Benefits

Top 10 Reasons to Try Experteering
Monday, February 22nd, 2016

When you look back on your life will you regale your friends and grandchildren with “that month you were slightly more productive at your corporate job”…or that time you “helped a Brazilian non-profit save a virgin rainforest from a logging company”?

Are you an engineer, lawyer, graphical designer, or IT professional thinking about taking a Career Break? Now you can finally volunteer in your area of expertise around the world!  Experteering allows you to make the most of your career skills by volunteering for causes that matter to you, while exploring exotic places in ways most travelers could only dream.

Enter our Experteering Contest
Enter our Experteering Contest
Use your professional skills on your career break! Sign up to win a MovingWorlds.org membership in partnership with Meet Plan Go, and Experteer around the world for FREE. Make your career break count.

Here are ten of the many reasons you should seriously consider Experteering for your next adventure.

1. Travel the world

experteering volunteering

See Experteering Opportunities around the world.

Finding a project in one of your bucket list countries will allow you to combine two of the best experiences: travel and making a difference in the world. Experteering gives you the reason and road to get the places you’ve dreamt of exploring.

2. No donation required

While volunteer opportunities like building a house or volunteering at an orphanage can cost anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars, Experteering rarely costs any money at all, and some even provide travel stipends. MovingWorlds’ organizations desire your skills and passion much more than your money and connects you to immersive local experiences in exchange for your skills.

3. You will make lasting change

No matter what your skill set, from accounting to graphic design to finance to copywriting to social media to engineering to blogging, you can help make an organization stronger than you found it. MovingWorlds has a multi-pronged approach to help you make the most of your Experteering opportunity, and removes any unnecessary stress from the process.

4. Cultural immersion

experteering volunteering

Integrate with the local community! Photo by MovingWorlds.org

Unlike a traditional vacation or even a backpacking trip, you will be fully immersed in your destination. You will get to know your local grocer, barista, bus driver, and co-workers and undoubtedly be welcomed into the community. It’s the fast track to truly “live like a local!”

5. Build your resume

Anyone who has been on a job interview in the last 10 years knows that it’s all about differentiating yourself from the other candidates. Come to the table with a unique and memorable story…and what better story than your experience Experteering half-way around the world, making a positive change while honing your various skills.

6. Make wonderful friends

Experteering and volunteering are naturally self selecting, so you will be interacting with like-minded folks who love travel, altruism, and thinking outside of the traditional social confines.

7. Change things up at work/life

Sometimes a little stir of the pot will bring out a bunch of new flavors, and life is no different. If you are going to work thinking “what am I really achieving here, am I making anyone’s life better selling more X, Y or Z?” then maybe it’s time to try something fresh and fulfilling.

8. The gift that keeps on giving

experteering volunteering

Work with business peers in other countries. Photo by MovingWorlds.org

When you realize that your skills can make a supremely positive change on an organization, and you get to explore a fascinating region of the world, you will want to repeat the experience. The good news is MovingWorlds allows you to sign up for unlimited future projects, without any extra admin fees.

9. Learn a language

You will have the opportunity to practice the region’s language as much or as little as you wish, and undoubtedly come away with improved communication skills.

10. Life is short. Carpe Diem. You only live once. Follow your dreams.

The list of clichés could go on and on…and you could share them all on your Facebook wall, pin them to your Pinterest inspiration board…or you could put a plan in motion to make your dreams your reality.

 

*CONTEST* Meet Plan Go is giving away a MovingWorlds membership to someone who would like to try Experteering in 2016. If you are interested you can enter the contest here.
Meet Plan Go & MovingWorlds March Giveaway

If you would like to learn about the opportunities available for career breakers, simply visit the MovingWorlds website, enter your skills and the regions of your world you would like to visit. There is no cost to browse the website and review the numerous opportunities, and the projects do not require any monetary donation. The only cost is a one-time administration fee when you decide to start an application so that the MovingWorlds team can guide you through the Experteering process and provide you personal support as you need it (and even that is discounted for MPG members at checkout). If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me!

