Personal Stories

Sabbaticals change people. We’re interested in sabbatical stories that inspire ideas, reveal lessons, or help others in some way. A person’s narrative of their planned, strategic job pause becomes part of their unique personal brand. Here are some sabbatical stories that inspire us. What will your story be?

Here’s How to Share Your Sabbatical Story

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The Road Less-Travelled

Posted on November 16, 2020 by

Michael Robins

The map of your destiny resides deep inside your heart.

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Taking Advantage of Career Transition

hosteldog

Garrett from Hostel Dog shares his experiences that led him to his passion for travel…

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How a Volunteer Sabbatical Changed My Career and My Life

Posted on July 19, 2020 by

Antony Wilson

In my previous life (this is what I call my life before my sabbatical), I worked as a project manager in the UK at an American insurance company called ACE Insurance. I worked all hours, earned decent money, was stuck in a rut and was going through a divorce, which like all divorces was costing [...]

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48 Hours Before Leaving on Sabbatical. What’s THAT like?

Posted on March 31, 2020 by

Barbara Pagano

Sabbatical-goers reaching the last work week are in kick-butt mode. One’s professional reputation hovers between a final to-do list and an unforgiving time frame. Most have found their productvity in high gear for many weeks as they check and re-check their work coverage plans - and continue their work with a focus on leaving it in the best shape [...]

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Plotting My First Sabbatical

Posted on February 24, 2020 by

Michaela Potter

I suppose I was planning my first sabbatical before I even started my career. In fact, I’m sure I was already heading in that direction before even graduating college!
I became hooked on long-term travel after backpacking in Europe and studying in London while at Syracuse University. After that experience, it was easy to decide to [...]

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Stretch your Sabbatical Idea: Daughters Inspire This Boomer’s Trip-of-a-Lifetime

Posted on January 18, 2020 by

Barbara Pagano

While more than enough good ideas for your upcoming sabbatical may exist, finding the “best” experience is critical. Given career ambitions, should you consider a global leadership experience or is this the time for personal rejuvenation? Is including family a good idea? Or this time, perhaps not?
Part of finding “your best” sabbatical can be to take an [...]

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How a Volunteer Sabbatical Can Change a Career - and a Life

Posted on December 1, 2020 by

Elizabeth Pagano

Joseph Quaderer, a director at Morgan Stanley, is on a 6-month sabbatical teaching Ugandan high school students the necessary skills to start and scale social enterprises – financially sustainable organizations that also address important social problems. He’s sharing his experiences in compelling, beautifully-written blog posts on this site, so be sure to read them. Here, [...]

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How to Prepare for Leaving Work: Insights From An Accountant’s Second Sabbatical

Posted on November 23, 2020 by

Elizabeth Pagano

Upon returning to work after his second paid sabbatical, Plante & Moran partner Doug Wiescinski only had to reply to about 20 emails and no voice mails. He had been completely disconnected from work for four weeks.
Re-entry took “no more than a day or two” before being up to speed. His work coverage plan allowed [...]

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From the Hamptons to Africa

Posted on November 10, 2020 by

Joseph Quaderer

“There’s someone outside.” One of the girls said.
My friends and I were out at our summerhouse – a time-share in the East Hamptons that we’ve shared for the last three years. Everyone was playing beer pong, or listening to music or watching the Yankees game when the mysterious man appeared outside. He stood against the [...]

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How an Unpaid Sabbatical Can Boost a Career: One Marketing Professional’s Story

Posted on November 6, 2020 by

Elizabeth Pagano

When Tim O’Connor left his job as SVP Marketing for a $5B company in Atlanta, he chose to first spend six months serving as the non-paid Executive Director leading the renovation and relaunch of the EthicMark® Award for Advertising, an international advertising award that recognizes outstanding marketing, advertising, and public relations campaigns and communications designed to uplift the human spirit [...]

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Travel Preparations for Africa

Posted on November 3, 2020 by

Joseph Quaderer

Joseph Quaderer, a director at Morgan Stanley, is on a 6-month sabbatical teaching Ugandan high school students the necessary skills to start and scale social enterprises - financially sustainable organizations that also address important social problems. “While I’m going to Uganda to teach high school students the basic tenets of entrepreneurship…I know I’ll be doing a lot more learning than teaching,” Joseph says. In his series of blog posts for yourSABBATICAL, read about how his exposure to a culture completely different than his own brings a new perspective on life. “While corporate America is very rewarding and challenging, I knew that I wanted to dedicate a portion of my life to using my skill set in a more altruistic manner. Capitalism is a very important catalyst in the engine for social change and I knew my finance background could make a palpable difference in people’s lives.”

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Sagmeister’s One-Year Sabbatical Idea Not Extraordinary

Posted on October 19, 2020 by

Barbara Pagano

Super successful designer (Stefan Sagmeister) waves good-bye to clients (HBO, the Rolling Stones, Time Warner) every seven years for a one-year sabbatical. His 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.

