Chip Conley on The Transforming Power of Wisdom and Mentorship

This week I was excited to welcome Chip Conley to the show for a great conversation about wisdom and the transforming experience of being a “Modern Elder.” Chip is the CEO and Co-Founder of The Modern Elder Academy, the "world’s first wisdom school" dedicated to reframing aging and helping people navigate the second half of adulthood with a renewed sense of purpose and possibility. 

Conley founded and ran the highly successful boutique hotel chain Joie de Vivre for over 20 years before accepting, at age 52, a position as the in-house mentor to Brian Chesky, the youthful co-founder and CEO of Airbnb. At the time, Conley was twice the age of most of the employees at the rapidly-growing company. During his years working there, he discovered how sharing wisdom and swapping ideas with Chesky helped them both to thrive. He honed his own sense of purpose for his second half of life: “To build a community of inspired and empowered midlifers.”

In this chat Chip and I trace his journey and discuss the power of what he calls metabolizing wisdom. We also discuss the need for finding purpose and the fact that people who feel aligned with their sense of purpose tend to live longer, and during those extra years of life they also generally are healthier, feel happier and are less lonely. This is a great conversation for people of all ages and is vital for anyone looking at the second half of adulthood and asking questions about how they can apply their unique skills and life experiences to a more enriching career path or period of mentorship.

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• Make sure to grab Shortcasts from Beyond The To-Do List by Blinkist. A Shortcast is a 7-10 min version of a podcast where you get the core takeaways.