Why do politicians thrust themselves into worlds that work just fine without them?  Why do Republicans—who claim to favor unintrusive, small government—keep interfering without invitation?  The latest instance is taking place in my home state, Iowa, where elected geniuses are threatening professors’ pursuit of improvement.

Never mind that, as part of budget consciousness, Iowa has reduced its sabbaticals by half over the last two years.  Never mind that it costs only $422,283—for replacement teachers—per year.  Heck, that doesn’t even buy enough attack ads to throw an election.

Never mind that, according to the Regents, that modest sabbatical investment last year yielded $5.2 million in grants.  Wouldn’t you be in favor of an opportunity to increase your money ten-fold while upgrading your employees’ skills?

Nonetheless, a handful of pols have had it with spending money on University-sponsored research and study.  They’ve declared a verbal war on the Regents—dubbing them “arrogant” for approving 95 requested sabbaticals at the three state university.

So naturally, they’ve threatened that the Regents could be “punished” for their vote.  By that they probably mean fired—and then replaced by like nonthinking “leaders.”    But that’s only the beginning.

• Speaking of “arrogant”…

When the obstreperous elephants flap their wings and jaws, it sounds something like this:

Why should the taxpayers of Iowa be paying to basically give these folks a year off from teaching?”

asks incoming House Speaker Kraig Paulsen (whose party just won power in November).

Clearly, Mr. Paulsen fails to value education—and the university system of three impressive schools that countless Iowans have created over the decades.  His ignorance and desire to micro-manage apparently run so deep that he can’t consider that sabbaticals are a time for research, writing, collaboration, and innovation.

In fact, in 2009, according to the Associated Press, Iowa professors on sabbatical “published 147 research articles, created and updated nearly 100 classes, and submitted 50 grant applications.”

Oh and by the way, the new term—no doubt to pacify prying politicians—is “Professsional Development Assignnments.”

• Open your minds, Republicans

Some say sabbaticals can work wonders—thanks to the grants, new students (who seek out new, cutting-edge courses), and attention to the schools who still innovate.  And it goes without saying that recruiting and retention matter, and the best teachers are going to seek out the campuses that care about growth.

• Personal growth?  Career growth?  Intellectual growth?

Perhaps those things don’t matter in these terrible times.  Not in Louisiana, where Republican governor Bobby Jindal is cutting higher-ed budgets in hopes that Louisiana’s universities might decrease sabbaticals and “force professors to actually spend more time in the classrooms teaching and interacting with students.”

Maybe not in Wisconsin too, where incoming Republicans are demanding to know how much sabbaticals cost and whether they’re valid or vacations.  Kent State cancelled them too, but then reinstated them (after the faculty made some noise)—but with tighter monitoring.

• The last word…

Closed-minded lawmakers who thrive on negativity won’t listen, but thank goodness for people like John Curtis, of the American Association of University Professors, who calmly suggests:

the whole purpose of sabbatical is to allow faculty members to do research, to engage in understanding new developments in their discipline and then to bring all of that back to their teaching.”

Teaching.  Remember when that was a priority?  It seems that a lot of politicians have a lot to learn.

Finally!  Career breaks and sabbaticals are getting their moment in the sun.  Doers and dreamers are coming out of the woodwork–sharing their passion and stories.  Into this mix, another savvy trekker has stepped forward…  

Meet Michael Schneider, author of the blog On the Other Guy’s Dime.  (No, this is not a rendering of Michael, but rather a metaphorical depiction of his swashbuckling nature.)

I met Michael at our most recent Twin Cities BreakAway MeetUp and he filled me in on his Big Idea, which can be summarized thusly:

“Learn how to live and work abroad without having to reach into your own wallet or give up your regular day job. I have done it 14 separate times and you can too.”

Michael’s got this thing figured out.  In fact, he wrote the book on it!  

He also invited me to speak out on his blog, which of course I took him up on…

As one who has always raided my own booty for career breaks, my guest post tells a decidedly contrarian tale.  But would I considering working (for pay!) abroad instead of footing the bill myself? Sign me up!

Among his many accomplishments, Michael is a professor emeritus at top-notch Macalaster College in St. Paul—and an expert in taking paid (yes, PAID) assignments at exotic international locations.  He’s lived and worked abroad 14 different times, from Australia to Zimbabwe. How the heck does he do it?  

