reality, but what can you do instead? And so it's more about being more aligned and really going from a limiting belief to an empowering, having a real empowering mindset to be able to do all the things that your heart desires. ([Time 0:01:55](https://share.snipd.com/snip/4bcebb84-8931-4ff5-8f66-fc09757d73fb)) - **Interrupt Patterns To Rewire The Brain** - Change requires interrupting neural patterns, not just surface-level positivity. - New language and stories rewire the brain's RAS to enable different actions. Transcript: Diana Pagano Absolutely. It's all interrupting the pattern. So in science, right, the more, if you believe, and it's more than just positive thinking, John, right? People say, oh, is this a positive thinking scenario? No, it's deeper than that. So the way that we think as humans, first of all, it's always based on a fundamental belief. Where did that belief start? It could have been in college. It could have been, you know, as a child, a 10-year It could have, you know, we cultivate these beliefs along the way in our lives. And so if you believe that you're a person that can never get to that level of success, for example, if you're a person that says, I've always been a smoker, I can't quit now, right? That's going to determine what comes next. And the only way to change that pattern is for you to interrupt the pattern. And the way you interrupt the pattern from a neuroscience perspective is to tell yourself a new story. It sounds really simple and cliche, like, is that it? I just have to tell myself something different. ([Time 0:02:46](https://share.snipd.com/snip/ebedbf89-d288-4846-8d2c-7bea90a701b8)) - **Ask What Else Is Possible** - When reality feels harsh, ask what else is possible with what you have. - Seek opportunities actively instead of accepting your circumstances as fixed. Transcript: Diana Pagano I love that because, you know, oftentimes I've been told, like, I'm a realist, that this is a reality. I am privileged, for example. Right. Like I'm a first generation Mexican-American grew up in San Diego from immigrant parents and a family of six in a two bedroom apartment. I'm sure there's worse stories than mine, but I came from nothing. And let me tell you that it doesn't matter if I came from nothing or the next person that had everything, the money was no issue, but yet one person that came from nothing was successful. And another person that maybe didn't have such a bad life isn't taking advantage of the tools and all the things, right? John Jantsch Probably just as bad or worse, maybe. Or worse sometimes. Diana Pagano And you know, the biggest obsession, John, that I had in my life as my young adult life, as an entrepreneur, really repeating the same cycles as my parents did as they were struggling Entrepreneurs, is that one question changed my life. And that was, why are some people so successful and others struggle? It doesn't matter if you're white, if you're Spanish, if you're Mexican, ([Time 0:05:09](https://share.snipd.com/snip/caa77682-821d-45a5-bf94-334614315da0)) - **Reframe Fear As False Evidence** - Treat fear as false evidence appearing real and question its claims. - Use this reframe to notice opportunities your reticular activating system will reveal. Transcript: Diana Pagano Absolutely. One of the things I talk about in my book, in The More Mindset, John, is fear is nothing short of F, which is false evidence appearing to be real. In fact, research shows, right? There's been research that shows that most of our negative thoughts that every human has on this planet, most of it, over 80 to 90% of your negative thoughts are actually false assumptions That we make and convince ourselves that this is what it is. How many times, anyone even listening now, how many times, if you can think of it for a moment, how many times have you worried so much thinking that if you worried hard enough, the problem Is, you know, it's going to go away and it was all for nothing. Now, right? The other coin, for those of you that are those realists, you're like, wait a second, Diana, there's been real things. Family had cancer, families passed away. These are real tragedies, right? That's real, right? That doesn't mean that it doesn't happen to all of us. We've all had difficult times, but it's who decides to get back up? Who decides to lean in on faith? Who decides to be the person that is going to beat the odds, right? And it's not delusional thinking. I know, you know, people think, oh, that's delusional. That's not the right way to think. But you know why, John, you know why when you think that way, when you say, maybe I can be the one that beats the odds, maybe I can be the one to get out of my situation in a different circumstance Than maybe my whole generation family have, right? When you just ask that, what happens is your reticular activating system, as I mentioned, it's like antennas, they go up. ([Time 0:08:42](https://share.snipd.com/snip/1e118e6c-713a-400f-be7f-002d840a7d42)) - **Mindset Before Habit** - Habits help, but fix your mindset first to make habits effective. - Aim for intentional action so you achieve more with less effort and avoid playing the numbers game. Transcript: John Jantsch Hey, it's Jon Janss. Look, if you're like most business owners I talk to, this year might have been a little bit of a scramble. Lots of effort, but maybe not the clarity or results you hope for. You're not alone. But here's the good news. You can use what's left of this year to reset and get your arms around your marketing so 2026 feels a whole lot calmer and more predictable. Our CEO, Sarah Nair, put together a free offer creating-demand workshop, The Clarity Engine, How Small Businesses Can Turn Random Acts of Marketing into a Scalable Growth System. It's less than 20 minutes, and you'll also get a simple worksheet that can help you map out your next steps. Head on over to dtm.world slash clarity to grab your free resources and let's start turning the page together. What role does habits play? I mean, a lot of times people end up where they end up because they are hanging out with the wrong people or doing the wrong things, you know, habitually. There's a lot of writing on Atomic Habits is, of course, one that comes to mind that really focuses on, no, just change this little thing and this little thing and this little thing. But you really focus on got to change your mind first. Diana Pagano A hundred percent, because you can say, I'm going to do this thing. And here's the kicker. I can say every day I'm going to spend an hour, you know, making calls to customers. There's a habit. Maybe you did two hours last week, but now you're committing to one hour every