The Inner Wealth Podcast

Ep196. Awakening to a New Standard of Success: Peace, Power, and Purpose.

• Mike Kitko

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In this episode, Mike explores the spiritual awakening reshaping how we define success, power, and fulfillment. He speaks directly to those who are no longer satisfied chasing the traditional model of wealth and achievement, and who feel a deeper pull rising inside. Through a grounded, real-world lens, Mike introduces the five shifts that signal you're moving into a new paradigm of inner authority, soul-led living, and emotional sovereignty.

Whether you’re already successful on paper or simply craving something more real, this episode will help you feel seen, understood, and activated toward a more authentic path forward.


Key Takeaways

  1. Sovereignty Begins with Inner Authority
    The shift from external validation to inner leadership is the foundation of the new paradigm of success.
  2. Authenticity Over Image
    True freedom comes from no longer performing for approval and living aligned in all spaces of your life.
  3. Integrity Over Optics
    Living in full alignment with your values—even when it’s not popular—is where real power is reclaimed.
  4. Service Over Selfishness
    This new era of leadership is rooted in heart-led contribution, not survival-based accumulation.
  5. Faith Over Fear
    Choosing trust, surrender, and expansion over control and scarcity is the key to unlocking soul-led success.


Notable Quotes

  • “We’re not humans having a spiritual experience, we’re spirit having a human experience.”
  • “The new version of success is emotional mastery.”
  • “Success in the new world is feeling successful inside, regardless of what happens outside.”
  • “The image that they have in the world becomes meaningless because they choose themselves over image.”


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 you'll get excited just to wake up. I'll help you create real wealth, success and freedom from the inside out. Welcome to the Inner Wealth Podcast, where we learn and choose to live inspired each and every day.

Speaker 1:

I've been posting a pretty consistent theme on my social media platform, specifically, let's say Facebook. Facebook is like my that's my, I guess my flagship social media platform. Specifically, let's say Facebook. Facebook is like my that's my, I guess my flagship social media platform and I basically, I guess you could say I built my business on Facebook. So it's treated me very well and I know there's a lot of people that love Facebook and there's a lot of people that don't love Facebook, but Facebook has treated me really well. So, if you ever want to see and I post daily musings, I don't know sometimes three, four, sometimes even more than that daily musings on Facebook. Sometimes I go quiet for a couple of days If I don't have anything to say, then I don't say anything. But if you want to, if you want to follow along with my daily musings, go to Facebook, find my profile, follow me and jam with me and interact with me. I'd love it if you interacted with me.

Speaker 1:

And the point that I was alluding to at the beginning was lately, across my platforms, I've been posting pretty regularly about a new world and a new, I guess, ecosystem that's forming in this world and a new wave, a new culture that's taken root. You can call it a new epoch or a new, just the next chapter in in humanity, and it's not political. What I'm about to say and what I'm about to talk about is not political in the least, although politics is definitely playing into it, but it's not political at all. So we're not going to talk about that here. But there's a new wave of what success looks like that I'm running into on a daily basis, that I'm having more and more conversations about on a daily basis, and there's like this, this tip of spear, uh, I guess, group of people spread, spread around the world, not not in, you know, in any, I guess, locale. The world, not in any, I guess locale. But there's people that are opening their eyes and they're seeing success differently than they've ever seen it before. And also there are people that still see success in the same way. So this isn't across everybody, but there are a group of, let's say, spiritual warriors that are opening their eyes and they're seeing life differently and they're defining success for themselves much differently than ever before and much differently than most folks living right now. Now you're still going to see in the world. You know when I go through what this looks like, going to see in the world, when I go through what this looks like and I've got a couple of things that I want to share about how you can tell if you're on the new success side or the old success side or somewhere in the continuum.