– Mike Howard, Mike@MovingWorlds.org
Ambassador, MovingWorlds.org
Founder, HoneyTrek & RTW Packing List

 

Need help planning your career break trip? Check out the following articles and resources:

How Taking a Career Break Can Boost Your Productivity
Friday, October 23rd, 2015

productivity

Maybe you envision it longingly: the opportunity to step away from your current at-work responsibilities and find joy in something new. Maybe you dream of traveling around the world and changing your routine for a period. Perhaps a new routine might be exactly what you’ve been craving.

These thoughts might seem silly, irresponsible, or counterproductive, but there could be something more to it. Taking a career break now — and finding a new routine and traveling — might actually boost your productivity in the end.

What Is a Career Break?

To be clear, a career break isn’t walking away from a job without planning to ever return to the work force. Instead, a career break is a planned opportunity to break away from your current position, with the hopes of returning to that position or something similar in the future. It’s a break, it’s not forever.

It could be used for travel, to start something new on the side, to take time for family or all of these things at the same time! The goal is to end up back in the work force or working independently at some point in the future.

Career Breaks Help Redefine Focus Areas

productivity

Refocus on a break

Regardless of the reason for the break, many people are apprehensive about the idea of simply stepping away from the work force. This is especially true of women who take a break to raise their families. In fact, 70% of women struggle to step away from their careers because of the fear of what will happen when they try to return. When anyone contemplates a break it brings up fear of falling behind in our career, expertise, and hire-ability.

These fears are unfounded. When you have the opportunity to step away from your position, you have more time to focus on what you want when you return. Whether it’s a new area of employment or something else, when you are out of the work force, you’re able to focus on what matters to you, not what you’re told should matter. This means you will return to something you’re passionate about, not something you question on a daily basis.

Broken Routines Increase Productivity

If you’ve been in the same career for years, you’ve developed a set of routines. Routines not only in your work day of weekly meetings, your industry life cycle, and yearly reviews; but also in your full day from waking up to going to bed. You wake around the same time each day, eat similar foods for breakfast and head off to the office. Maybe you take a break during lunch or after the workday ends to get in some activity. But then, you probably head home, grab dinner and end your day; day after day, year after year. It’s monotonous, and routines make our brains and body’s lazy.

Science has proven that breaking up routines — by taking a career break, for instance — forces the brain to form new synapses. These synapses make it easier to learn new skills, boost problem-solving abilities and lead to more productivity.

Strengthen and Build New Skills

There’s a reason doctorate level professors and those in other professions are granted sabbaticals to travel, to write and to do what they’re passionate about. These breaks help build and harness existing skills while learning new ones along the way.

Perhaps your current level of education limits your ability to move up in the work force. If you were able to focus on your education or on obtaining training in new areas, you could enhance your skill set. This could lead to a career advancement that might not be possible at your current position. A career break could prevent you from remaining stagnant in the work force.

Changes in Scenery Boost Performance and Creativity

Kenai Glacier Lodge 1 (1)

It’s not simply about changing your routine, but consider there are additional advantages to changing your physical view. Studies have shown that spending more time in nature can make you happier, so why not plan a cross-country trip to different state parks or the top-rated relaxing beaches?

In one study, 75% of executives even said that travel boosts job performance, with 68% claiming that it also boosts creativity. Packing your bags for a career break could boost your marketability and perspective after you return to work.

If you’ve been looking for a way to break out of your current rut, but are worried about what a career break could do to your future, your fear is most likely unfounded. By taking a career break you could return to the work force with a higher level of productivity, happiness and more creativity, imagine the possibilities — they could be endless A career break might be exactly what you need to increase your promotability and overall job skills in the future.

Want to learn more? Check out Career Break 30.

Kayla Matthews is a productivity-obsessed blogger who also writes for Afar and ProductivityTheory.com. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter to read her latest posts!

Images by Eddy Klaus and StartupStockPhotos

Pulling the Trigger – I’m Doing it!
Friday, November 7th, 2014

leap

Take the leap and do it!

