The Happy Grownup

Have you ever met anybody who doesn't want to be cool? I mean, you might as well be searching for a Wooly Mammoth. No such person exists.But what makes somebody cool? Well, you can have incredible style like Zendaya, incredible looks like Chris Hemsworth, or incredible talent like Bruce Springsteen. But for me, the coolest people have always been anyone who can make me laugh. Growing up, I didn't want to be an athlete like Sandy Koufax or a brooding idol like Montgomery Clift. I wanted to be Dick Van Dyke because I thought everything he did was funny without being a clown. I don't think there is any greater gift than to have that power, which is probably why I'm so enamored of today's guest, David Kohan.When I was on the board of Live Out Loud, an organization devoted to helping LGBTQ youth, I asked a quartet of students who were being awarded college scholarships to name the one person who had made the greatest difference in our culture. Almost all of them cited either a politician with a vision, back when we still had some of those, gay rights advocates or heads of charities. However, one student stood there wincing and bewildered by the response of his fellow honorees. Noting his apparent dissension, I asked his opinion, at which point he perked up with that knowing grin that people have when they're confident that everyone else has missed the obvious. Will and Grace, he replied, with a hint of ‘duh’ in his tone. Will and Grace made all the difference, not just because they made me laugh, but because that laughter helped save lives. Those two guys who created that show, they should get medals. The other honorees nodded in agreement because they knew he was right. David Kohan, along with his writing partner, Max Mutchnick, created Will and Grace.David and Max didn't just save lives. They changed our culture by creating a quartet of friends who were equally funny, clever, socially aware, romantically damaged, ever hopeful, often petty, occasionally jealous, but always loving and always loyal. Straight or gay, that's exactly how you want your life to be. Because it proves that regardless of the challenges from inside as well as out, with the right attitude and the right friends, everyone can be happy. Is it any wonder I'm crazy about David Kohan?

What if sometime during the last season of Mad Men, Don Draper sorted out his life, gave up angst for more than just Lent, started to get off on his own cleverness and find satisfaction in the memorably creative commercials he created on the way to becoming an icon of the advertising industry. What if he actually became a Happy Grownup? What would he be like?He'd be like Steve Pacheco. Having embarked on his career path from the moment he watched his first 60 second spot on television, Pacheco’s long, varied and successful career, includes overseeing ads for two Fortune 500 companies and a dozen years of some of the most memorable Superbowl ads of all time.Now, as president of the American Advertising Federation, Pacheco is guiding this powerful industry in upheaval, faced ad blockers, declining attention spans and an AI revolution that could leave many creatives jobless, as well as figuring out how to reach multiple generations of customers and clients who have now splintered into niches, each with needs that are now more specific than ever. And yet, Steve Pacheco still loves the game, because he still retains the power to seduce, inspire, and acquire. Advertising is “about discovery,” says Pacheco. “A great ad that scores a direct hit as thrilling as ever” he says with a grin as wide as someone walking into a surprise birthday party. Don Draper never smiled this much in his entire life.

I met my husband online about 28 years ago on America Online, not AOL mind you, but America Online – when you didn't tell anyone about such searches because trolling the internet was a primary example of looking for love in all the wrong places. Well, guess what they were wrong, so wrong in fact that we should have been invested because of our foresight.There are now over 8,000 dating sites around the globe. You name the category. Farmers, sea captains, Christian singles, Jewish singles, Asian singles, geeks, gays, those who are vegan, gluten-free, furries, Trekkies, ridiculously wealthy, bearded, and believe it or not, haters. And with more than 30% of those over 50 being single, there are now countless sites for us New Agers.I have known Terry Agins since I started sitting in the front row at fashion shows more than 30 years ago. She's a feisty one. Boisterous, wicked smart, funny, opinionated with a singular energy I have always found fascinating. What also intrigued me about her is that unlike most women in fashion, she didn't travel in a pack. She wasn't part of a clique. In fact, she was often on her own. And then suddenly, about seven years ago, she wasn't. There was this tall, striking, white-haired dude, always by her side. Where the hell did Paul Hands come from? And how come he is still around? Well, that's because Terry and Paul are now married, very happily married, I might add. So for all of you new agers currently searching for companionship, and for those who are hopeful or hopeless romantics, we are going to find out why love is lovelier the second time around.

