Embark with me, Michael Kane, on a transformative journey through the mind's darkest corners and the unseen chains that tether us to self-doubt. We venture into the heart of our psychological restraints, discussing how the internal narratives we create can lead us to feel trapped in a defeating cycle. It's a raw and honest exploration of the pitfalls that come with underestimating our worth and the dangers of elevating others to unattainable heights. Through personal stories and hard-earned wisdom, I offer a glimpse into my own battles with a confidence worn away by external forces, and the courage it takes to fight back and write our own stories.
In this heartfelt episode, we also look at the power of positivity and the essential role of a supportive network. I share candid reflections on my encounters with bullies and critics, likening them to predators in the wild and revealing the profound impact they can have on our well-being. It's a compelling conversation about the lives of public figures who've persevered in the face of adversity, reminding us of what the world might have missed had they given up. More than just a narrative, this is a call to action to mentor, uplift, and inspire those around us, whilst we ourselves embark on the quest for personal liberation and the joy that comes with breaking free from our own mental shackles.
Embark with me, Michael Kane, on a transformative journey through the mind's darkest corners and the unseen chains that tether us to self-doubt. We venture into the heart of our psychological restraints, discussing how the internal narratives we create can lead us to feel trapped in a defeating cycle. It's a raw and honest exploration of the pitfalls that come with underestimating our worth and the dangers of elevating others to unattainable heights. Through personal stories and hard-earned wisdom, I offer a glimpse into my own battles with a confidence worn away by external forces, and the courage it takes to fight back and write our own stories.
In this heartfelt episode, we also look at the power of positivity and the essential role of a supportive network. I share candid reflections on my encounters with bullies and critics, likening them to predators in the wild and revealing the profound impact they can have on our well-being. It's a compelling conversation about the lives of public figures who've persevered in the face of adversity, reminding us of what the world might have missed had they given up. More than just a narrative, this is a call to action to mentor, uplift, and inspire those around us, whilst we ourselves embark on the quest for personal liberation and the joy that comes with breaking free from our own mental shackles.
Well, hello there. This is Living your Success 24-7 with Michael Caine. How are you all doing out there? I hope you're doing great on this Sunday. Is it Sunday evening? Oh gosh, the time goes by fast. It's May 19, 2024 already, so let's jump into it.
Speaker 1:
I was thinking recently about freeing my mind. How did I free my mind? What am I doing that stops taking to free my mind from being a prisoner of my own mind? Have you ever felt that way? Let me ask that question Raise your hand. I can't see your hand, but I trust you.
Speaker 1:
If you're a prisoner of your own mind, where you're trapped in this endless cycle of defeat, in the cycle of failure, you're not worthy to be successful. You know those where you see the two glasses one they have equal amounts of water, but one you see as the glass half empty, the other half full. So what do you see? A lot of times we devalue ourselves. Many times we do, and we're our greatest enemy. Before anyone else gets to you, you get to yourself or you buy into the lies. We allow others to control us, to manage our emotions, okay, to direct us, to define us. So you may be from time to time, or much of the time in a mental bondage, emotional, psychological bondage, sad, depressed give up. And, by the way, I encourage all my listeners to get whoever requires assistance, to get professional help. If that's the case, I'm only giving my opinion, my observations and my experience, not advice, not financial advice either health advice. So we put others on a pedestal, giving them godlike powers over us. Oh great, whatever you, you've seen the cinematic universes with all the superheroes we give them? Oh, praises me, you can deliver me. No, you need to deliver yourself. So it's important that we take measure before we and that we hesitate and we delay when we give people godlike powers over us and put them on a pedestal so high that you know, not only ridiculous, just not real. No one's better than you, no one's better than each other.
Speaker 1:
True, we all have gifts, and maybe innate gifts that we just have and we develop, and maybe in native gifts that we just have and we develop. And some of those gifts are rated differently than others, which, in a job place, you see the disparity of wages because they value, let's say, being a software engineer over a dishwasher. Okay, thus your dishwasher is played much less than the software engineer. Just an example. It doesn't make you. Hey, I washed dishes and got paid to do that. We're not any less than anybody else.
