Contemplating

Beware Boom Doom & Gloom!
Tuesday, July 15th, 2014

Be afraid. Be very afraid. The Baby Boomers (Americans 50-68 years young) have embarked on a precarious journey toward retirement. And though you may not care if you’re, say, younger than 50, you should. Because if Boomers can’t pay for their foodstuffs and hip swaps, we all will.

It could get expensive. Already, the U.S. government has a debt problem. Healthcare costs are making us chronically sick. And the 1/99 formula bodes ill for the 99%. All to say: A stinky financial fart may be brewing. And it’s not only going to redefine retirement, it may in turn jeopardize countless career-break dreams. 

Don’t believe me. Oh sure, I boast a few degrees, aced prob and stats, and hold several certifications, including the BISS (Because I Said So) and WMWY (What Me Worry? Yes!). But, hey, you do the research.

In this case, let’s break it down with 3 lowlights from the 2014 annual Insured Retirement Institute report. 

The percentage of Boomers who are confident they will have enough money to live comfortably throughout their retirement has dropped to 33%. 

Okay. That means about 2/3 of our current and future retirees don’t have a clue. Apparently, they still believe in Santa Claus, Uncle Sam, or the Grateful Dead, who sing, “I need a miracle every day.”

80% of Boomers report having savings for retirement. Of those, about half have $250,000 or more.

Hmmm. Let’s calculate:

Half of 80% (or 40%) have more than a quarter-mil. So 60% have less.

Any financial advisor worth his fancy glasses suggests you’d like 20 years worth of living expenses to retire smartly. Today, U.S. median income exceeds $50,000. Multiply by 20, and that’s a cool $1,000,000 in savings for most folks to get out of bed comfortably post paycheck.

43% of Boomers expect Social Security to be a major source of retirement income; 46% expect it to be a minor source. 

In other words, Boomers are counting on SS. Bigtime. Now, that’s not all bad, because (one good source says) SS provides about half of the income for 65% of Americans over age 65. And yet, everyone knows SS is at risk of spending too much while taking in too little (sound familiar?). So prudent pensioners-to-be must ask: Will SS still love me tomorrow?

One solution: Make more; work less

 

To be sure, we can’t all develop ulcers worrying about other people’s golden years. But we might want to take their medicine by not getting ourselves into the same sick jam.

That starts by taking money—and planning—seriously. Planning pays because, after all, nobody ever took a career break without earning a master’s in Planning first. And the “work less” subhead above reminds us that sabbaticals take time—as in, time away from work (income).

To this Boomer, retirement is not something you delay until your senior moments. Maybe it starts here, now, with what I dub the Retire Now and Then philosophy. Consider taking 5% of retirement along the way, even if it means working 5% longer at the end. You agree, right? Or else you wouldn’t be on this site. 

How to do that? It’s not so hard. Try to live by these oh-so terse 11 Commandments of Fiscal Fitness.

For starters, #1 is: “Live within your means, no matter what that means.”

Good luck. We’ll need it. And happy sails…

 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: 401(K) 2012, Shutterstock

‘Try Before You Buy’ A Career Break
Wednesday, June 11th, 2014

Sherry & her motorbike in Vietnam

When I was preparing to run my first marathon in 1998, I started telling all of my family and friends about it; even though I had never run more than 10 miles at that point and really had no idea if I would be able to do the marathon or not. Yet I proudly told people that I would be running 26.2 miles in a little over 3 months.

When I started considering moving to Vietnam in 2008, I started to slowly mention to people that I would be moving to Saigon to teach for a year. I would hear and see their reactions and tuck them away in my brain. I wasn’t too confident yet that I would be moving – but I continued to spread the Vietnam-expat message in order to see how it felt to say me hear the words aloud.

Verbalizing Goals Is Powerful

Basically – I like to try big goals on for size; verbalize them, and then listen to what they sound like. Does it sound good? Does it roll off my tongue? How do I feel when I say it? What are people’s reactions?

Many goals dance around in our heads, but once you actually verbalize them it’s different – they move from your head into sounds. Sounds other people hear, digest, and remember.

It’s like seeing a great pair of jeans on the rack that look perfect – and then you go try them on and realize they make your ass look big and they go back on the rack. Sometimes you need to try your goals on for size. See what they look like and how they feel. Do they flatter you, or do they make you feel uncomfortable? What do others think about them?

