As she celebrates turning 70, Suzanne Paul has taken a leaf out of supermodel Christie Brinkley’s book.
“She said, ‘I think 70 is the new 40.’ And I’m thinking to myself, she’s right. Obviously, there are some parts of me I don’t like the look of, so I just don’t look at them. But I’m very grateful to have my health, strength and to live in this beautiful country,” says Suzanne, who made New Zealand her home 35 years ago.
“I don’t worry about the past and I don’t stress about the future. I just try to be mindful of who I am now and what I’ve got.”
After decades of hard work, turning her entrepreneurial flair into success and becoming a household name, Suzanne is finally learning to put her feet up and enjoy the life she’s made.
At the top of Suzanne’s gratitude list – and she’s the queen of list-making – is her husband Patrick Kuhtze, 63. She’s also thankful for their beautiful home with its views across O¯rewa Beach and the Whangaparāoa Peninsula.
Sadly, their beloved rescue dog Matty passed away suddenly last month, leaving the couple bereft.
“He was a big part of what I’m grateful for – I was so happy walking him and being mindful while we walked,” she says of the dog they adopted six years ago. “He got so much love and attention. We’ve cried every day since he’s been gone.”
Suzanne still thrives on her work, training Thin Lizzy demonstrators, and going into stores and shopping malls once a week to “put makeup on the ladies… It’s such a joyous thing to do”.
She’s found a new outlet for her lively personality, co-hosting the foodie podcast Fork’s Sake with singer and cook Andrew Papas.
“I can’t cook, but it makes me laugh so much when we’re doing it!” she says.
And she’s about to tour the country with her new book, Your Time Is Now – an autobiographical self-help guide she put off writing for years, knowing it would stir up painful memories. But the process has also helped Suzanne recognise just how far she’s come.
“What I have at 70, which I’ve never had before, is, I’m content. I have peace of mind. I don’t have to be so hard on myself any more,” she says.
“I’ve always been very driven, working since I was 15. And every day, every waking hour I’ve been, ‘Right, let’s write a new plan. Let’s make a podcast. Let’s write a book.’ But now it comes to 3pm and I think, ‘I can stop now.’ I’ll sit on the balcony, read my book and have a cup of tea. I would never have done that a couple of years ago.
“I’m so happy. So touch wood, thank you universe, I might have another 10 good years left,” she says it with a twinkle in her eye.
Suzanne isn’t short of ambition for the decade ahead. On the manifestation board in her office, she’s pinned a photo of her book’s cover, with “Bestseller!” scrawled across it.
“I would like the book to be not only a success in New Zealand, but all around the world. Maybe I’ll be travelling the world doing speaking engagements and talking to Oprah Winfrey.
“I hope the people in England can see it and say, ‘She did it. She left here with nothing and look where she is now!’ Instead of this being the finish of my story, this book is just the start.”
Suzanne has decided to celebrate her 70th birthday in November with a small gathering of friends at home.
“That’s all I need at this age, a small party with 15 or 20 close friends,” she says. “The view from our balcony is spectacular. The celebrations could go on for hours and hours, and you can’t really do that in a restaurant, can you?”
To mark her milestone, Suzanne is going on a cruise. She and Patrick will sail around Southeast Asia through Christmas and New Year. “There will be plenty of parties on board!”
Suzanne has just finished recording the audio version of her new book, reading it in her distinctive working-class Wolverhampton accent.
“I don’t think anybody else could do it because it’s written in my voice, isn’t it?”
Suzanne knew there was more of her story to tell. Her first memoir, But Wait, There’s More, ended when she was 50 and had been declared bankrupt. She’d hit rock bottom – not only losing her home, her business and her possessions, but also her confidence, self-respect and dignity.
“I ended that book saying I’m quite sure if I do what I’ve always done – have gratitude, be positive, look for the good in life, appreciate things, and work hard – then things will come right because they always do,” she says. “Now, 20 years later, I can write, ‘Yes, it worked again!’ I hope people can pick up the book any time and find something that gives them a bit of strength. To stop panicking and take one step at a time.”
She explains, “I keep meeting people who are 30, 40, 50 and think they’ve somehow missed their chance. Young people, who when something doesn’t work out for them, think that’s it. They’ve got to keep trying.”
Having grown up in poverty, she learned early that setbacks are a part of life – and she’s become adept at reinventing herself.
“In the life I’ve lived, I’ve had so many failures that it didn’t faze me much. I was always like, ‘Wow, this is going great!’ And then, ‘Oh, no, lost my job. Got nowhere to live. No money. What shall I do?’ Even when you’re at rock bottom, just stop and think, ‘Okay, what’s still going right? What am I grateful for?’”
On Suzanne’s kitchen table is a jigsaw she and Patrick are working on – tall, colourful figures in front of the Eiffel Tower begin to take shape. The couple complete a jigsaw a week, which Suzanne says is a great exercise in mindfulness.
“It’s been very good for Patrick, who’s been so upset about losing Matty the dog. When he’s doing the jigsaw, he’s in the moment, hunting for the next piece to pop in. He can sit with it for hours, whereas I like to read. I read a thriller every week.”
They intend to adopt another rescue dog when they return from their cruise next year.
Suzanne says she doesn’t have regrets in her life.
“No, none. The decisions you make at the time are the best decisions you can make in the circumstances. Sometimes I think, ‘Why did I stay in that situation for so long?’ But I wasn’t strong enough at the time and I had to wait until I was.”
She found that strength shortly before her 60th birthday, when she met up with old girlfriends in Bali while her second husband, Duncan, stayed at home.
“It took being with those women from my early years to remind me who I was,” she admits. “I’d lost a bit of myself along the way – life had knocked me down. I suddenly remembered the person I was – so brave, fearless, funny and bonkers, who would give anything a go. And I thought, ‘I’m strong enough to be that person again.’”
Her advice to anyone who feels stuck in the wrong situation is simple: “If you don’t like where you’re at, move. You’re not a tree.”
Suzanne’s trademark positivity still shines through. Recently, she was at a pharmacy, where a long queue of women waited patiently to have their makeup applied by the woman behind the “thousands of luminous spheres” catchphrase.
“One woman shouted out from the queue, ‘Why are you always so happy?’ She said it in such a way that it didn’t sound like a compliment,” Suzanne says.
“I replied, ‘Because I choose to be!’ Others in the queue were yelling, ‘Yeah, good on you. You be happy!’ And it’s true.”
Every night she goes through the same ritual with Patrick.
“When I go to bed, I say to him, ‘Tomorrow’s going to be a great day. Great things are always happening to us. We’re so lucky. We’ve got financial abundance. I’m looking forward to seeing you at 7am,’” she says.
“If you’re stuck in traffic the next morning, you can cope because you’ve already made up your mind to be positive. That’s one thing I want people to know – you can’t think one way and feel another. Your mind isn’t capable of it. When I realised that years ago, it changed my life.”
Your Time Is Now by Suzanne Paul (HarperCollins NZ) is out now.
