Ep 12 Trust Before Tech A Conversation with Mike Adams

Welcome to Remembering the Forgotten, a space where leaders think out loud without polish or performance. No scripts, no personas, just the quiet clarity that emerges when noise drops and the mind is free to speak for itself. And today I'm joined by Mike Adams, a super connector whose life has been shaped by one simple truth: the right introduction can change. Across 3 decades at Apple, HP, and Zoom, and now as the founder of Intrastars, Mike has built ecosystems where people, ideas, and opportunities find each other. Mike sees patterns where others see noise. Opens doors without keeping score and brings a generosity that turns networking into genuine human possibility. He doesn't just make the intros, he creates the moments where someone's next chapter begins. With that, Mike, a welcome to you to my show today.

Thank you so much, Markus. What an introduction. Wow, I feel honored. That's a great way to put it. You know, I always feel very spiritually connected with people in the sense that I feel my mission is to connect people in the world. And I truly believe from the bottom of my heart that that's how we can make the world a better place, by bringing people together, creating more connections, more bridges. And I believe that when you introduce 2 people to each other, 1 plus 1 equals 3 because you open a new door which wasn't there before. It's like a new opportunity. And so I cannot connect billions of people myself, but if I can inspire other people to become introducers and super connectors, I think that can have this amazing effect, this network effect for millions of people to change the world. So that's the bigger picture. And I love the way you framed it. It was really very poetic and beautiful.

Beautifully put. And you know what's interesting? People say 1+ 1= 3. What if we actually put quantum physics into

it?

Because I believe when I make an introduction to someone, it opens an entire field. And if we start thinking about that, We actually start thinking more carefully who we introduce to whom, because we know we are actually inviting an entire ecosystem into those introductions. So I love what you're doing. So before we begin—

Butterfly effect, because obviously you introduce 2 people to each other and those people go on introducing more people to each other. So, so you're kind of launching a wave, right? It's not, it's not that introduction. It's not the end. It's actually the beginning of a follow-up. So that has this exponential effect.

Yes. And, you know, if we are actually aware of that aspect, that my action will have a reaction. And the most important thing I learned personally, I'm not sure about you, how you see it, after the introduction, I just let go. I'm not concerned what happens with this introduction. I just know, you know, I made so many introductions to you. I have not once asked, you know, what came from it? What came from that? What came from that? I believe I'd be blown away to see what just came from the connection with Corey, for example, or with somebody else. Right?

Yeah.

So it is the butterfly effect you just mentioned. Like, I make an intro to UK and in the end, crazy enough, it ends up in South Africa.

Yeah,

right. It's still mind-blowing to me.

Yeah. And to be honest, when I go to networking events nearly every single day and every day I meet people in one city who introduce me to people in another city who then introduce me over Zoom calls, someone in a different city. And so, yes, it has this massive global effect and You can easily see that the whole world population is only 7 degrees of separation apart, right? You know, every human being on planet Earth only less than 7 degrees apart from each other. And this is so evident when you network a lot, right? It's incredible.

So think about what this actually means, right?

Yeah.

This is potential which probably even our parents could not even have dreamed of. It is literally our generation.

Yeah, for sure.

So I had a conversation with my father-in-law before he passed away and he said, you know, we were on Lake Como. I was driving, he was sitting next to me. I still had my old Jaguar. And he said to me, you know, Markus, I recognize that my generation has probably been the most fortunate one ever. Because whatever we set our mind on, we were able to do. But now speaking with you, Mike, I feel our generation is actually even more fortunate once we understand that, because it is all about relationships in life, right?

Of course, everything in life is about relationships, everything, your personal life, your business life. Your success and failures, it's always about other people. That's the only thing that matters in this world, our relationships.

Because honestly, when you told me in the intro call that you're going to so many different parties and, you know, events now in Christmas, I felt a little bit of envy because I used to do that, but my role has changed.

Yeah.

So now it's much more about stillness and helping people to get into that than actually doing the connections. But now I'm so glad to know that you get to enjoy it. So I very much feel,

to be

honest, what you're saying.

