Hello everyone! Mike Arend here founder of Infinite Success Academy, author of the soon to be released book, "You're The One - An Adventure Into Truth" and, the Soul Mechanic.

Success, we all describe it differently. However, what I've found on my journey is that the success that is portrayed in movies, on T.V. and so often in the business and sports worlds, is often very fleeting and only lasts in the moment.
You see, the very need for success is fueled by our desires. This desire to grow and evolve is inherent in every living thing on this planet and we're no different. We are compelled to evolve and grow just as the tree must continue to grow, blossom, and become the greatest tree it can.

The success I talked about earlier is really nothing more than ego gratification at it's finest because it is being defined by things that are external to us. We want something so bad that we're willing to crush any and all living things (including our inner self) to obtain what we set out to achieve. If we actually are successful in our ego driven endeavours, then the pinnacle of our achievement is only felt the moment it's achieved. Often times, the next day or even the next hour, we're actively searching for something to fill this insatiable void of ego driven success, no matter how big the prize we just achieved. Leading to always feeling unfulfilled, unhappy, and empty.

When gratitude guides our thoughts and actions however, our success is internal and will be fulfilling and meaningful. This type of success is different from the ego-driven success that seeks to hold, control, and keep the object of desire as a way to feel better about itself.

True success comes from inner fulfillment and with every success comes the desire for more. This desire to fulfill oneself, to become the greatest version of you that you can, is totally normal, natural, and not fed by the ego. In fact, the Universe is infinitely abundant and it waits to give you more when you ask for it. This is the type of success that society often overlooks.

What saves us from falling into the ego trap is to accept every gift that is given to us in life with humility and gratitude. Contrary to many peoples beliefs (and this is a biggie), it's not spiritual to shun external rewards as if it was proof that you're better or more holy than the next person (this in itself is an act of the ego!). In fact, accepting external rewards can be a sign that you're connected to your Source that wants nothing but the best possible life for you.

What we really want to avoid is the ego stepping into the picture and taking credit for all the good things in our lives. It's gratitude and grace that is responsible for our abundance, not the ego with it's selfish, anxious struggle.

"How can we tell the difference?" you ask. The difference comes down to fulfillment. If any good thing comes to you and you want to grab it, hold it, and feel triumphant, that's your ego. If instead you feel gratitude and warmth of the heart that these things have come to you, thats gratitude, the source of success that lasts a lifetime.

Ego gratification is temporary. Once it fades, and it always does, the only tactic the ego knows is to ask for more, and more, and more. Without external stimulation the ego feels completely hollow.

Gratitude, an the other hand, aligns your attention to the support of nature. You accept a deeper truth that success has always been present and all that happens on the surface is an unfolding of what was there beneath the surface all the time. This type of gratitude, that connects you to your Source, is totally life sustaining. It allows you to experience a life that just gets better year after year.

In other words, true success!

You've been listening to the Soul Mechanic and it's been my absolute pleasure to serve you. Sending you Love, Happiness, and Abundance. Now, and always.
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Bye for now!

Hello everyone! Mike Arend here, founder of Infinite Success Academy, author of the soon to be released book "You're The One - An Adventure into Truth" and, the Soul Mechanic.

We're all the same. I know that's a bold statement, and a bit hypocritical because I've also recently stated that we're all unique. But as unique as we are, we all come from the same Energy Source and we all want the same basic things.
What I've found on my journey so far is that regardless of who we are, or where we live, we all want the same three things, and here they are:

Do you see me? Do you hear me? Do I matter?

As humans we are a social species. We have to be because we need each other to survive and procreate. With this it's only natural to desire some form of appreciation from our fellow humans. So we want to be acknowledged and we want to contribute, but the last one is the biggie.

Do I matter? This one, is of course, a matter of our own perception, yet we know it intrinsically when we matter to others. The way they talk to us, look at us, and treat us gives us a big indication. Unfortunately in today's world 99% of us are glued to the screens on our phones and this communication of "you matter" gets extremely dulled. I heard an amazing stat yesterday, if you live in a major city and you take public transit and don't stare at your phone while underway you are 1% of the ridership. That means that 99% of all people on the buses, trains and subways are staring at their phones instead of communicating with their fellow humans. Incredible!

Of course you DO matter because you came here to continue in your Soul's evolution and although we can't see it, we are intricately woven into the tapestry of all the other lives here on Earth. However, that doesn't mean that sometimes we can't start to feel lost, as if we don't matter.

"The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others."

Gandhi said that, and I've found it works every time. Yes of course I've felt lost too, and when I do I know I need to immerse myself into the service to others. It doesn't matter how small, sometimes a smile is all it takes to remember who you truly are and why you're here.

You've been listening to the Soul Mechanic and it's been my absolute pleasure to serve you. Sending you Love, Happiness, and Abundance. Now, and always.
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Bye for now!

Hello everyone! Mike Arend here, founder of Infinite Success Academy, author of the soon to be released book, "You're The One" and, the Soul Mechanic.

"You cannot be lonely if you like the person you're alone with."

A lot of people talk about our "true self" or our "false self." Exactly what does all this stuff mean anyway? "I'm alive and here on this earth, so I must be true." you're thinking. "How can I be false?"

Well, the answer is a bit more complex than that and in true spiritual fashion a lot of wisdom traditions and spiritual teachers seem to keep things a bit mystical and therefore more cryptic. I'll try to explain these things a bit more simply because hey, I'm a simple guy.

First of all we have to stop thinking so literally and trying to put everything into a physical perspective. I know we live in a physical world, but there's lots going on around us that we can't detect that is not of this physical realm, but of the realm of the absolute, heaven, or space if you prefer.

Now, 99.9% of people, even atheists, agree that some sort of higher power exists. Your "true self" then, is not something we created or will create while here on this earth. It was created by god, the Universe, source energy, or what ever you want to call your idea of a higher power.

It is the "self" we are in our depths, at our core. Our Soul, if you will. It is our capacity for divinity, meaning love, compassion, and joy. It is our ability to transcend this physical realm and contemplate our real home, which is the realm of the absolute.

Your "false self" is the person you've created. It's that voice in your head that doesn't allow you to trust others. Otherwise known as the "ego." That competitive, ambitious voice that says you must win at all costs. It's who you think you are - for example your job. We often say "I am a ..., whatever your job happens to be, but you're not that at your core. Your false self has just convinced you that you are that as a form of protection from invisible and nonexistent enemies.
Your false self goes on to convince you that you are what you own, you are what you drive, you are what you wear, you are what others think of you, and it goes on and on. Of course we are none of those things, we just are identifying with them. And if you look at all those who do this, they are often the loneliest people you know even though they seemingly possess so much.

Once you realize what, and who your true self is, you will be able to be fulfilled from within, not from without. You see, this whole mumbo jumbo spiritual journey is not a journey at all. It's a discovery, no, a "remembering" of who you truly are.

Remembering who you truly are is your purpose in life, all the rest is just fluff. It's what your Soul longs to do. As soon as we're born we're really all on a return trip, a one way ticket home. To the realm of the absolute. From which we all came.
So make the best of your short stay here on this marvelous planet we call Earth. Explore, smell, taste and drink this world in. Treat people with kindness and compassion and love your fellow Souls while here.
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Just remember who you truly are because once you know that, you will have realized your true creative powers and will never be lonely again.

You've been listening to the Soul Mechanic and it's been my absolute pleasure to serve you. Sending you Love, Happiness, and Abundance.

Now, and always.