Chip Conley

Peter Thiel, Sergey Brin, Larry Ellison, Aubrey de Grey, and Peter Diamandis. They’re all obsessed with length. Oh, how men love comparing metrics. And it started early in life, most likely in the group shower after gym class.

Ken Dychtwald’s AgeWave puts out some of the most insightful studies on retirement. Their most recent study, "The Four Pillars of the New Retirement: What a Difference a Year Makes," explores how the pandemic has affected many older Americans’ perspectives on health and financial security.

For the few of us who watched the Academy Awards this spring, you get a sense that this show isn’t made for those under 50 years old. Try as they might, the Oscar producers haven’t attracted the pre-50 crowd. And, AARP knows this as they debuted an ad targeting the GenX market featuring a middle-aged skateboarder representing the Nirvana generation.

According to the Mayan tradition, the universe is a unified force where everything is related—you, me, animals, plants, minerals, everything. As the Mayans put it, "I am the other you. You are the other me." In other words, we belong to each other.

I’m proud to be a Board member of Encore.org that has sprouted so many innovations for those of us over 50— from The Purpose Prize to Experience Corps to the Encore Fellows program. Three senior leaders from the org recently penned this essay on why non-profits are such ripe territory for the wisdom of experienced leaders looking for a second or third act.

One of the things I love about MEA is our spirited debates during meals overlooking the ocean. A few weeks ago, one of our Sabbatical Sessions guests told us that her daughter cautioned her, "Your age defines you, Mom!" Our guest responded with, "My stage in life might define me, but my age doesn’t."

The premise for today’s quick post comes from Dr. Mark Goulston (whose guest blog post will appear tomorrow). I love the title of this post, so don’t be surprised if this becomes an MEA workshop in the not-too-distant future.

Many of you are familiar with recent social science research that has shown a U-curve of happiness in which adult life satisfaction supposedly dips to its nadir around age 47.2 (your mileage may vary). The forties have been a historically treacherous and ultimately triumphant decade when mid-lifers feel a declining sense of happiness, only to start improving in the latter part of that decade.

Much has been written about the needs of the evolving workplace, with specialists in decline and generalists on the rise. David Epstein’s superb book "Range" captures this new perspective on leadership. However, it is a new study that has recently been getting some traction amongst HR executives.

My co-founders, Christine and Jeff, and I frequently get asked this question when people make the MEA pilgrimage to our coastal “calle sin nombre” at the end of a bumpy, dusty road. The terrain often makes them a little suspicious.