Are you tired of affirmations that fade away like frosting on a dry cake? True transformation comes from actively rewiring your brain to create lasting change, a process that requires both time and deep emotional commitment. Host Jeffrey Saad shares his journey of moving beyond simple positive thinking and into the realm of radical self-creation. By aligning your daily habits and thoughts with your deepest values, you can build a personal constitution that guides every decision you make. Learn how to stop running from yourself and start living authentically as Jeffrey explains how to program your mindset for wealth, health, and true fulfillment.
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Affirmations Vs. Rewiring The Brain
Welcome. If you’ve been tuning in, I’m grateful your back. This will be a little bit of a recap. Maybe something to stimulate you to put it to use if you haven’t yet and if you’re new to it, I hope you find it valuable. What I want to talk about is the difference between affirmations and rewiring your brain. I have been rewiring my brain for many years and it has made my dreams come true. It’s incredible, but it’s taking time and work. It won’t take you 30 years because I figured out how to boil this down.
Affirmations are like a sweet frosting on a bad cake. At first glance, it looks good. At first bite, it might taste good, but then you quickly realize it’s just a big dry cake. I’ve gotten so much good out of so many great speakers, leaders and programs, but a lot of them end up fading away and falling flat. You recognize that, you go, and you get excited about something then it just fades. That’s why, because it’s more affirmation based. When you’re rewiring your brain, it’s for good. It’s forever, especially if you stick with it.
To give you an example, every morning I wake up. Without fail, I say out loud to myself or if I’m in a place where I’m on vacation and there’s people around, I’ll say to my head, “We are doing it again, making millions debt-free, and loving life. Physically fit and healthy. Bringing joy to all we encounter. Inspiring our children and enjoying incredible family time. Watching and guiding our children to fulfill their dreams. Traveling the world, learning, overflowing with vigor for life and most importantly, being present in every moment.”
“I happen to life. On my worst day, I’m still the luckiest guy I know. Ride the wave. Empathy is the ability to step into the shoes of another person. Aiming to understand their feelings and point of view and to use that understanding to guide our actions. The size of a person is determined by the size of the things that bother them. The size of a couple is determined by the size of the things they fight about.” Now, I’ve been saying that for decades, even when it wasn’t true. We didn’t have millions. We weren’t debt-free. We hadn’t traveled the whole world, but it’s what I knew I wanted and how I wanted to live.
The size of a person is determined by the size of the things that bother them. Share on XBy saying this to yourself every morning, it starts to become true. The difference between just saying it like, “I want to be a millionaire,” obviously is going to do nothing. The real difference and you’ve heard me talk about becoming supernatural with Joe Dispenza. The real difference is feeling it to your core in your entire being. Creating the emotion as if it’s happening. That’s what I do. I say this and then I go into my meditation. I feel it and I visualize it.
I feel the emotional response as if it’s happening. That’s when your life changes because then those things come to fruition. For some of you, it might feel like hocus pocus. You have to start by believing that everything is energy. The universe is made up of energy. It’s a funny example but sex is the most obvious one. The second you start thinking about it and in the mood for sex, you feel that changes in your body. All the obvious things that change.
It’s not happening yet. You’re not doing it but you have feelings as if you are because your mind is fully bought into that reality. It is the same with everything else. My mind has always been fully bought into the fact that I was going to have this woman of my dreams and I do. That I was going to have this life I have. At night to book it, I say, “I am present in every moment. Thus, I am very aware of what matters. I saw every challenge that presents itself. Turning it into a win for my clients and my family. I am patient.”
“I let things pass by. I control my response. I’m always in the right place, at the right time, which is why all my dreams come true. I am blessed with an amazing family that thrives, is happy and close. I cherish my wife and children. They cherish me. We always take care of each other. I have more money than I need. I’m so wealthy I’m able to use it to do so much good. I am healthy, strong, full of life, happy and grateful.” There’s a couple things that happen when you do this. First of all, the mind is a powerful thing and whatever you think will create an emotion.
The mind is a powerful thing. Whatever you think will create an emotion. Share on XBased on that emotion, you will make decisions and take actions. All of those actions put together equal your life. You’ve heard me talk about this many times, we are the writer, the producer, the casting agent, the sound crew, the script. Everything. We are responsible for our lives, and if you don’t think that that’s your first challenge. You have to accept that you are responsible for everything in your life, even if you might not be because that’s the only way to solve anything. It’s to start with, “It is what it is. I take ownership. Now, what am I going to do?”
It’s interesting because when you start saying this to yourself daily, and then feeling it deeply. That is the key. Hear me. It just can’t just be, “I’m going to say this real quick while I’m having my coffee and checklist. It’s done.” I’ll stare out the window. I look at the Sunrise and I’ll think about each word and each statement deeply. I’ll even assess myself. Am I doing that or not doing that? What’s my opportunity? When you start to see that, it’s incredible how it changes.