Speaker 1:
Do what you got to do to put food on the table and earn a living Better than just doing nothing and being lazy, right so, or broke and poor, and and hungry, okay. So if you're able, you do as you're able, and so I'm talking about a psychological, emotional bondage here, not a physical one. So, just as important, because if someone has your mind, they have your body. Quote me If someone has your mind, if the enemy has your mind, they got you. They don't need to lock you up or tie you with ropes and chains physically, because they already got you. And so I'm here to tell you today it's not too late, oh. But Mr King, time is running out. No, it's not. And so I'm here to tell you today is not too late, oh. But Mr Kane, time is running out. No, it's not. Do we live forever? No, so, yeah, to some extent it is running out, but you need to work on the day. Yeah, reflect on yesterday. But we got shackles to deal with emotional shackles.
Speaker 1:
Let me talk about myself. Let's talk about me Growing up, let's say pre-kindergarten to kindergarten, to elementary school age. What is that? Five, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11 preteen. So five, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11 preteen. Before that I was in those before preteen, before 12, let's say I was comfortable. I was confident how I viewed myself. I didn't think of myself as godlike but most talented or most whatever, but I believed in myself. I said, hey, uh, our parents raised us and grandparents and elders raised us to be, uh, look at ourselves with confidence and to be thoughtful and kind and considerate. That's who the young Michael Caine was. I thought I could do or be anything you know, within reason, of course, okay.
Speaker 1:
But then something happened. Something happened Somewhere around 12 and forward. There was an invasion. I was invaded Like a country, like Russia's doing with Ukraine, and I won't name other countries Thinking about doing it to their Territories. I was invaded no, not by aliens From outer space to their territories. I was invaded, no, not by aliens from outer space. I was invaded by well, I was invaded by myself to myself, by starting to diminish who I am, and my confidence level started plummeting down to earth.
Speaker 1:
And it didn't help when other people, negative people, began whispering in my ear, which I allowed and some I had no choice and I'm gonna tell you that in a moment, whispering that, oh, you can't make it, you can't do that, you can't do this, you can't do that, you're not good enough. There's other people better than you. Oh no, no, you don't have talent, you don't have the looks. And see, I was comfortable in my own skin up until that point where I started believing a lie. So believing that, I was comfortable in my own skin up until that point where I started believing a lie.
Speaker 1:
So believe in that. Oh man, what's wrong with me? Nothing was wrong with me before I got older into the land of a-holes who probably some were jealous, some were envious and some were just jackasses who were scared little babies. They had faith in themselves. So they'd attack other people and bully. That's what bullies do. Bullies want to attack other people because they believe they're inferior. They're actually inferior and they are inferior. Anybody bullies people and does that with intention intention to is an unfair jackass. So they prey upon other people. So I was preyed upon, like in the Sahara that the, you know, the big cat is chasing the gazelle. I was a gazelle and so I started believing the lie that was unfolding that.
Speaker 1:
Oh, I don't think I could do that now. If you asked me when I was five, six years old, I'd say, yeah, I could do that. I'm Superman. Superman asked me at 12, oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, can't do that, not good enough, can't make it. And it started impacting my health where I had to take medicine. It was serious, very serious. So how I saw myself diminished significantly To feeling worthless, diminished significantly to feeling worthless.
Speaker 1:
And those are your enemies and frenemies. People pretend to be your friends and you have to dump in some family members too that try to get you, try to cut you. Yeah, those you need to stay away from. Needless to say, that's the conclusion there. I'm giving you a conclusion because it's in my spirit to do so. You need to stay away from people that's in your not to be in your inner circle who are trying to ruin you or make you look like a fool, make fun of you, intimidate you and bring you down. You need to stay away from them. Folks now let's talk about the folks who aren't intending to do that, but may do that now certain people may think they're doing you a favor by saying oh, you really can't sing. You know you need to quit. I don't want you to embarrass yourself. You know. They said that.
