The top 5 things I can’t do without…

Ask anyone the five things they can't do without and I know you'd get pretty similar answers. At the end of the day, we humans, no matter how well off or impoverished we are have three basic needs… 

A successful and happy life will need an abundance of these.
It really doesn't matter how successful we are in business or life, if we don't have our health, we don’t have anything at all. This is brought home to me every day as I watch my aging work force deal with the challenges in their immediate environments.

So what is really important? What is left if we truly have nothing?

Yes you guessed it - it’s the simple stuff… not the financial stuff (how much money we have). It’s all about love and connection, no matter how high up the ladder of success you sit, these things will be just as important as they were when you had nothing at all. As well as myself I have asked seven of my colleagues to contribute to this blog.

Read on…and I’d love to hear from you your five most important things…

Annah Stretton

1. My Saturday Skype call to my daughter, Sam in the Cayman Islands

2. The first cuddle of the day at 5am with my white boxer dog, Paris... I love the way she smells

3. My iPhone. It stores my life in abbreviated form. It holds all my ‘to do’ lists, contacts and all my dreams and screams in planning form.

4. My 5am coffee. Thankfully it’s a real one although my coffee skills are a little rough at that time of the morning.

5. A daily supply of almonds and dried paw paw to stave of the hunger pains I get during the day.

Tina Cross

1. A long macchiato (maybe more than one)

2. Exercise (either a gym workout or a fast walk)

3. My vitamins and supplements (morning and night)

4. Singing or listening to music

5. My laptop and iPhone... impossible to get through the day without these things. Whatever happened to the good old days?

Nikki Kaye

1. Large trim latte + two sugars (contradictory but essential)

2. Daily run (for stress release)

3. Cheesy music (favourites include Eye of the Tiger)

4. Daily dose of Facebook and news sites (a prerequisite)

5. Indestructible suitcase of ministerial reading (and occasionally something lighter)

Mai Chen

1. A hug from my family

2. Two spoons of Vital Greens – nutrient rich for the time poor

3. Exercise outside

4. Learn something new and interesting and fresh

5. Sleep

Molly Bedingfield

1. Connecting with family and friends

2. Time and space to reflect and recharge

3. Good music

4. Exercise

5. Lipstick

Tony Falkenstein

1. Reading the hard copy of the NZ Herald

2. Doing my Pilates

3. My raw nuts in a jar on my desk

4. My mobile phone

5. Email access

Mike Pero

1. Contact with my wife

2. My iPhone

3. Email access

4. My credit cards

5. Coffee

Tim Alpe


1. Skype: When you have a business spread across 3 countries and staff across 5 countries you need to be in communication. I will never be the “undercover boss” who goes into discover they know nothing about the people in their business.

2. Exercise: Need to get at least 20 minutes in each day to get to my peak performance. It is amazing how much more productive you are when you get the blood pumping.

3. Talking to the Kids: I travel a lot but regardless of where I am in the world there will not be a day that goes by without a SKYPE or phone call to Amy and the Kids. JUCY is my baby but my family is my life.

4. Checking the bookings: I am addicted to seeing how the businesses are going and will look at the previous days booking for the Rentals, Hotels and Cruize each day.

5. A drink: There is nothing like a glass of Pinot or a Beer at the end of a day (provided I have earned it). If I do the other 4 things shown above I can then have a drink (or 2).