Welcome to the “Inner Circle Podcast”, the place where patriot entrepreneurs create, build, and play. Each episode will help you move forward to the place where we all want to be, a place of total creative freedom, personal freedom, and financial freedom.
My name is Mike Fallat and I am your host. I’ve started a bunch of businesses, helped to write a couple of hundred books, and interviewed lots of millionaires. I will be your guide as we enter the Inner Circle.
Mike: This episode will help you escape the cake, or I think there's a lot of inner circle members out there who've escaped. So maybe this will help you cherish the escaping of the cave even a little bit more. What I wanna start off with is the allegory of the cave. And that's what this episode is all about. It's a story written 20 or hundred years ago.(01:03)
Think about that 2,400 years ago, the allegory of the cave by Plato, for those who do not know enough about Plato, cuz you can never know enough, but Plato was just a writer who was also a philosopher in a way because he looked up to Socrates who died 20 years prior. Socrates was a man who just got people to ask questions to themselves. He asked people questions. He had a big belief that we had infinite knowledge within. If we asked the right questions, we ourselves could find the answers. It's a great theory. It's a great philosophy. It's a great belief. I don't know what to say about it in, in its complete totality because I know that I'm a different person than I was five years ago. I've met new people. I've met in, I've been through incredible experiences. I've started multiple. I've learned along the way, the school of hard knocks will I attribute all that to the experience or would it be me asking better questions of myself? (02:16)
What am I more capable of? What am I, what am I learning? What, what am I great at? What am I, maybe it is a, a constant barrage of questions that we're asking ourselves as entrepreneurs. And this allegory of the cave might show you how some of us become free and some of us choose not to be free. So I'm gonna put an overlay of fire in the background. I don't know if what that's gonna sound like, but I want to tell you a story because this might give you some knowledge or it could give you a glimpse of what people were going through even 2,400 years ago. That in itself is gonna show you that humans are not much different than back in the day. And if you understand that, maybe you'll understand how much of a blessing it is to see clearly to become finance free, to get around the right people, to see the light for what it is and to see other people see the light. (03:27)
So let's get into it. I'm gonna change up my voice for the story. And Socrates is talking to Alcon. One of his students, this is Platos is a fictional account of Socrates talking to a student named Gokin and Socrates is asking great questions, but also telling a great story. The allegory of the cave translated by Benjamin jot in 1871. So, and now I said, let me show in an allegory, how far our nature is enlightened or unenlightened. Imagine this human beings living in an underground cave, which has a mouth open towards the light and they're reaching all along the cave here. These prisoners, they have been there from their childhood and have their legs and necks chained so that they cannot move and can only see what is in front of them being prevented by the chains from turning around their heads above and behind them.
(04:46)
A fire is a blazing at a distance and between the fire and the prisoners, there is a raised way. And you will see if you look a low wall built along the way like the screen, which marionette players have in front of them over which they show the puppets Alcan. Ah, I see Socrates Socrates, the low wall and the moving figures of which the shadows are seen on the opposite wall of the cave. And do you see men passing along the wall, carrying all sorts of things and statues and figures of animals made of wood stone and various materials, which appear are over the wall. Some of them are talking, others are silent. (05:53)
GLN you have shown me a strange image. And, and, and, and they are strange prisoners, Socrates, not much different from ourselves glycan and they see only their own shadows or the shadows of one another, which the fire throws on the opposite wall of the cave. Gokin true. True. Yes. How could they see anything? But the shadows, if they were never allowed to move their heads, Socrates and of the objects, which are being carried in like manner, they would only see the shadows Alkin yes, Socrates. And if they were able to converse with one another, would they not suppose that they were naming what was actually before them G Gokin? Hmm. That very true, very true. Socrates, the prisoners would mistake the shadows for reality. And suppose further that the prison had an echo, which came from the other side. Would they not be sure to think when one of the past by spoke that the voice which they heard came from the passing shadow? (07:24)
Alkin no question, no question Socrates to them. I say the truth would be literally nothing but the shadows of the images Alkin that is certain Socrates. And now look again and see what will naturally follow if the prisoners were released and enlightened of their error. At first, when any of them is liberating compelled suddenly to stand up and turn his neck around and walk and look towards the light, he will suffer sharp pains. The glare will distress him and he will be unable to see the realities of which in his former state, he had seen the shadows. Then imagine someone saying to him that he saw before was an illusion. But now when he is approaching near the outside of the cave in his eyes is turned towards more real existence. He has a clearer vision, what will be his reply and when released, they would persist in maintaining the superior truth of the shadows. (08:51)
