Bold Moves

Chapter 3 Design your life

Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.

William Shakespeare

How do you go beyond what’s expected and start making your own rules and decisions so that you design your own life?

Be willing to adapt

Wife … mother … running a big business … sitting on boards … and making time for friends and exercise. One of the questions I often get asked is, ‘How do you do it all?’ The answer is because I don’t do it all. Michael, my husband, shares the load equally with me. We choose to do it this way and it works for us (well, most of the time anyway). We choose to set our rhythm this way and design our lives so we can share parenthood equally. We made the decision that we would both work, but we always make sure one of us is home each day at 5 pm. So if we travel, we travel separately and we often attend evening events alone. (I often think people don’t believe I have a husband because I’m so often out on my own.) We also choose to have a wonderful nanny, Issy, a few days a week (I don’t like using the word ‘nanny’ as she’s part of our family). She brings so much value to our lives. We too share the work at home and in the office: she’s amazing. She’s 25, considers herself a working mum and contributes equally. We all accept our own strengths and weaknesses and share the belief that life is lived through playing to your own strengths. The kids are happy, healthy and have a great life full of love from lots of people. ...