You’re listening to episode number one of the Identity Factor podcast. In this episode you are going to discover why all the willpower in the world couldn’t save you from… well… you. You want to listen all the way through because you’re going to learn why you haven’t been achieving the results or success you’ve be working for. 

Hi there, I’m Anthony Serino and by joining this podcast, you’ve started a life-changing journey with me as your guide. You’re now also part of a community of like-minded individuals who light this world with passion. As a a high performance coach and expert in habit modification I’ve worked with amazing individuals from all over the world who have transformed their lives from within . As you listen to this podcast, you’re going to get an inside look at my science-based approach to transformation.

I want to start off by asking… what does transformation mean to you? Because transformation looks a little, or a lot different for everyone; however, the definition of transformation remains the same - a thorough or dramatic change in form or appearance. But why is it this thorough or dramatic change rarely happens? The reason is because most people don’t realize there’s a part of them, their unconscious (or subconscious), that’s responsible for running everything from their beliefs, to their habits, to their emotional responses.

Many of you may have an endless list of podcasts you listen to, self-help books you’ve read, and motivational events you’ve been to. You’re constantly looking for the next piece of advice you can use to make more money, have a happier relationship, lose weight, whatever it might be. And despite countless hours of working on yourself and learning new tips and tricks, you’re stilling coming up short on your goals, dreams, and desires.

And here’s why… most people are taking the wrong approach when integrating change into their life. Their focus is on what they have to do when they should first be focusing on how they have TO BE. Who are you as a person, what is your self-image, and in the bigger picture… what is your identity?

Because change doesn’t come through the things you do… it comes as a result of who you are being and how you see yourself. And who you are being and how you see yourself is a direct result of your life experience.

 

Every event, every person, every conversation… every single experience you’ve ever had since the moment you were born has had an impact on how you see yourself right now, what habits you’ve developed, and where you’re headed.

Now many of the episodes you’ll be listening to on this podcast are going to be talking about things like identity, beliefs, and habits.  And i’m really going to dive deep and give you the framework to shift your subconscious identity and beliefs so they map towards the outcomes you want.

 

Now how many times have you tried to change something in your life and you didn’t get the outcome you wanted? It could have been you trying to eat better to lose weight, kick a habit like smoking, working harder to make more money, or anything else in your life you were trying to change.

 

Sure, you may have lost a few pounds, quit smoking for a while, or made a couple extra bucks in the short term, but for the most part… nothing really changed.

 

And what I’m certain of is, during those times you were focused on what you had to do to get the result you wanted. You focused on eating better, working out more, waking up earlier, reading more, and a million other things you knew you HAD TO DO.

 

The thing is… lasting change… real transformation… does NOT come as a result of what you do. It comes from WHO YOU ARE BEING and what your identity is.

 

Okay… that sounds great Anthony… but what is identity? Well, your identity is your self-image and how you show up in this world.

 

Here’s an example… before discovering the power of my subconscious, I was extremely overweight. By the time I was 26, I was well over 330 pounds. As a kid I was told things like “you have to finish your whole plate before you get dessert” … or “finish your food, there’s kids starving somewhere”. Then, as I started putting on weight and getting bigger I was constantly told “it’s okay, your whole family is big”… or “you’re big boned”…

 

So being BIG became my identity… that’s who I was.. the “big guy”.

 

And until I changed my identity WHO I WAS BEING, which then allowed me to easily change my habits, it was nearly impossible to lose any significant amount of weight and keep it off.

 

Now apply this to your own life… who are you as a result of your experiences, the things you were told, and the things you tell yourself now? What is your identity? And Is it congruent with the outcomes you want?

 

Ok so Before we get any further… there’s two things I want you to know… the first is simply this… YOU CAN CHANGE. The second is… I am here for you. We may not have met or connected before, or you may know me personally and we haven’t spoken in a while.. either way I started this podcast so that I could serve you and make an impact an on your life by giving you the same tools I used to transform my own life.  And that may sound cliche… but… it really is  true… this shit wakes me up in the morning. Lifting others up is my passion.

 

Ok, I just had to say those two things.. and I really am thankful you’re here listening to this podcast.

 

Oh and … sometimes… I’m going to curse…. Or I’ll trip over my own words and say um too much… but I’m not going to edit those things out because I want you to get to know the real me.

 

So Where were we?

 

So if you’re anything like I was… you probably feel like you’re on this hamster wheel of life and you’re not getting anywhere despite “working hard” and putting in the hours. Sure some things in your life are really great and on track right now, but if you’re listening to this sort of podcast, I know there are some major changes in your life that you just haven’t been able to accomplish yet and you can’t figure out why.

 

I also bet you’ve been trying to DO different things to get what you want. You’ve been focusing on the actions you need to take. But if you look back on your life, how has that worked out for you?

 

In future episodes, I’m going to be talking more in depth about habits .. and how everything you have or don’t have in this life is a direct result of your habits your brain has developed.

