Entrepreneurship

As entrepreneurs, we tend to focus on our wins and greatest successes. But what about our greatest failures? After all, it is these lessons that lead to much of our wisdom.

Some of you are familiar with Dan Buettner and his series of bestsellers, starting with "The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest."

"If you really knew me and my relationship with money, you’d know ___________." Welcome to one of the more intense sessions we do in many of our MEA workshops.

Yesterday, we celebrated a love bubble at The Phoenix hotel (my first hotel created 35 years ago). With more than a hundred MEA alums and friends, it was a lovely reminder of the importance of being part of a community with a shared ethos (and lots of masks with the party being all outdoors).

It’s no coincidence that MEA’s first campus is on the beach and that I’ve written my last three books in homes on the beach. I love water, especially when there aren’t a lot of people around. I also love surfing, even though I haven’t been out for the longest time, along with the fact that I’m not very good.

Chip’s note: Massey offered such a joyous, curious energy during his Sabbatical Session stay at MEA. While this guest post doesn’t necessarily fit the normal Wisdom Well topics, it does offer a window into why we keep seeing names like GameStop and Dogecoin in the news. If you want to understand how the “king of memes,” Elon Musk uses this communication tool to his advantage, read on.

I’m not sure of the exact date yoga went mainstream in the western world, but I know when Yoda went mainstream: 1980. Thanks to his starring role in Star Wars, Master Yoda helped us see the magic of practically applied wisdom. And, of course, Luke Skywalker would never be the same.

We are more reliant than we know on an invisible industry that has been pummeled by the pandemic. They accommodate us, feed us, make us laugh, and feel a sense of connection. But, you’ve never heard of this gigantic industry before. 2020 was a year of cruel ironies for the American “gathering industry.”

As many of you know, we’ve been brainstorming how to create MEA Regenerative Communities, a 21st-century multi-generational alternative to the archaic 20th-century retirement community. Our co-founder Jeff Hamaoui has been pioneering this effort with Baja Sage, not far from our MEA campus, and some of you are planning on buying a home there.

I remember lots of tears that spring. Surprising for a guy who doesn’t cry much. My world was crashing down on me in 2008. As a hotel entrepreneur, we were a canary in the coal mine as we experienced the early punishment of the coming Great Recession.