Mo Gawdat - Engineering happiness, losing his beloved son Ali, and how to take control of your thoughts

04/12/21 • 63 min

Mo Gawdat is the former Chief Business Officer at Google X (aka the Moonshoot Factory) and before that had a successful career as a stock-trader and tech executive in Dubai. Despite having professional, personal and material success he was miserable, and no amount of new Rolls Royces could make him happy in a sustained way. He decided to use his engineer's mind and research skills to come up with equation to engineer and maintain happiness. He wrote a book about it called Solve for Happy which became an international bestseller.
In 2014 this equation was put to the ultimate test when his beloved son, Ali, died aged 21 due to medical negligence in a routine appendix removal operation. Mo shares with me how he coped with the aftermath of the wonderful Ali's death and what he has learned on his journey to understanding how to live well and with joy in this 'game called life.'
We talk about the tests that life gives us, and how to avoid getting 'tested.' He gives some interesting insights into the extent to which we have choices in life. He tells me about the negativity bias that exists in our brains and how he talks to his brain to control and reframe his thoughts, in a way that serves him.
More information about Mo's quest to make one billion people happy can be found here.
Solve for Happy: Engineer your path to joy by Mo Gawdat is available here.
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undefined - Sarah Orr - Breaking her neck at 16, backpacking across Australia as a wheelchair user and gaining perspective through working in developing countries

Sarah Orr - Breaking her neck at 16, backpacking across Australia as a wheelchair user and gaining perspective through working in developing countries

After breaking her neck at the age of 16 in a car crash whilst on holiday in the Highlands, Sarah’s life took a course that was far from ordinary.

We speak about her rehab in the spinal unit, where, thanks to some ‘tough love’ from her physio she learned to become completely independent, despite being tetraplegic. She tells me about the early days of adjustment following her injury, how difficult it was going back to school as a wheelchair user, especially having been recently selected to play hockey for Scotland prior to her injury. We speak about the challenges she faced early on and about the support she found most helpful, which came in the form of meeting others who’d gone through something similar.

She has travelled extensively, including backpacking across Australia and New Zealand for seven months, and has spent time in various developing countries working with disability organisations, to educate and inform about living with spinal cord injury, where people’s experience of living with paralysis is vastly different from in the UK.

Her spinal cord injury transferred her attention from environmental matters to human rights, which led her to do a master's degree in human rights and she has spent time working with refugees.

We speak about the challenges we face as wheelchair users, and Sarah shares the things that frustrate her in daily life. She’s a great friend of mine and is my go-to for advice about all things, not just SCI-related. She has some wise words of advice at the end which are relevant for all.

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Gregory David Roberts - Spirituality, finding solace in solitary confinement and life in an Indian slum

Gregory David Roberts is the author of best selling novel, Shantaram and sequel, Mountain Shadow. Selling over 6 million copies, it is partly based on Gregory's own life experience of escaping prison in Australia and being on the run, during which time he lived in a slum in India. After ten years as a fugitive, Gregory was re-captured in Germany and spent time in both solitary confinement and maximum security before being released over seven years later. After five years on parole, Gregory finished writing Shantaram, got it published and sold the movie rights.
After withdrawing from society around seven years ago, and going 'off grid,' Gregory committed himself to exploring and researching spirituality in a 'leap of faith'. This resulted in him writing a book called The Spiritual Path; a personal account of his journey looking at science, belief, faith and devotion.
Gregory tells me his story about escaping from prison and being on the run for ten years. He reflects on how his time in prison and how solitary confinement was transformative for him. He talks about what it's like to be a fugitive, when the need to 'fit in' and go undetected is paramount and he shares his experience of living in an Indian slum. We talk about faith and how having purpose has the potential to ease the most dire of circumstances.
We talk about self and ego, as well as the importance of devotion, and Gregory gives some sage advice for the spirituality curious (despite his protestations that he is ineligible to provide advice on such matters).
Excitingly, Gregory shares some intel about the upcoming Apple + series of Shantaram starring Charlie Hunnam (if you've read the book you'll no doubt be as excited as I am). And finally, he gives some great words of wisdom which are certainly evidence of a life less ordinary.

Pick up a copy of Shantaram here and The Spiritual Path here.
Find Sophie Elwes on Instagram.