70% of professionals making more than $40,000 a year say they dream of taking a year off. Yet only a tiny fraction of them ever will. Why? Because they let some obstacle—or a whole, obstinate obstacle course—stand in their way. Those barriers can come from your employer, family, or friends, and rest assured they will. But they can also come from your own head, which may host obstructions so big they can overshadow your best intentions.

Here’s a look at some of those obstacles, plus some quick retorts to help you get around them.

• Obstacle One: I can’t afford it!

Ouch. That’s a hard one. Money is such a touchy subject, and most of us possess various financial dysfunctionalities and talk about fiscal fitness way more than we exercise it. So only you really know whether or not you can afford a Getaway—in money or time.

B…

Inspiration for Hire

If you’re ready to dive deeper into the topic of Sabbaticals or plot your own BreakAway, Kirk Horsted (The BreakAway Guy) can help.

Kirk is available to coach fellow dreamers and schemers and consult with organizations interested in leveraging the power of Sabbaticals to help recruit and retain top employees and manage staffing costs.

Kirk would also be honored to speak to your professional organization, inspire your group, or just entertain your gathering. You’ll learn the countless ways to realize a BreakAway, and why a Sabbatical can be the best career—and life—move you’ll ever make.

Formats

This inspiring topic works well in a variety of formats. A speech (from 45 to 75 minutes) offers entertainment, humor, and an engaging slide show to present the main ideas. A workshop provides key points while gu…

Intrigued by the idea of Breaking Away? Looking for ideas, insight, or inspiration? Peruse these short (and not-so-short) articles–penned by Kirk–if you dare.

No guarantees, but they may help you get out of your head—and into making headway.

• Sabbatical Suggestions
• Obstacles to Overcome if You Want to Get Away
• Everything Is Right On Schedule
• The 11 Commandments of Fiscal Fitness
• Five Five-word Mantras
• Designing Your Big Break

This L. A. Times article is a must-read for anyone who:

• Thinks there is no upside to the downturn in shopping;
• believes they got it bad though they’ve not yet succumbed to thrift-store shopping;
• believes that it’s patriotic and good for the world to spend, spend, spend;
• would like to compare their debt load: “The typical American carries credit-card debt of more than $8,000…”

Author Judith Freeman nails it with this thoughtful missive…

It’s time to pull back. The beast of burden simply can’t carry any more. Few Americans have much in the way of savings. Many of us have lived beyond our means. The typical American carries credit card debt of more than $8,000, and credit is tightening. The party is over, and for many Americans it wasn’t even that much fun.

Yep, it’s time to pull back. And yet, many Goodwills and stuff donation ce…

Have a game plan. For any game worth playing. This “Shifting Careers” column offers a spot-on Sabbatical story well worth studying.

Barbara Raab brings a perspective that this Breakaway boy may lack: What it’s like to tell The Boss (and your workplace team) you want time off and make sure their needs are met—all without getting canned or kicked in the can. Ms. Raab has it “easy” in a way we self-employeds envy, though: She’ll return to a job and benefits.

That sounds pretty good about now. Last time 2 Heads shut shop to run away, we left when business was booming (the dot-com melt-up). But we came back to see billings cut in half for two years (the dot-com blow-up). If that happens again, Boy Genius here may lose money AND faith.

Let’s have a make-believe, virtual conversation with Ms. Raab…

“A short walk that nonetheless feels far away.

Well, here we go again.

The stock market, and by that I mean virtually ALL stock markets, have headed south with a vengeance and violence I’ve not seen in my 24 years of holding stocks. .

Does it make a guy rethink flying away and spending buckets of moolah to shirk duties? YES. And how. And yet, if the trip cost $55 and that was all I had left after this stock crash, would I choose to spend $50 of those last dollars on this trip? Damn right!

After all, long-term go-getters expect troubles, and yet stick with their plans (like the 11 Commandments of Fiscal Fitness), even when the world doesn’t cooperate.

So before we get all depressed (like our economy) or fall to the floor (like the stock indices) or cry in our beer (like brokers), I’ll take a few minutes and point out…

10 REASONS WHY THIS STOCK MARKET CRASH DOESN’T MATTER
(Because 10 is not enou

While beer-storming (that’s beer-sipping + brainstorming) over the holidays with dear friend and Meet, Plan, Go! rock star Sherry Ott, we discussed the Wall Street Journal’s recent article on Baby Boomers and career breaks—and what a potential movement (literally) may happen if, indeed, Boomers begin breaking.

From that chat was borne my 2014 mission. For the next year, every month, I will write a column about Baby Boomers for the briefcase-to-backpack site.

They’ve kindly published it already, but these days, who doesn’t believe in multi-purposing? So let’s get off our Boomer big butts and get this show on the road!

• Not the greatest generation?

We Boomers are a mystifying bunch. I say “We” because I was born in 1960—toward the end of the Baby Boom (1946 – 1964) and have loved riding the surge that followed. We sprang to life du…

who

Kirk Horsted is a part-time hedonist who believes that anyone who is able should Retire Now & Then, rather than wait until the end of life—even if you have to work a few more years before mastering shuffleboard. Offshoots of that passion include simply prioritizing free time, unplugging, photography, a devotion getting outside and, of course, long-term faraway travel.

Since 1990, Kirk has taken four “BreakAways” and traveled routinely, researched and written about the topic, and offered advice, speeches, and workshops that have moved others to chase their own dreams.

When not pursuing those priorities, Kirk spends real time in the real world as a Marketing Consultant and Wily Wordsmith (and—best of all—a dad). He has been a freelancer for…ever?, and before that worked in agencies, magazines, and public ra…