This is what I recommend people do when it comes to their career break or travel goals. I know you dream of seeing the Pyramids, volunteering in India, or living in Bangkok, but have they been verbalized yet? Have you ‘tried them on’?

Try It On For Size – Say It Aloud

You can do it. Just let the words come out of your mouth in the privacy of your home…

“I’m going to take a career break and travel.”

How does it feel to allow the words to come out of your mouth? Liberating? Scary?

Now – go to your trusted friend and say it.

Next, go to a stranger at a Meet, Plan, Go! meetup and say it.

By stating your goal – you are more likely to do it.

This is one of the reasons we hold Meet, Plan, Go! events in your city; you can meet and talk to others about your travel goals – A supportive community who is more than happy to help you ‘try your goal on.’

Once you say it, it sounds good, it feels liberating; this is only the first step. Next start taking actions to plan that career break or sabbatical. What’s that? You don’t know where to start?

Hold On Before You Feel Defeated

Consider signing up for the Career Break 30 e-course – it’s free. It will lead you over the hurdles and through the entire process of planning and taking a meaningful career break or sabbatical; from the contemplation and preparation to on-the-road and re-entry. Plus, you’ll have support along the way from a group of people who all hold your same goals to travel.

And in the vain of trying before you buy – here’s a free checklist Go ahead. Download it. Try it on. See if you like it. If you do – then consider signing up for the Basic Training class and community to equip yourself with the tools to achieve your goal.

Try it on…verbalize it…and then move in the direction of your travel dreams.


How to Travel As a Couple on Career Break
Monday, May 19th, 2014

Warren and Betsy Hiking the Lycian Way in Turkey. Travel is a real test of a relationship!

How will your relationship fare during a career break? It’s easy to romanticize the entire thing, thinking your trip will play out like the couple version of Eat, Pray, Love. Even though reality is not quite as easy or predictable as the movies – thank the travel gods! – our friends and career break veterans, Betsy and Warren, say you can plan on a stronger, healthier relationship by the end of your career break by setting just a few ground rules and expectations.

Betsy and Warren Talbot first began planning their career break in 2008, and in 2010 they set off to travel the world (after hosting the first Seattle Meet Plan Go event!). While on their career break they began writing about their experiences and lessons, and it eventually spawned their own publishing business of books, courses, and a weekly podcast. Their career break actually led them to a brand-new career!  We’ve actually featured a number of their books on Meet Plan Go as they are great resources for career break planning, teaching you how to save money, get rid of your stuff, and overcome fear of making big changes in your life.

Now that they’ve been living, traveling and working together non-stop for four years, we wanted to ask them some specific questions about what they learned, and they sat down on the terrace of their new home in Spain to reveal some of the insights from their new book, Married with Luggage: What We Learned About Love by Traveling the World

Here’s what we covered:  

  • Travel actually strengthened your relationship – why is that? (0:25)
  • How did you handle the planning stages as a couple?  Did someone take the lead or was it shared responsibility? (1:23)
  • How do you make decisions as a couple when you travel? (2:25)
  • How do you manage when something really goes wrong? (4:25)
  • What one new thing did you learn about each other once you started traveling?  (5:33)
  • What tips do you have for spending 24/7 together as you are traveling? (6:48)

Popup_MWL_FinalWhat’s next for these two? They are taking a 12-city tour of Europe by train to mark the release of their latest book, and they are calling the whole trip An International Love Affair. Follow along at Married with Luggage to see what they uncover about love and romance as they ride the rails this summer.

And if you want an inside peek into the evolution of a marriage on the road, check out their 5-star rated book, Married with Luggage: What We Learned About Love by Traveling the World.

Overcoming Fear and Mental Hurdles
Monday, April 21st, 2014

Each person’s situation and fears are different, but most often our fears of career break and sabbatical travel fall into four main areas:
Financial: I don’t have enough money – you have to be rich to travel

Societal: What will others think if I leave my job to travel – my family, friends and peers won’t be supportive

Career: I will ruin my career with a gap on my resume

Safety: fear of travel in general (health, safety, theft)
You may relate to one or all of these fears to varying degrees. But an important first step is to recognize that these hurdles and thoughts are really stories you have created about yourself. They are not necessarily true, but they can have self-fulfilling consequences.

