Me and my brother, Nick, in Slovenia

So, I have to admit that I feel lucky in how early an appreciation for international travel hit me. As a senior in high school (over a decade ago now!) I ran with the study abroad crew for a while. With friendly faces from 2 continents, I stayed in touch until college when I went to Spain and Brazil on trips to visit old friends.

I intensified my travels in college with the help of lots of Delta-employed friends. And so the travel bug grew bigger.

By the end of college, travel was my LIFE. I mean, if I had a 5-day weekend coming up, I would grab a friend and fly standby to Ireland for $250. FIRST CLASS. It was amazing.

What I came to realize about myself was that I traveled because it gave me a sense of freedom and joy that nothing matched. It refreshed my soul like nothing else could. And it’s a drug I’ve been on since.

People can be separated into two groups – those that think that traveling for 4 months is a life-must and those that think that traveling for 4 months is irresponsible. As a member of the former, I have chosen to travel during career transitions more than anything. This fine website is dedicated to growing the sabbatical in American business, something I wholeheartedly support. But how I’ve made this happen is key.

Traveling during career transitions can occur before a job, after a job or any other time where you have a major new life step coming along, including starting or leaving college. And the key to traveling during career transitions is successful, long term planning. A year and a half before undergrad graduation, I had started the planning of my 4-month around-the-Pacific trip.

Buenos Aires, Argentina

So, take advantage of transitions in your life and make sure you start preparing EARLY. I’m not saying plan every detail, but the earlier you decide, the more cash you can save up, the cheaper your flights will be, and the easier it is for you to immerse yourself in the travel Twitter space (a must).

Don’t be afraid. Take the step. It’s the first along a life of travel being your most intense passion. Which is a good thing.

(PS – Check out HostelDog.com for shirts that help you remember daily why you’re going on that huge trip!)

Cusco, Peru

From Victoria Mountain, Hong Kong, China

Garrett will be an expert panelist at Meet, Plan, Go! on the evening of September 14th in Atlanta at REI. The event is free but registration is required. Come join us!

Inspiration – Thank you Jesus for all that you have blessed us with!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

sabbatical. The shop (Sagmeister Inc.) is closed. Ideas generated during the sabbatical year fuel the creative genius and the firm’s bottom line grows substantially during the next six years - all a result of the one-year sabbatical.

Sagmeister is  on his second sabbatical.

Stefan Sagmeister

Our company, yourSABBATICAL.com, couldn’t make up a more compelling business case for sabbaticals. Since our mission is to make certain that EVERY PERSON has sabbatical opportunities as part of their career, we’re happy to let Stefan talk on and on.  And we couldn’t ask for a better looking spokesperson.  He’s rugged-looking cute.

It would be surprising if you haven’t seen his presentation, The Power of Time Off, at the 2009  TED conference.  Afterwards, the blog world lit up as Sagmeister’s novel logic – “take your retirement years and intersperse them into your work life”– inspired and surpised many.  My post about “taking a Sagmeister” was one of a gazillion.

Two months later when Sagmeister should have been doomed to Susan Boyle’s current status (Where is she? Who was she?), here comes another slew of blogs -including one on Oct. 7, 2009 on the yourSABBATICAL blog -Sagmeister on Sabbaticals. All with more tweets and enormous gushing once again at this very “smart and unique” idea.

Before Sagmeister’s given saint status, let’s set the record straight. He’s not the only person who steps out of a successful career for a year long experience away from work.  There are many successful people who employ the same strategy and you may not ever know of them.

So let me introduce  two people who stepped away from successful careers for a year out. Both are in the first quarter of their sabbatical.

First there’s Eve Beglarian, composer and collaborator, who put her bright red kayak into the Mississippi River’s headwateron Aug. 1, 2009. She’ll glide the river until late November then head back upstream by car. With a small ensemble, she’ll travel and perform new works for and with residents in the very communities along the river that inspirted them.  She’ll pick up the river and complete her year doing a long mosey til the end.

Why wasn’t she treated to tweets heard round the world after an article about her appeared in the New York Times?  Lack of dollars in her bank account? Not as pretty as Sagmeister?

Another person  is 27-year-old Manhattan resident Joseph Quaderer – an NYU MBA student and Director at Morgan Stanley.  Why take a year away from a six-figure salary, a posh lifestyle with access to the best NYC clubs and restaurants, a luxury apartment, a Hampton’s summerhouse, a network of family and friends, a six-figure salary ?

Why, pray tell, in the middle of the worst economic crisis would he take a year out to wander the heart of Africa to work with disadvantaged Ugandan students? The pay doesn’t sound good, and I’m curious about the accommodations.

Good for all of us is the news that Joseph will be telling his story on this website so all of us can learn about his experience, his motivations and his day-to-day challenges.  And look for a hint of regret, perhaps.

Watch for his blog posts soon. Meanwhile, don’t scoff at one-year sabbaticals and definitely don’t credit the idea as one lived out only by the rich and famous.

Could that be you in a red kayak or sporting a lion-claw necklace next year?  Interesting thought.