What is it that makes you go from “I want to do that” to “I’m doing it!”? I suppose it’s different for everyone, but after working with people who want to travel through Meet Plan Go for the last 5 years, I know one of the things that makes you pull the trigger is meeting other people who have done (or who are doing) what you want to do.

In September we brought together a group of future career breakers with veteran career breakers and long term travelers and something happened – people started the day with “I want to do that” and ending the day saying “I’m doing it”. Sure, maybe the Belgian beer and waffles  helped, but they weren’t what made people pull the trigger. It was the support and networking with other people with similar goals.

I loved reading this article from one of our attendees the next day – Long Term Travel is for Real – she had some wonderful insights (and you should definitely read the entire article!):

“For me, Meet Plan Go was my first opportunity to meet long term travelers in person, to hear them tell their stories first hand, to learn from them during personal conversations. It was proof that anyone can take a travel break or travel forever without their lives imploding. It was proof that I can too. This is reality.”

Success Stories

In my eyes, the day was a big success. We brought together 8 career break & rtw travel veterans who presented on how to get over hurdles, determining a budget, working on the road, volunteering, preparing to leave, choosing insurance, figuring out complicated airfare routes, and finding working when you return. People feverishly took notes and asked questions. We even had small group discussions where people with like plans could converse and talk about their plans and fears. And then we parted – so that we could start to go DO.

Meeting people with similar goals is key – and fun!

A month after the event I reached out to our private Facebook group of attendees and asked them how they were progressing towards their goal and was overwhelmed with excited responses:

“I leave Tuesday to go to Mexico for two months of scuba diving and then after about a week at home for the holidays I’ll be moving to South Korea to teach for 2015! I had thought about applying for a while but since MPG I have applied, interviewed, been offered multiple positions, and accepted one”

“Since the meeting I went to visit my bank and consolidated all my debts into one loan, freeing up some margin to put money aside each month towards my future trip. I’ve been giving myself a benchmark of 2 years from now.”

“We are busy packing up our house to sell, eliminating as much as we can.”

“Just filled out my application with IFRE to volunteer in Cusco, Peru.“

“We made the leap. Our round the world adventure starts in exactly 12 months. Real estate is on the market, resigned positions, and beginning to detail plans.” 

How You Can Meet Others With Your Same Goals

Even though our main event is completed for 2014, we still have ways that you can meet others in person (and virtually) and work towards your goal.

• We have a meetup in NYC coming up on Dec. 3rd (RSVP here).
• Join our free 30 day online Career Break class that you can start as soon as tomorrow!
Follow us on Facebook and stay up to date with career break travel news and ask questions of the community.
• Check out our Calendar of upcoming local events 
• Search for travel themed meetups in your area on  Meetup.com and EventBrite.com
• Participate in the Around the World Twitter chat (#RTWChat) hosted by Bootsnall.com
• Stay tuned for more ways to get involved and get on the road to your career break in 2015 by signing up for our monthly newsletter.

Could Bad News Be Your Ticket to Ride? Big Boom Road Show
Thursday, October 9th, 2014

You know the scene: I’m at my desk, avoiding “real” work, and surfing the web. In this case, I’m exploring Boomers and long-term travel. I find an upbeat, popular article with 555 comments, leading off with this one:

“This is crap. As a boomer, I am broke and live paycheck to paycheck, like all the other boomers I know.”

Beware the self-fulfilling legacy

“This is crap?”

What a buzzkill! One must feel sorry for this guy; who’s putting Dire Drops in his water? I don’t mean to go all power-of-positive-thinking here, but really, he’s not likely to escape his quandary or his paucity without a serious attitudinal U-turn.

So let’s help Mr. Boomer Bummer out. Let’s help any of us who are trapped in pessimism about prospects for a dream. Just for yucks, let’s take life’s big bummers and turn them inside-out into opportunities to fly away from, well, hell?

Sometimes, what’s (initially perceived as) bad news could be a prophesy for a BreakAway.

