When you have the opportunity to ask some of the most interesting people in the world about their lives, sometimes the most fascinating answers come from the simplest questions. The Thrive Questionnaire is an ongoing series that gives an intimate look inside the lives of some of the world’s most successful people.
Thrive Global: What’s the first thing you do when you get out of bed?
Jane Hertzmark Hudis: I check my phones (iphone and blackberry), read the morning newspapers on my iPad (The New York Times, The New York Post, Wall Street Journal), turn on the news (Morning Joe is my favorite), raise the shades and look out at the city, make coffee, drink coffee and get the party started!
TG: What gives you energy?
JHH: My friends, my family, my job, my colleagues and the challenges that lie ahead all give me energy.
TG: What’s your secret life hack?
JHH: I take a bath every single night before bed. It gets me in the zone to have peace, comfort and relaxation.
TG: Name a book that changed your life.
JHH: My favorite book is from childhood and it’s called “I Like To Be Me.” It’s the best message and says it all. I still have it.
TG: Tell us about your relationship with your phone. Does it sleep with you?JHH: I sleep with my husband and my devices. But we have a strict rule at the dinner table with our sons — no phones!
TG: How do you deal with email?
JHH: I’m the like the movie: fast and furious.
TG: You unexpectedly find 15 minutes in your day, what do you do with it?JHH: If I’m being honest, I shop on Net-A-Porter!
TG: When was the last time you felt burned out and why?
JHH: The last time I felt burned out was jet lag coming back from a business trip in China. I have sort of rule, which is I always take a couple days after long trips like that to rest, low lay and recover. It’s so important.
TG: When was the last time you felt you failed and how did you overcome it?
JHH: My first economics test in undergraduate. I got an F! And I worked super hard to get an A in the class, and I’ve been making up for it ever since.
TG: Share a quote that you love and that gives you strength or peace.
JHH: “Do the thing that counts and then don’t count it.” Meaning do the right thing for the right reason.
Jane Hertzmark Hudis is a Group President at The Estée Lauder Companies and is responsible for leading the Estée Lauder, La Mer, Bobbi Brown, AERIN, Darphin, Origins, Aveda and Bumble and bumble brands globally. She will be honored with an Outstanding Mother of the Year award on May 8th from the National Mother’s Day Council.
Originally published at medium.com