The Inner Wealth Podcast

Ep186. Personal Power is the Ultimate Wealth: How to Build Inner Strength and External Success.

• Mike Kitko

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Personal power isn’t something external—it’s the ability to trust, believe in, and fully own who you are from the inside out. In this episode, Mike Kitko shares his personal journey from self-destruction and internal bankruptcy to radical self-mastery and empowerment. He breaks down the four voices that shape your life—three that disempower you and one that fuels your highest potential. Most people try to chase wealth, success, and external validation to cover up deep-seated feelings of insecurity, inadequacy, and insignificance, but true power comes from dissolving these inner conflicts, not masking them. If you’ve ever felt like you’re not enough, not worthy, or stuck in patterns of self-doubt and struggle, this episode will challenge you to look within and step into the highest version of yourself.

Key Takeaways

  • Your external world is a reflection of your internal state. If you don’t feel powerful inside, no amount of wealth, success, or validation will change that.
  • The three voices of survival mode—Insecurity, Inadequacy, and Insignificance—keep you trapped in fear and self-doubt. Recognizing them is the first step toward dissolving them.
  • The voice of inspiration is the only voice that leads to true power. It tells you that you are enough, worthy, and capable of anything you desire.
  • Personal power comes from self-mastery. Healing internal conflicts and rewriting the stories you tell yourself is how you unlock real freedom, wealth, and success.
  • You were not put on this earth to play small. The world needs you to step into your power and make an impact.

Notable Quotes

  • “Personal power isn’t built by chasing success—it’s built by mastering yourself.”
  • “Insecurity, inadequacy, and insignificance are the voices that keep you small. When you silence them, you become unstoppable.”
  • “Nothing outside of you can fix what’s happening inside of you. If you don’t believe in yourself now, no achievement or external success will change that.”
  • “True freedom, wealth, and success are unlocked when you own who you are and step fully into your personal power.”
  • “Are you personally powerful, or are you still living in the feelings of insecurity, inadequacy, and insignificance?”


Music Credit: "What's Left of Me" by Wes Hoffman & Friends


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Mike Kitko is an executive self-mastery coach, speaker and author. He found external success through powerful titles, incomes, and material possessions. He ultimately fell into depression, toxic abuse of alcohol, and the near collapse of his family before he began a journey of internal happiness and success.

Speaker 1:

Do you ever wake up feeling like there's something missing in your life? Do you ever feel the need to escape your business? Are you running your life or is your life running you? I'm Mike Kitko and I'll help you design and create a life so authentic and aligned with who you really are that you'll get excited just to wake up. I'll help you create real wealth, success and freedom from the inside out.

Speaker 1:

Welcome to the Inner Wealth Podcast, where we learn and choose to live inspired. Each and every day, it feels like my life, my real life. At this point, looking back, it feels like my real life started in around April of 2016. And if you've listened to this podcast for any considerable amount of time or any time at all, you've heard that my transformation, my life transformation, started because I was 300 pounds, I was suicidal, I was drinking at toxic levels, I was physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually abusive to my wife and my kids, there was so much codependency in my house and my wife was in pharmaceutical addiction and just there was nothing good in my life and nothing good in our lives. We were completely toxic together, my wife and I. In our lives. We were completely toxic together, my wife and I.

Speaker 1:

And in 2014, I was fired from an executive level position and in 2016, I was fired, from March of 2016, I was fired from an executive level position and that was after about 16 years of a lot of success in the executive ranks and I really lost myself, completely lost myself, and I released a book. My first book that I published was called the Imposter in Charge. It details my story of walking through, I guess, the emptiness that was inside of me and always feeling like a fraud and always feeling like an imposter, and always feeling inadequate, always feeling insecure, being codependent. It walks through a lot of that and it feels like my life really started. The life worth living started after 2016 or in 2016, in the second half, and that's when I really started putting the pieces back together, because I felt like a just an absolutely um, a shattered individual, a shattered human being. And when, when I did, I hired a mentor All right, now I do believe in, uh, mentors and guides and people that kind of have navigated the path before us, that can help us and encourage us to and, kind of like, give us some cheat codes to how to achieve or accomplish what they were looking for, and every time, I'm trying to close that gap I look for in the world, I look for who has already solved that problem, who's already solved that challenge, and I invest in them and that helps give me a cheat code. So I've been part of masterminds, I've hired countless mentors, I've gone to week workshops, spent a lot of money and invested a lot of money in myself in living the most powerful life possible. My wife has as well. Right now she has a real estate coach because she's starting a real estate investing journey and they just literally got their first contract yesterday and that's really, really cool. So she's been at it, but with a mentor. The mentor gave her some cheat codes, right.