 

And yes… habits are essentially programs being run by your brain and… more specifically… your habits form in the oldest part of our prain, often referred to as our lizard brain. And it’s called that because there’s a common belief within the field of neuroanatomy that it involves the same structures that dominates the brain functions of reptiles.

 

Why am I telling you this? Because it’s important you understand that habits are a NEUROLOGICAL function… NOT a psychological function.

 

And like most people, you haven’t gotten what you want, because you haven’t changed your habits, and you haven’t been able to change your habits because you have not yet figured out how the brain works.

 

As this podcast unfolds we are going to get a little more … for lack of a better word… surgical and really dive into how the brain works and what you can do to make sure it’s working in a way that maps to the outcomes you want.

 

But for right now, I want to talk about a model of change that… when I heard it… was so simple, yet so profound …and it was like an epiphany for me. It’s called the BE DO HAVE MODEL.

 

And, in my opinion, it’s the most powerful framework for inspiring transformation in ourselves and others. Who or how do you need to be, to do the things you choose to do, to have the success you want.

 

Most people are doing the opposite of this… they are working in reverse. They think if they had or have something then they could do something and then be who or what they want to be.

 

How many times have you said to yourself or others something along the lines of “if I had more money…” … “if I had more friends…” …. Or whatever it may be…

 

If I had this thing… then I could do that thing… and then I’d be successful.

 

As I’m sure you’re already starting to figure out… this model of change simply does not work.

 

As a high performance coach I talk to all sorts of people every single day from all over the world. And 99% of them are working from this broken model. And it always amazes me how often I find  people who absolutely WANT to change but say things like “Anthony, I see the value in what you’re offering, and if I had money, I’d schedule a time to work with you. I know this would be just the thing I need to be successful”

 

Here’s something important for you to understand… and I even encourage you to write this down…

 

If you do things based on your current circumstance… your circumstance will never change.

 

Okay, so by now the BE DO HAVE model is looking real good. When you are who or what you want to be, THEN you can DO what you need to do to HAVE want you want.

 

Let that sink in.

 

Here’s a good example to tie all of this together… Something I love doing is supporting and being involved in my local small business community. And I’ve gotten to know all sorts of business owners and salespeople who I talk to on a daily basis.

 

And of course many of them tell me they’re not making enough money… And then they proceed to tell me what they’re going to do about it. They say they’re gonna go out and network more… they’re gonna create new content… run some different ads. Whatever it might be. And they put this whole plan together that they swear they’ll implement on the first of the month.

 

So the first of the month comes along … they start pounding the pavement… and then a week later they’re back to their old ways.

 

If this is something you can relate to… it’s because you’ve been working backwards.

 

Why don’t I have enough money?

Why haven’t I lost weight?

Why is my I relationship failing?

 

All these questions can be answered by looking at who and how you are being.

 

it’s completely different for everyone. And I might strike a nerve here.. honestly I hope do. But are you lazy? Are you unmotivated? Are you unfocused? Are you disorganized? You could be a million different things.

 

As you ask yourself those questions you may very well be giving yourself honest answers. But I bet you’ve rarely sat back and considered the question  “Who am I being and how was I being that led me to where I am?”

 

It’s easy to look back and see what we’ve done wrong and speculate on what we could’ve done differently, but until you fully accept you have to first change WHO YOU ARE  you’ll keeping coming up short.

 

Right now… there’s a lot of people in the personal development world who are gaining a massive amount of attention and making a tremendous about of money by selling people their version of a “to-do” list.

 

Whether it be a Facebook lead generation course… or a weight loss program … or their 7-figure blueprint … I mean you can insert whatever buzzwordy title you want.

 

And I’m not saying these sorts of products and services don’t have any value… the problem is they are perpetuating a broken system for success by only telling you what to do and showing you how to do it.

 

99% of the people selling you those things are focused on this narrative of taking action. And they do a great job at getting their followers pumped up to start taking action by showing everyone what they can get as a result of their actions. Fancy cars, big houses, lavish vacations… I’m sure you’ve seen the ads.

 

But . 1) most of the time they’re telling you something you already know wrapped in different paper and 2) if who you are as a person isn’t (and this all goes back to identity)  if who you are as a person isn’t the type of person who normally take those actions, then it will never stick.

 

And let’s talk about taking action for a second… because in order for any action to produce a meaningful result in your life… it needs to be consistent (and this goes back to our habits)… which means YOU need to be consistent.

 

What else do you need to be to take action? Driven? Responsible? Focused?

 

The common through line in this podcast is about Idenity. Hence the name The Identity Factor because it is VITAL  that you fully understand everything you have or don’t have in this life is a byproduct of who you are.

 

Let me repeat that… EVERYTHING you have or don’t have in this life is a by product of who you are.

 

And who you ARE is a byproduct of everything you’ve experienced from the moment you were born.

