I knew I was going to be a journalist when I was eight years old and I saw the printing presses rolling at the Sydney newspaper where my dad worked as a proofreader.

My dad was the manager at the 45 000-acre ranch but he owned his own 1 200-acre ranch and I owned four cattle that he gave to me when I graduated from grammar school from the eighth grade. And those cows multiplied and he kept track of them for years for me. And that was my herd.

I'm a military kid both parents in the military - Mom did 12 years Dad did 21 served in two wars. So discipline is something that was huge.

I feel connected to the Second World War because my father lost his father in that war. So through my dad and the effect it had on him of losing his father young I always felt connected to the war. It goes back years but it still feels to me as if we're completely living in it.

My dad said 'The thing that I was told that was really helpful was that I mustn't be afraid of the things I was afraid of when I was five years old'. The shock of his childhood had put him in this defensive crouch against the world and he needed to know that he had a nice wife and kids and it wasn't the same any more.

My dad was an absentee dad so it was always important to me that I was part of my daughter's life and she deserved two parents which is part of the rationale behind us staying married for 30 years.

My dad had this rock hard body and would work 12- to 13-hour days. The guys he worked with were scrap-iron guys. Nobody on that road crew had read a book in 10 years but there was something about the way they lived I really admired.

My dad liked a lot of Motown but I didn't listen to it until my teenage years.

My dad has been married to his wife for 15 years and wherever he goes there better be a seat for her. I like real couples that tell you how to get through on Wednesdays when you're just at the end of your rope - the ones who really know how to make it through. We have to stop looking at Hollywood couples because you're going to get disappointed.

The founder of the Mona Foundation actually knew my dad for years and the more I learned about it the more I realized I really found the perfect charity. It sponsors schools and educational initiatives all over the planet.