Morphing pitfalls into paradise

You’re fired! Most folks will work at least 7 career jobs. Some will end rudely. Is that tragic? Or could it be the best thing that ever happened to you? Be ready: Sudden freedom could be your chance to shake it up and change your life plan—potentially on a blissful beach somewhere.

I don’t love you any more. That’s bad movies. And possibly heart-breaking, yet rarely out of the blue. Why not have the next laugh, store your stuff, and pack your bags for somewhere far away from Mr. or Ms. Over N. Done? Heck, you may even meet your next love interest.

It’s time to down-size. Boomers are facing this now, by the millions. Yet everybody will—at various ages and stages. When that pad has become too big and the possessions too piled up, consider upsizing your life with a remote pause that refreshes.

Loved ones are passing on. Death happens. Reflection follows, not to mention denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and, eventually, acceptance. Maybe a sojourn to somewhere peaceful would help you move on; maybe it’s to a place once shared with the departed beloved.

Your (inheritance) ship comes in. Although our “that’s-crap” commentator lives paycheck to paycheck, Boomers stand to inherit around $12 trillion—and may pass along up to $30 trillion to their offspring. For some, prosperity from heaven will arrive. If your ship comes in, why not set sail for a life-changing voyage?

You’ve paid off a big loan. Could be college—yours or your kids’. Could be house, cars, cabin, or credit cards. Save something first, please. But then a celebration of your new! Improved! Debt-free life might be a brilliant reward!

You survived a health scare. They’re facts of life: Accidents, diseases, conditions that can kill. When your time comes, and the doctor finally says, “You’re cured,” it’s time to party. Dinner and Dom? Sure—in France! (For the record, my own RTW trip was largely a reward for surviving a year-long recovery from falling off of a roof.)

You’re nearing retirement, but… Know what? Most people fear retirement. And many who get there don’t do well; they often experience loss of purpose, depression, and boredom—or just drive their spouse crazy. Recommendation: Try temporary retirement. You’d test-drive a car, right? Retirement is a much longer, more relevant ride.

You’re already broke. Bummer. Or maybe not. If Broke Dude above is convinced he’ll never get ahead at home, why not be broke somewhere else? Maybe he’d thrive in an less pricey country where he could teach English and save some money. Some great travelers buy a one-way ticket, get to work, and make it work.

If you just read this and are thinking, “That’s crap,” the author apologizes—for provoking you so and for your ill-fated predicament. This column was written for the folks willing to open your eyes and minds to the idea that bad news may be inevitable, but need not be the end of the world.

A world of possibilities awaits. Always Godspeed!

Kirk Horsted blogs at MakeYourBreakAway.com and offers speeches and seminars too. Since 1990, he’s taken five sabbaticals ranging from 35 to 355 days, from Grandma’s farm (SD) to Waiheke (NZ). He’s embarked alone, with partner, and with his perfect children. When he must, he works as a writer, creative consultant, and college teacher.

Photo credits: Efired, the other photo is courtesy of the author and may not be used without permission.

Breaks are Necessary
Thursday, July 17th, 2014

The word “break” often has a negative connotation. A break up, break down, break in, break the law, break a leg. And the term ‘career break’ is no different – people of think of it as a bad thing.

However , a growing body of evidence shows that taking regular breaks from mental tasks improves productivity and creativity.

“Americans and their brains are preoccupied with work much of the time. Throughout history people have intuited that such puritanical devotion to perpetual busyness does not in fact translate to greater productivity and is not particularly healthy. What if the brain requires substantial downtime to remain industrious and generate its most innovative ideas? “Idleness is not just a vacation, an indulgence or a vice; it is as indispensable to the brain as vitamin D is to the body, and deprived of it we suffer a mental affliction as disfiguring as rickets,” essayist Tim Kreider wrote in The New York Times. “The space and quiet that idleness provides is a necessary condition for standing back from life and seeing it whole, for making unexpected connections and waiting for the wild summer lightning strikes of inspiration—it is, paradoxically, necessary to getting any work done.” –via ScientificAmerican.com 

Taking a break from your typical routine, your career, or demands of life can be the best thing you can do for yourself. However, I didn’t need a scientific stufy to tell me this, I already knew. Taking a break from my work was the best thing for me.

