Marking the launch of the new Samsung Galaxy Note 4 phone, a new study was released last week revealing that 35 is the age where we are most-stressed.

Samsung spoke to some celebrities to hear what advice they had to give on making the busy working life that little bit more bearable.

Jamie Oliver

Jamie Oliver: “Do you know what? It was a funny bit of advice and you can take it with a pinch of stuff, ‘Never try and be the best; second best is always really good’ and I think what they mean, in this sort of funny little world that we have, maintaining the first position is impossible; it’s always about a little bit of luck or a moment in time but actually to be second best and just good, and keep your head down and keep grafting will give you an equally long career.

“It’s a funny bit of advice isn’t it? But Sir Paul Smith gave me that and if you think about it he’s the most successful fashion dude in Europe. Everyone is always talking about the Guccis and the Pradas but actually he is the Don and very consistent and kind and lovely. Yea, he’s been very good to me.”

Simon Cowell: “It was something my dad said to me actually ‘Everybody around you has a sign on their head that says -Make me feel important’ and it’s something I remember when I run a company or run a show, I have to remember that ‘Everyone around you’.”

Mary Berry: “The best advice I have ever received is ‘Be myself’ and ‘Always do my very best’ I think. I enjoy what I do and I try to be neighbourly at home. I don’t know. I am just myself.”

Amanda Holden: “Gosh. Well my own advice is ‘Never give up. Never give up.’ So I never ever give up - to the point of annoyance to most people I’m sure.”

Bill Nighy: “Never take drugs - and pay your taxes.”

Donny Osmond: “From my father: ‘Anything worth doing is worth doing well’.”

Sol Campbell: “’Be satisfied with what you get. Be happy with what you get.’ That’s it.”

Hugh Grant: “Well someone once told me ‘Be very nice about women’s shoes’ – and I’ve done that – and it does work.”

Hugh Grant

Ben Miller: “Well this was not advice given to me but given to a friend of mine, by Rowan Atkinson, but I overheard it and taken it for my own. ‘Find out what it is you do that no one else does – and do that’. Sage advice; advice that Rowan Atkinson has quite definitely followed and I think there is something in that. Just think about what you do that no one else does.”

Craig Revel Horwood: “The best advice I have ever received is ‘Think for myself and make my own decision’. I was always encouraged to do that as a child especially when I wanted to dance; I had to make that decision by myself and I knew I would get stick at school. I knew I’d be persecuted for it by other people but it hardened me up and I fell in love with it - and I wasn’t going to let anyone tell me any different.”

Peter Jones: “Best advice? ‘Do unto others as you expect to be done unto yourself’. So treat others with the same level of humility and respect that they deserve.”

Gok Wan: “’You are never on your own.’ That’s quite a big one, that’s quite deep.”

Sarah-Jane Crawford: “The best advice? ‘We’re here for a good time, not a long time.’ But it’s true isn’t it? You’ve got to live a good quality life and try and grab the bull by the horns. That’s what I always try and do; don’t rest on your laurels. ‘Carpe Diem’, seize the day, get in there and really live life.”

MNEK: “The best advice I’ve ever been given was by my manager ‘Patience is a virtue. Don’t rush - hang in there – and it will all happen.’ And he was so right: I’ve been working with Little Mix, Kylie and Tinie Tempah, and now even have a Mercury nom - so I feel blessed.”

How do you achieve your perfect balance of working life and home life? Let us know in the comments section below!


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