I left my heart in Austria
Do you make time for yourself in your business? Or is it hard for you to step away from the grind?
Last week I reluctantly returned from carpe diem-ing my ass off for 3 weeks in Europe. 3 weeks!
That’s the longest I’ve ever taken for vacation, and long enough to think, “Well, hello—this is my life now.”
Itinerary: Berlin, Vienna, Sound of Music Austrian countryside, a spontaneous day trip to Bratislava. Plus I bookended my trip with overnights in Copenhagen. So dreamy.
View from our friends' front door in Austria
I didn’t do any work while I was gone and I even removed LinkedIn from my phone. Gasp.
This trip was a long time coming. My son's good friend has family in Austria and my boyfriend happened to live there in his 20s. Plus my son is turning 18 in the fall, so this may be the last summer I have control over his schedule.
Put all that together and it was obvious (right?!) that an epic trip with my son, boyfriend, and our family friends had to happen.
When my son was little, all I wanted was a vacation on my own. My sister and I talk about how “vacation” with little kids isn’t really a vacation at all. It’s just exhausting time away from home, without a babysitter.
But now that my son is an older teen, all I wanted was to have this time with him. And it absolutely delivered. At many points in the trip, my heart was absolutely bursting with joy.
Outside a club in Berlin (no photos allowed inside)
I do want to acknowledge the privilege of being able to take such a decadent vacation without needing to ask permission of anyone but myself.
Being self-employed gives us this freedom, but most of us don't actually use it.
When I was still doing retainers, I took vacation and I’ve never been one to bring my laptop with me. But I still always had work hanging over my head while I was gone. I usually felt like I had to monitor my email. And I’d usually come home to a shitshow.
Now I’m able to take a REAL vacation because I work in an intensive (sprint) model. All my projects are carefully scheduled with a start and end date. I always know exactly which day each branding project is going to wrap up, so I can make my work fit into my vacation schedule, rather than the other way around.
My clients love this intensive model because it’s quick efficient, and they like the certainty of knowing when their new brand will be live. And I love it for all the same reasons AND for the freedom it gives me.
Goodies Just For You
WHAT I'M THINKING ABOUT: The Ruth Asawa exhibit at the SFMOMA. I can’t believe I haven’t talked about this yet. I’ve been to see it twice. I've admired her sculptures at the DeYoung and she has a few public art pieces in San Francisco, but I had no idea she worked in so many media—watercolor, printmaking, drawing. There's an incredible collection of pieces she made with a laundry stamp while she was at Black Mountain College. And her potato prints are stunning. What an incredible talent. If you’re in the Bay Area, you must go see this show before it ends on Sept 2.
WHAT I'M MAKING: I'm detoxing from my decadent vacation and this Halloumi with Corn, Cherry Tomatoes and Basil is the perfect fresh, summery situation for the moment.
WHO I'M ADMIRING: I always say that Jay Melone and Peter Giordano (more on him later) are the only two dudes I recommend. Otherwise I always prefer to refer women. Jay is an expert in helping you develop and sell your offer. Jay just opened up a waitlist for his Offer Development Masterclass. Check it out if you know you're good at what you do, but don't know how to package your unique skills into compelling, easy-to-sell offers.