No, I’m not talking about my career break I took in 2006 where I left my corporate IT career behind to travel around the world for a year. That break certainly was successful as it ultimately was the motivator for launching Meet Plan Go.

I’m talking about my break from career breaks in 2013.

Some of you may have noticed that the last big Meet Plan Go event we held was in 2012. It was a big success and contributed to putting many of you on the road to your own career break. However, after the event, I needed a break. I had been working so hard on getting others to take a break I had burned myself out. However, the year I took off from career break event planning was just what I needed. I used the time away to get out of my normal Meet Plan Go work routine and regroup. I focused on other projects on my personal travel website and as expected my creativeness and energy for Meet Plan Go returned.

I can finally say that I’m ready to get back to Meet Plan Go events!

We are changing up the format for 2014 in order to really focus on those who are serious about going and are looking for inspiration and advice on how to go about it. We are holding a full one-day conference in New York City so that attendees can have ample time to learn everything they’ll need to know and get all of their questions answered in person!

Get access to experts and connect to others on the same path.

This full day event will provide you with ample time to get your planning questions answered personally, and more importantly build relationships with others with your similar career break travel goals. There will be presentations and experts there to discuss:

• Getting over your fears
• Planning your break (budgeting, itinerary, volunteering, insurance, packing, working on the road, getting local, lodging, airfare, and more)
• How to market your travels into your job search when you return
Plus, in our break out groups you will be able to talk to travel experts and walk away with resources on specific areas of travel planning, travel modes, and travel options.

If you are tired of two weeks of vacation time and want to break away from the cube to explore the world, we will teach you how on September 20th.

Space is limited to 150 people. Reserve your spot now and spend a weekend in New York City!

A break might just be what the doctor ordered – I know it was for me.

Sherry Ott is the Co-Founder of Meet Plan Go and a career break evangelist.  She believes that every single person should have a career break on their resume!  Since her original Career Break in 2006 she has been traveling the world, living nomadically while running her own travel and lifestyle website Ottsworld.com.  @Ottsworld on Twitter

Travel: Finding a New Future
Thursday, April 25th, 2013

As former workaholics it had taken decades for us to find ourselves in a fairly unique position. We were financially quite well-off, we both enjoyed successful and rewarding careers with the free added bonus of exhaustion and stress. We weren’t millionaires, but as quite a frugal couple, we’d never squandered our hard earned cash on opulent apparel, but we did splash out on vacations and new cars now and again.

 

We’d paid off the mortgage on our main home, purchased a vacation property overseas, we dined out most evenings of the week, and had all the latest gadgets and gizmos.  We had everything that the world associates with a happy, successful couple. There was one big problem; it really didn’t satisfy us.

We wanted to travel the world, and we were in our late 30s and early 40s, so the clock was ticking.  We were far too young to afford to retire for life, but could we turn our back on everything we’d worked so hard to accumulate and give it a go for a while?

Planning to take a Career Break Took Too Long

We spent over three years researching and looking into the possibility of how to make this a reality. Logically (that’s the logic of our past consumer world) said it just didn’t make sense for us to walk away from our high income jobs. The economy was in freefall, and getting back into the market after the trip would be near impossible. Then a whole series of further doubts and reasons not to make the jump came.

What about family and friends? Could we leave them for so long would we miss them too much?

What if we couldn’t live out of a backpack for months on end?

Would we miss our home comforts?

What if we get ill?

What if we get robbed?

These are just a small sample of the endless questions and doubts we wrestled with while holding firmly on to our dream of traveling long term.  In the end we found answers to all of these questions on sites like this and from other travel bloggers who had already made the leap and were sharing their experiences.

Travel Risks Vs Rewards

So we took the risk, quit our jobs in 2011, and started de-cluttering of our lives.

