Zen Pilot: Flight of Passion and the Journey Within

“I was rocketing toward the ground in an aircraft loaded with high-octane aviation fuel. All I could do was negotiate where the impact would happen.” Robert DeLaurentis had an impossibly big dream: to circumnavigate the globe in a single-engine piston plane. Meant to be the ultimate test of his flying skills as a pilot, the journey would take him to the ends of the earth and over some of the most inhospitable terrain on the planet. He diligently prepared himself and his plane, the “Spirit of San Diego,” for the excursion. Having previously flown to far-off places, he thought he knew what to expect. But reality doesn’t always make for the best co-pilot. What began as a call to adventure turned into a soul-defining mission riddled with equipment failure, fierce weather, foreign bureaucratic nightmares, and nearly ended in a crash into the vast Pacific Ocean. The voyage would stretch his limits, test his mental strength, and eventually define him. Beaten down, broken and discouraged, he found that the only way to survive was to surrender to the Universe. In this follow-up to Flying Thru Life, DeLaurentis shares the insights he gained for overcoming paralyzing fear, defeating obstacles, and confronting any situation with grace and ease. This raw, at times terrifying, real-life adventure will inspire anyone who loves flying, yearns to fly, or simply has their own “impossibly big dream.” DeLaurentis’ extraordinary journey shows us what it takes to be a Zen Pilot.