Speaker 1:
People have said that to uh entertainers that have sold hundreds of millions of records. And what if they just quit? What if the Beatles quit? Elvis quit? All these folks in business too, like Oprah Winfrey or whoever.
Speaker 1:
People were told you're not this enough, you're not pretty enough, you're not good enough, you're too short, you too tall, you too. You can go on and on and on. And if edison and all these people thomas salvin, edison, wright brothers listen to these people, what will we have today? We wouldn't have electricity movies, uh, airplanes, if these folks listen, these cars, right, do you see the impact here that you know what could happen? Um, if you're diminished to the point you just give up, that the gift that you were about to bestow on the world next year won't happen.
Speaker 1:
Because you quit today, because you listen to some fool that, because they couldn't do it, they're trying to bring you down. See, people, misery loves company. Now, this also. I'm not saying you have the talent or me I. We have the talent to do whatever we want. Sorry, we just don't. You know, everyone has their own gifts and skills and abilities and so.
Speaker 1:
But the point is, you define your story. So it's important that you free your mind, and that's the title of this show. Free your mind of these negatives, of the sadness. Free your mind and you will follow. Your body will follow your mind wherever you direct it. Your body will follow your mind wherever you direct it. Your butt will follow what your mind says to go. So your inner circle should involve people who support you, who won't tear you down, who will encourage you but yet also tell you truth too. Now, and it's up to you to agree or not agree to the truth, but if they have a good heart, not trying to bring you down, I would listen, definitely.
Speaker 1:
So in my story I started to compare myself with others. I started to compare myself with others and for the most part it wasn't a fair comparison. We all have our different backgrounds. It wasn't apples to apples, but things went steadily downhill for me, treading water to drowning by losing that kindergarten nurse, that five-year-old's view. His self-concept was destroyed. So you get into the devil's territory when you start comparing yourself against so-and-so. Did this so-and-so? That could be their gifting and not yours. So I was in a psychological jail, hell and 14, 15, 16, I had fun. Had a lot of fun too, but a lot of fun that I didn't have either because of my self-concept and embarrassment. You can call it whatever you want. I wanted to be free. I didn't know how, but didn't know how.
Speaker 1:
That's why it's important that you folks out there mature, seasoned folks. I'm not just talking about old. When I say mature and seasoned, I mean you could be in your 20s and seasoned and mature. What I'm about to say is to coach and mentor other people, your friends, colleagues. They could be your age Because you have a depth, breadth of experience, may be going through what I'm talking about now.
Speaker 1:
You survived it and you start saying well, who am I? What is that existentialism? Well, who am I? What is that existentialism where you challenge the mere existence of yourself or us as a people, a planet, the human race? Who am I? What is happy, man? It's been so long ago. Since I was happy, you may tell yourself, maybe 10 years ago, being in unhealthy situations. Since I was happy, you may tell yourself it may have been 10 years ago being in unhealthy situations. I think relationships could do that to you too, which I unfortunately experienced as well, and I was in health bondage, emotional bondage and financial bondage my goodness, a trifecta there.
Speaker 1:
The question is what I ask myself what do I want to do with my life? What do I want to do? And my original plans? Should I do that? I don't know if I have the wherewithal, but I originally thought before I had this poor self-concept. See, when the invasion went deep, the invasion destroyed my belief system, my things that I hold dear and sacred. The invasion ran very deep into my id, my emotional, psychological framework.
Speaker 1:
So how do I get out of jail? I need to like monopoly it get out of jail free card, right? Well, it's not so easy, but what that is, that card is, is when someone extends themselves to help you teacher, mother, father, grandparent, even a complete stranger whose mission on this earth is, like Mother Teresa, martin Luther King, is to help other people to be free of all kind of bondage, whether in the literal sense or the figurative sense, so to get that value back. It's like your currency, the dollar, because let's say it was hyperinflation or something, and a dollar is no longer a dollar. It's like 90 cents and then it's now 50 cents, no pun intended. So 40 cents, so currencies, they go up and down in relation to their economy and to each other Exchange rate, foreign exchange rate. And so how do we get our value back?