He tells all, in the book and the blog—including tips, opportunity postings and more. So go for my guest post.  But stay for the inspiration and to find out about out-of-the-blue and under-the-radar opportunities like, say, “Seeking Software Engineering Lecturers in Vietnam!”

What have you got to lose?

We Merr’kuns may still be learning our money math. But if a downturn is good for anything, it’s for ruthless fiscal forehead-gripping—for economists and Joe 6-Packs alike. 

The good news:  Americans are reducing their credit card usage.  In fact, more than 8 million people stopped actively using their cards in the past year.  Now a big part of that is because many folks have gotten their swiper taken away.  But maybe we’re also wising up, and those 20-something interest rates just don’t interest us any more. Still, the sad fact remains that the average credit card balance hovers around $5,000.  Ugh.

The bad news: Our college students admit to overall cluelessness about managing their own money, and (of course) blame their parents.  (Duh!)  

The latest digits…

• 77% of students said they didn’t feel fully prepared to manage their own money when they went to college, according to a BookRenter College Experience survey.
• 85% believed that it was a parent’s responsibility to actively teach them about money.
• 5% felt that the onus of learning about money is on them. 

The best news:  Only 5% think (I mean “feel”) the onus (what’s an “onus,” anyway?) is “on them.”  Self-esteem must be thriving, even when the fiscal fitness is getting way flabby. 

In The Graduate, Mr. Mcguire says,

I want to say just one word to you.  Just one word, Benjamin…

Yes, sir, Mr. McGuire?

Plastics.”

Could we finally have Graduated from Plastics?

Happy birthday to Me. Yep, it’s arrived: The Big 5-Oh.

Now there’s a number that screams for extreme measures. So I made a list of, oh, 50 things I might do to commemorate, celebrate, and contemplate. For the contemplation bit, a BreakAway retreat beckoned. Naturally, I wanted a spa with massage and sushi. But I chose a remote river cabin instead.

The point: Be still. As in, “Be still and know that God is God.” Not the pope, not you, not even me at 50. A prayer pamphlet on the fireplace mantle says healthy spirituality requires persistence. My marked-up copy of “Nothing Special” by a Zen master insists serenity takes practice.

Practice? Damn! Can’t someone come up with some new secrets and shortcuts?

Should the maudlin come calling, you can’t mess around. So I allow diversions—as need be. Light the fire and candles. Play some guitar (and iPod Gospel) when the silence gets shrill. Cook up healthful grub grabbed at the co-op on the way. Take pics of the river running by.

• Now there’s a metaphor…

River. Old Man. Like the years, that thing just keeps rollin’ along; what’s the rush? Yet it’s effortless to sit still beside wild waters. For one thing, my body-mind-spirit is solar-powered. Dash outside and catch some rays? Impossible. The sky, water, and horizon offer only shades of grim.

The Gods must have a crazy sense of humor to give me a November 30 birthday. Ha ha ha. The nine months this soul spent in-utero happened to be the warmest and brightest, while I gestated in the darkness.”

Hence, birthday festivities are forever fated to coincide with Seasonal Affected Disgruntlement. Deal with it.

• Re: Arrangement

For a retreat space, this knotty-pine shanty has ample creature comforts. So I gradually reorganize chairs, lights, and tables to my liking—and make a big mess. I must enjoy nesting, and still don’t travel lite. Soon enough, I’ll put every thing back in order, wipe away any evidence of my brief existence, and move on.

Moving on: Isn’t that what it’s all about?

With apologies to the hokey-pokey, five decades teaches you a lot about moving on. You can seize the day, but you can’t keep it. Your youth disappears like a blossom in the current. And your own toddlers are teenagers before you’ve tossed their Thomas the Tank Engine toys.

Honestly? I’d like them back. Not Thomas, but the days. Oh, to wobble around the carpet again with my droolers, hook up with my adolescent entourage as we prowl fearlessly but aimlessly into the night, and recreate college but with more romp and less circumstance.

• The Big 5 O.M.G.

But no. Those days gushed into the mush that brings me to exactly where I am. Yet, one trusts, the past that brought us here will carry us around the bend. This river water was so far away yesterday, will be God-knows-where tomorrow, yet is also here now. Be Here Now.

That’s what a retreat offers: A chance to sit with the past, present, and future—and see how they somehow flow into one lifestream; e’er the Twain shall meet. Such romantic notions warm my heart during yesterday’s pursuit of inner-peace through kayaking. But gradually, the darkness, like the dirty water, surrounds me.

