Chip Conley

In the era of Coronavirus, this post may seem ill-timed, but I wrote it a couple months ago and I do deeply believe that travel is the secret to a long life. It also takes courage to travel. One of my favorite travel writers Paul Theroux agrees as he outlines in this BBC piece about his sojourn through Mexico.

I recently had a hilarious lunch with a new friend in Austin, Tuck Kamin, who wrote the book, “DYA: Design Your Age.” In a chapter called “Laughing Your Age Off,” he cites a variety of comedians who lived to ripe old ages:

It’s been said life is like a sandwich—the more you add to it, the better it becomes. But that was before the Sandwich Generation came along, a cohort of overextended midlifers who would prefer less, not more.

Many of you resonated with my post yesterday about legacy, entitled “I Am What Survives Me.” I thought I would follow up with Susan Orlean’s masterful “The Library Book,” which offers this exquisite rumination on the subject of legacy. Enjoy.

Developmental psychologist Erik Erikson offered the five questions below to help define one’s legacy. He wrote about “generativity” as being an adult’s concern for and commitment to promoting the well-being of future generations.

An MEA alum was trying to apply my two types of mentorship theory to a young, high-po (“potential”) leader, but was frustrated. The alum said to me, “Can you really teach emotional intelligence to someone who doesn’t care about EQ?”

More than 35 years ago, Guy Kawasaki popularized the word evangelist in marketing Apple’s Macintosh as an "Apple evangelist," and he became one of the world’s best known marketers. He’s a bestselling author of 15 books, a venture capitalist, and, most important to me, someone learning to surf around age 60.

Just when I got comfortable in my skin, it started to sag. But that’s okay. I take life less seriously today than I did ten years ago. The Latin root of the word “serious” means weighty and grave. But even though my weight is 15 pounds heavier than it was in 2010, and I’m closer to my grave, I don’t feel more serious.

Have you lost anyone to suicide? During the Great Recession, I lost five friends - all men 42 to 52 - during a two and a half year period when I was feeling cursed myself.

Ever meet someone who was exceptionally brilliant on one subject, but clueless when it came to the rest of life? Yes, I’ve met my share in Silicon Valley. On the other hand, have you ever met someone who was a sage on one subject, but otherwise lost? Probably not so much.