Clearing the house and our lives of possessions was liberating and at times a little sad. After 20 years together, some of the things we had to say farewell triggered fond memories. But in a way we now know we were just making lots of room for the countless new memories that would replace them on our trip.

We sold the cars and other things that we no longer needed, sorted all our files and paperwork, and made them available on-line so that we could access everything on the road.  We rented our home out and finally wrote a will (just in case).  We then said an emotional goodbye to family, friends, and work colleagues.  There was no turning back now, and we were excited (and also a little apprehensive) as we departed, in December 2011, to catch a flight to Australia.

We’ve been traveling ever since, and the trip has been the most amazing and fulfilling experience we have had together.  Experiencing so much each week, it’s difficult to express everything we’ve learned about us as a couple and individually, as we are still learning and changing.

Freedom to Travel Long-Term

Currently we’re living off our savings and rental income from our home, and plan to do so for a good while yet as we travel on a low-cost ‘flashpacking’ budget.  We will begin to think about working to fund our travels in the future, though not just yet.

We no longer measure success in terms of monetary wealth. We appreciate that there are few certainties in life (other than birth and death), so we are doing the best we can to fill the space between these with new experiences.  We have no regrets about what we have done. There are things and comforts from home we miss occasionally, but those emotions are fleeting as another experience smacks us in the face and reminds us how truly lucky we are.

Regrets About Leaving Our Home Behind?

We wish we’d started this journey sooner and not spent so many years trying to analyze the consequences. We initially intended to spend just a couple of years traveling around the world; however, our long-term plan is now to live a location independent life, picking up work when and where we can find it. Do we know how we are going to do that?  Not yet, but we have plenty of ideas, and we will look at them in more detail soon.

There is so much more we want to explore that we no longer want to return to the lives we once had, and also realize that you don’t need to win the lottery to do this. We’ve met many people of all ages and backgrounds who have very little in either savings or income, yet they still manage to fulfill their desire to travel by working temporarily in all manner of jobs around the world, and then using this cash to pay for their next adventure.

We have learned as the trip has progressed that things often work out better if you don’t rush them. The future comes every day, so if you miss today’s opportunity, another will be along tomorrow.

To find out more about people who left their jobs to travel, check out the following articles:

In 2011 Craig and John sold off most of their belongings, quit their jobs, and set off around the world.  They bought a one way ticket to Australia and have been heading west across the globe ever since. Their blog features destination travel advice and tips for the older long term traveler.  They travel in what they call the flashpacking style, avoiding shared dorms and bathrooms at all costs.  Their posts are accompanied with some great travel photography featuring the architecture, cultural treats, and people they meet on their travels.  They blog about their journey at flashpackatforty, or you can follow them on Facebook and Twitter

Meet, Plan, Go! Has Arrived
Monday, September 13th, 2010

[singlepic=1838,300,,,right]It’s hard to believe that what’s been months in the making is finally here – Meet, Plan, Go!

When we started talking about the concept of Meet, Plan, Go! we had no idea how many people would embrace the concept of career break and extended travel. And we have been pleasantly surprised by the response to this night of events with nearly 1,400 people registered and another 700+ on our wait lists! And of course we couldn’t have done it without our stellar team of hosts.

What we love about our hosts is that they all come from different backgrounds and have very different career break experiences to share. Like our Washington DC host, Sonia Zamborsky, said in Letting Go: Making Other Plans: “There is no ‘right’ way to travel, and there is no ‘right’ way to do a career break. All sorts of people are doing it their way, a million different ways.”

And Jeff Jung, our Austin co-host, really encapsulated our diverse experiences in his post ‘The Many Faces of Long-Term and Career Break Travel’. “What I want to convey is that the long-term traveler is not one type of person but a diverse group of people all passionate about the potential that long-term travel has to enrich one’s life in a way that no other activity can.”

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Be Present
Monday, July 5th, 2010

The team behind Briefcase to Backpack, Sherry Ott & Michaela Potter, recently attended the Travel Blog Exchange conference (TBEX10) where we were able to meet many of the people we network with online in the flesh. The experience of having our virtual worlds collide with our physical lives impressed upon us the importance of old school networking.

