It’s been over eleven years since I first published Awakening The Wealth Warriors online as an ebook under the pen name, Maxwell Stein. I decided to release it on Amazon this year, and am leaving it almost completely untouched.
It can be read as a fictional story about a renegade group of men who are aggressively undertaking saving the human race from it’s own demise by developing new technology that will help all men live as powerful creators. The main character is a talented young entrepreneur, who has been recruited to learn about the new technology and join them in their mission.
While the book reads like fiction with entrepreneurs and innovators as heroes, it’s based on a controversial and well-received speech I gave at a private futurist conference in Las Vegas in the weeks after 9/11, in which I laid a foundation for my Model of Inner Conflict and related human technology I’d been developing.
After the speech, as a way of recruiting inspired young men to join my renegade group of heroes, I added a “fictional” narrative to my speech and shared it online as an ebook. The story functions a ‘protomythology’ in the mind of the reader, who is intended to wonder “Is there a real life people and organizations whith such missions and technology? What does this mean for me, and for humanity’s future?”
The intended effect was that the reader can’t help but feel excited for the future, especially upon discovering that the characters and concepts in the book are based in reality (albeit with some fictional backstory), and that he too can get involved and live out this heroic story.
Not long after the ebook came out, I released the sequel, Staying Awake: Secrets of A Wealth Warrior, which continues the story and presents some of the early Wealth Warrior tools. This sold for over a decade at $39.95, as readers both desired to know how to “Stay Awake,” and also find out if the guy gets the girl, or as confident lead character, young Damon, might put it, “find out if the girl gets the guy. (This sequel may or may not be released on Amazon.).
The protomythology of rogue, aggressive entrepreneurs, or “Wealth Warriors”, saving the world was not just created for the reader; it was created as a tool for me and my people, who became further inspired to make the metanarrative come true. In the year that followed the release of both ebooks, I created and facilitated some of my first Wealth Warrior Academy programs (the 4-Day Wealth Warrior Boot Camp, the 8-Day Wealth Creator Boot Camp, Wealth Warrior Awakenings online) and continued to develop the technology, in effect living out the protomythology I’d created.
Many credited these programs with extraordinary results in their lives, and the technology itself received high praise, such as this quote from the VP of a Fortune 500 company, also a PhD in psychology:
“As a PhD, I have studied numerous and complex theories of human development and human evolution. Yet I was intrigued the first time I saw Michael Skye’s Model of Inner Conflict… I wish I’d had this understanding 10 years ago–not just for my own benefit, but for the benefit of my clients. Michael is not another ‘me too’ in the field of self-development. He is a pioneer on the cutting edge.” – M.S., Portland, ME
Wealth, for me, is an abundance of one’s values, and one of my highest values has been my personal growth, conscious evolution and mastery. Pursuing these values like a warrior meant continually putting myself in situations, where I’d be forced to grow far beyond my perceived limits, as I relished challenge and adventure, other high values of mine. The real story behind my delivery of this speech in Vegas is countless examples of such an aggressive (and often reckless) approach to life: face first, full speed ahead, no limits, no excuses.
In the years that followed I’ve created and facilitated numerous other programs and other organizations, continually applying and evolving the underlying concepts and technology (And many stranger-than-fiction stories to tell!).
I find myself now in 2013 ready to return to my roots: using my work to empower young men, especially those seeking to maximize their power as entrepreneurs and creators benefiting our world. The Wealth Warrior context and tools bring a profound and sacred way of honor for such men, which they may then pass on to their sons and younger brothers.
However the sacred sense of honor that has come mark my work has not been captured in this book. Nevertheless, I know many people still find it a thrilling read with penetrating insight.
I am excited to be offering what I consider to be a far more powerful version of my work for men in the form of Wealth Warrior 2.0, exclusively for men. Women who are interested in the work, may find it being offered elsewhere through my VisionForce organization and through various practitioners.
I remain forever grateful for the many people who’ve stood by me over the years, and supported both the evolution of this work, and my evolution as a man and facilitator. It’s been one hell of a ride!
Michael Ivan Skye