I am hobbling around the world’s airports – which seem to get bigger and bigger – on my two dodgy knees and one dodgy ankle.

My most valuable accessory has become an ice pack, which is applied every three hours to my new knee, which is not recovering from my recent accident and will need more surgery in a couple of weeks.

It’s giving me plenty of opportunities to walk the talk and practice what I preach on Mental Toughness, Positive Mind-sets and True Grit.

And I have learned to actually Savour the Suck.

First stop was Paris – a city I know intimately following my 17 years on the Board of the Publicis Groupe.

I was working with Nicolas Dubort, the Managing Director of my favourite Parisian hotel (and old haunt) – Le Royal Monceau.  I’ve been staying there since 2010, when Philippe Starck redesigned this majestic Palace into a creative, cultural hotspot – and Nicolas’ task is to refresh and restore it. 

I spent a couple of days with Nicolas and his top team, and we are preparing to build on what has been an excellent year for the Hotel and recapture what made it so special and magical in the first place.

From there, Trudy and I took a four day break in Crete.  (From one Nicolas to another!)  We stayed in a beautiful room on the waterfront in Agios Nikolaos.  At an adult-only, under-stated, beautifully designed and managed, Niko Seaside Resort, an Accor M Gallery sister hotel to our favourite Manly Pacific Hotel in Sydney.

Four days of sunbathing, spa treatments, beach walks and exploring for Trudy; four days of quiet calls and intimate local Greek fresh fish and delightful dinners for me. 

Trudy then headed back to The Farm in New Jersey and I went to spend five days in Dubai with the Bassatne Transformation Team and the Averda leaders.

Very stimulating, progressive and positive.

Despite the ongoing conflict, the mood in Dubai is optimistic and solution focused.

My Dubai Home – Raffles The Palm, was back to 80% occupancy with lots of incoming traffic from the UK and the US.

The boys are back in town.

Trudy, Vanessa and Kendall are now checking out colleges in Texas (along with a concert in Billy Bob’s).

Mark, Cameron and I are on The Farm with Gary and Archer.

A boys weekend.