Chip Conley

Am I an elder or elderly? This recent Wall Street Journal article amplified this question as the age of 60 became a new line of demarcation as high risk for COVID-19. I’m supposed to be thinking of Social Security at this age, but I’m feeling some serious Social Insecurity!

Welcome to April, a month when the COVID-19 virus is expected to overwhelm the United States and many other places. Yes, this year has felt like one big April Fool’s hoax, but maybe we’re just building a social muscle that has been atrophying during the past couple decades.

Entrepreneurs and their employees are the lifeblood of the American economy. Small businesses create almost two-thirds of new jobs and represent the majority of existing jobs in the U.S. I feel a deep sense of empathy for the sleepless nights so many entrepreneurs are going through right now.

I miss hugs. You probably do too. Hugs get you high. In fact, I’m now ending all my emails with a “Huge Digital Hug.” Of course, it’s not the same. Still, studies show that hugs are good for our physical and mental health.

Does a breakthrough require a breakdown? Money no longer changes hands. Hands no longer touch other hands. Yet, hearts continue to connect as the kindling of this crisis has us staring face to face with life’s big questions and mysteries.

You’re probably familiar with Outward Bound, the wilderness leadership program that helps young people and adults gain self-awareness and confidence while appreciating nature in a new way. The first course in the U.S. was run in 1961 for the Peace Corps, an organization that Outward Bound helped to shape.

When you hear the word “Mastery,” what comes to mind? For me, it’s the warriors at the Jedi Academy, learning how to recognize and harness the force within them. I also think of opera singers, concert violinists, and Ph.D. candidates.

Author Bill Bishop has suggested, “It used to be that people were born as part of a community, and had to find their place as individuals. Now people are born as individuals, and have to find their community.”

I write books to make sense of my life. Ten years ago, when I was going through my most challenging era, I realized I wasn’t very fluent in my emotions. In the hospital, after having gone flatline that day, I was reading Viktor Frankl’s landmark book, “Man’s Search for Meaning,” which was conveniently with me on this trip (I’d gone flatline on stage after giving a speech in St. Louis).

Is it true that as we age, we develop a smarter heart and a more passionate brain? There is growing social science research that suggests our EQ may increase with age and lead to higher levels of subjective well-being in midlife and later. Science aside, I couldn’t agree more.