For two decades now, Mario Cantone has become instantly recognizable as Anthony Marantino on Sex and the City, And Just Like That as Charlotte's boisterously loud, kind of in-your-face, very savvy, grounded gay confidant and guardian angel. But when he is on The View or Turner Movie Classics, Mario Cantone is, well, he's still loud, kind of in-your-face, yet savvy and fairly grounded.Oddly and surprisingly, Mario is probably most like himself as a cabaret performer, where he is a marvelous storyteller, an engaging singer, a brilliant impressionist, and frankly, an unapologetic romantic. I wish Netflix would record him at the Cafe Carlyle in New York or give him a special so that the rest of you can discover this softer and very winning charm of his. But in the meantime, Mario Cantone, thanks to Hot Fellas Bakery, is going to have to deal with the fact that he is a sex symbol at age 65. We should all have such problems like that at this age.

He’s successful, he’s handsome. And I really like his taste. But what I like most about Shawn Henderson is that his mission seems to be in direct opposition of so many of his colleagues in the AD (Architectural Digest) 100. When I look at their realized visions I am impressed by so much overt ingenuity, stark drama, and distinct personality. Very often I no longer have to read the caption, I know who designed that space. But when you open the door, so to speak, Shawn Henderson’s rooms, they don’t scream ‘hey look at me,’ as much as they whisper softly, ’You’re home now. Why don’t you relax?’Being surrounded and bombarded by tumult on an hourly basis, having somewhere you can exhale and collapse in comfort has never seemed more desirable. Yet design is in a tumultuous state. People got used to being at home. Many are still working from there. Family room flat screens on the weekend are often as likely to have on HGTV as football these days. Lots of folks are investing in DIY projects, adapting to innovation and technology, to design extremes and innovation. The price of furniture, custom work, and construction has skyrocketed and promises only to increase. How do we, especially New Agers who want a refresh, create an environment that reflects a shift or an evolution in our lives?For me, Shawn is the perfect interior designer to speak about this because his head isn’t spun around by every new phase or fad that shows up. And for New Agers how nice to know that he isn’t terrified if you have acquired a lot of ‘stuff’ (But only to a point). Fashion can be fast, easily used and discarded within months. I’ve learned to be good with that. But I’m not redesigning my home every season. And neither is anyone I know. You want a home that functions, that reflects you and gives you room to shake your shoulders. Listen to Shawn Henderson. This is the guy who can open the door to that oasis. That’s why he is this week’s Happy Grownup podcast.

It may be a sunny morning but turn on the TV and here comes the news shrouded in storms and torrential turbulence. That’s why, if you see a guy walking down a New York City street humming or whistling wearing a benign grin, it’s fair to guess, ‘I bet he was watching Rosanna on Good Day New York.Over 100,000 people in The Big Apple tune in with him to watch and listen to Rosanna Scotto each weekday morning, because instead of getting beaten over the head with yet more examples of people behaving badly, Rosanna keeps informing us, enticing us and enriching us with still more places to go, things to do and people to see in her beloved hometown. What’s even more winning about her consistently engaging features, stories, and conversations is that Rosanna’s curiosity remains unabated after 18 years at GDNY, a legacy made even more impressive after listening to last week’s guest on THG, Cristina Ferrare recall being abruptly from The Hallmark Channel when she was merely 62 for being “too old.”Smart, smartly tailored, and vibrantly talkative, Scotto’s guests come from sports, the arts, childcare, exercise, travel, and of course, food, In fact, a lot of food. That’s because for more than three decades, the Scotto family has been welcoming everyone coming for their signature lasagna and zucchini chips with gorgonzola at Fresco by Scotto as if we’d been invited to their home for Sunday dinner. And some of the biggest hugs and warmest smiles come from Rosanna, who seems to be doing double duty without breaking a sweat. Still looking for someone, anyone, you can admire first thing in the morning? You can’t do much better than this New Ager making the most out of the second half of her life.On this week’s Happy Grownup podcast

We’re taught that beauty is fleeing. (it even says so in the Bible, Proverbs 31:30). But the moment you see Cristina Ferrare, you can chuck that adage out the window since she is eternally, time defyingly gorgeous. Signed as a model when she was just 14, I repeat 14!, Cristina quickly became one the first supermodels when the label actually had authenticity.However, blessed with an inquisitive, adventurous spirit, Ferrere has never relied solely on her looks. She acted in films, hosted multiple TV shows, and became instrumental in jumpstarting the formerly benign Hallmark Channel into a network behemoth, TV’s prime mover of hot chocolate, mistletoe and happy endings, only to be abruptly dismissed at age 62 for being “too old.”Though reeling from the shock at first - kind of makes you want to torch a Christmas tree farm - here’s why we’re mad for this beautiful inside-and-out New Ager. Rather than weep into her eggnog, Ferrere forged ahead, writing half a dozen New York Times bestselling cookbooks, designing a successful jewelry line, becoming a wellness advocate, campaigning tirelessly for early detection and treatment as a cancer survivor (she has multiple myeloma) and joining her good friend Maria Shriver in raising awareness about and fund for treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease. Cristina is passionate about her loves, especially her husband or 40 years former ABC executive Tommy Thomopoulus), her daughters, and foo - oh definitely food - and as you’\ll discover this week’s podcast, she’s still thrilled to come up with a new recipe, another way to feel good, and one more opportunity to give back. Not to dump on the Good Gook, but it was Keats had it right. “A thing of beauty is a joy forever.” If only there was time travel, Keats would have such a crush on Cristian Ferrere. Hey John, get in line.