Speaker 1:

But there are still people that wake up every single day. They go to work or they go into the office, or maybe they're building their business. They're looking to achieve their goals. They're looking to accomplish their goals. They're looking to accumulate, they're looking to buy nicer things, they're looking to stack cash, they're looking to go on vacations and buy fine things and there's nothing wrong with any of this, but they do this all the way up until they die, and that is what they're after, and that's the definition of success in their mind is to live a material, wealthy lifestyle. And look, I love money, I love materials, I love being surrounded by nice things, I love living in a nice home, I love driving nice cars, I love going on great vacations and I love having cash. But the point is, for some people, that is what life is about, and it's about the next goal, the next accomplishment and the next comma to add to the bank account. There's nothing wrong with this and I'm not being critical of it, but for some people, that is the definition of success. But there's so many people breaking out of that as the sole definition of success and I guess, back in 2017, when I started my business, I was riding the leading edge of this because I had tapped into something and I'd found something that was missing my whole life, and I started sharing it with other people, really not knowing what I was doing.

Speaker 1:

I was just sharing what felt good. I was sharing what felt natural doing. I was just sharing what felt good. I was sharing what felt naturally natural and and what I'm? What I realized now is I was evolving into a spiritual leader in this whole new wave of what success looks like and how it's being redefined.

Speaker 1:

And you know, seven years later after I started, or now, eight years later after I started my business, my business, when I'm working with a new client, they're not just after wealth and success. In most cases, in a lot of cases, they already have the wealth and success, but they're still seeing that something's missing. And what I'm saying is they're waking up to a whole different definition of success. They have the worldly success, but they're looking for spiritual success. They're looking for a depth and an understanding of themselves and life and how to navigate themselves and life and how to master themselves and how to flow flow easier and flow more effortless with life and allow life to pour into them instead of them attacking life and almost like facing life, like it's hand to hand combat.

Speaker 1:

And we're graduating. We have been over the past. You know decades of the. Over the last century and a quarter Now. We moved through the industrial age into the knowledge age and now we're moving into the wisdom age. And now we're moving into a new spiritual dimension, a new spiritual epoch. That it's just. We're evolving into a whole like human 4.0, whatever it is, whatever that number is, we're evolving into a different level, an upgraded level of humanity, a spiritual, super spiritual version of humanity where we recognize that we're not humans having a spiritual experience, we're spirit having a human experience and we live as the spirit having a human experience and we gamify life. We don't, we don't attack or defend in life.

Speaker 1:

And this new version of human whatever number 4.0, 5.0, 6.0, it doesn't matter whatever this new version of human, this new version of being that's waking up every day, when, when they're, when they're ready and when they get, start getting those internal cravings and those internal desires, they, they want a depth of meaning and they want to feel something that they've never truly felt before. And this takes really going inward to explore what's in them that they haven't tapped into. And it's not just about tapping into something inside so that they can create something on the outside. It's just tapping into the depth and the deep-seated understanding of who we are, who each of us is, but who we are as a species, and getting an understanding of what's happening in our minds, in our bodies and why we're even, why we are the only species in the world that has not just consciousness but awareness, awareness of who we are.

Speaker 1:

A fish doesn't know it's a fish. A dog doesn't know it's a dog. A tree doesn't know it's a tree fish A dog doesn't know it's a dog. A tree doesn't know it's a tree. An elephant doesn't know it's an elephant.

Speaker 1:

But we know we are human and that separates us in a lot of ways and from that awareness. When we recognize that we have that awareness that not everyone does, not everything does, then we can understand what exactly is that awareness, where has it come from? We can understand what exactly is that awareness, where has it come from? And what am I doing with this awareness, the miracle of this awareness, to really level up, not just for my own sake, but for the sake of everyone, and how can I evolve and help others evolve as well? And I'm going to go over five things that I've recognized, and there's more. These are the only five I'm going to share in this podcast episode, but there's five things that these upgraded humans do differently than the average human that's still stuck, that still believes, that still exists, as if the chase for goals and the chase for accumulation are all success is about. And the first is these upgraded humans, these upgraded beings. They choose inner authority over external approval over external approval.

