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QUICK ONEScustomers in a way that is fun and resonates... There’s
some strategy in all that, subconsciously or otherwise.
ZFB: WHAT LESSON DID YOU LEARN WHEN YOU BECAME
AN ENTREPRENEUR? DID YOU LEARN IT WEARING A RED
POWER SUIT? I HOPE SO.
ZFB: “Faking it till you make it” is not as hip and
cool as Instagram quotes would have you believe:
it’s a bit TERRIFYING. You’re making huge calls
about how a product should feel and look and smell
in the hope your taste is universal, and then guessing
about huge, non-reversible and expensive matters
like manufacturing and volume. I’m deeply indecisive,
but there’s no time for that in business.
ZFB: AND YOU STILL MADE TIME TO MEET THE LOVE OF YOUR
LIFE: PINOT NOIR. AND ALSO YOU MET HAMISH. HOW DID YOU
KNOW HE WAS THE ONE?
ZFB: He was wearing a T-shirt with THE ONE
written on it.
ZFB: COME ON, IDIOT.
ZFB: We were friends for years, and had a strong
foundation of friendship, admiration and respect.
No-one makes me laugh like Hamish. He is my muse in
a lot of ways. (Not fashion.) Many relationships begin
with the physical and the emotional and intellectual
stuff follows, but we just had to figure out if the physical
attraction was there... then everything fell into place.
I knew it was for life the moment we kissed. And also
that I’d need to break up with Tom Hardy quick smart.
Ha ha ha but seriously. Tom had to go.
ZFB: HOW DO TWO PUBLIC, BUSY PEOPLE KEEP SOME
SEMBLANCE OF A PRIVATE LIFE?
ZFB: Pretty easily. We rarely go to events, and most
Sundays don’t even leave the house. We notice an
imbalance of up to down pretty quickly.
ZFB: THE PAPARAZZI HAVE PICKED YOU AS THE LUCKY ONES!
DO YOU FEEL SO BLESSED?
ZFB: OMG sooo #blessed. Being photographed unawares
by creeps is a total 15/10.
ZFB: WHAT’S MOST IMPORTANT TO YOU IN LIFE, ASIDE
OF ROCK-HARD ABS AND HAVING FIVE HIT R’N’B SINGLES?
WHAT WILL YOU ALWAYS MAKE TIME FOR BEYOND
WORK AND FAMILY?
ZFB: Travel! Travel inspires, rejuvenates, delights and
challenges me, and allows me to buy fancy shoes that
are not available in Australia. (“Crocs.”)
ZFB: WHAT DOES SUCCESS MEAN TO YOU?
ZFB: Being able to do what you want to do, not what
you have to do.
ZFB: HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA, PARTICULARLY
SINCE SONNY IS WAY MORE POPULAR THAN YOU NOW?
ZFB: As a writer it keeps me sharp, and offers
interaction and inspiration. People question us
posting the occasional photo of our kid but it’s our
child and our choice, and most parents do the same.
The difference is that “news” sites lift our photosand construct stories and galleries of him from
them, which I find gross.
ZFB: WHEN ARE YOU HAVING ANOTHER BABY? WHEN IS
SONNY GONNA HAVE A SIBLING ALREADY HURRY UP COME ON
ZFB: Oooh, never ask a woman that. Deeply
inappropriate. You should know better and also use
more punctuation.
ZFB: YOU TRAVEL THE WORLD, YOU’RE A BESTSELLING
AUTHOR, YOUR BOOK WAS MADE INTO A TV SHOW, YOU
HAVE A SUCCESSFUL SKINCARE BUSINESS, YOUR MORNING
BREATH SEEMS TO BE BETTER THESE DAYS: ARE YOU
LIVING YOUR ULTIMATE LIFE?
ZFB: I have my boys, my health, I live in a beautiful
and lucky country, and I get to pick the projects I want
to work on. I couldn’t ask for more. Not a friggen
squink. I am very, very grateful.HOW DO YOU MOTIVATE YOURSELF?
Excitement for the idea, coffee
and various pastries.
DAILY HABIT YOU SWEAR BY?
Tongue scraping. Once you’ve done it you will be so
disgusted with yourself up until that moment.
HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT FAILURE?
Positive. It’s a chance to learn and grow,
and is never a coincidence. Failure
for the win! Or something.
YOU’RE UP YOURSELF AND YOUR LAST BOOK SUCKED:
HOW DO YOU REACT TO AND RESPOND TO CRITICISM?
Not all trolls are equal – some are sincerely
demonic – but I’ve found that if I respond with
humour, or in earnest, they usually calm down.
They just want to be heard.
WHICH AUTHORS/PODCASTS/THINKERS INFLUENCE YOU?
You’ll only remember two names, so I’ll keep it tight: I listen
to the Tim Ferriss podcast and LOVE Seth Godin.
WHAT BOOK DO YOU MOST OFTEN
GIFT TO OTHERS?
It’s usually one of my own because I have
them on hand (ewwww) but also Beautiful Ruins,
The Elegance Of The Hedgehog and
The Gap Of Time.
WHAT ARE YOU BAD AT ASIDE OF ALL FORMS OF
DRAWING AND MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS?
Leaving my phone alone. Also some of the
higher bridges in “Emotions”.
WHAT IS SOMETHING ABOUT YOU PEOPLE WOULD
BE SURPRISED TO LEARN?
I used to play point guard for the Chicago Bulls.
WHAT DID YOU DO WHEN THE WRONG GIRL WAS
GREENLIT TO BE A TV SERIES?
Open the GNB (Good News Booze) we keep
in the fridge, and enjoy the moment.
YOUR EYEBROWS AREN’T AS HORRIBLE
AS THEY USED TO BE. WHY?
I have them trimmed, plucked (never waxed) and tinted
every six to eight weeks by Lien Davies, and I fill in every day
using one or two of the 900 brow products I own. q