Man on the Street – Neil Baudinet
Age: 58
Occupation: Company Director, Montblanc.
What is your morning routine? I get up reasonably early. Fortunately, I have a home office. I do a couple of hours of emailing and catching up on things that have happened overnight. Then I head to the gym. On the days I don’t do that, I take the dog for a walk.
What are the 3 things on your bucket list? I’ve always loved travelling and Istanbul fascinates me. I’ve also wanted to go on the Orient Express. It just strikes me as something fantastic. And then third is probably meeting Roger Federer, just one of the greatest champions of all time.
What advice would you give your 20-year-old self? Looking back, it’s about extending yourself financially to build an asset base. Those are the years when you’ve got a chance to get started. That’s the thing kids should be looking at today. That’ll build you something for the future.
How do you stay motivated? Every day’s a new day, and every day there’s different challenges. That’s what gets me out of bed in the morning.
If you didn’t need money, what would you do? I would travel. I love travelling. There are a zillion places in the world to explore.
What is your secret to success? You can’t beat hard work and having a long term plan. So everything you do is fundamentally pointed towards that.
What is the best bit of advice or quote that resonates with you? There’s an Einstein quote that I love – “Avoid negative people, they always have a problem for the solution”.
What is your favourite restaurant? For work, we take people to Clooney, I think’s the best restaurant in the city. Marble Bar and Grill down in the Wynyard Quarter is a lot more casual. If we go out as a family, we often go to Mama Loco in the Albany Mall, fabulous Mexican.
What’s your secret to living a longer, more satisfying life? It’s just about getting up and doing things, being out there and meeting people. It’s that whole interactive people experience.
What makes you feel alive? Sharing things with my wife. We travel a bit together, and just the shared experiences, there’s nothing quite like it.