Decomposing jack-o-lanterns with twisted smiles line the banks. Spooky. Gunshots echo through the woods and bullets bounce off trees. Deadly. Recent heavy rains and snows make the current swift with logs, dock chunks, and trash. Dangerous. A cat with one ear and sick eyes wins our staredown. Ick. A deafening motorboat with three camo-clad rednecks passes way too close and makes rough waves.

Enough creepiness—so says my survival instinct. Night is falling early (hey, it’s November); head for shore.

As I hurry, so do 50 wild turkeys—dumb as bricks and barely able to keep their heads above water as they flail from an island and barely miss me. Thanksgiving? Yes, it’s that time of year too.

• The Grateful Not-Yet Dead

Amid the haunting omens, I choose to interpret the klutzy turkeys as carrying the only message that flies: Gratitude. “Oh the Lord is good to me, and so I thank the Lord,” sings Johnny Appleseed and happy congregations before potluck suppers.

Still, once inside, it takes some scalding 70s Rolling Stones and a long shower to wash both chill and demons away.

But that was yesterday’s voyage. Those things have passed. For now. So let go of these digital crutches. Get out of your head and hut. Walk full of grace into that bracing, gray November day. Go paddle that perilous river—while you can.

Afterward, go ahead—sip some wine if you feel like it. It’s a Christian Brothers retreat center, after all; what righteous wine snob didn’t practice on gallons of their sweet Burgundy? Blood of Christ! Water into wine! Maybe a midlife miracle (not crisis) awaits those with faith!

After the paddle, raise a full glass to floating through five decades. No revelations. No regrets. No one but myself to toast with. But it’s good to be here.

Still.

The Minneapolis BreakAway branch proudly hosted Sherry Ott, travel guru extraordinaire, for a merry meetup on Wednesday.  Some 30 souls showed up—representing everything from experienced around-the-worlders to die-hard dreamers and schemers. 

People mingled comfortably; we even ran out of name tags.  Many stayed well after our two hours of informal presentation and Q&A.  In fact, Sherry and I barely got our dinner order in before the kitchen-closing hard-stop of 11:00. 

As usual, a host like myself leaves an event like this exhausted, inspired, and humble.  After all…

• At least half the people there have traveled at least as much as I have, and many have lived overseas and become fluent in other languages. 
• Many are proud budget vagabonders—wearing backpacks, surfing couches, and conquering third worlds with the ease some of us do Oslo. 
• The tales of woe—illness, accidents, stolen passports, holdups—make this tough gang only more stubborn and fearless. 
• This crowd was delighfully diverse.  There were Uptown natives and travelers from other countries, old and young, couples and singles, edgy urbanites and dolled-up suburban moms.

Thanks to all who showed up—literally and metaphorically.  Big ups and high-fives to my friend and collaborator, Sherry Ott.  We’ll keep our eye on her—if we can!

If you’re not busy this Wednesday, there’s a great gathering happening.  I’ll act as host with the most.  But the real reason to show up is to meet a real, true travel guru…my friend, Sherry Ott. 

We’ll be at Calhoun Square in Uptown, inside Chiang Mai Thai’s way cool private room, from 7 – 9p. Taps will be a mere $3 and wine $5. Food service will be available. And we’ll keep it informal; our guest will tell tales and lead the chat for the first half or so. And then we’ll just mingle and mix it up and sip as we see fit…

Sherry Ott is a world-class travel blogger, an uber-worldly traveler, and an expert on topics like going it alone or finding a travel mate, long-term stays, finding overseas employment, and making dreams come true on a budget.

Oh yes, she’s also a founder of Briefcase to Backpack. Host of Ottsworld. And of course, a creator of the recent 14-city career-break-fest, Meet Plan Go, which got written up in a Sunday New York Times story (“Making the Dream Trip a Reality.”)

She’s rarely in town, so don’t miss out!

RSVP if you can with via the official Twin Cities BreakAway Meetup site—or just drop in. 

If you have questions or need more info, let me know. Hope to see you there!

While this site (and now many others) promote career breaks for personal sanity and growth, the resounding mass response remains, “Sounds great, but I can’t do that.”  

So here’s s tinier idea. Try a tech break: Take one day (24 hours) a week and turn off ALL your digitalia.  A high school in Woodstock NY did, and learned plenty. 

