What is the American Dream? The first person that comes to mind in pursuit of my answer is my father.

My father immigrated to the United States in 1965 at age of 21 from Tehran, Iran with only two hundred dollars to his name. To my own surprise I only recently asked him this question, “Dad why did you take such a leap of faith with hardly any money in your bank account?” Before he could answer the question, my father had to put everything in context for me. In doing so, he had to begin by explaining the environment that he lived in at the time in Iran.

He began by saying, “Iran was a very different place than it is now. “ The government of Iran in the 1960’s was a constitutional monarchy and it had strong relationships with the western world. Iran was even seen as a top travel destination spot for many Europeans and Americans, because of its rich Persian history and for the skiing! Yes, Iran has pretty darn good skiing. However the education system was quite different than it was in the western world, more specifically different than in the United States (US).

Iran, much like the US has a college entrance exam, which helps determine which schools you can be accepted to. However, in Iran depending on what you scored, also determines what you could study. In addition to this, only 10% of applicants were admitted to Universities. This was a result of the lack of higher education offered after high school. For example, let’s say that you did score high marks on your exam; chances are that your career path will now be set for you. You were going to medical school to become a doctor IF space was available.

My father then got back to the answer of my original question. He said, “Son, the main reason I took that leap of faith, and came to America, was so I could figure out what I wanted to do and most importantly what I wanted to be”.

Since my father hailed from the busy capital of Tehran, you think we would end up in New York City or some other faster paced city in the United States equivalent to what he was use to. However, out of all the prospects the United States had to offer he ended up in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. My father complete with his two hundred dollars, broken English, and dream; convinced the University of Wisconsin to accept him. With 2 weeks of school already underway they accepted him and 5 years later, he left the United States for Iran with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics.

During the next several years in Iran he still was unsure of what he wanted to do. My father served his required 2 years of military service in the air force, fell in love and married my mother, and gave birth to my older sister, Mary. To my father’s dismay, he still did not see Iran as a place of opportunity for himself and his new family. My Mother may have occupied his heart, but his passion for providing more opportunities for himself and a better life for his new family, could only happen in the United States. Still without any money to his name and against his family’s wishes, he took his wife and infant daughter to pursue this better life in the United States.

My mother gave birth to me a few years later, but I still vividly remember the struggles growing up in the US. My dad was now in graduate school and had limited possessions to offer a family. He realized in order to better his situation and more importantly his family’s’ situation he had to go after what he really wanted. So he enrolled in a full course schedule of computer science classes and worked three jobs in order to live his American dream. Over the course of next 25 years of his career, we lived all over the United States and even spent a few years in Europe. My dad quickly climbed the ladder of well-known companies such as BF Goodrich, IBM, and Cisco Systems.

When you think about it, my dad did the opposite of what is considered the norm. Usually you go to school, get a job, get a house, and then get married. That is what a man traditionally has to achieve in order to attract a potential spouse, right? This is the mentality that has been ingrained in our society to this day, is it not?

Now I ask myself this question: Is America the same place and does it still have the attraction of the “American dream” to foreigners or even to first generation Americans, as I currently fall into this category?

America right now on the surface may not appear to be as attractive as it once was. So can the “American dream” still be achieved? I answer, “Yes”, but there has been a slight shift from the traditional American dream.

I re-evaluated my own life a few years back as it was right on course with the aforementioned, traditional American dream. It is very much possible that I am very much like my father in the fact that I see there are many ways to achieve the same life goals. Why do what’s traditional? At the time of my life re-evaluation, I had a steady great paying job, the relationship I had was on the path for marriage, and I owned my own home. But I wasn’t happy! Shouldn’t I have been? I realized this unhappiness came to the surface and actually affected all aspects of my life. I do eventually want to get married and I do want to have children. However you can’t plan life, it just happens.

I was emotionally and physically drained of performing a job that I wasn’t passionate about. I think we all have a time in our life where we re-evaluate our purpose on this earth. I was pretty damn good at my last job, but I just wasn’t passionate about it! I did not wake up and say, “man I can’t wait to get to work”. I am not naive either; very few people have this feeling of waking up excited to go to work and I do realize when other things come in to your life your personal responsibilities may outweigh your professional goals. I am sure even with my father at some point there was a shift from “I” to “We:, as he had a family to look out for.

At this point, I realized I had some unfinished business and wanted to pursue what I wanted. But there was a problem! I got so caught up in living the traditional American dream, that I completely forgot what I wanted.

So, I decided that I needed a change and a drastic one! I left the job, became single, sold everything I owned, and took a break. I like to call this period in my life, “a self-reflection period”. Others may call it losing your mind!

I reflected on my past fortunes having lived, traveled, worked, and studied in many countries all of the world. This thirst for travel never was quenched with those 3-week corporate vacation packages offered by employers quite the same way of those several month long escapades that I took in early 20’s.

I also then began to reflect on my youth. Growing up as an Iranian-American was not an easy task as a kid in the 80’s and 90’s. I constantly reminded of how different I was, the funny thing internally I really did not feel different. I dressed the same as everyone and spoke with no accent, but still was seen as different.