Speaker 1:

Anyway, the point being is I hired a mentor and when I started this relationship with the mentor, he easily spotted that I was internally bankrupt. And I'm not talking about from a financial perspective, I'm talking about from a, I guess, how I perceived myself. My self-concept was absolutely shattered. My self-concept was it was put together with, you know, with duct tape and glue and needle and thread and glue and needle and thread. I mean it was just my self-concept was absolutely fractured, and it was.

Speaker 1:

It was painful, it was brutally painful, and what I mean by that is my self-concept is that I wasn't good enough. I was a shameful human being. All of the you know I was a complete failure because of you know, two years in not being successful in corporate after 16 plus of success. I was so identified with my pain. I was so codependent. I was so dependent on other people. I didn't have any belief in myself. I didn't realize that I had any talent. I didn't realize I had anything to give the world.

Speaker 1:

Whenever somebody gave me a compliment, I would shut them down because I just felt like a broken, defective human being and I punished myself, I tortured myself, I abused myself and I just thought that's what I deserved at the time I can't explain it, it's just at the time I just felt like I didn't deserve anything good in the world and that punishment I was justified in the punishment that I was receiving and I was also just here to serve the needs and the wants and the whims of everybody else and there was nothing good about me. And I can't explain where all of that came from, but a lot of it had to do with childhood conditioning and being raised in a, you know, an environment where we weren't allowed to celebrate any achievements or accomplishments, because or it was bragging or if you weren't perfect, it wasn't good enough, and you were always being, you know, I don't know. There was there was a lot of criticism. There was.

Speaker 1:

There was a lot of physical abuse and physical violence in my home. My brothers, my two older brothers they were always throwing down, they were always violent and, and my father, his way of my dad, my mother, my mother and father and my brothers, they loved me very much and we loved each other very much, but it just wasn't a very harmonious home. But my father's way of solving problems is he said if you ever think you're right and I'm wrong, let's go down the park and we'll throw, and whoever wins, they were right. So my father was a pretty big man when he was, you know, in his in his uh, not younger years, but you know, when he was in his fifties and sixties he was a, he was a big man and he was pretty muscular in terms of he was strong and that's kind of the home environment I grew up in.

Speaker 1:

And then I went to school and if you didn't get all A's, you were criticized. And you know, if you got all A's and a B. Then you know what happened instead of like celebrating all the A's and like every, every accomplishment was met with no, not really good job, but what could you have done better? And it set me up for like this life where I just felt inadequate all the time and I just had these stories of inadequacy in me and I didn't, I didn't realize any talent that I had. Maybe, maybe do a self inventory and see if any of that stuff that I just said see if it, if it, you know if it fits you as well Are. Are you? Are you highly self-critical of yourself? Do you punish yourself? Do you expect to be punished? Do you feel your failures are your identity? Are you so driven that instead of celebrating the 99% accomplishment, you celebrate the 1% that you didn't Like? Does any of that fit for you? Now I go back to when I've done that, podcast episodes about the four voices that we deal with at any given time.

Speaker 1:

And those four voices, three of them are absolutely punitive and they're part of survival mode, and there's one that's creation mode and that's the one that that is empowering. And the three voices of survival mode are insecurity and basically this is fear of loss. Right? It's beliefs and stories that everything that you've built is going to fall apart. Or you're going to lose everything, or or people are going to leave you or people are going to reject you. It's fear of losing something or fear of losing somebody. All right, insecurity.

Speaker 1:

The second voice of survival mode is inadequacy. It's I'm not good enough and I've got to prove something to myself, or I've got to prove something to somebody else Inadequacy I'm not good enough. I'm not good enough yet. I don't have enough. I'm not there yet. If I get this next degree, if I get this next diploma, if I get this next client, if I get this next deal, if I get this next house, if I, as soon as I have a girlfriend, as soon as I have a boyfriend, as soon as I have a spouse, as soon as I have a kid, then everything will be okay. It's inadequacy, I'm not good enough yet. I'm not there yet. And that's the second voice of survival mode inadequacy Not yet.

Speaker 1:

The third voice of survival mode is insignificance. Is I don't matter, my life is not significant? I am not significant, I am not valuable, I am not worthy, I don't deserve things. And insignificance means that you elevate everybody else's significance in your life typically and you decrease your own significance and you refuse to feel that you matter and that you make a difference and that your life is worth living in this life make a difference and that your life is worth living in this life. And, honestly, my life was mired in insecurity, codependency, inadequacy. I was always trying to prove something to myself or somebody, you know, somebody else. I was always. It was always about the next zero, it was always about the next comma, it was always about the next title, it was always about the next thing and getting. So I could feel something Because I honestly well, I would in that state. I don't feel it now, but when I get this thing, when I buy this material, when I buy this car, when I buy this boat, when I have a bigger house, that's how I live my life.

