Optimise Your Life

Number 36:  David Letterman

Who:  Late night TV show host for CBS

Why:  For having the last laugh

Do

Do: Go home alone after work. Letterman infamously hit the headlines recently for a scandal involving more than one of his late night female staffers.

Do: Laugh all the way to the bank. The comedian is a veteran in the industry, having held the mic for the last 27 years and being the recipient 67 Emmy Award nominations.

Do: Know how to laugh at yourself. Despite the scandal almost ruining his professional and personal life, the former weatherman was back on the show making a joke out of all the events that took place.

Do: Stay long enough to be a mentor. Renowned as the old man in the talk show business, Letterman is highly regarded and respected in the industry as a mentor to other hosts such as Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien.

Don’t

Don’t: Mess with a woman in authority. Letterman got a backlash from former vice president nominee Sarah Palin when he cracked a crude one-liner about her teenage daughter. He was forced to apologise.

Don’t: Be uber-rich and give the wrong crowd ideas. During his career, Letterman had to tackle at least one very serious female stalker and an abduction plot against his son.

Don’t: Forget who you are. Despite his fame and marital status, Letterman openly had physical relationships with women and was often referred to as a ‘flirtatious boss’.

Don’t: Forget to make friends in the right places. While Letterman recovered from a bypass surgery, his Hollywood friends pitched in to run the show until he returned.