Yes the regime change in Iran had a monstrous effect on the perception of the Iranian people all over the world. Movies such as Not Without My Daughter, did not help either with the perception of the Iranian male. Trust me, many of the girls I dated, their parents always used this movie to show their concern when they found out their daughter was dating an Iranian.

During this self-reflection time that took about a year and half, I came in tuned with my passion.

My life experiences, growing up the way I did, and my adventures across the world have led me to purse this concept that I am currently working on today.

When I travel, the accommodation of choice for me is hostels. In hostels, everyone is foreign to that country, city, or town. The common bond is that we are all outsiders! That’s really the attraction for me. I have actually shared a beer at one of these hostels with a Palestinian, an Israeli, and an Iraqi- American. How cool is that?

I have been so fortunate enough to meet so many wonderful people from all over the world throughout my travels adventures. Sometimes these same people I have met, help dictate where I travel to next. Why not go see my new friend Giulia in Italy that I met backpacking through Colombia??

The only way I can think of that will help illustrate this feeling or experience is to create a travel adventure that shows people what this hostel life experience truly is.

So with the support of these same parents who came to the United States to seek their American dream, my American dream has become to show people that we all are more alike than we are different; through a travel experience I like to call The Hostel Life.

“Employers watch out: Your workers can’t wait to quit.

According to a recent survey by job-placement firm Manpower, 84% of employees plan to look for a new position in 2011. That’s up from just 60% last year.

Most employees have sat tight through the recession, not even considering other jobs because so few firms were hiring.

But after years of increased work and frozen compensation, ‘a lot of people will be looking because they’re disappointed with their current jobs,’ said Paul Bernard, a veteran executive coach and career management advisor who runs his own firm.”

Our advice? Take a break before jumping into a new job. After years of burnout and frustration, it will help to get rejuvenated and relax your mind for a bit. And you’ll be a much happier new employee.

In Notes from a Briefcase, Steve Bamberger, a self-described ‘Briefcase’ and workaholic, shared some insight on the power of taking a break – even if it’s for a week.

“It’s ok to unplug. No one knows better than I do how easy it is to skip vacations. But the office will function without you. I may be a business junkie and mild workaholic, but I still spent a week in a cave house on Santorini last year and a week traveling national parks last month.”

But you should also be careful that your burnout doesn’t cause you to make a bad career decision just because you are unhappy in your current position. The last thing you want to do is end up in a similar predicament.

Another recent article, this one in the Wall Street Journal, addresses the growth of gap years in the US. More students are delaying college to take gap years to travel, study and volunteer. The top reason cited? Burnout.

“Burnout from the competitive pressure of high school and a desire ‘to find out more about themselves,’ are the top two reasons students take gap years, according to a survey of 280 people who did so by Karl Haigler and Rae Nelson of Advance, N.C., co-authors of a forthcoming guidebook on the topic.

Taking a gap year is also linked to higher motivation in college, according to an Australian study of 2,502 students published in August in the Journal of Educational Psychology”.

And although the focus of the article is on young adults, these same key messages can certainly apply to you.

This certainly applied to Briefcase to Backpack co-founder Michael Bontempi, who left his 14-year career in 2007 without securing a new job. He found that a break actually helped his career.

“My career break gave me the opportunity to reflect on my previous 14 years of experience and helped me to reevaluate my career path and evaluate if I was on the right track.

I would never say that taking a chance like this wouldn’t hurt your career. But conversely, one could argue that staying in an unfulfilling position in your career or life is hurting you as an individual. To me, that is what this career break was about. Life can be full of regrets for those who focus on the potential consequences of taking a risk as opposed to the new opportunities a change can enable.”

So go ahead – resolve to take a break this year. It’s the one time where “break” and “resolution” should appear in a sentence together.

He shares with us what led him to this point in life.

Could you tell me more about what made you decide to take a career break?
The American system of moving from childhood to adulthood usually involves going to college and identifying your future professional pursuit. Going to college also involves far too many parties and tons of interesting “flavors” of coursework. I graduated from school with degrees in creative writing and psychology, but I failed to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. Actually, I think I secretly knew what I’m consciously aware of now: I simply don’t want to do the kind of work that has come to typically define the word.

With no aspirations of seeking higher education after graduation, my liberal arts degrees effectively became little more than proof that I successfully completed undergraduate studies. I was on my own for job hunting, but, by the grace of some long-forgotten god, I managed to land a job as a technical writer at an amazing software company after only a few months. By any estimation this was the best “first job” I could have gotten.

And it only got better. I climbed the ladder and began managing other writers before my second anniversary. Before the end of my third year, I was managing other managers. I was accomplishing goals, reaching new heights, and excelling. It’s hard to say it, but I had never applied myself enough to excel at anything previously. But when the climbing stopped so did the rush, and I was forced to reconcile the fact that while I thrilled at the feeling of advancement I didn’t actually love the work. I had no expectations going into the job, and, after almost seven years, no goals or exit strategy.

I tried a lateral move and a new position in the hope that I would find that fire from my first few years – I really wanted to stay at this amazing company. Alas, it was not to be. There was no way I could live with myself if I “faked it,” doing just enough but never excelling or standing out. I finally forced myself to face the facts. I needed to leave. And if I would sacrifice such a great job then it would have to be for my passions: travel and creative writing.

