Hoda Kotb Reveals the Biggest Lesson She's Learned Before Turning 60: 'You Can't Live on Other People's Timelines'

Hoda Kotb has learned many valuable life lessons in the past 60 years, but one in particular stands out.

The Today host rang in her birthday on Friday, August 9, but was celebrated by her coworkers on the NBC morning series the following Monday, where she reflected on how her journey has played out.

"Some people, they'll say, 'Oh, everyone around me is married and I'm single, why hasn't it happened for me?' Or, 'Why don't I have that job?' But you can't live on other people's timelines, you have to ride your own ride," she explained in an interview. "In many ways, my life started in my 50s. Bevy Smith always says, 'It gets greater later' — that's what happened for me. And when it did, I was ready for it."

Kotb certainly was, as she adopted her daughters, Haley and Hope, with her former fiancé, Joel Schiffman, after she turned 50. "I said to Robin [Roberts], 'Can you believe I'm going to be a mom in my 50s?' And she said to me back to me, 'That baby is right on time,'" the television personality recalled.

"It's about trusting that life is going to give you want you want when the timing is right," Kotb added of living life on her own terms. "You need to have faith. These blessings are coming your way, you just have to believe you're worthy of them."

During the Monday, August 12, episode of her podcast "Making Space," the mother-of-two opened up about times in her life when she didn't feel like she was going to have the amazing things she has now. "If you would have told me when I was in my 40s that this is the life I would have when I'm turning 60, I wouldn't have believed you," she said.

"I felt grateful for what I had, don't get me wrong, but I sort of felt that that was all there would be; that what I had in life was good enough, and I didn't deserve anything more. And it wasn't until my early 50s that I started to change that," Kotb continued.

The Oklahoma native revealed she kept trying to keep her head up when things didn't go her way. "Sometimes, just looking in the mirror and saying the words 'I want' can open up a whole new set of doors for you," Kotb added. "I remember doing that before I had my girls; I literally looked in the mirror and said, 'I want to be a mom.' And if I didn't have the courage to do that — to visualize it and manifest it and speak it out loud — I don't think I would have opened myself up to it, allowed that love to come in and really grow to believe I was worthy of it."

People conducted the interview with Kotb.