The experiment, chronicled here, lasted a month.  A survey at the end found that two out of 3 (65%) had stuck with the program.  

Not bad—considering that even academia has become addicted to screens and tech tools.  But of course, the social and habitual usage proved to be the most missed.  As one teacher admits:

“What’s astonishing to me is that my BlackBerry is not just a technological device, but also something I fidget with often…just to pass the time.” 

That’s a big confession for a teacher.  As a fellow educator, I often look out at my students—who are always wired about nine ways—and wonder what are they focused on right now?  Anything? 

Perhaps that’s the big brainpower question:

• Does all this data at our fingertips harm relationships and real learning—or indeed make us more productive as teachers and students? 

After the experiment ended, 75% of participants stated that being tech-untethered slowed down their production.  Yet one administrator wisely observed:

It forced us all to be creative in how to deliver our lessons, express curiosity, and learn from one another in a much more personal way.”  

Gosh, that sounds brilliant to me! 

To be continued?

No.  When the month was over, the students had had enough.  They wanted their MTV, err, tech tools (and toys) back.  Even one day a week was hard to endure. 

When teaching my classes, I do—now and then—ask them to close their laptops, put away their cell phones, get out a pen and paper, and just listen and take notes.  Or WRITE something.  For, say, 15 minutes or less.  That’s called journaling and note-taking–an admittedly radical experiment in contemporary education.

Recently, I collected their journals—to assess their ability to capture pertinent info and just jot their thoughts.  A few were marvelous, of course.  But beyond that, let’s just say I decided not to fight tech fate—but instead to be sympathetic grader.

What would you have done?

I couldn’t be happier that the career break movement is finally getting legs.

But I’m also acutely aware that many people who used to be racing toward retirement are finding themselves stuck in an increasingly tangled web.

New research shows that small business owners—often called the future of America—are planning to put off retirement in shockingly large numbers.

On one hand, this might suggest that they are feeling more connected to and rewarded by their work–with less need to escape it.

More likely the statistics reflect the sticky economic predicament that so many people now find themselves in–with depleted savings accounts and escalating costs for healthcare.

Here are some highlights from the recent Gallup survey:

• 47% of small business owners plan to never retire until forced to do so for health reasons—up from 4 in 10 in 2005 and 2007
  
• 41% plan to cut back on work but stay involved with their business when they retire.
  
• 10% plan to stop working in their business altogether, a drop from nearly twice that level in 2005.

These are sad facts, perhaps, but they support the case for taking some breaks along the way. We’re all likely to be living (and laboring) longer than the generations that preceded us.  Career breaks are one way to ensure that life doesn’t become all work and no play.

How do you know when an idea or movement is taking off? One measure might be a big, meaty article in the New York Times.  Or, better yet, the Sunday Times!  

That’s precisely what will happen for the Career Break cause on Sunday, October 17, when this piece, Making the Dream Trip a Reality, hits the stands in the NYT Travel section.

In it, author Susan Stellin writes:  

It’s a dream anyone with a passport fantasizes about once in a while: ditching everything to travel the world for a year, or at least long enough to forget about office life.”

The article goes on to discuss the possibilities and pitfalls, and quotes several members of our MeetPlanGo tribe.  It’s available online now, if you’re curious (or not a NYT subscriber) and has already amassed dozens of comments, from the encouraging…

…do it, Do It, DO IT! We saved for years, planned for months, and have never been happier. We feel younger, healthier and more in love with life than we could have imagined. Hey, you only live once, right?”

to the downright skeptical and cynical…

Nice idea, but there’s no way I would quit my job at 51 and take the risk of long-term unemployment when I return. Likewise with selling my apartment. This just doesn’t mesh with responsible retirement planning unless, of course, you have the ingenious idea to operate seminars on traveling the world that people will pay you for.”

I left my own long comment, of course, espousing my “seize the breakaway” philosophy, which I’ve been living for the last 20 years…  

Considering yourself blessed may be the first step to breaking away. Another is to watch for the right timing, as one comment noted.

Lose your job? It happens, so why not be ready and use that break. Had a good business year or got a bonus? Trust the fates and ride away on that windfall. Planning a family but want to run wild before offspring tie you down? Go!

Visit friends and family overseas. Caretake in the Caribbean. Home-school while island-hopping. Housesit in Oslo while that family is on holiday. Frankly, there are countless ways to run away–and kind souls eager to help you.”

