“Rebranding” Midlife with Chip Conley

On today’s Real Personal Branding podcast, Lauren interviews Chip Conley about rebranding midlife and his new book, Learning to Love Midlife. After disrupting the hospitality industry twice, Chip co-founded MEA (Modern Elder Academy) in January 2018 in Baja California, Mexico. MEA is the world's first “midlife wisdom school,” with a campus opening on a 2,600-acre regenerative horse ranch in Santa Fe, New Mexico in April 2024. Dedicated to reframing aging, MEA supports students to navigate midlife with a renewed sense of purpose and possibility. A New York Times bestselling author, Chip’s seventh book, Learning to Love Midlife: 12 Reasons Why Life Gets Better with Age, is about rebranding midlife to help people understand the upside of this often-misunderstood life stage. Chip also gave a 2023 TED talk on the “midlife chrysalis.” Lauren and Chip begin their conversation by discussing the shift from seeing midlife as a crisis to a chrysalis of personal growth. He reflects on selling his business and joining Airbnb, gaining a new perspective on life's later stages. Chip found research showing happiness increases with age due to the growth of emotional skills like self-awareness and resilience. Chip points out that cultivating curiosity is vital to staying engaged through life. He notes nurturing relationships and community are critical for health and well-being as people age. Chip shares tips, including practicing friendship like a muscle and finding shared interests. Chip and Lauren stress how intergenerational collaboration benefits people of all generations. Finally, Chip busts myths about older workers being unwilling to learn. He shares how he became an AI expert in his mid-60s. Aging can be inspiring, and Chip Conley is passionate about embracing curiosity and nurturing relationships to make the later stages of life fulfilling through personal growth and creating a positive legacy. Connect with Lauren V. Davis here: https://linktr.ee/ldaviscreative Connect with Chip Conley here: https://chipconley.com https://www.meawisdom.com/ https://www.facebook.com/modernelderacademy https://www.instagram.com/meawisdom https://www.linkedin.com/school/modernelderacademy https://www.instagram.com/chipconley https://www.linkedin.com/in/chipconleysf