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[Music]
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Suzanne Paul welcome to my podcast thank
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you D great to be here we we were
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talking just out before I I um I feel
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like I know you so well but I I'm not
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sure if this this might be the first
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time we've met I know I was thinking
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about that and I thought well surely we
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must have met before we've both been
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around for ages haven't we so that's
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very odd that we have never met before
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yeah yeah I amum I've done so much uh
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research for this chat and I'm so
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excited to get into it because um your
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life story it's just such to Rich
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tapestry um and I think there's I'm
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really keing to try and tap into your
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brains and figure out um from your
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experiences the good and the bad what
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the rest of us can get out out of it
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because you know there's been so much
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adversity so many very big Highs but
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very big rock bottoms as well and you're
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just so resilient and you just keep keep
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bouncing back I do it's a hell of a
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story um by the way on the car on the
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way here did you um say Happy Happy Joy
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Joy sparkle and shine I did yeah yes
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that's an actual thing you do that yeah
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yeah and a lot of people I work with now
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in the film industry they'll say it as
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well now ready Suzanne Happy Happy Joy
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Joy sparkle and shine I'll be like yeah
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sparkle and shine here we go so that's
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that's your Mantra um so I guess there's
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a degree of fake it to your make it in
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there which is something that has um I
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think been a thread through your entire
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life um how long have you been doing
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Happy Happy Joy Joy sparkle and shine oh
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my gosh more 40 years 50 years yeah
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always and you do it when when you wake
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up in the morning or just when you're in
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a car about to go to something yeah if
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I'm about to do something if I'm about
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to walk into a room with people I think
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to myself and sometimes I'll just cut it
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down to this is it sparkle and shine
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sparkle and shine I do a lot of keynote
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speaking so I'll say that to myself
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before I go up this is it happy happy
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joy joy sparkl and shine Dancing with
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the Stars I said it before that
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backstage um yeah sometimes I say out
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loud sometimes to myself sometimes I'll
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say it to other people come on come on
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sparkle and shine um and to me
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encompasses a lot of things it really
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means this is it do your best that you
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can give it your best shot be happy do
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you know what I mean lift your game up
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you know be the best version of yourself
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that you can be sort of thing so it's
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all in that to me and sometimes I've
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only got to think it and that's it I'm
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like switched on ready to go and and
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it's worked it might seem a little bit
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woo woo for some people but
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um you just despite all the knockbacks
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you've had in your life you just keep
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getting back up and you're 6 68 in
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November something like that it could be
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67 the reason I don't know is I've got
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something called discal culia which is
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probably not on your notes but we could
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talk about that later I'm not very good
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with numbers but I'm in the late 60s yes
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right right and and you're still um you
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know enthusiastic and you've got a lot
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of drive and oh I do yeah yeah so like
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it's yeah you're not putting on the
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slippers oh God no although I do have
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lots of nice slippers pink fluffy
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sparkly ones generally yeah all right so
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let's go right back so sue Barnes from a
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place called wolver Hampton um tell her
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about her it it was a it was quite a
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[ __ ] early few years wasn't it yes it
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was I was from well they used to call it
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a broken home then I'm sure they don't
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use that expression now and it was very
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unusual back in the day for you to grow
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up without two parents now it's common
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place they got two parents three they
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got four aren't they two moms Two Dads
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you know anything's going Modern Family
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but then it just wasn't done and um and
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my my mom left well she left a few times
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but she went for good I don't know I was
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about seven and my brother was eight so
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it was quite a big thing that we only
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had a dad and he worked in a factory and
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it was shift work so there was a lot of
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times he was there and a lot of times he
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wasn't there so we were also known as
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latch key kids because that meant you
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came home with you we had a door key you
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know and a piece of string let yourself
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in get a jam sandwich for your tea go
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out and play till it got dark come in
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light the fire I don't know how we
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didn't burn the house down I mean it's
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probably illegal now but me and my
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brother you know I don't know if you've
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ever done it but you have to put the
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wood on then the coal on then light it
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and then hold a piece of newspaper in
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front it they call it drawing the fire
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to get the wi don't know H we didn't set
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the place Al light so that was you you
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and your brother so s of seven and eight
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so what's um did you have much to do
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with your mom after that uh I did later
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on in life yes and I actually went to
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live with her when I was 16 um so she
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reconnected when I I don't know when I
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was about 11 I think uh but for several
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years it was mainly just me my brother
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and my dad and we were very poor so we
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only had that one income which a factory
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income wasn't much I had the same school
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uniform the day I left as the day I
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started it was and we were just very
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scruffy and I had National Health milk
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bottle
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glasses and it was very different world
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back then teachers didn't really know
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you know I don't know when I look back
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now I think it was actually very cruel
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how I was treated because I wasn't
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allowed to take part in a lot of things
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that were going on in the school and um
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but it put a fire in my belly you know
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it gave me that resilience so I was
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never allowed to take part in the
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cookery class CU I didn't have the
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ingredients we couldn't afford it so I
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had to just stand and watch the other
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girls cooking I stood and watch the
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other girls play tennis cuz I didn't
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have the right outfit I still on watch
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them play hockey cuz I didn't have and
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they just wouldn't let you take part in
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anything if you didn't have the right
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things and then I was never allowed on
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any school trips and I remember one when
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I was 11 and that probably even at that
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age changed my whole life because the
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one day the teacher said to me no you
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are going on this trip and she there she
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was with the clipboard she says I've got
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your name it's on here we're going the
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uh Yorkshire potteries I'm like really
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oh this is amazing we're going on the
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coach I go to the Ora potc I was like
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beside myself and then when we got there
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we pulled up and us they all filing off
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the coach she literally went oh no hang
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on stop no I've got it wrong no your did
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Dad didn't pay no I made a mistake
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you'll have to stay on the
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coach right I wanted the floor to
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swallow me up it was humiliating
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degrading uh I've just felt you know it
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was the worst thing ever and all these
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kids went in and I stayed on the coach
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with the driver who gave me some of his
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sandwich oh I know so did it did it feel
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like you look you look back now and
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obviously that's so entirely
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inappropriate but did it did it feel
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humiliating at the time you remember it
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yeah I remember thinking this is
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humiliating I'm ashamed I'm ashamed I
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haven't got the money to do what they're
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doing and so I made my mind up at a very
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early age this isn't right I'm not
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having this you know I'm just being not
