Thieves of the Psyche: How Hidden Complexes are Hijacking Your Life

Listen to an expanded conversation with Bart and Sunny around this newsletter:

You ever had one of those moments where you knew you were overreacting, but you just couldn’t stop yourself? Like your body was running on autopilot, dragging you through an emotional storm before you even had a chance to process what was happening?

That’s not just a bad habit—it’s a complex at work.

Dr. James Hollis, a Jungian psychoanalyst and author, calls these “historically charged pockets of energy” in our psyche. We used to call them trauma loops—because that’s exactly what they feel like. They trigger, they spin, and suddenly we’re caught in a pattern of anger, sadness, fear, or shame—completely out of alignment with who we want to be. In those moments we behave rather badly and can’t understand why we react the way we do, especially if we are intentionally trying not to act that way.

You never really know when these little devils are going to show up, but they tend to cycle through your life on a weekly, bi-monthly, or monthly basis… and they are a tornado of misery. Ever heard the phrase, “the devil made me do it?” Yeahhh… that’s a complex.

But here’s the thing: You don’t have to live at the mercy of these invisible forces.

What are Complexes?

A complex is like a psychological landmine, buried deep in your subconscious. It’s an old, stored-up charge of emotion tied to an experience from your past. The reason they’re so powerful is that they’re not just thoughts—they live in your body as well.

They get triggered when something in the present feels similar to the original wound. And just like that, your body takes over before your conscious mind even has time to intervene. Every time this gets triggered, the energy behind it grows bigger and bigger. You may find yourself reacting emotionally stronger and stronger each time it happens.

Why This Matters…?

If you’re on a journey to create your dream business, dream relationships, dream LIFE… your complexes will show up and try to keep you small. They are literally little thieves hidden inside your psyche that are stealing your ability to show up fully, to be unapologetically creative, to play full out in your partnerships… to stop you from reaching whatever success levels you want to reach in all areas of your life.

• Fear of rejection? You’ll sabotage opportunities before they even have a chance to succeed.

• Fear of failure? You’ll procrastinate instead of taking bold action.

• Fear of judgment? You’ll keep hiding instead of showing up fully.

Your complexes aren’t just “personal struggles.” They are literally shaping your entire reality. Did you get that, or did you skim over it? Your complexes are literally shaping your entire reality. If you want to be the author of your life story, you’ve got to dig into your psyche and throw these thieves out!

How to Start Breaking the Pattern

Dr. Wayne Dyer used to share a powerful poem that perfectly captures what it feels like to be trapped in a complex, or psychological loop. It was written by Portia Nelson and is called, “Autobiography in Five Short Chapters.”

At first, we don’t even realize we’re stuck. We fall into the same patterns, blaming everything outside of us. Then, we start to notice—but we still fall. Eventually, we wake up, take responsibility, and begin to make new choices. And finally, we walk away from the pattern entirely.

Read this and see if you recognize yourself somewhere in these chapters:

Chapter 1
I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I fall in. I am lost… I am hopeless. It isn’t my fault. It takes forever to find a way out.

Chapter 2
I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I pretend I don’t see it. I fall in again. I can’t believe I am in the same place. But it isn’t my fault. It still takes a long time to get out.

Chapter 3
I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I see it there. I still fall in… it’s a habit.. but my eyes are open. I know where I am. It is my fault. I get out immediately.

Chapter 4
I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I walk around it.

Chapter 5
I walk down another street.

This is the journey of breaking free from a complex. At first, you’re blind to it. Then, you recognize it but feel powerless. With time, awareness grows, and you start to reclaim your choice. Eventually, the loop no longer has control over you - and you forge a new path.

The question is: Which chapter are you in? Let’s talk about how to move to the next one.

1. Notice the Pattern - Pay attention to when you feel emotionally hijacked. What triggered it? What does it remind you of?

2. Get Into Your Body - Complexes live in the nervous system. When you feel one trigger, pause and breathe. If possible, move - go for a walk, shake it out, change your physical state. Your physiology is the quickest way to change your emotional state.

3. Name It, Don’t Become It - Instead of saying, “I am angry,” shift to “I feel anger rising in me.” This small tweak reminds your brain that you are not your emotions. Also, ask yourself, “Is this mine?”

4. Rewire Through Repetition - Every time you pause instead of reacting, you weaken the complex’s grip. Over time, this is how you reclaim your freedom.

Your Call to Action

This week, start tracking your emotional hijacks. When you feel triggered, write down:

• What was happening?

• What emotion took over?

• What might this pattern be trying to teach you?

The more you shine a light on these hidden loops, the less power they have. And that’s how you start playing full out—without your past running the show.

Now… for all our business junkies out there… let’s talk about how this works inside your ideal buyer’s psychology!

Entrepreneurs: How to Use Your Knowledge of Complexes to Create an Irresistible Offer via Tony Robbins Style

Most people do not buy based on logic. That sounds pretty crazy, right? I think most of us honestly think or assume we are logical buyers. We think things through and make sound decisions… but in reality, we buy to escape pain or to step into a new identity.