How did you go about quitting your job?
Once I decided that I would not be satisfied in the position any longer, my wife and I started brainstorming ideas for what I could do. It wasn’t as simple as going to a different company – I loved where I worked and the people I worked with. Ultimately I decided to return to my creative writing roots and meld it with my other love of travel. Identifying my passions has been the hardest part of this entire process, and they are not set in stone. They are fluid, and the best I could do was identify things I enjoyed doing.

I started formulating a plan and then crunched numbers to see how we could work the finances. I forecasted the number of months I needed to work to continue saving and we switched our lifestyle to adhere to a strict budget (which was quite new for us). The months rolled by and we steadily accomplished our monetary goals. Then one day six weeks before my planned departure I spoke with my boss and let her know I was leaving. It was as “simple” as that.

And what were people’s reactions?
People’s reactions have ranged from congratulatory to half-jealous to muted. I haven’t been privy to any wild or outrageous responses. Most people seem to respect me for following my dreams and actually doing the work to make them happen. I’ve been very grateful to have avoided negativity and jealousy from friends and family about my choice, though some have struggled with my giving up a good job. I’ve made it clear that it’s been difficult to come to this conclusion, but that my priorities are not governed by money and as such I can’t allow it to keep me locked into a career that won’t make me happy.

Keith will begin his Unconventional Travel Around the World November 2010 in Argentina. Follow along on:
Website: Traveling-Savage
Twitter: @travelingsavage
Facebook: Traveling Savage Fan Page

How does one balance the importance of living in the present with the need to prepare for the future? Some people don’t contemplate this issue. They simply do what comes naturally – sometimes suffering the consequences of favoring one over the other.

But, if you are one who does consider how to balance the two, where does the answer lie. And, what is the question?  If you love travel, the question is: should I stay or should I go?

We chose to go.
Late in 2000 my husband and I decided to go.

We could finally see our way clear to living our dream of long-term travel. Having sold our business and with two sons out the door, one entering his last year of high school and the youngest going into grade six, it all seemed possible.

To others, it may have made more sense to wait, at least a year, but we planned and went. We bet on the present over the future and, as you’ll see, we won.

Our trip of a Lifetime
My husband had traveled a year through South America when I was just entering high school. (He had seven years on me.) I had taken many short trips since I was 15 – a few weeks here, a month there. Together, as we blended our families, started and built a business – we lived a very busy life – we also planned to travel. In 1995, we managed six weeks with kids in France, Scotland and Ireland. But that wasn’t enough. We had bigger plans in mind.

Then in 2000 it seemed right. Our number three son could do his last year at Neuchatel Junior College, a Canadian school in Switzerland, and I would homeschool our youngest. We could rent our house for income (we made $25,000 in ten months) and rent a VW Pop-up camper for transportation and accommodation. Yes, it could all work. We fit the pieces together and left at the end of August 2001.

Over the next 10 months we covered a lot of ground. My mother joined us for a few weeks. The older sons each came over for a time. It was a free-flowing trip of a lifetime. When we needed to feel settled, we stayed. When we’d had enough of a location, we simply moved on.

Life Without Regrets
We came home in June of 2002 which is a perfect time to return. The summer is slower than most times of the year and gave us two months to prepare for the real new year, September.

However, while the kids and I settled back into our home life, my husband became less settled. Was it the culture shock of re-entry? We couldn’t tell at first but his life, our life, got very complicated. And it became even more so over the next few years.

In 2006, my husband was finally diagnosed with Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP), a very rare neurological disease that first shows itself in personality changes and later with debilitating physical changes.  He passed away later that year on December 9^th.

While our choice to take an extended trip at that particular time of life may have seemed odd to some, it made sense to us. At least, we made it make sense. We put our present and our future on a scale and chose to live in the present for that year. And, at the time, we had no idea that it was our last chance to do so.

Should you stay or should you go?

Go.

With her children grown Janice now travels solo. She is also publisher of Solo Traveler, a blog that offer travel stories, tips, safety advice and destination ideas for those who travel alone. You can sign up for her newsletter and receive her free ebook: Glad You’re Not Here, a solo traveler’s manifesto. A professional writer and entrepreneur, she is also co-founder of the Global Bloggers Network, an interactive, online service for travel bloggers. She is also hosting Meet, Plan, Go! in Toronto.

Other hotbeds of career break talk on the internet seem to be about mothers (expectant ones and especially those going back to the workforce), people who had a ‘big break’ in their career, and our global neighbors the Brits taking a gap year. It seems that in the UK the idea of a career break is a regular part of their vocabulary. What I’ve learned from my Google alert for ‘career break’ is actors, singers, mothers, and Brits can take them; it’s socially acceptable.

When I started researching the keyword “career break’ for our SEO plan for Briefcase to Backpack I knew we had a hard climb ahead of us. I learned Americans don’t really search for the word…ever. I tried the word ‘sabbatical’ and had a few more hits, but in general Americans don’t consider this extended time off concept really part of their vocabulary.