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being able to take part in life properly
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because I don't have the money so
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obviously going forward I need to do
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something about that I need to get the
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money yeah yeah I I amum yeah I read
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about you somewhere and I can relate to
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this cuz I'm the same I also have an
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unhealthy relationship or an obsession
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even with money like I think um my
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upbringing was very different to it was
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just very middle class New Zealand but
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it always felt like we were we were poor
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we never had the things that um you
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other families or other kids had and I
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don't know I don't know if a lot of
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that's in my own head or how it was but
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for me it's um it's established like an
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unhealthy relationship with money and I
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listen to podcasts and people say oh you
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you know money's just money it's no big
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deal and I'm thinking well [ __ ] it's
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easy for you to say it you've got ha I
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know people used to say to me back in
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the day you can't let money motivate you
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I'm like why not it really gets me out
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of bed cuz I've got to earn this money
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because I've got to pay my I've nobody
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to look after me here I've got to
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somehow get enough money and pay rent
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and buy food and get electricity there's
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nobody coming to save me this is you
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know just up to me I knew that from
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early age yeah and I like to be quite
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altruistic as well I you need money to
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do that like and to look after your
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friends and things like that so so um
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your your parents like did you did you
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know did you end up having a good
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relationship with them or did you sort
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of have a chip on your shoulder I mean
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you did obviously did the best he could
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with the limited means yes that's what I
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always thought and when you brought up
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in that workingclass environment nobody
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expects anything else nobody else did
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expect there was a lot of kids down our
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street so I'd say they were the same as
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us except they had the two parents you
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know um but nobody had much nobody had a
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car no you had a telephone um but then
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you could see but we everybody always
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had a television of course and so you
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could see on the television well people
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do live a different life when they've
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got money but no I wasn't resentful in
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fact I I the other way I thought when
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I've got the money I'll make sure you
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know my dad's all right my mom's all
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right my brothers all right I wanted
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everybody to you know be all right sort
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of thing well that's the good thing
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about being successful you can share the
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success it's part of the fun um yeah
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just where did that come from like that
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that that goal setting and that that
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drive cuz I read from you were a goal
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Setter from like the age of 12 right
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yeah and you had like a a list of plans
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and um your number 39 on the plan list
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come to New Zealand we'll get to that
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later but it' be very easy for you just
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to go well this is my lot in life I mean
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I get a job in a factory like everyone
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else and I know I just don't know why I
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just thought no I'm not having it I just
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always long and it was very difficult to
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escape that workingclass environment cuz
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even if you were to say to people which
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I did people down our street or various
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Aunts Uncles my dad yeah no I'm not
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working in the factory I'm not doing
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that um and I'm not going on the doll um
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I might go to London be a secretary and
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they'll be like have you heard yourself
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go with
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London go to London l you can't go to
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London why not how are you going to get
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to London it was like I well I could go
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on the train on the train have you heard
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is going on the train now oh you got a
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bob on yourself what you think you're
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better than us it was on them all like
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oh calm down calm down you know what I
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mean it's it was just out of the
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question for them and they thought there
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was something wrong with me you think
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you you know you you're better than us
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is is it um is there an element of tall
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puppy syndrome you must have heard that
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here in New Zealand is is that thing
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it's different they don't want to knock
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you down I don't know they just it's
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just out of the that possibility that's
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where you're born that's you know their
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family was born there born poor and you
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die poor they didn't know of anybody
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else that had made it so they had no
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reference no oh like he did he went off
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and made a fortune or did that thing
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it's all like you can't do it you're
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you're working class and everybody knows
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you're working class because of the way
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you speak you can't suddenly go and be a
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doctor's receptionist you know hello if
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you come for an appointment what's wrong
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with you they be all like oh my God so
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the accents it does sort of keep you in
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your place well it used to in those days
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C and people saying oh you've got a bob
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on yourself and H do you think they're
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like managing your expectations or is it
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like well get maybe a bit of Envy
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because they they're seeing you trying
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to make something of yourself and
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they're trying to sort of hold you back
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I don't know I don't think they did it
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deliberately and over the years as I
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came and went and came and went oh I'm
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off to Black pool I'm going to do this
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that and the other you know plan number
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six or something and then a year later
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I'd be back and they' be like didn't
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work out then told you it's just
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nonsense you can't just be gallivanting
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off around the country why not because
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look what's happened now you put your
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name down for a council house get
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married have a child you know be
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sensible you're just being silly and it
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was all of this and I'll be like no well
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I know it didn't work out in Blackpool
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but I've got another plan I've going to
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Brighton I think
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where I ended up living everywhere for 3
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months 6 months a year and then if it
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didn't work out I never thought it was
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me for some reason I always thought
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right I'm in the wrong place at the
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wrong time with the wrong product CU I
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was selling stuff so I thought just a
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matter I'll just move somewhere else and
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then I'll probably I could be in the
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right place so it was all I I couldn't
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see how people looked at things in there
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below what if it all all goes wrong and
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I'll be like what if it all goes right
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see even when I went to Australia I went
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for an interview which my dad thought
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was ridiculous going to Australia for an
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interview I've never in had a conip he's
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like what if you don't get the job and
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I'm like what if I do what if you don't
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earn any money yeah but what if I do
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what if you can't find anywhere to live
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what if I can find somewhere to live and
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it's great what you don't know anybody
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there what if you don't have any friend
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what if I do and I could always I just
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kept going the other way it's like a
00:14:01
glass half full attitude it's funny that
00:14:03
you say that though um Rich there was a
00:14:04
movie made about Richie mcco the old
00:14:07
black a few years ago and he said that
00:14:09
exact same thing he was talking about
00:14:11
the 2011 Rugby World Cup which New
00:14:13
Zealand won in the final after not
00:14:14
winning it for years and years and years
00:14:16
and he said people would say to him all
00:14:17
the time oh what if you don't win and he
00:14:18
goes yeah but what if we do yeah it's
00:14:21
amazing I know he stole it from
00:14:23
you so was it with with every failed
00:14:27
plan um was it embarrassing going back
00:14:30
to wolver
00:14:31
Hampton sort of but not really I a
00:14:35
failure never worried me if for
00:14:37
everybody else it was a big thing it was
00:14:39
that oh you're a failure I'm not no I'm
00:14:42
not a failure I failed I failed at that
00:14:45
in that place you know and so I can have
00:14:48
another go and try something else it's
00:14:50
not the end of the world nobody died you
00:14:53
know it just all went wrong that's all
00:14:56
right can have another go and I was
00:14:58
always I don't know of a minding
00:15:01
somebody up there knows what they're
00:15:02
doing that's what I would say if that
00:15:05
wasn't meant to be it just means there
00:15:07
somewhere better than I'm supposed to be
00:15:09
you see and so I was always very
00:15:11
philosophical about it you just knew you
00:15:13
were decent firm I just knew I just knew
00:15:16
if I carried on I kept saying don't
00:15:19
