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CHAPTER 8Give life your all

My dad, Greg, said, ‘I never pushed my kids into anything. You’ve got to be happy in what you do. When you get up in the morning and start the day, just remember that if you screw up this day you’ll never get an opportunity to relive it. Every day matters. And Michael uses it in his tagline. That really tickles me pink’.

I’m the youngest of three children, which was great because I was, of course, spoiled and doted on, and I got to do a lot of things my two older siblings didn’t (or so I’m still told!). We grew up in a small home in Canberra, Australia. My dad was a carpenter and businessman; my mother a nurse and then a midwife. With their mutual passions for building and decorating, we were always living in a house that was getting renovated around us.

We’re an active family: the whole house was always awake and busy at 6 am. We had our own sets of chores to do, were always busy and my parents gave us an understanding of what it means to ‘have the hustle’. Mum and Dad put us through school, fed us, clothed us and housed us, but if we wanted anything more we worked for it and bought it ourselves. We lived very simply and never believed in anything too extravagant. Mum and Dad taught us the simple principles for living a good life: work hard, be honest, never let fear stand in the way and always give 100 per cent in the work you do.

Dad got up early to go to work each morning, and would travel if there wasn’t any work in Canberra. He always did what ...