The FOMO part is really strong. So, you know, the fear of missing out, FOMO. I used to have a lot of FOMO in my 20s and 30s. I was always going to as many events as I could, as many parties as I could. You know, I would go to 15 nightclubs on the weekends. I would go to, and then in my, you know, like 10 years ago, I was going to 15 networking events a week. And if I missed one networking event, I was like, oh shoot, I really missed it. I wish I was there. And I had so much FOMO. And nowadays I don't care anymore. It's like, even if I miss networking events, it's like, well, there'll be another one next week. It's fine. But I still enjoy it. So when I do go, I do enjoy it. I'm having fun. Yeah. I'm enjoying every moment. I'm in the moment. I'm enjoying the present. But if I miss out and I stay home, it's fine. It's all great. Every day, every day is the best day of my life. So it doesn't matter what I do.

So speaking of that FOMO, I'm sure many of our viewers actually can relate to that. Would you mind sharing a little bit what that FOMO was all about?

You know what? I think I was desperate for connection. I think that was my, my 20s was defined by that. And so I realized, looking back years later, I was going to all these nightclubs every weekend, going clubbing, dancing on techno music till 6 in the morning, till 8 in the morning. And I was literally meeting people at all these clubs and I was making connections. I was literally working the room, talking to as many people as possible because I was craving all these connections. I was craving meeting people, connecting with people, building my network of friends. That's such a good message. And I think that was, again, my 20s, right? And then in the business world, I started going to business networking events about 10 years ago. And I started going to one event after another to build my business network and having more contacts on LinkedIn and getting to meet people and getting as many business friends as possible. And I realized I went back to the same patterns I was doing in my 20s, going to all these clubs, but now I was doing it at the business networking events. 20 years later, but following the exact same patterns. And it's really funny to put two and two together that I haven't changed really. It's just gone from the clubbing scene, sorry, to the business networking scene. But it's really, it all stems from a craving for connection, meeting people, building my social value. Yeah. And also finding my purpose. I think it's all part of that. And And I realize now that my purpose is to connect people and bring people together and inspire people to become connectors. But it took me my whole lifetime to get to this point, to understand it. And now I have the joy of actually doing it. Yeah.

So let me put out something which, you know, just came to me. Was it possible that you actually craved mirrors to see who you really are? And one wasn't enough. It always became an addiction because it is amazing to meet people and to get mirrored constantly. Like, at least I know how this feels. You know, I was teaching, I had 4 weeks of classes, then I had the next 14 people who admired and adored me. That becomes a drug.

Hmm.

And I assume it could be very similar that craving these connections is actually about being recognized by these people, feeling connection. It's not so much about adding, you know, 50,000, 100,000 people on LinkedIn. I'm not sure that you are that guy, but I believe for you it was literally like, you know what, the more people I meet, the more I kind of understand as well who I am. And that led you to your purpose in the end. Would that be possible?

Maybe there's a bit of that. I don't know. That's not the way I would perceive it. It's about mirroring. But what I do realize, it's meeting all these people, you know, you have so many conversations. And so most conversations are pleasant or nice, and that's fine. That's great. But sometimes you find a very special conversation where somehow the other person you just met, they know nothing about you, just met them. somehow vibrate at the same frequency as you. And every word they say is like magic. It's like, whoa, it's like you just get me right away. Every word is just so much on my frequency. And sometimes you get magic moments and you feel, wow, that's an amazing experience. And the funny thing is I've had these types of experiences in a nightclub at 4 o'clock in the morning on the dance floor. I've not tried. and someone starts talking to me, it's like, oh my gosh, it's like they just get me. It's like instantaneous. We're on the same frequency. It just works. And sometimes you have that at networking events. I went to an event literally a few months ago in London. It was the Google Cloud Conference. And I go to get my name badge at the reception. And the guy who spoke to me at the reception, he sees a little necklace I was wearing and we start chatting and instantly we connected. And this guy at the reception, he works for Google. We spent 5 hours talking to each other at this conference. It was insane. It was crazy. It was like, wow, magic. So again, sometimes you just feel that connection so strongly. And I think I'm craving those magical moments. And I think the more people I talk to at events, the more chance I can find that incredible, like, same level frequency vibration with someone you meet.