Search the faces of the millions celebrating New Year’s Eve on Copacabana Beach. Scope out all the blissed-out kids trodding around Disneyworld. That’s a lot of happy faces, but you still won’t find anyone having a better time than Bevy Smith. Wherever this New Ager goes in her myriad guises as TV host, author, motivational speaker (Her Ted Talk has been seen by millions), former beauty and fashion ad director, guest on sass-centric talk shows like The View and Watch What Happens Live and now co-starring on the Amazon Prime series Harlem, Bevy brazenly spreads positivity as if it was highly contagious, which it is.But to truly appreciate this force of better nature in her natural element, join Bevy’s quarter of a million followers on her vibrant Instagram account, and tune into her weekly Sirius XM talk show Bevelations, where this unapologetic maximalist advocates for her maxim “It Gets Greater Later.” In fact, in response to any cynic too quick to  bitch that life is now the pits, leave it to Bevy to remind us that this means there has to be a bowlful of cherries somewhere nearby. 

He’s the laid back of the five entrepreneurs in Eames chairs on Shark Tank. And yet, few deals that interest him pas him by. That’s because Daymond John puts his faith and energy into what he believes are his three touchstones for success – goals, instinct and fearlessness. That’s because at.23, his goal was to create a clothing company that focused and elevated people in his neighborhood, his instinct was that street kids of color wanted to wear everything four sizes too large, and his fearlessness is because all the experts and two dozen banks he spoke to told it was a bad idea. So, his mom took a second mortgage on her house. And somehow John managed to pay that mortgage off after FUBU generated $6 billion dollars in sales.Funny. The same thing happened when John took an interest in Randy Goldberg and David Heath’s wild idea to build a company that would give away one pair of socks to the homeless for every sock they sold. The other Sharks thought they were nuts. John’s instincts thought their goal was as heartfelt as it was fearless. So, he invested again. Bombas socks is now valued at $3.4 billion dollars. However, John is not above seeking advice from others which is why he this guy with dyslexia has read Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill 23 times. And look at that! John thought and John did.So when this mogul, author, philanthropist, lecturer, and emphatically cool New Agers, tells you the value of reading his 10 goals first thing every morning and last thing every night, how he now monitors his health after a life-altering scare, why he’s determined not to make the same mistakes with his second family that he made with his first and who his mentors are, my instincts tell me that Daymond John is fearless, which is why your goal should be to listen to his Happy Grownup podcast

If you are anywhere - a charity event, an AI conference at MIT, or a seafood restaurant in Montauk - and Norma Kamali walks into the room, go sit next to her. I don’t care who you came there with. I don’t care who she came there with. Tell them to shove over and sit yourself down because Norma will always be the most interesting person in the room.Pick any subject - health, exercise, longevity, beauty, AI, the magic of last loves, canned tuna, and of course, fashion - just cue the topic, and first she will engage you. Then she will dazzle you. Finally, she will convert you.Why should you listen to Norma? Because this raven-haired dynamo has generated more more trends in nearly six decades of consistently disruptive fashion design than the entire roster of LVMH. Because She owned her own line when it was a man’s game and has maintained ownership though the game has been taken over by ravenous corporations. Because she knew the value of wellness while most of us were chain-guzzling Diet Coke, because she can still do a full split, because she has a bullshit detector more precise than a diamond cutter, and because she just became a bride again at… well, I’ll let her tell you how old she is… but she hardly looks old enough to qualify for Medicare.Norma is laser focused about her next goal. She is determined to live to be 120. And if you follow her lead, you just might be around to see that she does it.Listen to why my money is on Norma Kamali to blow out those candles. She is this week’s very special guest on The Happy Grownup podcast.

