I took 60 days off and this happened
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- čas přidán 30. 07. 2024
- So I just took 60 days off of work. That's right, I've been gone for 60 days and maybe you didn't even notice. That's okay, I still love you. But on this episode, I wanna talk about why I took a two month break, what the heck happened while I was gone, why I haven't been posting these episodes in the last 60 days and the good and the bad and the ugly of what it looks like to take a two month sabbatical.
At the end of the episode, I'm also gonna walk you through three simple steps that I think you can use to apply to yourself to create your own sabbatical experience, even if you feel like time is short and you couldn't even get away for longer than a few days. - Zábava
►► Watch my Million Dollar Life Giving Business Formula training for free here: www.grahamcochrane.com/lifegiving
Read your book and launched my business late September 2023, so it's been just under 6 months of weekly content, social media cross promotion, lead magnets, building an email list, and working on paid courses. I can totally relate to this. It's a lot of checking and adjusting, tweaking to-do lists, figuring out what's most important, and so forth. One of those "most important" items IS to build in breaks. I agree with your advice: it's longform ... it's something you do regularly, consistently as you said, and then in years you look back and realize what you've built. Right now I'm 28 weekly video lessons in and started at 0 and across channels have put eyes on what I'm doing, and it grows daily. The email list is getting traction. The lead magnet is doing well. And I've made tons mistakes as well. People have pointed them out. Like you said in this episode, some bad things have happened. But check and adjust. Roll with it. The mistakes allow me to create more content, to address those issues, to grow myself and to be a role model for people I'm trying to help grow. There's just so much to unpack in everything you say. Keep doing what you're doing, because it's definitely helping others!
So happy that the episodes are back! I relate to a lot of what you said. Sometimes I feel like I shouldn't need to take a sabbatical because I already have a ''light schedule''. And then I realize that I launched 2 products, created a new funnel, made a new video series, created new pre-launch content, explored new affiliate partnerships... I ALWAYS underestimate how hard I worked at any given moment, just because it's ''only'' 15-20h a week..
The second problem, is that when I take time off, it is not truly time off. Like being on paternity leave is NOT time off, it's trying to survive on little sleep and patience 😉 Going on tour with my band is time off from my family, but it's still work. I've rarely taken extended, real time off for myself. I need to do it for real this year. Thank you for making me realize this, Graham!
Yes, I missed your episodes! I am grateful for your honesty. I learned so much from you. Stay blessed 🙏🏻
I’ve been fortunate to see you at church so I really didn’t miss you! 😅. Keep going STRONG, my friend. Thanks for sharing authentically. Love it.
This was so helpful! Thank you for your venerability. I noticed you were missing from my feed but wasn’t sure if it was the algorithm.
Glad you're back Graham! Noticed your regular episodes had dwindled and had been wondering why... but now I get it! Looking forward to what's to come.
I appreciate your honesty! Looking forward to more podcast episodes, but I have been content with the book reviews in the meantime!
Cool, Graham! Thank you for sharing. Excited to hear what the book Rebel is about. Kudos to you for just going for it on the sabbatical!
Hi Graham, I keep seeing you around a lot on the net since the start of my musical journey in 2011, and your face from the RR feels like family 🙂 It's funny, just the other day I was on Waves and saw a video of you there and thought, "Wow, there he is again, man, that's so cool, I really admire the stamina some of these people have... I wish!". So when I saw the title of your video, I was like, "O-oh, what's happened?" and stopped and watched it through. Thank you for sharing it, 'cause I can't count how many times I've come close to a burnout since 2014, so this really resonated. I'm at that stage again right now, only I can't for the life of me, see any way of being able to take any time off, anymore, as I'm at the point where I've unexpectedly had to start my life all over again and feel like I'm just functioning right now... I didn't even realise I was subscribed to your channel! Anyway, I just wanted to say, it's good to see you on here again and I'm so glad you gave yourself the much-needed gift of a sabbatical, with the support of what sounds like an awesome wife! 🙌 Thank you for this video. Hats off to you for your honesty, that's so cool! You've inspired me to go think about things again and who knows, hopefully I'll follow in your footsteps sooner than later and take a sabb. too... and then go help other people do the same. ☀💚
Happy you're back. Love you & your content more than ever! Thanks for sharing your truth 🥰
Thank you for all the content you share, it's been quite helpful for me. And I'm glad to hear you took a very much needed break, my friend!
I missed you. I kept checking your CZcams channel….wondering what was going on. Glad you are back! Love your authenticity & your content.
Definitely missed your insights but didn’t realize you were gone for two months - that is amazing! I need to focus on my CZcams channel. I let it slip every time I start it up again - got to create consistency and I believe that means I have to schedule when I make my videos, when I edit and post them too - I think I want to do a gold blog too 😊
Glad you are back Graham!
