MitoQ's CEO on living a “limit less” life

Living “limit less” means different things to everyone. For some, it means having more time and energy. For others, it requires a shift in mindset. For MitoQ’s CEO Mahara Inglis, it means performing at his best in all areas of life – while also being realistic about the fact that it’s normal to “fall off the wagon” every once in a while. To find out how staying healthy, having a consistent morning routine and building good habits helps him to function at his best, keep reading.

What do you do to stay healthy?

Normal stuff that people do:

• I fast and try to minimize processed food.
• I take MitoQ + some other select supplements.
• I do a good mixture of cardio, HIIT and strength workouts.

To me, consistency is key - so there are three key approaches that I use:

1. Habits: I focus on building good habits and integrating them into my lifestyle. That way they become more ingrained. E.g., I bike to work.
2. Rewards: I reward myself for hard work and don’t seek perfection. For example, I really enjoy a beer on a Friday evening after a good week.
3. “Slump busters”: I recognize that we all fall off the wagon sometimes. I have written up a card of small actions that I know work for me to get back into a positive frame of mind and healthy cycle (e.g., if I start to slump: get up early and go for a run, book an adventure with the family, check something off my to-do list, etc).

What is your morning routine?

• 5:45am: wake up and take MitoQ.
• 6am: either go for a run (Mon/Fri) or do some work (Tue-Wed when I bike to work).
• 7am: get the kids up and make them breakfast and lunch for school.
• 7:30am: head into the office.

What mantra/quote do you live by?

I’m a bit of a quote geek so I can’t limit it to just one. I’ll give a few:

• “Life is not a dress rehearsal” – Mrs Boycott.
• “E hara tenei he mahi taki tahi, he mahi taki tini” (This is not the task of one person alone, it is the task of many) – Maori proverb.
• “Today I do what others won’t so tomorrow I can do what others can’t” - unknown.
• “We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children” – Haida proverb.

#1 tip for working from home with kids?

Noise-canceling headphones.

What are your 3 top book recommendations that you think everyone should read?

1. Business book: Play Bigger. It’s a different approach to strategy and disrupting industries.
2. Non-Fiction (personal growth): Emergency sex (and other desperate measures). Deeply moving book where 3 UN Humanitarian Aid workers share their experiences about the best and worst of human nature.
3. Freakanomics – Levitt and Dubner; or Outliers – Malcolm Gladwell. Both of these books are great for challenging how we look at the world.

What’s number one on your bucket list?

Learning to free fall skydive, solo.

What app do you use most?

Spotify – I’ve got fairly diverse tastes but am a sucker for things with a good beat. I typically listen to electronic music and hip hop. But am also partial to dub music, reggae, and old-school rock. Depends on the mood.

What is the one item you can’t leave home without?

Probably a phone (like most people). Although I never take it when running. For some reason, running is my tech-free time.

What did you want to be when you were young?

So many things. At one point in my early 20s I was inspired by a book and wanted to become an aid worker.

What was your first job?

Paper route. Not a lot of fun during a Wellington winter.

What’s the hardest thing about being a CEO?

Pressure and making decisions with imperfect information. But this is also what makes it fun.

What is your favorite thing about working at MitoQ?

Making a positive difference in people’s lives.

Which MitoQ product do you take and why do you like it?

MitoQ Pure: it’s the foundational product that delivers the lion's share of benefits. MitoQ + curcumin: complemented with MitoQ, curcumin offers some strong benefits across multiple areas (inflammation, cognition, immunity, etc).

Do you give MitoQ to your family?

Absolutely. My parents take MitoQ Pure, my partner takes MitoQ + curcumin and I take a combination of both.

What’s your favorite thing about the new brand?

I love the logo and the feel of the bottle in my hand.

What advice would you give to your younger self?

It’s okay to try and fail. It makes you better. You get worse by playing it so safe that you never risk failure.

Watch: 37 questions with MitoQ's CEO