Best Case Scenario and Positive Thinking

We usually default to assuming the worst-case scenario will come true. But we challenge you to think about “What if everything goes right?” for a change. That’s right – just close your eyes and think about those perceived hurdles as opportunities.
Financial: I can learn how to better save money & budget which will benefit me/my family in the long run. I will also realize that I don’t need as much money as I think to be happy.

Societal: Others will love hearing my story of following my passions and I will inspire others to do the same.

Career: By taking this career break I will be more knowledgeable of the world and it’s cultures, a better communicator, able to work in a variety of environments, and demonstrate great flexibility that will make me stand out in interviews and cover letters.

Safety: I will learn ways to remain safe no matter where I am in the world and will see that how people & places are perceived in the media is not necessarily true for entire countries.
There is always a way to over get hurdles – always. Positive thinking is just a start.

Time is On Your Side

Keeping your fears all bottled up inside makes them turn into irrational monsters. Simply confronting and talking about your fears over time is another way to climb over the hurdles. Just listen to Kim Dinan, a future career breaker, speak about how her and her husband have been working through their obstacles over time:

Research the Fear

Another way to overcome hurdles is to educate yourself. It’s easy to jump to conclusions; it’s hard to do research. Instead of letting the fears spiral out of control, stay calm, do some research, and see if your fears are real or not. Adam Seper’s initial fear was that they didn’t have enough money to take a career break and travel, however once he started researching it and reading about others who have done it, he realized the fears were unfounded.

Through this course, we will help you confront these hurdles and leap over them. Most importantly we will introduce you to and surround you with people who have overcome these perceived hurdles. People who have done it and whose lives are better because of their breaks. It may not be an easy process, but nothing worth doing is ever easy.

Of all the risks you can take in your life, the one that stands out the most is the risk never taken at all.

 

A simple exercise to overcoming your fears;

ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR FEARS

“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing, which you think you cannot do. “ – Eleanor Roosevelt

Writing down your fears creates awareness and choice. Make a list of all of your fears you have about taking a career break or sabbatical and traveling.  Write as fast as you can in a brainstorming format. Include EVERY fear, however small or irrational. Then read them aloud, suspending judgment. Allow yourself to feel the fear without letting it spiral you into negativity. Notice that being afraid does not have to mean being pulled off center and losing ground.

If it feels comfortable, share your list with a friend. Before sharing your list, explain that you simply want a witness, that you are playing with how it is to acknowledge your fears without being pulled off center by them. Be clear that you are not asking for help and that you do not need advice. You do not need to be ‘fixed’. Ask your friend to simply listen, and to acknowledge you for being conscious of your fears.


 

Making the Leap
Wednesday, April 9th, 2014

I’ve had a camera in my hand since I was a child, introduced to photography by my dad. My sister and I grew up with his Bronica ever present, despite our “Daaaad” (with whiny tone) protestations. I’m glad he persevered because we now have a priceless archive of thousands of slides showing our family and the countries we grew up in from the 1960s to the 80s when my sister and I left home for college.

I love photography. I love the process of creating a photograph: visualising the final result, making the shot, developing the film (yes, I still shoot on film) and then coaxing the final image out, gently shaping it during the printing stage. I also love being outdoors and walking. Mick (hubby) is also into photography, which makes things much easier. We focus on landscapes and wildlife.

I’ve had a day job as a project manager for 25 years. The thought of completely walking away from the corporate world and becoming a full time photographer has come and gone many times over those years. It hasn’t been practical, but as I trundle to work year after year, in the same zombie-like state as the thousands of other black-clad corporate commuters shoving their way off of train platforms and onto London Underground Tube platforms, my soul rebels.

Now, finally, we’re calling time on that life, even if only temporarily. We’re launching our On Your Doorstep photographic project which aims to (1) celebrate the great British landscape and (2) encourage people everywhere to get out and see the natural beauty that’s around them. For more information, check out our blog.

So, Mick, Bea (the dog), and I are packing our tent and heading out for a while. I can’t wait! We have some broad thoughts about where to go (The Lake District in England and various locations in Scotland), but we haven’t made any firm plans beyond the first week. The sense of freedom from not having every day mapped out is tremendous!

That’s not to say planning isn’t required; ours just focuses on what we need to stay warm, safe, and healthy rather than travel logistics.

