The Inner You

“Successful people make money. It’s not that people who make money become successful, but that successful people attract money. They bring success to what they do.”
–Dr. Wayne Dyer

Let’s take a look at the inner self and the outer self respectively. First, what is your inner self? As you can deduce up to now, your inner self is your spiritual nature. It is the Higher Consciousness within from which your external reality springs. Some people call it soul, spirit, God, the Infinite Intelligence, the Lifeforce, the Holy Spirit, the Christ within, the Buddha within, etc.

It doesn’t matter what you call it. Your inner self is nameless, formless, limitless, and measureless. It is that part of you that is infinite. I am by no means attempting to proselytize for any particular religious point of view. While people may call it different names, it is and has always remained beyond description.

So, for the sake of simplicity, I refer in this book to this inner dimension as your uppermost “values,” those small voices within you that guide you and guard you on your journey called life.

Your outer self, though, may be any goal you achieve, situation you experience, or activity you engage yourself in. It’s what goes on outside of you. It’s what you can perceive through your five senses. And contrary to the inner self, it is that which can be measured, that which has form, and that which has boundaries for it is constrained by the limits of space and time.

However, the way you feel, think, act, and experience your life, even the way you relate with other people, are but reflections of the inner you. Ultimately, your outer self is a mirror. It is the expression of your innermost values. While your outer self is a reflection of your conscience, your consciousness is the ability you have to act in accordance with instead of in opposition to your conscience.

Your consciousness, therefore, is the wisdom you have of the highest that’s within. You are conscious when you are congruent with your inner self.

What do I mean by being congruent? Quite simply, when you’re balanced or when you act in accordance with that still small voice within, you create this true success to which I am referring. When the inner and outer selves are connected or in alignment with each other, then the quality of that connection is what makes a person truly successful.

While the inner and outer selves are independent, they are also interdependent. That interconnection gives you the ability to realize happiness and success right now, right where you are, in the present moment. Essentially, you are truly happier and more successful to the degree to which your connection is harmonious or of a higher quality.

Ultimately, you are truly successful when you follow your priorities (your prioritized set of personal values) and not your goals. If you feel that you are not successful, you’re simply not making the connection. Period.

Let’s say you used to ride a bike when you were young. You balanced yourself on that bike and probably never fell, except as you were in the process of learning to ride it. And let’s say you didn’t ride a bike for several years. If you picked up a bike today, you will stay in balance no matter what. That balance or your ability to ride that bike is rooted in your consciousness.

However, let’s say you didn’t ride a bike for several decades. You get on your bike and fall. But after the first few tries, you regain balance and ride your bike again. Now, when you were out of balance, is it because you were unable to ride the bike? No. You were simply and temporarily unconscious of that which you already know. You were just not making the connection.

Happiness is the same thing. If you’re not happy now and you are seeking it outside of you, it’s because you are not following your conscience; you’re not tapping into the “You” potentiality that’s within.

“There is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way.” This is an old proverb, but I think it’s one of the most powerful ones I’ve ever heard because, if you are seeking happiness through success (i.e., goals, accomplishments, or possessions), then you will never find it. I guarantee it.