From Success to Fulfillment
Applying the Wisdom of the Himalayan Masters

In his new book, From Success to Fulfillment, author Del Pe integrates his Eastern knowledge with Western wisdom in a definitive guide for successful living. His core message is that you can attain the quality of life in your professional career without sacrificing your health and personal life. This unique synthesis of Eastern and Western Philosophies is revealed by Del Pe with tools, strategies and self assessments that are applicable to top executives and professionals right out of school. Del Pe serves as a performance and spiritual mentor to many organizations including Sony and IBM and The World Bank. We spoke with Del Pe about his new book.

Q: A very long path led you to writing this book. What exactly made you decide that executives needed a new way to find fulfillment in their lives?

A: Having been raised in Southeast Asia, working in the Middle East and India and eventually settling in the United States, plus traveling throughout over 40 countries, I have observed a certain universal pattern in executives who suffered from what I call 'failure of success.' Executives tend to succeed easily in their career and work, but fail either in their family life or health, which often causes a sense of emptiness that leads them to seek a different understanding of life or in some cases, executives can be too focused on their family and work and forget their spiritual life or social contribution. There is a need to balance this typical material success and transform it into total self-fulfillment.

Q: What makes 'fulfillment' different from 'success'?

A: Success is normally equated with getting what you want – most often achieving the material goals – whereas fulfillment is a state of life where you are able to enjoy what you have. Fulfillment is most complete when a person is able to satisfy and balance the five key areas of life: Family, Career, Health, Spirituality and Social/Environmental Contribution.

Q: You say that it's possible to experience 'failure of success.' What are some of the symptoms of this problem?

A: Most people succeed in one or two areas of their lives, but are deficient or fail in other important aspects. About seven out of 10 professionals that I mentor do well in their material life, but poorly with their family or health. Many have very high stress and are experiencing fatigue or are addicted to alcohol or drugs—and their health is failing. Several of them suffer from stroke, heart attack or paralysis between the ages of 40 and 55. Many are lonely and have a feeling of emptiness with no sense of higher purpose. Some die rich without making a difference in the world and, worse, they die abandoned by their loved ones. These are symptoms of failure of success.

Q: What would you say are some qualities of successful people? Fulfilled people?

A: Some of the qualities of successful people include a comfortable material life with good personal relationships, making a difference in work and society and being liked and admired. Fulfillment, however, is more of a state of inner balance while enjoying what you have achieved with a life of integrity. Fulfillment requires a life guided by values resulting in an overall sense of well-being, inner peace and inner joy. All of the five key areas of life are satisfied.

Q: You studied under the Himalayan Masters. Who are they, and what can their philosophies teach business executives?

A: I had two spiritual mentors from Southeast Asia and two in The Himalayas. They have been my spiritual fathers on my path of enlightenment. I've been fortunate on this path, because it's unusual to be able to find and learn with four very advanced teachers. Most people would be lucky just to find one.

What I learned from them is how to convert knowledge into wisdom and how to awaken your inner powers like intuition to become a visionary thinker. I learned and mastered advanced meditation and yogic techniques to live longer. I also learned how to awaken the five intelligences and the power of the Soul to guide one's life. With my engineer's and business mind, I transform these abstract principles into daily solutions to life's problems and issues in our modern world.

Q: How can meditation help business people?

A: The usual meditation taught to most people today makes them relaxed and more peaceful. The meditation I teach in my book is not only for this purpose, but also includes developing and aligning the heart, mind, instincts and intuitional nature of an executive. This results in more advanced human faculties for better leadership, decision-making and problem-solving acumen.

Del Pe's new book, From Success to Fulfillment – Applying the Wisdom of the Himalayan Masters, is available online at Amazon.BN.com. It is also available in bookstores nationwide