matter how many times you fail does it
00:15:21
you only got to succeed the on just
00:15:23
carry on absolutely and um yeah I've
00:15:26
sort of re reassessed my my personal um
00:15:29
thoughts on failure over the last few
00:15:30
years and I see I do see it now as a
00:15:32
stepping stone to success and the the
00:15:34
only time you absolutely truly
00:15:37
definitely fail as when you give up yeah
00:15:40
people I used to be saying to people
00:15:41
it's not the end of the road you know oh
00:15:44
I failed that's it okay give it give
00:15:46
every that it's just part of the journey
00:15:49
if you're successful that's part of the
00:15:51
journey you fail that's part of the
00:15:52
journey and the journey doesn't end till
00:15:54
you
00:15:55
die so you were 35 when um you got to
00:15:59
number 39 on your list of plans yeah um
00:16:03
[ __ ] that that's a lot that's that's a
00:16:05
lot of a lot of knockbacks so 35 years
00:16:08
old and you arrive in New Zealand um
00:16:11
I've heard two different stories $15 or
00:16:12
$18 to your name yes something like that
00:16:16
again numbers with me but I had actually
00:16:18
been here the final time I settled was
00:16:22
1991 but I had been once in
00:16:25
1989 and stayed for a while and it
00:16:27
didn't work out and went back to England
00:16:30
save the money to come back and I was
00:16:31
here for about a year that time I was
00:16:34
trying to get my vibrating massage
00:16:36
pillows going I stayed for about a year
00:16:39
and it was always a visa thing I'd lose
00:16:41
all my money and lose my Visa and have
00:16:43
to go back so it was about the third
00:16:45
time and that's why I didn't have much
00:16:47
money I'd gone back to England again
00:16:50
right I've got to earn more money to get
00:16:52
the airfare to come back and then I was
00:16:56
toying it was really one way or the
00:16:58
other at that stage cuz then I was
00:16:59
starting to think uhoh maybe everyone
00:17:03
else is right and I'm wrong that's I
00:17:05
never thought that till I was 35 all of
00:17:08
a sudden I thought you know what maybe
00:17:10
they are all right because the only
00:17:11
thing I've been you know successful at
00:17:13
so far is
00:17:15
failing and I was real really successful
00:17:18
at that and I'm 35 and I've just about
00:17:22
got enough money for the airfare back to
00:17:23
New Zealand that'll be it or I've got
00:17:26
enough money to buy a car and they're
00:17:28
not could be a sales rep which was
00:17:30
another thing I was thinking then I
00:17:32
could drive all over England selling
00:17:33
stuff and probably make loads of money
00:17:35
doing that and it was really a tossup
00:17:37
and I thought oh just go so once i'
00:17:40
bought the plane ticket and you had to
00:17:42
buy a return because of the Visa status
00:17:45
um that's all it left me with and I went
00:17:48
in to a um what you call them where all
00:17:51
young people stuff oh like a youth
00:17:53
hostel yeah like a hostel yeah yeah yeah
00:17:56
I've heard this about the Susan Paul
00:17:57
story so you arrive at the you got very
00:17:59
little money to your name and there's
00:18:01
like a cork board or a notice board yeah
00:18:03
and you you you what was and and they
00:18:06
had like a free shuttle so you're like
00:18:07
this is how I can get to the the city
00:18:10
but what were you going to do otherwise
00:18:12
seems like very poor planning on your
00:18:14
part arriving here yes a lot of times
00:18:16
when I do things I don't have a full
00:18:19
plan laid out cuz I think that can
00:18:21
Scupper you sometimes that you're so
00:18:24
busy planning it you don't ever get
00:18:25
around to doing it I know a lot of
00:18:27
people that get stuck planning you know
00:18:29
analysis paralysis and I've always been
00:18:32
the other way around I've always been
00:18:35
it'll be all right I'll find somewhere
00:18:37
to live and I'll find some job when
00:18:40
you're in sales or if you're willing to
00:18:42
do anything oh God love him look at um
00:18:46
it's amazing the jobs you can find to do
00:18:48
when you've got no money you know people
00:18:50
say there's no jobs I've never been out
00:18:52
of work I've never been out work in my
00:18:54
life in whatever country I've been in
00:18:56
yeah you've done all sorts um like
00:18:58
selling selling lollies um engraving
00:19:01
Combs is a job yeah a job something to
00:19:05
do with oranges what were you doing with
00:19:06
oranges yes I lived on the kabot for a
00:19:08
couple of years picking oranges in
00:19:09
Israel um what was the job you you're
00:19:12
like a like a Playboy Banny at a
00:19:13
nightclub or something at a Holiday Camp
00:19:16
you know holiday camps are very big in
00:19:17
England like Butlins hidey High I was
00:19:20
like a bunny girl and I was a photog the
00:19:22
camp phot what a b what do you do just
00:19:25
well I used to take pictures right
00:19:26
through there was two photographers and
00:19:28
we'd take take pictures all throughout
00:19:29
the day for the Mr nobl D and the
00:19:32
Glamorous grandmother and the you know
00:19:34
all this that and the other the Kids
00:19:36
Entertainment photos all day long that's
00:19:38
what the British like to do when they're
00:19:40
on olid the donkey Derby take pictures
00:19:42
of everybody doing everything and then
00:19:44
at night i' dress up as a bunny girl run
00:19:47
around and sit on all the men's knees
00:19:49
and the other photographer take a
00:19:51
picture of me sparkling sh hey heyy
00:19:55
happy joy joy yeah and then they'd buy
00:19:57
the photo right um but yeah I did a lot
00:20:01
of jobs and when I came here uh
00:20:04
different times different jobs I forget
00:20:07
what I was the last time I got it
00:20:09
actually I was selling Kirby vacuum
00:20:10
clean door to door so I literally I
00:20:13
think I arrived on a Friday you know and
00:20:16
I get the newspaper and they were
00:20:18
advertising for salese and the training
00:20:21
was Saturday and Sunday so I went for
00:20:25
the interview got the job they gave
00:20:27
everybody the job actually that went for
00:20:28
the interview and then train me how to
00:20:30
sell the vacuum clean the Saturday
00:20:32
Sunday and the Monday I was out selling
00:20:34
it cuz the the money that you had to
00:20:37
your name everything you owned I guess
00:20:39
that was maybe enough to cover the
00:20:40
hostel for a few days yeah it was yeah
00:20:43
so I had to money quick oh yeah that
00:20:45
that wasn't your first like door to door
00:20:46
you did a lot of door to door stuff over
00:20:48
the years you must have seen some
00:20:50
memorable things what' you say lots of
00:20:52
naked people I gu yeah the vacuum
00:20:54
cleaner is the worst because you're
00:20:56
vacuum in people's houses but then once
00:20:59
You' vacuumed the carpet you used to the
00:21:01
big selling point was can you take your
00:21:04
sheets off your bed and I'll vacuum the
00:21:05
mattress for you and show you all the
00:21:07
dead skin and the fleas that you're
00:21:08
sleeping on
00:21:12
disgusting
00:21:15
smiling yeah Happy Happy Joy Joy how do
00:21:18
you not when you you um I mean you look
00:21:21
back now and all these little sales jobs
00:21:24
you had and bits and pieces they they
00:21:26
they were leading you somewhere they
00:21:27
were taking you somewhere yes but at the
00:21:29
time were you crying yourself to sleep
00:21:30
or no no no no I always thought
00:21:35
everything would lead to something and
00:21:37
I've always believed that if you do the
00:21:39
job even if it's the worst job if you do
00:21:41
it the best that you can do it somebody
00:21:43
always notices that's what I've always
00:21:46
thought somebody always has noticed and
00:21:48
it's led to something else um and I just
00:21:53
think you know that you just do the best
00:21:55
with what you've got and in the
00:21:57
situation that you're in MH that's my
00:21:59
always been my plan and do the best with
00:22:02
what you've got until you can do what do
00:22:04
what you've got to do until you can do
00:22:05
what you want to do until you make it to
00:22:08
the next level really yeah jeez this I
00:22:11
mean we've been going 20 minutes there's
00:22:12
already so many good takeaways and
00:22:13
that's like you it's a really inspiring
00:22:15
story I'm sure it's exhausting being you
00:22:17
and reliving some especially some of the
00:22:19
lows that we'll get to but um yeah I
00:22:22
mean you've done so well okay so you you
00:22:24
get here so this is 1991 at the age of
00:22:26
35 selling vacuum cleaners you're real
00:22:29
famous here within a few years though
00:22:30
right like it's almost exponential the I
00:22:33
did yeah I met the right person at the
00:22:35
right time and he was an entrepreneur
00:22:38
like me but he doesn't like to have his
00:22:40
name out there he's very you know
00:22:42
quietly gets on with business um but we
00:22:45
were both what they call sales
00:22:47
demonstrators so that's what I'd been
00:22:49
since I was 18 I demonstrated products
00:22:52
and gadgets for all sorts of companies
00:22:54
in shopping malls exhibitions you know
00:22:58
um um and found we found each other we
00:23:01
were both working at an exhibition um
00:23:05
and um you know realized that we both
00:23:08
wanted the same thing so when I from
00:23:11
there I worked with him and because I
00:23:14
had no money and but we met up and he
00:23:17
said to me what's the best thing you've
00:23:18
ever sold if you could sell one thing
00:23:20
now what would it be so I said the
00:23:23
vibrating massage pillow because I don't
00:23:26
need much space I can set up in shopping
00:23:28
mall with one chair doesn't take up much
00:23:31
room to rent that bit of space and I can
00:23:34
stop men and women with it and
00:23:37
everybody's got aches and pains you know
00:23:39
whether it's in the feet or the knees or
00:23:41
the back or the or whever it is and it
00:23:44
you know so he said all right leave it
00:23:46
with me and I gave him a phone number of
00:23:48
you know somebody and 3 months later
00:23:50
that was it he said I've got your
00:23:51
vibrating massage pillows where do you
00:23:53
want to sell them and I I have no clue I
00:23:56
don't know um so rang around some
00:23:58
shopping shpping malls and I got in
00:23:59
Henderson Square shopping mall so that
00:24:01
was how it started I started selling the
00:24:04
vibrating massage pillows it went really
00:24:06
well so I trained up another girl to do
00:24:08
it and she went in another Mall St
00:24:10
Luke's I trained up another one and in
00:24:12
the end there was 8 10 12 of us in
00:24:15
shopping malls everywhere and then I
00:24:17
said to Paul another product we could do
00:24:20
the suzan CP okay we'll get those so it
00:24:22
went like that so what was it what was
00:24:25
it so he was like an importer um he was
00:24:27
but he was great demonstrator as well
00:24:29
but he had all the contacts and the
00:24:31
money to get the products made some
00:24:33
products were made here some he got in
00:24:35
from China and I would say get that in I
00:24:38
know how to sell this I've done a
00:24:40
demonstration for This I Know It uh back
00:24:42
in you know 1982 I did a demonstration
00:24:45
for this at the ideal home show it could
00:24:47
be metal polished it could be carpet
00:24:49
cleaners it could be a window washer a
00:24:51
slicer dicer I know the I know the
00:24:52
products you mean you see the
00:24:54
demonstration and the demonstrator such
00:24:56
as yourself does a really good job you
00:24:57
take it home and you realize it's [ __ ]
00:25:00
cuz you make it look
00:25:02
so okay so um the Suzanne clip um yeah
00:25:06
that was one of your memorable products
00:25:07
was it called the suzan clip we called
00:25:09
it the Suzanne clip after me yeah after
00:25:11
you okay yeah so it's just was just a
00:25:13
clip it was a clip and me and the girls
00:25:15
traveled everywhere again shopping malls
00:25:18
exhibitions you know trade shows
00:25:20
demonstrating them and then it was the
00:25:23
Natural Glow that changed everything the
00:25:25
famous makeup you know with thousands of
00:25:29
yeah so how did the TV thing start then
00:25:31
how do you go from selling in more well
00:25:33
we had the uh Natural Glow we launched
00:25:35
it and we were doing that in the
00:25:38
shopping
00:25:39
malls and it was all a bit ass about
00:25:42
face really because we both agreed it
00:25:45
this makeup needed to go in the
00:25:47
pharmacies it was a great makeup the
00:25:49
women loved it so I went around thees
00:25:52
and said this is a great makeup I've got
00:25:54
demonstrators can and they were all like
00:25:56
is it advertised on TV
00:25:58
no well we don't want it then they
00:26:00
didn't want any makeup that nobody had
00:26:02
heard of you know made notah whoo whoo
00:26:04
who they were like no we don't want it
00:26:07
so we were like we'll have to advertise
00:26:09
this on TV so we can get it into the
00:26:12
pharmacies um and the plan was so um was
00:26:16
that because I did the the demonstration
00:26:19
I'd invented the makeup I made up the
00:26:21
demonstration so I wrote the TV advert
00:26:24
and we were going to get Jude Dobson or
00:26:27
Lana coof to do it cuz they were on the
00:26:29
Telly at the time and we thought you
00:26:31
know get somebody famous but in the end
00:26:34
we couldn't afford either of them so
00:26:36
Paul literally said to me no you'll have
00:26:38
to do it you'll have to film it with no
00:26:40
money left to pay anybody and I was like
00:26:41
oh Jesus I don't want to film this uh
00:26:44
but I had to and so you know and I was
00:26:47
like don't ever make me do this ever
00:26:48
again this is the worst I was throwing
00:26:51
up all week I dreaded it Paul really
00:26:55
yeah I want to do it why did Paul think
00:26:57
you'd be the best person for it just
00:26:58
because you you you had so much sales
00:27:00
experience and yes he said you you it's
00:27:02
your makeup you know it you invented it
00:27:05
just you know and and the script that I
00:27:08
was doing in the shopping malls was
00:27:09
working I just had to do the same on TV
00:27:12
instead of doing it live on a woman in
00:27:14
the mall I just had a model then and you
00:27:17
know I was the only one that could do it
00:27:19
there was nobody else that was you know
00:27:21
ready to do it you ended up being a
00:27:23
master stroke too didn't it yeah so it
00:27:25
did when the advert went on it just
00:27:28
simply stopped everyone in the tracks
00:27:31
you know and it worked so well we were
00:27:33
like oh my god let's put the vibrating
00:27:36
massage pillar on TV and the suzan clip
00:27:39
and then all sorts of sports equipment
00:27:41
you know was very popular at the time
00:27:43
then it was Fitness in the early '90s
00:27:46
you know we had the Ab Flex and the
00:27:48
abdominizer and the ab King Pro and the
00:27:51
ab Queen Pro and the ab twister it was
00:27:54
everything to do with your abs and
00:27:56
getting fit just one exercise thing
00:27:58
after another and then it was followed
00:28:00
by a fad on everybody wanted juicing and
00:28:03
chopping the veggies and juicing their
00:28:05
veggies and slic in the veggies so there
00:28:07
was all that we we never ran out of
00:28:09
product it just went on for years and
00:28:11
years so did you did you did you just
00:28:13
have like normal like 30 second
00:28:15
commercials or was it in the morning
00:28:17
television where it's like a yeah so we
00:28:19
only advertised during the day because I
00:28:22
couldn't get enough information out to
00:28:24
make people pick up the phone in 30
00:28:26
seconds so when I used to say Port I
00:28:28
can't get all that information out so
00:28:31
that's why it became the adverts were 2
00:28:34
minutes long and inadvertently we
00:28:37
launched what was the first um direct
00:28:40
marketing company in New Zealand and we
00:28:44
had Offices here and then we had offices
00:28:46
in Sydney so we had it going but at the
00:28:49
same time the ads were all over
00:28:52
Australian and all over TV here and was
00:28:56
it was there a third third business p
00:28:58
that pulled out because you were doing
00:28:59
um there was eventually yeah yeah in the
00:29:02
beginning there was a a a third partner
00:29:04
and when he saw that first ad he said no
00:29:07
if you put this ad on I won out you'll
00:29:10
have to buy me out or I'll buy you out
00:29:12
so Paul and I bought him out and the ads
00:29:15
went on and that rest as they say is
00:29:18
history yeah and so when the ads started
00:29:21
how long did it take before you noticed
00:29:23
um they were having like a real sort of
00:29:24
impact in cut through um we knew
00:29:27
straight away immediately because of the
00:29:29
phone ringing the phone ringing we were
