The Cathy Heller Podcast with Cathy Heller

Episode: Jim Fortin on How to Break Free from Your Subconscious Identity Trap
Date: September 8, 2025

Episode Overview

In this compelling conversation, Cathy Heller welcomes back Jim Fortin, master hypnotist, subconscious transformation coach, and host of the Jim Fortin Podcast, for a deep dive into the nature of identity, the power of the subconscious mind, and actionable paths to transforming your life. Centered around the theme of “breaking free from your subconscious identity trap,” this episode unpacks how and why identity—not just mindset—determines your outcomes, and reveals profound spiritual and practical wisdom for real, lasting change.

The tone is candid, warm, and at times, revelatory, with Cathy’s high energy and Jim’s direct, grounded insights creating a transformative learning environment. The episode blends modern science, ancient wisdom, and powerful real-world examples with a focus on manifestation, the soul’s purpose, and contribution.

Major Discussion Points & Key Insights

1. The True Nature of the Subconscious and Identity

• Consciousness vs. Subconscious Mind:

  • Jim challenges the popular conception of the subconscious as simply a personal mental storage bin.
  • "There is no subconscious mind because we attribute that subconscious mind to the human, to the individual human identity... The mind is everywhere. It's like we're in a soup in the universe.” (03:31)
  • What you hold consciously gets imprinted onto a universal mind (field of consciousness), which then manifests your reality.

• How Identity Is Formed:

  • Identity is programmed early—before age 9—through environment, family, and culture.
  • “We develop our self-image before the age of 9 years old. We live that for a lifetime, not even knowing that we're living it. But we inherited that entire self image from our socialization.” (06:41)

2. Why Permanent Change Is Hard

• Disintegration Anxiety & Predictability:
  • Despite desiring change, the primal brain fears uncertainty and pulls us back to old patterns.
  • “Disintegration anxiety is from that reptilian part of the brain that says, no, we don't like change. So I'm going to sabotage you and pull you backwards.” (08:26)
  • Predictability brings safety to the brain; unpredictability leads to anxiety and retreat.

3. You Do What You ARE, Not What You Want

• You don’t get your desires—you get your self-image, your identity.

• Jim uses the non-smoker analogy: “We don't do or she can't do what she is not. What she is at an identity level is a non smoker. And that automatically matriculates into her behavior, which then creates her outcomes." (13:27)

• Example: Even when circumstances change, people will revert to their identity (whether of poverty, lack, or abundance).

• Memorable Quote:

  • “You can only do what you are.” (12:50)

4. Examples Across Generations

• Cathy’s grandmothers: one survived Holocaust trauma but maintained a “debutante” consciousness of wealth; the other, despite financial success, always saw herself as poor, lived in scarcity.

  • “She had the consciousness of being poor her entire life. And it's actually wild because as you said, that I’m like, wow...circumstantially, they both actually had the opposite and yet one lived a certain way and one lived another way.” (20:05)

• Rich in Mind vs. Poor in Mind:

  • Stories of Donald Trump and Mike Tyson illustrate how identity—not just action—creates or destroys wealth over time. (16:17)

5. How to Change Your Identity

• Repetition and Immersion:

  • Identity isn’t changed overnight—consistent practice is vital.
  • “We have to actually go through repetition for a couple of months to solidify the new identity that we want to hold. But the problem...is that part of the brain doesn't want you to change, and it pulls you back." (23:33)

• System and Support:

  • Need for a system and structure, otherwise sabotage is inevitable.
  • “You need a system. A system to keep you on track, because you will fall off track.” (24:10)

• Soulful Alignment:

  • Repetition alone doesn’t work; you must know your soul-level desires and align values.
  • Example: Jim’s work with James Wedmore, who couldn’t surpass $2M/year in business until resolving a subconscious conflict between business growth (achievement) and personal freedom (value). (27:09)

6. Letting Go to Receive More

• “You don’t get more by accumulating more. You get more by letting go of more. Letting go of that old self image and that old identity.” (41:59)
• There is no lack in the universe—only in your mind.

