Cultivating Purpose with guest faculty Edward Sullivan

What Now? Finding Passion and Purpose After an Entrepreneurial Exit

Feb 3 - Feb 8, 2025 in Santa Fe, USA
Led by: Edward Sullivan, Chip Conley, Darby Rose

Where do you find meaning and excitement when you've achieved all that you wanted to achieve?

You’ve done the thing that no one thought you could do.

Your goals were outlandishly huge – and you still managed to exceed them far beyond anyone’s expectations.

Now you’ve sold that company or exited that organization and handed the reins over to someone else.

And you’re looking at the blank canvas of the rest of your life, with all the money you could ever want and an infinite number of options available to you – and all you can think is, “What now?”

You’re yearning for something new – something to feed your craving to take on audacious challenges and bring something new into that world.

But does your next “big thing” mean going back to the beginning and building something similar to your last venture?

Or are you ready to challenge yourself in a completely new way and find your fulfillment in something unexpected?

In this Cultivating Purpose workshop co-facilitated by Chip Conley and Velocity Group CEO Edward Sullivan, you will explore your options, gain powerful clarity into what you want your next big thing to look like, and identify your steps toward a legacy that excites and fulfills you.

What you’ll gain

Through a combination of our Cultivating Purpose curriculum and Edward’s experiential activities and elite-level coaching, you will:

  • Clarify what you loved about your last big thing and explore different ways to feel alive in the same way while finding more joy and satisfaction in all areas of life
  • Explore what getting off the “hamster wheel of achievement” looks like for you – and where you can find fulfillment beyond achievement
  • Use first-principles thinking to explore what excites you and narrow your option set to a manageable number that are aligned with your values and desires
  • Free yourself from the cage of expectations and beliefs that may be holding you back from pursuing options that will fulfill you and make you happy
  • Explore your “second mountain” – the summit you climb after you’ve achieved success and are searching for greater connection to purpose and community
  • Gain powerful clarity into what your next steps will be to continue moving forward into your new chapter with a clear plan of action and goals that excite you

You will leave energized, clear, and motivated to pursue your vision and create a life that brings you joy and fulfillment – whether that’s embarking on another quest to achieve the impossible or taking the time to appreciate what you have and rooting down into your relationships and community.

Meet your faculty

Edward Sullivan

CEO of Velocity Coaching

Speaker | Author | Investor | Executive Coach | Political Consultant

Edward Sullivan’s twenty-five year career as an executive coach and political consultant has taken him around the globe coaching and advising start-up founders, Fortune 500 CEOs, and heads of state of foreign nations. His work has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Harvard Business Review, Forbes, Fast Company, INC., USA Today and more. He holds an MBA from the Wharton School and an MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School.

Edward’s clients include CEOs and executives from companies such as Apple, Google, Geico, Salesforce, DoorDash, Informatica, Mammoth Biosciences, AirTable, and more. Together with fellow veteran executive coach John Baird, he authored the Wall Street Journal bestseller, Leading with Heart: Five Conversations that Unlock Creativity, Purpose and Results.

He works mostly with technology leaders, CEOs, and company founders – many of whom who have experienced great success in their careers are looking for insight and support as they answer the question, “what’s next?” and clarify the kind of life and future they want to create. 

Chip Conley

MEA Co-Founder and Author of Learning to Love Midlife: 12 Reasons Why Life Gets Better with Age

Bestselling Author | Entrepreneur | Innovator | Disruptor | Speaker

A three-time TED speaker on the big stage, Chip Conley is one of the world's leading experts at the intersection of business innovation, psychology and spirituality.

As one of the creators of the boutique hotel movement and the "modern elder" to the young Airbnb founders, Chip's been a disruptor and expert on entrepreneurship and business leadership. He’s a globally-recognized thought leader on the future of work and the competitive advantages of a multi-generational workplace.

Inspired by his experience of intergenerational mentoring as a “modern elder” at Airbnb – where his guidance was instrumental to the company’s extraordinary success – Chip founded MEA and has since dedicated his midlife years to reframing the concept of aging and helping people navigate midlife with a renewed sense of purpose and possibility.

This workshop is for you if...