This made me sad and happy. Sad because as Americans we just don’t get it. There are people all over the world taking a break from their career and employers who support that idea. They find a break rewarding, invigorating, educational, and they actually enjoy going back to their job more productive; but not in America. Sad. However I’m happy because it does show the need for Briefcase to Backpack to exist. It shows there’s an opportunity to bring this concept to overworked and burnt out Americans.

One problem – there’s a need, but the people who need it don’t know about it. How do you get people to search for a phrase that they don’t really think exists? Actually, they know it exists because they follow Beyonce’s career break; but they don’t really think that it exists for them.

How do you get a word to get noticed? How do you create excitement and interest in the word so that people want to type it in Google and search for it to learn more? Sometimes I think reaching world peace would be easier than getting Americans to understand that career breaks are possible. People think taking a career break will ruin their career; little do they know that it’s actually a career maker.  Not to mention that odds are you’ll bee a happier person after taking a break from your job. Isn’t that what all of us Americans are searching for – the pursuit of happiness?

Video kindly provided by Chris Christensen from Amateur Traveler Podcast

For the same reason that Beyonce takes a year off from singing and dancing…regular people need career breaks too. Sometimes what you need is to grow your experiences and develop skills outside of the workforce. That can be done thru travel, further education, or longer term volunteering. The key is to get away…whatever your away is.

I know what you’re thinking; we aren’t all rich like Beyonce. However you can make it over the money/mortgage hurdle with a little work and a lot of compromising (I never said it was easy…I just said it was possible)

The second big concern about taking career breaks is that you’ll ruin your career with a big gap in your resume. Do you think that Beyonce worries about ruining her career? Probably not. Why? Because she’s confident. She will take this time off and use it to her advantage to re-energize, get to know herself and her strengths better, try new projects, and determine the path she wants to take when she returns to her career. She doesn’t sit and worry about ever winning a Grammy again because she knows she will win another Grammy.

If you take a career break and look closely at what you have learned and how you can apply it to your career when you return , AND you can confidently sell that experience you gained; then you’ll find a job upon your return. People like people who have confidence. I suppose in Beyonce’s case, people also like a nice bootie.

So when you are ready to finally un-tether your bootie from your desk, or you’ve reached a plateau, or you are jealous of the other countries that seem to get endless vacation, or you simply are burned out; then type in these two words “career break”. You might just find out that there is a whole world of websites and articles there to help you realize you aren’t alone. You’ll learn the words “career break” exist for more than movie stars, musicians, Brits, and moms.

You may even find Briefcase to Backpack. I hope you do.

I recently had the pleasure of hearing Seth Godin talk at the Small Business Summit in New York City. (Godin is a bestselling author, entrepreneur, agent of change and overall inspiring speaker.) And although he was addressing an audience of small business owners and entrepreneurs, the messages he imparted can most certainly apply to you as well.

Following are a few of his “sound bites” that made a great impression on me and led to a few observations of my own. (Please note that they are paraphrased from my fastidious notetaking.)

Become a Misfit
“The reason they want you to fit in is that once you do, they can ignore you.” – Seth Godin
Growing up it always seemed so important to “fit in”. And as a grown-up, we’ve been led to believe that we must do what is “expected” of us. If we follow this expected path of least resistance, we are promised a metaphorical pot of gold at the end of the rainbow – retirement. But the trick is on us once we get there to find out we won’t always have the health or wealth to enjoy it. In the meantime, we are serving other people’s goals and not our own.

Be an Artist of Your Own Life
“Art is about seeing the world as you want to see it. Artists work without a map.” – Seth Godin
In school we were always taught to stand in line, fill in the ovals with a #2 pencil, and raise your hand before you spoke. We were told how the world looks from text books and outdated film strips. Now that you are old enough, don’t be afraid to make choices for yourself. Color outside the lines – swing upside down from the jungle gym – and most importantly, don’t let other people’s views of the world make you question your own.

Ignore the “In-Crowd”
“We all have a lizard brain – that voice in the back of our head telling us to stop because we are worried about failing and people laughing at us. It forces us to act like sheep.” – Seth Godin
If you have ever expressed your dreams of travel to people before, most likely you have gotten strange looks and responses like “why would you want to do that?” or “why would you want to travel there?”. More often then not, these people are resentful that you want to break out of the mold and do something unique. Trust me, there is a network of other career breakers who will openly accept you into their clique.

Still need more motivation?

Top 10 Reasons to Take a Career Break and Travel

Why It’s Not Crazy for Working Professionals to Quit Their Jobs and Travel the World

Six Reasons Living on the Road is Good Option in a Down Economy

Round-the-World Trip Tips, Planning Resources, Inspiration and More

So….what’s stopping you now?

Career breaks and sabbaticals are a great opportunity to quiet your mind and help you connect with what it is that will make you truly happy.

One of the things that drew me to immigrate to the USA is a phrase in the Declaration of Independence.

I grew up in England, which holds its citizens as “subjects” of the monarch, with no written constitution to guarantee their rights. The idea that the purpose of government was to secure for its citizens “certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” was revolutionary. It seemed a wonderful basis on which to create a country and a new life for myself.

