Episode 13. Unlocking Mental Wealth with Mike Pagan

THIS EPISODE WILL BE LAUNCHING IN APRIL 2026

In this episode, Sarah Brennand is joined by Mike Pagan for a practical and thought-provoking conversation on the idea of mental wealth – and why it deserves as much intentional management as physical health or financial capital.

Mike challenges the traditional focus on mental health as something to address only when things go wrong. Instead, he reframes mental wealth as a proactive, ongoing investment in clarity, capacity, and resilience. The discussion explores how habits, environment, relationships, and boundaries shape our mental reserves over time.

Drawing on real-world experience, Mike highlights how isolation and cognitive overload affect people at every level, from students to senior leaders, and why strong support networks are not a luxury, but a strategic necessity. The conversation also examines productivity, habit disruption, and the role of coaching, mentoring, and mastermind groups in sustaining performance without burnout.

This episode offers a grounded framework for assessing your current mental wealth and making deliberate choices that support long-term effectiveness, focus, and personal sustainability.

Key Topics Covered

• Mental wealth versus mental health: a proactive lens on wellbeing
• Why high performers are often most vulnerable to isolation
• Building and maintaining a meaningful support network
• Self-care as a performance enabler, not an indulgence
• The strategic power of saying no
• Identifying and breaking unproductive habits
• Tracking time and energy to improve productivity
• The role of mastermind groups in accountability and growth
• Communication and connection as foundations of mental resilience
• Navigating life and career transitions through evolving support systems
• Coaching and mentoring as tools for sustained personal development

Mike Pagan is a leading mental wealth strategist, executive coach and motivational speaker who helps leaders, entrepreneurs and high performers build the support networks they need to thrive. With more than two decades of experience in coaching, facilitation and organisational development, he specialises in tackling the isolation that often accompanies senior roles, empowering clients to create intentional “mental wealth teams” around them.