What is the secret to success?
A pair of passionate documentary filmmakers set out to discover the definitive answer – by interviewing 10 iconic Australians, who have all risen to the top of their various fields.
These include retail king Gerry Harvey, pioneering plastic surgeon Dr Fiona Wood, adventure documentary-maker Alby Mangels, entrepreneur Alan Bond and Gai Waterhouse, widely known as Australia’s First Lady of Horse Racing.
Based on those interviews, Hugh Minson, 29, and Jack Morphet, 27 – who met while studying at Bond University on the Gold Coast – created their 10-part web series The Thread.
With just a few simple questions and meticulous research under their belts, Hugh and Jack elicited inspiring – and unexpected – insights from the group of trailblazers.
Hugh Minson and Jack Morphet (above, with adventure documentary pioneer Alby Mangels) set out to discover the secret to success through insightful interviews
Hugh (left) and Jack (right) questioned 10 iconic Australians for their web series The Thread, with the answers providing revealing insights
They also discovered the common threads in their lives, such as a strong work ethic and competitive drive, that helped them break away from the pack and find success in wide-ranging careers – from sport, business and medicine to law, literature and adventure.
And the one surprising trait that all the remarkable men and women they interviewed shared? Independence from a young age.
‘All of the people we spoke to had really interesting upbringings where they were allowed to be free and independent,’ Hugh told Daily Mail Australia.
‘It’s all of this independence and freedom to go and find themselves and discover what they like without having overbearing parents that helped them break away from the pack.’
Speaking about horse racing powerhouse Gai Waterhouse, Hugh said, ‘She had a father who was a legendary thoroughbred racer and he would often just give her the stables to test her and she’d have to find her own feet.’
Retail giant Gerry Harvey had a similar upbringing. ‘He grew up on a remote property in NSW,’ said Hugh. ‘He was allowed to walk around the farm as a three-year-old. He was given a lot of freedom to grow.’
The filmmakers also probed Alby Mangels (left) and Australia’s retail king Gerry Harvey (right)
Jess Watson – who gained worldwide attention when she became the youngest sailor to circumnavigate the globe solo when she was just 16 – also had experiences from a formative age that most people don’t.
‘She lived on a boat for four years with her family from the age of 12 – not many people are doing that,’ Hugh said.
He also noted how having a difficult start in life helped Alby Mangels pioneer the adventure documentary genre that paved the way for the likes of Steve Irwin and Bear Grylls. Mangels visited 56 countries on a shoestring budget for his 1977 doco World Safari.
While Bond and Harvey had been motivated to escape the poverty they experienced as children, and Waterhouse and Watson had strong, influential parents who nurtured them, Mangels was without a parental figure in his life from the age of 14.
They also spoke to Gai Waterhouse, dubbed Australia’s First Lady of Horse Racing, and Jess Watson OAM, who became the youngest sailor to circumnavigate the globe solo at 16
The web series The Thread also examines leading feminist Germaine Greer (left) and pioneering surgeon Dr Fiona Wood AM (right)
‘It’s been a pretty hard journey,’ Mangels told Jack and Hugh in his interview.
‘Mainly it stems back to my mother and the upbringing I had. It drove me to not be in that area and drove me on to be successful.
‘When I took off on the trip travelling right around the world and taking a camera with me… A responsible father would have just said, you know, come on, get a life, do what everybody else does and get a real job – but I never had that.’
Mangels’ family had moved to South Australia from Holland in 1955, but his mother became ill soon after.
He dropped out of school to her at the age of 13, but when she died a year later, his stepfather kicked him out of the house.
Banker and philanthropist Simon McKeon AO (left) provides valuable insights into his success, as does former tennis world champion Pat Rafter (right)
High Court judge Michael Kirby AC (left) and entrepreneur Alan Bond (right) also appear
Mangels was forced to work multiple jobs from an early age – but he has no regrets. Instead, he relishes the experience it gave him.
