Marlo Thomas: 'I Didn't Listen to My Husband for 10 Years'

Actress, producer, and activist Marlo Thomas has won four Emmy Awards, a Peabody Award, a Golden Globe, and a Grammy over her storied career. She's also been happily married to talk show host Phil Donahue for nearly 35 years.

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What's the secret to the couple's long and happy marriage? "Aside from loving each other and having a good chemistry is listening to each other," Marlo says. "I really don't think I listened to Phil for several years. … I was too busy advising him." One day, 10 years into their marriage, Phil said, "Could you just nod? I don't really want any advice, I just want to talk about it." Marlo says the lesson about the importance of listening has since helped her with all of her relationships.

The "Free to Be… You & Me" creator's most recent project is her new book, "It Ain't Over … Till It's Over: Reinventing Your Life — and Realizing Your Dreams — Anytime, at Any Age," which features 60 examples of women throughout the country who have reinvented themselves in some way. "You really do learn by example," Marlo says. "Especially women, sometimes we think somebody's going to rescue us, or somebody's going to teach us how to do it, when in fact we have to understand that the biggest resource we have is inside of ourselves. I know that I can count on me to take care of me. That's a very important thing to know."

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Marlo says small steps can help people make big changes to achieve what they really desire. "That wish isn't going to go anywhere unless you do something about it," she says. "Every day, just do one thing. … At the end of six months, you'll be somewhere."

To find out which veteran journalist Marlo called "a Neanderthal," check out this episode of "Daily Shot."