Peter Thiel and I praise the pursuit of what Jim Collins and Jerry Porras called “BHAGs” (big, hairy, audacious goals). One such BHAG would be to make lives of 120 years common.
“The Hebrew blessing on a birthday is that you should live to 120 (Moses’ age when he died in good shape with all of his marbles)” (Weiss 2026, A13). Jeanne Calment lived to 122, providing proof-of-concept that a life of 120 years is possible.
Longer lives would allow us to pursue more ambitious projects, and would give us more second and third chances when our first projects fail. The pursuit of ambitious goals is one path to a meaningful, fulfilling life. One such goal is to add many years to each of our lives.
The source of the Weiss quote is:
Lou Weiss. “When Your Friends All Turn 70.” The Wall Street Journal (Fri., July 10, 2026): A13.
(Note: the online version of the Weiss commentary has the date July 9, 2026, and has the same title as the print version.”)
The publications that I refer to in my first sentence are:
Collins, James C., and Jerry I. Porras. 1994. Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies. HarperBusiness.
Diamond, Arthur M., Jr. 2019. Openness to Creative Destruction: Sustaining Innovative Dynamism. Oxford University Press.
Thiel, Peter, and Blake Masters. 2014. Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future. Crown Business.