Martha Stewart's Secret to Happiness for Life Is Found Outside: "Make a..."
The Yes, Chef! host became America's first self-made female billionaire for a reason.
From starting out as a stockbroker on Wall Street to building her own lifestyle empire, Martha Stewart has always been inspiring and fascinating. Through the years, the host of NBC’s Yes, Chef! and mother of one has shared a wealth of life advice that is rooted in reality and more down-to-earth than you might expect from a mogul who’s besties with Snoop Dogg.
Below, revisit some of Stewart’s most interesting and refreshing quotes on everything from aging to work ethic and more.
On happiness…
On The Martha Stewart Show, the lifestyle guru once shared her life advice to secure yourself a lifetime of happiness: Get outside and grow something.
“If you want to be happy for a year, take a spouse. If you want to be happy for a decade, get a dog. And if you want to be happy for the rest of your life, make a garden.”
On always learning new things…
At 83 years old, Stewart is unstoppable. In fact, she still loves to plow her own driveway after a big snowstorm. And in her 2024 documentary, Martha, she revealed her words of wisdom that inspire to keep growing every day.
“I have two mottos. One is learn something new every day. And the second one is when you’re through changing, you’re through.”
On accepting imperfections…
In the last scene of her documentary, Martha, Stewart reflected on striving for perfection, but learning to be OK with it when everything is not.
“I don’t want to put up with imperfection. Although I’ve learned as one gets older, imperfections are a little bit more OK than they were when I was a little younger. I think imperfection is something that you can deal with.”
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On taking pride in your work…
Whether you’re governing a nation or baking a birthday cake for someone you love, Stewart has said that what matters is the effort you put into the task at hand.
"I think baking cookies is equal to Queen Victoria running an empire. There's no difference in how seriously you take the job, how seriously you approach your whole life."
On aging…
Stewart’s approach to aging has been a breath of fresh air. When she spoke with AARP, she shared how she focuses on living in the moment.
“Aging isn’t something I think about. How old I am, slowing down, retiring — I just don’t dwell on that. People talk about aging successfully, but I think of it as living gracefully and living to the absolute fullest … The idea is that aging is not about dying, it’s about living well.”
On loving every bit of yourself…
As someone who once described herself to Oprah Winfrey as a “maniacal perfectionist,” Stewart told TODAY she simply does not care if she doesn’t meet the idea of someone’s “ideal” woman.
“I have nice legs, I have a good body, I have good skin. I might be a little fat here and there, but who cares? It looks good altogether, the package is good.”
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On communicating with animals…
From dogs and cats to birds and chinchillas, Stewart has had a variety of pets through the years and is clearly an animal lover through and through. And she once shared her unique method of communicating with them.
“As with all my new pets, I gently bit each kitten on the face. This is how I let my animals know that I am now their mother.”
On believing in yourself…
In her documentary, Martha, Stewart shared her life advice on when you have a good idea and how to follow through with it.
“Learn. Everybody, I stress, if you have a good idea, learn how to, first of all, make it really well. And this is not Shark Tank, but this is just a little bit of advice from Martha. Believe in your idea and find a couple like-minded people to build it with you.”
On evolving…
From starting a magazine to becoming a mother to her daughter Alexis and moving on with life after a divorce, Stewart has gone through many changes in her life. And, as she shared in her Martha documentary, she wouldn’t label those changes as a “reinvention.”
“I don’t like that word ‘reinvention.’ Because I’m not reinventing myself. I am still the same flesh and blood. I have the same color eyes I had before. I have the same skin and hair, so it’s not reinventing. But it is evolving. And with evolution, changes comes. People think, ‘Oh my gosh, you know, I’m afraid to change. I don’t think I can take this step and change in that direction.’ But once you do it, it gets more and more interesting.”
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On her dislikes…
Not only does Stewart know herself well, she knows exactly what she won’t tolerate. In Martha, she broke down in a very matter-of-fact way what she dislikes, serving as a masterclass in speaking your mind.
“I dislike waste. Inefficiency. Avoidance. Impatience. I dislike people who think they can do more than they can do. I dislike people who don’t pay attention to details. Being mean just to be mean. I dislike aprons and house dresses. I used to dislike the color purple. A lot. But I don’t dislike it so much — and red. I don’t plant many things red in my garden.”
On adapting…
Stewart has certainly discovered many cooking hacks you just don’t mess with, but she’s more than willing to incorporate new technology or methods to make something better. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Stewart talked about how she adapts to a constantly changing world.
“I don’t think good information and inspiration goes out of date. But, I always said, ‘I can plant a tree this way. If I find a better way to plant a tree, I’m gonna find it first and I’m gonna write about it and I’ll eliminate the old and bring in the new.’ And I do that with everything. It’s the same way with cooking. Recipes change, methods change, pots change … We adapt our methods of teaching to technology, we have to. We have to keep up."
