Leanne's Life Lessons

She's effortlessly stylish and ready to perform live at 6am each week, Leanne Manas - multi-award-winning TV presenter, MC and motivational speaker - is equally at home doing tuk-shop duty at her children's school. Here the Morning Live anchor shares her lessons on life, love and the art of juggling.

- Deborah Herd

After nearly 15 years on breakfast television, we're so used to waking up to Leanne's face that we have to remind ourselves that we don't actually know her. The powerhouse presenter with the ear-to-ear smile has such an accessible presence - that Sandra Bullock quality - that you feel like she's your best friend, your sister, your daughter.... Leanne started at Morning Live the year Facebook launched - it's been that long - and she's grown up in front of our eyes. We'v watched her career thrive as she's interviewed icons from Madiba to Oprah, clerics from Archbishop Desmond Tutu to the Reverend Jesse Jackson, and superstars like Celine Dion and Diana Ross.

We have witnessed her become a mother - first to Alexandro, 8, and then Gabriella, 5, and have been there at other high points in her life, such as her summiting Mount Kilimanjaro with husband Marc Menelaou as part of the Trek4Mandela challenge.

Along with the highs, we've seen her suffer some lows - none greater than the death of 'morning husband' co-anchor Vuyo Mbuli. But mostly we've witnessed a woman grabbing at life - 'sucking the marrow out of it', as she says. Here, she tells us what she's learnt and how she manages to balance it all. 

LESSON#1 

Know what’s important (to you)

When most of us are leaning out of bed fumbling for our phones to turn off the alarm, Leanne is ready to go live on camera. Her weekdays start with a 4am wake-up call before heading to the SABC studio. While most of us would balk at the idea of such an early start, Leanne knows what she wants and appreciates that the hours have benefits.