CAREER
Consider a Sabbatical
By Dan Miller
48days.com
CBN.com
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Consider a Sabbatical Here’s a recent question:
Dan, I am a 35 year old manager within an IT company and I really do hate my job. I have several ideas where I want to go in life, but I am not sure which direction to go and frankly I am too burned out to really think about it. Most likely, I am going to go back to school to complete my PHd in History. However, right now I am too drained to make that kind of commitment. I am considering taking a sabbatical and taking a year off from working and use that time to clear my head and pursue a few business ideas and get ready for my continuing graduate studies. My wife and I have looked into our finances and spent a lot of time on our knees praying about this and we believe we can afford it. Do you think sabbaticals are a good idea? I know they are common in Europe and elsewhere in the world. How will this be looked upon when I look for a job later? Currently I am so mentally burned out that I don't remember my name most days. Thanks, Robert
Robert,
I happen to love the idea of a sabbatical. It's certainly a very Biblical concept. In historical times every seven years they were required to allow the ground to lay fallow. It gave it time to rejuvenate and be restored. I believe the same would be healthy for us as people today. Of course, we're commanded to take every seventh day off for rest. Thus the concept of a sabbatical is very healthy. When we are pressured and under the demands of daily details it's hard to be creative and innovative. Our universities still understand the power of sabbatical -- it's a time when thinkers discover new theories and devise new plans.
If you can manage it financially, a sabbatical is likely to be the stimulus for a very productive next "season" of your life. I would also recommend Wayne Muller's book, Sabbath. It's a wonderful overview of the concept.
The current issue of Motto has a great article titled -- Go ahead. Take that year off. You'll find lots of resources to anticipate travel, study and budgeting.
Here's that article.
Why Change Careers?
In a recent survey, VocationVacation asked: “What pushes you to think about making a career change?” Over 3,000 people responded, saying:
- 43% - I used to like/love my current job but now I'm burned out
- 26% - I've wanted to do my dream-job forever but never felt I could
- 18% - I've had a big life change (marriage, divorce, layoff, move, etc.)
- 13% - I never liked my current job
VocationVacation offers some very interesting opportunities to try out various careers. Typically you will get to spend 3-5 days with an expert showing you the ins and outs of their career. You may select working with a cartoon animator in New York or with an antique clock restorer in Laguna Beach, CA. Have you always wanted to combine your desire to be a true craftsman with your love and passion for music? Join Manuel Delgado of Delgado Guitars in Nashville, TN and he’ll share his passion for building unique, handcrafted guitars. You can experience being a horse trainer, a park ranger or a major baseball team manager.
I love the combination of Vocation and Vacation that this company promotes. Maybe 07 is the time for you to test drive your new career.
Find your perfect Vocation Vacation.
Humor -- Eggplant Sale
Here’s a great little story – and also, a great marketing twist you can use in your own business.
A grocer put up a sign that read "Eggplants, 25¢ ea.--three for a dollar."
All day long, customers came in exclaiming: "Don't be ridiculous! I should get four for a dollar!"
Meekly the grocer capitulated and packaged four eggplants. The tailor next door had been watching these antics and finally asked the grocer, "Aren't you going to fix the mistake on your sign?"
"What mistake?" the grocer asked. "Before I put up that sign no one ever bought more than one eggplant."
Quotes -- Rest
A world without a Sabbath would be like a man without a smile, like a summer without flowers, and like a homestead without a garden.” - H. W. Beecher
“Better is one hand full of quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind.” - Ecclesiastes 4:6
“If a country is governed wisely, people enjoy their food, take pleasure in being with their families, spend weekends working in their gardens, delight in the doings of the neighborhood.” - Tao Te Ching
“I make myself rich by making my wants few.” - Thoreau
Dan Miller is the bestselling author of 48 Days To The Work You Love and a renowned Life Coach specializing in career fulfillment. His weekly newsletter reaches 70,000 subscribers. Dan’s articles are featured here at CBN every Tuesday, and you can find out more about Dan at www.48days.com.
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