Never heard it explained this way. I love it. And you mentioned that frequency, right?

Yes.

So which brings me to a very special aspect. And this is something I, I want to read. Because it's very important for our conversation. When I say stillness, and that is that frequency, I don't mean peace or quiet. I mean the place in you untouched by pressure, noise or performance. The place that knows before the mind thinks. And that's the layer I'm inviting you to speak from today. So here's my first question, Mike. Where in your life do you meet the you untouched by expectations? Where is it you can just be you?

I think mostly when I'm in nature. I love to be in nature. I think that brings me inner peace. You know, I love to walk in the park. I always go on beaches. I like to swim in water. I think those moments, I feel like probably the best, most authentic version of myself by myself in nature. I think that's even though I live in a city, I don't live in the countryside at all. I'm a city guy. I love to be in big cities. With millions of people. I go, I visit all the biggest cities in the world, like Mexico City, Tokyo, New York. So I'm a city person. However, in those city moments, I love to be, you know, take an escape in nature. For me, that's when I can be my true self, I think, just being by myself in nature with animals, whatever, going to the zoo. You know, I really enjoy those moments. You know,

it's amazing. So this brings me to A follow-up question. When you go into nature, do you sometimes just take off your shoes and your socks and just touch nature, feel nature? Do you do that sometimes?

To be honest, I obviously, if I go to a beach, I always be barefoot on the beach. That's where I do it. In a forest, typically I don't do it because I don't want to walk on branches. I would, I would, because I would love to feel that contact with nature. But I don't— it's not something I do, but yeah, maybe I should. That's good advice. Maybe I should go to the park and take off my shoes, but I haven't done it yet. Not yet in the park in London.

So let me share with you what I'm doing 3 times a week. I'm an endurance runner, so I do 7 miles 3 times a week, but that's not about that thing. So I run to the sea and the sea is quite rough and above the sea there is like a a patch of grass. And it's not so smooth. But there are some patches where I just take off my shoes, take off my socks, and I just stand. And what people call grounding, I really believe this works. It almost feels like all my tension, all my, you know, my What is it called? Like when you start piling up energy, it literally goes into the ground. And when I leave from there, isn't that incredible? It releases the electricity you have and it lets you almost like empty how you're supposed to be. That's why I asked you spontaneously about that because I've heard many stories.

Many people told me that. Yeah, I've read many stories about this that It's a good exercise to ground yourself with, you know, your energy, your electromagnetic energy, uh, by being barefoot in nature. So I've heard this many times. It's just not something I practice, but I'm not saying I shouldn't, but probably I should do it. I just haven't done it yet. Um,

I haven't done it before. It's the first time here now.

Yeah. Listen, I've been, I've been to 45 countries. I do about 40 flights a year. I travel all the time. So obviously I suffer from jet lag like everyone else. So people say the best way to fight jet lag is to take off your shoes and walk in nature. People say that again. I've never tried it. It's something I should try. I should do it, right?

Yeah.

My next trip.

You know, it's interesting. So let's think about it practically. When you go into a hotel, usually there is a little patch of grass at least. This is actually enough. Just when you land, for example, right? Go into that grass. And I'm really curious to see whether it works for you.

Yeah.

I don't think you even have to go into nature. It is literally a patch of nature itself wherever it is.

Yeah.

So I assume in New York you go into Hyde Park and all these parks and you don't need to go far away into the woods or into the mountains.

Yeah.

So I can tell how it works for you. You just need nature.

Yeah.

To basically go into stillness.

Well, listen, I'm, I'm gonna try. In 7 days I'm going to Argentina, so I'll try it there for sure. When I land in Buenos Aires, I'll go to my hotel and take off my shoes.

Try it.

Stand for 20 minutes in, in grass. Oh, let's do it.

Yes. I'm really curious to hear, to hear how that works.

I'll do it.

So beautiful. So it's nature. So can you tell me about a moment, Mike, when all the noise fell away? And something in you knew what was true. Can you recall such a moment?

