Chip Conley

Carl Honoré is well-known for tackling both the cult of speed and the cult of youth in his TED talks and his bestselling books, published in 35 languages. He’s a few years younger than me, but he’s quickly becoming my mentor as I’m intuiting our synapses fire together.

Everyone deserves a makeover from time to time. Thanks to IDEO vet and MEA alum Jenn Maer’s leadership, the Modern Elder Academy has a spankin’ brand new website, logo, and brand identity.

My late teen utopism didn’t lead me to Marx. I read Rand. Atlas Shrugged, The Fountainhead, and other libertarian manifestos that fed my belief that rugged individualism made the world a better place.

Remember the Canadian rock band, BTO: Bachman-Turner Overdrive? Okay, I know I’m dating myself, not to mention revealing my unsophisticated high school music taste.

I live on a “calle sin nombre” (a street with no name) in a town with no cul de sacs. But, our rural, beachfront ‘hood and MEA program welcomes mid-lifers who are often stuck in a “career cul de sac.” It’s joyous when our “compadres” (students) get to mix with our vecinos (neighbors).

This is a question that MEA mastery faculty member Dr. Bill Thomas asked on the cover of his popular book from 2004 (subtitle: “How Elders Save the World”). When I read his book, it was the first time I’d seen the African proverb: “When an elder dies, it’s like a library burns down.”

Have you ever been asked, “What three people—historical or present—would you invite to your ideal dinner party?” Well, it probably says a lot about my desperate need for a therapist that my top three would be psychologists: Abe Maslow, Viktor Frankl, and Carl Jung.

Krista Tippett’s podcast “On Being” is one of my top three listening pleasures when I shuffle down our three-mile beach here in El Pescadero with my AirPods on and Jamie frolicking in the waves beside me.

This is the second part of my interview with Elizabeth White, author of “55, Unemployed and Faking Normal: Your Guide to a Better Life”. If you missed the first part of the interview (posted yesterday), click here.

Chip: When I was writing “Wisdom@Work,” I had the good fortune of getting to know Elizabeth White, whose TED Talk from 2017 floored me. Then, I read her book entitled “55, Underemployed and Faking Normal: Your Guide to a Better Life” and I fell in love with her.