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- [00:02]
A
Hey, it's John. Janice. 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.
- [00:14]
B
But here's the good news.
- [00:15]
A
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 Ney put together a free on demand workshop, the Clarity Engine. How small businesses can turn random act 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 Clarity to grab your free resources and let's start turning the page together. Hello and welcome to another episode of.
- [01:01]
B
The Duct Tape Marketing podcast. This is John Chance and my guest today is Diana Pagano. She is a mindset coach, entrepreneur, international speaker, and author of a book we're going to talk about today. The more mindset, break mental limits and step into extraordinary results. Drawing on neuroscience and personal experience, she helps high achievers break through fear, self doubt and burnout, unlock greater purpose, confidence and fulfillment. So, Diana, welcome to the show.
- [01:30]
C
Thank you so much, John. Thanks for having me. I'm happy to be here.
- [01:33]
B
So I like times, I like to break down titles because, you know, titles people stress over every word of a title. Publisher certainly do. Authors certainly do. Right. And so the word more shows up in this and I want to hear what you have to say about, you know, is this doing more, being more, thinking more, how does more work in terms of mindset?
- [01:55]
C
I 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 this is my reality. But what can you do instead? And so it's more about being more aligned and, 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.
- [02:32]
B
So you talk about rewiring your mind with terms like neuroscience and Neuroplasticity, which are actually even hard to say, let alone to comprehend. So how does that science work into this idea of rewiring your mind?
- [02:47]
C
Absolutely. You know, it's all interrupting the pattern. So in science, right. The more interactive, if you believe. And it's not, 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 old. 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. The reason why, because there's a part of our brain RAS system in the back of our mind, our brain. This is how we were created by God, whoever your God is. Right. Higher self. It. We're all governed in the same way. We have the same ingredients as Bill Gates, as Oprah, as the Pope, like, you name it, right? They're all the same. And here's the thing, here's the kicker. The language that I say is going to either a move me forward in a direction or keep me the same. Sometimes sabotage and hold you back. And Right. And the feeling, the feeling that comes with that, John, is attached to either a belief that hey, it empowers me, I feel confident, or it's self sabotage, I'm questioning myself. Or imposter syndrome. Like I'm not a person that can do that thing. Even though deep down in your heart there's that pulling that you want to do that thing, but there's something holding you back. And so the way that we feel based on the thoughts that we have, based on the language that we keep that narrative, that story alive, is then going to dictate, John, the action or inaction that we take. Right. And so that comes with the vibrational energy. And this is quantum physics. This is not some woo woo thing. It's not something that I invented. It's something that I learned and I'm so obsessed with and which is why I wrote the book.
- [04:47]
B
Now, I agree with you 100%, but when I hear you say, oh, we're made of the same stuff, I mean, I'm a white male who grew up pretty privileged. I actually believed I was going to get a pony for my birthday every year.
- [04:58]
C
Right.
- [04:58]
A
There are a lot of people that.
- [04:59]
B
Certainly, you know, just telling them to change their mindset when their reality of where they are today is pretty tough. I mean, so how do you kind of, how do you work with that?
- [05:09]
C
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, you know, immigrant parents and a family of six in a two bedroom apartment. I don't, 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?
- [05:42]
B
There's probably just as a bad or worse maybe or worse sometimes.
- [05:47]
C
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 is, 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, Chinese, black. It doesn't like, it doesn't discriminate your mind. And the way that you were built foundationally. Right. Foundationally is the same. So yes, some people have higher education, come from bigger society, social circles are big and they never had to work hard to be in those rooms. Right? And that's great. A lot of times I feel privileged and even though I didn't come from anything either. Right. But the kicker, John, is when you see something as real and you see that, my gosh, my bank account is in the negative zone or my I'm going to lose my apartment or I can't pay my mortgage. And Diana, you're telling me to start thinking differently. Well, this is my reality, right? And I'm like 100%, 100% the fire might be in front of you, ready to like take your house or take you. And I'm not saying that's not a real thing. Especially in California, a lot of people have lost their homes, right? There's real tragedy, tragedies that happen, right? If you're. If you lose something and you feel your life is over and you're doomed, you're vibrating in a different frequency than the other person that lost everything just like you did. But now they're vibrating at a different frequency, right? Of what's. What else is possible? And here's the kicker. Here is the kicker. Why most people either stay stuck or are too much of a realist and look at their situation and don't do anything about it. Because they don't have any faith. They don't have a belief that if they do something, if they just ask the right questions, if they just look for more, right? Whether it's more clarity, more energy, more. Whatever it is that more is for the person, right? If they need more balance in their life, if they need more fulfillment and meaning in their life, it's that, right? It's almost like when you seek, you shall find. Not to get biblical or religious, because I don't do that. I definitely have some faith. Faith based in my. In different chapters. But when you seek, you're gonna find, you're gonna find something, right? But when you don't seek and you accept the circumstance as it is and do nothing, then you're gonna sink. But if you look at the circumstance, you're like, hey, I don't like it. It sucks. Heck, it burns sometimes. But I know that there's something else and what else can I do with what I have? You know, it's all the perspective in your shifts that happen in.
