Your identity limits income

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Author

Jordan Belfort
June 06, 2025

In partnership with

👋 Your identity is your income ceiling — and Ed Mylett cracked the code. The peak performance coach who transforms NFL quarterbacks and Fortune 500 CEOs discovered that most people self-sabotage not because they lack ability, but because success conflicts with who they think they are.

Read time: 4 minutes | 1,022 words

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STORY 

🔥 Ed Mylett: From Broken Home to $400M

Living in his dad's basement at 21, unemployed and directionless. Fast-forward three decades: multi-millionaire entrepreneur, peak performance coach to elite athletes, and the host of one of the world's top business podcasts. This is Ed Mylett's transformation.

Born into chaos with an alcoholic father, Ed's childhood was defined by uncertainty. By age 5, he was already reading people, never knowing which version of his dad would walk through the door.

"I didn't know which dad would come home. Was it the happy dad who's gonna play with me, or the messed up dad who's gonna be grumpy and go to sleep?"

That dysfunction became his superpower. While other kids played, Ed was developing the psychological radar that would later make him millions.

FROM COUCH POTATO TO LIFE-CHANGER

At 21, Ed was the definition of a failure to launch. Living on his parents' couch, no job, no direction. Then his newly sober father delivered an ultimatum that changed everything:

"Hey, I got you a job. You're going."

That job? McKinley Home for Boys - a group home for abused and abandoned children. Ed walked into cottage eight and saw ten boys, ages 8-10, with eyes that revealed their trauma.

"Any kid who grew up with dysfunction, their eyes are a little different. They just want to be loved, man. They just want security, someone to believe in them."

In that moment, Ed's identity shifted. The ego-driven ex-baseball player became something else entirely: a servant leader whose life mission became helping others unlock their potential.

THE $100M FINANCIAL SERVICES EMPIRE

That experience with broken kids taught Ed the psychology of human potential. He parlayed those insights into building a financial services company that eventually employed 50,000 agents before being sold to Aegon and Transamerica.

But Ed's real breakthrough came from understanding something most entrepreneurs miss: identity drives everything.

🧠 THE 7 PSYCHOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES THAT BUILT HIS EMPIRE

1️⃣ IDENTITY IS YOUR THERMOSTAT. "Your identity is like a thermostat on the wall. If your identity is set at 75 degrees and you start getting 95-degree results, you'll unconsciously find ways to air-condition your life back down."

Ed discovered that most people self-sabotage not because they lack ability, but because success conflicts with their internal identity.

2️⃣ PUT YOURSELF IN SITUATIONS YOU'RE NOT READY FOR. 

"The people who rule the world constantly put themselves in environments they know they're not ready for. They're like 'I'll get in the door, then I'll figure it out.'"

Average people wait until they're "ready." Winners bet on themselves first, then develop the skills.

3️⃣ OUTWORK EVERYONE BY 10X. When Ed's son started working for him, he discovered the gap between "working hard" and actually working hard:

"Day one, he gets up at 9 AM, works his ass off until 5 PM, then goes to his room to play video games. I said 'This is the last time you're gonna play video games for 20 years. Everyone else who's successful - you think they're playing games? They're working till midnight.'"

His son threw out the games. Now he works 12-hour days.

4️⃣ MASTER THE ART OF INFLUENCE. 

"I study the masters of influence. I'll play in slow motion how someone walked up to my car, shook my hand, and introduced themselves."

Ed obsessively analyzes every interaction, constantly upgrading his ability to connect with and move people.

5️⃣ LINK HARD WORK TO IDENTITY. 

"This hard work I'm doing - I'm doing stuff no one else is willing to do, so I'm gonna get things no one else gets. When you do that repetitively, you shift who you are."

Most people work hard but don't psychologically connect that effort to deserving extraordinary results.

6️⃣ FEEL THE PAIN TO CREATE CHANGE. "You're where you are because of patterns of behavior. What most people do is hide from pain, let it depress them. I'd say feel it ALL. Pain is a great catalyst to make a move."

Ed teaches people to lean into discomfort rather than numb it.

7️⃣ YOUR WILL TO WIN IS NOT FOR SALE. 

"Too many people's will can be bought. Success buys their will - 'Alright, that's enough, I'm clipping coupons now.' Failure steals their will. You need to decide your will to win is not for sale."

THE MINDSET THAT SEPARATES CHAMPIONS

Ed's coaching roster reads like a who's who of elite performers - NFL quarterbacks, championship boxers, Fortune 500 CEOs. What separates them isn't talent; it's psychology.

"The difference between Tom Brady and the fifth-best quarterback in the NFL is identity. When there's 40 seconds left and he needs to drive the field, it's what he believes he's entitled to in that moment."

YouTube video by The Ed Mylett Show How to Get Your Spark Back - Motivation for When You've Lost Your Drive

THE INTEGRATION STRATEGY THAT MULTIPLIES SUCCESS

While most entrepreneurs bet everything on either old-school or new-school methods, Ed mastered both:

"I kitchen-sink everything I do. Door knocking, Facebook ads, podcasting, speaking stages - everything. The new marketing doesn't force you to develop the communication skills that keep you sustainable."

His prediction? The next economic downturn will separate the real entrepreneurs from the internet marketing dependents.

BOTTOM LINE

Ed Mylett's story proves that your worst circumstances can become your greatest advantages - if you're willing to transform pain into purpose, dysfunction into psychological insight, and service into success.

From that boys' home in San Dimas to coaching world champions, Ed cracked the code on human potential. His formula is simple but not easy: upgrade your identity, outwork everyone, and never stop betting on the person you're becoming.

The spark you're looking for? It's not about finding your passion. It's about finding your people and refusing to quit on them.

MEME