Podcast Summary: The Identity Shift That Unlocks Wealth | Jen Sincero on The School of Greatness

Podcast: The School of Greatness
Host: Lewis Howes
Guest: Jen Sincero
Episode Title: The Identity Shift That Unlocks Wealth
Date: December 5, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode explores the deep emotional and psychological barriers around money, featuring bestselling author and coach Jen Sincero ("You Are a Badass") in an in-depth conversation with Lewis Howes. The discussion unpacks why so many people struggle to feel deserving of wealth, how our identities shape our financial reality, and the crucial role of mindset, emotional healing, and taking risks in transforming one's relationship with money.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Money Mindset: Morality, Shame, and Deservingness

• Taboo and Morality: Many people view the pursuit of wealth as immoral or greedy, often conflating financial ambition with selfishness due to societal messaging.

  “When you desire money, it’s not the same as being greedy, but I think that we combine those two things.” – Jen Sincero [03:05]

• Judgment Around Wealth: Ambition for money is often judged more harshly than other personal goals like health or fitness.
• Giving and Stigma: People hesitate to talk about their charitable or generous actions, fearing it looks egocentric, which perpetuates the silence and stigma around money.
• Family & Upbringing: Both Howes and Sincero share that stress and lack of open money conversations in their families shaped their own emotional hurdles around wealth.

The Power of Identity and Language in Creating Wealth

• Identity Limits Wealth: Sincero describes feeling financially “stuck at the kids’ table,” believing true wealth was for other people, not for her.
• Mantra & Self-Talk: Her first common phrase was “I can’t afford it.” Changing this language was pivotal:

  “We are buying into an identity as somebody who can’t afford stuff ... that becomes my reality.” – Jen Sincero [08:32]

• Obliterating the Old Identity: Achieving new results requires letting go of old versions of yourself, which is often uncomfortable for both you and those close to you.

  “You’re killing off your old identity. And ... the main reason [people don’t support your growth] is you’re killing off the person they love.” – Jen Sincero [09:28]

Navigating Relationships and Growth

• Social Shifts: Personal evolution often disrupts relationships and social groups, leading to loneliness and loss of support.
• Power of Decision: Sincero stresses the need to prioritize one’s growth over staying comfortable for others:

  “Are you going to stay small ... or is your comfort and growth more important?” [11:36]

The Breakthrough: Investing in Coaching and Taking Risks

• Midlife Transformation: Sincero's financial awakening began in her 40s, inspired by self-help and finally investing—at significant personal risk—in her first life coach.
• Rapid Results: Acting on coaching led to tripling her income in three months, underlining the link between internal shifts and concrete results.

  “I tripled my income in like three months. And then ... I kept doubling my rates and kept cold-calling.” – Jen Sincero [14:09]

• Money as Currency/Energy: Money is described not just as a tool, but as energy. Openness to giving and receiving are part of getting “into the flow.”

Emotional Roots and Blocks

• Personal Story: Sincero’s core money block was tied to her relationship with her father and fear of “not needing him” emotionally if she became rich.
• Resentment and Silence: Both hosts talk about feeling resentment towards those who talk openly about wealth and the harmful impact of making money conversation “dirty.”
• Healing Money Trauma: Exercises like writing a letter to money help reveal and heal subconscious beliefs.

Aligning Desire and Purpose

• Genuine Desire as Truth: Sincero, echoing Wallace Wattles, emphasizes that authentic desires are our truth:

  “To think what you want to think is to think the truth, regardless of appearances.” [29:35]

• Fun, Energy, Meaning: Sincero advises aligning money-making with what’s fun, energizing, and meaningful as a way to remain authentic and prevent burnout.

The Practice: Mindset and Spiritual “Gym”

• Daily Practice Required: To avoid slipping back into limiting beliefs, consistent practice—like a “spiritual gym”—is essential.

