The Covid-19 pandemic has (amongst other things) given us all a lot of time to reflect on what we want from life and how we want to resume it when this storm passes. This is especially so for the more than 8 million Australians over 50, for whom the health risks of Covid-19 have been disproportionately higher, which is why the arrival to Australia of the Modern Elder Academy (MEA), the world\u2019s first midlife wisdom school, is particularly timely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
MEA offers courses, both online and in person that help people to navigate midlife transitions, find purpose and reframe their mindset on ageing. It\u2019s a bit like a midlife pit-stop, because as MEA founder Chip Conley (pictured above) says, \u201clife is no longer a one-tank journey.\u201d Society is still referencing an out-of-date roadmap that ends around midlife, because one hundred years ago, that was as long as we were reasonably expected to live. Today, at age 50 we are statistically only half way through our adult lives and yet we are still holding on to (and being held back by) the antiquated belief that the best is behind us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Until now, MEA residential workshops were only available in North America, but thanks to a team of enthusiastic Australian alumni, they are coming down under. Set to launch in September 2021, MEAx has been created in the spirit of MEA\u2019s mission to inspire and empower people in midlife and beyond. They will be running in-person workshops in the Blue Mountains in February 2022 (assuming Covid restrictions permit) as well as an 8-week online course commencing on 3 October 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
MEAx courses provide participants with tools to navigate midlife, so they are better equipped to flourish during the second half of their lives. Local writer Ang Galloway, who is part of the team bringing MEAx to Australia was drawn to the concept because, \u201cI want more from the second half of life than the societal script I inherited. I knew I wasn\u2019t in the market for sensible, beige or elasticised anything and yet the image of ageing that society reflected back at me was at total odds with how I felt. MEA helped me to reframe midlife from a crisis to a calling.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
MEA attracts people of all ages and stages, from midlife and beyond. Melbourne-based consultant Dr Tom Verghese, another MEA alumni, says \u201cI\u2019ve been thinking about conscious ageing since I turned 60. MEA supported my intention to heighten my awareness of transitioning through the stages of life and doing so in a positive and active manner.\u201d Another graduate, Sydney business owner Emily Wheldon says, \u201cMEA gave me the confidence to start a new business, to become an entrepreneur, in midlife. In fact, I\u2019ve reset more than my career since my MEA Baja experience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
MEA is the brainchild of New York Times best-selling author and hospitality maverick Chip Conley. Having founded the second largest chain of boutique hotels in the USA at just 26 and then selling it at 50, Conley repurposed his skills and joined Airbnb\u2019s young founders to help guide their promising start-up, disrupting the hospitality industry to create the world\u2019s most valuable hospitality brand. This intergenerational, mutual mentoring at Airbnb provided the inspiration for Conley\u2019s book Wisdom@Work, The Making of a Modern Elder, which in turn, became the inspiration for founding the Modern Elder Academy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Conley explains, \u201cThere\u2019s a whole culture out there telling us that getting older means becoming less relevant. But MEA deems that wisdom and experience have never been more important in the workplace\u2026or in the world.\u201d He adds, \u201cAt MEA we believe in making ageing aspirational. It\u2019s about creating a life that is as deep and meaningful as it is long.\u201d The first MEA campus opened in the Baja Peninsula Mexico in 2018. Since then, 1,500 people from 25 countries, with an average age of 54, have undertaken MEA\u2019s range of programmes in Baja
and online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The MEAx Pilot in Australia will test the demand for a midlife wisdom school catering for Australia\u2019s growing older population, many of whom are questioning the traditional retire-at-65 model and seeking to stay engaged beyond this age. According to new findings by the Australian Research Council issued last month, by 2050 it\u2019s expected that over 55s will make up about 40 per cent of the adult population. It is this growing older population, together with the reality of age discrimination, that makes MEAx\u2019s proposition so valuable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
MEAx is launching with an 8-week online Navigating Midlife Transitions course commencing on 3rd of October, and in-person workshops in February 2022. The Big Reset is a 3-day residential workshop aimed at those feeling not only stuck, but also curious about what it takes to be a modern elder. Flourish in Midlife and Beyond is a 6-day residential workshop for those who are reflecting on what they\u2019ve learned during the Covid pandemic and how to apply these lessons to flourish during their next stage. The residential workshops will be conducted at Dantosa Blue Mountains Retreat. More information and specific workshop dates are available at www.meax.com.au<\/p>\n\n\n\n
MEAx\u00a0will be conducting free (1 hour) online information sessions, commencing on 1st of September 2021. You can book your spot at a MEAx Connex\u00a0 at
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