Speaker 1:
By first doing things, activities that you love, like hobbies. Or do you like to paint? Do you like to play a musical instrument? Do you want to learn one? You, to play a musical instrument, do you want to learn one? You start doing that, you take the action, you start doing what you invent yourself you couldn't do. That's what you do, and stop thinking about it, do it, just get up and do it.
Speaker 1:
I didn't ever think I would be able to talk in front of people, a lot of people, but I did, and I did it even though I was fearful and scared out of oh my god. I was just very scared and never forget when, for a speech class, we had to do a skit in front of the entire student body. For our grade, we had to go up in front on a stage and perform something. Whatever something is could be reading a, creating a poem and reciting it, singing, acting. I chose to do skits of people from different races and, um, I, you know, I didn't think I could do it. I just like my god, how can I get out of this class? We were all doing that. How can we get out of this class? It was already the end of the semester. So I mean, who wants to flunk high school? You know for that. So we did it. We all went up, one at a time and guess what? We got the greatest support from the audience that you could believe. And, um, I don't know if I had any talent of that, but they clapped and laughed at when I was doing something funny and you know the way I was speaking and mannerisms, and it felt good.
Speaker 1:
Coming off that stage, I thought I would sink into a big black hole and never show my face up to the school again. But it worked out, got an A in the class and everyone did well. That followed through. I think everyone did well. That followed through. I think everyone did um. So those shackles were broken on doing presentations and articulating what I have to offer the world. So that was a great feeling. And playing a musical instrument in high school, playing in the, the band, the orchestra was nice. Um, love that too. Um, that started further to break the shackles and then get to college, felt still not totally like.
Speaker 1:
You know, I belong, um, it was a multi-year thing, decades, I guess um metamorphosis into where I'm at now, where, uh, I'm very strong in what I do or don't do and and I'm, you know, I still got goals. I want to learn things. I want to learn how to paint um, can't paint to save my life and, you know, did it in school, as you know, doing it as a five, six year old is a lot different doing it as a, you know, much older, let's say, put it that way and, uh, I have other things I want to learn too. I have a laundry list of things I want to do and learn and, good or bad, I'm going to do them, not going to be defeated because of some jackass told me something 20 years ago or last year or yesterday. Don't do it, folks.
Speaker 1:
Folks, my goal for success of this podcast is to convince somebody out there that it's not too late, that you can free your mind and you can follow whatever dream you have set out for yourself, to break those shackles, that that negative chattering voice, and then to take the action. Don't wait for fear to go away. It's not going to happen, just not going to happen. Do it despite the fear. Do it despite you're scared, shaking in the boots, knees knocking. Do it. Do it, satisfied, whatever it is.
Speaker 1:
Okay, I dated myself if you know that song. But, um, okay, I dated myself if you know that song. But be free. So right now, say I will free my mind, I will free my mind, I will free my mind, I will break the shackles that are holding me back from simply living the way I should, the way I want. So it's important that you take ownership, and this isn't God or the devil punishing you. This is you punishing yourself. So don't make it that great. Where you can't overcome it, you can't overcome. So it's important that you do what you need to do. Okay, so I hope you got something out.
Speaker 1:
This show, this podcast. Sign up for my newsletter. Go on my website, livingyoursuccesscom. You'll see catalysts, a link. Please sign up for my newsletter.
Speaker 1:
Um, still slowly but surely, slowly but surely rolling that out. Have a few articles up there already. Another one's coming out this weekend, and so I'm trying to incorporate that into my already busy day life with everything else and business and other stuff and writing and writing, and so working on another book too, and so encourage you to go on amazon to buy my current book, uh, slaying your dragons living life you always wanted, by michael kane, k-a-n-e and um, you know the paperback and e-book are very affordable. Shout out and please share this podcast with family and friends. I appreciate it, and strangers, I'll accept that. So thank you for the support, and I pray and wish all of you well that you live the life of your dreams and don't let nobody take it away, even yourself. Okay, so that's it. You have a great rest of the day, godspeed, and this is living your success 24 7 with yours truly, michael cain. Until next time, my friends, until next time.