day times five. That's five hours a week. But your mind's not right. Right. Then you're going to be like playing the numbers game, like rolling the dice and hoping it lands on where you want it to land. Could you be successful playing the numbers game in sales? Sure. But why not do it on your terms? Why not live more intentional and on purpose and half the time? Life doesn't have to be hard. ([Time 0:12:24](https://share.snipd.com/snip/0840ae8d-e967-4f89-a6aa-3f253c32e1bf)) - **Success Can Mask What You Really Want** - Success often becomes an identity that masks what you truly want. - Money or status rarely supply fulfillment without aligned purpose and meaning. Transcript: Diana Pagano Absolutely. You know, it's a great question because sometimes we become, we identify so much in our achievements. I was there once upon a time, you know, day back, you know, in my late twenties as a single mom, breaking records for real estate agents. I worked for REMAX in Scottsdale, Arizona at the time. And I just was achieving since I was a little kid, you know, I was, I started really young to help, you know, even my parents with their bills. And so all of a sudden it was just like this rat mouse chase of just success, success. And for me, I was driven based on fear of what I knew, what I went through as a kid growing up and not having much stability. So I translate into what you're saying because oftentimes people don't know. They're like, who am I if I'm not achieving success? If I'm not getting these awards or whatever it is that you're doing, whether you're an actor, right, or you're just a top performer and you attach an identity. And that's why getting a million dollars, getting I've even had the privilege of meeting a billionaire in San Diego. It was worth three point one billion dollars and he wasn't fulfilled because it's more than just money in your bank account and success. When you're chasing success, is that what is it that you're really attaching to that, right? What is that going to do for you? There's a meaning, there's a feeling that you're going for. ([Time 0:14:39](https://share.snipd.com/snip/0e59b1e5-3d79-4e4a-9b25-62444c0101d6)) - **Client Tripled Revenue In 90 Days** - Diana coached a real estate client from just getting by to tripling revenue in 90 days. - She did this by shifting the client's view, asking bigger questions, and assigning clear actions. Transcript: Diana Pagano They were actually in real estate at the time. And I said to her, it's a 90 day program and 90 days. I need to know that you're going to achieve something greater than you ever thought possible. And that's where my program came in. It was a 90 day program at the time. And she, and I said to her, you're not taking this seriously. And she's like, what? And I sat her down after this course and it was actually live in person. And I said, you're just not excited about it. And if you're not excited about where you're headed with, you know, absolute excitement, what's the likelihood you're going to get there? And so she ended up breaking down, telling me she's a breadwinner in her family. Her son's in travel, baseball, and that this is how much she needs to cover bills and to cover the expenses of these traveling schedule. And I said, that's it. Is that what life is about to just barely get by? Right. And so that was there once upon a time. I know exactly what that felt like. And so I broke her down and she did have some crazy transformation by the questions I asked her to allow her to see. And I said, you need to go bigger. This isn't it. And right. Like, who am I to tell you to go bigger in your business? But I knew at her core that she wanted more, but she was not able to see that she could. I said, so you have to do X amount of calls, X amount of appointments, X amount of listings, X amount of this, that, and the other. What's the reason you couldn't do it, that you couldn't do X, Y, Z, or what's the reason that you couldn't get to? So I told her, I said, what's that going to be? She says, well, if I doubled my revenue, that would be a dream. I said, OK, could that be possible? So by the questions, right, here's the thing about the brain. And this is what I talk about in the more mindset is what you direct your brain to. It's like a car. You're driving and you have a right lane, a left lane. And you're like, I'm going to turn right. I'm going to turn left. You go right. It's going to lead you somewhere. If you go left, it's going to lead you to a different place. Right. And so the way you view the things, the way that our brains work, everything, even the bad stuff that I've had to happen in my life, at some point, unconsciously, we have to believe that It's possible. At some point, we had to see it as real and then we experience it. And so she ended up, true story, three months later, not only doubling her revenue, but tripling it. ([Time 0:18:01](https://share.snipd.com/snip/37e8a3c7-c5de-47a3-ae5a-dcf018565fb8)) - **Use A Mental 'Rescue Inhaler'** - Interrupt bad thoughts immediately like a rescue inhaler and change the mental channel. - Replace anxious 'what ifs' with deliberate imagery or reframes to alter feeling and behavior. Transcript: Diana Pagano When you have a bad thought, I don't care what it is. I wonder if my plane's going to be late. I wonder if the kids are going to like all these things that just take on its own thing. It's your job and your responsibility to interrupt the pattern. And here's what you do. It's like a rescue inhaler. My son has asthma, right? It's a rescue inhaler for the moment. And there's value in the rescue inhaler. Does it go to the root? No, but we can talk about that. The rescue inhaler is going to allow you to get through. And so I want you to imagine as if you have a remote control and you're just changing the channel. So when you're having all these what ifs and it's causing, it actually causes sometimes anger, you feel anxious, right? It's like watching a show and it's like a horror movie. You're going to feel like a little tense. And then you're watching a funny movie and you're laughing, you're more relaxed. And then you're watching something that's suspenseful. There's no different. What channel are you tuned into is going to dictate how you feel and guess what it'll dictate the lack of action that you do take or that you don't take and that's why just that little thing That you think about okay i don't want to go to the gym well don't wait to want to go this is called discipline it is a habit that you need change the channel the feeling that you get when you Know you did something ([Time 0:21:53](https://share.snipd.com/snip/7ea31d1e-42ee-4cf6-89c3-c64b0418e909))