[singlepic=1837,300,,,right]The digital world is king. Most of our interactions are done digitally now; just think about your average week of texting, social networking, and emailing. Even for people who don’t live online as I do, the digital world has crept into the heart of our days. When was the last time you mailed a letter, or called someone’s land line? Do you even have a land line? We read our news digitally, we date digitally, we even manage to purchase our gas without ever having to see or talk to another person. Physical interaction is old fashioned.

In the world of digital connections sometimes I forget the power of simply being physically present. So when the panel of travel writers and editors sat down in front of the audience and actually started talking I was a bit startled; they were real people talking to me. Their wise voices emoted rise and fall in pitch, and there were pauses for emphasis. I could read their facial expressions and most importantly understand their tone. All little things I have come to take for granted in the flat world of reading text online.

The panel was impressive. Even though I had met some of them before in social settings, it felt different this time. I was here to hear them speak about there craft – in person; I was present.

The expert panel of writers and editors talked about the importance of story telling as opposed to simply describing the situation. They discussed the importance of arc in a story, and writing using all of the senses. As I sat and listened to them it hit me; none of what they were saying was rocket science. In fact – I’m pretty sure that in my digital world of Google searches I could have found these exact pieces of information if I had googled “how to write a good travel story”. But listening to them speak the words and see their expressions and body movement gave it all a different impact.

It inspired me.

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Benefits of Using a Career or Sabbatical Coach
Monday, March 1st, 2010

[singlepic=1662,150,,,right]Deciding to change your career or take time off from your current job can be very challenging on the mind and soul. Add travel plans on top of that and you may get discouraged enough to abandon your career break dreams. Tara Russell, a certified life & career coach through her company Three Month Visa, shares with us the benefits of using a coach to help guide you through this life-changing experience.

What are the benefits of a travel sabbatical and what types of activities do you recommend to your clients?
I think the greatest benefit of travel sabbaticals can be summed up by one of my favorite quotes from travel writer Pico Iyer: “Travel is like love: It cracks you open, and so pushes you over all the walls and low horizons that habits and defensiveness set up.” When we are home, we can begin to define ourselves by our routines and labels (i.e. our careers, our consumer habits, etc.) For example, I’ve had clients come to me and say “I’m a top-level executive consultant with 15 years delivering Six Sigma expertise to tech firms in Silicon Valley” or “I’m an eco-conscious soy-latte-drinking, Prius-driving reusable-grocery-bag-toting Yoga nut!” All good stuff, to be sure…but not who these people really are at their core.

[singlepic=1659,275,,,left]Travel removes us from our habits and routines and lets us rediscover ourselves anew. It expands our horizons, gives us fresh and new perspectives, strengthens our sense of adventure, pushes us to challenge ourselves and feeds an appreciation of our own courage and abilities. By the time those same clients came home, they were able to say “I am someone who survived and thrived during 15 months of solo travel…who watched the sun rise over Machu Picchu and set over the steppes of Mongolia, who learned new languages and opened up to new cultures…who made life-long friendships out of chance acquaintances, etc.” Those are gifts that come home with you and last a lifetime.

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Benefits of Taking a Break Before Changing Jobs
Monday, November 2nd, 2009

[singlepic=1569,250,,,right]Ready to change jobs or careers? Pamela Skillings, a successful entrepreneur, certified career coach, and the author of Escape from Corporate America: A Practical Guide to Creating the Career of Your Dreams, explains why you should consider a break before doing so.

1. What are some benefits of taking a break before changing jobs?
Ovid wrote, “A field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.” Often, people who are burned out at work simply need to step away to see the bigger picture.

They usually return from a career break with renewed energy and creativity, new perspectives on life and work, and clearer priorities. Your career break can not only help you restore balance, but can also provide needed inspiration for success in the next phase of your career — a “bountiful crop” of ideas and achievements.

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Career Break Guide Table of Contents

Meet Plan Go