What also changes then is the way you see the world. When this is how you wake up and go to bed, putting these thoughts in your head. You will see a different world than other people see. You will look for the good. You will look for the things that reinforce what you want your life to look like. That’s the beauty. I’m here in Los Angeles with my wife. We do real estate. I’m a chef as well. We do lots of things. My experience was magnificent and then I talked to other people who live in the same neighborhoods, the same city and you’d think the world was coming to an end.
We’re in the same place. We have just chosen to look for different things, see things differently and believe things differently. These affirmations that normally fall flat, this is a rewiring of the brain. The more you do it, the more you’ll find yourself snapping back. The snap back is what I found the most fascinating. I always say, for the first third of my life, I didn’t realize I was a mess. The second third of my life, I knew it but I didn’t know what to do about it. This last third so far has been magic because I have been aware of it and making a difference. That’s what’s so incredible.
The other thing which is going to be coming out in my book called The Reduction. We’re going to have hard copies in mid-August and then it hits Amazon and bookstores in the fall. I’m super proud and super excited. I can’t wait for anybody who’s interested to dig into it. One of the key things in that book, which, again is very much about rewiring your brain, is creating your personal constitution. For those of you who have read and you’ve heard this before, but since I talked about having to read it every single day, maybe you can hear it twice and it will be helpful.
My personal constitution, this is my internal compass. This is what I started writing many years ago at a Starbucks in Laurel Village, San Francisco because it opened at 5:00 in the morning and that was my peaceful time. I would go there, I would sit and I said, “I need a compass to guide my life. I need something that tells me how to make decisions.” The key to it is your values and how you want to live. It’s not, “I want a fancy car. I want a big house,” which is totally cool and okay, but those will be a byproduct of you living your truest life.
That’s the other piece of this constitution. It’s being who you’re meant to be. I think so many of us go through life, and that’s what I talked about in the book. You’re running from yourself. You’re doing the thing. You’ve always done it. You’re not even sure why you’re doing it. You might even be trying to get better at it when it’s not even what you should be doing. If you have this personal constitution, it guides the decisions you make and how you want to live your life so you don’t spend a ton of time negotiating with yourself. Every time something comes up, you have clarity.
Here’s mine. “Gratitude and optimism are my life blood. Better every day for myself and those around me. Do the right thing and bring joy. I constantly work to be present and not serve the ego. I expect the best and react well to the worst. My superpower is that nothing bothers me. I’m impeccable with my words. I don’t take things personally. I don’t make assumptions. I will make it happen. I listen. I listen.” I have that one written twice on purpose because I need to listen more. It’s the most important thing there is.
“I make my own weather. I can choose to be in a good state of mind. I do not judge others. I see your flaws but I don’t see your struggles. I assume the best in all people and situations. I do not sacrifice my true self for my image. I am a proud example for my children. I’m a husband and father first. I love and cherish my family and that is my guiding light.” I always remember the quote, “Who you are speaks so loudly. I can’t hear what you say.” For us parents, that’s one. We can preach all day. We can tell them the right way to live and do things, but they’re not hearing a thing. They’re watching how we act and what we do because we are their example.
“I bring joy to the world one person at a time. I am the change I expect in the world. I always laugh and never take myself too seriously. I am a massive fortune and doing lots of good with it. To be financially wealthy is important to me but I will never let it be my master. True wealth starts by being happy with nothing. I take care of myself so that I can always take care of others. This means exercising sufficiently, eating properly and doing everything in moderation and always expanding my mind. My body is healing every day. My immune system is stronger every day.”
True wealth starts by being happy with nothing. Share on XI added those two when I had cancer, because I said, “What do I want to put in my brain every day when I wake up?” Not, “I’m a victim. Poor me.” My body is healing every day. My immune system is stronger every day. I would meditate deeply and I would literally start at my toes and feel the air coming up through my body cleansing any disease or any problems and just dissipating it completely. It was so invigorating. When you start your day that way versus looking at your phone or jumping into email. You can imagine the difference.
“’I am constantly learning something. I know work will fill the space given, so I will only give it the amount of time that allows me to enjoy life, pursue my passions and give more than I take. No should haves, could haves, or would haves. Only did. I can die any day and my last thought will be, ‘Thank you’ with a smile.” That’s a big one because that is how I have run my life. It’s because I’ve programmed my brain that way.
When I pivoted from restaurants, to real estate, from real estate to the Food Network cooking channel, back to real estate to speaking and writing a book, it always because that’s what I felt what I was meant to do. I have this tattoo on my arm called Ikigai. It’s a Japanese philosophy for finding what you’re meant to do in this world. I think that’s important because I don’t want to be that old guy or possibly tomorrow where I’m on my deathbed and I’m like, “I never did this. I never did that.”
