Chip Conley

Long before ICE T popularized the “Original Gangster,” the world was blessed with another OG: Old-Growth forests. MEA alum Douglas Tsoi sent me this bumper sticker from Portland, heralding the verdant green regions that populate his state.

Chip: We’re going off-script today with a Q&A with one of the most fascinating documentary filmmakers in the world. Yes, he’s written books but the visual feast of his films is what we’re going to discuss today.

Time and turbulence are natural teachers. Church-going folk are now drawn to their preachers. Nature is my balm for sublime uncertainty. The ocean, my habitat for divine convergency.

Our emotions are contagious. The fact is, the more senior we are in an organization, the more infectious we become. Today’s post is dedicated to a brief review of five leadership qualities that will serve you and your tribe—helping you spread positive energy (and productivity) throughout your entire organization.

Did the boutique hotel industry lose its way, and, if so, when did this happen? This question scampered around my mind recently when I was on a Zoom call with a Millennial friend and his Gen-Z girlfriend. We lamented the lack of travel these days, and I asked them if they had any favorite boutique hotels.

This spring, author Scott Barry Kaufman launched his ninth book, Transcend: The New Science of Self-Actualization (not bad for someone 41 years old, right?!). Since Scott is one of the world’s leading authorities on the subject of intelligence, we’ll explore the difference between intelligence and wisdom.

I’m convinced that we start putting our armor on around adolescence as a means of coping with what we perceive to be a complex and dangerous world. By the time we arrive at “middlescence,” solidly in midlife, maybe it’s time we start disrobing from that armor?

Thanks to MEA alum Pat Whitty for the title of this post, which he sent me after he watched my YouTube video staring into my bathroom mirror. Aging is an artform, a courageous act in public.

I've been a friend and fan of author Simon Sinek for a dozen years and appreciate that we recently had the opportunity to muse on midlife as he's now 46. In this video, we explore a whole bunch of questions including:

I have a naughty relationship with knots. Even though I was on my way to becoming an Eagle Scout in my early teens, I couldn’t tie a knot to save my life. I was especially bad at tying knots to hold up my bathing suit, so often, upon jumping in the swimming pool, my suit would be hanging around my ankles, and I’d be in “Full Monty” glory for family pictures.