Speaker 1:

Now, I know a lot of folks that have a lot of success and are on massive stages and have massive audiences and they thrive on being seen and they thrive on external approval, external validation, external applause. If you look to Hollywood, if you look to show business, if you look to the entertainment world, a lot of those folks thrive on approval, they thrive on validation. And when the applause stops, essentially they feel like they've lost a part of themselves, because their identity, their personal authority, their personal power, who they believe they are, was deeply rooted in the approval, the applause, in the acceptance. And while they were successful worldly and I'm air quoting while they were worldly successful for a time period, when that success stops, so does their self-worth, so does their self-esteem, so does their fulfillment. And this new, upgraded version of humanity, this spiritual warrior, is choosing inner authority over external approval, inner authority, inner purpose, inspiration, inner approval over external approval. Because if you approve of yourself, if you have powerful authority over yourself, powerful authority over yourself, if you believe in yourself, if you love yourself, then that external authority comes first of all. It doesn't matter at all, it becomes meaningless. And when it becomes meaningless, that means it becomes easier to attain, but you don't need it as a form of correcting or rearranging anything that's happening inside of your mind and body.

Speaker 1:

Number two is these people are choosing authenticity over image. They stop caring about how people see them, they stop caring about how they look. And I still know people that when they're in their day-to-day they dress a certain way, they talk a certain way, they act a certain way. And then when they're under the lights and they're on stage, then suddenly their costume comes on and they change who they are and their brand, their identity shifts because of the location. And that's when you're choosing image over authenticity. Authenticity means just deciding who to be and going being it. It doesn't matter if you go to church, it doesn't matter if you're operating in your business, it doesn't matter if you're at home, it doesn't matter if you're alone, it doesn't matter if you're operating in your business, it doesn't matter if you're at home, it doesn't matter if you're alone, it doesn't matter if you're on stage. Decide who to be and go be it. And this new, upgraded form of humanity, these new upgraded spiritual warriors, they're choosing to figure out what suits them, what inspires them, what delights them, what makes them feel good, what makes them feel powerful, and they choose that all the time, whether somebody's looking or not, and the image that they have in the world becomes meaningless because they choose themselves over image. Next is integrity over optics. It's staying in alignment with your values. It's choosing your own values and staying in alignment with those, no matter if someone agrees with you or not.

Speaker 1:

For years, I've wanted to teach some of this stuff. If you go back and you listen to probably the last 20, 25 episodes of the Inner Wealth Podcast, these episodes are probably the ones that I've been wanting to share, to record over the last couple of years. But it's like there was a lack of courage and a growing courage to be able to remain in integrity, understand what I stand for and be able to share that with the world. And there could be people that are stuck in the old world success paradigm that listen to the Inner Wealth podcast and go what the fuck is this? Who the fuck is this guy? What is this airy fairy shit, this woo woo shit? It's not realistic, it's not practical, it's all fucking mystical, and there was a time where I actually gave a shit what they thought of me until I decided and I grew the balls to step fully into integrity and not worry about how I appeared to other people, how my words sounded to other people. The agreement that I had with other people integrity over optics.

Speaker 1:

Next is this is one that I had to make a radical shift. That I did. I didn't have to, but I did. I chose to make a radical shift and it's service over selfishness. Nervous over selfishness, I remember back in 2016, 2017, when I had no income and I was trying to figure out what to do with the rest of my life. I went back and tried to find a job. I went to four or five job interviews, came up runner up in almost all of them, I'm like I just need money.

Speaker 1:

I started reading all these entrepreneurial books and I hadn't quite embarked on the entrepreneurial venture yet and they started talking about there's a great book called the Go-Giver and I'm like, fuck that, I need some money. What am I going to? I'm not going to give something to anybody that they haven't paid for. And the journey over the last eight years nine years, can you believe it's almost a decade? The journey over the last few years the last decade-ish, has been of leading with the heart instead of leading with the bank account Is serving instead of waiting for the investment. Instead of waiting for the investment, is giving and being open to receive but not making it a requirement to serve society, to make an impact, to give away knowledge and wisdom and insight and to inspire others.

