Executive TLDR
Fear can paralyze or mobilize—use it as fuel.
Self-doubt limits growth; belief unlocks potential.
Laziness, both physical and mental, destroys momentum.
Victim mentality blocks progress regardless of background.
Loyalty to your goals, vision, and leadership is essential for winning.
Video Summary
In The Five Dream Killers That Stop People From Winning, Mirlene Pascal delivers a powerful message on the internal obstacles that prevent success.
She begins by sharing her journey—joining the business part-time in 2009, becoming an RVP in 2011, and building toward over half a million dollars in income. Starting as a single mom with a healthcare background, she initially had no intention of changing careers. However, after earning her first $3,000 with little experience, she committed fully. Her story reinforces that success is available to anyone willing to decide and execute.
Mirlene outlines the five dream killers she has observed while building a growing organization.
1. Fear
Fear is the first and most common enemy. Many people are afraid of what others will think. She explains that fear is necessary—it protects and guides—but must be used properly. Fear can either paralyze or mobilize. She chose to let fear drive her daily action, prospecting consistently and pursuing high-level individuals. She emphasizes that bigger fears—like financial dependence or failing to build a legacy—should outweigh small social fears.
2. Self-Doubt
Self-doubt questions personal worth and capability. Mirlene challenges listeners to ask themselves whether they truly believe they are enough. She points to leaders in her organization achieving major milestones in under a year as proof that rapid growth is possible. According to her, growth happens when belief increases.
3. Laziness
She identifies both physical laziness and mental laziness. Success requires consistent work, not occasional bursts of effort. Momentum must be protected. Celebrating too long, taking unnecessary days off, or being “busy” without productivity destroys growth. Diligence creates wealth; inconsistent effort creates stagnation.
4. Victim Mentality
Background does not determine future success. What matters is direction, vision, and responsibility. Victim thinking shifts blame outward, while winners focus on building forward.
5. Lack of Loyalty
The final dream killer is disloyalty—toward goals, vision, mentors, and the company. Loyalty sustains long-term commitment. Without loyalty, people drift when challenges arise.
Mirlene closes by challenging the audience to define their goals for 2026 and commit deeply. Success does not happen accidentally—it requires disciplined action, belief, loyalty, and daily growth.
The five enemies are internal, not external. Defeat them, and winning becomes inevitable.
FAQs
1. What are the five dream killers?
Fear, self-doubt, laziness, victim mentality, and lack of loyalty.
2. Is fear always negative?
No. Fear can motivate growth when used correctly.
3. What type of laziness is most dangerous?
Both physical and mental laziness damage progress.
4. How does self-doubt affect success?
It limits action and reduces belief in potential.
5. What is victim mentality?
Blaming circumstances instead of taking responsibility.
6. Why is loyalty important?
It keeps you committed during difficult seasons.
7. Can single parents succeed in business?
Yes. Mirlene’s story proves it’s possible with commitment.
8. How do you overcome fear of opinions?
Focus on bigger goals and long-term vision.
9. What builds momentum in business?
Consistent daily effort and disciplined time investment.
10. Is success available to everyone?
Yes—but not everyone is available to do the work.
11. What determines long-term growth?
Belief, loyalty, and consistent action.
12. How can someone grow to the next level?
By developing mindset and skill—not waiting for circumstances to change.
13. What role does time management play?
Time is the most valuable investment for building success.
14. Why do some people stay stuck?
They allow internal enemies to control their actions.
15. What is the ultimate takeaway?
Eliminate the five dream killers and commit fully to your goals.
Glossary
Dream Killers – Internal mindset obstacles that prevent success.
Fear as Fuel – Using fear to drive action instead of avoidance.
Self-Doubt – Internal questioning of one’s capability or worth.
Victim Mentality – A belief that circumstances control outcomes.
Loyalty to Vision – Long-term commitment to goals, mentors, and mission.
Transcript:
As Dave said, my name is Marlene Pascal, came here quite some time ago, actually joined the business in 2009, 2011, went RVP. And let me tell you guys, I am super blessed to be a part of Primerica. This business has changed my life as a senior vice president now standing before you all as a senior vice president on our way to head over half a million dollars income. And when I came here, I had no idea. I joined the business to do it part time. But then the RVP that recruited me said, would you like to change a career change? And at first I said no. But when I made my first $3,000 with little to no experience, I said no. This is it. This is exactly what I’m going to do for the rest of my life. So today.
And I started the business as a single mom. So for some of you women, we have no excuses. There’s no reason to why anyone who truly wants to succeed can succeed here. It’s all about, how bad do you want it? So I’m going to share with you. First, I want to thank God for this, for blessing me, my family and blessing me with this amazing opportunity. I want to thank our coaches, Coach John Lavin, Coach Charlemont. I want to thank NSD Teshler and Gerta Sanat. I want to thank NSD Rezi. I want to thank my hierarchy, my teammates, my RVP’s, IVP Junon and James Fertile, RVP Celine, RVP Noldia and also RVP Jenan’s first RVP, which is RVP Katiana. So super grateful for my sister that’s definitely here. So excited. So let me talk to you today.