I've mentioned before our podcast here is that when I do a sound bath, when I do a sound bath, like I close my eyes and I go in relaxing, soothing music and your brain starts to be in a very relaxed state. So in between awake and asleep, that's when I get like these Divine inspiration, like these flashes of images in my head where I have extreme clarity of what needs to happen or something I need to do or something visual. And so for my startup IntroStars, like a year ago, I had a sound bath. And during the sound bath, I saw a vision in my head of how to change my website to make it super clear how I needed to design it. And then 2 weeks ago, I had another sound bath. And again, I had a super clear vision In my head of what how I need to change my user interface to make it more obvious, and it's really it appeared visually like I could see it. I could see it with my eyes closed. My eyes were closed. I could see it. It was clear, clear, clear, crystal clear. It's like I had a vision of the future, and you know, I think it's always when you're in these in-between states, half awake, half asleep, where you get these divine inspirations, these divine ideas, like someone is telling you or showing you. what you need to do or what needs to happen, or you're basically seeing the future and you just need to build it, right? So I think, yeah, when you're in this in-between state, when you're half awake, half asleep, so sound bath obviously is a great thing. Could be meditation, of course, could be breathwork, could be walks in nature, taking a shower. All these things put you in this relaxed state, right? So there's many ways to get there, but the goal is to get to that state. that in-between states between awake and asleep. And for me personally, sound baths seem to work. I've 3 times, 2 or 3 times I've had like very clear visions while I was having a sound bath. It's

fascinating.

Again, it could be anything that works.

Let me translate it for me into not metaphysical language, but just straight down language. I'm curious to see whether you see yourself in it. So normally you are in your headspace most of the times, a lot of chatter, a lot of noise, right? But you're nodding, answers that already. And what happens is you use sound bath. Let's say the sound bath. Sound bath basically is the conduit which lets you go out of your mind into a state which Is not normal. So if I meet Mike in Buenos Aires, somewhere in one of the busiest streets, it's probably not that state, right?

No.

Very interesting. So many people say this is like a divine intervention, or this is like the universe speaking to me. Hmm. What if this is actually your original design? How you have been created before the world told you who you had to become? Think about that for a moment. Go back into your childhood. Was that way more the case than it is today? This stage where you go when you go into a sound bath?

Yeah, I mean, to be honest, as a kid and a teenager, I was always very rebellious. Like, I never accepted things people would tell me. Like, if people told me you have to behave this way, in my head, I was like, no, I have to do the opposite. Or I don't think that's true. Or any kind of imposed societal idea for me was wrong. So I never took anything at face value as a kid and a teenager. In my head, I always thought, no, all these people are stupid. They're wrong. I know better. Or not I know better, but I think I have a different view. I think I should do this a different way. So I always had this kind of other way of seeing things anyway, right? This internal voice in my head, which told me, you know better than them. Don't follow their advice or whatever. So There's always a bit of that, I think. Yes.

So you see, so if I play it a little bit further, Mike, just come along with me for a moment. What if that voice was actually not in your mind? But that voice was deep-seated in you, which was almost the core of you saying, you know what, people try to put into my mind how I have to think. But deep inside, I feel no, I have my own way. And whether other people agree with it or conform with it, who cares? And I don't think you actually cared so much whether it worked out or not. But you followed your inner programming.

Yeah.

Instead of taking in somebody else's stuff on you, which, let's be honest, happened sooner than later, maybe way sooner than it should have.

Yeah, I mean, to be honest, I always felt there was like a guardian angel looking after me my whole life. And like a year ago, I did a breathwork workshop. And during that breathwork, I had an epiphany that that guardian angel who's been looking after me my whole life is actually myself.

Exactly.

This

is so beautiful. So think about that. You basically need, at the moment, need, right, the sound bath as a conduit to connect with yourself again. Whereas in normal times, you are, you know, some people call it a matrix, right? You see how gifted you are, that you actually are able at your age to go through a sound bath and enter that state again, which I personally believe has nothing to do with the universe. It has nothing to do with magic. It has all to do with connecting with who you really are. That's why I mentioned, if you go into a hotel, literally after touchdown, and I know what it means to be jet lagged, And if you actually go on a patch of grass, this could literally make a difference for your entire stay. Because it is that sound bath. Think about it.

