I’m The Real Jason Duncan, back with your Beyond the Grind blog–helping entrepreneurs like you build thriving businesses without sacrificing your freedom. 🚀

Let me tell you something I never used to believe.

For years, I thought “mindset work” was nonsense. Just another buzzword for people who didn’t have real business chops.

I was focused on strategy. Systems. Execution. Tangible stuff that mattered.

But something wasn’t working.

No matter how strong my plans were, I kept running into the same walls: self-doubt, fear, second-guessing, burnout. And I started noticing the same thing with my coaching clients.

That’s when I realized I had been skipping the foundation.

Mindset isn’t fluff. It’s not just about thinking positively. It’s about what you’re setting your mind on–and how that mental environment shapes every decision you make.

It wasn’t until I started doing the hard work of retraining my mindset that things actually started to shift.

What Changed Everything for Me

There were a few catalysts that helped me see this clearly:

• Reading Outwitting the Devil and Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

• Studying Psycho-Cybernetics by Dr. Maxwell Maltz

• And conversations with people like my good friend, Dr. Justin Moseley, a powerful voice in the world of mindset

Those books and conversations forced me to confront something uncomfortable: my default mindset was reactive, not intentional.

They exposed a truth I had ignored: your outer success will never outpace your internal thinking.

Mindset isn’t just a perspective–it’s a filter. And if that filter is clogged with fear, negativity, or self-doubt, your results will reflect it.

The Dangerous Weight of Negative Thinking

Most people don’t realize this, but negative thinking is more powerful than positive thinking–biologically speaking.

According to neuroscience research from the Cleveland Clinic and others, the brain tends to:

• Remember negative experiences more vividly

• React more intensely to negative input

• Spend more energy processing perceived threats than opportunities

It’s called negativity bias, and it describes how our minds tend to focus more on negative experiences or information than on positive ones.

How does this affect business?

If you don’t work on strengthening your mindset, you will start seeing your business through a lens of defense, not opportunity.

That’s not just psychology. It’s neuroscience–and it starts with something called the reticular activating system, or RAS.

The RAS is a bundle of nerves at the base of your brainstem that acts like a mental filter. Its job? To decide what information is important enough to reach your conscious mind.

You program your RAS with your dominant thoughts.

Start thinking about buying a red Porsche–and suddenly you’ll see red Porsches everywhere.

Worry about losing clients–and you’ll start spotting every tiny hint of rejection.

Focus on business growth–and you’ll begin to notice opportunities others overlook.

Your RAS doesn’t care if your thoughts are positive or destructive. It just goes to work collecting evidence to match whatever you’re already thinking about.

That’s why mindset isn’t positive thinking–it’s proactive thinking.

It’s choosing what gets your attention.

It’s filtering your inputs.

It’s training your mind to work for you instead of against you.

3 Tactical Ways to Upgrade Your Mindset

✓ 1. Install a Thought Filter

In Psycho-Cybernetics, Dr. Maltz introduces the idea of a 30-day thought diet–a personal challenge to eliminate all negative thoughts for an entire month.

(By the way, I cannot recommend this book more highly. I read it once a year and recommend it to all of my clients.)

The goal isn’t perfection. It’s awareness.

You begin to notice how often negativity creeps in:

“This will never work.”

“I’m not ready for that client.”

“What if I mess this up?”

Try it for just one day, and you’ll realize how many of your default thoughts work against your goals.

✓ 2. Audit Your Inputs

Your brain is being programmed–whether you like it or not.

Think about what you let in:

• Pessimistic friends who always complain

• News headlines designed to trigger fear (I recommend never watching the news!)

• TV shows or music that glorify violence, bitterness, or chaos

• Social feeds filled with subtle envy, comparison, or outrage

It might sound hokey, but if you’re trying to build a better mindset, you’ve got to guard your gates.

Just like you wouldn’t stock your pantry with Twinkies and expect to get ripped at the gym…

You can’t fill your mind with mental junk food and expect to lead with clarity and conviction.

Replace the noise with signal:

• Read Scripture.

• Listen to leaders who speak life.

• Surround yourself with people who call you forward.

✓ 3. Use the “Act As If” Principle

This isn’t about faking it. It’s about practicing mental rehearsal.

Authors like Price Pritchett, Napoleon Hill, and even Dr. Maltz all pointed to the same principle:

If you want to become something, start thinking and behaving as if it were already true.

Want to be a calm, focused leader?

Start acting like one–before you feel like one.

Want to build a 7-figure exit-ready business?

Start showing up with the mindset of a founder who already has that business.

That shift changes how you make decisions. How you react. How you lead.

You don’t wait for confidence. You move in it.

What This Looks Like Inside The Exiter Club

Mindset isn’t an afterthought in The Exiter Club.

It’s one of the core levers we use to help entrepreneurs get out of the weeds and build lives of real freedom.

That’s why one of our six XOS™ Certified Coaches is Neo Phalora, a mindset and breakthrough specialist who works with our members to uncover hidden mental blocks–patterns that sabotage progress without them even realizing it.

Neo’s job isn’t to give you pep talks.

It’s to help you see the blind spots that are keeping you stuck–and then shatter them.

Because when your thinking evolves, your results follow.

What’s Coming Next

Next, I’m going to unpack how to build mental toughness through rhythm, routine and habits. 

I’m gonna discuss the power of morning and evening routines in maintaining focus and reducing stress through established rhythms. 

Plus I’ll offer a sample routine that includes mindfulness, planning, and physical activity.

Until then…

Go beyond the grind,
The Real Jason Duncan 🚀