Research

  • We’ve researched places that look interesting all over Scotland. We probably won’t get to them all, but it’s good to know. where we stand a good chance of getting the kinds of images we want. We’re also banking on local knowledge and lots of exploring to find hidden gems.
  • We’ve ordered a selection of good walking maps (Ordnance Survey).
  • I’ve found a couple of darkroom(s) in Scotland where I can at least make contact prints while we’re away, otherwise I’ll drown when we get back. Mick, being all digital, only needs to worry about having enough space on the external backup drive.

Packing

  • We have a well-worn packing list with everything from tents to smaller items like salt and pepper in the cook box (I love cooking).
  • British weather can be unpredictable, so we’re packing for cold, wet, snowy, sunny, hot and windy
  • Sturdy walking boots and good trekking poles go without saying.
  • Our emergency kit with compass, whistle, foil blanket and much more is ready. Every year the weather strands hikers walking the munros, even in Spring and mostly they’re not prepared.

Health

  • We’ve packed bug juice for midge season in Scotland as well as aspirin, bandages, antiseptic wipes, bandaids, etc.
  • We’ve ordered extra supplies of our prescription meds.
  • Bea has had her check-up and vaccinations, and we have tick treatments to take away.

Home

  • We’ve arranged house sitters.
  • We’ve arranged for our mail to be held at the Post Office while we’re away.
  • Our bills are all paid automatically; our bank’s great iPhone app allows us to manage our money.

Keeping in touch

  • Our website and blog are up
  • A Google custom map, embedded in our blog, will allow family and friends to follow our journey. You’ll find us on our website or Twitter @Thurmanovich.

This “just go” approach isn’t for everybody. We’ve quit our jobs, so we don’t have any guaranteed income to come back to; we’re making this our opportunity to really get our photography business going. We can supplement our income with temporary work where we need to, and even if we have to go back to “day jobs” for a while, the new business will have benefitted from some undivided attention at the crucial start-up phase.

Sometimes you have to close one door before another can open.

Boomers Know: Vacations Waste Time!
Wednesday, April 2nd, 2014

Did you know that Americans left 577,212,000 unused vacation days on the table last year? Now THAT’s a stat to be proud of! And since Baby Boomers still comprise 31% of the workforce (despite that the youngest of them is 50), we owe them a big thanks for their outstanding live-to-work ethic! 

It gets better. 49% of Boomers intend not to retire until they’re 66 or older. And 10% say they’ll never retire at all! And to think we’re wasting online ink here trying to promote career breaks? The average employed American takes only 10 days off—and refuses to use the remaining 4. We’ve got 144 million workers; you do the math! 

So let’s stop this balderdash about the beauty of breaks, retirement (temporary or otherwise), and time off. Let’s dispel some myths about this nirvana-utopia that one allegedly lands at when, say, you pack your bags and fly to Vietnam or Cabo or San Fran or wherever.

Myth #1: Vacations offer rest.

This, of course, is poppycock—since vacations stress the already over-stressed routine, require months of planning, days of packing, and hours of travel—and often on jets with bad air, dangerous food (if any at all), not to mention seats the size of one butt cheek. Once “there,” simple but essential acts like procuring Pizza Hut and finding a decent toilet can be a chore. The R&R happens when you finally get home and collapse back into your harried life. 

Myth #2. Vacations are affordable.

You kidding me? You gotta buy gas to drive anywhere, if only to the family cabin. And what about sandals and straw hats and Tommy Bahama shirts for the cruise or beach? Plus airfare and sleeps? Better to save your hard-earned cash for more important things, like big vehicles, Fleetwood Mac reunion tickets, and the newest iPhone.

Myth #3. You meet interesting people.

Nonsense! Vacationers (and the people who serve/sell to them) are unrealistic dweebs who like to set aside sanity for careless silliness. Take this guy. I recently met him while vacationing (gasp!) on St. John. He entertains lazy grinners and diners, makes guitars out of cigar boxes, and has been mastering his own musical style for years. Poor guy. He could have been a banker in North Dakota and gotten rich on the oil boom. 

Myth #4. You bond with family.

Yeah, so what? Who doesn’t get enough family—especially Boomers (who have had to deal with them for decades). Why make sandcastles with your grandkids when you already spent the holidays spoiling them? Stay home and stay tuned in and turned on. Find some Gilligan’s Island reruns and pay close attention to those hemorrhoid-remedy commercials! 

Myth #5. Vacations encourage exploration.

Ya sure, you can leave your comfort zone and go swim with man-stinging rays or climb rocks. But those are slippery slopes—and you could get your eye poked out. Stay on the job, I say, and keep up with your BookFace and Social Security and GetIntoMe accounts (when the boss isn’t looking). There’s SO much to explore in the office and online! 

