Mo Gawdat - Engineering happiness, losing his beloved son Ali, and how to take control of your thoughts
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.Find Sophie Elwes on Instagram.