This much I know: Timo Topp

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First published on 27 May 2010. Updated on 22 Nov 2010.

Like my father, I have a tendency to spot the faults before praising the perfection. My dad was a photographer. I did photography at art college and showed him a picture that I got an A on. The first thing he said was, ‘there's a small dust mark on the image.' My wife points out that I often do the same with others.

Communication is the secret to a good marriage. Expressing how you feel about things that bother you, or which you disagree with, is the best way to avoid the source of most arguments, where you blow the truth out of proportion because you are angry. Communication means expressing your love regularly and airing grievances before they become an issue.

It sounds like a cliché, but balance is the key to health. We should enjoy life and not beat ourselves up when we have a slice of cake or a few too many drinks. People have an unhealthy obsession with being healthy, or a misguided view on true health.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is my hero. Not just because he is a big dude, but because he thinks big and wins big. He arrived in America with one small bag, became the greatest bodybuilder of all time, then one of the biggest superstars of all time and then the Governor of California.

Success truly is based on knowing what you want and pursuing it with passion and persistence. After I ran the marathon, which was pretty tough, the message I had read in so many biographies of successful people finally clicked with me: we can accomplish anything if we put our hearts and minds to it. We really are limited by our own thinking.

If I were prime minister... I'd ban cigarettes, subsidise public transport so that people would use it instead of driving everywhere, and enforce a compulsory serving of asparagus at breakfast.

Quality of life in Sydney cannot be surpassed anywhere in the world. The weather is fantastic for an outdoor lifestyle, there are so many wonderful places to see and things to do and the food culture is so diverse. It's ironic that us Poms got sent here for crimes against her majesty a couple of hundred years ago, and now you can't keep us out! Erin Moy