Yeah.

You going into nature is like a sound bath. I would not want to guess how many times, Mike, you had the best ideas. Maybe they came later. But the seed was set, was planted while you were in nature for some of your bigger breakthroughs in business or in life.

Yeah.

So think about that. It needs you.

It's true. Like, and to be honest, when I travel the world again, I travel all the time. Most cities I visit, I'm always looking to visit a botanical garden and a zoo. In nearly every city. So again, that's my go-to for every city I visit.

Yes, yes. You see, people say like, like, how is it possible that you go to New York and you can go into Hyde Park, for example, and you find stillness there? Because it's not the environment that makes the difference. It is your intention. And you somehow knew that, you know what, that thing— and you know, I didn't put it into your words at all, it came from you— that you realized, gosh, that sound bath thing led me to myself.

Hmm.

So now imagine what this means if we find a way to get to this original design Compared and not compared, combined with all your life's experience. This makes you, as people will call it, superhuman. You know, I call it human. Hmm. I call it human, tapping into your initial resources. Combined with all the stuff you learned together equals human. So I'm so glad we have this conversation. And I can tell you, this will be of so much help for anyone who listens or watches this episode. Because, you know, people today are in the noise constantly. In that matrix, in that mind matrix, right? So here's a follow-up question. Can you remember, Mike, when you had a moment where you realized, stop a moment, I believe I am living someone else's script? And what cracked it open?

I never really had that where I thought I lived someone else's life. I never, again, I always had a rebellious mind. So I was always doing my own thing. Now, maybe I was chasing the wrong things. I hadn't found my purpose yet. Maybe someone else told me, oh, you should chase this or chase that. And maybe I did chase that for a while. So I think I was always myself, but maybe I was chasing the wrong things or trying to compare myself to others, et cetera, et cetera. I think we're all doing that. It's normal. part of our evolution for sure. But as you grow older, I think you get more wisdom and you find your own path and your own goals in life. So yeah, I'm at a point today where I don't have to be super materialistic. I don't have a car. I don't have a watch. I have literally nothing of value, of physical value. So if someone came to literally rob my apartment, there is nothing to take. There's nothing.

Right.

So I have nothing of value, all the values in my heart and my soul and my mind and my bank account, sure. But I mean, no material possessions. That's what I mean, right? Right. And for me, that's super important. That's not a detail. That's actually very important.

It is.

It's kind of Zen philosophy to not attach yourself to any material possession, right? And I really believe in that. For me, the most valuable thing in the world is relationships and memories and experiences, right? And so all my energy is spent on that. not on material possessions. Like, even if I had infinite money, I wouldn't buy a fancy car or jet, whatever. It's so uninteresting to me. Uh, I have no interest in material possessions at all. Like, yeah, so, so for me, it really— it's all about, uh, you know, what's gonna be left after I, I die. Like, what's my legacy? Is hopefully I'll have inspired other people and helped other people. Yeah. And even if I help only one person, one single person, if I help them by putting them on a better path or whatever, for me, that would be, that would be worth the entire effort because that one person will then influence 10 other people or a million other people, whatever, that butterfly effect again, right? And so for me, that's really the only, all that matters, right? Everything else is nearly irrelevant. You know,

it's interesting. You actually answered the question I just had. There are always a few causes where I feel Hold to help, even if I will never see any benefit of it. And one of them is yours. And when we had the pre-conversation before our show now, what you shared with me, what you want to do in terms of Intrastars, that totally gives me the answers combined with what you just shared. Because you are extremely fortunate. You grew up in a way that was almost unattached in terms of your environment. And you somehow have been able to keep that own counsel without ever being programmed by someone else's script, which to be honest, is probably 99.999% of humanity lives somebody else's script.

Yeah.

And that's why I'm not surprised when you said, Markus, no, actually cannot remember a moment. Because no, you probably never really lived somebody else's script. You followed maybe the wrong voices and tried something out. But that never removed you from your core. Yeah. So you see why I'm so enthusiastic about it, because everyone who listens can actually imagine Stop. If Mike never moved out of that core foundation, maybe I can return to mine. And anyone who listens, whether you're 10, 20, 30, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, it is never too late.