Harboring your own wanderlust or getaway dream?  I invite you to check out the article.  Pass it around.  And post a comment of your own.  If you’re a seeker (or a believer), help us make this kind of work-life flexibility and freedom mainstream–or at least a more visible and valid lifestyle choice.

Finally, I’d like to shout out a special congrats to my new friend and compatriot Sherry Ott (and her partners at Briefcase to Backpack) for scoring this nice piece of press–and galvanizing a movement whose time has finally come.

Full speed ahead!

Speaking of career breaks and work/life hacking, here’s a true story about the Woychicks, a Minneapolis family that’s a shining example of the sabbatical mindset.  This intrepid family is embarking on a one-year (or longer) adventure—and new way of life.  I’ve been pleased to meet (dad) Dan via some meetups and speaking gigs and through our intersecting professions.  Now it’s their turn to BreakAway.  Quick—meet them before they take flight! 

• What inspired you to leap beyond dreaming and actually make a sabbatical happen?

Life is short. This point was tragically brought into focus when my parents were killed in a crosswalk by an impaired motorist as they walked home from church on August 19, 2009. In 2010, we said goodbye to our two good dogs, Buster and Ray. And, before they lose interest, we want our boys to discover the joy of learning and trying new things. We had often talked about a sabbatical year, and the time felt right to make a change.

• How do you define and describe what you’re doing—year off?  Sabbatical?  Career break?  What do you tell the people in your life and how do they respond? 

Rebecca is taking a year off from her job. Our boys are taking a year off from school. And I plan to continue working wherever the family happens to be – working less often when we’re traveling.

Everyone who hears about it is very interested and excited about it. Common responses include:

That’s great! Good for you guys! I’d love to do that! You’re going to have a great time!”

• This is a family journey, obviously.  Tell us about the steps you went through to make this happen, and if home schooling is part of the picture.

Rebecca and I have been married for 11 years. We have two bright and imaginative boys, Lucas (9 years old) and Eli (7 years old). I’ve been self-employed as a graphic designer for 20+ years. Rebecca is an experienced elementary school teacher.

We’re both inveterate list-makers and planners. We have saved and inherited money, and share a vision for how we want to live as a family and as individuals.

Rebecca quit her job at a parochial elementary school. They have hired a long-term substitute for the year and would welcome her back (no promises, though).

Home schooling is definitely part of the picture, and another big motivator for embarking on this adventure. Both our boys test in the highly gifted range (top half of the top one percent). They liked their school, but it was increasingly difficult for the school – any school – to meet their needs. We liked the idea of home schooling better than any of our other options.

• What have been (and will be!) the toughest obstacles—and how are you getting around them?

We feel both excited and scared, but well-suited, to challenge ourselves. While we’ve had far more good fortune than most, some of that comes from a willingness to take calculated risks:

What’s the worst thing that could happen? What are the potential benefits?

Everyone thinks money is the biggest obstacle, but frankly, I’m more concerned about the changes for Rebecca than I am for the kids (or our bank account). The boys may miss some of the day-to-day contact with friends, but they’ll be fine. Rebecca loses contact with work colleagues, and adds the role of teacher to her already established role as mother. I’ll try to help with curriculum ideas and teaching as I’m able, but it’s much less of a change for me.

• Most important:  What are you and your family planning to do with the time; what are the goals and dreams, missions and visions?

We’ll be traveling more often and for longer periods of time. To start the school year, we’ll be in the Pacific Northwest – Seattle, the San Juan Islands, Olympic National Park, and the Northern Cascade Mountains. In Spring 2011, we’re planning a 2–3 month trip to Europe. Likely destinations include France, Italy, and Spain. In between, we expect more trips to our cabin near Hayward, Wisconsin.

Our goals for the year include:
–      Giving more time to things that are important – family, rest, exercise, food.
–      We want our boys to discover the joy of learning and trying new things.
–      Rebecca would like to spend more time doing photography.

–      I’d like to spend more time writing.

We often enjoy time at our cabin because it’s simpler. Less to do. Less stress. We’d like to find more ways to make that the rule rather than the exception. By stripping away conventional ideas about how one is supposed to do things, I’m hoping we find that this way of living is not only healthier and preferable, but sustainable.

What an inspirational story—full of adventure and dreams, but practical thoughtfulness too—and it’s only beginning.  We’d love to check in later and hear how home schooling, road working, and Euro dining, is going (even if it makes us green jello).  Have fun and godspeed!