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In this episode, Mike pulls back the curtain on his journey since 2016—a path of self-discovery that flipped his world upside down. He lays bare a truth that hit him hard: superficial conversation leaves him empty. With raw honesty, he breaks down three levels of conversational intimacy—surface chatter, mental exploration, and the soul-deep emotional core. Drawing from personal resistance and breakthroughs, Mike reveals how craving depth became his guiding light. He connects with his tribe—people seeking transformation through truth and transcendence through love—and invites you to ditch the small talk for something real. Tune in to explore what lights you up and join Mike’s Inner Wealth Mastermind retreat in the Outer Banks, starting next week, where depth isn’t just a buzzword—it’s the mission.

Key Takeaways

1. Depth Trumps Surface Every Time
Superficial talk drains you—real connection fills your soul with purpose.

2. Three Levels Shape Every Exchange
From weather to ideas to emotions, only the deepest level unlocks true intimacy.

3. Resistance Points to Your Power
That restlessness in shallow moments is your soul begging for more.

4. Your Tribe Lives in the Deep End
Scorpio demands truth, Pisces craves love—both reject the shallow end of the pool.

5. Alignment Fuels Transformation
When you lean into what inspires you, relationships become a launchpad for growth.

Notable Quotes

“I had zero appetite and I had zero patience for… superficial conversation.”
 “I wanna know what fears you have. I wanna know where you feel fear.”
 “The thing that most people think is… what’s wrong with you is truly your gift.”
 “They don’t want me to just let them speak a bunch of nonsense and… not address it.”
 “If you’re listening to this… you probably do get bored in level one conversational intimacy.”

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

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Check out the Winning the Inner Game of Wealth 4-week intensive which starts on April 14, 2025. 

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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.

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In this episode, Mike sits down with Michael Schieffer—husband, father, real estate investor, and now founder of Exit Factor of O’Fallon—to explore the courageous leap from a secure W2 job into full-blown entrepreneurship. Michael shares the inner and outer journey of leaving behind a decade-long career in commercial lending, stepping into alignment with his true purpose, and navigating the mental and emotional turbulence that comes with redefining success. They unpack the fears, family dynamics, and internal programming that often keep high-performing leaders stuck—and what it really takes to create time freedom, fulfillment, and a business that serves your soul. This episode is a must-listen for anyone ready to stop surviving and start intentionally creating.

Key Takeaways

• Clarity Leads to Courage–Michael’s moment of vision didn’t come from force—it arrived through stillness and inner alignment. The courage to leap followed clarity of purpose.
• Freedom Requires Letting Go of Security–You can’t have both freedom and false security. True expansion comes from releasing comfort to step into the unknown.
• Identity Is Not Obligation–You don’t have to live the same life as your parents or meet anyone’s expectations but your own. Fulfillment starts with authenticity.
• Alignment Attracts Opportunity–Michael didn’t chase his business idea—it landed in his lap once he committed to the life he truly wanted.
• Emotional Courage Is the Real Work–Leaving a job, letting go of old identities, and choosing purpose requires you to feel it all—and move forward anyway.

Notable Quotes

“There’s part of me that’s still scared. But I’m not scared of the income. I’m doing this for more time with my family.”

“I didn’t leave because I hated my job—I left because I craved more freedom, more control of my time, and a deeper sense of purpose.”

“I was terrified to tell my parents. I had this imagined fear that they’d resent me… and none of it was true.”

“You can’t have security and freedom at the same time. If you want to be free, you have to let go of needing to feel secure.”

“I’m not trying to be anyone else anymore. I’m choosing what’s right for me and my family.”

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

Connect with Exit Factor here!

Check out the Winning the Inner Game of Wealth 4-week intensive which starts on April 14, 2025. 

Click here to visit our website to access free tools and resources, our Meditation Bundle, upcoming events, and our coaching service offerings.

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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.

Send me a Text Message!

In this episode, Mike unveils a transformative late-night revelation—a five-tiered pyramid he calls "The Foundations"—that redefines his signature creation process of clarity, certainty, and commitment. Drawing from eight years of teaching personal power and sovereignty, he introduces four essential layers beneath the surface: the willingness to receive, self-love, trust, and a deep sense of significance. With raw vulnerability, Mike shares his evolution from self-loathing to embracing his worth, blending personal anecdotes with universal insights. He invites listeners to join his upcoming Winning the Inner Game of Wealth virtual intensive, starting April 14, 2025, where he’ll guide participants through these foundational elements to align inner strength with outer success.