Speaker 1:

Inadequacy I was trying to prove myself to myself or somebody else. I was trying to show people that I was actually adequate and valuable, and insignificance is kind of like where I lived. I felt my job in life was just to be a martyr and I felt my job was just to be a servant for everybody else, that if I had wants or needs, I was just being a burden to everybody and my needs and wants didn't matter. I was just here to serve and satisfy everybody else's needs and wants at my own expense, and I literally remember feeling like I was just stealing everybody else's air, that I was just wasted space and I was a mistake in this world. Those are the three voices of survival mode insecurity, inadequacy and insignificance. And maybe there's something in those three that connects with you, and if so, I'm going to invite you to double down on really focusing and paying attention to the rest of this podcast episode.

Speaker 1:

Now, the only voice of creation mode, the only voice of really stepping into to your true, true, authentic power, is inspiration, and it's that voice inside of you that is where your dreams are contained. It's the voice that tells you that you can, that you're good enough, that you have enough, that you're worthy, that you're deserving Inspiration. It's the spirit within you that elevates you, instead of the voice of insecurity, inadequacy or insignificance that disempowers you. Three disempowering voices and an empowering voice, and which one is screaming loudest determines the quality of your life. And for the first 43 years of my life, those first three insecurity, inadequacy and insignificance they were all of it.

Speaker 1:

I had no voice of inspiration and as I started down the path of self-development, personal development, personal improvement, whatever you want to call it, personal empowerment, I like to call it self-mastery, mastering the mind and mastering the emotions, and mastering your authenticity and stepping into it. As I went down the path of self-mastery, the voices of insecurity and adequacy and significance got lessened, got lowered and the volume of inspiration turned up. And that's why I've spoken on large stages and I've taught many workshops and I got one this weekend. That's why I've taught workshops and that's why I have a mastermind and that's why I have a community and that's why I have one-on-one clients and that's why I'm a published author and that's why I have this podcast, because the voice of inspiration has been turned up and I understand, with the lessening of insecurity and adequacy and insignificance, I understand that I am valuable. I do have something valuable to offer the world. I do matter. I am powerful in my authenticity. I am valuable because I breathe, because I exist, not because of what I've accomplished, not because of what I do, but I'm valuable because I breathe, because I exist, not because what I've accomplished, not because what I do, but I'm valuable because I breathe and that is the voice of inspiration, and I would connect this with you. If I were you right now, I'd be saying what's true for me insecurity, inadequacy, insignificance or inspiration. Where do I live? Where's that internal narrative? Where's that internal voice? Now?

Speaker 1:

When I started this self-mastery journey, I was introduced to a concept by my first mentor called personal power. And personal power is simply believing in yourself, yourself trusting yourself, loving yourself, betting on yourself, realizing that you are worthy, you are deserving, that you are complete, you are whole, that you don't. Your needs or your wants aren't, aren't, a burden in the world. They're a gift, gift to the world. You're significant. You're equally significant, just like you're. How about this? You're the most significant person on the face of the planet, just like everybody else. We're all significant. Each, all 8 billion people on this planet are equally significant. It's just some know it and some don't. Significant, it's just some know it and some don't.

Speaker 1:

And that's the voice of personal power, that I deserve it because I want it. If I can dream it, I can accomplish it. I'm valuable because I breathe. I believe in myself, I trust in myself, I trust that life has my back. I trust that life is my ally and not my adversary. There is a burning belief in me that grows more and more every day as I continue to step on this path and step forward on the path of coaching and teaching and leading and inspiring, and with each teaching, with each breath, that belief in myself increases. My ability to step into a more authentic place grows every day and, in essence, my personal power grows every day. Now here's why I'm telling you this Because right now, there are people in this world that are living with voices in the voices of insecurity, inadequacy and insignificance, and all they are trying to do in this world is wrap themselves and wrap their insecurities, their inadequacies and their insignificant, their voices of insignificance.

Speaker 1:

They're trying to wrap them in materials and wealth. They're trying to wrap them in materials and wealth and success. They're trying to rearrange their external world to overcome these internal feelings and these internal stories and these internal narratives. Instead of going inside and starting to resolve and dissolve the disempowering beliefs, the disempowering thoughts, the disempowering emotions, instead of starting the spiritual healing journey that creates self-mastery, or and self-mastery is just being on the path of improving your mind, your thoughts and your beliefs and your emotions and your internal narrative, your internal personal power, self-mastery is just being on the path. But instead of looking to level up their inner game, their personal power, they're looking to go out and get another zero, another comma, another car, another level, 10xing their business because they're trying to pad and they're trying to wrap their insecurities, inadequacies and their stories of insignificance. They're trying to wrap them in external circumstances to pad them.

