Gail Rudnick tells late bloomers not to wait for perfect conditions
The “Excuse My Grandma” co-host says fear of failure should not stop people from starting relationships or new careers.
By Theo Nakamura · Staff Writer
· 2 min read
Gail Rudnick’s advice for late bloomers is to start before every condition feels settled. The 84-year-old co-host of the podcast “Excuse My Grandma” told CNBC Make It that people who feel behind on relationships, careers or other milestones should not require perfection before taking a first step.
For readers used to measuring progress against a checklist, Rudnick’s point is less about reaching a prescribed deadline than about resisting paralysis. “It doesn’t all have to be perfect” to begin, she told CNBC Make It.
What is Gail Rudnick’s advice for late bloomers?
Rudnick’s guidance has three parts: allow room for an imperfect start, view failure as something a person can recover from, and recognize that a change in direction does not have an age limit. Speaking to CNBC Make It, she said people who fail can get back up and try again.
Her own career change is the example behind that view. Rudnick said she began working in podcasting at age 79 in 2021, alongside her granddaughter, Kim Murstein. The pair host “Excuse My Grandma,” where they discuss dating, work, family and other subjects from their respective generations’ perspectives.
Rudnick sees more choice, and more hesitation
Rudnick said she welcomes the greater freedom young adults have to focus on school and their early careers before marriage and children. She contrasted that with her own experience, when she said engagement, marriage and parenthood were widely expected to follow quickly.
She also expressed concern that fear of commitment or failure may cause some people to postpone serious relationships. That is her perspective, rather than a claim that every delayed relationship reflects fear.
Rudnick said she would like to see people make room for relationships while also pursuing professional and financial goals, even when a relationship may not last. She described “togetherness,” including connections with partners, relatives and friends, as central to her own view of happiness.
Why her message goes beyond dating
The advice applies to a career switch as much as a relationship milestone. Rudnick’s account of entering podcasting in her late 70s does not erase the financial or personal constraints people may face. It does offer a concrete example of her broader argument: a missed earlier opportunity does not prevent someone from trying something new later.
CNBC Make It reported that some young adults now treat marriage as a capstone, meaning a milestone to pursue after other goals, rather than a cornerstone that comes first. Rudnick’s message does not reject those priorities. Her case is that waiting for certainty can become a reason not to begin at all.
This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.