Absolutely.

To literally say, you know what? Okay, Let me just ask myself, am I really living my life or am I living after somebody else's expectations? Because, you know, script is an expectation. And if you realize, okay, I have this amazing career, am I fulfilled? No. Would that be what I would be doing if I had all the means in the world? No. So then start asking yourself, is this really as good as it gets? Or is there more? And then literally start following what comes up from the core. Because again, it is us. So Mike, I can imagine even if you are grounded in your own self, There are sometimes moments when you are being pulled out of that stillness, even temporary. And what is it that lets you return to it again?

To be honest, I— if my mind is racing, the best way to relax, I love to go to saunas and steam rooms and spas. spas, because again, I love water. And my sign is Aries, which is a sign of fire, but I actually love fire and water. Likewise. So, it's kind of two opposites, right? And so, I have a lot of fire in me, lots of ambition and ideas and things I want to do, and I do a million things, but then the water calms me down. So, I go to a steam room, a sauna, a jacuzzi, or ice-cold immersion, and/or a hot spring, and just obviously with no phone, no electronics, just me in water or in steam. For me, that is like where I disconnect from everything. Like there's no, I disconnect from the world. And that's the best time to meditate and get back to a calm state, right? If I'm stressed or nervous, whatever. That's beautiful. Again, going back to nature, looking at animals. So animals, when I look at animals, all my stress goes away. So I go here to St. James Park. There's lots of geese walking around the lake. And we look at a goose in the eyes, I stare at them, the goose lives in the moment. They don't— they have no past, no future. They live in the moment. And so if you just look at the eyes of a goose, it takes you back to being in the present. There is no past, there is no future, there is only the present. And that means the stress is gone. There is no stress because stress is only past or future. The present has—

Exactly.

Yeah,

exactly. So if you think about— so if I take this a little bit further, There is a saying, Mike, that most people, maybe half of the day they live in the past, being angry or frustrated about what happened. And the other half of the day they worry about the future. And let's be honest, the future might never come. This might be the last breath you and I have here, and then it's gone. And then it's 11:59 and the entire day is gone. They are getting tired, they need to go to bed and realize, I haven't lived a moment. I was in the past and I was in the future.

Yeah.

And that must be terrible. To live your day in, day out, day in, day out. It's like a hamster on a hamster wheel.

I mean, the reality is I think we all do it. It's in our human nature to live in the past and the future. We do it all the time, but it's just about taking some moments to be back in the present, like consciously making a conscious effort that for the next 5 minutes, I'm going to focus on my breath, on meditation, on looking at geese in the park, Going to the sauna, being in the moment of that moment, and then the rest of the day, sure, you can worry about the past and the future, but at least take some breaks where you're back in the present because you can't be in the present all the time. You do have to do some stuff for the future, right? You can't again. There's a balance.

You know what's interesting? Let me add something to that which might make a few people think. I totally agree with you. You cannot be. in the present constantly. You have to do stuff in the future. And you might have to think about stuff that happened in the past.

Yes.

However, what if it is actually all done while you are present in the moment? I can now be present in the moment and think about what's coming next. Versus leaving the present and going into the future and be there and freak out. Because then I attach myself to what might come or not might come. But here, it's that safe place where I know, you know what, this is what you actually described when you were a child. You were in the present moment. You thought about future events. That's why you were able to experiment. And I believe you're still doing it. You are in the present moment when you start thinking about Intrastars' future. You're not going into the future. You are here, present. And you know why I actually believe this is really the case as a key? Because that's when we access what I call the executive functions. Especially like intuition, fantasy, you know, especially for you. You need a lot of fantasy at the moment.

Yeah.

Because as we discussed, you are going into a field which probably no one ever has been. The same with me.

Yeah.

Literally, we are creating a category of its own.

Yeah.

And I believe it takes that groundedness in the moment. Because that's where we put it this way, when we are in that moment, and I totally agree, it's not always possible, but we can become more and more grounded in the present moment by practice as well. Because I believe we are drawing from an energy source, which we otherwise, if we go into the future, And natural. It takes the present moment to be able to envision ourselves there, but we are still here. It's almost like mind travel somehow.