This topic grows more vital daily—as frozen Americans fly recklessly away for warm “escapes” to potential doom and destruction, and others begin to ponder summer BreakAways. 

But you know better, right? Good! So stop dreaming. Stop scheming. And stop saving your money. Thank you!

Now, get back to work. 

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.

Don’t Be Too Scared to Follow Your Dream
Thursday, March 13th, 2014

I am often asked what the impetus was for my sailing journey.

Truth be told, I’ve always been drawn to water, from my youth growing up on Lake Michigan to my travels along the shores of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. I started taking sailing lessons in my early adulthood, but something ‘more important’ always diverted my attention away from sailing (e.g. work, more work, relationships, shiny silver things, etc). It wasn’t until the last dream I was living (moving to New York City and establishing a career) had long since become a reality and had left me feeling stuck, that I began craving a new adventure.

I seriously began considering the possibility of a global circumnavigation in 2008. I had been chartering sailboats with a childhood friend, Mary Davenport Cook, who was ‘living her bucket list’ after being diagnosed with terminal breast cancer. Mary taught me to enjoy the moments and pursue a dream while I was able.

I enjoyed traveling and taking in the great outdoors in the comfort of my temporary ‘sailing home’. I welcomed the simplicity of sailing, needing only to take along the essentials, leaving everything superfluous behind. I felt a meditative sense of calm and connectedness while on passage. Time would stop. Life was clarified. Everything seemed to make sense. I wanted more of this experience, and thus my new dream was formed.

At first, I was too fearful to follow my dream

I thought that I would jeopardize the career that I loved and had taken so long to build and that I could not afford to undertake such an adventure. I thought that my friends, colleagues and family would think I was crazy and irresponsible, and that I would fall flat on my face. It was only when the fear of not following my dream became greater than all of my other fears that I decided to ‘lift anchor’.

None of my fears materialized. In fact, quite the opposite occurred.

In 2011, I resigned my position (and was subsequently offered an 8-month leave of absence) to earn my RYA Yachtmaster Offshore certification and cross the Atlantic Ocean as crew in the ARC (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers).

I returned to work in 2012 to successfully deliver the biggest project of my career.

In 2013, I started my second ‘sailbatical’ to cross the Pacific. I am currently in Hawaii having sailed here from Isla Mujeres, Mexico via Florida, The Bahamas, Jamaica, Panama, The Galapagos, and French Polynesia (Gambier, Marquesas, Tuamotus and Society Islands) – over 11,000 nautical miles in ten months.

2014 promises more adventure as I head to New Zealand from Hawaii via the Society Islands, Cook Islands, Niue and Tonga. I will return to New York for work in 2015 unless the ‘wind’ takes me in another direction.

There is much more to this story than I can include here, but to summarize, I am amazed how everything came together once I decided to go for it. Even apparent glitches (failed relationships, health issues) along the way turned out to be blessings in disguise and actually supported me on the journey.

Living my dream is not always unicorns and rainbows – sometimes it can be a real nightmare. However, even at its worst, it is much better than sitting around wishing I was living my dream.

If you want to incorporate sailing into your career break, you may want to take one or more of the steps that I did:

Aloha and Bon Voyage

Lisa Dorenfest has an unquenchable passion for sailing and a dream to circumnavigate the globe on a sailboat. She has taken a series of breaks from her career as a Project Manager to realize her dream one ocean at a time. Having now sailed over 20,000 + nautical miles in 14 countries, Lisa has learned to enjoy life’s moments and believe in the possibilities. You can read more about Lisa’s sailing adventures on her website and follow her on Twitter.

Career Break Travel Myths
Monday, March 10th, 2014

Career Break Myths

Excuses, excuses, we’ve heard them all. And they are all there to rationalize your fear and result in keeping you cemented to the life you think you have to live.

Myth #1: “It’s too expensive, you must be rich”

You don’t have to have a trust fund; it is possible to take a break if you don’t have much money saved. And it’s certainly possible to save money in order to take a career break no matter what your circumstances. In fact, it’s never too early to start.

Some people plan and save for several years and you can also get travel costs from those who have come before you. A key place to start is to determine roughly how much you will need to travel around the world. You may realize that you may have to change some of your spending habits, but if you really want the career break bad enough, you will find a way to start saving. It’s about priorities.

