Podcast Summary

Podcast: The School of Greatness
Host: Lewis Howes
Guest: Brendon Burchard
Episode: How To Reprogram Your Mind For Abundance & Wealth
Date: September 5, 2025

Episode Overview

In this insightful and heartfelt episode, Lewis Howes welcomes world-renowned high-performance coach and best-selling author Brendon Burchard for a live conversation in San Francisco. Together, they dig deeply into transforming a "survival mindset" into one of true abundance and wealth—not just financially, but emotionally and spiritually. Brendon shares personal stories from his humble beginnings and offers practical frameworks for overcoming self-doubt, building self-worth, and reprogramming mental habits to attract generosity, purpose, and prosperity. The discussion is punctuated with memorable stories, actionable advice, and moving reflections on relationships, alignment, and the power of integrity.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Emotional Foundations of Abundance vs. Survival

• Emotions vs. Feelings: Brendon distinguishes between fleeting emotions and ongoing feelings, asserting that abundance is tied more to ongoing feelings and self-perception than momentary emotions.
  • “Emotions happen to us... Scarcity isn’t an emotion. Scarcity is a feeling you create.” (Brendon, 04:44)
• Survival Mindset: Growing up in financial struggle, Brendon internalized a “get enough” survival approach—filling a void rather than building abundance. Recognizing and addressing this pattern is critical for change.
  • “If you’re only ever trying to pay the bills, you’re always filling a void, not building abundance.” (Brendon, 05:33)

2. Brendon’s Personal Turning Point: From Broke to Abundant

• The Realization: Living broke in San Francisco, Brendon’s wake-up call came when he saw his girlfriend literally sleeping under the weight of his unpaid bills.
  • “I look over and I see the woman I love sleeping under the weight of my bills.” (Brendon, 10:34)
• Breakthrough by Service: The major shift came when he started fighting for someone else, not just himself.
  • “If you’re broke, you’re fighting for survival. If you’re going to break through, you’re fighting for somebody else.” (Brendon, 12:06)
  • “You need to find somebody or something to fight for that is beyond you. And when you find that, that’s when the breakthrough happens.” (Brendon, 12:07)

3. Dealing with Self-Doubt and Negative Patterns

• Doubt Isn’t the Problem—Stopping Is: Brendon reframes self-doubt as a signal to learn and try again, rather than a reason to stop.
  • “Doubt’s not the problem. Stopping is.” (Brendon, 13:29)
• ZAPS Framework:
  • Zoom in on the problem.
  • Attach identity to the problem.
  • Punish yourself.
  • Shame yourself or shrink your vision.
  • “If you ever want to understand your negative thinking, write this acronym: ZAPS.” (Brendon, 14:04)
• Assertiveness & Confidence: High achievers and wealthy individuals share assertiveness—willingness to step forward, believe in their ability to figure things out, and act before total certainty.
  • “Their number one trait is assertiveness... They assert themselves into situations because they believe they’ll figure it out.” (Brendon, 17:01)
  • “Confidence is, I believe in my ability to figure things out. Confidence is not perfection. It is, I’ll get in motion.” (Brendon, 17:19)

4. Alignment Over Achievement

• Behaviors over Thoughts: Success comes more from prioritized daily actions of integrity than from mere positive thinking.
  • “Success will always be way more about your behaviors than your thoughts.” (Brendon, 23:02)
• The Power of Alignment: True abundance is a result of alignment with your higher self, not a starting point. "Alignment" is behaving in accordance with your values and unique path.
  • “If you get in alignment, you are granted a bigger assignment. Greater alignment, greater assignment—and then greater abundance is the result.” (Brendon, 23:32)
• Small Victories: Small daily acts of integrity (keeping your word to yourself) gradually build self-respect and shift thought patterns.
  • “I said I was going to shower, and I showered... these small acts of integrity improve our thoughts more than wishing our thoughts were different.” (Brendon, 27:09)

5. Relationships, Healing, and Self-Worth

• Attracting Abundance in Relationships: Lewis shares how aligning with his true self and healing his wounds enabled him to build a peaceful, healthy relationship.
  • “Never again will I allow myself to get out of alignment to please one person in life and then resent myself for shifting my value.” (Lewis, 30:05)
• Neediness vs. Wholeness: Neediness, control, and attempts to “get” from others undermine connection and abundance—both in love and money.
  • “If you have a relationship with two incomplete and broken people, they can’t really ever quite connect. Each person has to really work on their wholeness.” (Brendon, 35:00)

6. Integrating Success and Celebrating Wins

• Allowing Yourself to Feel Achievement: Many high achievers never “feel” their success because they haven’t learned to internalize and celebrate it.
  • “A lot of people... they don’t feel it because they've never allowed it in.” (Brendon, 40:36)
• The Real Purpose: Aliveness: True fulfillment comes from meaningful pursuits that bring aliveness and meaning, not just achievement for its own sake.
  • “What everybody wants is more aliveness... The chase makes them feel alive.” (Brendon, 41:24)
• Test for Alignment: If you find yourself eagerly preparing and researching before doing something, it’s likely aligned with your true values.

