EPM’s Mancuso encourages a change in mindset to break the cycle of negativity
It is easy for mortgage brokers to be overwhelmed by negative headlines surrounding the mortgage industry. One industry leader encourages brokers to block out the negativity and find a way to embrace an unrelenting mindset, leading to success.
The negative headlines continued on Wednesday. Mortgage rates will likely stay elevated as the Federal Reserve decided not to cut rates. New housing starts saw a nearly double-digit decline, and homebuilder confidence is at almost its lowest point in 13 years.
These headlines can weigh on people in the mortgage industry. However, Phil Mancuso, president, CIO, and partner at Equity Prime Mortgage (EPM), encourages brokers to see things differently. He spoke to brokers at EPM’s recent The American Gift (TAG) event in Atlanta.
He said that negative mindsets can be contagious, and that mindset has become amplified in the social media world we live in.
“I think mindset wins,” Mancuso said. “When I look at starting a business, when I look at getting into a sales meeting, when we huddle at the office, I think invariably, the frailty of humanity drives us to want to feel bad for ourselves. Misery loves company. What a tough day I have. I've got this borrower who's driving me crazy. I've got this broker who submits (bad) files, and we want people to feel bad for us. We want that validation.
“I think that's why social media is as effective as it is. It's sort of instant validation. We sort of seemingly live from quick fix to quick fix. Complain about this today, complain about something else tomorrow. It makes us feel good.”
Wins not celebrated enough
Mancuso believes that people almost fear celebrating their wins, becoming worried about appearing arrogant.
“Tony Robbins talks about people wanting to be loved, accepted and recognized,” Mancuso said. “That validation we often see is easier found in misery, easier found in complaining, than it is in celebration. Sometimes we don't celebrate the wins enough. I think sometimes we get conscious about that. We worry about jealousy. We worry about envy.”
He urged brokers to change the mindset that is afraid to celebrate victories. The ability to revel in success will bring more victories to celebrate.
“I worry about myself. How am I going to get better?” he said. “If I'm doing the right thing, if I'm true to myself, it has to work out. We sometimes fall into this trap of negativity, and we need to break the pattern. The great news is, when you are basking in the glory of positivity, that's also a cycle that needs to be broken, and if you don't break it, and that should be the endeavor, guess what? All you do is win.
“Every conversation is about success. Every conversation is about the next deal. Every conversation is about winning. People want to run with winners.”
An abundant mindset
Mancuso told a story of a professional athlete looking to get into social media. He had to explain to the athlete how being in business was different because it was about the long-term investment. Athletes were more concerned about the immediate win.
“You're playing the long game,” Mancuso said. “You're seeing three steps ahead, as we like to say nowadays, you're playing chess, not checkers. That's the mistake I have found that people make in their preparation for success. We know they want to succeed, and they might even have the right mindset from a tactical standpoint, but from a cultural, a spiritual, a guttural standpoint, they don't understand that sometimes you have to take losses.”
He said successful people can afford to lose in the mortgage industry because there is so much business in the market.
“Successful business people lose,” he said. “Successful business people make mistakes. Successful business people, and I hate to use this term, I think it's overused, but have an abundant mindset. Some of the folks here talked about, ‘We don't worry about our competition.’ Truthfully, I don't believe all of them, but in reality, it's absolutely the right mindset. Your competition is yourself.”
Despite a challenging market, and even though interest rates are likely to remain elevated for the rest of the year, Mancuso believes that if brokers relentlessly pursue success, they will find a way to earn business and achieve success.
Eddy Perez, founder and CEO of Equity Prime Mortgage (EPM), stresses that mortgage brokers are the "new guard" due to their flexibility and options. He urges them to shed old mindsets holding back growth and embrace industry changes.https://t.co/4njkMcTJM3
— Mortgage Professional America Magazine (@MPAMagazineUS) June 10, 2025
“I think it's that mindset of being unrelenting, that mindset of knowing the goal and living the goal, understanding it, not letting anything get in your way,” Mancuso said. “If that goal is all that matters, and when I see all of you here, it tells me how important this goal is to you. How many of you are away from your families? How many of you are not on a beach, not sipping a pina colada? So, this is meaningful. It matters.
“Embrace that. Lean into it. Understand it. You can watch a show on a rerun. You can play golf another day. Pay your dues now, while you can, before it's too late.”
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