- [08:15]
B
So there's a lot of writing in this category, you know, about the idea that fear is there to teach you something and that self doubt, you know, should be seen almost. I think you call it a signal even rather than a flaw. How can somebody. What are some practical steps to start if life has always told you to be afraid of this or that? You know, you've had instances where you caused you to doubt yourself. How can you start listening to those symbols and kind of almost use them as a compass?
- [08:42]
C
Absolutely. You know, one of the things I talk about in my book and 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 just, you know, is going to go away and it was all for nothing now, right? The other coin, for those of you that was realistic, like wait a second, Diana, that there's been real things, that family had cancer, past families passed away. These are real tragedies, right? That, that, that's real, right? That doesn't mean that it doesn't happen to, 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. And I say this in a way that I want to really break it down. They go up in a way where now you're noticing opportunities, things, people, situations that you. Otherwise your brain is all. Because you have. You're the one telling your brain, I'm a person that can never catch a break. I'm the person that I can't reach a million dollars of business because I've never been able to exceed whatever amount that you're in, right? Just giving you variables. You give your mind constantly stories that then build your identity and you attach it to yourself. There's no way your mom, your teacher, your mentor can tell you how amazing you are. You got this. Here's an amazing strategy to, to change your life around. But you have to do the work. You have to show up and you have to also be. You're the biggest person that is going to impregnate all these beliefs in your own conscious and unconscious mind to then vibrate differently and be able to. Then why is one person attracting so much opportunities and another person doesn't? Is because the person that attracts opportunities, believes that they're a person. They're a person that attracts opportunities. And you might say, well, what, how do you attract opportunities? By telling yourself that you do. And I challenge anyone to try to fight this. I'm telling you, you just tell yourself I attract all the right opportunities. And even when things don't go right, there's always something of value. Even when things don't work out, they're working out. When you believe life like that, you know, I talk about this funny thing on my, on different content that I've done. And it's funny. I'm sure you, I don't know if you've used Waze or Google Maps or something to translate that here. And I'm going to tell you why. When you pivot. I'm sorry, when you have whatever journey you're going on and situations that happen as they do to all of us, there's something that happens that you're like, oh my gosh, this isn't working out. I see it as Google Maps. Right. Or Waze. You're going down your journey. Maybe you're going from, for me, I'm in Connecticut to New York. Does Waze tell you that? Oh my gosh, there's a snag in five miles. And you know you have to. It reroutes you back to your house. It doesn't do that. It just pivots and takes you a different route. When you walk through life that way, it doesn't make you delusional, but you're just like, hey, there might be some things along the way that aren't going to work out. But when you look at life that way, that you're so focused on where you're headed, that's when you start creating more possibilities for yourself.
- [12:24]
A
Hey, it's John.
- [12:25]
B
Janice.
- [12:25]
A
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 hoped 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 Ney put together a free on 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 Clarity to grab your free Resources. And let's start turning the page together.
- [13:12]
B
What role does habits play in change? 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 whole thing. But you really focus on. Gotta change your mind first a hundred percent.
- [13:35]
C
Because you can say, I'm gonna do this thing. And here's the kicker. I could say, every day I'm gonna 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 gonna 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. Right. And so habits are great, but if you don't get your mind right, no habit in the world is gonna get you to that next level.
- [14:14]
B
Well, and. And I'm sure this plays into mindset, I think. How much does people's maybe flawed notion of success play a role in them setting unrealistic goals or them just always feeling burned out because they've got to grow or reach a certain status? How much does mindset actually come into maybe reorienting somebody's view of what success actually means for them?
- [14:40]
C
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, dated back, you know, in my late 20s 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. Right. 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 $3.1 billion, 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 gonna do for you? There's a meaning, there's a feeling that you're going for. Maybe you've never, you know, people. Recognition maybe. Right. Plays a role. But there is a part where mindset is one thing, but there's also habits, as you mentioned. Habits alone aren't gonna get you there. You gotta have the right mindset, but understanding what's important in your life. Because we always make time for the things that we prioritize. You know, for women, for example, you're never gonna miss doing your nails or your hair. Right. For men, you know, sometimes there's certain things, you know, that they do that is absolutely hecker. High water. I have to do this thing. So it's ensuring that what lights your heart on fire, personally and professionally, that you make time for so that you're not just going big in your business, but then your personal life suffers. You know, it definitely is both.
- [16:30]
B
So you coach people on some of the things that you teach in the book I do. Are there mindset shifts that you've seen in other people that really have changed everything for them, where you've really unlocked something and it's like, that was the secret.