So the first step in using buyer psychology and awareness of complexes to create an Irresistible offer is:

Step 1: Identity the Buyer’s Core Emotional Loop

Ask yourself:

• What emotional loop keeps my buyers from success? (Fear of rejection? Fear of making the wrong decision? A need for validation?).

• What belief is running their decisions? (“I’m not good enough,” “Success is for others, not me", “I always fall short”).

• How does this show up in their buying behavior? (They hesitate, procrastinate, second-guess, or seek endless validation before pulling the trigger).

✅ Example – Our new Legion 897 Mastermind:
Loop: “If I’m not struggling, I’m not working hard enough.”

Buying Pattern: They glorify hustle and burnout, believing that success must come through suffering. If things feel too easy or aligned, they unconsciously sabotage themselves.

Positioning Shift: “You don’t need to push harder—you need to rewire your reality. Legion 897 dismantles the subconscious programming that equates struggle with success, so you can finally operate from flow, power, and alignment.”

🔥 Why this works: It exposes the hidden belief keeping them stuck and reframes success as something they can achieve without self-sabotage.

Step 2: Sell the Identity Shift, Not Just the Features

Tony Robbins doesn’t sell a seminar - he sells a breakthrough.

People don’t want a coaching program.
People don’t want accountability calls.
People don’t even want more money.

❌ They want to become the kind of person who takes action and wins.

✅ Example – I Do Epic:
Instead of: "Join a group that helps you execute your goals."
Try: "You don’t need another accountability group. You need a new identity—the kind of person who follows through, every time. I Do Epic makes that identity shift inevitable by practically forcing you to become successful."

🔥 Why this works: It moves the conversation from features (accountability calls, tracking goals) to identity-level transformation.

Step 3: Introduce the “Cost of Inaction” Complex

People are more motivated by avoiding loss than gaining a benefit. Tony Robbins makes people feel the pain of staying the same so deeply that buying his program feels like the only way out.

✅ Example – Candle Biz Masterclass
Instead of: "Learn how to start a candle business on Etsy!"
Try: "Every day you delay, someone else takes the spot you could have owned in the candle industry. While you second-guess, they’re launching, selling, and winning. The question isn’t IF you should start—it's how much longer you’ll wait while others succeed."

🔥 Why this works: It activates urgency by making them feel the pain of NOT acting.

Step 4: Offer an “Easy Escape” from Their Loop

Tony Robbins uses certainty to combat buyer hesitation. He eliminates risk by making the decision feel easy and inevitable.

How to do this:

• Guarantees ("If this doesn’t change your execution habits in 30 days, get 100% of your money back.")

• Bonuses that remove resistance (Templates, scripts, or shortcuts so they don’t feel overwhelmed.)

• Fast-action rewards (VIP access, extra coaching calls, or price incentives for taking action NOW.)

✅ Example – Sorting Candle Sales Page
Instead of: "This candle changes color and smells amazing."
Try: "Your magical moment is waiting—choose your color, or let the candle decide for you. If this doesn’t bring back a wave of childhood joy, we’ll refund you, no questions asked."

🔥 Why this works: It removes risk and friction, making buying a no-brainer.

Step 5. Make Your Offer a “Point of No Return” Moment

People crave a dramatic turning point in their story—where they finally decide to change.

✅ Tony Robbins does this by saying:
"There was a moment when I decided I would never be poor again."
"If you don’t make this decision now, when will you?"

You can trigger this moment for your buyer by framing your offer as their make-or-break decision.

✅ Example – Legion 897 Offer Statement
Instead of: "Join Legion 897 to level up your business and life."
Try: "This is the moment you either break the cycle—or stay in it for another year. Legion 897 is your escape route. If not now, when?"

🔥 Why this works: It frames the purchase as a life-changing decision.

Final Formula for an Irresistible Offer (Tony Robbins Style):

✅ 1. Identify the buyer’s complex (What unconscious loop is keeping them stuck?)
✅ 2. Sell the identity shift (Not features—who they will become.)
✅ 3. Highlight the cost of inaction (Make staying the same feel painful.)
✅ 4. Offer an easy escape (Remove risk and make action feel safe.)
✅ 5. Make it a “Point of No Return” moment (Frame it as the life-changing decision they need to make now.)

Life Updates:

• We signed up for a pickleball tournament last weekend! The tournament was above Sunny’s bracket, so we knew we would be at a disadvantage going in, but decided since “We Play Full Out” that we needed to go, especially because it does challenge Sunny’s comfort zone. We did not win - but honestly, we had a ton of fun! If you never compete against people at a higher level… you’ll never rise to their level. So, watch out for the next tournament… we’ll be coming in strong!

• Bart ALSO signed up for the tournament with our friend, Matt Frew, from Boise. Crazy enough he just happened to be in Pocatello (an hour from us) and wanted to play a little pickleball. The tournament was magically at the same time… so they teamed up in the 4.0 bracket and took away the Gold! Let’s GO!

• We are going all in on writing a couple of books, but we have secured the title and URL for the first one that should be done in about three weeks. The book will be called “Fuck Your Way to Millions” and we will be talking about the concepts of energy, masculine and feminine energy, sexual energy, sexual energy transmutation (as discussed by Napoleon Hill), as well as manifesting using orgasmic energy.

Was this forwarded to you? Sign Up Here