About The Author

There is always something to be grateful for, even the ability to experience ingratitude. It is the presence of one without the other that allows us the depth of spirit to appreciate either. This, in a single line, is the essence of life. 

My name is Zaid Ismail. I’ve been a mental health advocate for more than ten years, and more recently chose to become an independent author, life coach, and entrepreneur. My philosophical side is a natural disposition that I’ve enjoyed since childhood. And yes, I was the odd one out.

Before this, I spent over 25 years in the corporate and public sector environments filling various roles from an IT specialist to a senior consultant for business optimisation and strategy. My passion, however, has always been grounded in the development of people.

I coached people formally in the workplace, and informally in my spare time for many years before deciding to pursue it full-time.

The first book that I wrote was published in September 2018 and is titled The Egosystem: A Synopsis of the Human Condition. It is a discussion about the emotional cycle that influences our lives in every moment, and in every experience, and includes a selection of essays that offer fresh insights into real-life experiences that may be holding us back.

The second book that I published in July 2019 is aimed at the lay person and is titled Own Your Sh!t. This book is different from other self-help books because it focuses on creating an understanding of why we are who we are, instead of providing exercises, to-do lists, or mantras that may work for others. 

By understanding what drives our behaviour, we are empowered to make better choices for ourselves based on what works for us, rather than implementing answers that worked for someone else. 

I disagree with the mainstream view that the human experience is a mental illness. When we label behaviour, we forget that we are labelling our experience of that behaviour, and not the intent or objective of how we experience others.

I always have a new manuscript that I’m working on, so please visit my website regularly to participate in my journey.

On a personal front, I am a single father of two teenage daughters. Guiding them, and learning from them, is probably the greatest and most frustrating joy in life. But a joy nonetheless.

I hope you find my writings to be of value, or at the least mildly entertaining.

Please do share your thoughts with me, and your delights with your friends.