If you have been with The Happy Grownup from the outset, you may recall that the first Halgorhythm is “Curiosity is the Best Moisturizer.” I got proof. I have known Rob Smith for a decade or two and while his easy smile radiated from an imposing, very handsome man, dammit if this guy isn’t even better looking at a New Aging 59. What is Rob’s secret? A new act, a mission that was never on his wish, bucket, or to do list when he was younger, or even as his successful career in retail secured his future. Then, seven years ago, one chance encounter re-imagined his horizon, one that shocked and rattled him so intently, he embarked on a soul-searching trek round the world. When he returned, though he had no blueprint for what lay head, Rob established the Phluid Project, whose initial goal was to engage, employ and celebrate the style of those young people who had embraced the blurring of gender lines. Not surprisingly, the Project debuted as a retail store with clothing that would appeal to all. But not long after meeting, hiring, listening to their life stories and learning from these fearless kids, he knew there was more he could do to reach out to this misunderstood segment of our global community, and set out to innovate programs for them to elevate their self-worth and stature, and to enlighten the rest of us who are way often too quick to judge or avoid because we have no point of reference. How much has Rob helped these vital, misjudged yet honest young souls? I will let him tell you in his own words, But just looking at his Rob’s beaming face gives you a clue as to how much happiness it has brought to his life.Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere else you listen to podcasts.

In the thirty years I’ve known The Food Network star, he’s always been open about his great loves: his wife Margaret, his three kids, and food. However, depending on the time of day, they’re not necessarily in that order. Luckily for Geoffrey, he’s been able to craft a life completely devoted to what we both agree is the most fun you can have with your clothes on – cooking and eating.Geoffrey’s restaurants have been hot spots as well as Michelin starred. He seems to be on television every half hour, perfectly groomed, whether hovering over a stove or the judging table. His kitchen equipment sells out on HSN since his pitch is effortless. And to show that, despite his obsession, his priorities are in order, Geoffrey’s most recent cookbook, The Family That Cooks Together is a charming collaboration with Margaret and two daughters, Madeline and Anna.In our interview, Geoffrey enthusiastically expounds on the elusive elements that make a restaurant a success, the exhilaration of creating a craveable dish, the kind of service he - and you - should expect, savvy hacks for home entertaining, why exercise and moderation is essential for anyone with a big appetite and, of course, why he is a habitually Happy Grownup. Listen to his story, and I promise - to steal a classic movie quote - you’ll want to have what he’s having.

She Is naturally feisty, startlingly honest, effortlessly funny, as refreshing as an ice plunge. But what makes Rosie Perez instantly irresistible is that despite her diminutive size, she is a tower of power. Despite an ugly, abusive childhood and years of self-doubt caused by of an unexpectedly glamourous career, Perez credits her revelatory immersion in psychotherapy, confidence acquired by maturity and tuning out the negativity that pervades her industry, a late arriving love of a lifetime, and her commitment to lifting up New York youths whose hardships she readily relates to, for her pragmatic and doable embrace of happiness. No wonder Rosie’s  conversation is a flat-out rush of joy.Join me and Rosie at this week’s Happy Grownup podcast  

Dr. Jake Deutsch is anti anti-aging. But he is one of the savviest, most clarifying and motivating advocates of pro-aging. The handsome founder of Oakwood Precision Medicine is such a refreshing geyser of inspiring knowledge about how we should be treating and taking care of ourselves, skillfully melding technological innovation with pragmatic, doable regimens, that just listening to Dr. Deutsch may make you feel better and all that stuff you’re doing to mature with grace. Even better, he’ll probably cause you to stop dead all that stuff you’re doing that, of course, you know is wrong. He’s that good.

Bobbi Brown is as much a household name as the iconic beauty queens who came before, but the similarity ends there. Unlike Helena, Elizabeth and Estée, Brown’s name has never been on cosmetics you’d call war paint. Instead, she gained millions of fans and devoted consumers because instead of creating products meant to mask, Brown’s eponymous product line’s initial mission was to effortlessly bring out the best version of you; make up that never had you looking made up. Brown sold her product line to Lauder in 2016. At 59, she had nothing left to prove. But the diminutive innovator, who calls work her favorite hobby, grew restless, and fascinated by developing new technologies and formulations The moment her no compete clause expired, she launched Jones Road Beauty, a line so clean, natural and wellness inspired that it’s been both an instant hit and an invigorating kick start for its creator. ‘This line is more me, than anything I have ever done. I love wearing it. I loved women talking about it and embracing it. I’m 67 and I feel worthy because I put myself out there and I don’t feel that people don’t want to hear from me because I’m a certain age. I’m not alone. People are starting to reinvent themselves. Including me. And I think it’s great. “ Hear Bobbi Brown and discover why she’s pretty great, too.btw, Jones Road’s newest product - Just Enough Tinted Moisturizer - is just so damn good