Jeff Jung set out to see the world. The camel ride in Pushkar was a bonus. (Photo courtesy of Career Break Secrets)
Consider the possibilities if you were Jeff Jung.
One day four years ago, he upped and left his cubicle and set out to see the world. He learned to ski, improved his Spanish to the point where he speaks it fluently and gained a perspective that has considerably altered his life.
“I met people and did things that I never would have done had I been focused on my career,” Jung told me when we spoke recently. “It affected me profoundly.”
Since taking that “break,” he’s turned into an entrepreneur who encourages people to pick up and go. Recently, he was on a tour of Canada as part of an initiative with Gap Adventures, the outstanding Toronto-based travel company owned by Bruce Poon Tip. Jung’s website, CareerBreakSecrets.com, was created to guide individuals who want to do what he did. (And, really, how many don’t?)
A survey conducted by Gap Adventures and Harris/Decima this year showed that 74 percent of Canadians would take a break from their careers in order to further their personal development through travel. (The surprise may be that it wasn’t 100 percent.)
“Once you give yourself permission to do it, it’s amazing how fast things come together,” Jung said while speaking by phone from Edmonton.
He planned his break for six months, figuring out how much he spent on a daily basis — “it was a lot more than I thought,” he said — and then cutting that total down to a level that allowed him to travel with minimal financial worry.
According to Jung, there are three parts to a career break budget:
Adrian Brijbassi 