Inner Mastery, Outer Impact: How Your Five Core Energies Hold the Key to Success Hardcover – June 7, 2022

Hitendra Wadhwa’s Inner Mastery, Outer Impact offers an eloquent, candid, and much-needed discussion of how we can synchronize our desire for success in our lives—in work, school, relationships—with a rich, fulfilling inner life. These two ideals of inner success and outer success, Wadhwa stirringly argues, never were at odds with one another in the first place; I cannot help but think he has offered us a rejoinder to the pervasive rhetoric of “selling out” (i.e. putting personal morals aside) at work or in school to be successful. Rather, in his book, “inner mastery,” the development of energies of love, purpose, wisdom, growth, and self-realization, drives “outer impact.”I felt as if I was left with a powerful new life philosophy, as well as an array of practical tools to apply to improve my relationships with others and leadership of a team—learning how to defuse an argument and turn it into an opportunity for mutual collaboration, for instance. These tools are vividly illustrated with a series of stories, some taken from the lives of historical figures, and others from Wadhwa’s own life, or from those of his former students, colleagues, and family members. This was another part I enjoyed about the structure of the book: Wadhwa is at once a clear analyst and a gifted storyteller, offering well-thought-out models for how to achieve “inner mastery,” alongside stories to demonstrate how these models have been applied. In addition to these, he draws on available scientific evidence from disciplines such as psychology, shedding new light on current paradigms and major developments (I found his discussion of transcendence in Maslow’s famous hierarchy of needs especially interesting near the end of the book).I will say, finally, that I'd come to a book like this with significant apprehension. I was (and I doubt I am alone in this) somewhat tired of coming away from countless mandated leadership trainings and talks only to notice that my life carried on unchanged. Even the best of leadership trainings that might have sparked a new idea in my mind during a weekend retreat or group activity never translated into my actual life. And perhaps, that was because they weren’t designed to do so—because they operated within an idealized work environment that was very disconnected from my day-to-day realities.What I enjoyed about this book, in turn, was that it did not feel oversimplified—it did not feel as if Wadhwa was operating in some kind of idyllic world where if we just learnt how to ‘be more vulnerable,’ or ‘be more confident,’ or ‘be more understanding,’ or ‘set clearer boundaries’ (and this list could go on), we would all be better leaders. Instead, he acknowledged from the book’s inception that leadership asks of us something that current leadership trainings cannot give: “to be everything—and the complete opposite,” as he puts it. If we are to be ‘vulnerable’ in one moment and ‘confident’ in the next, for instance, we cannot learn these as distinct skills that are to be taught and practiced separately, the way current “bite-sized leadership” trainings teach us through a modular approach. Instead, we have to think about a more thorough-going journey towards “inner mastery,” which is precisely what he takes us through in this book with a transformational journey through “five core energies.” I could not recommend this book enough!

This is a beautiful book. Dr. Wadhwa is a business professor at Columbia University and provides practical steps for his business students and all of us toward mastery over our inner being, in order to create external success. He weaves in science, touching stories from his students and his life, in addition to spiritual teachings and life stories of inspiring figures like Mother Theresa, Nelson Mandela, Lincoln, Gandhi, Yogananda, etc. to give us practical guidance toward inner mastery. It's a brilliant honoring of the inner goodness and power we all possess, emphasizing that outer impact and success has to start with mastery of our inner being and connection with our Inner Core.

Reading “Inner Mastery, Outer Inpact” feels like stepping aboard a transformative journey to the center of your inner self. Make no mistake - this is not just a joy ride. Hitendra Wadhwa poses some serious and life-altering questions; he puts you in front of scenarios like ‘when the final curtain falls’ and offers a plethora of sometimes heart-wrenching and sometimes exhilarating first-hand accounts coming from the many executives he has coached, E/MBA students he has taught at Columbia University and from the many studies of historical figures like Lincoln, Jobs, Mother Theresa to name a few. No matter how hard the questions this master storyteller poses, the way he engages the reader is fascinating, eye-opening, mind-boggling and has you at the edge of your seat. Is it possible to forget you are not reading a novel, when the protagonist of this overarching narrative is your own self - with all your faults and favors, all your aspirations and despairs? Who can resists a book like this!And yet at the end of the day what stands out for me is that this book offers a thought-provoking, highly intellectual, philosophical vision of leadership in the 21st century, one that fuses century-old insights stemming from the contemplative sciences of the East with cutting-edge, modern discoveries from such fields as neuroscience and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Fortuitously, in a world that is as divided as we haven’t seen since the Cold War and hungry for inclusivity and purpose, here comes Hitendra and offers a meticulously researched structure of the 5 Energies that - when deliberately cultivated and practiced each day, will make you not just a better leader, but a better person, and it will naturally, authentically manifest on the outside thus inspiring those around you - your co-workers, teams, families, communities.IMOI has been a game changer to me. It is bold in that it offers a comprehensive view on how to bring out your best self in a world in which we have gotten used to one-word titles. It is double daring because it does not shy away from touching on what we would call the spiritual - a concept we have tried to do away with over the last few decades. And with this it is transcendental, because it lays the ground for a completely new approach to inclusivity, one that focuses on our shared, humane attributes thus transcending differences, religions, sexual orientation etc.This book is must read if you want to critically examine not just where you come from but, more importantly, who you want to become in the remaining time that you have left on this planet. A true game changer for not just leadership & development professionals but for each and everyone of us.

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Wadhwa connects spiritual and worldly knowledge and weaves them into a beautiful journey about how we can become truer to ourselves. Thank you!

Your perfect guide to unlock the power of your inner core to achieve outer success and greater fulfilment in all areas of your life. A truly inspiring and profound book. Filled with enriching insights and stories that will enable you to evolve as a leader – codified in simple actions for immediate impact. A must read.