I took off 2 years to go fishing in my 40s. It was kind of a mid-life crisis thing.
I didn’t know why; just knew I had to do it. Packed my van and just left. Headed for the interior of British Columbia and ended up in Alaska on the Queen Charlotte Islands. Only made it a year and a half though I really tried for two. Like the urge to leave, I had the same urge to come back – and get to work.
I think man is like a wolf – he needs to be alone for long periods – at least one long period in his lifetime.
The native American Indian and the Eskimo and some other cultures did this – tested a boy’s manhood by making him survive on his own for a while. It is good.
If you get that urge, make sure it is for an indefinite period of time. Those who love you will not understand but they will accept it or they never really loved you.
If your heart doesn’t grow way fonder of them while you are away then you never really loved them.
Being away from work that long wakes you up inside, refreshes your spirit and gives you an incredible drive that will last you the rest of your lifetime.
I have always been a workaholic so for me to do that, it was torture, part of it anyway. The other part, it was like a huge energy boost. I haven’t wanted or needed as much as a single day off in over 20 years; certainly not to go fishing. I love doing what I do and if I take on something new and don’t love it, I quit doing it. Life should be this simple. It took me all that time to figure it out. Trust me, you never will figure it out working for anybody and everybody, getting pulled in a hundred directions, wondering when you will ever get a day off.
Plan a time 10 years out and when that day comes – just leave.