Key Takeaways

1. Creation Rests on Inner Foundations
   Clarity, certainty, and commitment thrive when built on a willingness to receive, self-love, trust, and a sense of significance.
2. Receiving Starts with Worthiness
   You don’t earn your desires through struggle—openness to receive flows from knowing you’re already enough.
3. Self-Love Fuels Effortless Action
   Radical self-love dissolves the need to prove yourself, unlocking ease in the creation process.
4. Trust Transforms Perspective
   Trusting life, yourself, and the universe turns every challenge into a step toward growth.
5. Significance Is Your Birthright
   You’re a miracle—embracing your inherent worth aligns your inner world with the life you want.

Notable Quotes

• “Most artists don’t take responsibility for their work because the work comes through them. It doesn’t come from them.”
• “You go into the creation process knowing that you’ve already earned it and deserved it… because you’re breathing.”
• “There’s no glory in hating yourself. There’s no credit for hating yourself. And you don’t owe self-hatred to anyone.”
• “Everything that happens in your life is either growing you or preparing you for your destiny.”
• “You are the most significant person on the face of the planet, just like everyone else… You are a walking, talking, breathing, fucking miracle.”

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

Check out the Winning the Inner Game of Wealth 4-week intensive which starts on April 14, 2025. 

Click here to visit our website to access free tools and resources, our Meditation Bundle, upcoming events, and our coaching service offerings.

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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.

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In this episode, Mike dives into the liberating truth behind the ego’s illusion of "arrival"—the seductive idea that peace and fulfillment lie just beyond the next milestone. He opens with a raw recounting of his own 52-year chase: from yearning for middle school to enduring Marine Corps boot camp, from corporate climbs to building a purpose-driven business, only to find the goalposts forever shifting. With a nod to a Buddhist maxim—that our struggles are so universal we’d laugh at their lack of originality—Mike blends personal stories with spiritual wisdom from Eckhart Tolle and his own awakening at 43. He challenges the ego’s carrot-on-a-stick game, showing how it traps us in unconscious living, and offers a soul-centered alternative: surrendering to the now. This isn’t about abandoning dreams, but about finding freedom by releasing the delusion that “someday” holds the key to joy.

Key Takeaways

1. The Ego Drives a Never-Ending Chase
   • The promise of “okayness” after the next goal is a lie that keeps you running—peace is already here.
2. Arrival Is an Illusion
   • Your last breath is the only finish line; the journey itself is where life unfolds.
3. Surrender Unlocks True Freedom
   • Embracing the present, not fighting it, floods your life with joy and ease.
4. The Mind Craves, the Soul Rests
   • The ego hungers for more, but the soul finds wholeness in what is, not what’s next.
5. Conscious Living Is Soul-Led
   • Step out of the ego’s chaos and into your soul’s calm by choosing the now over the “then.”

Notable Quotes

1. “If we all sat around a campfire and told our deepest, darkest secrets, we’d laugh at each other out of lack of originality.”
2. “The ego throws up a smokescreen to keep us chasing more… it’s the carrot you can never catch.”
3. “There is no arrival… and if that deflates your ego, good.”
4. “The mind wants to want more than it wants to have.” – Eckhart Tolle (shared by Mike)
5. “Take back control from your ego and live as the soul. That’s who you really are.”

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

Click here to check out the April 14, 2025 Winning the Inner Game of Wealth 4-week virtual intensive. 

Click here to visit our website to access free tools and resources, our Meditation Bundle, upcoming events, and our coaching service offerings.

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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.

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In this episode, Mike delves into the transformative power of emotional intelligence and self-mastery, key pillars for living authentically and leading effectively. He shares a coaching session with a new leader struggling to hold her team accountable, revealing how people-pleasing often masks a deeper emotional sensitivity tied to the solar plexus chakra. With his background in corporate leadership and personal development, Mike blends practical advice with mystical frameworks like the chakra system and human design to unpack why we avoid tough conversations. He argues that true mastery—over mind, emotions, and life—requires emotional courage, not just external skills, and challenges listeners to stop being “wagged” by feelings and step into sovereignty.

Key Takeaways

1. Self-Mastery is the Foundation of an Inspired Life
   • Controlling mind and emotions prevents a compromised, fear-driven life.
2. People-Pleasing Reflects Emotional Sensitivity, Not Weakness
   • Deep feelers avoid others’ emotions to protect themselves, not to please.
3. Emotional Intelligence Fuels Effective Leadership
   • Leadership hinges on emotional courage, not just external skills.
4. Emotions Are Energy in Motion—And Harmless When Mastered
   • Emotions are manageable energy; courage lets you feel without fear.
5. The Inner Game Outweighs External Skills
   • True growth comes from internal awareness, not just outward tactics.

Notable Quotes

“Self-mastery, it’s about understanding what’s happening in your mind and being able to be the master of your mind instead of mastered by your mind.”

