Photo Credit: Joe Shlabotnik
This weekend I read that Justin Timberlake is getting ready to take a career break. Apparently some of that time is going to be used to travel. He’s joining a list of other stars that have decided that they need that adult timeout. Regardless of what the catalyst was for Justin making the decision, he’ll certainly get all the benefits of a career break.
So, I want to welcome JT to the career breaker community with a little prose using the titles of his songs (and a few from N Sync and his appearances on SNL). It’s not a career break call to action like I wrote using the songs of Glee. It’s more of a personal letter, one directed to Justin…even if he never asked for it.
Open Letter to Justin Timberlake
Dear Justin (may I call you JT?),
From Disney to N-Sync to a solo career, you’ve had to Rock Your Body to get to the top. Last Night I read that you were taking a step back and saying ByeByeBye to the spotlight to make your life more spontaneous. I know life has been Crazy For You so you’re probably feeling like you need to spend A Little More Time on You. What’s next? How are you going to Take It From Here? Here are a few tips and suggestions for planning your career break.
- Don’t Cry Me a River or anyone else. We career breakers are a proud lot, glad we took the time to focus on ourselves and our personal passions. I can only imagine that the need is greater after enduring the harsh spotlight that Celebrity can bring.
- Do Your Thing. Make your time count. This is your chance to do all the things that you weren’t able to do or try while you were working. Career break travel is active travel. Nothin’ Else matters because when you do go back to work, you want to be able to say Mother Lover! That career break rocked!
- Take the Time to Learn Something New. While in the past you may have told yourself that you’ve got Until the End of Time to focus on that new hobby, idea or skill you haven’t mastered yet, now is the time to focus on those things.
- Volunteer! While this is your time to say, ¨It’s Me Time¨, or even ¨It’s Gonna Be Me¨, giving back is one of the most popular career break activities that brings balance back to people’s lives. The time you spend working on the environment, with animals or kids, will stay Forever in Your Heart.
- Wherever you travel, say ¨Let’s Take a Ride¨ and see that country or city in a cool way. Hiking, biking, boating, paragliding. There are lots of cool ways to experience your trip and get to know the place you’re traveling in cool and unexpected ways. Many of my adventures on my career break are Still On My Brain.
One last piece of advice for your career break. You don’t have to bring SexyBack everyday. Take it slow, see where life leads you during this time. While on your career break, strive to be Bringin’ Da Noise internally without Bringin’ Da Noise externally. It’s not about being the coolest, or most authentic traveler out there. It’s about what the trip can do for you. Traveling’s not a competition. So, don’t pull publicity stunts like putting your Dick in a Box to show how cool your career break is. Travelers who play one-upmanship games, well, It Makes Me Ill when I see that crap. You probably have a good idea of what you want to do. Most people do. It’s More Than a Feeling, it’s a calling. You know when you can say to yourself, ¨This is Right for Me.¨
The time on my career break was one of the Best of My Life. And, I wish the same for you. If there’s anything I can do to help you out, drop me a line.
All the best.
Jeff
The Career Break Travel Guy
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Tags: career break advice
