In a witty and wide-ranging address to about 400 graduates at a 3.30pm graduation ceremony, he also urged them to accept the challenge if ever asked to become a Maori Santa Claus.
Mr Potiki, who is a former chief executive of Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu, said some people might find his talk boring.
He joked that he now, in fact, relished living a "boring" existence in some respects, including going to bed by 10pm.
He no longer felt driven to stay up late and find things to boast about next week.He also urged graduates to avoid being too judgemental and to have a sense of "there but by the grace of God there go I", an approach adopted by his father in his work with the lively and sometimes eccentric staff and residents at the former Cherry Farm psychiatric hospital. Mr Potiki also suggested graduates try to do "a few things incredibly well" and "don’t try to do everything".
At home he followed this principle by cooking tea and leaving everything else to his wife.He also joked that Santa had promised him a fat bank account and a thin body, but the outcome was the wrong way round.
"I’ve never been rich but I have been entirely broke."
Like many people, he liked spending money, but had never been obsessed with wealth. He reflected that he had had many testing experiences in life, including coming close to death in 2014 and surviving only because of a liver transplant.
• A record 1580 people graduated from the polytechnic at two graduation ceremonies yesterday, including 740 in person, up from 644 last year.
