How Many Summers Do You Have Left? (Issue 701)
Take the damn vacation!
There’s still a little time to take a vacation this summer!
Take some time off, even if you just stay close to home and enjoy a week away from work. Like, really take some time away from work (e.g., don’t check your emails!).
As you are reading this, I’m in Alaska. I’m taking the rest of August off to spend time with my children and a few other family members. We’ll be hiking, backpacking, and generally enjoying life. Summer in Alaska means long days, since the sun doesn’t start setting until 9 PM. So, I’m sure we’ll have some bonfires on the beach, too.
I’m finally taking that whole work-life balance thing more seriously. Better late than never, I guess!
I understand the temptation to focus on your career, work all the time, and put off using your vacation days. I once went four years without taking a real vacation. I didn’t feel like I could! It didn’t feel safe for my career to be away from the office for too long.
Hell, I once had emergency surgery on a Friday and limped back to work on Monday. I spent the next couple of weeks in pain, carefully easing into and back out of my chair several times a day for various meetings. Wonderful, huh?
I should have been building my escape plan. Instead, I was planning how to reach the next rung on the corporate career ladder. Mapping out the path to the executive ranks.
And for what?
Sure, I made more money as I climbed higher. But I also became increasingly stressed, depressed, unhealthy, and unhappy. I worked constantly and rarely spent time with my family. I kind of hated my life back then.
However, I finally had enough, and I escaped that trap.
So, my hope for you is that you make plans to escape to freedom later while you’re still employed now. It’s easier to plan rationally when you don’t feel desperate (i.e., you have a steady paycheck).
❌ Don’t count on that job—or any job (there have been so many layoffs this year!)
❌ Don’t let yourself get trapped in a single profession (the longevity of a profession is changing quickly)
❌ Don’t feel stuck in the only career you thought was your future (only those who adapt will survive)
And take care of yourself! Take that vacation. Exercise your body. Play with your kids. Explore the world. And enjoy these moments!
Life is short, folks. The fun part of the ride ends sooner than you think. Take it from someone who recently turned 60 and wonders where all those years went. It seems like just yesterday that I started my career at IBM in 1993 and moved on to Apple in 1995. Those memories are so vivid! Thirty years went by in the blink of an eye.
I’m here if you want to chat about improving your work-life balance and planning your escape from the corporate world. Book a free call with me anytime.
Larry Cornett, Ph.D., is a career coach who spent 20+ years in Silicon Valley at Apple, IBM, Yahoo, eBay, and several startups as a designer, leader, and product and design executive. Whether you're fighting for a promotion, navigating a layoff, or planning your exit to independence, he combines executive experience with psychological insight to help ambitious professionals reclaim their power and build an Invincible Career.
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