‘I don’t regret not having a good education – not at all. I had about 20 jobs by the time I was 21. I was a shearer for a while, a jockey, a mechanic, baker, you name it.
‘It was just wonderful, all when I was in my teens. You can handle anything when you’re young.
‘When you’re young, you survive – and I always had big dreams about doing things and yeah, I just really went for it.’
Hugh adds: ‘He got such a great taste for life.’
And it was with this enthusiasm that Mangels set off for a life of adventure, travelling the world with just $400 in his pocket and no formal training in filmmaking.
Despite this, he captured incredible footage on the journey that started in 1971 – and his first film World Safari was a surprise hit upon release in 1977 .
In 1984, its sequel propelled him to international fame.
Jack and Hugh (above, with Alan Bond) wanted to uncover the common threads that helped some of Australia’s most successful icons break away from – and lead – the pack
Entrepreneur Alan Bond revealed that seeing his father return from war with injuries encouraged him to make something of himself
‘I think that is one of the most important things that happened in my life,’ Mangels says of his mother’s passing.
‘That freedom to do whatever you want without having anybody try and guide you. I was free to make lots of mistakes – and that was good.’
Similarly, retail giant Gerry Harvey said that being forced to support himself from a young age helped propel him to success later in life. His father had inherited money from his wealthy family, but went on to squander it all.
‘My father was one of about eight or nine kids and his father was a very, very wealthy man, and when his father died, he left my father less than all the other kids because he thought he’d just waste it.
‘And he was right. He did, he wasted it – and so, you know, that motivates you to not be like that.’
Pioneering surgeon Dr Fiona Wood – the director of Royal Perth Hospital’s Burns Unit – explained how she excelled as a woman in a male-dominated field
The filmmakers noted that all of the successful Australians they spoke to shared a common trait – they were independent from a young age
He added: ‘My family got no friggin’ money, how can they be supportive of me? I’m gone.
‘I was living in a garage with a family of five … I’d gone from being a fairly wealthy little kid to a very poor little kid. It was just me. You’re on your own.’
At 22, the part-time door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesman dropped out of university to co-found Norman Ross, but it was later taken over by Alan Bond – who made him redundant.
Undeterred, Harvey went on to start Harvey Norman, which would become the best performing stock on the ASX for 20 years.
His retail empire now boasts 230 stores in eight countries – and he’s amassed a personal fortune of $1.5billion.
And as for entrepreneur Alan Bond? He also says he owes his success to his family, explaining that seeing his father go off to war and return home injured motivated him.
‘I always wanted something better for them,’ he said.
Jess Watson – who became the youngest sailor to circumnavigate the globe solo at 16 – was inspired by her experience living on a boat for four years from the age of 12
Hugh and Jack have now started a Kickstarter page to obtain the funding needed to turn their YouTube series into a full-fledged documentary
‘I saw my father go off to war, the fit man, and I saw him come back on the hospital train.
‘You grow up in an environment where not only one of your parents was affected by the war, other people were. So I think that environment encourages, to get out of that position.’
But growing up with money doesn’t necessarily limit your potential – although it can if life is too easy, Gai Waterhouse believes.
Although she came from a well-off family, she insists her father – legendary thoroughbred trainer TJ Smith – instilled a strong work ethic in her.
‘Most people are spoilt,’ she said. ‘That’s the biggest problem with people with money, they spoil their children and they make life too easy.
‘So anyone who hasn’t got money realises what the reality is, what life’s all about.’
She explained her father started at the very bottom, with nowhere to go but up.
‘I’m lucky enough, I went to a good school, I was able to go to university, I was able to live overseas and travel. I’ve never wanted so I’m really lucky in that respect.’
But, she adds, ‘One thing [her father] instilled in me was a great work ethic. And I like working. I enjoy it.
‘I was determined not to fail, not because I wanted to make money or be a success. I didn’t want to disappoint Dad.’