I knew you were off doing something cool. Glad to have my weekly motivation to keep moving back
Welcome Back! We are all richer for your reflection time and your honest insights! Big Hugs, Graham 💙🫂💙
Graham, these last few years, you've shown a lot more of your personal side. People are connecting with your authenticy and transparency. So coming out with "Rebel" is just a natural expression and progression of that. I think it's going to change the world. One suggestion... if I may..- reach out to some of your super-fans (like me..hehe) to Affiliate (pre-sell) and pre-promote it..before the official launch date... Holla back!
Glad you took some time off Graham! This was a great time for me to go back to your old content and just review and share your advice with others. (Still during that now haha) Glad your back too! 😊
love this episode bro! i'm here for all the deepest authenticity and can't tell ya how much i appreciate it! keep up the great work and keep taking care of your soul FIRST!
Thank you for your vulnerability. I did realize you were gone and wondered what happened! I believe deep faith is required to take real rest. And as you said, rest is not always smooth. It can be messy, especially internally and especially if our value is tied (erroneously) to productivity. I love how you describe sabbatical as "not a vacation" and when the world keeps going... I like the idea of an intention for the sabbatical too. I just took a seven day sabbatical for a cleanse and didn't really tie it together until I watched this! I'm not sure yet exactly what my takeaways are quite yet, as I'm just getting back in.
Graham, I've been watching your content for several years now, and I've always thought of you as sort of "perfect." You've had so much success and have given me so much good advice that in some ways, it can feel hard to relate to someone so successful. Thank you so much for sharing your difficulties and vulnerabilities, you described many of the exact same issues that I deal with, and it's refreshing to know that I'm not alone. I hope that you continue to share struggles and obstacles that you have, even if you don't yet have a clear answer for them. I appreciate all you do!
Welcome back Graham! Great episode!
It is so nice to watch this episode Graham! I stopped group coaching recently which was my bread and butter and I am focusing on what I want to grow. My business is so messy now. After listening to you, I got clarity on what I really want in my life and business. Thank you as always!
Thanks for being vulnerable. It's helpful to hear your process and advice for doing a sabbatical.
Thanks for watching!
I’m a regular follower of your show (and emails) and I noticed there was a gap. I’m glad you’re back and that everything is ok! Looking forward to watching your lifegiving business formula training.
Burnout is a real pain in the arse. 5 years ago I was spending 140 hours a week running my production company/studio etc.
I sold half the company and went back to performing, live engineering and picking and choosing my studio clients. I’m earning half the amount of money but I’m doing a quarter of the work.
Life is too short to spend it grafting constantly and being in a shit mood.
Glad you’re ok G. I do miss the Recording Rev though!
This was exactly what I needed to hear today. We are about to go on our annual “castaway”, tech free beach trip. the one year we didn’t do it, everything suffered. That said, I usually spend too much time on the front end fretting about getting behind on my business. WORTH IT. Glad you’re back & refreshed!!
Sounds like an awesome idea for a trip! Enjoy!
Hey Graham, we did miss you. Glad you gave us the book reviews to keep us engaged. Most of all, glad you took the sabbatical. I need to try one myself. Took my first week long family vacation in over 5 years (been doing the typical Floridian staycation long weekends mostly). Didn't work much, but boy did I feel so much pressure to catch back up with it all when I returned. Hoping your return is a good one. Thanks for all you do.
I love how quick you made the decision and that you listened to your wife. Wise lady :)
I enjoy taking breaks and time away from business and work. It keeps me showing up with energy every time I get back to that different job or task.
Taking one starting tomorrow. Cruise from Brisbane to Hawaii over 16 nights with no internet. My wife and I will be present with this new experience!
I missed you!! I'm one of your "moochers" and I binge your content regularly, sometimes rewatching stuff to keep it fresh in my mind. I enjoy your book reviews this year, but definitely missed your normal content.
I tried to take a sabbatical for the 2nd half of last year, but it was still hard to say no to perspective clients. So it wasn't 100%. That's probably why my objective to write my book for authors has only been about 25% completed. Time to stop procrastinating, fight my imposter syndrome, and write the book!
Thanks so much for sharing.
Changing gears will make the clutch last longer. Welcome back Graham!
This was so awesome - thanks so much for making this. I think most of us feel so guilty just to even take a break on a weekend and literally do nothing as burnout seems to be a sort of badge of honour these days.
Welcome back! Interesting experiment. Been doing a lot of google ad strategy and testing recently and I think you could have mitigated most of the drop in views and lead gen by scheduling that based on good performing content that converts, then automating it depending on how well the campaigns are performing.
Thanks for the update Graham. I missed you and was getting a bit concerned that you and the family were all ok, however I was reassured in seeing you were still posting your book reviews (even though that's not your 'main thing'.) I'm on your email list and I think if you hadn't have been posting the book reviews I probably would have emailed to say I was thinking of you, missed your podcasts, and I hoped you were all ok. :) Maybe next time (because I'm sure at some point there will be a next time) do a 60 second 'I'm off for a bit but look forward to seeing you when I get back' video before you go.)
Glad you're back dude!
I noticed when you slowed down. Was waiting for the new content from you. Glad you're back :)
Same! More to come.
Don’t worry, we noticed :) But you gotta do what you gotta do. You have a life and a family and a mind and soul to rest. Glad you did it, and it’s good to have you back!