If you are ready to hit the road sooner than later but don’t quite have the budget you’d like, you may want to consider working and living abroad as part of the adventure. Just ask Lisa Lubin who worked her way around the world while she was taking a break from her television producer job. Though keep in mind it is a break – so don’t let the work aspect consume all your time!

Myth #2: “A gap on my resume will ruin my career”

A career break doesn’t equal career suicide. In fact, it will even help your career. You will build skills you can put on your resume such as confidence, patience and smart risk-taking. And a break will allow you the time to reflect on where your career is to date, how it may have gotten off track, and how to refocus on what it is you really want to do. Just read what Michael Bontempi had to say about his three month break and how it improved his career.

Brian Peters advises that “It’s also important not to burn any bridges as you leave one job or career for another. The same people you work with now will be your best points of contact if you decide to come home and look for work. If they like you and trust you, they will keep their eyes and ears open.” That is exactly what helped Bill Peterson find a job in two short months in the Semiconductor industry that he left for his 14 month career break. During those months, he kept up on industry news and worked to keep his network alive.

Myth #3: “It’s not safe to travel abroad”

The reality is that we live in a society that focuses so heavily on the negative (especially in the news), so safety is a valid concern when traveling abroad for any length of time. But most places are only as dangerous as the situations you place yourself in. “Like many places in the States, as long as you keep your wits about you and make smart, common sense decisions (keep an eye on your stuff, don’t wander off down a dark alley alone or go to notoriously bad neighborhoods at night), you’re likely going to be just as safe abroad as you are at home,” says Jennifer Baggett.

For many women, safety may be their biggest concern. But just look at all of the women traveling, like Barbara Weibel of Hole in the Donut, Janice Waugh of Solo Traveler, Marie Elena Martinez of Marie’s World, The Lost Girls, and Sherry Ott of OttsWorld. Of course it’s not a bad idea to reference the US Department of State International Travel Information, but note that if you look at the US Travel Warnings, be sure to compare them to warnings from the UK, and Australia for other world perspectives.

Myth #4: “I can’t travel because I have a family”

We can tell you without wavering that it is possible to travel with family. It’s just that you may not personally know anyone who has taken a career break with their family and traveled the world. Let us introduce you to Rainer Jenss who took his family around the world. Or the Cooney’s who pulled their 3 sons out of high school for homeschool and an education of world travel. Or Family on Bikes who took the ultimate biking trip on the Pan-American Highway from Alaska to Argentina with their 2 boys.

Remember, for every myth out there, there is someone who has dispelled them. You may not know them personally, but know you are in amazing company.

How My Career Break Became My Career
Wednesday, March 5th, 2014

In 2009 my husband and I had a very typical American life. We both had 9-5 cubicle jobs, owned a house, a car, and a whole bunch of other stuff. We were on track: bigger house, bigger car, promotions, and, eventually, retirement.

But I was miserable. 

I’m not knocking that life path, but the truth is I tried it, and it wasn’t for me. A bigger house wasn’t going to make me happy and neither was a promotion. I’d always dreamed of writing for a living, and I wanted desperately to travel the world, but somewhere along the line I’d set aside my dreams to chase a very traditional model of success. 

At first, I felt that I was crazy for even thinking about giving everything up that I’d worked so hard for in order to chase a dream. Then I felt guilty and selfish for being unhappy with the life I had when so many others seemed so desperately to want it.

Who was I to want more? Why couldn’t I be happy with what I had? 

And then there was my husband, who I knew wasn’t exactly jumping for joy in his paper-pushing cubicle job, but who also wasn’t longing for a life of creativity and adventure in the same way that I was. How could I ask him to give up the life we’d built? What would he possibly think of my deeply held desires for a different sort of life? 

It’s hard to express this all in a few hundred words when I could fill a book (and have!) with the emotions we worked through and the actions we took to turn this dream into a reality. When I first breached the chuck-it-all-and-travel idea to my husband, he was surprised and skeptical, as you might imagine. But over time he came to believe in the passion and purpose I felt about following my dream. When it came down to it, he saw that the risk might reap great rewards, and even if it didn’t, we could always go back to our old careers. We knew we were resourceful and would not spend the remainder of our lives jobless and homeless (though it was a fear, believe me). 

