THE TIME OF OUR LIVES

AN INTERVIEW WITH CHIP CONLEY

- STEPHEN KIESLING

The Modern Elder Academy is where people learn to embrace their age, their gifts, their wisdom.

MEA's workshop cohorts offer a powerful sense of connection-a "collective effervescence" that's growing into a new kind of worldwide web, led by a man who has lived some hugely successful corporate mantras for happiness and inclusion:

Joie de Vivre's "Create joy!"

Airbnb's "Belong Anywhere!"

MEA's "Minting elders who are curious, wise, playful, audacious, and generous."

THIS NEW PATH IS NOT TOWARD RETIREMENT, BUT RENEWAL.

Having spent a week at your Modern Elder Academy in Baja, it struck me that a big step to becoming a modern elder happens when we stop resisting who we are and come out and embrace it. That’s when the fun begins. And that got me thinking about two of my best friends from high school and college who are gay. They were in considerable discomfort for years because they were closeted. But there was a point when they came out—and then a point where I got jealous because they were having more fun than I was. I’m wondering how this analogy works for you? Coming out—and coming out as a modern elder.

Good question. I think there’s something to your analogy in the sense that there’s a taboo, obviously, in society around being gay. There’s also a taboo around being middle-aged or being in midlife. No one’s ever brought this up to me before, but it may be part of the reason I’m so attracted to midlife. It’s something that has a besmirched reputation that limits life or is painful for a lot of people—but it’s the best time of my life.