You have recently exited or sold a business and are wondering what’s next

You have an overwhelming number of options available to you and aren’t sure where to start 

You have a public persona to manage that can sometimes feel limiting or constricting

You’re wondering if there are different paths you can follow to experience even higher levels of fulfillment

You want to flex your creative muscle and build something new but don’t know what that looks like

You’re ready to create a vision for your future that’s based on your most passionate values and desires

Do this powerful work on our beautiful regenerative ranch in Santa Fe

Santa Fe, USA

Rising Circle Ranch

An upscale regenerative ranch featuring traditional Pueblo architecture and spanning nearly 2,600 acres of wildlife, hiking trails in the arroyo, with ancient petroglyphs, and awe-inspiring beauty. Close to historic Santa Fe, an artisan’s mecca.

  • Big-sky desert country
  • Breathtaking nature
  • Interaction with horses and donkeys
  • Evenings around the campfire
  • Star-gazing

Meet your MEA facilitators

In addition to the powerful sessions conducted by Edward and Chip, you will be guided through the core MEA Cultivating Purpose curriculum by our faculty members:

Darby Rose

Experience Facilitator

Darby Rose is a multidisciplinary artist, arts administrator, cook, actor and animal lover, currently living in Santa Fe, NM. Born into a family of travelers in Austin, TX, she’s lived more places than she can count — all over Texas, Boston, Jackson WY, Baltimore and Los Angeles, to name a few; and outside the US in Peru and Italy. After a long stint in Marfa, TX, the vast, mountainous horizons and monsoons of New Mexico captured her. This travelers life has built in Darby a deep curiosity and compassion for others, and a gratitude for the beautiful complexities of the human condition, with its myriad expressions of love, humor, struggle and strength.

How do you feel hungry when you’re full?

When you have everything you could possibly need, how do you find the drive and motivation to embark on something new? By setting your sights beyond mere achievement and dopamine hits and pursuing goals that excite you and make you feel like your life has meaning and that you’re making a real impact in the world.

It’s time to discover how to find the meaning, purpose, and excitement you long for in the next exciting chapter of your life

People come for the workshops,
but they stay for the community

This is truly MEA’s “secret sauce” and something you can only experience in person: the powerful connections you will make, not only with your fellow participants and the incredible MEA faculty, but also the deeper sense of connection you will feel to your own inner self and the natural world around you.

Research into aging shows that your relationships play a HUGE role in your health and wellbeing later in life. At MEA, you will make deep and lasting connections and become part of a larger community that will make your life richer and more meaningful.

Many of our alumni cohorts have stayed in close touch for years after their workshop and we have a growing number of local alumni chapters all over the world. It’s a joy for us to see them continuing to offer each other community, friendship, and support as they create thriving midlives for themselves. So if you have been feeling at all disconnected or isolated on your journey, we would love to have you join us!

Have we mentioned the food?

The MEA experience is designed in part by Chip Conley, a world-renowned boutique hotelier, which means the food is amazing.

All of the ingredients are locally sourced, organic, and made from scratch in our kitchens by hand-picked chefs. The delicious breakfasts, lunches and dinners will leave you feeling nourished inside and out – not to mention the blended drinks made with fresh fruit and other top-shelf ingredients. 


Each retreat center has multiple kitchens that always have snacks and beverages available. At MEA, we believe that thriving is delicious!

Your Workshop Includes

  • 5 days and nights of lodging at our boutique luxury retreat center in Baja or Santa Fe with all of your meals, snacks, drinks and other amenities included
  • Daily sessions and experiential activities to help you connect with your inner self, envision your desired experience, and release what no longer serves you
  • Meditation covering a range of practices to soothe your nervous system and help you cultivate greater mindfulness and presence in the moment.
  • Movement to get the energy flowing and build your strength and agility as you chart your course forward to the life you want to live.
  • Incredible bonding experiences with the most amazing humans you’ll ever meet.
  • Three delicious, chef-prepared meals plus snacks throughout the day prepared from scratch with the freshest local ingredients.
  • Festive gatherings to cultivate connection and celebrate the joy and beauty of life.

Tuition starts at $5,000

Ready to start your journey?

What Now? Finding Passion and Purpose After an Entrepreneurial Exit

Feb 3 - Feb 8, 2025 in Santa Fe, USA
Led by: Edward Sullivan, Chip Conley, Darby Rose

Step into your next chapter with confidence and ease, knowing that every detail of your experience is being taken care of by our world-class faculty and hospitality team.

Starting at

$5,000 per person

Still deciding or have questions?
Connect with our helpful team of Advisors

Our Advisors are all MEA alumni who can offer genuine insights into our programs. They’re passionate about helping you finding the right fit to make your next chapter the best one.

Daniel Booz

Dana Anton

Lucas Erie