#26: Can Midlife be Transformative: A Conversation with Chip Conley

With our extended lifespan in the 21st century, midlife can extend from our 30s to our 60s or longer.  What are the challenges and potential transformative experiences that face us, as we navigate that part of life?  Chip Conley describes his forties as a difficult time for him.  He lost five male friends to suicide and faced numerous personal crises.  In this conversation, Chip shares his journey and his discoveries that lead him to co-found MEA, the Modern Elder Academy

Chip disrupted the hospitality industry twice, first as the founder and operator of the second largest boutique hotel system in the U. S. and then as Airbnb’s Head of Global Hospitality and Strategy. At Airbnb he mentored the three founders and became known as the Modern Elder.

Chip Conley is the author of 7 books including his most recent book published January 2024, “Learning to Love Midlife: 12 Reasons Why Life Gets Better with Age” which is about rebranding midlife to help people understand the upside of this often-misunderstood life stage.  His Modern Elder Academy has been called the world’s first midlife wisdom school.  Its regenerative community has mentored students helping them navigate midlife since 2018.  Chip has been featured in a 2023 Ted Talk on “midlife chrysalis” and on “Big Think” video  “How to future-proof your career”.

We would like to thank our sponsor Elders Action Network “Building a movement of elders to address the environmental, governance and social issues of our time”.

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The views, opinions and ideas expressed by our guests during this in any episode are solely their own and do not reflect or represent the positions, beliefs, or policies of any of our podcast sponsors.   Additionally, the content shared by our guests does not necessarily align with or reflect the position or beliefs of the podcast hosts or the production team behind “The Way Forward: Regenerative Conversations”.