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I'll be picking up the book this weekend.
-Dave
I can
The myth that you have to sacrifice your career is a big one. My fiancee is a lawyer, one of the most paper-intensive professions. We've used technology to allow her to work remotely for weeks at a time. Someday soon it will be months at a time.
Thanks for sharing the interview Clay.
I recently caught a really horrendous interview on a podcast (the first question was the dreadful: "Tell us a little about yourself") and your interview with Dan Clements was a breath of fresh air! Interesting, thoughtful questions that showed you did your research, a highly relevant topic for your blog, and a terrific interview subject. Great job!
There's always reasons why we can't do things and I'm excited when books like this breakthrough and tell people why they can.
Good interview.
As someone who initially took a sabbatical (to Ecuador) over 15 years ago and then made a complete break from the cubicle, I personally believe it comes down to mindset.
Up until now I have not seen Dan (and his EXCELLENT book) or Tim Ferriss describe it this way, but removing yourself can sometimes be like divorcing a spouse. For some people they have been in their job 2, 5, or 10 years and it is tough to leave because that is how they define themselves.
Also, many people are clinging to their job (the status quo) because it provides them with a sense of security, almost like the safety of a life raft.
I, too, like the list of myths. I think it show both how easy it is for us to block off possibilities for ourselves, and how we just need to side-step in our thinking to go round them completely.
Thank you, Clay, and Dan, for an excellent interview. I will be keeping an eye out for Escape 101.
Ali
http://jonathanmead.com - Authenticity, Clarity, Balance
This is a great interview, as well as a great "review of sorts" of Dan's book. You worded your questions such that Dan was allowed to expand on his answers and give us all more insight into the book.
For me, even a short road trip (without a purpose except to get out of town), helps me to "regroup". I come home feeling refreshed and ready to dive back in.
Great job Clay. Again you confirmed my reasons for making you a NBOTW. You've made me proud. :)
I feel like I arrived late for the party. Thank you to everyone for your kind comments. And Clay - thanks to you for your insightful questions. This was a real pleasure.
It great to hear from people making the effort to live their lives on purpose. If we can help any of you out along the way, just ask.
Um, can I borrow five dollars I need to buy a new snow shovel ;)
Your timing is perfect and just what I needed as I plan to take my first small sabbatical for 28 days this summer, to earn my yoga teacher training certification. My husband and daughter support me and my interest in fulfilling one of my dreams.
Life is Good!
Shann
Thanks for the excellent comments. I'm really glad you enjoyed the interview and I'm grateful to you for stopping by. This was The Growing Life's first author interview and I was very pleased with Dan's responses. Thanks for checking out some of these travel ideas and for checking out Escape 101.
Happy sabbaticals!!
--Clay
That's so key, and it's more perspective than circumstance.
The concept of taking a sabbatical is a wonderful way to test the waters before you make the plunge! This book couldn't come at a better time when so many are questioning their direction and career choices.
I love the emphasis on creating a catalyst for personal change that doesn't involve a tragedy of some kind! If we all wait until we have a medical crisis to follow our dreams, we might never get the chance.
This is real food for thought.
I notice that my own mind is constantly generating reasons why I can't do something like that. Doing it might not actually be all that difficult, but managing my perspective and my thinking would be critically important to pulling it off!
Any ideas?
Blessings,
Andrea
Ironically, this is yet another example of a time when leaving home to do something that you could do without leaving home puts you further ahead.
We wrote most of the draft manuscript for Escape 101 in Paraguay, SA. Our daughter was five on that sabbatical. If we hadn't left, the book would still be unfinished.
What made it work? We had this very broad set of requirements for our escape, and as few deal-breakers as possible. We weren't fixated on a particular country, but we did want to dust off some Spanish, and expose Eve to a new language. One of the few non-negotiables, though, was that there had to be other children around.
That focus made all the difference. It meant that there were always playmates, and other parents nearby. Essentially, it helped to replicate a lot of the support network most families have in place in their day-to-day lives to manage the logistics of raising happy kids and staying sane.
At the same time, though, by leaving home, you remove your job, your commute, your distractions of everyday life, and you create this this unprogrammed, uncommitted time to do what's important. For us that was helping others, reconnecting as a family, and writing. By leaving home, we ended up with time to do it all, and then some.
Here's the thing: Sometimes accomplishing what you want isn't about becoming hyper-productive or super-effective, or about GTD, or any of those things. It's just about having less other stuff to do. It's about wading out into a new, clear, unobstructed place where life isn't yelling at you all the time.
Sometimes it's just about leaving.
Your productivity practice needs to include time for you to get away, to recharge your batteries and re-connect with your inner self as well as your loved ones.
I am so going to start reading this book!
Reading the answers only already gives me the good feeling motivation ;) Maybe that's because I've been trying to 'shift' my 'career' as such that I am as free as possible ...
Honestly, I don't ever read books anymore, but this one I might actually go get ...
B.t.w.
The myths reminded me of my management course in college which dealt partly with 'how to accept help employees adapt to a change of situation ...'. They usually go through a number of standard phases before actually making / accepting changes, whether self initiated or started by someone else.
It's also amazing how standard models which we are educated about actually shine trough in multiple other areas of life ...
I still remember sitting in my Physics class where we were learning about the mathematical equations that describe the magnetic field around a straight wire carrying an electric current. The same equations describe the motion of an incompressible flow of a fluid(like water) around a curved object (like a wing).
Sounds kinda nerdy now, but I have been looking for these kinds of congruencies for the past 20 years...
Life is interesting that way.