“When you are on the receiving end and being wagged by your mind and emotions, it’s very easy to give up all your personal power, all your personal authority, all your sovereignty over yourself and over life.”

“It has nothing to do with their emotions or their feelings. It has everything to do with you can’t handle feeling their emotions.”

“Emotion stands for energy in motion. And when you don’t, when you are a deep feeler, when you have that empathy center that’s wide open… you’re ultimately gonna say things that allow you to feel what you can handle.”

“A lot of leadership training isn’t just building skills outside. It’s building healthier mindsets. It’s building healthier heartsets. It’s building healthier emotional intelligence.”

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

Click here to access details about the FREE March 12, 2025 Winning the Inner Game of Money Webinar. 

Click here to visit our website to access free tools and resources, our Meditation Bundle, upcoming events, and our coaching service offerings.

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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.

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Many people struggle to receive. Whether it’s wealth, love, success, or support, there’s often an internal block that keeps what they desire just out of reach. In this episode, Mike Kitko explores the connection between mindset, heartset, and the ability to receive fully. He dives deep into why so many feel unworthy, undeserving, or like they have to earn everything before they can have it. True abundance comes when a person aligns their thoughts, beliefs, and emotions with what they want, rather than unconsciously repelling it. If you’ve ever felt uncomfortable accepting help, opportunities, or even compliments, this episode will challenge you to open your heart and finally allow in what you’ve been waiting for.

Key Takeaways

• Mindset and heartset work together—thoughts and beliefs direct what you create, while emotions determine what you attract.
• Most people unconsciously block receiving because they don’t feel worthy, significant, or capable of holding what they desire.
• It’s not better to give than to receive—giving and receiving are equally important, and resistance to receiving is resistance to abundance.
• Struggle, over-effort, and constantly trying to prove yourself keep you from allowing what you want to flow in effortlessly.
• The gap between what you want and what you have is created by your own perception of what you deserve and are ready for.

Notable Quotes

• “If you don’t feel worthy of wealth, love, or success, you will unconsciously block it—even when it’s right in front of you.”
• “Your thoughts and beliefs are the prayers for what you want, but your emotions are the magnet that draws it in.”
• “The discomfort you feel when someone gives you something is the exact thing that’s keeping you from receiving at higher levels.”
• “You don’t take action to create—creation happens when you get clear. You take action to receive.”
• “You don’t have to earn, prove, or struggle to deserve more. You just have to open yourself to receive it.”

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

Click here to access details about the August 22-23, 2025 in-person Choose Your Destiny Live Intensive just outside of St. Louis, MO.

Click here to visit our website to access free tools and resources, our Meditation Bundle, upcoming events, and our coaching service offerings.

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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.

Send me a Text Message!

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

Click here to access details about the February 21-22, 2025 in-person Choose Your Destiny Live Intensive just outside of St. Louis, MO.

Click here to visit our website to access free tools and resources, our Meditation Bundle, upcoming events, and our coaching service offerings.

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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.

Send me a Text Message!

In this episode of the Inner Wealth Podcast, we dive deep into control programs—the subconscious mechanisms we develop to avoid pain, stress, and failure. These hidden patterns shape how we think, act, and make decisions, often without us even realizing it. Whether it’s the need for perfection, overthinking every decision, or trying to control how others perceive us, these behaviors create an illusion of safety while keeping us stuck.

Mike explores how unfamiliarity, uncertainty, and unpredictability trigger control programs and how to break free from them. He shares personal experiences, practical insights, and a powerful mindset shift to help you trust life, embrace the unknown, and create real freedom.

Key Takeaways

• Control programs are rooted in fear. They exist because we haven’t built trust in ourselves, life, or our ability to handle uncertainty.
• The most common control programs:
  • Perfectionism – Believing that if we get everything right, we can avoid failure or rejection.
  • Overthinking and overanalyzing – Trying to mentally control the future by planning for every possible outcome.
  • Trying to control the future – Seeking certainty before taking action, convinced that perfect planning eliminates risk.
  • Isolation and withdrawal – Avoiding vulnerability by pulling away from others to maintain a false sense of control.
  • Controlling the way others perceive you – Managing how you are seen to avoid judgment, rejection, or disapproval.
• Control doesn’t create safety—it creates stress. The more we try to control life, the more exhausted and disconnected we become.
• Freedom comes from surrender. Learning to trust the unpredictable nature of life is the key to peace, joy, and real success.

Notable Quotes

"Control programs don’t make life easier—they just make you feel like you’re avoiding disaster. But in reality, they’re keeping you stuck in a cycle of fear."

"Perfectionism, overthinking, and trying to control how people see you don’t actually protect you. They just keep you playing small."

