Carl Foster with his book, SELFMADE, about the power of positive thinking

A town hall worker who says he turned his life around with positive thinking has written a self-help book because he wants to inspire other Hackney residents.

Carl Foster, 40, is an administrator in the human resources department at Hackney Council, and is celebrating publishing his book, SELFMADE, about his journey.

Carl said he was “blown away” after reading a philosophy book someone recommended to him at work and started to think deeply about what control he had over his own destiny.

“I realised we’re not powerless,” he told the Gazette. “We don’t just have things happen to us. We’ve got control of our lives and all of us are literally ‘self-made’.

“I would like to share my story with Hackney because I feel it will inspire people to achieve their goals, despite any handicaps or obstacles they may have. I want to put some positivity back into my community.”

Carl, who lives in Mare Street, added he hadn’t done well at school, so writing the book had been a “breakthrough” for him.

SELFMADE costs £12.99 and is available at www.amazon.co.uk.