00:29:31
just like oh my God the phones are
00:29:33
ringing off the wall and we were
00:29:34
answering the phones and then we'd be
00:29:36
shouting to Paul's mom cuz we were
00:29:38
working out of his mother's basement can
00:29:40
you come and help us answer the phones
00:29:42
it's going mad here and then we'd shout
00:29:44
to his brother can you come so it just
00:29:47
uh it just went Bonkers and pharmacies
00:29:51
of course which is what we wanted in the
00:29:53
first place Pharmacy started ringing up
00:29:55
saying women keep coming in the shop
00:29:57
asking for this Natural Glow could we
00:29:59
have some please could we order it uh
00:30:02
and then I'd put demonstrators in the
00:30:04
stores so we kept it all going we had
00:30:07
demonstrators at all exhibitions in
00:30:09
shopping malls we had the TV going on
00:30:13
and I was slepping backwards and forward
00:30:15
to Australia going on the good morning
00:30:17
shows over there with Bert Newton and
00:30:20
selling it live on TV over there so the
00:30:24
so the dream that Sue bans had as a
00:30:26
little girl was finally SED com to
00:30:28
fruition yeah at the age of like how
00:30:30
long after you got to New Zealand like
00:30:32
36 37 yeah so quite quite instant really
00:30:35
quite quickly well in finally the
00:30:37
newspapers I was like yeah after 30
00:30:40
years of slepping about all over the
00:30:41
world penniless you know they declared
00:30:44
me an overnight success the TV I was
00:30:47
like well you didn't see what went on
00:30:49
before you know it's like the iceberg
00:30:51
the iceberg photo isn't it people see
00:30:53
the the bit out out of the water but
00:30:54
they don't see the bit underneath yeah
00:30:56
yeah but must have been nice finally
00:30:58
having a bit of money and you did the
00:30:59
money start coming in straight away or
00:31:01
yes money was straight away yeah yeah
00:31:04
[ __ ] that must have felt good yeah I did
00:31:07
yeah it was the first time in my life I
00:31:10
never had to worry about money I didn't
00:31:11
have to worry about paying the bills I
00:31:13
didn't have to worry about anything um
00:31:16
and I bought my mom over to live put her
00:31:18
in a um there was a Retirement Village
00:31:22
um bought her apartment in a retirement
00:31:24
village bought myself somewhere we had
00:31:26
about eight years years of this
00:31:29
treadmill um but what also happened at
00:31:31
the same time was that I became famous
00:31:34
here of course and then I started having
00:31:37
different dreams because that's what
00:31:39
happens with your dreams isn't it they
00:31:40
keep changing also like at the um this
00:31:45
the I suppose Taste of Fame from having
00:31:47
being on TV selling these products yes
00:31:49
did it give you like a like a clue that
00:31:51
oh maybe I can do this or maybe I can do
00:31:53
that yeah yes so how did how did that
00:31:55
start you becoming like a at first it
00:31:57
was different um people on TV getting me
00:32:02
onto their show you know I seem to be
00:32:04
the guest on everything I was just
00:32:05
everywhere as the guest and then the
00:32:07
magazines and the newspapers I was
00:32:09
always being interviewed for something
00:32:12
and then I started you know and I was
00:32:13
watching New Zealand television and then
00:32:16
I thought H I think I could have my own
00:32:19
TV show don't see why not so and it took
00:32:22
5 years from when I first thought of
00:32:24
that and I went up to tvnz and TV three
00:32:28
dozens of times with dozens of shows
00:32:31
over the years I know there TV and Zed
00:32:34
went through three changes of bosses in
00:32:37
that time and I would go up and Pitch
00:32:39
this show I would just go right to
00:32:41
whoever was in charge at the time and
00:32:44
just look I could do this and go there
00:32:46
and this would be a great show and they
00:32:47
be like no I don't think so right okay I
00:32:51
i' go off you know you um all previous
00:32:54
guests on the podcast include Matt
00:32:56
Watson you know the the itm fishing show
00:32:58
oh yes and leeart who's got a show
00:33:00
called TV they've got similar sort of
00:33:02
stories they ended up having to
00:33:04
basically do make their own shows and do
00:33:06
their own [ __ ] because the decision
00:33:08
maker was telling them no keep going up
00:33:11
and they keep saying no no nobody's
00:33:13
going to watch that and I'm like I think
00:33:15
they would would they that's going to be
00:33:17
so good um and then why was it do you
00:33:20
think it was like sort of racism in a
00:33:22
way or because of your voice or they
00:33:25
seem to think why would anybody watch
00:33:27
the show they they watch you all day
00:33:29
long you're on the TV every five minutes
00:33:31
they're going to be like oh no here She
00:33:33
is again and switch off you see um and
00:33:37
sometimes again you are in the right
00:33:39
place at the right time and this is a
00:33:40
true story I've been going backwards and
00:33:42
forwards to TV and Z backwards and
00:33:44
forwards and then uh one day I went to a
00:33:48
party at TV3 because we were spending so
00:33:51
much on Advertising you know and I went
00:33:53
along to this party just me did a bit of
00:33:57
I thought I might meet somebody there I
00:33:59
didn't I got out there was a taxi there
00:34:02
I said oh he said REM you we I said yes
00:34:04
that's me this is a true story I got in
00:34:07
the taxi shut the door next minute the
00:34:09
door came flying open and this woman
00:34:10
said I think you've got my taxi and I
00:34:14
said I know I asked him if was remu and
00:34:16
he said yeah that's me she said well I'm
00:34:18
remu as well and I had booked this taxi
00:34:20
but if you want we can share so she got
00:34:23
in and she said um I know you you're
00:34:26
Suzanne Paul aren't you TV I Su she said
00:34:28
I'm patina Hollings head programmer for
00:34:31
TV3 I went here we go I've got you all
00:34:35
the way to remuera 20 minutes 30 minutes
00:34:38
after the traing I got an idea for you
00:34:41
and I picted to a show called style
00:34:44
challenge that I'd come up with which
00:34:46
there was no reality shows on TV then
00:34:48
and it was about me meeting these women
00:34:51
going to the house getting them to show
00:34:53
me what they normally wear and me saying
00:34:55
oh God you look like a sack of potatoes
00:34:56
in that level whatever taking them
00:34:59
shopping and giving them a makeover and
00:35:01
she said yeah I like it I like it yeah
00:35:04
let's do it by the time she got out the
00:35:07
taxi and I got out I had a TV show style
00:35:12
challenge again so inspiring most people
00:35:15
would would would I think most people
00:35:17
New Zealand doesn't particular give up
00:35:18
at the first no they do yeah yeah and I
00:35:22
I think being in sales you get used to
00:35:26
people saying no to you you fail every
00:35:28
day dozens dozens hundreds of time and
00:35:31
for most people they don't get that in
00:35:33
their everyday job they do their job and
00:35:34
it's all going great but when you're in
00:35:36
sales when you're stood in a shopping
00:35:38
mall and you present this product and do
00:35:41
a 20 minute de demonstration of look at
00:35:43
this it's beautiful and it's this and
00:35:45
it's just going to make your life so
00:35:47
much better and then they all buger off
00:35:49
and it's like what
00:35:51
the what a waste of time that was yeah
00:35:54
yeah yeah no we don't want it right then
00:35:56
got to start again you get used to it
00:35:58
that's a no that's a failure okay
00:36:01
sparkle and shine here we go again hello
00:36:03
come and try so to me I was used to nose
00:36:06
go up to TV and Zed no we don't like it
00:36:08
don't like it and then it happened they
00:36:10
add a new but I went up to TV and Zed
00:36:12
again no then they had a new boss at TV
00:36:15
andz um he's passed away now and I went
00:36:19
to him and pitched him the idea for a
00:36:21
show and again I'd had know so many
00:36:24
times but there I was and we could do
00:36:26
this and I'll do that and he went it
00:36:28
sounds like a good idea let's do it I
00:36:30
literally went I'm sorry what did you
00:36:32
say I beg you pardon cuz I thought I
00:36:34
must have you know misunderstood you
00:36:37
just expecting it to it's always no yeah
00:36:40
yeah come in next week we'll do the and
00:36:42
I did I went in the next week and
00:36:44
everybody was there and and um we came
00:36:47
up all put our ideas together and we had
00:36:50
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner oh I
00:36:53
remember that that was very successful
00:36:54
went for many years successful that was
00:36:56
you and um Anthony
00:36:58
R par is your limo driver and um what
00:37:01
was what was the premise of the show
00:37:02
yeah so we literally people would
00:37:05
nominate somebody so they would
00:37:07
literally I would knock on the door and
00:37:09
they would go oh my God what are you
00:37:10
doing here and I'd say yay we're coming
00:37:13
in Surprise Guess who's coming to dinner
00:37:15
and I would go in with the chef and with
00:37:17
Anthony Ray always give the woman a
00:37:20
makeover the chef would cook something
00:37:23
with whatever he found in the cupboards
00:37:25
or the fridge and we'd get everything
00:37:27
all looking nice lay the table and then
00:37:29
a surprise celebrity guest we had Joon
00:37:32
alomo wow Kevin Smith God Rest Your Soul
00:37:35
we had every all black we had David Tour
00:37:38
on there it was really top-notch
00:37:40
celebrities that would then come and
00:37:42
have dinner with the family is that why
00:37:44
the show ended you ran out of we
00:37:45
practically ran out of celebrities yeah
00:37:48
God it's probably time for a reboot um
00:37:51
yes would you be ke to do it again do
00:37:52
you think do you think you could do it
00:37:53
again yes something watch this space
00:37:56
that's all I'll say Dom oh space yeah
00:38:00
[ __ ] how good okay so the the so the
00:38:02
business so um you sold that company
00:38:05
after 5 years yeah it was about eight I
00:38:08
think years okay and um that sold for 39
00:38:12
million so how how much of that do you
00:38:14
get I think I got about 3 million okay
00:38:17
uh because but then there was uh Paul
00:38:20
and then um his brother was the other
00:38:22
partner cuz he was running things in
00:38:24
Australia um but we had a lot of money
00:38:27
in stock and shares which we didn't have
00:38:29
any choice about um but
00:38:32
unfortunately within a short space of
00:38:35
time they were worthless but anyway we
00:38:38
don't need to go all ins and outs it all
00:38:41
turned to custard yeah yeah yeah yeah
00:38:43
but then you you bounce back well yeah
00:38:45
we can talk about that as much or as
00:38:47
little as you want because um what I
00:38:49
like about this is um the bounce back
00:38:50
after the adversity like it's not how
00:38:53
many times you get knocked down it's how
00:38:54
many times I think it's Rocky that said
00:38:55
that out there oh not too L but okay so
00:38:59
you so you're 40 or your early 40s um I
00:39:02
was 50 no no when you sold the company
00:39:05
oh yes thought I was bankrupt from was
00:39:08
50 so you got yeah so you sell the
00:39:09
company got a few million dollars and
00:39:10
then then what what do you do with that
00:39:12
you what whyn't you just like um put
00:39:14
your feet up then like back then like
00:39:17
the year 2000 you could have like bought
00:39:18
a nice house out right I actually built
00:39:20
a house on a cliff in you know which so
00:39:24
I had that exactly what I wanted exactly
00:39:26
as I'd said from I was a child I wanted
00:39:28
it on the cliff and I wanted that view
00:39:30
and I wanted the swimming pool and I
00:39:32
wanted a gym and I wanted a this and I
00:39:34
wanted seven bathrooms in the house and
00:39:37
it was very precise though do some
00:39:40
excessive but you manif exive it was
00:39:42
what I wanted so that's what I had and
00:39:44
then of course you can't be you know
00:39:47
successful up there when all your family
00:39:49
and friends are not so bought houses for
00:39:51
family and friends and um as you do and
00:39:56
um yes and had people in charge of the
00:39:58
money to invest it for me um but I'm not
00:40:03
good with money I'm not good with
00:40:05
numbers it's why I'm not in business now
00:40:08
I don't want to be it's an absolute
00:40:10
nightmare for me uh because I do have
00:40:13
something that nobody's ever heard of
00:40:15
which is called discal culia and I never
00:40:18
talk about it but now I do talk about it
00:40:21
cuz people are they can't understand how
00:40:23
could you have not be in charge of your
00:40:25
own money you what does that mean
00:40:26
exactly just so yes because dyslexia is
00:40:29
when people have a problem with letters
00:40:31
yes and discula is a problem with
00:40:34
numbers I was expelled from school when
00:40:37
I was 15 because of it because so it's
00:40:41
like a learning difficulty it is but
00:40:42
just with maths just with numbers can't
00:40:45
keep numbers in my head can't keep times
00:40:48
in my head I have to write everything
00:40:50
down and everything gets all jumbled up
00:40:53
and I can't make sense of it and so I
00:40:56
stopped going to the math class cuz I
00:40:57
couldn't do it I couldn't do the
00:40:59
homework they put me in one of those
00:41:01
remedial maths class I couldn't do that
00:41:03
either and in the end I stopped going
00:41:06
and in the end I got expelled um but
00:41:09
it's been like that all my life which is
00:41:11
why I've had a lot of problems um and I
00:41:14
get really stressed out about money and
00:41:18
numbers and people can't understand it
00:41:20
so a lot of people would say to me oh
00:41:22
I'm the same I hate it when I have to do
00:41:24
my tax and I'm like no it's it's not
00:41:26
that I couldn't do it even if I wanted
00:41:29
to I would I'd have no
00:41:31
clue um and so I've always put somebody
00:41:34
else in charge of my money um
00:41:36
ex-husbands have always been in charge
00:41:38
of the money not me I never even looked
00:41:40
at the bank account um and it sounds
00:41:43
ridiculous so for instance I'm going to
00:41:44
tell you what happened to me yesterday
00:41:46
and this took an hour and a half of my
00:41:48
time yesterday and I still didn't get it
00:41:50
sorted out I've got some tablets that
00:41:52
I'm on for cholesterol statins and and I
00:41:57
could see that they were running down
00:41:59
and I thought to myself I need to get a
00:42:01
repeat prescription and I'm taking one
00:42:04
every other day so I'm writing this down
00:42:06
on a piece of paper right how many
00:42:08
tablet this was like being back at
00:42:09
school how many tablets have I got left
00:42:12
yeah and how many do I take every other
00:42:15
day and when do I how long does it take
00:42:18
for I get the prescription three days
00:42:21
and then they give me that so I need to
00:42:24
add that to that no I don't I need to
00:42:26
minor it no that's not right no I need
00:42:29
to add it then take away what I've got
00:42:31
no I need to my mind just keeps doing
00:42:34
that I can't even get to go so then I
00:42:36
say to myself calm down how many tablets
00:42:38
have you got now this many and you're
00:42:40
taking one every other day how many is
00:42:41
that a
00:42:42
week this is literally me one so I need
00:42:47
four tablets a week or do I so do I
00:42:50
honestly it's like that's as basic as it
00:42:53
is and after an hour and a half I still
00:42:56
couldn't work out how many tablets I had
00:42:59
and how many I needed to get and how
00:43:00
many I should so in the end I just
00:43:02
thought I'll just order them anyway
00:43:04
that's literally hour was after an hour
00:43:06
and a half the funny thing is that that
00:43:08
hour and a half is probably still going
00:43:09
to be more fun than what this hour and a
00:43:10
half is even though I'm doing it on the
00:43:12
calculator and so um yes so that's back
00:43:16
in the day was the same it was I was my
00:43:19
first husband I left him in charge of
00:43:21
all of the money and all of the
00:43:23
Investments and when we split up it was
00:43:26
quite a shock to me when I'm like so how
00:43:29
much money have we got and he's like no
00:43:30
none because I invested some in that and
00:43:32
this and it didn't work and then I
00:43:34
bought that property and sold it for
00:43:35
less and this one and sold that for less
00:43:37
then I bought the boat and sold that for
00:43:39
less and I'm like so is there any money
00:43:41
no oh right so were you sort of like
00:43:45
swindled in a way or well I should have
00:43:49
had yeah then my second husband was the
00:43:51
same I'd be like where's the money well