"If you don’t trust life, you’ll spend all your time rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic instead of actually living."

"You’ve survived every challenge you’ve faced so far. So why are you still afraid of the unknown?"

"Life isn’t fragile. Your lack of trust in life is what makes it feel fragile."

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

Click here to access details about the February 21-22, 2025 in-person Choose Your Destiny Live Intensive just outside of St. Louis, MO.

Click here to visit our website to access free tools and resources, our Meditation Bundle, upcoming events, and our coaching service offerings.

My Social Media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mikekitko
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mike_kitko
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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.

Send me a Text Message!

In this heartfelt and inspiring episode, Mike and Angie share reflections from the Turks and Caicos, where they’re living out their dream life of integrating work, travel, and personal growth. They delve into their journey from chaos and struggle in 2016 to building a life centered on intentionality, clarity, and commitment to their vision. The couple explores topics such as overcoming societal conditioning, shifting perspectives on work and income, and creating a life of joy, freedom, and alignment. This episode showcases how dreams can become reality when you release fear, stay committed, and trust the creative power within you.

Key Takeaways:

1. Clarity Creates Your Dream Life: Mike and Angie emphasize the importance of getting crystal clear about what you want. Their dream life began with a clear vision developed during a three-day workshop in 2016.
2. Work-Life Integration is Key: Instead of seeking balance, they focus on blending their passions, business, and lifestyle seamlessly, creating harmony rather than separation.
3. Letting Go of Fear and Doubt: Releasing fear and limiting beliefs is crucial to stepping into your full potential and manifesting the life you desire.
4. Commitment Drives Success: Staying committed to your vision, even during setbacks, is essential for seeing your dreams through to reality.
5. The Power of Inner Alignment: Your external world reflects your inner beliefs. Aligning your thoughts and emotions with your vision allows abundance, freedom, and fulfillment to flow naturally.

Notable Quotes:

1. "Vacation used to be an escape from life because we didn’t love the life we were living."
2. "Clarity is the first step to creating anything you want—without it, you’ll stay stuck in survival mode."
3. "Every time fear or doubt shows up, it’s an invitation to release it and grow stronger."
4. "Your business and life should feel as good on the inside as they look on the outside."
5. "When you trust your inner creative power, you can create anything in this lifetime."

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

Click here to access details about the February 21-22, 2025 in-person Choose Your Destiny Live Intensive just outside of St. Louis, MO.

Click here to visit our website to access free tools and resources, our Meditation Bundle, upcoming events, and our coaching service offerings.

My Social Media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mikekitko
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mike_kitko
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Subscribe to my YouTube: / @mikekitko

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.

Send me a Text Message!

In this episode, Mike dives into the powerful insights of natal astrology and the interplay between his Leo Sun and Capricorn Moon to explore the dynamics of inner and outer alignment. Using personal stories, he shares how these two energies—one vibrant, expressive, and passionate, the other reserved, driven, and pragmatic—have influenced his life and the way he’s perceived by the world.

This conversation isn’t just about astrology; it’s a call to action for deeper self-awareness. Mike invites listeners to examine the gap between how they feel inside and how others experience them, and to use tools like the Soul Sciences to transcend internal conflicts and live in alignment with their truest selves.

Key Takeaways

- Inner and Outer Worlds Can Conflict. Your inner experience might not match how others perceive you, and exploring this gap is key to alignment.

- The Power of Self-Awareness. Understanding your astrological design can reveal why you think, feel, and act the way you do.

- Balance Between Expression and Responsibility. Your natural energy might pull you in different directions, but harmonizing these forces unlocks your full potential.

- People Feel Your Energy. Authenticity resonates; how you show up impacts how others experience your presence and energy.

- Your Unique Design is a Gift. Tools like natal astrology, Human Design, and Gene Keys offer pathways to uncovering the layers of who you are and what drives you.

Notable Quotes

“Your Sun sign is how the world sees you. Your Moon sign is how you feel inside.”
“Use your strengths, but don’t let them define you. Transcend the conflict and harmonize the gifts within.”
“When you align with your true energy, people feel it. They experience the love, passion, and authenticity you radiate.”
“You are not your emotional state. You are here to live as your brightest self.”
“Self-awareness isn’t just a concept—it’s the gateway to living a life aligned with your highest potential.”

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

Click here to access details about the February 21-22, 2025 in-person Choose Your Destiny Live Intensive just outside of St. Louis, MO.

Click here to visit our website to access free tools and resources, our Meditation Bundle, upcoming events, and our coaching service offerings.

My Social Media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mikekitko
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mike_kitko
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mikekitko
Subscribe to my YouTube: / @mikekitko

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.