EQ

A big thank you to MEA beta alum Liz Gebhardt who turned us onto cyberlibertarian John Perry Barlow’s principles for being the adult in the room.

What if you were to imagine your life as a Hero’s Journey? This could be due to a change of career or where you live, a divorce and starting to date for the first time in 30 years, going back to get a masters in midlife, or exploring a new spiritual path.

In the buzzy world of social media, reputation matters. A lot! Your personal or company reputation shows up before you do, as the cosmic bellhop delivers it to others by way of Facebook, Instagram, or Linkedin (Twitter is still up in the air).

As we age, many of us become more discerning. We believe our metabolized experience has built an unfailing intuition that serves as a wise editor.

Before passing, David Bowie suggested, “Aging is an extraordinary process whereby you become the person you always should have been.” I would offer a corollary to that. Aging invites you into an intimate relationship with yourself such that you know who you are and what you want.

Midlife is when time becomes more scarce than money. Money can return. Time can’t.

You know that moment when you see someone you haven't seen in 30-40 years, and you can't place their name? It's okay if you're at a reunion because at least you have name tags.

One of our MEA alums, Liz Gebhardt, is in a class at UC Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center, which was started by MEA guest faculty member Dacher Keltner. Dacher describes an experiment he and his colleagues did:

UC Berkeley psychologist Robert Levenson is one of many academics who has demonstrated that while IQ stays relatively stable during one's adulthood, EQ rises with time.

In the spring of 2021, Molly and I enjoyed a three-week Sabbatical Session on the MEA campus in Baja along with our golden retriever. All three of us, including Jack, were fundamentally changed by the experience.