I moved to Menlo Park in the heart of Silicon Valley in the mid 1990s. The computer industry was in full bloom and the Internet was starting to explode. Netscape’s offices opened a couple of blocks from where I worked in Mountain View. Central to my choice to be here was the unquestioned assumption that the pursuit of happiness lay through the pursuit of wealth. I would become rich and happy – or so I thought.

What I discovered over the next two years was that the personal price I was paying for continuing to climb the corporate ladder no longer seemed worth it. I had reached a point of diminishing returns. Although it was nice to see a growing bank balance (which I have always equated with more freedom), what I was doing to earn that money was not what I would do if I were truly free. So in 1997, I left my job on what I thought would be a six-month sabbatical, in search of a more direct route to happiness. I traveled to a meditation and yoga ashram where I lived for the next seven years.

During my stay in the ashram, I was immersed in a culture, philosophy and practices very different from those of the high-tech business world I had left behind. Here I learned that joy is our natural state of being when we quiet our mind (both anxieties and fantasies) long enough to notice it. I learned to start by accessing the joy and peace within me, and create my life and work from there – rather than expecting a fast paced, stressful job to somehow “earn” me happiness. Now, eight years after leaving the cloistered ashram life, my work as “The Sabbatical Coach” is to help others make their own break with their past to create work lives grounded in joy and fulfillment. And to do so as directly as possible. After all, not everyone can afford the luxury of a seven-year retreat from the working world.

To help others in their personal pursuit of happiness, I turn, somewhat paradoxically, to science. One of the advantages of science as a methodology is that science is peer reviewed within global scientific community, so when I quote a scientific expert, you can place him in the spectrum of the scientific establishment (and hence quickly gauge his credibility as an expert). It is not that I expect science and logic to convince you of the need for a change, only your heart can do that. What I do know is that reason can help reassure your mind that you are doing the right thing and spare you a lot of inner conflict.

Dr. Martin Seligman is one of the leaders in scientific research on the subject of happiness. He is a past president of the American Psychological Association, and the founder of the Positive Psychology movement.

According to Martin Seligman, there are three distinct ways to generate happiness. In order of increasing effectiveness they are:

1. A Pleasant Life: This is a life filled with pleasures. These are often things which money can buy and are usually fleeting in their happiness impact.
2. An Engaged Life: This is a life where we are so focused on some activity that we loose track of time and become totally absorbed.
3. A Meaningful Life: This is a life filled with relationships and activities which hold intrinsic meaning – they are not a means to an end. It usually involves finding our place in the world through our contribution to something bigger than us which we love.

Here is a 25-minute video of Dr. Seligman presenting these ideas at a TED conference. Take the time to watch it; you’ll save yourself a lot of time down the road.

So what does this have to do with you, as you consider taking a break from your work?

My assumption is that you are contemplating a career break/sabbatical because your work life has not generated the levels of happiness that you seek there.

If my assumption about you is correct, doesn’t it make sense to devote some part of your career break/sabbatical resources (time and money) to learning about what generates success in the pursuit of happiness? If so, Martin Seligman’s book Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment is a great place to start.

Which of the three paths to happiness (pleasure, engagement, or meaning) will drive your choices of how you spend your time and money on your career break/sabbatical? If you intend your career break/sabbatical to be a stepping-stone to a happier life, science suggests that you choose the path of meaning.

You can do this by:

1. Finding out what you care most about; what you would be willing to devote your life to.
2. Planning your career break/sabbatical so that it includes as much of that as you can. If you have a few alternatives, try them all out and notice how spending time on each of them makes you feel.
3. Designing a structure to keep yourself exploring what has meaning for you (your values) and incorporating more of it into your life.

A life/career coach can be a very useful resource in all three of these steps. If you are serious about returning from your career break/sabbatical to work which is more fulfilling than the job you have now, consider investing in all the help you can get to make your quest more likely to succeed.

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1. What gets people down about working in Corporate America?
Most of us have similar gripes about bad corporate jobs—including long hours, unfair treatment, political B.S., bureaucracy, and lack of flexibility. If you feel burned out because of heavy workloads and unrelenting demands, if you’re sick of feeling like a cog in a machine and yearn to do work that is more meaningful, you’re not alone.

In today’s economic environment, corporate employees are more stressed out than ever before. Many have been overburdened with the work of their laid-off colleagues and are living in fear of the next round of cutbacks.

In other cases, people are simply in the wrong jobs—their careers kind of just happened to them like mine did for so long. And then there are those who basically like their corporate jobs, but feel like something is missing. They have some dream that they have been denying because they’re afraid it’s not realistic or they don’t know where to start.

2. What are the signs that it is time to escape?
Well, I spoke with one corporate escapee who made her decision after a senior manager threw a Lucite paperweight at her head. That’s a pretty good sign.

But for most of us, it’s a process. You have to diagnose what it is that’s making you unhappy. Are you just having a horrible week? Is there something you can do to make your current job more satisfying—like take on a new project, talk to your manager about flex time, or make more time for volunteering on weekends? Or do you really need to make a dramatic change for the sake of your mental health?

