The Elders' RFP (Request for Proposal)

INVESTORS, GET OUT YOUR CHECKBOOKS

"When a complex system is far from equilibrium, small islands of coherence in a sea of chaos have the capacity to shift the entire stream to a higher order." – Ilya Prigogine

The Crisis We're In

Let's not sugarcoat it. Our system is in total chaos. Not mild turbulence—more like the oxygen masks just dropped and nobody's flying the damn plane. You feel it, I feel it, everybody feels it.

Troops in the street. No habeas corpus. Economy in the Twilight Zone. L.A. exploding. Military parades. Thousands of protests. Annexation from the rest of the world. Craziness every day.

What's it worth calming this down?

We're not talking about uncomfortable change. We're talking about existential instability. Fear, uncertainty, a collective "what the hell is going on?" And when the culture starts capsizing, you don't add more noise—you bring in ballast.

Elders are that ballast.

The Solution: Islands of Coherence

Elders are the islands of coherence—stabilizing forces in a culture that's off its rocker. We're developing these islands now. Some have already been built. I've got three in existence.

We've figured out how to organize these groups, qualify the right candidates, and train, develop, and support them from Older to Elder. While Silicon Valley builds tools to distract us faster, Elders offer depth. Their technology is slower, but stronger. It recalibrates how people see time, purpose, community, and mortality.

Elders are living stabilizers. They don't accelerate the noise—they quiet it. They don't break what's broken—they realign it.

The Market Size: An Unstoppable Wave

You want numbers? We've got numbers.

The Demographic Explosion:

• 2022: 58 million Americans aged 65+
• 2030: Over 82 million (a 47% spike)
• By 2050: More people over 65 than under 15

The proportion of the population aged 65+ will increase from 19% today to 23% by 2050. That's well past the "Tipping Point" of 20%—when a phenomenon reaches critical mass for cultural transformation.

The Economic Reality:

• 2022: Americans 65+ held $43.3 trillion in household wealth (nearly one-third of the nation's total)
• For comparison: The entire U.S. economy (GDP) was $26 trillion
• By 2050: Individuals 65+ projected to control more than 70% of U.S. wealth

That's not just retirement money. That's leverage. That's firepower. That's the fuel to light up an economy and cause a cultural renaissance.

Our Target Market: The OMG Opportunity

We applied the 80/20 rule to our formula. Of the 58 million people over 65, at least 12 million (20% of the total) have had professional careers requiring conventional wisdom for their success. Conventional wisdom is a qualifier that allows the leap from Older to Elder—you can't reach higher wisdom without first mastering conventional wisdom.

Applying 80/20 again, this 20% cohort accounts for 80% of the over-65 household wealth: $34.6 trillion.

Consider this: Over 10,000 people turn 65 every day. Technology, AI, and the subtle or overt push by younger generations to make room for themselves creates a vast and continuously expanding market that feels dislocated, unwanted, and obsolete. Their past is gone, and so are their previous identities.

Evidence: Proof of Concept and Purpose

The level of chaos will continue increasing significantly as mortal danger creeps into daily life. Chaos leads to unrest and confusion. Loss of life substantially heightens anxiety, fear, and worry.

The higher the threat, the higher the sense of risk, the more welcoming it becomes to have an Elder present. They evoke equanimity, peace, and perspective that mitigates these unsettling feelings. The feelings don't disappear, but after being with an elder, people deal with them differently.

According to our work to date, we've delivered proof of concept and proof of purpose. We can and do convert Older to Elder.

The Strategy: Elders as Disruptive Technology

So what's the secret sauce? Simple: Elders themselves are the strategy.

"Elder" is not just an advisor or figurehead, but a disruptive existential technology. Not tech like an app, but tech like a force that rewires how people think, act, and relate to circumstances.

Our enterprise, the Contemporary Elder Institute (CEI), is not a one-off. Well-established entities like the Modern Elder Academy, the Center for Conscious Aging, and Age Wave all work in various ways to develop Elders.

Our particular body of work, along with our specific models and processes, has delivered. We transform qualified, late-career professionals into sage, powerful Elders.

We believe our model is scalable—not in a repetitive franchise manner, but through a license model where various licensee groups adapt it to work best for their members. From Buddhist Sanghas to Existential Think Tanks, their members are becoming Elders.

From Passive to Powerful

Elders won't be passive observers in this next chapter. They're not warming seats in life's waiting room. They're moving to the front lines.

This isn't about aging gracefully. It's about aging powerfully. With purpose. With clarity. With the guts to challenge the direction of culture, government, and even the damn algorithms of AI.

Individuals, relationships, groups, businesses, communities, and nations will have a real need and want for what Elders provide.

Bottom Line

This isn't just about getting older. It's about growing wiser—and using that wisdom to reroute a culture in free fall.

Elders are stepping up. Elders are stepping in. They need funding to continue their evolution and transformation.

Because the next big wave will not be youth, not tech, not trends.

It will be the wisdom and presence of Elders—coherent, conscious, and ready to insert sage counsel.

So yes—investors, you really should get out your checkbooks.

If you want to invest in generating a culture that includes Elders at the tables where decisions are made, where values, ethics, wisdom, and compassion are strongly present, let me know.

Board positions are open for late-aged investors. Ask your Equity Partners, representing their investors, if it's worth knowing how to grow old as an

Elder, so that late life becomes a good life. As Elders, they would have the wisdom and power to become effective healers in and of the world.

Go ahead. Ask them where they'd like to put their money.

We are asking for $2.35 million.

You can respond to this RFP through LinkedIn, or Substack.