7. Contribution vs. Achievement

• Being rich and changing the world is about love, care, concern, and contribution—not striving for status or accumulation.
• Quote from Jim’s mentor Virginia Cook:
  • “For me, it’s not about how high I’ve been in life, but how many people I’ve taken with me.” (34:01)
• Replace “achievement” with “contribution” for true fulfillment.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Jim Fortin:

  • “You don’t get in life what you want. You get in life what you are.” (12:46)
  • “The only reality is consciousness. That is it.” (16:17)
  • “If you feel like an imposter, a fraud, like you're not worth anything...what you’re really saying is, I don’t know myself.” (21:09)
  • “We have to shift the identity, meaning how and who we see yourself. And then...we have to know ourself as soul. Because when we know ourself as soul, then...we have power to create whatever it is we want to create in life.” (13:30)
  • “Many people enroll initially because they want to get something...What they learned with me is that you don’t get more by accumulating more. You get more by letting go of that old self image and that old identity...There is no lack in the universe. It is all right here between these little two ears.” (41:59)

• Cathy Heller:

  • “It's almost...so powerful that it's really all we should be talking about, which is, what is the identity you carry?” (20:40)
  • “It’s like if you can think of someone...who’s always arguing for their limitations...now with what you’re saying, I understand why.” (37:30)
  • On spiritual practice as identity reinforcement: “The ritual really matched the identity, which is probably why that system was so powerful for me and reinforced it all the time.” (26:36)

• Be-Do-Have Framework:

  • Jim: “This is why it is vital that we shift that context. Because no matter what content you put in your brain, if it's not consistent with the context, it's not going to stick and it’s going to be of no value.” (36:24)

• On Coaching and Results:

  • “When people do what I tell them to do, they will get results, no question about it. But if a person won't listen or they're a know it all...go somewhere else...” (41:18)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Understanding the Subconscious & Universal Mind: 03:31–07:25
• Why Change Is Hard—Disintegration Anxiety: 07:56–11:16
• You Do What You Are (Non-smoker & Identity): 12:46–14:34
• Generational Identity Stories: 14:34–21:09
• How Identity Drives Behavior: 22:13–24:38
• Practical Steps for Changing Identity: 23:21–24:38
• Repetition, Ritual, and Soulful Alignment: 24:38–29:12
• Contribution vs. Achievement & the Path to Riches: 32:11–34:28
• Be-Do-Have Framework and the Limits of Self Help Books: 35:47–37:30
• Letting Go, Not Accumulating, is Key: 41:59–43:11
• Coaching, Results, and the Power of Seeing People: 41:07–45:54
• Wax On, Wax Off: Building Identity by Practice: 44:44–45:54

Actionable Takeaways

1. Awareness:
   Recognize your current identity is formed from early socialization and can be unconscious.
2. Repetition:
   Commit to a daily practice or ritual (over months, not days) to embed a new identity.
3. Soul Alignment:
   Seek to know your true self at the level of soul—not just personality or ego.
4. System & Support:
   Use a system or structured program to overcome the brain’s tendency to sabotage change.
5. Let Go:
   Release old stories and self-images; abundance follows the mind’s release of lack.
6. Focus on Contribution:
   True success comes from what (and how) you give—not what you achieve for yourself.

Closing Wisdom

“If you're coming from the identity of your soul that you are someone, some of the one, then you're not in lack. The mind is always in lack, the heart is always full.”
—Cathy Heller (34:28)

“Once we see something in ourselves...we'll never go back to our old way because they've started to create a new identity of themselves.”
—Jim Fortin (44:44)

Final Thoughts

Jim and Cathy deliver a powerful, practical, and spiritual message: Everything in your life is downstream of your self-image—change it, and the universe responds in kind. Be prepared for honesty, a little tough love, and plenty of actionable wisdom that moves you beyond mindset hacks to true transformation.

Additional Resources

• Jim’s Transformational Coaching Program (TCP): jimfortin.com/kathy
• Cathy Heller’s Book: Abundant Ever After (Paperback release 11/11/25)