3. How can people get over the fears about leaving a job, even though they are unhappy in it?
Fear is a natural reaction when contemplating a major life change. It’s a classic case of facing the fear and doing it anyway — for the sake of your sanity. I’m not suggesting that anybody quit their job without doing some prep work to ease the financial transition. But if you’re truly unhappy, there is no better time than now to start thinking about an escape plan and doing some ground work.

If you are anxious about getting laid off, a recession may actually be the BEST time to get serious about your Career Plan B. If your company gives you an escape package (in other words, lays you off), you want to be ready to hit the ground running.

You can do most of your preparation while you’re still collecting a salary. Then, when the time is right and your safety net is in place, you can make your leap. Many of the people that I have interviewed and coached found their new careers after getting laid off during the last economic downturn. If they could succeed on their own with no preparation, imagine what you can do with a little bit of planning.

For more information on Pamela Skillings, visit her website Escape from Corporate America, where you can also read about Sherry Ott’s “Daring Tales of Corporate Escape”.

And read what Pamela has to say about the Benefits of Taking a Break Before Changing Jobs.

We recently profiled a couple, Ben & Alonna, who started on their year of travel in August of 2009. Both worked for HP and while Ben decided to leave his job, Alonna was able to negotiate a year leave of absence.

If you are thinking this may be the way for you, follow some of Alonna’s tips on how she successfully negotiate for the time off.

Before approaching my employer about the break, I spent a lot of time researching, getting advice, and preparing a proposal.
My research included online searches for other people doing similar things, and looking up the policies at my company for unpaid leaves. Finding the policy at my company was straight-forward; they allow up to a one-year unpaid leave for personal reasons to be approved by management and HR.

Searching online turned up a few good articles and websites, but I think Briefcase to Backpack is a great addition and fills in a lot of gaps. Just hearing about people in similar situations helps a lot when you’re starting out.

Next I sought advice from multiple people in my company who I trusted. I asked what they thought of the idea and how I should present it. They had great advice and gave me confidence in my plans.

Finally, I prepared a proposal document which described:

• What I want (1-year unpaid leave of absence)
• Why I deserve it (included a list of accomplishments at the company thus far)
• What I would gain (new skills, renewed motivation, personal growth)
• How my work would be covered (a list of items and people who could help out)

When I presented this to my manager he was supportive right away and worked with me to get it officially approved. I think the fact that I was a high-performer and presented a well thought-out plan helped a lot.

Alonna had an advantage in that her company was already open to the idea of offering sabbaticals. But if your company doesn’t have a program in place, it’s still worth negotiating one – especially if you are a valued employee.

YourSabbatical, a company that partners with businesses on developing sabbatical programs, offers these five conditions that can foster a positive outcome when negotiating your own sabbatical. They even say to start negotiating a sabbatical with pay, because it can happen!

• Condition 1
  Your highly-regarded work performance and professional reputation make investing in you in this way clearly in employer’s best interest.

• Condition 2
  Your commitment to top performance and desire to sustain that performance makes a break from work a realistic endeavor with a benefit that lives on once you return.

• Condition 3
  Direct opportunities for other employees – direct reports, your team, colleagues, another department – to learn new skills, grow and develop while you are gone … make this more than just about “you.”

• Condition 4
  Your workplace and/or boss values its human capital. Using levers such as “building loyalty and brand” or “strengthening engagement and productivity” make your request brim with potential.

• Condition 5
  Your company/industry has identified key drivers of future success. If your sabbatical outcomes enhance what’s needed for the future, that’s so worth playing up.

Do you have a successful story about negotiating your own sabbatical? Let us know!

MAKING THE DECISION
From Alternative Spring Breaks in college, to working for a non-profit in NYC, I have always tried to find time to volunteer. Traveling has also been a hobby of mine, although while working full-time, travel usually means a week of vacation here or there – not the culturally fulfilling experience I long for.

While working at Marie Claire as an events coordinator, I met some filmmakers who gave up their jobs and devoted their lives to making a difference in the lives of young Cambodian women. I was so moved by their bravery and dedication, yet felt a sadness come over me because I didn’t foresee an opportunity in my life to make a similar impact in the world.

I was married, needed to work full-time, and didn’t have any money to travel, but I quickly decided that if travel and volunteerism was important to me, that I would find a way to make it happen. Within a week, I decided I would quit my job to spend a few months volunteering in Africa. I wasn’t sure what I would do, where I would go, or how I would afford it, but I had a plan and started doing some research.

FACING ANXIETIES
Prior to my two-months in Ghana, I hadn’t spent more than one week in any single country. I had vacationed with my husband in Italy, Israel, Egypt, Greece, Spain, Costa Rica, Mexico, and the Caribbean. But, I had never traveled alone, and I had never been in a country long enough to immerse myself in the culture. Part of my goal was to be in another country long enough to feel as though I were living there, not just visiting.

My biggest concern was how I would afford the trip. I spent six weeks fund raising, during which I raised over $4000 from family, friends, and co-workers. Having support is definitely helpful.

I was married, needed to work full-time, and didn’t have any money to travel, but I quickly decided that if travel and volunteerism was important to me, that I would find a way to make it happen.