00:43:54
I bought this and I was going to open
00:43:55
that and do this that the other and all
00:43:58
of a
00:43:59
sudden did Gone the um the first two
00:44:02
husbands were they like Consulting you
00:44:03
on these sort of decisions and puras um
00:44:06
not very often no and because I've have
00:44:09
no concept of it I would just be like
00:44:12
well can we afford it yeah no it'll be
00:44:14
fine we'll get that and we can get the
00:44:16
bank to do this and we can get an
00:44:17
investor to do that okay so I'm really
00:44:20
good at getting ideas I can see a gap in
00:44:23
the market it's what I've done all my
00:44:25
life there's a gap in the market there
00:44:27
we need a product to fill it and I know
00:44:29
how to sell it but everything else with
00:44:33
numbers do you know I can remember
00:44:35
scripts things that I sold right in 19
00:44:38
you know 70 if you said if you got a
00:44:41
script for this metal poet you can
00:44:42
remember it but if you said you know how
00:44:45
much tax did you pay last year or how
00:44:47
much did you earn I would be like no
00:44:48
have no clue and and that'sa and that's
00:44:51
fine because it's like you have your
00:44:52
strength everyone has their strength yes
00:44:54
accountants accountants could never get
00:44:55
in front of a camera and do what you do
00:44:57
no but even so with account that
00:45:00
stresses me out it does with my husband
00:45:02
now we always end up arguing he does all
00:45:04
uh you know book work and he'll say to
00:45:06
me and even that panics me out right
00:45:09
I've got this on your bank statement
00:45:11
here $225 can you remember what that's
00:45:13
for and I'm like I don't know don't ask
00:45:15
me stop talking to me I don't want to
00:45:17
know I just have to switch off um I
00:45:21
don't want to be in business anymore and
00:45:22
I don't want to have to cope with that
00:45:25
anymore oh sounds like you you've been
00:45:27
worn down by it yeah it has worn me down
00:45:30
and it and people can't understand
00:45:33
itat I fully understand I can't imagine
00:45:35
how tough it was so we um so the bank
00:45:38
crack rupsy came after um the raer
00:45:41
restaurant yeah um and and we'll get
00:45:43
into that as much or as little as you
00:45:45
want but in hindsight was it was it a
00:45:46
good idea in the wrong timing was it
00:45:48
it's still a great idea it was the right
00:45:51
timing it's still a great idea so
00:45:54
rwalker was a a multicultural restaurant
00:45:57
and a great location as well so if
00:45:59
you're in Oakland and you're in the city
00:46:01
side and you drive over the bridge when
00:46:03
you drive over the bridge towards teap
00:46:05
you can see a little s of restaurant on
00:46:06
the left hand side of the bridge and
00:46:08
that was going to be rwalker yes um Why
00:46:11
didn't it work um well again I wasn't in
00:46:14
charge of the money but we had quotes
00:46:17
for everything it needed a lot of work
00:46:19
doing I think we spent you know two
00:46:22
three million on it again don't quote me
00:46:24
just getting the F out done yes because
00:46:25
when they get up to fix the Roof oh this
00:46:28
has happened now it's got this or it's
00:46:29
got asbestos or it's got a leak or now
00:46:32
we need to redo the floors and then just
00:46:34
when you think you're done they're like
00:46:36
no the council say we've got to put a
00:46:37
lift in now a disabled lift oh there
00:46:40
wasn't one there before you know it's
00:46:41
been operating as Fisherman's Warf the
00:46:43
restaurant they didn't have a lift no
00:46:45
well apparently you've got to have a
00:46:46
lift now okay you didn't budget for that
00:46:49
and for you know where you are we had
00:46:51
bookings we taken bookings right through
00:46:54
for this uh the summer for all the
00:46:56
Cruise Ships coming in we' done all this
00:46:58
work we'd sold it in cruise ships would
00:47:01
come in we would pick them up on our
00:47:03
raaker bus bring them out to us they
00:47:05
could see a cultural show they we did
00:47:08
the hungi everything um and we were
00:47:12
supposed to open in the summer but with
00:47:13
all the delays on the building and the
00:47:16
permission and this that and the other
00:47:18
we actually couldn't open and we had to
00:47:20
contact everybody all the cruise ships
00:47:23
we had schools that we got booked that
00:47:25
from America that were coming out over
00:47:27
and that was all booked in we couldn't
00:47:30
open in the summer we ended up opening
00:47:31
in the
00:47:32
winter there was no tourist we just
00:47:36
managed to stay going for a few months
00:47:39
we had an investor put some money in
00:47:41
again I didn't do that side of it to me
00:47:43
I was I've had a great idea and I just
00:47:46
thought it's up to those people you know
00:47:48
to keep the money going and sort that
00:47:51
side of it out God so did that feel like
00:47:53
a like a like a slow moving train crash
00:47:56
or something it must I felt like you
00:47:57
were just like hemorrhaging money slowly
00:47:59
bleeding to death financially yeah that
00:48:02
was a nightmare for me oh I'm so sorry
00:48:05
about that is is that where is that
00:48:07
where you ended up bankrupt yeah so
00:48:09
you're 50 at this point so yes and I
00:48:11
didn't declare myself bankrupt I went to
00:48:14
all of the creditors you know the
00:48:16
building people and the roofing people
00:48:18
and electricians or whatever it was and
00:48:21
said no I don't have the money now uh
00:48:24
but I've got this company here who
00:48:26
started in employ me to sell stuff for
00:48:27
them and you know I can sell stuff I'm
00:48:29
going on TV selling their stuff for them
00:48:32
I'm doing shopping malls for them
00:48:34
selling their stuff I'm training girls
00:48:36
to sell this stuff so I am going to have
00:48:38
the money if you could just hold on no
00:48:41
so they force the bankruptcy on me
00:48:45
surely you creditors would want even if
00:48:47
it's 50 cents in every dollar or
00:48:49
something you'd want some sort of return
00:48:51
so what does what does bankruptcy mean
00:48:52
exactly well the H it meant anything
00:48:54
that you had so the house was sold the
00:48:57
just take whatever they can to pay off
00:48:59
the creditors and somebody comes through
00:49:01
your house and if there's anything that
00:49:03
you've got that's worth any money cars
00:49:05
can be taken or boats or paintings or
00:49:08
anything but literally everything you
00:49:11
know was gone and we had nowhere to live
00:49:14
did you at that moment did you again in
00:49:17
some way sort of feel like Young Sue
00:49:20
left on the bus I felt very yeah I felt
00:49:23
very down I did get very depressed
00:49:25
around that time because my mom was
00:49:28
living with us then she'd lived with me
00:49:30
for a few years and um I just thought
00:49:33
I've let her down and I've let myself
00:49:35
down and and I think it was an age thing
00:49:39
as well being 50 having to start again
00:49:42
just start again that's I'm I'm 51 now
00:49:45
and I can't I couldn't you I could
00:49:47
imagine how daunting and exhausting and
00:49:50
hard that would it was I just thought oh
00:49:52
I think this road ahead's too long and I
00:49:55
think it's too
00:49:57
hard and um you just focus on I just
00:50:02
kept focusing on what I'd lost what I
00:50:04
had and what I'd lost you know and um
00:50:08
and the the life I thought I was living
00:50:11
I wasn't living you know that life
00:50:13
anymore and that I didn't have time I
00:50:16
kept thinking to myself I've wasted time
00:50:18
I don't have the time left to start
00:50:21
again I don't have the energy left I
00:50:22
didn't have the inclination I didn't
00:50:24
have the motivation
00:50:26
and it's quite because when you're when
00:50:28
you're 50 um I suppose 67 or 68 whatever
00:50:32
you are now seems like bloody old yeah
00:50:35
and then you get to 67 68 and you
00:50:37
realize okay I'm still yes back now I
00:50:41
think oh sh was 50 now I I you still had
00:50:44
a lot of runaway
00:50:45
left um and so it took every ounce of
00:50:50
strength every ounce of courage that I
00:50:53
had I had to be very strong in my mind
00:50:58
every day and I knew I knew what I had
00:51:02
to
00:51:02
do I didn't want to do it but I knew
00:51:05
what I had to do and I think that's it
00:51:07
in life people know what they've got to
00:51:09
do it's making themselves do it is the
00:51:12
problem is that is that discipline or is
00:51:14
it something else what is it it is and
00:51:17
people I think they hesitate and they
00:51:19
leave it too long I don't know and so
00:51:22
it's all the what if you know again and
00:51:24
what if this and what if it goes wrong
00:51:26
and what if I don't make it and oh don't
00:51:29
they'll be able to do it and I don't
00:51:30
want to do it and also what people are
00:51:33
waiting for they're waiting for some
00:51:36
sort of energy and
00:51:39
motivation to strike them like lightning
00:51:42
people think they can sit at at home and
00:51:44
be all depressed and think soon as I get
00:51:47
the energy and the motivation I'll do
00:51:49
something and it's completely wrong it's
00:51:52
absolutely the wrong it's not going to
00:51:54
happen there's no way that never happens
00:51:57
to anybody not on this Earth it's not
00:51:59
happening what happens is you have to
00:52:02
start doing something and I don't care
00:52:05
I'm saying to myself I don't care I say
00:52:08
people say to me all the time but I
00:52:09
don't feel like it and I'm like I don't
00:52:12
care if you feel like it or not I don't
00:52:15
care if you don't feel like standing in
00:52:17
the shopping mall I don't feel like it
00:52:19
either but you're going to do it anyway
00:52:21
it's the Nike isn't it it's the just do
00:52:23
it stop thinking about how you feel I
00:52:26
say to sales people all the time I don't
00:52:27
care how you feel I don't feel like it
00:52:30
either I'd rather be lying by the
00:52:31
swimming pool having a peanut colada do
00:52:33
you think I want to stand in this
00:52:35
shopping mall no but we're here let's
00:52:37
make the best to it let's sparkle and
00:52:39
shine happy happy joy joy for God's sake
00:52:42
let's just do it yeah and that's what it
00:52:44
is so every day I didn't feel like doing
00:52:47
it I knew I had to go back in the
00:52:49
shopping mall and sell stuff for anybody
00:52:51
that would pay me enough um of course I
00:52:54
didn't want to do it I was humiliated I
00:52:56
was embarrassed I was exhausted I cried
00:52:59
every morning getting ready I cried
00:53:02
every night when I got home sometimes
00:53:03
I'd cry when I was actually standing in
00:53:05
the shopping mall but then I would just
00:53:07
say to
00:53:08
myself just do it you know just get on
00:53:11
with it just do it I don't get how
00:53:13
you're feeling just do it anyway and
00:53:15
somewhere along the way then the
00:53:17
motivation comes but you've got to take
00:53:18
the action first then you start getting
00:53:21
motivated and what happened with me is
00:53:24
people kept coming up to me all day long
00:53:26
in the shopping mall saying good on you
00:53:28
Susan good to see you back out there
00:53:30
that would set me off crying again I'd
00:53:32
be crying they'd say don't cry don't cry
00:53:35
you can do it love and I'd say thank you
00:53:37
I'm going to do my best this was me in
00:53:39
the shopping mall you know in manaca or
00:53:42
otoo or wherever it is and people would
00:53:45
come by all day and say you can do this
00:53:46
Suzanne you've got this my husband's
00:53:48
been made bankrupt and he says if you're
00:53:49
going to get out there and do it again
00:53:51
he's going to get out there and do it
00:53:53
again and I say okay we'll do this
00:53:55
together again if your husband's going
00:53:57
to do it I'm going to do it as well and
00:53:59
then people started emailing me saying
00:54:02
what is the secret then because we've
00:54:04
just lost everything or this has
00:54:06
happened to us and we can't find our way
00:54:08
through it we can't pick ourselves up
00:54:11
we're too down and we don't want to do
00:54:12
anything and so I started emailing
00:54:14
everybody this is what you must do this
00:54:16
is what you've got to think stop
00:54:19
thinking about what you've lost think
00:54:20
about what you've still got okay let's
00:54:23
forget about yes that's gone and you
00:54:25
can't move forward if you're going to
00:54:27
keep looking back all the time so what
00:54:29
have you actually got you know and then
00:54:32
I started thinking to myself I can't
00:54:33
keep writing to all these people it's
00:54:35
take it so many hours every day and
00:54:37
that's when I wrote the book I thought
00:54:40
if I put everything I know in the book
00:54:43
of how I'm doing this I'm at Rock Bottom
00:54:47
I can't be any lower but I'm going to
00:54:49
write about in this book about what I'm
00:54:52
doing to pick myself up and if it works
00:54:55
then that's it's great because everybody
00:54:57
that reads the book if it works for me
00:54:59
and it's going to work for everybody
00:55:01
that reads the book so bit by bit I
00:55:03
wrote the book about how I was thinking
00:55:05
and feeling and what I was doing to pick
00:55:08
myself up yeah there's so many valuable
00:55:09
lessons in that so so around this time
00:55:13
um obviously the the seven bathro house
00:55:15
had gone um where were you living were
00:55:17
we just renting a place we were renting
00:55:18
in fact we couldn't afford to rent um
00:55:21
and who had previously been some great
00:55:23
guys who were my lawyers they said look
00:55:25
we've got a house that we normally rent
00:55:28
out it's vacant you can live there until
00:55:31
you can free until you can afford to pay
00:55:34
I lived there for about months or
00:55:35
nothing and I did pay them eventually I
00:55:39
paid everyone everybody I um I went got
00:55:43
dress his all on the Paul home show and
00:55:44
I said even though I'm bankrupt and I
00:55:47
don't I now don't have to pay anybody
00:55:48
back cuz I've been bankrupt and that
00:55:51
means you don't have to pay anybody back
00:55:53
but I did I started earning and started
00:55:55
earning money and I paid people off and
00:55:59
So within two years I think the
00:56:01
bankruptcy is gone there yeah you got
00:56:03
discharged discharged early did it did
00:56:05
it add um by the way were you getting em
00:56:08
like a little emotional just before just
00:56:10
yeah it's a lot it's yeah in terms of
00:56:13
like your mental health was this like
00:56:14
the lowest in your life I do keynote
00:56:16
speaking now and I have to talk through
00:56:18
it about the loss and how I picked
00:56:20
myself up and I cry every time I do
00:56:23
every time I do the talk I cry because I
00:56:26
feel the emotion that I felt when it was
00:56:29
happening I still feel it now and did
00:56:31
did it um because you were very famous
00:56:33
at the time did that add an extra layer
00:56:35
of layer of humiliation to it I just
00:56:37
know what the New Zealand media is like
00:56:38
and there's a lot of people that would
00:56:40
that would have been rubbing their hands
00:56:41
together with a Glee the demise of
00:56:43
someone that's been Su in Sunday paper
00:56:45
every week and um I'd open the door and
00:56:49
there'd be a reporter on the step you
00:56:52
know with the microphone and the camera
00:56:53
clicking away I'd have I'd had car pull
00:56:56
up on the pavement in front of me with
00:56:58
photographers leaping out what does it
00:57:00
feel like to have lost everything and
00:57:02
you know you've you've got nothing and
00:57:05
it was and that's when I found out
00:57:07
there's worse things you can lose than
00:57:09
your money and your home and your
00:57:11
possessions because I lost my dignity
00:57:15
you know I lost my self-respect and
00:57:17
worse than that I lost all hope and
00:57:20
there's not much left after that did you
00:57:22
how did you what do you mean what do you
00:57:23
mean you lost hope well that anything
00:57:25
would ever change you know that's when
00:57:27
you go into the depression because
00:57:29
you've no hope how can I change things
00:57:32
I've got nothing how can you start again
00:57:34
with nothing who's going to trust you
00:57:36
what you going to do you you can't see a
00:57:38
light at the end of the tunnel it's too
00:57:41
difficult and you don't have the energy
00:57:42
you know but luckily because I'd failed
00:57:46
so many times before or bait not in such
00:57:50
a huge way and in a public way in a
00:57:52
public way but I'd always had these
00:57:54
small failures and I was say to myself
00:57:57
you know well remember what you had to
00:57:59
do that time when you was living there