And you may further imagine that his instructor is pointing to the objects as they pass and requiring him to name them. Will he not be perplexed? Will he not think that the shadows, which he formally saw are truer than the objects, which are now shown to him kin F far truer, Socrates. And if he is compelled to look straight at the light, will he not have a pain in his eyes, which will make him turn away to take refuge in the objects of visions, which he can see in which he will conceive to be in reality, clear than the things which are now being shown to him, Alcan true Socrates when dragged upwards, they would be dazzled by excess of light and suppose once more that he is reluctantly dragged up a steep and rugged ascent, and he held fast until he is forced into the presence of the sun itself. Is he not likely to be pained and irritated when he approaches the light, his eyes will be dazzled and he will not be able to see anything at all of which it are now called realities, Alcan, not all in a moment, Socrates, he will need to show accustomed to sight of the upper world. (10:35)
And first he will see the shadows best next, the reflections of men and other objects in the water, and then the objects themselves. Then he will gaze upon the light of the moon and the stars in the twinkling heaven. And he will see the sky in the stars by night, better than the, or the light of the sun by Daykin certainly Socrates. Last of all, he will be able to see the sun and not mirror reflections of him in the water, but he will see him in his own per proper place and not in another. He will contemplate him as he is glycan. Certainly Socrates. He will then proceed to argue that this is the son that gives the seasons and the years, and is the guardian of all that is visible to the world. And is the reason all things which he and his fellows have experienced our shadows. (11:49)
Alkin certainly he, he would first see the son and, and then reason about it. Socrates, they would then pity their old companions left in the cave. And when he remembered his old prison and what is known of the cave and his fellow prisoners do not suppose that would feel fortunate. The has changed and now pity them, certainly Socrates. And if there were a contest and he had to complete compete in measuring the shadows with the prisoners who had never left the cave while his sight was still weak. And before his eyes had become steady and the time which he would needed to acquire his new habit of sight might be very considerable. Would any of them believe him? Many would say of him that he went up and down and he came without his eyes. And that is that it was better not even to think of leaving. And if anyone tried to free another and lead up to the light, let them only catch the offender and they would put him to death. (13:15)
No, no question Socrates, the prison is the world of sight. The light of the fire is the sun, this entire allegory. I said, you may now apply dear Alcon to the previous argument. The prison house is the world of sight. The light of the fire is the sun. And you will not misunderstand me if you interpret the journey upwards to be the ascent of the soul into the intellectual world. According to my poor belief, which I have expressed whether rightly or wrongly, God only knows, but a whether true or false, my opinion is that in the world of knowledge, the idea of good appears last of all, and is seen only with effort. And when seen is also we're in inferred to be the universal author of all things beautiful and right parent of light in this visible world and the immediate source of reason and truth in the intellectual. And that is the power upon which he, who would act rationally either in public or private life must have his eye fixed. (14:33)
Gokin I agree, as far as I am able to understand you Socrates, but then if I am right, certain professors of education must be wrong when they say they can put knowledge into the soul, which was not there before, like sight into blind eyes. GLN well, they, they, they absolutely say this. Socrates, our argument shows that the power and of learning exists in the soul of already. And that just as the eye was unable to turn from darkness to light without the whole body. So too, the instrument of knowledge can only by the movement of the whole soul, be turned from the world of becoming into that, of the being and learn by degrees to endure the sight of being and the brightest and the best of being, or in the words of knowledge, glycan. Hmm. Very true. Socrates. And must there not be some way which will affect conversation in the easiest and quickest manner, not implementing the capacity of sight for that exists already, but has been turned in the wrong direction and is looking away from the truth. Alkin yes. He said such a way, must be assumed. That is the allegory of the CA it's an amazing story from 2,400 years ago. Couple different interpretations of that. But what I will tell you is it's not much different than today. (16:33)
If you like what you hear and you are a patriot entrepreneur, go to Mike’sInnerCircle.com. Remember, you are only as strong as your circle. We'll see you there.
