I've spent many hours in the air over the last month in a quest to maximise sunshine hours on my holiday break.

Economically speaking, 2016 has started on the wrong foot. The world seems to be suffering from a bad bout of economic pessimism.

I've always discouraged my daughters from thinking that becoming a celebrity is a worthy career goal.

It was a wonderful Christmas - lashings of fun, family and food. Unfortunately that other "f," fitness didn't do so well.

As New York baseball legend, Yogi Berra quipped: "It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future."

When my daughters were young, we had an evening ritual when they would tell me the best and worst things about their day.

Recently a listed company CEO told me he watched his share price every day and felt its movements were at least partly a reflection of his actions and achievements.

We all know about Oprah Winfrey's halo effect; as a talk show host, she only needed to mention a book she'd enjoyed and it became a bestseller.

There is one big fat lie even the most honest among us are guilty of telling on a regular basis: Yes, I have read the terms and conditions.

In almost every category, we consumers know when we're overpaying or being duped by extravagant claims.

Apparently the human brain is capable of 1016 processes per second, making it more powerful than any computer in existence.

It's no wonder pharmaceutical companies are seen as the bad guys of business. They charge exorbitant prices for drugs, irrespective of who needs them and how many lives they could save.

After travelling to Australia or the United States, I delight in returning home - not because of my home comforts and familiarity but because of the people.

For many people, early retirement is nirvana, the reward at the end of a long, hard slog; an escape from the daily grind of work and the freedom to do whatever you like, whenever you like, with people you care about, for the rest of your life.

I've always loved the idea of inter-generational family businesses - started by great-granddad (or even better, great-grandma) and built up over decades by descendants as passionate and hardworking as the founder.