Speaker 1:

But you know what's not going to work. Nothing outside of you can change your internal state. Nothing outside of a human being can resolve an internal conflict. Outside of a human being can resolve an internal conflict. If you don't believe in yourself with nothing, then you won't believe in yourself when you have everything, until you go in and clear out the story and resolve the story and heal the story of not believing in yourself. And if you look, most of this world is in the external chase for circumstances, because they are too scared to go inside to really understand what's happening in their mind and body and starting to clear out and declutter those stories and step into their true personal power.

Speaker 1:

And personal power. Radical, powerful personal power unlocks higher levels of wealth, unlocks higher levels of success, unlocks higher levels of admiration and respect and the things that people are looking for with material possessions and cars and money and business sizes the things that they're looking for. They can have by building personal power. And then, when you are personally powerful, your natural wealth unlocks, your natural success unlocks. And you do this authentically because of the power that you have inside of you, not something that you're chasing outside of you. Guys, personal power is the path of self-mastery. It's about realizing what's happening in your mind and body and starting the process of coffee.

Speaker 1:

And he shared with me the stories that are always going on in his mind that the next time he takes a step in his career, he's going to fail and he's got to be careful and he's got to grasp tightly to what he has and he's always afraid of losing everything. And I said where do you think that came from? Who did you learn this from? You learned it from somebody in your life and he said he said I probably learned it from my dad, because my dad was always talking about being worried about what you're going to lose, and holding on and grasping and being careful. And don't, don't take. Don't take a big step, because what if you fall? Don't take a leap, don't trust in yourself, because life is dangerous and trusting yourself will just take you down the wrong path.

Speaker 1:

And I said whose voice is that in your head? And he said I thought it was mine. I said no, that's your dad's. And listen, your dad loved you very much. He was just passing on these beliefs to you and when he passed on these beliefs he thought he was doing you a service and a favor. He was passing on what has kept him safe for this long, but it's causing you to play small and he wanted to play bigger, but all these voices in her head were keeping him small. He wasn't living from a place of inspiration. He knew exactly what he wanted. It's just the voices of insecurity and adequacy and insignificance that he was gifted as a child, in his early conditioning and programming. They were still running his life and they were still making decisions for him and he was not those thoughts and those thoughts were not even his. It was his dad's voice telling him to play small.

Speaker 1:

And after he recognizes that and he starts to let those stories go and he starts to unidentify with those stories and he starts to create some separation with those stories and starts to reinvent new stories, empowering stories, and moves from insecurity, inadequacy, insignificance to inspiration. When he starts to move in that direction, everything, every circumstance in his life will move in that direction as well and he will become personally powerful. But you can't become personally powerful with materials, through, I should say, materials, success, achievement, religion, religion, as long as you're holding on to stories inside of you that are bankrupt, that are corrupt, that are painful. If there's a lot of damage and a lot of trauma and a lot of pain that's inside of you, nothing outside of you is going to heal that resolve it. But the path of self-mastery will, Understanding what's happening under the hood and stepping into a higher place of empowerment and becoming personally powerful inside.

Speaker 1:

And that's why my business is called Inner Wealth and that's why my business is called Inner Wealth, and in the Inner Wealth Mastermind and in the Inner Wealth community, we literally focus on the path of becoming the most powerful version of ourself inside, realizing that that's the greatest gift that we can give this world, that's the greatest gift that we can give ourselves, it's the greatest gift we can give our family, it's the greatest gift that we can give ourselves, it's the greatest gift we can give our family, and it's what the world really deserves from us is to be so freaking personally powerful inside that we really make a difference in the world through our power. So I challenge you to reflect and be introspective on what is the voice or what are the voices in your mind? Are they power, empowering or are they disempowering Inside in your confidence, in your trust, in your courage, in your authenticity? Are you personally powerful or are there corrupt stories in there that are keeping you feeling broken, flawed, defective? And are you ready to step into your personal power?

Speaker 1:

Guys, I've got a workshop this weekend. The Choose your Destiny workshop is this weekend. I'm excited to jam. I got people coming from a couple places around the United States. I've got a good student body. We're going to have some fun and I'm going to challenge them to grow and to evolve from the inside out, inside out, because that's the most powerful, that's the most powerful change we can make in our lives.

Speaker 1:

And when we commit to growing from the inside out, you become unstoppable, you become unbreakable and there's nothing that will defeat you in this world. And if you ever, ever fall, you have no problem getting up because you know you'll be a winner. Personal power gives you the feeling that you're a winner because you know your life matters and you know you were put here on purpose and you know you have all the tools to unlock that purpose. That's what personal power does for you. Are you personally powerful or are you still living in the feelings of insecurity, inadequacy and significance? Check in with yourself and if you are living from lack of personal power, reach out. I'd love to have a conversation with you to see how we can unlock personal power in you. Trust me, it's the greatest change you can make and it's the greatest source of purpose, freedom and fulfillment you will ever, ever experience. If you enjoyed what you heard and you want to learn more, go to wwwinnerwealthglobalcom for more tools and resources. Horses.