7. Building Worth and Navigating Relationships

• Find Value Through Service: If struggling with self-worth, start volunteering—service brings out your humanity and a sense of value.
  • “If you don’t know your value or worth, volunteer. That’s literally the most direct path." (Brendon, 46:23)
• Curate Relationships: Brendon outlines three kinds of friends (old, maintenance, and growth friends). Prioritize those who encourage growth; distance yourself assertively from those who discourage or diminish you.
  • “If someone is discouraging you... your job is to decrease your time towards them in whatever way you can.” (Brendon, 52:30)
  • “You’re not in charge of everybody else’s train wreck.” (Brendon, 54:14)

8. Recalibrating in Tough Times: The BMF Method

• Acronym for Resetting:
  • Breath: Change your breathing pattern.
  • Movement: Move your body, shift your state.
  • Food: Check if your energy needs replenishing.
  • “I had to teach myself an acronym for that: BMF: Breath, Movement, Food.” (Brendon, 57:38)

9. When You Feel Stuck: You Are Not Alone

• The Power of Community & Faith: Brendon urges listeners who feel stuck to recognize they’re not alone, to seek out support and connection, and to trust that their “path is being cleared” even if they can’t see it yet.
  • “Stop thinking you’re alone. There’s 8 billion other people who’ve gone through the same thing.” (Brendon, 59:47)
  • “If you suffer in silence, it’s really hard to see the daylight.” (Brendon, 60:26)

10. Final Thoughts: The Danger of Half-Heartedness

• Commit Fully to Prosper: In relationships, business, and life, half-hearted effort leads to mediocrity and misery. Give your full heart and conviction.
  • “You cannot be half-hearted and succeed. You cannot be half-hearted and have a great marriage. The world does not need more half-hearted parents... If you want great relationships, a great future, it will take conviction.” (Brendon, 66:44)
  • “Put yourself back in the game with courage, with conviction, with full heartedness to serve and to build, and then you’ll be great.” (Brendon, 69:08)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Scarcity:
  “If you’re only ever trying to pay the bills, you’re always filling a void, not building abundance.”
  (Brendon, 05:33)

• On Serving Others:
  “If you’re broke, you’re fighting for survival. If you’re going to break through, you’re fighting for somebody else.”
  (Brendon, 12:06)

• On Doubt:
  “Doubt’s not the problem. Stopping is.”
  (Brendon, 13:29)

• On Assertiveness:
  “Their number one trait is assertiveness... They assert themselves into situations because they believe they’ll figure it out.”
  (Brendon, 17:01)

• On Alignment:
  “If you get in alignment, you are granted a bigger assignment. Greater alignment, greater assignment—and then greater abundance is the result.”
  (Brendon, 23:32)

• On Integrity:
  “These small acts of integrity improve our thoughts more than wishing our thoughts were different.”
  (Brendon, 27:09)

• On Celebration:
  “Most people have never genuinely celebrated their life.”
  (Brendon, 41:18)

• On Aliveness:
  “What everybody wants is more aliveness... The chase makes them feel alive.”
  (Brendon, 41:24)

• On Self-Worth:
  “If you don’t know your value or worth, volunteer.”
  (Brendon, 46:23)

• On Relationships:
  “Not everybody is meant to be on your path. And more importantly, you’re not meant to be everyone else’s educator.”
  (Brendon, 54:14)

• On Resetting:
  “BMF: Breath, Movement, Food, and I’m recalibrated.”
  (Brendon, 57:38)

• On Feeling Stuck:
  “Stop thinking you’re alone. There’s 8 billion other people who’ve gone through the same thing.”
  (Brendon, 59:47)

• On Full-hearted Living:
  “You cannot be half-hearted and succeed. You cannot be half-hearted and have a great marriage... It will take conviction.”
  (Brendon, 66:44)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 04:44 – Brendon on scarcity and feelings
• 09:23 – Brendon’s turning point story: The bills and the breakthrough
• 13:29 – Self-doubt and the ZAPS framework
• 17:01 – Billionaire mindset: Assertiveness and confidence
• 23:02 – Actions vs. thinking: Success through integrity
• 27:09 – Small acts of integrity and building self-belief
• 30:05 – Lewis on healthy relationships and alignment
• 35:00 – Brendon on neediness, wholeness, and control
• 40:36 – Why achievers don’t feel their success
• 41:24 – The purpose: Aliveness
• 46:23 – Finding self-worth through service
• 52:30 – Managing discouraging relationships
• 57:38 – BMF: Breath, Movement, Food
• 59:47 – Feeling stuck: You are not alone
• 66:44 – Brendon’s closing: The need for conviction over half-heartedness

Conclusion

This episode is a masterclass on shifting from scarcity to abundance in all areas of life. Through personal stories, actionable frameworks, and candid dialogue, Lewis and Brendon illustrate that true wealth flows from alignment, integrity, and wholehearted living. The path to abundance starts with small daily actions, embracing service, and surrounding yourself with purposeful relationships. Above all, abundance is an outcome of living in alignment with your truest self and showing up with full heart and conviction.