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Built for leaders at every level
In a world that constantly pushes for polished perfection, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by life’s messier moments. But what if you didn’t need to fix or avoid them, and instead learned to approach them with compassion and presence? In this expert class, Zen priest Robert Waldinger offers insights into how to embrace life as it is – encouraging deeper connections with others, greater resilience, and less suffering in the process.
When you enter the workforce, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, you usually receive some sort of formal training. But Chip Conley, Founder of the Modern Elder Academy, contends that no one really prepares you for the latter half of your career: the portion that happens after you’re well-established and comfortable in your industry but not ready to walk off into retirement just yet. How do you avoid being seen as obsolete at that point? Conley says the way forward is embracing your role as a wisdom worker in your organization.
Forgetting things means you’re developing Alzheimer’s. Having to write them down makes your mind weaker. Cramming the night before a test is the best way to load the relevant information into your brain. Neuroscientist Lisa Genova says these are all misconceptions about how memory works. But once you understand what actually helps your brain remember facts, procedures, and events, you can take steps to strengthen your recall — and improve your life in the process.
Everywhere we turn — social media, ads, TV — we’re surrounded by polished images of how life should look. Even though we know perfection isn’t real, it can still leave us feeling stuck. “Why even try?” we wonder as we face our messy, imperfect lives. Oliver Burkeman challenges this mindset, urging us to see through the illusion and embrace our limitations. Not just because as finite humans, we have no other choice, but because doing so can unlock freedom and a path toward achieving what matters most. It’s still a productivity approach, just one designed for real, imperfect people.