- [16:44]
C
Absolutely. Honestly, it's such an honor. You know, for me, John, I'm very results driven. So if I coach someone, I won't take on anyone that I feel I won't bring results. It's not even me. It's already in them. But as a coach, you know, most coaches will understand this. It's not about us fixing the problem or whatever's happening. It's for us to allow our clients to see what it is that they're missing. Right. Sometimes people think, I just need clarity. I'm stuck. And it's like, I'm sorry, I'm stuck. And I say, no, you actually don't have much clarity. Right. So the biggest thing most times when I coach clients is the way that they're seeing it. They're so zoomed in on the problem. They're so zoomed in on the lack that they're not having. And so. Right. It's almost like take a back seat, take a breath and look back because they already have the answers. We're always so divinely guided. Whether you know it or not, you're always being divinely guided. You know, you know at your core what you need to do. There's that little voice that nudges us even we're not doing the thing. I should have gone to the gym, I missed it again. Or I told that customer I was going to call, or I didn't, you know, you know what you're doing and what you're not doing, Right. So then you got to dig deeper of saying, what is it that you want? Where is it that you want to be? What is going to this place look like the end of the target, Right. It's never ending. But whatever your goal is, I mean, I had to set to sit someone down at the time. They were actually in real estate at the time. And I said to her, it's a 90 day program. In 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, okay, 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 gonna turn right, I'm gonna turn left. You go right, it's gonna lead you somewhere. If you go left, it's gonna leave you, 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. Right? And so these are stories that I love. I mean, I have a lot of stories. Even one coach that I was just talking to last week, actually as recent as last week, and she said, I've never been able to get into these schools from. She's from a different country in Lebanon, and she says to, you know, talk to these parents about parenting coaching, and no one could ever get in there, so I've never been able to. And I said, how come? And she goes. I said, says who? Well, that's what they said. What is she just. What did she just do? She accepted a belief from somebody else. But has she ever attempted to do the thing Right? And then she ended up reporting back to me later, actually on LinkedIn, she sent me a message and she said, or what was a couple weeks ago, and she said, I can't believe it. I'm already going into two different schools. So what it is, it's awakening your mindset of, like, how you view the things. If someone told you, I don't care if everybody told you, I don't care if it's the news. I don't care if it's, you know, the highest, whatever person. It's what we accept as true. Because in that part, you're being a realist. But in reality, what's a realist? What you see is never what it is.
- [21:04]
B
All right, so if somebody is listening and obviously they need to get the more mindset to get the full program. But what are a couple actions or mindset shifts that if anybody came to you and said, you know, how can I get started? And you didn't know who they were, what their goals were, anything, what's like your go to. Well, here's a couple of things you need to start thinking about.
- [21:24]
C
Honestly. God, that's a loaded question. I have so many things in the toolkit, but if I had to choose one, I would say.
- [21:29]
B
And this you're supposed to say, you're supposed to say depends. That's the.
- [21:33]
C
Well, you know what's funny? Yes, of course it depends for a real. But you know what? It's universal. Honestly, the more mindset is catering to, you know, entrepreneurs, business leaders, people that have that reach the plateau. Maybe a stay at home mom that just feels like she's ready for more. It really doesn't matter. So this is universal and it's evergreen. And this is what I'm going to tell you. And this is why I believe and I hope in my heart that it will absolutely resonate with anyone when you have a bad thought. I don't care what it is. I wonder if my plane is 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 gonna 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 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. That feeling that you get when you know you did something that you didn't feel like doing. So you're changing the channel and you're imagining something different.
- [23:05]
B
Awesome. Well, Diana, I appreciate you stopping by the Duct Tape Marketing podcast. Where would you invite people to connect with you and learn more about the More Mindset.
- [23:13]
C
Thank you so much. You go to my website, Diana pagano.com and you can also go find my book. It's my probably on my landing page as well. But the more mindset.com and then I'm on social media at I am Diana Pagano on Instagram and all the other channels that are on my website.
- [23:26]
B
Awesome. Well, again, I appreciate you stopping by and hopefully we'll run it to you one of these days out there on the road.
- [23:31]
C
Thank you so much, John. It's been my pleasure.
- [23:43]
A
Hey, it's John. Janice. And I got a quick question for you. Does your marketing ever feel like a jumble of tactics without a real plan? Well, you're not alone. That's why we just released a free on demand workshop called the Clarity Engine. How Small Businesses Can Turn Random Acts of Marketing into a Scalable Growth System. Where our CEO Sarah Ney walks you through building a marketing system that actually scales. And you'll get our exclusive marketing strategy pyramid worksheet to map out your own path. And for the year ahead, just head on over to DTM World Clarity. Again, that's DTM World Clarity. Let's make next year the year you finally own your marketing for good.