I felt slightly anxious about quitting my job during a recession, finding work when I got back, and being separated from my husband for two months. I left my job on good terms, reached out to professional contacts before I left (letting them know I’d be back and looking for work) spent as much time with my husband as I could before I left, and left my home life in order to ease the responsibilities on my husband. I definitely felt prepared, which eased any anxiety I was having. Mostly, I was excited!

WHERE TO GO & WHAT TO DO
I did an incredible amount of research. I talked to as many people as I could about countries they had visited, organizations they had gone through, and how they afforded it. One of the biggest decisions for me was deciding what organization to use. I had limited funds and cost was a major issue, yet as a female traveling alone, I wanted to be sure I chose a reputable organization that provided support and guidance. I also spent a lot of time choosing a country. I researched everything from language, customs, and politics, to foods, cost of living, and climate.

I had a pretty good idea that I wanted to work with kids, and chose an orphanage because I wanted to care for young children and babies. And as much as I would have liked to learn a new language, I figured I would have a more fulfilling experience with children if I could communicate clearly with them. I decided on Ghana because it was English-speaking and had a reputation of being welcoming, safe, friendly, and politically stable.

Up Next: Dominique Doron – Feeling Fortunate for Taking a Career Break

Someone once called me a tumbleweed – I only stay somewhere about three years and then I must tumble to the next place. Yet this time, I’m tumbling to the next adventure – the globe. This propensity to tumble around is strange considering I grew up in the midwest (Peoria, IL) in the same house for the first 18 years of my life. Then something happened…I got out…and never looked back. I slowly moved to bigger and bigger cities. First the midwest (Omaha, Minneapolis), then the west coast (San Francisco), then the big, big city – NYC. I’ve been in NYC three years now and I’m itchin’ to tumble again!

I was 30 yrs old when I got my first passport and went out of the country – Istanbul. I went with my friend, Giancarlo, who grew up in that area. It was overwhelming to have Turkey be the first country you go visit, but that’s when I caught the bug. Part of me wishes I could do that trip over again as I feel like more of a seasoned traveler now, but at the same time the newness and innocence of it all was perfect.

I have been working in the Information Technology industry and have finally realized that no matter how lucrative of a job it is – it’s not me. I don’t get excited by bits and bytes. I hate being in a rut or in any sort of predictable pattern. After three years in my current job, I have developed a pattern and I think I would explode if I had to go through yet another predictable year in my current job.

But most days I feel like I’m stuck – stuck in my white box, not really knowing what value I’m adding to the world let alone what value I’m adding to the numerous meetings I’m attending. New York and my corporate life finally got the better of me and a plan started to hatch.

My sample day…get up way too early, run in the park, dash off to work on a crowded subway of other people staring lifelessly into space tethered to their ipod, check email on my crackberry on the subway, arrive at work. Go to my office which I call my white box (no windows and nothing on the walls), check email, go to a meeting, go to a meeting, go to a meeting in which lunch is served, check email, go to a meeting, go to a meeting, go to a meeting, do work for the last hour I’m there. Many times I can go all day without ever going outside or seeing the sun, and sometimes I never even make it to the bathroom (ok – maybe that’s too much information). I have a picture of a collage of sunsets in my office – it’s my fake window…I stare at it to remind me of what the sun looks like.

However, I don’t mean to paint such a dismal picture. I do owe a lot to work, and I work with good people, smart people – people who like what they do and are generally ok with being in a pattern. After all, if it wasn’t for work, I wouldn’t be able to take this adventure. And for that I’m eternally grateful to my job. But most days I feel like I’m stuck – stuck in my white box, not really knowing what value I’m adding to the world let alone what value I’m adding to the numerous meetings I’m attending. New York and my corporate life finally got the better of me and a plan started to hatch.

Who hasn’t wanted to quite their job and travel around the world at some point in their adult life? I just believe that you have to leave a mark on this world, see this world, experience this world.

So maybe this is my midlife crisis – a little early I know. But I’m not really sure what is driving me to do this. I just know that I need a break. A break from New York, a break from Information Technology, and I need to stretch my creative muscles a bit, see other things, and find myself.

Everyone always asks me what I’m going to do when I come back. I have no answer to that question, and that makes me nervous. But I’m telling myself to live each day to the fullest and not worry about it. I will leave my dance card wide open and just see what happens. However, mainly I will enjoy my year of not being in a conference room, with an agenda about stuff that doesn’t interest me. I will no longer have to daydream during those meetings about other exotic places – I will be living it.

Read Sherry’s reflections after 16 months on the road in “Meet Sherry…This is Now”.

For more of Sherry’s adventures as a Corporate America Runaway, visit her blog.

In the summer of 2007, Angie Kalousek experienced a two-month career break in Europe. She share’s with us her original thoughts on what made her decide to take this “Leap of Faith”.

Well, I did it. The job that I once loved became the job that I no longer love…and it was time for a change. So I took a leap of faith. I have chosen to forgo the reliable paycheck in hopes of discovering something more…something meaningful, joyful and fulfilling.