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Sabbatical Lessons for a Small Business Owner

Posted on October 16, 2020 by

Jaime Leick

Dave Withbroe is one of two active owners in Dental City, a dental supply firm. In 2000, he took a one-month break from the business to tour Europe with his girlfriend. “It was the trip of a lifetime,” he said. “I got to check a whole bunch of boxes.” (Like running with the bulls in [...]

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Cultural Exposure Brings Career & Personal Benefits

Posted on October 13, 2020 by

Jaime Leick

Claudia Patton of Edelman took a five week paid sabbatical to the Himalayas, visiting China, India, Tibet, and Bhutan. “I have much deeper relationships with my colleagues in India now that I have shown some interest in their government, culture and way of doing business,” she says. Patton encourages her team members to take a similar break to step outside their own experiences. “Immerse yourself in another world and bring that awareness back to Edelman. In doing so you become a more fully 360 degree employee.”

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Surf's Up For Sunny

Posted on October 1, 2020 by

Elizabeth Pagano

During his sabbatical, Sunny Trinh started 9 Fish Surfboards, which he now runs in the evenings, outside of his management position with Arrow Electronics. “By starting a business, I learned quite a bit that I bring to my job at Arrow,” he says. “I am also able to use the surf business to build relationships [...]

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Lisa's Sabbatical: Sailing Across the Atlantic

Posted on October 1, 2020 by

Elizabeth Pagano

With four weeks away from her job at General Mills, Lisa Skluzacek sailed from the Canary Islands to St. Lucia in the Caribbean. While she was away, her co-workers experienced cross-functional training, and the team became more closely aligned. For Lisa, the trip was a “huge personal accomplishment and really increased my confidence.” She also [...]

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Edelman's HR Leader Realizes Sabbatical Benefits for Herself and Her Team

Posted on September 1, 2020 by

Elizabeth Pagano

I feel renewed and so grateful to work at Edelman. - Laura Smith

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It'll Be No Small Sabbatical for Angela Petitt

Posted on August 27, 2020 by

Elizabeth Pagano

At 41, Angela Petitt left her job as a business systems analyst with Waste Management’s corporate office in Houston, TX, to embark on a sabbatical. “I felt it was time to step out, take control, and do something different for a change,” she says. She had been with the company almost four years.

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A Sabbatical Sparks Loyalty

Posted on July 24, 2020 by

Jaime Leick

Christi Dixon would be lying if she didn’t admit her company’s sabbatical program has kept her on the job. A vice president at Standing Partnership in St. Louis, Dixon has been recruited by headhunters and business acquaintances, but never gave the offers real consideration.
Standing Partnership’s 24 staff members are eligible for a two month paid [...]

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Break for a Business Owner

Posted on June 14, 2020 by

Jaime Leick

For Michelle and Jon Richard, 2008 saw the culmination of a long-time goal. The couple spent seven months circling the globe, stopping at 22 countries along the way. They swam with manta rays in Australia, toured Vietnam on motorbike, and took a Thai cooking class in Chiang Mai.
Just a few short years after establishing Coalesce, [...]

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Getting Some "Experience Education" On Sabbatical

Posted on May 26, 2020 by

Jaime Leick

Jeff and Eileen Schoenfeldt are in the throes of planning for a year+ sabbatical, scheduled to start in mid February 2010. The Madison-based professionals have put their home on the market, listed their belongings on Craig’s List, and are planning a worldwide trip, scheduling stops in at least 25 countries and all seven continents.
Due to [...]

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Noni Allgood Takes a Sabbatical to Renew

Posted on May 24, 2020 by

Jaime Leick

In January 2009, Noni Allwood left her employer of 13 years to take a career break. An executive with a major Fortune 500 company, Allwood’s time was consumed with all matter of corporate and community responsibilities including speaking engagements, boards, councils, and task forces. Walking away from all of that, Allwood describes the initial stage [...]

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An Adoption Project

Posted on May 4, 2020 by

Jaime Leick

During a one month hiatus from his partnership position at the marketing firm Imaginasium, Joe Bergner traveled to Kazakhstan to adopt his second child.
In preparation for the trip, Joe began grooming other staff members to take on greater responsibility. “I had a number of staffers that I was able to elevate to manage big projects [...]

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No More Straight Lines in Careers: A Boomer's Sabbatical

Posted on April 17, 2020 by

Elizabeth Pagano

At age 56, Toni Riccardi “retired” from her partner role at PricewaterhouseCoopers in order to take a sabbatical for a year before returning to work. Her friends, Toni says, “were horrified”.
“They told me, ‘You’ll never get back in the job market if you leave now. You’re too old’”.
Toni’s sabbatical ended up being a two-year break, [...]

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Why Tim Ferriss Irks Me and How a Sabbatical is Not a "Mini-Retirement"

Posted on March 27, 2020 by

Elizabeth Pagano

Along with a gazillion other people, I am inspired by Tim Ferriss and his book, “The 4-Hour Workweek”. He’s the uber rock star of work-life balance, and he challenges us to rethink how we live and work and escape the 9-5 box.
But - and he himself probably knows this - Tim’s concepts aren’t entirely reality. [...]

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