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'How to win friends and influence people has helped me become a better person': Dr Tarek Hafez

What are you reading now?
I'm switching between two books for my early morning reading. The first is Hyperfocus by Chris Bailey. It shows us how to tackle one of our worst daily enemies: distraction. We live in a time when the distractions surrounding us are endless, starting with our cell phones. We can't shut them all off but we can limit the effect of many of them on our productivity. It all comes down to our brain's attention space and our "intention". I just love how the book explains it all while giving proven tips and examples to help us focus. I just started the second book, A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle. It explains how our ego allows objects, negative feelings and thinking to prevent us from being who we truly are.
What are the books that changed your life and shaped your outlook?
A book that I read twice was How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. I can easily say it has helped me become a better person. Through multiple and diverse real-life situations, it showed me how to become a better leader, friend, son and overall human being. My main takeaway from this book was that we can only develop with constructive feedback.
A book that you think is underrated (and why)?
The Path by Christine Gross-Loh and Michael Puett. I haven't met many people that have read or heard about this book. That's a shame, as it categorically shows how, through chaos and order, we find ways to self-improvement and better living.
Your favourite book quote.
"To become free of compulsive thinking" - Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth. On a daily basis, we involuntarily act through compulsive thinking and emotions. That is a result of our basic ego. And the earlier we realise it, the better we can properly live through our thoughts and emotions without allowing them to control us.
- Staff reporter

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