Ina Garten, 78, said the key to embracing new challenges later in life is making sure they're fun.
On Saturday's episode of "The Interview" podcast, Garten reflected on her decision to pursue new creative ventures in her 50s, both as a cookbook author and as the host of a Food Network show.
"I love working scared, because it keeps me up at night," Garten said. "I love this expression, getting out over your skis. Well, you have no choice. You've invested your money. You've sort of made a stake in what you've decided to do, whether it's books or TV."
Garten said she has often turned down opportunities for years until she could find a way to approach them differently.
"I don't like doing it the way everybody else does it," Garten said, pointing to her cookbooks as an example. When she began writing them in 1999, she said, most cookbooks included around 250 recipes.
"I mean, who needs 250 recipes? I need 75 really good recipes that I can make over and over again," Garten said. She added that her publisher was not initially convinced her idea would work, though it ultimately did.
Garten also pushed back on the idea that people become more afraid as they get older, saying she felt "the opposite."
"I think I have a very low threshold of boredom. If I know how to do something, I don't want to do it again," she said, adding that she enjoys using what she has learned to figure out her next step.
For Garten, deciding whether to take on a new project is straightforward.
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"I ask myself one question. Is it going to be fun? And if it's fun, then I really want to do it. I just have to figure out how to make sure it's fun," she said.
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