Speaker 1:

And if you look, I'm working on a new workbook right now that I'm getting ready to launch over the next couple of weeks. I've got a new book coming out in the summer Inner World, outer World that's coming out. These are either $0 items that I'm giving away or low dollar items that I'm giving away, full of chock, full of nuggets and wisdom and insights and just mindsets and heart sets. On my website I've got free courses. I've got free workbooks. I've got tons and tons of free stuff on my YouTube channel this podcast is free and I've started choosing service over selfishness. Not the brand of healthy selfishness that I teach to invite it into your life because you want it, but selfishness from a place of scarcity and shifting from selfishness from a place of scarcity into service based on abundance and guys.

Speaker 1:

The last, and probably the most fulfilling, is choosing faith over fear. And if you look at most of the world, especially people stuck in the old paradigm of success, in the hustle, in the grind, in the constant building, in the constant more in the constant striving for excess that you'll never, ever touch or you'll just stash just for the sake of stashing it, instead of enjoying life just for the sake of stashing it instead of enjoying life. The difference is a lot of that old success paradigm came from insecurity, inadequacy and insignificance, the fear of running out or the fear of not having, or the fear of losing, trying to become someone and trying to prove something to the world. And if you listen to the, I guess the old paradigm teachers that are always teaching the hustle, that are always teaching the grind, that are always teaching more, more, more. It's always about proving yourself. It's always about proving them wrong. It's always about proving yourself. It's always about proving them wrong. It's always about becoming someone in the world. It's all about making sure you always have what you need and it's never about just trusting that what you need is going to come to you, trusting that life wants for you what you want for yourself, trusting that you're so valuable that you'll never run out, feeling so full of yourself. You don't need to prove anything to anyone else, knowing that you're a miracle just because you're breathing and from there surrendering into the miracle that you are and choosing faith over fear. So those five again inner authority over external approval, authenticity over image, integrity over optics, service over unhealthy selfishness and faith over fear.

Speaker 1:

That's the beginning of the shift from the old world success model into the new world success model, world success model into the new world success model. Now, when I look back at the body of work that I have over the last eight or nine years, I've been serving those people, I've been teaching those people. I just didn't know I was teaching a new, upgraded form of human being that's opening their eyes and opening their hearts to a whole different way of living and a whole new level of consciousness. And that's what this is. It's a whole new level of consciousness. It's upgrading the insides more than making it necessary just to upgrade the external world that we live in. Success in the new world is feeling successful inside, regardless of what happens outside. Success in the new world is feeling wealthy inside, regardless of how much money is in your bank account. Success in the new world is emotional mastery. Success in the new world is not mastery. Success in the new world is not letting circumstances determine your quality of life and how you are able to be silent and still inside and waking up in a place of peace instead of pressure. That is success in the new world.

Speaker 1:

And, guys, if that sounds good to you, then go to my Facebook page and follow me. You can email me at mike at interwealthglobalcom. I'd love to have a conversation with you. Go to my website and put in a form on this podcast. On the podcast, at the top of the show notes, you can see something that says text me and I'll get a message. And I've gotten a couple of those and I just don't know what to do with them yet.

Speaker 1:

I think I'm going to release special episodes answering some of those questions. But, guys, if there's any way that I can serve you, if there's any way that I can help, if there's any way I can support you to shifting into the new world of success, and if you're already getting that internal yearning and you know something's missing, then you're ready. You are on the verge of the shift and I'd love to support you through it. If you feel that internal yearning, you are a spiritual warrior. Welcome to a whole new way of being. If you enjoyed what you heard and you want to learn more. Go to wwwinnerwealthglobalcom for more tools and resources. You