In this heartfelt episode of The Happiness Hour, Ashu Khanna, life coach and authentic leadership coach in India, speaks with Luis Gallardo, founder and president of the World Happiness Foundation and World Happiness Fest, and author of Hapitalism. Luis holds an MBA from IMD Switzerland, an MA in Peace Studies, and is a PhD scholar in yoga, a clinical hypnotherapist, and a mental health coach. He also co-founded the Gross Global Happiness Program at the University of Peace under the United Nations and teaches as a professor of practice at Shoolini University.
This conversation is easy to relate to, even if you have never heard the word "hapitalism" before. Luis talks openly about leaving a demanding corporate career at Deloitte and the World Economic Forum, and choosing a life built around spiritual growth, happiness and mindfulness, and purpose driven leadership instead. He explains, in simple terms, why chasing power, money and fame rarely brings real fulfilment, and what leaders can do instead.
Before starting the World Happiness Foundation, Luis led global rebranding work at Deloitte for over a decade and worked closely with the World Economic Forum. Watching global leaders discuss human suffering only in economic terms became the moment that changed everything for him. From there, he began building a life around alleviating suffering on a global scale.
Luis brings together corporate strategy, yoga, hypnotherapy and Vedic wisdom for leadership in a way that feels grounded and practical. As an authentic leadership and spiritual leadership coach, his idea of Hapitalism reframes success around freedom from fear, consciousness and happiness, rather than capital alone.
This episode looks closely at what a transformational leadership mindset actually looks like in a world still built around status, money and fear. Luis breaks down the difference between capitalism and hapitalism in plain language, shares why so many high-achieving leaders feel empty despite outward success, and walks through the inner transformation coaching tools he uses, including yoga nidra and self-hypnosis, to help leaders reconnect with themselves.
Ashu and Luis also talk about the World Happiness Foundation's goal of reaching 10 billion happy people by 2050, its work with cities, schools, spiritual institutions and businesses around the world, and why healing as a group matters just as much as personal growth.
Luis introduces hapitalism as a way of measuring success through freedom from fear, consciousness and happiness, rather than power, money and fame. This one idea has the power to change how leaders, schools, cities and organisations think about progress.
Many leaders carry fear without noticing it, and that fear passes down to their teams and families without anyone realising it. Naming and releasing that fear is at the heart of authentic leadership and emotional intelligence leadership.
Luis shares real stories of billionaires and top executives who feel completely empty inside, despite every marker of success. This is a reminder that achievement alone rarely creates lasting fulfilment.
Many of our patterns and beliefs form before the age of seven and continue running quietly in the background as we grow up. Self-awareness coaching helps leaders notice these patterns and consciously choose new ways of responding.
Luis describes forgiveness and self-compassion as the first real step toward transformation. Healing guilt and shame within ourselves creates space to extend genuine compassion to others.
Personal growth matters, and Luis is clear that lasting change happens in groups. Shared trauma calls for shared healing, which is why community and connection sit at the centre of every spiritual transformation.
Luis defines fundamental peace as the meeting point of freedom, consciousness and happiness. Reaching that place does not require changing the world outside first; it begins with the work we do inside.
This episode blends corporate experience with spiritual depth, offering practical, easy-to-apply tools for anyone ready for a genuine shift in mindset. Luis speaks with honesty about the emptiness he has seen at the highest levels of global leadership, and offers a clear path toward authentic leadership, grounded in freedom, consciousness and happiness. Whether you are exploring executive mindset coaching, mindful leadership coach guidance, or a deeper spiritual leadership practice, this conversation offers wisdom that stays with you long after the episode ends.
You want a leadership mindset coach perspective rooted in authenticity, not fear.
You are searching for happiness and purpose beyond conventional success.
You want to explore emotional intelligence, self-awareness, and inner transformation coaching.
You lead a team, business or organisation and want to understand how your inner world shapes your outer leadership.
You are drawn to Vedic wisdom, yoga and spiritual growth as tools for leadership development.
You are looking for practical, grounded ways to build more freedom, consciousness and fundamental peace in daily life.
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