To me, that’s the definition of hell, is when you have to face your entire life in that last moment and realize that it wasn’t what you wanted it to be. People get so afraid of death. I’m way more afraid of not living fully like. That, to me, is the ultimate goal. It goes on to say, I am peaceful. I am always grateful but I will never forget that I have earned it. I am so worth it and I will not let my need for validation define me.” That comes from my childhood.
The definition of hell is when you have to face your entire life in that last moment and realize that it wasn't what you wanted it to be. Share on XI had a terrible upbringing. I don’t remember my mother ever saying once, “I love you.” She’s never been affectionate. Only aggressive and heavy. As a result, I believe this and I think a lot of restaurant people are like this. If you’re a chef or a restauranterer, you just want to put yourself on the plate. You want to be told, “This is amazing.” You want to see that you’re pleasing other people. I had to write this into my constitution to remind myself that it’s great that I love pleasing other people. That I deserve it and I don’t need to have that affirmation to know so.
The last one is my children. “Be the example, inspiration and no judgment. The mother of my children, the woman of my dreams, always feels like the most special woman in the world. I will always love her for exactly who she is. Not who I want her to be, physical, six-pack and splits.” That sounds shallow but the reason I put that is because this was many years ago when I started this. I always thought to myself, “I always want to take care of myself. How am I going to know I’m taking care of myself?” I was always into martial arts. I said, “If I can do the splits and I still have a six pack, then I’m taking care of myself physically.
That’s important to me because there shouldn’t be an age where you stop exercising, stop caring about how you look, not for shallow reasons, but because I want my wife to be proud and have me next door, both intellectually and physically. I want to take care of myself. That adds to your longevity. Mental: The Reduction is the name of my book. You’ll hopefully read it and see what that whole process looks like. That is my mindset and this constitution is a big part of that, financially, free freedom, spiritual, presents, manifestation and universal energy.
This constitution, as I have repeated this to myself for many years and let it resonate deeply, as I said, it’s not a five minute read like I just read it to you. It’s reading each line slowly. Internalizing it saying, “Do I resonate with that? Is it a lie or is it the truth?” It’s okay if it’s not true yet, meaning that this is where you’re going to be in life. That’s okay because this is written in the present tense because it’s who you are and you’re going to bring it to fruition. It’s not a wish. It’s how you’re programming yourself. What happens too, which has been fascinating, is I will literally be in a situation where the younger me or the previous me, I should say, would have maybe been short tempered or jumped in and allowed no space between words and reaction.
Somebody says something or does something and I’d be instantly with my response. Usually, that’s not a good one. All of a sudden, I find myself naturally pausing, allowing space, and listening. My superpower is that nothing bothers me. It’s amazing how many times I’m going to restaurants with friends and I don’t hear anything but them. I realize, all of a sudden, if they keep looking and then they say, “Those kids over there are so loud.” I’m just so proud because I didn’t even take it in. I don’t let these things bother me.
You have the right to be you. Your authentic you. There is nothing worse than going through life not doing that. Share on XYou start to see it manifest in your life. It’s unbelievable. More than anything, I always say as well, even if everything I’m saying to you is a story and you can’t rewire your brain and bring this to life, even though I know you can. It’s still a better way to think. How you start your day and what you put in your brain dictates the day. If you wake up, go straight to email, straight to thinking about who betrayed you and why your partner is not doing what they’re supposed to do. You send your brain in that direction.
All of a sudden, the universe complies and it will give you more of what you’re putting your energy on. Think about that. Rewiring your brain versus just affirmations. Think about who you meant to be. My question to you, to everyone is always, if you wake up every day or most days and truly say, “I love my life,” then you don’t need this show or my book. You don’t need anything. Keep doing you. To me, that’s the ultimate goal. It’s just to be your best self, your truest self. If that means punching in and out of an hourly job and coming home and playing video games. More power to you. As long as you’re not hurting anyone. That’s brilliant.
If it’s to be a billionaire, then have your constitution and everything you do. Be very focused on being a billionaire. Again, hopefully without hurting anybody or doing anything wrong. You have the right to be you. Your authentic you. There is nothing worse than going through life not doing that. The most rewarding part of this every time is that when you create a constitution that reflects who you are and want to be, then you live it. Automatically, there’s no more disappointment because you’ll get and be exactly what you’re meant to get and be.
It’s because you’re living your true self. Even if it’s not as much money as you thought it might be, your happiness will be through the roof. That’s the beauty. It might be twice the money you ever thought it would be because you’re aligned with your true self. I hope that helps. I’m going to do another episode summarizing more of the book that’s going to be coming out. Be present. Love life. Be grateful. There’s always so much more to be grateful for than there is to complain about. Cheers.