We all give so much of ourselves to our employers, and I wonder if we’re slowly giving away valuable minutes in our lives. Sure, we all need to work. We need to support ourselves, and we need to feel like we’re contributing to this world and enhancing our lives. But work should always bring us satisfaction and be a tool for growth. If it is, and you’re happy, you’re on the right track. But if not, it might be time to reevaluate…which is what I am doing.

I’ve started to contemplate what type of work will make me ultimately happy. I have my suspicions, but having worked for 17 years without stop, I’ve decided that I might need to step back a little to get some clarity on the matter.

For now, I’ve chosen to focus on all the other aspects of my life that make me who I am. My friends, my family, my faith….spending time with my nieces and nephew, asking myself what I need and want in love. Developing my interests and seeing a bit of the wonderful world we live in.

So on June 5th [2007] I’ll take off to spend 2 months in Europe. I’m lucky enough to have several friends that will be meeting up with me along the way – and I am also looking forward to the few times that I will be on my own.

The trip is meant to be insanely fun – but with any luck, I’ll also learn about myself and others – and ultimately become ready for what lies ahead.

You can read more about Angie’s travels on her blog: Angie’s Adventures

And read Angie’s Career Break Testimonial to see how it changed her life.

We’d love to hear from you!

Have you taken a career break or sabbatical? Please share with us what made you decide to take a career break.

With headlines reading “U.S. Initial Unemployment Claims Jump to 26-Year High” and “Job-loss Data Are the Worst Since the 1930’s” it’s no secret that the country is in an economic crisis. Have you found yourself to be included in these headlines?

Well don’t sit around and be just another statistic – take charge of your immediate future. With the job market heading in a downward spiral, you could spend months searching for a new job. Rather than waiting for things to turnaround, this is a great opportunity to do something different with your life – why not use the time to take a cultural career break?

You may find that it is actually cheaper to travel than it is to maintain your current lifestyle, especially destinations like SE Asia. At the same time, you could be gaining some amazing insight into other cultures and yourself.

And when the economy does turn around, you’ll have some great interview material and a leg up on the competition. (See Next Steps: Getting Back to ‘Reality’ and Resumes)

What you do during your break is up to you, but our site is here to offer you the guidance and inspiration to figuring that out – every step of the journey.

We’d love to hear from you:

Have you recently been laid off and plan to travel? Tell us about your plans. Share your career break plans here

So what brought you to this point? Feel stuck in your career? Need a new direction but not sure where to go? Not being challenged? All of the above?

Everyone experiences these feelings some point in their career, but only a few will do something to change them. There are many ways to find the inspiration to make change, and for us, taking a cultural career break was just the answer.

Michael Bontempi had been at his job for thirteen years – ever since he graduated college. It had its ups and downs but for the most part, he really enjoyed his role and responsibilities. But then he hit a ceiling for advancement and knew that if he wanted to move up, he needed to move on. So he put his belongings in storage, gave up his lease, and hit the road with me. It was a leap of faith, but our 2007 career break gave him the energy and inspiration to refocus his career goals.

Sherry Ott felt stuck in her corporate job and needed to reevaluate her career goals as well. She even questioned if she wanted to be in a corporate job anymore. “I had been working in the Information Technology industry and finally realized that no matter how lucrative of a job it was – it wasn’t me. I didn’t get excited by bits and bytes.”

After finding a subletter for her apartment and a foster home for her cat, she set off on a 16-month journey – four months longer than she originally planned.

With one-month left of travel, she evaluated how she felt. “A month ago, I actually got out my resume and looked at it wondering what all of it even meant. I really, really tried to remember specifics about my old job – what software we used, what vendors I worked with, what projects I worked on for three years – and I could come up with nothing but faint memories of bad florescent lighting and eating at my desk. All of the specific memories have moved into the deep depths of my brain waiting to flash before my eyes at the time of my death. Instead – my brain is now filled with pictures…pictures of the world, of dramatic landscapes, kids, families, big smiles, and desperate poverty. It is filled with knowledge…knowledge of the world, cultures, and joy.”

Along the way she discovered a love for teaching and found her inner writer and photographer. She is now pursuing all of these goals while living in Vietnam. Not bad for someone who got her first passport just a few years earlier.

I’ve been fortunate to have been exposed to travel from an early age, so I always find a way to intertwine it in my life. Shortly after graduating college, I backpacked through New Zealand, Australia, and Fiji for six months before starting on my career path. It wasn’t long before I realized I didn’t have the same goals that most people around me had – career, marriage, kids, mini-vans, and the suburbs. I knew that travel was more of a priority than anything else.

I know it’s time to move on from a job whenever I feel like I’m no longer being challenged and just playing it safe staying there. And I find it rejuvenating and motivating to travel before pursuing my next job. “How can you do that? I would never be able to do that.” is a very common response to my various travels. And for the most part it comes from people who have followed the “expected” life journey.

My reply is usually “Of course you can – it’s all about priorities.” I now do freelance design work as well as focusing on Briefcase to Backpack.

And that’s how you should look at this crossroads in your life and make it a priority to do something about it. You never know – a cultural career break could be just the answer you need.

We’d love to hear from you:

Have you taken a career break or sabbatical? How and why did you decide to do so? Share here.