Martha Stewart is the creator of 8,000 products, publisher of a self-titled magazine, author of 94 books, a cooking, gardening and interior design guru and a designer of entire lifestyles emulated by millions.
She’s worked hard for her fame and accumulated a lot of wealth. And she has a lot of wisdom to share ― it’s just doubtful that most people can afford to act on it.
During a talk at the Create & Cultivate conference on Saturday in New York with Jaclyn Johnson, Stewart was asked to offer her favorite hack for busy, working women.
“Two or three housekeepers. So you never have to make that bed again!” she said to laughs and cheers from the audience.
Stewart shared several nuggets of wisdom that she’s learned over the years, but only some of it was likely relatable to the audience. Nonetheless, she was the biggest hit by far at the conference, simply for her honesty and off-the-cuff answers.
Check out more tales from Stewart below:
On having four houses:
“Be careful about the number of houses. Lemme tell you. With houses comes staff, with houses comes floods and storms and trees...”
On getting a beachfront view for one of her houses:
“There’s Lily Pond, which is this beachside cottage in the Hamptons, you know it’s everybody’s dream beach house. It’s not really on the beach, it’s one block from the beach. Someday with all this erosion that’s going on and storms, I’ll be beachfront.”
On where she gets her energy:
“Green juice, but you have to grow your own vegetables. I grow my own green vegetables and we make this delicious green juice every morning... But it’s not marijuana. Mint takes the place.”
On possibly appearing on “Shark Tank:”
“Shark Tank’ oh no ― you have to go to California for ‘Shark Tank.’ If they moved to New York, sure, but I can’t leave my farm for ‘Shark Tank.’”
On her famous neighbors:
“Then there’s the farm [house], the Bedford farm. It’s a 150-acre farm right next to Ralph Lauren, by the way...”
On imposter syndrome:
Johnson, the creator of the conference who also moderated the talk with Stewart, said she was dealing with “imposter syndrome” at the moment and tried explaining the term to Stewart.
“It’s sort of the feeling where you’re like, ‘I don’t deserve this, I don’t deserve a seat at the table.’ I’m curious if you’ve ever experienced this and if not ―” Johnson said, at which point the lifestyle guru interrupted with a “No” and a laugh, as the audience erupted in raucous laughter.
“No,” Stewart repeated emphatically with another incredulous laugh, seemingly unaware of the psychological concept experienced by about 70% of people at least once in their lives, according to a 2018 article in the International Journal of Behavioral Science.
“You shouldn’t even know that exists,” Stewart said. “If you’re an entrepreneur you don’t know that exists. You have to really take the reins and ride the horse.”
On the glass ceiling and the Me Too movement:
“I didn’t even know ― somebody asked me once about ‘breaking through the glass ceiling’ ― I didn’t even know what they were talking about,” she said (a story she’s shared before). “And I was a little embarrassed that I didn’t know. And it’s the same thing with the Me Too. I don’t want to get into Me Too right now, but boy...”
Stressing that those who go into business for themselves have to be “strong, self-possessed” people, she added, “And you sort of have to be able to let stuff run off you if it’s a problem, you can’t dwell on the problem, you have to keep moving around.”
On what made her launch a new cruise excursion with MSC cruises:
“I love to travel ― I love boats, I love yachts especially. I like big yachts! But since most of us don’t have big yachts, it’s nice to work on MSC cruises ― MS is not Martha Stewart, but it could be.”
On her friendship with Snoop Dogg and their new VH1 show:
“I am very recognizable from Compton all the way to the Super Bowl to Maine. Maine, my friends all want Snoop up there. Ten years ago they wouldn’t have wanted Snoop up there, but now they want Snoop up there. Cause [recreational marijuana] is legal in Maine by the way.”
On her self-care indulgence:
“My self-care? Shampoo my hair.”
On writing her autobiography:
“I have an autobiography I have to write. I don’t feel I’m old enough to write an autobiography but the publishers say I am... There’s a lot to do. I keep very, very busy.”
On her last text to Snoop Dogg:
“It was last week! Well, it was his mother’s birthday so I wished her a happy birthday. And then there’s something else... there’s a picture of us in a restaurant bathroom. Snoop and Martha. A big picture! I sent it to him. Someone sent it to me, so I sent it to him.”
On her legacy:
“A good woman, who’s a good teacher, who’s fun and has accomplished a lot.”