00:58:01
and you couldn't pay the electricity
00:58:03
what did you do you know remember when
00:58:05
you did this and you were homeless what
00:58:07
did you do when you do anything you do
00:58:09
what you've got to do that's what you do
00:58:12
yeah and and um and and you did it's
00:58:15
like you put your pride on the shelf and
00:58:17
like getting back out there in the mall
00:58:18
like uh I feel like there were tears of
00:58:20
gratitude before we knew were talking
00:58:21
about people going past and saying yes
00:58:23
for that I thank the New Zealand Public
00:58:25
every day they they saved me and I saved
00:58:28
some of them you know people would say
00:58:30
to me all the time you've saved us we
00:58:33
had given up but we're going to try
00:58:34
again because you know we're only 60 or
00:58:38
50 or whatever it was um and um yeah it
00:58:42
gave me the strength to carry on yeah
00:58:44
it's it's life as and as you get older
00:58:46
you realize you know [ __ ] happens to
00:58:47
everyone and sometimes um sometimes you
00:58:49
deserve it sometimes bad things happen
00:58:51
to good people and uh it is yeah you
00:58:54
just Li but and you can you can lie and
00:58:56
be it all day but the the sun's going to
00:58:58
going to rise whether you rise or not
00:59:01
yes and it's that thing of you know
00:59:04
nobody's coming to save you that's why I
00:59:06
kept saying to myself nobody's coming to
00:59:08
save you they never came to save you
00:59:10
before and you've got to do this
00:59:12
yourself and so that's it just work hard
00:59:16
and that's what hard work is it's doing
00:59:18
stuff you don't feel like
00:59:19
doing to me hard work isn't being on a
00:59:22
TV show it's not being on guests who's
00:59:24
coming to dinner it's not sitting here
00:59:26
talking to you it's not being in a stage
00:59:28
show which I love do that's not hard
00:59:29
work if you can earn money like that
00:59:32
that to me is wonderful it's long hours
00:59:35
uh but it's not hard work hard work is
00:59:38
you know going door Todo selling vacuum
00:59:41
cleaners when you don't want to do it
00:59:43
it's standing in the shopping mall when
00:59:45
you you know don't want to even even you
00:59:47
even people saying no to you repeatedly
00:59:49
has had all day long yeah um when when
00:59:53
did you start to see the light light at
00:59:55
the end of the tunnel again when when
00:59:56
did you start last
01:00:01
week yay yeah it turned out the light at
01:00:05
the end of the tunnel was an oncoming
01:00:06
train you know that one um no you you're
01:00:10
in a good place now aren't you um a
01:00:12
better place yes you content I am yes
01:00:15
and I think that's what changes over
01:00:17
time as well um but there's been a lot
01:00:21
of Heartache you know along the way when
01:00:23
I thought I'd made it and then it all
01:00:25
turned to C
01:00:26
I launched a clothing range you know and
01:00:28
I thought that was going to be the
01:00:30
savior of me I had a clothing range uh
01:00:33
this was after I Was Made bankrupt and I
01:00:35
had it in stores all over the country
01:00:38
and I had my own shop and it was for
01:00:40
vertically challenged women women 5 foot
01:00:42
to and under and that was going great
01:00:45
gunsman then my mom died suddenly and
01:00:48
that just pulled the rug out from under
01:00:50
me and then I had to have we were
01:00:52
talking about this earlier my dog was 16
01:00:54
and a half and I had to have her put to
01:00:56
sleep and then my cat and then my other
01:01:00
cat and it was just like too much and my
01:01:02
marriage started breaking down you know
01:01:05
so I went through a bad patch there for
01:01:08
quite a few years when I was only
01:01:10
surviving
01:01:12
really yeah it's just like that
01:01:14
compounding effect I mean all all that
01:01:16
stuff even if you hadn't lost your money
01:01:18
it would still be very difficult to deal
01:01:19
with yeah but I suppose it just adds
01:01:21
another layer of complexity to it yes I
01:01:23
just kept trying and doing my best until
01:01:26
one day that you know it didn't hurt as
01:01:27
much and yeah um financially how are you
01:01:31
now are you okay yes I'd say I've got
01:01:34
enough money to last me the rest of my
01:01:36
life if I die next
01:01:38
Tuesday that's a good
01:01:40
line um and so I don't seem to worry
01:01:44
about that anymore because I'm in a good
01:01:46
place I've got a wonderful husband and
01:01:49
when you've got somebody by your side
01:01:50
it's always a lot easier than having to
01:01:52
go It Alone you know and um he's
01:01:56
wonderful and I don't worry about it
01:01:58
after what I've been through I don't I
01:02:00
think if I want the money I can get the
01:02:02
money um and I'm just making new more
01:02:06
plan I haven't given up I'm making new
01:02:08
plans I'm talking to people I was
01:02:11
talking to a production company
01:02:12
yesterday I was talking to one the week
01:02:14
before that and so I'm always still
01:02:17
pitching still selling still pitching me
01:02:19
still selling me but I don't want to do
01:02:21
a 9-to-5 job no I don't want that
01:02:24
anymore and
01:02:26
I think you're at the age and stage of
01:02:28
life and I think you've earned the
01:02:30
earned the luxury of not doing that yeah
01:02:32
and I've I've only just recently I'd say
01:02:35
in the last year started giving myself
01:02:38
permission and even more so in the last
01:02:40
six months to not do something because
01:02:43
for all of my life life every day didn't
01:02:46
matter if it was a weekend I was working
01:02:49
thinking of an idea how I can do this
01:02:52
idea who I can contact how I can make it
01:02:54
work what's going to happen and what's
01:02:56
the plan every day I felt it was lazy if
01:03:00
I wasn't doing that and so that's how
01:03:03
I've been all my life and then you know
01:03:05
now I've got my pension and I've got a
01:03:07
bit of money and I've got the husband
01:03:09
and so sometime I still feel guilty
01:03:11
though like before I came here I thought
01:03:14
to myself right I've been working and
01:03:16
then I thought get ready and then I
01:03:17
thought I am ready what shall I do now
01:03:19
then now I'll do some more work then I
01:03:21
went hang on hang on why don't you just
01:03:24
get a book and sit down for half an hour
01:03:28
I've got the beach there I've got red
01:03:30
Beach why don't you just sit and look at
01:03:32
the beach a bit and read your book give
01:03:34
yourself permission to do that you've
01:03:36
earned it but yeah and so I did but even
01:03:39
then I'm a bit what time is it I should
01:03:41
really be I'm still in that I should
01:03:43
really be I'll just check my emails cuz
01:03:45
maybe you know it's is this is this just
01:03:47
in your D DNA is this how you were
01:03:49
raised or is this just you is your
01:03:50
brother much the same or no was just
01:03:54
me have you got have you got ADHD do you
01:03:56
think maybe um I don't know I don't know
01:04:01
I mean it was never I reckon I do but it
01:04:02
was never diagnosed when I was a kid was
01:04:04
never diagnosed um I've always been the
01:04:08
same jeez we' how much time do you have
01:04:11
we've been going for just over an hour
01:04:12
but there's so much the Suzanne poory
01:04:15
okay um yeah oh so you mentioned your
01:04:18
husband number three now husband number
01:04:20
three and you're you're his third wife
01:04:22
yeah do you think have you been would
01:04:23
you say you've been Lucky in Love or
01:04:25
unlucky in love how would you frame it
01:04:27
oh yeah I think still lucky in love you
01:04:31
can't change things can you know when
01:04:33
you look back sometimes I think I'd wish
01:04:35
I'd done things differently but at the
01:04:37
time I think each husband was the right
01:04:39
person for that time for who I was at
01:04:42
that time and for what was going on I
01:04:44
think they were the right husband but
01:04:47
some people just I think you know then
01:04:49
they don't have to be in your life
01:04:51
forever yeah there's a saying I really
01:04:53
like people come into your life for a
01:04:54
reason a season a lifetime yeah yeah and
01:04:57
so and we're in a good place um you know
01:05:02
I'm not going to slag anybody off or say
01:05:04
they did this or did that um I'm glad I
01:05:08
met my husband when I did and you know
01:05:11
uh and as you say he's had two Ex-Wives
01:05:13
before and what I love and he had
01:05:16
children to both of those Ex-Wives and
01:05:20
um we all get together we was all
01:05:22
together the other week they all came to
01:05:23
our house so the be two EX wives there
01:05:26
and the you know the kids that they had
01:05:28
the four kids between them and then a
01:05:30
couple of the grandchildren and I love
01:05:33
it it's like I you don't have any kids
01:05:35
of your own age no you went through IVF
01:05:38
I went through eight IVF did
01:05:41
you me that doesn't help does it you and
01:05:44
JJ yeah JJ and I yeah yeah very very
01:05:46
expensive I think we got two rounds of
01:05:48
government funding and then after that
01:05:49
it was like I don't know I want to say
01:05:50
like 10 grand or 12 Grand a pop yeah um
01:05:53
yeah I think we gave up after six rounds
01:05:55
again the that's the resilience of
01:05:56
Suzanne Paul eight rounds I know and
01:05:59
that was a hard one because I don't give
01:06:01
up on
01:06:02
anything you really wanted I wanted
01:06:05
somebody to say to me that's it now stop
01:06:09
give up cuz then you could say okay I've
01:06:11
don't but nobody did you know if I have
01:06:14
another one could it work could
01:06:16
do so like yeah hard to give up like a
01:06:19
gambler's mentality they putting one
01:06:21
more coin in the in the slot machine in
01:06:23
the end I think um Richard Fisher the
01:06:26
Embry the um fertility associat guy um
01:06:29
he he more or less told us to to give it
01:06:32
up yeah um yeah it's probably what you
01:06:34
needed as well yeah do you um does that
01:06:36
make you sad that you couldn't have your
01:06:38
own um it did for a long time and I
01:06:41
definitely it did change my relationship
01:06:44
with a lot of friends as well as my um
01:06:47
the husband that I had at the time cuz
01:06:50
he had three brothers and they all had
01:06:52
kids and at any one time either somebody
01:06:56
just got pregnant was pregnant or just
01:06:58
had a baby and I just felt left on the
01:07:02
sidelines you know any family function
01:07:04
it was talking about babies had in the
01:07:06
bit and I'm just I can't even join in
01:07:09
nothing I just felt left out and
01:07:11
heartbroken all the time so in the end
01:07:14
he'd say oh got the christening next
01:07:16
week of his fourth one I'd be like I
01:07:19
actually can't go cuz it's causing me
01:07:22
too much pain yeah to be there I'm going
01:07:25
it's breaking my heart you've got to go
01:07:27
family I don't have to go I've got to
01:07:29
look after myself now cuz I'm losing the
01:07:31
plot you know and it's so painful I
01:07:34
can't go to a christening I'm sorry yeah
01:07:37
a lot of like a lot of people choose not
01:07:39
to have kids and that's fine but when
01:07:40
that sort of when you're trying and that
01:07:41
choice has sort of been made for you it
01:07:43
does it makes it makes it hard and then
01:07:45
I got friends um You probably heard it
01:07:47
as well friends with the young kids are
01:07:49
like oh if you really want one you're
01:07:50
going to have mine and it's like I know
01:07:52
it's not helpful not helping no and you
01:07:55
have to to grieve again for that life
01:07:59
that you thought you was having you know
01:08:01
that I thought I would be doing with
01:08:03
these child or more than one the life
01:08:06
that I thought I was been living you
01:08:07
have to I had to learn to let it go and
01:08:10
and that that's not the life I was going
01:08:12
to be having yeah I can so relate to
01:08:14
what you're saying so you have this
01:08:16
mental picture of how well for me how
01:08:18
the second half of my life was going to
01:08:19
look and then suddenly you have to like
01:08:21
re re know me with my plans all plannned
01:08:24
out exact what was happening there right
01:08:27
up then all of a sudden no out my
01:08:29
control that's yeah so so why um so why
01:08:33
did uh Duncan he's your current uh no so
01:08:37
he was the second one yeah so this is
01:08:39
Patrick Patrick yeah um you why did you
01:08:42
guys decide to get married like surely
01:08:44
beasy to go no we've we've done it got
01:08:47
the T-shirt I know you you would think
01:08:49
that I would think especially coming
01:08:50
from that broken home you know which uh
01:08:54
I didn't get married for the first time
01:08:55
till I was 40 That's How against
01:08:58
marriage I was after my parents I was
01:09:00
like marriage doesn't work I'm not doing
01:09:02
it um but then when I got to be 40 I
01:09:05
don't know I I realized even though it
01:09:07
didn't work out and the second one
01:09:10
didn't work out I like being married I
01:09:12
like thinking that that someone is there
01:09:15
just for me and is going to have my back
01:09:17
and look after me and I like knowing
01:09:20
he's there and that he's my husband but
01:09:23
also it just makes me feel for me more
01:09:27
loved that he was willing to go the
01:09:29
extraor to ask me to marry him and to
01:09:32
actually marry him and be my husband
01:09:34
that must to me I think that must mean
01:09:38
he really really loves me that's how it
01:09:40
is with me good you're a romantic I am
01:09:42
yeah and so yeah and you um you slid
01:09:45
into his DM that's how you yeah we did I
01:09:48
did yeah it was the humor um because I
01:09:52
was doing a lot of Facebook posts not so
01:09:54
much Instagram then and every post I did
01:09:57
he would put a funny comment and they
01:09:59
I'd put a funny comment and and it went
01:10:02
on like that for a while and people used
01:10:03
to say you two should get a room because
01:10:06
it was just one after the other this
01:10:08
this ridiculous thing going on so yeah
01:10:10
so then I thought I did a bit of
01:10:12
Facebook
01:10:14
stalking um which is good for that CU I
01:10:16
thought I'll have a look if there's
01:10:18
photos of him all over his Facebook page
01:10:20
with flues you know I won't bother I
01:10:24
know the in a very long time I think
01:10:27
Jackson the cameraman out there I don't
01:10:28
know if he's ever heard the word flues
01:10:31
before yeah I thought no there was no
01:10:33
flues I could see that he you know his
01:10:35
children were grown up and he was so
01:10:37
proud of them and and that he was a
01:10:40
musician and an actor you know and um so
01:10:45
yeah then I did uh and then it was when
01:10:48
he was when we got a bit closer we were
01:10:51
still sort of just following him on
01:10:53
Facebook and him and his dad who was
01:10:55
like late his late 80s then I think his
01:10:57
dad was about 88 and wanted to do this
01:11:00
ancestry search in England and Scotland
01:11:03
and Ireland and Patrick said you know
01:11:05
well you're not going on your own dad
01:11:07
I'll go with you so then I started
01:11:08
seeing these lovely posts of him with
01:11:10
his dad in Scotland and Wales and um and
01:11:14
that and then I sent him a message one
01:11:17
day and then so we were privately
01:11:19
messaging what was the message asking
01:11:22
about on a date or no he was uh he was
01:11:24
in a place called tral and I sent a
01:11:28
message saying oh my nan taught me how
01:11:30
to play the rose of tral on the piano
01:11:33
know of TR and um yeah The Story Goes he
01:11:38
says to his dad dad suzan Paul just sent
01:11:41
me a message and his dad said you better
01:11:43
message it back then a you you know and
01:11:46
so he did um and so there was just nice
01:11:49
message backwards and forwards but then
01:11:51
I saw he was with in a band and he was
01:11:54
playing somewhere
01:11:55
so I said to the girls at work where I
01:11:57
was at the time you know this guy I've
01:12:00
been messaging and he's a drummer in a
01:12:01
band and they're playing on Friday night
01:12:03
shall we go along so they were like yeah
01:12:06
we'll come with you so that was it and
01:12:08
we were like two silly teenagers it was
01:12:12
ridiculous because the the girls were
01:12:14
saying to me oh he's looking he's
01:12:16
looking don't look now he's looking and
01:12:18
I'd say is he looking is he looking now
01:12:21
yeah not looking oh you look now up and
01:12:23
apparently the the band was saying the
01:12:25
same to him Suzanne Paul's in she's
01:12:28
coming Patrick suzan Paul's in she's
01:12:30
here then she's looking at you don't
01:12:32
look so he's like yeah I'm not going to
01:12:33