Yeah,

we are here, but we can kind of teleport ourselves into the future.

I mean, it's always grand decision-making. Like, we have to make a million micro decisions per day. And every decision you make influences the future. So what am I gonna eat for lunch? You know, you have to decide now what you're gonna eat in the next 30 minutes. Which restaurant am I gonna go to? Which supermarket am I gonna go to? So that's a decision you're making now in the present for the future. So you have to think about your future self in 30 minutes, what you'll be feeding yourself. And so right now you have to decide which restaurant you're going to or which supermarket you're going to, what you're gonna cook. So that's a present decision for the future. Exactly. And these micro decisions, you've got a million of them every single day. So you're always projecting your future self to make all these decisions. So you do have to live in the future to some degree, unless you take a break and you don't have to make any decisions and you look at the geese in the, in the park, right? So that's— you make zero decisions. Yeah.

Because, you know, that is so interesting. When people ask me about stillness, they say, Markus, is this when, when I meditate, when I do nothing, when my mind goes blank? No, no, it's the opposite. When you experience me in stillness is exactly now. It's being energized, it's focused, it is present with you here right now. That is stillness. But you know what happens? I have no chatter right now in my mind. That is stillness. So the stage you described when you go through a sound bath as a conduit, You are going into what I call personally stillness. And stillness is nothing else than access to who you really are.

Yeah.

And if you consider that, it's not about traveling to the Himalayas or to Tibet, or to, you know, to— where do people go— to India to meditate in an ashram? No. The temple, the ashram is here. And that's why people say the hardest journey is to realize it's not outside of you, which makes you happy and fulfilled. In the end, it is inside.

I mean, that's, I think the biggest lesson of life is that happiness is inside, not outside. And that you can be happy instantly, whatever your circumstances

Yes,

beautiful. But, but it takes a lifetime to practice that. You can know that psychologically or intellectually, but then to practice it, that's a different story. You know, we can all know that, but practice is the secret. How do you actually feel happy without any external influence or external stimulation, let's say, right?

I agree.

Funny, I, I can be very happy in stillness in nature. You put me in a park by myself, I'm super happy. But on the other hand, I'm always craving external adventures. Like, I travel the world, I go to a million immersive exhibitions and shows. And so I do love this external stimulation and experiences. I crave it. I love it. But I know that I can be as happy by myself, you know, in the park or whatever, and I don't need to go to the other side of the world. So both are equally true.

Because I believe when you are grounded, then you actually can travel the world without losing yourself. That's what you're saying.

Basically. Yeah. And you can be happy anywhere, really.

Exactly. So which brings me already to my last question, Mike. So if someone is listening and they are feeling lost in the noise, as we talked about, what is one thing you want them to remember is still true even in the noise?

In the noise, I think the best thing you can do is go to a networking event and talk to random strangers. And when you talk to them, always ask them how you can help them. And that will only create positive conversation, positive energy. And then I think will elevate your mood and your purpose. And you will feel the positive energy of people around you. And I think that will elevate you no matter what your current state is on a personal level, on a business level, surround yourself with others and ask them how you can help them. I think that's the best thing you can do and that can only bring you surprises, joy and happiness.

It's amazing. There's always a first, Mike. I've asked this question endless people and everyone goes into nature. There's one from you I expected. Go and find the goose. You can watch the eyes. But no, I literally thought, has Mike really understood what I asked him? He sends people to networking events. But then I felt what you meant. It is the connection with other people that brings them to themselves.

For sure. Again,

beautiful.

Yeah, other people around you will elevate you and that social energy you know, as equally important to being by yourself in nature with a goose or a geese. Yeah.

That is so beautiful. So with that, Mike, we are coming to an end, and I thank you very much for being my guest today. It was a great pleasure having you.

Thank you so much, Markus. Beautiful questions, beautiful conversation. I really enjoyed it.

Happy to hear that. So this was Remembering the Forgotten. A conversation held in clarity, not performance. If something in this exchange helped you see differently, carry that forward.