Over time, my husband warmed to the idea. And then the unexpected happened: the enthusiasm he saw in me as I chased my own dream got him thinking about what he wanted out of his own life. There was a time when he wanted to work outdoors and teach people about the natural world. He’d even briefly gone to school to be a park ranger. Why had he given up on it? 

So we leapt. We were terrified but exhilarated all at once. 

For the next 20 months we visited 20 countries on 5 continents. We swam with sea lions in the Galapagos Islands, trekked the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, climbed mountains in the Himalayas, drove a rickshaw through India, walked across Spain and bicycled through Vietnam. We met incredible people and learned more than we could ever have imagined.

And somewhere along the way we realized that our lives had been transformed, irreversibly, forever. 

My writing career is growing stronger every day, and last September I published my first book, called Life On Fire: A Step-By-Step Guide To Living Your Dreams. I wrote the book for everyone standing on the cusp of a gigantic dream. I know you are terrified and questioning things. But you are not alone. My book gives you the skills and inspiration to navigate the road to your dreams. Believe me, the journey is worth it.

My husband and I would still be traveling today if it weren’t for an unexpected opportunity that came our way. We’ve been hired, as a team, by Backpacker Magazine to travel around the U.S. giving presentations about backpacking skills, gear, and travel destinations. It’s the sort of job we never would have been qualified for had we not followed my dream, and the new job fits perfectly with Brian’s re-discovered dream. 

We never could have guessed the twists and turns of life that have lead us to where we are today. And we have no idea what will happen next. The possibility and potential of our future excites me every day. Where I could once sit down at my cubicle and picture the next 30 years of my working life, I now sit down at my computer each morning and know that there are a lifetime of adventures and stories out there with my name on it. I can’t wait to live them. 

Kim is a writer whose took a career break in 2012 and never looked back. Her book, Life On Fire: A Step-By-Step Guide To Living Your Dreams is available on Amazon here.  You can read all about her journey on her blog So Many Places.

 

 

 

 

Faith Vs. Fear: Boomers Speak Out at Meet-up
Thursday, February 27th, 2014

Monday night, about 40 travel lovers gathered at Ginger Hop in Minneapolis to swap stories and secrets. A panel of four experienced career breakers took on the topic of “Faith Vs. Fear: The Career Break Face-off.” And Yours Truly served as Mr. M.C. Moderator. A good time was had by all!

After a social-lubrication hour, we had all attendees introduce themselves, tell about their career-break experience (if any), and mention the primary fear standing in the way of their fantasy BreakAway. The fears were mostly familiar, yet the Boomer’s concerns were sometimes surprising. Here are a few, plus my comments…

“I’m afraid that prospective employers will think I’m coming out of retirement.”

This came up more than once, and honestly had never crossed my mind before. But it seems totally legit, right? Picture someone half your age named Ms. H.R. Authority perusing your resume and sniffing, “You turned 62, took a year off to live in Peru, and now you want to go back to work? Really!?!”

“I’m worried about stopping contributions into my retirement savings—and spending money I may need later.”

That’s a smart worry. And we Americans are big spenders (who often forget to save in our early decades). But as we age, most people gradually come to their savings senses. My 2-cent retort remains: Wouldn’t you love to take one year of your retirement now—even if it means working one year longer later?

“I’m concerned that I might have health problems.”

Again, so real. Fortunately, one panelist had recently returned from an ambitious one-year travel-athon—despite having diabetes and needing to carry refrigerated insulin and give himself shots four times a day. Full disclosure: He was in his 20s. Yet his story inspires regardless of your age. And other folks reflected stories of getting good—and often cheap!—care in almost every country.

“What if my family needs me or my parents get sick or die?”

That’s a tough one. And as Boomers are learning en masse, some serious things happen as you age: Responsibility. Caring. Illness. Death. But why not talk to your parents and kinfolk and ask their opinion? They might just insist you go. They may even visit! And remember: If something bad happens, you can go home again. 

“I’m just not sure I have the energy.”

Travel can be exhausting, no doubt. Yet there are as many ways to travel as there are people to get up and go—and the words “slow travel” came up often last night (including by young whippersnappers). A sleepy fishing village may be just the ticket; climb every mountain in your next life. On the other hand, maybe a Big Break would recharge those tired batteries and get you off your Boomer butt!

After all, is there anything more energizing than stepping out of your stale routine, landing in a cool new scene, and jump-starting the rest of your life?

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.

Career Break Guide Table of Contents

Meet Plan Go