You see, I grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, blue collar workforce around me is my work ethic. This is who I am. The moment I started a business and started to see what was going on, how things really work, maybe even 2016 hit. I watched the news. I saw how every me media company treated Trump. I started to notice that there was two worlds in front of me. It's when I first saw it. I, the biggest companies in the world were, were lying directly to the people. Politicians were directly lying. I thought I was just this outsider who didn't understand anything. And then I saw obvious lies on TV. This is exactly like me being stuck as a prisoner, and maybe you're in the same boat. But being that prisoner stuck in some way that, Hey, you gotta work hard. You gotta save every penny. You gotta, you gotta listen to the school system. (17:56)
You gotta get into debt. You gotta buy a house. You gotta go to the doctor every time you think you need to go to the doctor. All of this was just pushed into my brain. Never even asking the questions behind it. Why this, why that, why this, why do I need to do this? I started asking great questions right around the year 2016. That was it. That was the year that my life changed. And I saw the two worlds for the very first time. And I was that prisoner. And I had my neck change in certain direction. For some reason, maybe it was just the right question at the right time or the willfulness to break away. But I was able to get away from that, that stationary spot. My neck could move. I could stand up. I could run. And if you caught that in the allegory, it actually says that the prisoner was compelled to move.
(18:54)
Now, I want to tell you that if you were a prisoner stuck for years, wouldn't you think that the moment you were freed, you would run? Well, it turns out and Socrates knew this. And Plato knew this, that prisoners don't know. They're really prisoners. A lot of the time they think they're free, but really not. And whenever they're forced to do something, maybe it's to go out on their own and think for themselves, that's a hassle to them. Great quote out there about, you know, a cage bird thinks a free bird is mentally ill. They don't know what it's like to fly on their own. They think that it's a law I'll work. Oh my God, where would I go? Making all those decisions? The food doesn't come to me. I have to go to the food. (19:38)
A prisoner doesn't know they're a prisoner. So in that allegory, it talks about how he was freed and he was compelled. He was forced to get up and get going. So back in 2015, 2016, I just had this gumption to go through the nonsense, to break through all of the barriers and, and just run through the pain so that it was, it was a decision that I had to make. And I don't think a lot of people make that decision. But maybe if you're listening out there, you, you made the same decision that you spark something and than you, it was a lot easier to stay at that corporate job probably, or stay in that bad relationship. But you force yourself to move. You did, maybe the world put you in such a situation where it was actually more painful to stay where you're at than actually to move. (20:28)
That's when you make a lot of movement in your life, that's when you take action. So that force full movement of me in 2015, 2016, allowed me to get up and go to see what the truth really was. Have the time, the energy, the want, the drive to go to the surface of that cave, to get out, to see the light, to see that the shadows were coming from nonsense lies the, the, the captors, if you will, the media companies, the big tech, the, the big pharma of these people who are technically holding captive a huge group of people, the school system, going into debt to get a job that pays off debt is just insane to me. Buy a house, get into more debt. Don't teach people about financial literacy until someone's in severe, severe debt, think and grow rich. Why is that not taught in schools? (21:30)
Rich dad, poor debt. Why is that not taught in schools? All of this, the school system you go through. And then all of a sudden you're blinded by the light. Oh my God, this is what it looks like. This is what it feels like. This is how it should be. This is the truth. This is the reality, the sun, oh my God. And that's obvious an analogy for many things, but that is the truth. It's, it's what provides everything that provides life to everybody. The captors never want you to see all that. And you're able to experience life and you maybe have to go out and get food for the first time, or you're able to have the freedom to go wherever, whenever with whomever and then all of, and it hits you. Your whole life was built on a line. It makes you feel like a, a terrible person for a while. It, oh my God. I made every decision in the wrong manner. And that's why I failed. And that's why I felt stuck. And then you feel grateful that you escaped, and then you start to feel pity for all the other prisoners that you left. (22:30)
So now you build up the courage to go back down to maybe free them. And I don't know if you caught that in the allegory, but that prisoner goes back down and tries to tell them what he experienced. So imagine going from a sunny day down into the dark cave, again, a place that you Desy eyes, you know, it's fake, you feel bad, you're sick to your stomach. And you're trying to tell everybody who's stuck in that cave guys. I just saw everything. And it's amazing. And it's beautiful and everything you're experiencing here, the shadows on the wall, they're all fake. This, none of this is real, but your eyes are not adjusted to the darkness again. And so they see you bumbling around and in the darkness. And maybe you can't see the shadows anymore on the wall, cuz your eyes are not adjusted. (23:20)
