Before I touch on why you must Dare to be You, let’s go back a little in my life. I remember ever since I could read, my father wanted me to read ‘How to win friends and influence people’ by Dale Carnegie, saying that it was all I needed to build successful relationships with people around meby making them happy.
I did as I was told (at least I tried), in hopes of making my father happy, because that’s what you do as a good daughter, right? Well, not entirely.
Fast forward 20 years and the world has changed. At least, relationships have. And it all started with people who initiated talking about putting ‘yourself’ first. Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t about being selfish, it is more about being aware of who you are, to do justice to yourself and people around you. The kind of self-help books also changed, focusing more on what came from within, what made us unique, what helped us discover and celebrate our inner selves.
I have to confess, I started my journey to self-improvement and self-care a little over two years ago. From changing my lifestyle, to physical exercise, meditation, reading, I have to say this has been the most fulfilling adventure I have been on in 39 years. And if you ask me, where does one start? Well, you start Here.
If you have asked that question, then you have already started asking the right things, and if this is a path you want to go down, you will need some simple tools. One such thing I can recommend is Shahzad Malik’s book, Dare to Be You.
It is not only Pakistan’s first Self-Development Book, it is also one of the most effective books I’ve read on the subject. It is a very fluid, easy to read and more importantly an easy to understand book, which makes you journey to self-improvement feel very achievable and simple.
So what were the winning points of the book for me:
Chapter 5- Happiness: if I could go back in time and make my 18 year old self read this chapter, I would never eat meat again (mind you I am a hardcore Lahori). Such is the importance of the message in there. You are all you need to be happy.Shahzad pens down how happiness is a ‘choice’ and how you can choose to be happy without depending on external factors or other people. It sounds too much of a task, not when you read how much sense it makes. For this chapter alone, I would re-read the entire book.
Chapter 6-Passion and Purpose: all my life I have struggled to identify my passion, while I secretly envied those who were clear about their purpose and passion. I still sometimes struggle to define what passion is to me, while knowing from an early age that it was something important, which is why I missed having it. Shahzad Malik, bless him honestly for making it so easy to visualize through some simple questions you ask yourself. In chapter 6, through a very simple and enjoyable exercise, he made me see what I always knew and felt inside, but couldn’t define it well enough to say YES, this is my passion and purpose in life. It is amazing 2.5 pages can bring sense to 39 years of directionless thinking.
Chapter 8-Being you: and what does that mean, you are you, right? But are you who you are for yourself ? Or how you should be for others? Bringing back my question, did I try and read the book my father wanted me to because I wanted to make him happy, or did I do it for myself? In the book Dare to be you, Malik ties up all the 8 chapters, dealing with different aspect of one’s self by encouraging the reader to be what they want to be, not for anyone else, but themselves. And to get on the path of self-discovery and enlightenment and to live a well-rounded, happy life with your one true partner, you.
I really think a book like this is often the universe sending some light your way, because you let it out there through your energy, that you are finally ready to ask the right questions about yourself and your life. So one thing you can do yourself today is order this book right now, because I did and I am not lending you my copy!!
And here’s what you’ll get if you order the Collector’s Edition Box from their website Dare To Be You
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