I’m gonna share the five dream killers of success. I’m gonna share with you five dream killers as I continue to build my hierarchy, as I continue to explode my base shop. Right? A few days ago were like number one in the state of Florida. And then I saw nsd Tesla Sanaa, you know, kind of like kicked us out of the number one spot. But we are still on the premium side. That is so. But we’re excited because we have a bunch of people that really want to do something big in our base shop and in our environment. But I’m going to share with you all five dream killers of success. Dream killer number one is fear. Fear. Most people don’t succeed here or don’t succeed in life because of fear. They’re afraid.
And I would say the first thing that they’re afraid is what other people are going to say. They’re afraid of what people might think of them. See, my background, I started as a pharmacy technician with a bachelor’s in health administration. I thought I was for sure that I was going to be a health care provider for the rest of my life. So when I told my friends and family that I switched careers, they’re like, no, stay in healthcare, you’ll always have a job, right? But I knew for sure that I wanted to be a business owner. So I decided that in spite of the fears that I had inside, in spite of. Of the fact that I was not sure if I was going to succeed here, I decided to use my fears to motivate me to take action.
Fear is not a bad thing. Fear is actually necessary. See, fear can actually be used as a tool to create the life that you desire. For example, if there was no fear, we would drive 150 miles per hour on the highway. See, fear is important for success. The problem is that we’re supposed to use fear, but sometimes some of us, we allow fear to use us. When we use fear can do two things. It can either paralyze us or it can mobilize you. So I decided to use fear to transform my life entirely. See, the reason I decided to use my fear because I have some bigger fears than what people may think. I had a fear of. I have a fear and that fear was before I came to Primerica. The fear of not being financially independent.
I came here with the fear of not becoming a double digit millionaire, A fear of not living my legacy, A fear of not building a lasting legacy for my family. So those are some of the fears. So as we talk about fears, jot down some fears that you may have. Some fears that may stop you from going to the next level. John Maxwell says that we don’t go to the next level, we grow to the next level. So what fears are you working on overcoming? See, I use my fear to pay the price daily. I use my fear to prospect daily, to connect with influencers in our community. I use my fear to recruit celebrities right here in our Haitian community. See, a lot of us talk to people who need the business to survive. I decided that a while ago.
I decided that I was going to give people the opportunity that felt like they wanted the opportunity, not people who just need the opportunity to survive. Right? So I made a decision that I was going to build a big bay shop in spite of my fears. One of my fears was prospecting, going out and about, talking to people. But I made a decision that I was going to build A big bay shop. I made a decision that I was going to become financially independent. So what decisions are you making? This is 2026. What decisions are you making? So fear. So number one. Enemy number one is fear. Enemy number two. You guys ready for enemy number two? Are y’ all ready for enemy number two? All right. So enemy number two is self doubt. Self doubt.
See, self doubt can cause you from not going to the next level. See, I always ask myself, man, Merlene, are you enough? Can you win here? Can you really come here and do something big? Right? Can you really build a big bay shop? Can you truly come here and build a hierarchy? And right now we have. In our base shop, we currently have regional leader doing 50 by 50. We have a regional leader. Actually, we have Gene Aristel as a division leader who qualified for the power builder watch in our bay shop. And if you check on Pol, he’s less than $8,000 away from qualifying for the power builder ring as a regional leader. And get this, he hasn’t even been licensed in our business for a year. So I’m here to tell you, yes, you are enough.
Yes, you can go build that big bay shop. Yes, you can build a super hierarchy. So the next enemy, you guys are ready for enemy number three. All right. Enemy. The third enemy. Why I see some people don’t succeed here is laziness. Laziness. You can talk a good game, but the people who win here are the ones that are willing to work hard. Laziness. There are two types of laziness. There’s physical laziness. There’s mental. The second one is mental laziness. See, Proverbs 10, verse 4 states, lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth. See, some people are too busy being busy to build their business. I see people all the time. They celebrate their birthday. They’re like, oh, I’m celebrating my birthday this entire month. So I always tell people. I’m like, what? That has to be some broke people mindset stuff.
Because there’s no way. So I always tell people, take hours off, not days off. When you want to keep the momentum that you have going on in your business or you want to create some serious momentum, you can take hours off, but not days off. See, success is available to us all. But are we available to succeed? See, when you value success, you will never. If you don’t value success, you will never have time and you will never have money. See, your most valuable investment is your time. And your people make a decision to invest your time. In your people. It’s all about how you think. It’s all about how you see yourself. See, big teams are built by big dreamers. Big teams are built by big doers. Big teams are built by big producers. See, we don’t.
Success is not just going to happen magically just happen. Right. So I’m going to share the last two Mindset number four is victim mentality. Number four, victim mentality. So it doesn’t matter where you come from. All that matters is where are you headed? Where are you going? See, if you have a big dream, you have big goals, you can make it here. What is your goal? What is your vision for 2026? So the fifth reason why people don’t make it here is because they are not loyal. They’re not loyal to their goals, they’re not loyal to their why, they’re not loyal to the company, they’re not loyal to their coaches. Loyalty is everything, folks. Loyalty is everything. Be loyal to your goals, be loyal to your dreams, and make sure you don’t let those five enemies kill your dreams. Thank you.