  “You do not get to work out physically and then stop going to the gym once you’re in shape … spiritual gym workout, meditate for 15, read a self-help book for five ... do them every single solitary day.” – Jen Sincero [49:43]

• Facing Fears: The importance of doing something “scary” daily as a catalyst for change:

  “If we all did something that scared us every single solitary day, our lives would change so quickly, we wouldn’t know what hit us.” – Jen Sincero [53:17]

Ongoing Money Fears and Growth

• New Levels, New Fears: Even after achieving financial abundance, fears about managing wealth and “losing it” can persist.
• Infrastructure for Wealth: Building a trusted financial team and systems is necessary to avoid blocking further abundance due to subconscious fears.

Coaching and Accountability

• Value of Coaches: Both Sincero and Howes advocate for the role of coaching at every level of the journey, whether in money, business, or personal development.
• Staying Motivated: Spiritual and mindset practices must be regular, not just event-driven.

Integrating Money with Relationships

• Non-Monetary Value: Howes shares how relationships can be supported just as much by emotional presence and peace as by financial contribution.
• Allowing Love in Many Forms: Sincero speaks of healing her relationship with her father by accepting his unique way of showing love (offering money).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Identity Shifts:
  “It's a total identity shift ... that I could open myself up to being somebody who could receive wealth. It was a big shift for me.” – Jen Sincero [06:34]

• On Sharing Generosity Publicly:
  “When you say, ‘Here's what I’m giving,’ it inspires other people to be generous as well.” – Lewis Howes [04:46]

• On Emotional Blocks:
  “If I get really rich, I won’t need Dad anymore. And it’s like putting a knife in his heart.” – Jen Sincero [16:18]

• On Daily Money Mindset:
  “If you want your money to appreciate, you must appreciate it and treat it like you’re the greatest lover of your life.” – Lewis Howes [20:47]

• On Taking Scary Action:
  “If we all did something that scared us every single solitary day, our lives would change so quickly, we wouldn’t know what hit us.” – Jen Sincero [53:17]

Key Timestamps

• 02:18: The #1 emotional/mental money block: feeling undeserving.
• 07:27: Why identity is fundamental in receiving abundance.
• 09:28: The disruption of relationships during personal transformation.
• 13:06: Sincero’s "bomb" moment: hitting midlife and choosing transformation.
• 16:15: Family dynamics and money blocks.
• 18:11: Exercise: Write a love letter to money.
• 21:27: Money is energy; shifting to a frequency that attracts wealth.
• 26:35: Ripening: Why change happens when you’re “sick and tired.”
• 29:35: Biggest takeaway from "The Science of Getting Rich."
• 31:56: Aligning money decisions with fun, energy, and meaning.
• 36:54: Breaking through and not backsliding after big money leaps.
• 38:33: Next-level fears: Managing, not losing, and not being buried by money.
• 45:22: What abundant people do differently with money.
• 53:17: The mantra of daily, fearless action for lasting transformation.
• 57:47: Boundaries, self-care, and stopping self-abandonment.
• 62:16: Healing money wounds via insight into parental relationships.
• 72:31: The importance of remaining in action and experimentation.

Jen Sincero’s Three Truths (74:36)

1. “The most important thing to develop ... is your mindset. Really develop your mindset and pay attention to it.”
2. “Do the scary thing every single day.”
3. “Have as much fun as you can. What else are we here for?”

Final Reflection: Definition of Greatness

• Jen Sincero: “Allowing yourself to be, do and have everything that lights up your little heart.” [78:10]

Resources Mentioned

• Books by Jen Sincero:
  • "You Are a Badass"
  • "You Are a Badass at Making Money"
  • "You Are a Badass Every Day"
  • "Badass Habits"
• Influences:
  • "The Science of Getting Rich" by Wallace Wattles

Connect with Jen Sincero

• Website and Courses: [jensincero.com]
• Social Media: Instagram (@jensincero), Twitter, Facebook

Takeaway

This episode gives listeners not just a playbook for wealth, but a challenge: Transform your identity, confront your inherited money stories, and relentlessly practice the inner work as much as the outer. Embrace scary growth, talk openly about money, and see abundance as energy—then build systems to hold it. Ultimately, aligning your actions with fun, meaning, and energy is key to both wealth and fulfillment.