Or maybe what you see there is you're naming them in a different tone. You're a different manner. You're a different person and they cannot relate to you anymore. And those prisoners who are stuck there, look as if you don't know what you're talking about. You don't know where you've been. You're bumbling around in the darkness. So they don't trust you anymore. You went back down into the dark world, the, the, this part of the world that you've eliminated from your brain. And now in their world, this fake world, you stand away from them. You're not one of them. And you try to tell them that the shadows on the wall are just shadows. They're not really real. They're not really making noises and you try to name them. And they they're. The names that you now know are not what they know. And there's a miscommunication. (24:04)
So the prisoners are now angry that you're trying to steal away their and their joy, their safety, their ability to just live there without much effort. And they get angry and they say, how dare you try to take us where you went. It sounds to me like you have no sight anymore. You are the one that's blind group think is real. These three other prisoners that's in this allegory are gonna try to not only demonize you, but they're gonna try to hurt you. If you try to release them, they will not be ready for it. And only when the is, whenever they can go to the cave, you cannot release them on your own. You may have this obligation inside of you to go and try to release them. You just can't and they will hate you for it because you now see the light. (24:58)
You know what life has for everyone once they escape, but you can't take them there. So it's heartbreaking, but it's part of life. You have to go back up to that surface on your own accord and find others who are free, who get it, who understand what is happening. They turn off the TV, they see the system. They under stand. Certain things are being hidden from them. Certain things are being told to them. Everything is on purpose. There is a system in place. There are two worlds. You are grateful that you now see both worlds. You have to choose to stay in that world. You have to choose to want to learn war, which could be scary because where you come from will eventually hate you. They will not like where you go, what you become, but being free is there's no better feeling. You're one of the lucky ones you got away. (26:06)
You escaped, you did what most people say they wanna do, but they don't do because they're afraid to feel the pain. They're afraid to be on their own. They're afraid to have to move and use muscles. They've never had to move and their eyesight gets all messed up. And now they have to question every decision that they've made and then they have to feel the regret. And then they have to feel the pity. Cave is real. When you see the light, there's no turning back. 2016, I saw the light built multiple businesses since then been able to work with some of the most people cuz I was able to see the light. I'm going down to Texas. I'll be speaking at the great American summit. Ian Smith fitness will be there. Lots of big names will be there Bradley. And it's an incredible lineup. And I'll be speaking because I believe I put myself out there. (27:04)
I was able to see the light. I was able to convey it to people, feel the hatred, find other people who are doing the exact same thing. That's the magic of escaping the cave. You should cherish this. I don't think you, once you see everything and once you feel it that you keep it all to yourself. Courage is another characteristic that needs to be exercised. It's a muscle. And the more you do it, the more free you feel. So I promise you, you are about to escape the cave or for you escape the cave. You know that it's not gonna be easy. And you know that it's not gonna be easy for the rest of your life. (27:45)
But a free man is someone who everyone aspires to be. I'll end it with this. And this is kind of powerful. It, it works with it. It's a story I wrote on my Facebook wall and it's, it's actually something I shared out to the inner circle today. And it is story that I thought of. And I wrote it down because I was on a run the other day. And I just thought of the student and the master and I'll just end it with this. It was a young man's 18th birthday in accordance with the norms of society. At the time, the town's Zen master would meet with those turning 18 in of them guidance before crossing over into manhood, Zen master young man, why is the sun so powerful student? Because it gives us light to see Zen master no young man. Your, your answer is too shallow student because as cuz it gives us heat to stay a little live Zen master. (28:49):
no young man keep searching student because it helps food and plants grow Zen master. no young man. The sun is powerful because it is self sustain. It is not reliant on anyone or anything. All of its energy comes from within. This gives it absolute power. The light, the heat and lifeing providing qualities are only byproducts of an entity that doesn't need anything externally. This allows it to do one. Give, remember this. As you go through life, the moment you need something to live, whether it's a drug, a welfare check, alcohol acceptance or anything in the external sense is an automatic surrender of your power to someone or something else. Those who are self-sustaining are powerful, beyond measure. They will bring light and joy way to the world, providing a sense of warmth and comfort and help those around them grow in more ways than you can imagine. Self-Reliance allows you to do what you are born to do. Give these messages resonated with you. I highly recommend you check out the inner circle. Mike's inner circle.com. It's about being around Patriot entrepreneurs who escape the cave and crave nothing more. Then self relies. (30:43)
This is ThePodcastFactory.com