look then but in the interval he came
01:12:35
over and I said to the girls I just want
01:12:38
to see if there's a spark there we get
01:12:39
on well laughing and joking on Facebook
01:12:42
messaging but in real life let's see if
01:12:45
there's any spark there and there was a
01:12:48
spark woo there was like great big
01:12:50
flight I just knew as soon as I met him
01:12:52
I thought yeah this is it this is the
01:12:54
man for me m i just it's wonderful it
01:12:57
was lovely that's great he treats me
01:13:00
like a queen yeah does he yeah how old
01:13:02
his is his same age a little bit younger
01:13:04
seven years younger so not much in it
01:13:07
and he he's um is he in his own band
01:13:08
he's played in some famous bands he like
01:13:10
um yes he does I mean he's doing a lot
01:13:12
now he's working with Eddie rer and
01:13:15
split ends and Jordan luck and you know
01:13:18
Peter ER and when the cats away so he's
01:13:21
like the go-to drummer um and sometimes
01:13:24
it's all the other week it was very
01:13:26
exciting um he was with a band called
01:13:28
The Magnificent Seven and they were on
01:13:30
before Tom Jones there were the support
01:13:32
act for Tom Jones in napia WoW uh so if
01:13:35
I can I'll go and see him but he does a
01:13:38
lot of corporate functions if people are
01:13:40
Wan a drummer for their band uh and he
01:13:43
does acting as well he's in a lot of TV
01:13:45
things yeah so so are you you've um
01:13:48
you've been in my life as murder with um
01:13:50
Lucy Lawless yeah how how did you
01:13:52
connecting Ro I I would have thought it
01:13:54
it would be impossible for you to get
01:13:56
acting role in New Zealand just
01:13:58
because Suzanne Paul were you playing
01:14:00
yourself or no was no I wasn't but um
01:14:04
but I was playing somebody that sold
01:14:06
stuff you know it was like a market
01:14:07
store and easy easy you did it
01:14:11
convincingly yeah so I like that and I
01:14:13
was on drag race down under I was a
01:14:15
judge on that for a couple of years
01:14:17
which was
01:14:18
great
01:14:20
um and that's it you know the other one
01:14:23
we could didn't you see we we can't do
01:14:27
that can't talk about oh the other oh
01:14:30
can we can we mention that you're on it
01:14:32
no no okay but you are going to be on TV
01:14:35
uh later yes so my plan is so that is my
01:14:38
new plan I don't want to be doing office
01:14:40
work I don't even want to be selling
01:14:41
stuff to be honest I've sold stuff since
01:14:43
I was 15 I'm over it yes I can do it if
01:14:46
I need the money I'll just find somebody
01:14:48
that needs something to sell so I know
01:14:51
that I'll always be all right because I
01:14:53
can sell stuff um but I'd rather not I'd
01:14:56
rather just go on telly and enjoy myself
01:14:59
and have fun and um the show that I
01:15:03
wanted to go on was traitors oh the Paul
01:15:06
Henry one oh they um they're doing
01:15:08
another season of that they might do a
01:15:09
third one you might cuz the first one
01:15:12
they did have celebrities on it but the
01:15:14
one they're doing now they didn't want
01:15:16
celebrities on it uh but things like
01:15:19
that I'd like to be presenting shows or
01:15:21
be guests on shows have my own show
01:15:23
things like that or stage shows I have
01:15:26
done two comedy stage shows which I
01:15:28
loved yeah and didn't you do Dirty
01:15:29
Dancing no it was called Dirty dusting
01:15:32
which was a comedy but I did I did a
01:15:34
show called stepping out for the Oakland
01:15:37
theater company which was a tap dancing
01:15:39
show yeah and of course I did Dancing
01:15:41
with the Stars same as JJ did Dancing
01:15:43
With The Star yeah that's um that's on
01:15:45
my my list of things to talk about so
01:15:46
this this was when it was um when JJ did
01:15:49
it and she did very well it was on TV3
01:15:51
you were on the original run when it was
01:15:53
on TV 1 and it was a b prodction and
01:15:56
they had a live band they did so that
01:15:58
was uh 2007 the second I think was the
01:16:01
second time they did Dancing with the
01:16:02
Stars and you were on it and you won I
01:16:04
did so who else was on that season yeah
01:16:07
oh the late Paul hes yes he was Paul hes
01:16:10
was on it he did that awful Thriller
01:16:12
dance oh he did yes God love him you
01:16:14
bless him Michael LS yeah and um Megan
01:16:17
altini from tress and you were in the
01:16:19
final too in the final yeah yeah yeah
01:16:21
what are your what are your
01:16:22
Recollections of that time you enjoy the
01:16:24
whole Dancing with the Stars loved it I
01:16:26
had a great dance partner stfo olivieri
01:16:29
who came over from Sydney and it was
01:16:33
just the same as I do with everything I
01:16:35
said to Savana if I'm going to do this I
01:16:38
want to do it
01:16:40
100% so um I said it's not two hours a
01:16:44
day not three this is fulltime for me uh
01:16:47
we were dancing eight 10 12 hours every
01:16:50
day I dance till my feet bled I danc
01:16:53
till I couldn't get me shoes on anymore
01:16:56
and I had to dance barefooted I danc
01:16:58
with a fractured rib I danc with a torn
01:17:00
ligament a pulled muscle I just get
01:17:04
carried on it was ridiculous and you won
01:17:07
yeah and it's I I feel like that show
01:17:11
maybe it was different back then but um
01:17:12
definitely when it came back on TV3 it
01:17:14
was uh the winner was always partly
01:17:17
because they're good at dancing but also
01:17:19
it's a popularity contest as well yes
01:17:21
was it like that when you w yes and I
01:17:24
expected that would relaunch my TV
01:17:26
career because it was a couple of years
01:17:28
after I'd been made bankrupt I was still
01:17:31
trying to get on my feet I was selling
01:17:33
this for that one I was in the shopping
01:17:35
malls and um then I got on Dancing With
01:17:38
the Stars and I thought this is it this
01:17:42
is going to catapult me into woo I'll
01:17:45
get my own show again that's why I
01:17:47
carried on dancing dancing like a
01:17:49
lunatic in extreme Agony like with the
01:17:52
broken rib and all sorts cuz you saw it
01:17:54
as a way like ding yourself out of
01:17:56
thisle if if I win this this is it
01:17:58
because I'd seen it in Australia I'd
01:18:00
seen it in England you know and the
01:18:02
winners they always get their own TV
01:18:04
show they get a range of clothes sh they
01:18:07
get all sorts of great opportunities so
01:18:09
I kept dancing I said to you know
01:18:12
everybody this is it if I can just win
01:18:14
this if I can get the public on my side
01:18:17
to vote for me and they want me to win
01:18:19
it and I dance with all my heart and
01:18:21
soul and sparkle and shine all over the
01:18:24
god damn place if I win this I'm back on
01:18:27
the Telly that's me you know and I did
01:18:30
win it and I'd all these show ideas a
01:18:34
week later I was up
01:18:36
tvnz with my agent I'm sitting there and
01:18:40
this is literally how it went I said
01:18:43
right here I am I've got plenty of ideas
01:18:47
for a new show one I think you'll really
01:18:49
go for on the back of this and I'm sure
01:18:52
you've got ideas yourself let's you know
01:18:54
white board let's all see what we can
01:18:56
come up with cuz at the moment I'm the
01:18:58
most famous woman in New Zealand I'm the
01:19:00
most popular woman in New Zealand I've
01:19:02
had hit TV shows before so it makes
01:19:05
sense doesn't it they went no that's not
01:19:08
how it works in New Zealand I literally
01:19:11
was going I think it does I I think it
01:19:15
does work like that doesn't it cuz I've
01:19:17
won so everybody loves me at the minute
01:19:21
so let's do it nothing
01:19:26
unbelievable I couldn't believe it I
01:19:27
feel like you would have like if you if
01:19:29
you were if you were just coming through
01:19:31
now I feel like it' be the perfect time
01:19:32
for you CU you you could have your own
01:19:34
um YouTube channel your own Tik Tok and
01:19:36
stuff um back then in the in what what I
01:19:39
call I suppose towards the end of the
01:19:41
golden age of Television you had like a
01:19:42
couple of Executives making all the
01:19:44
decisions that's why you had a Dominic B
01:19:46
hosting every show or the same faces
01:19:49
being recycled over and over again that
01:19:51
wouldn't take any I was going to say
01:19:52
they wouldn't take any risks but hiring
01:19:55
you I would not see that as a risk at
01:19:57
all I think you're spot on by and yeah
01:20:00
you'd be on the feel like you're on the
01:20:02
cover of woman's weekly or woman's day
01:20:03
every other week I was yes and still am
01:20:06
I can I still get two front covers a
01:20:08
year it was to me I was like it's a no
01:20:11
risk for you people are at least going
01:20:13
to tune in you know because of those hit
01:20:15
shows of mine that they enjoyed plus the
01:20:17
Dancing with the Stars and you know all
01:20:20
that so but nothing so that did throw me
01:20:24
for quite a l long time because I
01:20:27
thought not going to get back on TV then
01:20:30
I better get that notion out my head if
01:20:33
this doesn't get me back on do you um
01:20:35
what do your thoughts on agism is agism
01:20:37
a problem yes I do think especially for
01:20:40
women and I did think then it's an agism
01:20:43
thing they said to me at one stage I
01:20:45
won't tell you it was but one of the top
01:20:47
Executives said to me and I quote you're
01:20:50
not exactly a dolly bird are
01:20:52
you I was 50
01:20:55
you should name them it's like right
01:20:58
okay think we could have a court case
01:21:00
about that now yeah you couldn't never
01:21:02
say that now I see unbelievable um I
01:21:07
what about um Blue Monkey um you had a
01:21:09
song this was in 1994 so was this at the
01:21:12
peak of your sort of infomercial F yes
01:21:14
it was yeah it was so you had a like a
01:21:16
dance song it sounds almost like um a
01:21:19
CNC Music Factory sort of song uh like a
01:21:22
dance song called get down get funky run
01:21:24
the Blue Monkey mon that was a big F how
01:21:26
did that come about were you just like
01:21:28
you know what I want to do a song well I
01:21:30
was with a British girlfriend of mine
01:21:32
and she was staying with me and um we
01:21:36
drank a bottle of port and it seemed
01:21:38
like a good to
01:21:41
you um and yeah we just were like oh
01:21:44
well give it a go so and I was able to
01:21:47
do it I was in a position where I could
01:21:49
do it I said we could film a video I
01:21:51
could get it recorded there and here we
01:21:52
go and it was everywhere and people
01:21:54
still remember it people still talk to
01:21:57
me about it in fact I was just contacted
01:22:00
um on Monday uh and somebody's asked me
01:22:03
if they can use it in big company I will
01:22:06
say a very very big company if ask if
01:22:08
they can use it in a commercial oh sh so
01:22:10
you get a Payday out of it
01:22:12
yes it's the gift that keeps on how much
01:22:15
did it cost you at the time like oh like
01:22:17
what the video cost five grand yeah
01:22:19
nothing we had the studio anyway and it
01:22:21
was me and you know it was just nothing
01:22:23
so you just how how did you get out at
01:22:25
the time because this was pre
01:22:27
YouTube yes uh I think it was um Mikey
01:22:31
havoc and all the bfm radio they really
01:22:34
for some reason got behind it and it was
01:22:36
all over the student radio and then was
01:22:39
it really yeah it was all over Mikey
01:22:41
havoc and and Jeremy Wells yeah news boy
01:22:45
was called then and they played it all
01:22:47
the time and uh and then so it was
01:22:49
picked up by the radio stations and then
01:22:52
I was going on the TV show I was on the
01:22:54
news doing it I was on 7even Sharp or
01:22:56
whatever it was called then doing it
01:22:58
honestly it was just ridiculous cuz it'
01:23:00
be so so much easier now like in terms
01:23:02
of distribution andu well exactly it
01:23:04
would be easier now and then yeah the
01:23:06
record shops had it which that's how it
01:23:08
was then like CD singles andz singles oh
01:23:13
my God we show our age here how good
01:23:16
when you look back on that now like um
01:23:17
are you proud of it you do you cringe a
01:23:20
little bit what you I sort of cringe I
01:23:22
can see the humor in it now you know and
01:23:24
people always you know especially if I
01:23:26
do a radio interview they'll always
01:23:28
probably play a couple of lines of it
01:23:31
I'm just like did you have to you can go
01:23:33
off people you know but you can look
01:23:36
back it's so long ago it's like oh yeah
01:23:38
is funny uh but I did a wrap with scribe
01:23:41
as well that you can look up one day
01:23:43
which is quite funny yeah I was going to
01:23:45
ask you about that because um yeah like
01:23:47
a was that for C4 what was that it was
01:23:49
like a stranger danger thing you guys
01:23:51
had a rap battle yeah we did how did
01:23:53
that how did that come about and that
01:23:54
was for uh jonno and Ben so they were
01:23:58
always doing crazy things on their TV
01:24:00
show I did a few crazy things for them
01:24:02
and that was one of them and he gave me
01:24:05
my um scribe gave me my uh name he gave
01:24:09
me that which is s see that's my thing
01:24:12
and Susie P so some friends for a joke
01:24:15
they go yo Susie p in the house that's
01:24:18
my good I like I like scribe I want to
01:24:20
get him on the the podcast he he's had
01:24:22
an interesting story as well he yeah
01:24:25
yeah but one thing I've learned with
01:24:26
this podcast
01:24:27
everyone no one knows what anyone's
01:24:29
going through but everyone's everyone is
01:24:31
either going through or will go through
01:24:32
some [ __ ] all will go through yes um
01:24:35
what what about stand up comedy you you
01:24:37
debl on stand up comedy I did I did that
01:24:39
for a year and I did that because I
01:24:41
thought that would get me back on TV as
01:24:44
well see I I love this stuff it's just
01:24:46
this Relentless um Rel Relentless drive
01:24:49
you know this keep hammering yes one
01:24:52
from time and probably still is I
01:24:54
thought
01:24:54
God they've got these stand-up comedians
01:24:56
just presenting everything which they
01:24:58
didn't used to have back in the '90s and
01:25:00
all of a sudden I thought here's a nice
01:25:02
show I could have presented that oh
01:25:04
they've got a stand-up comedian who
01:25:06
apparently you know does the circuits I
01:25:08
thought okay that's what I'll do then if
01:25:10
I become a stand-up comedian and I can
01:25:13
you know go places and be a standup
01:25:15
comedian then I can go to TVN Zed and
01:25:17
say hey guess what I'm a stand comedian
01:25:20
now put me on seven days and I One
01:25:23
Dancing with the Stars and I've had hit
01:25:24
TV show so now what are you thinking he
01:25:29
no uh but yeah I did I went to the rang
01:25:32
the comedy club Queen Street yeah the
01:25:34
classic yeah the classic and I said I
01:25:36
want to be a standup comedian what shall
01:25:37
I do and they said well we have a you
01:25:39
know a night where you new guys can come
01:25:42
along uh and you've got to do I don't
01:25:45
know it was about 6 minutes felt like an
01:25:47
hour 6 minutes you've got to write
01:25:49
yourself you know and then know it and
01:25:52
then do it and then uh do it live on
01:25:54
stage oh my God I think that is probably
01:25:57
the most terrifying thing I've ever done
01:25:59
in my life worse than dancing live on TV
01:26:02
standing there and all those strange
01:26:04
people plus I didn't get to be on I
01:26:07
think I got there at about
01:26:09
9:00 and I didn't even get on till about
01:26:12
qu past 12 or something and I'm thinking
01:26:15
to myself I'm usually in bed by now you
01:26:17
I mean I was doing a N9 to-5 job as well
01:26:21
you know going to work for this company
01:26:24
so you were you were held when you tried
01:26:25
the stand up comedy like in your 50s or
01:26:27
60 50s yeah yeah late 50s yeah that's so
01:26:31
cool I know so I did it so Not only was
01:26:33
I the only woman there you know
01:26:35
backstage in a little green room I was
01:26:37
the only woman I was the oldest person
01:26:40
there and you know and and it was just
01:26:43
yeah scummy back room with bits you know
01:26:46
sofa fall into bits go on at qu past 12
01:26:49
but I did really well and the guy said
01:26:50
to me come back come back next week and
01:26:52
do it again and after about 3 weeks he
01:26:54
said I think you're good enough to enter
01:26:56
the the talent Quest that we do every
01:26:59
year oh um so but for the qut semifinal
01:27:03
you've got to have new material so I
01:27:04
wrote new material got through the
01:27:06
semifinal then they said yeah you've got