 

Essentially you have LEARNED to be who you are.

 

You weren’t born with that fear of failure or that anxiety or that limiting belief. You weren’t born with the idea that you have to work hard to make money. You weren’t born with ANY of the habits you have now.

 

Somewhere along the way, and we’ll talk about this soon in another episode, you were told or experienced different things that changed your perception of yourself and the world around you.

 

And this often happens below threshold of conscious, analytical awareness.

 

For example, you didn’t wake up this morning and think “who am I going to be today”… your brain just started firing off and running a million different habits automatically. You get out of bed the same way every morning… you brush your teeth the same way… you hold your phone the same…

 

And our brain forms these habits to either make our life easier… or protect us.

I mean, imagine if you had to learn how to walk every time you woke up in the morning. That’d be crazy. But apply that same concept to EVERYTHING you do and it becomes easy to see how everything you do is habituated.

 

Oh and that anxiety or that fear is a habitual emotional response your brain uses to “protect you” from anything it deems dangerous or uncomfortable. And your brain fires that response because  whatever you are experiencing in that moment is in SOME WAY similar to something you’ve experience in the past.

 

Our brain creates this habitual response as a protection mechanism but the problem is it often becomes hypersensitive to the perceived “threat”.

 

 

Okay, so you may or may not know I am a board certified hypnotist and as a high performance coach and habit modification expert, hypnosis is a tool I use to help clients shift their identity and change their habit. It’s a way to reprogram your subconscious.

 

I can’t get into it all now because I want to keep these episodes relatively short and easily consumable.

 

Eventually I tell you my whole story and I’ll explain exactly what hypnosis is and how you can benefit fromit, But what got me into hypnosis was my weight loss journey I mentioned earlier in this episode. Being overweight my entire life, I was willing to do ANYTHING to lose weight… even go see a hypnotist.

 

So, long story short, I did, and I lost over 80 pounds in 6 months…more weight than I had ever lost, and I’ve kept it off for years since.  The results were so dramatic that I KNEW something changed as result of having that hypnosis session.

 

So I did what any reasonably sane person would do and I invested thousands of dollars and countless hours into studying and researching WHY hypnosis worked.

 

And it turns out… this is science-based shit.

 

There are thousands of peer-reviewed studies that prove that not only is hypnosis highly effective, it routinely OUTPERFORMS traditional modalities when it comes to facilitating change.

 

There is empirical evidence pointing to the fact that we have a conscious mind (that analytical part of us) and a subconscious or unconscious mind (the part of us that runs our habits, beliefs, emotional responses, etcetera.

 

BOTH ARE ROUTED IN THE BRAIN and we have control over both parts.

 

And what I’ve come to not only understand, but what I’ve come to KNOW… and there’s a distinction there… is with subconscious reprogramming we can change who were are and the habits we have which then produces the outcomes we want.

 

Okay, congratulations if you’ve stuck with me so far… I just opened the fire hydrant and blasted you with a lot of information.

 

Things will begin to unfold as you listen to more episodes and I’m confident you’ll have profound shifts in the way you see yourself and what you’re capable of.

 

My aim with each episode is to leave with you having had some sort of aha moment. And what is an aha moment. Well, this is how I look at it… the ah part is a sense of wonder… where perhaps I say something that resonates with you and it makes you analyze the way you look at the yourself and the world around you.

 

… the HA part is that moment you come to understand understand… the moment where you come to KNOW FOR a fact that what you just heard is vital for your success.

 

So let’s call it Anthony’s Aha moments for now… maybe one of you will write it and give me a catchier idea…

 

So what was your aha moment today?

 

Perhaps it’s clear to you now that you’ve been doing it all backwards. You’ve been focusing on  what you have to do in order to get what you want.

 

You’ve been trying TO DO all these different things to be successful.

 

But that aint working for ya.

 

Where you need to start from is first focusing on who and how you have to be so that then you can do the things you need to do to get outcomes you want.

 

 

So that’s it for the first episode of The Identity Factor Podcast

 

Keep listening because in the next episode you’re going to learn more about how your identity was formed and the impact the story you’ve been telling yourself has on your life. You’ll also start learning what your subconscious is from a science-based perspective and how you can reprogram it to create the life you want.

 

For the show notes and more details on this episode, head over to my website aserino.com and click on the podcast page.

 

 

[outro]

 

If you’re the type of person who likes to get involved in a community of like-minded individuals come join our group Inside The Identity Factor on Facebook. Also, stay up to date with the latest content by following me on Instagram. If you have questions, I’m here to help. You can email me  at [email protected] and I may even feature your question on an upcoming episode!

 

Finally, I do have one small ask… my passion is serving others… and by you tuning in, I know you’re someone who wants wants to serve others too. We can grow together and help more people by spreading the word about this podcast. So please subscribe, share it, and leave a positive review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you enjoy listening. I genuinely appreciate your support.

 

Thanks for being here.