01:27:08
through to the ne you know quarterfinal
01:27:11
it was then the semifinal have wrote
01:27:13
another act and that was at the Q
01:27:15
theater so I didn't win it but I thought
01:27:18
I did quite well and I got a lot of
01:27:19
booking so I traveled quite a lot for
01:27:21
about a year all over the place doing
01:27:23
stand comedy what what did what was your
01:27:25
routine like can you what were the jokes
01:27:27
about were they like well I was more
01:27:29
talking about you know this happened it
01:27:31
wasn't jokes it was more I don't know
01:27:34
personal stories yeah I was talking a
01:27:36
lot about menopause at the time CU I was
01:27:38
going through it and so there was a lot
01:27:40
of talking about that and how it's
01:27:42
making me feel you know because if there
01:27:45
was any hecklers in I'd be like don't
01:27:47
[ __ ] start with me mate I'm going
01:27:49
through Mena and R your head off it's
01:27:52
all like that
01:27:55
with with him in sort of hickers or not
01:27:57
really they'd laugh they'd mainly be
01:27:59
like yay go Suzanne yeah you're doing
01:28:01
that and I'd be always like I'd be
01:28:03
calling the audience for everything I'd
01:28:05
be like you know you've all bought a lot
01:28:08
of exercise equipment off me over the
01:28:10
years what the heck are you doing with
01:28:13
it look at the state of you what are you
01:28:15
doing hanging your washing on it or
01:28:17
something you know and it was all like
01:28:18
so I was just just slugging them all off
01:28:22
I like that it was yeah they loved it
01:28:24
did you say what the heck or did you
01:28:25
swear no I'd swear yeah even that cuz I
01:28:28
don't swe that would get a laugh even
01:28:31
not proper swearing I'd just say you
01:28:33
know what the [ __ ] are you doing with it
01:28:35
all lazy
01:28:37
bastards and and how's um how's your
01:28:40
health been how's your health been oh
01:28:41
you you had um yeah what happened with
01:28:44
you you you were doing like a a zoom
01:28:46
motivational talk and you passed out
01:28:47
yeah cuz I do a lot of keynote speaking
01:28:49
but of course the covid was on so this
01:28:52
company said you know you can do them
01:28:54
over zoom and uh you know we can have a
01:28:57
few hundred people watching on the zoom
01:28:59
and so I thought that's a great idea and
01:29:02
uh and I must have got about because I
01:29:05
do an hour I do non-stop for an hour and
01:29:07
I sort of tell my story and um you know
01:29:10
all the ups and downs like we have done
01:29:12
now and next thing I know I thought to
01:29:14
myself what am I doing on the floor
01:29:16
that's I don't remember but I think it
01:29:18
was a lot of things it was for um Ryman
01:29:22
healthare right it was yeah so how long
01:29:25
were you out for were you just play or
01:29:27
something apparently I got up once and
01:29:30
they were all still watching all these
01:29:33
people in their rooms watching me live
01:29:35
and I got up picked myself up off the
01:29:37
floor and I was going oh I don't know
01:29:39
what happened I said sorry I don't know
01:29:41
what's happened there and now I went and
01:29:42
then I went again right off the back of
01:29:44
the chair and that was when whoever was
01:29:47
in charge of the whole thing switched
01:29:49
the feed off and um rang the ambulance
01:29:52
cuz they knew where I was sort of things
01:29:55
and um my husband who was out Patrick
01:29:58
who I'm with now he was out we had an
01:30:01
outbuilding that he used for his office
01:30:04
yeah so I rang him and I said I think
01:30:05
you better come you know come in cuz
01:30:08
there's an ambulance coming they thought
01:30:10
I'd had a stroke that's why they rang
01:30:12
the ambulance Ryman Healthcare but it
01:30:14
wasn't but it was a mixture of things I
01:30:16
don't know low blood pressure and this
01:30:19
and that you know and your cholesterol
01:30:21
and your fluttering heart I don't know
01:30:24
but nothing but you're good now yeah
01:30:26
have you got longevity in your family
01:30:28
yeah although my mom was 75 which now
01:30:31
you you say it if doesn't seem that
01:30:34
seven more seven more Summers but you
01:30:36
seem very fit and I mean I don't know
01:30:38
you from a barite but you seem very fit
01:30:39
now got a lot of energy yeah yeah I've
01:30:42
always had a lot of energy so I can't
01:30:43
think I'm not a you know not a sickly
01:30:46
person
01:30:48
um okay we'll end with some final final
01:30:50
questions what lessons and advice for
01:30:52
anyone starting out in business
01:30:55
oh gosh so is a bit heavy bit of a heavy
01:30:58
T I feel like you probably covered
01:31:01
covered it all off with your different
01:31:02
messages and stories but I know because
01:31:05
I think the main thing is that things
01:31:07
will go wrong but it doesn't mean you've
01:31:11
got to give up you know what I mean I
01:31:13
think that's what business is is there's
01:31:15
going to be problems in your business
01:31:18
and you've just got to think oh it is a
01:31:20
problem how can we get round this you
01:31:23
know
01:31:24
how can we do things a bit
01:31:26
differently you got to S just think
01:31:28
outside the square sometimes and the
01:31:32
other thing I thinking on is oh please
01:31:34
don't faint on me we don't want to rhyme
01:31:36
an incident no we don't
01:31:39
um sometimes you've just got to take
01:31:42
that step forward even if you can't see
01:31:45
exactly where it's leading do you know
01:31:47
what I mean you can't always have every
01:31:49
single step planned out right from A to
01:31:52
B sometimes it's enough that
01:31:54
you just know if I take this first step
01:31:57
you know and then see where that leads
01:31:59
because that'll lead you to the next
01:32:00
step then oh I'm here oh now I've got to
01:32:03
go here oh I see this is happening I
01:32:05
thought this was going I mean I didn't
01:32:07
think I was going to end up on the TV
01:32:09
you know but I just we just kept
01:32:11
changing T quickly oh I'm in the
01:32:13
shopping mall now I think we're now
01:32:15
we're in a pharmacy all the pharmacies
01:32:17
don't want it let's get it on TV oh now
01:32:19
I'm on TV but now I want to be here I
01:32:21
think sometimes you you just got to be
01:32:25
brave
01:32:27
um so you know yes you might be feeling
01:32:30
scared but you got to be brave and just
01:32:32
take the next step yeah you've got to
01:32:35
push yourself outside your comfort zone
01:32:38
if you stay inside your comfort zone I
01:32:40
don't think you'll ever be really
01:32:41
successful you've got to do something
01:32:43
that scares you a bit to think oh I
01:32:46
don't know where this is all going to
01:32:47
end I don't know if I'm going to be any
01:32:48
good at it what's the worst thing that
01:32:49
can happen just try give it a go that's
01:32:52
such a good attitude it's really good
01:32:55
and look where it's got you yeah I'm
01:32:57
still going to be trying new things some
01:32:58
things I might be good at some things I
01:33:00
might be rubbish at but it's the old
01:33:03
rocking chair test isn't it I don't want
01:33:04
to be sat in a rocking chair thinging
01:33:07
wish I'd tried that do you know why a
01:33:10
lot of time where they they could not
01:33:11
get celebrities on Dancing With the
01:33:13
Stars and I used to try and talk loads
01:33:16
of them into it I'd say go and Dancing
01:33:18
with the Stars you love it no I might be
01:33:20
terrible oh here we go again you might
01:33:22
not be and what's the worst that's going
01:33:25
to happen you can learn how to dance you
01:33:27
might learn a new skill meet some new
01:33:29
people let people see another side of
01:33:31
you I might fall over well you might you
01:33:34
get up again can't you what's wrong with
01:33:36
you yeah yeah it's just fear it it is it
01:33:40
is fear
01:33:42
um I yeah I I probably found fear
01:33:45
crippling in my life and um you think oh
01:33:47
what are people going to think of me but
01:33:49
as you get older you realize actually
01:33:51
everyone's exact everyone's thinking
01:33:52
about themselves people aren't think
01:33:54
about you as much as what you would like
01:33:56
to think they are Feel the fear and do
01:33:58
it anyway and especially I think that's
01:34:00
one thing that you do get with age you
01:34:03
do get that I can't care less can't care
01:34:06
less what they think to be honest I'm
01:34:08
going to give it a go anyway but you've
01:34:10
always had a great relationship with um
01:34:12
the word no yeah and with setbacks yeah
01:34:15
what about resilience can can people
01:34:17
build resilience or uh yes you can do
01:34:19
it's just a matter of again doing things
01:34:22
you don't feel like doing
01:34:24
people are always hoping that I'm going
01:34:26
to give them some big tip on how to sell
01:34:28
how how do I sell things cuz I don't
01:34:31
like selling things and unfortunately in
01:34:33
business there's always going to be
01:34:35
something you've got to sell you're
01:34:37
selling yourself you're selling your
01:34:39
company selling your integrity you're
01:34:41
selling your product you're selling your
01:34:43
idea aren't you all along if you're
01:34:45
going to have a business or company at
01:34:47
some stage you've got to sell stuff and
01:34:49
they're all like I don't like doing it I
01:34:51
don't like showing people my product I
01:34:53
don't like picking up the phone and
01:34:55
that's when I'm always saying I don't
01:34:57
care whether you like it or not you
01:34:58
don't have to like it you just have to
01:35:00
do it I don't like it either I don't
01:35:03
like picking up the phone and saying hey
01:35:05
guess what I've got this you no the
01:35:07
reason you've got to learn is nobody
01:35:10
likes it it doesn't matter do it anyway
01:35:14
and once people realize that and we have
01:35:16
an old saying the demonstrators saying
01:35:19
is and it does always make you feel a
01:35:21
lot better I've trained thousand
01:35:23
thousand of salespeople over the years
01:35:25
to to sell stuff and I keep saying you
01:35:27
know somebody always says yes in the end
01:35:31
they always have and they always
01:35:34
will and once you accept that as like a
01:35:37
fact of life you can do anything you can
01:35:41
just keep saying yourself I've just got
01:35:43
to keep trying then I just keep trying
01:35:45
somebody will always say yes in the end
01:35:46
they always have they always will that's
01:35:48
what I believe in totally 100% And if
01:35:51
you go out there happy happy joy joy
01:35:53
sparkle and shine eventually you will be
01:35:57
successful you will I know it yeah and a
01:36:01
friend one that that's in sales he told
01:36:03
me that um every no is a celebration cuz
01:36:06
it's getting you closer to the Year yes
01:36:07
we we always think that yeah but people
01:36:11
yeah give up too easy I've had sales
01:36:13
people before then I've said go on I've
01:36:15
been in the mall with them say it again
01:36:17
well I just said it twice and nobody
01:36:19
bought anything so say it again and
01:36:22
again and again and again and again
01:36:26
until you got no voice left somebody
01:36:29
always says yes in the end and any
01:36:31
regrets no not not even that joke you
01:36:34
made on TV about Chinese food Chinese
01:36:37
food I didn't actually see this I I
01:36:40
watched um uh in preparation for this I
01:36:42
I saw a thing you did on um TV with anik
01:36:45
MOA and you referenced it there can you
01:36:47
remember it what I think I was this on
01:36:50
live TV or yes the Good Morning Show
01:36:52
used to be live
01:36:54
and I was selling the set of source
01:36:56
spants and one of the crew or it could
01:37:00
have been Alisa who I was with you know
01:37:02
and Mary lambi so back in the day you'd
01:37:04
have to stand there and be quiet so Mary
01:37:06
lambi would be talking doing the good
01:37:08
morning shows you'd be quiet and then
01:37:10
they say over to you Suzanne I'd say
01:37:12
thank you and the set of pans and I lift
01:37:15
the lid off and there was a stuffed it
01:37:18
was a toy cat and Allison who was
01:37:21
presenting it with me leard yeah yeah
01:37:24
she picked it up and cuz I screamed and
01:37:26
went what the is that in the pan and she
01:37:29
picked it up went oh it and I she just
01:37:32
held it up laughing and I said oh no not
01:37:35
Chinese food
01:37:37
again I
01:37:39
know just came out oh You' been canceled
01:37:41
for that now oh know just came
01:37:46
out that's there was a lot of stories
01:37:48
out at that time there was a reference
01:37:50
to it there been a St it was it was IAL
01:37:54
there were stories out there at the time
01:37:56
um but yes live
01:37:59
TV geez what a life it's been eh yeah
01:38:02
what life it's been so and we're into
01:38:04
the like the final third now I guess yes
01:38:07
and I'm more now um I enjoy life every
01:38:12
day now I've always been a big one for
01:38:15
enjoy it no matter what you're doing
01:38:16
I've always said that to myself just
01:38:18
have fun if you have fun doing it then
01:38:21
it's going to work you know you got to
01:38:23
have fun doing what you do but now every
01:38:26
day um more so the older I get I enjoy
01:38:30
even more the simple things in life and
01:38:33
I say to my husband every night in bed
01:38:36
and at first he you this is what I used
01:38:38
to say I we' be in bed and I'd say oh my
01:38:40
God it's going to be a great day
01:38:42
tomorrow and in the beginning he'd say
01:38:44
oh why what's happening and I'd say I
01:38:45
don't know it'll just be a great day
01:38:47
won't it whatever happens if we wake up
01:38:49
in the morning that's a great day but
01:38:52
every day we are like this is great and
01:38:55
I have a thing all day
01:38:57
long I keep saying oh thank you God
01:38:59
thank you Universe for my health and
01:39:01
safety oh thank you God thank you
01:39:03
Universe for this all day long I'm
01:39:05
grateful for the sunshine or the rain or
01:39:08
a butterfly or the dog look at him your
01:39:10
old dog there I know grateful for my
01:39:13
little rescue dog Maddie and I'm just so
01:39:16
happy and grateful for everything
01:39:19
especially for my health and my safety I
01:39:22
just feel truly blessed
01:39:24
so I just I'm really enjoying
01:39:26
life I think that's a great place to end
01:39:29
it Susanne Paul thank you so much I I
01:39:32
can't believe this is the first time
01:39:33
we've met not me but you're right we
01:39:36
should have met before we've both been
01:39:38
you know doing this a long time yeah but
01:39:40
it's been great to S sit down and pick
01:39:42
your brains today it's been about you
01:39:43
are you happy yeah yeah I've been under
01:39:47
of gratitude juny juny as well and it's
01:39:49
like the there's that saying on I say
01:39:51
this on the podcast quite often there's
01:39:52
that saying that comparison is the theft
01:39:54
of Joy which is true but but you
01:39:56
actually and this is something I read
01:39:58
about you like you did one of those
01:39:59
intrepid journey shows and you went to
01:40:01
China did you don't have to look far to
01:40:03
find people that are a lot happier with
01:40:05
a lot less yeah so every morning now um
01:40:08
this is something I got from um a guy
01:40:09
called Jay shitty that I follow um he
01:40:11
said like you have to like decide it's
01:40:14
going to be a good day and like help it
01:40:16
along you can't just hope it's going to
01:40:18
be a good day you have to make it a good
01:40:19
day sometimes you're right that's me
01:40:20
every day I choose to be happy I don't
01:40:23
wait and see what happens you know to
01:40:25
decide what mood I'm going to be in
01:40:27
every morning choose choose to be happy
01:40:30
also I've had um some people on the
01:40:31
podcast who have just been through some
01:40:32
terrible adversity terrible M and Motu
01:40:35
who you know had her on the podcast she
01:40:38
was in a horrible uh domestic violent
01:40:41
relationship for a decade I've had um
01:40:43
Kelsey waghorn who was a a guide on faka
01:40:46
white Island when the eruption went off
01:40:48
got severe burns and oh my goodness had
01:40:51
a lady around here yesterday who's um
01:40:52
yeah was ran a marathon last November
01:40:54
then went in for some like routine blood
01:40:56
tests the next month and now she's um
01:40:59
yeah found out she's got stage for colon
01:41:01
cancer and um for for survival it's
01:41:04
going to be on chemo for the rest of her
01:41:06
life and it's like these sort of things
01:41:08
give you a bit of perspective and yeah
01:41:10
they do yeah they do yes thank you but
01:41:12
it's been bloody great please keep in
01:41:14
touch yeah I I like that I love you and
01:41:18
I love your work thanks thank you
01:41:23
oh