This was so good and relatable, thank you for transparency
Thanks for watching!
I missed you!! Hehe
One of my favorite episodes. I loved the insight on how your passive income continues to work. I loved the vulnerability of saying you were in a bad mood, you could sense burnout, etc. Really good, thank you for sharing. I would love to know how you managed your membership while on your break. That is my struggle with taking a sabbatical. Otherwise my business is structured similar to yours and would support the time off.
Yes membership tricky, so I also wondered this
He closed down his membership permanently in December 2023, just before the sabbatical.
@@AntoineMichaudGuitar oh! I wonder why? It looked amazing
I missed you friend, I thought you didn't want me to receive your emails again lol.. But CZcams recommended your videos to me that I watched to work on some of my business ideas and your book helps to. And Yes I want to take the sabbatical challenge from April 25th to May 1.
Love it!
I definitely can relate with the need of a sabbatical once in a while, I just took last week off and it immediately helped me melting off the stress and burn out I had been feeling for the last couple of months... The one piece of wisdom from the Book of Graham I hear in my head all the time when things feel wrong with my work/life balance is 'Build your business around the life you dream of''. What's the point of being your own boss if you don't feel free to take the time to take care of yourself and your family when you need to?
I noticed that there was a little less coming from you. :) I took the months of February and March to create and launch a new mini course! It was a good experiment to see how quick of a turn around I could make it in.
How did you like Dune? Also what were some games you enjoyed?
Nah, I wasn't worried about ya too much, Graham. But that doesn't mean I don't care :) I think for certain people you just know "Ah don't worry. They'll be back when they're ready." There's people that just have to go "wander the desert" sometimes.
A lot of what you were saying with the early signs of burnout I was feeling that in my own way. I have so much work and I'm great at what I do but it's just... Meh... it comes with some new challenges but those challenges aren't exciting. I usually have yearly goals and set out to crush them but this year... eh... I know I'll crush them. I've done this enough times I know what it takes to achieve them and the challenge just isn't really there. I've conquered it. The part where you do your yearly day away at the beach and hotel to plan for the year.. and it just wasn't exciting... I think it's easy to confuse burnout with a lack of growth, purpose, and fulfillment in certain areas of our lives and business. For me if it isn't risky I'm not growing. If it's not a battle I'm not interested. If it's something I'm going to nail on the first try it's not worth my time. Sounds arrogant I know - but that is how "I" feel. We get so focused just hitting the "GO" button and repeating those processes that work time after time but what now? To me these are all great signs that there's a healthy amount of discontent to spur further growth. It's the people that feel this and then just keep going and never do anything about it that concern me. It's good to be honest with yourself. It's good to be honest with God about how you're feeling. I'm glad to see you're back and can't wait to see what happens next :)
Thank you for being real my man. Appreciate you 👊🏻
Thanks!
I took a two-week sabbatical once in my former business and my team took our company to the highest revenue month up to that point in my absence! And I literally did nothing except check email once a day to see if anything was on fire, which never happened.
I was tagged by one of your subscribers @ 11:02 that I was being mocked in your most recent video. I didn't believe it but I gotta say, it sounds very directed at my comment (probably among others as well but c'mon, read my comment, it sounds like he's mocking it)
"I say this totally out of love brother! You can do what you want and what Christ called you to but just my two cents:
I find these book reviews far less helpful than the content I subscribed for. Freedom, simplicity, not having to grind, family and God before business - these attitudes and Characteristics are why I love your personal brand...
Just some feedback - if I’m the only one then completely disregard! I thank God I discovered you and your book."
Does that comment sound like the tone he used in this video? That's childish Graham.
You were missed Graham!
I missed you, Graham! I’m kind of where you were at back when you started. I’m teaching audio and music production as well, and I have a wife and 4 kids 5 years old and under.
We’re not on food stamps, but only because the government was out of funding, so we get most of our food from a local food bank. We’re also in danger of losing our house and becoming homeless since I lost 70% of my income recently and can’t afford the mortgage. I probably work like 60+ hours a week, and it’s been years since I’ve had a real vacation or break…
So is a sabbatical just for those who are already earning enough passive income where they can step away?
Hey Graham!, thank you for the honesty and quality of your content. I just wanted to ask you where can I find your paid courses related to online passive income? Thank you very much for your time! Greetings from Argentina
I noticed lol I thought you decided to lower your work hours to 2 hours a week instead of 5 haha
My beloved❤ sister passed to heaven so I hadn't posted in a month .
But my next upload is being edited now and I'm back filming another new video. Life happens 😌
I noticed. I was concerned. Maybe a brief video announcement next time. 😊
I considered it - but then figured I had to do it just for me, not make a big "to do" about it.
@@GrahamCochrane Glad to have you back.
Talk about addictions, I was in withdrawal from my Graham Cochrane fix during the Tuesday afternoon commute home. Much better now, thank you! Seriously, I think many of your followers can relate to your main takeaway, “Do we need to change how we relate to work?” For me, it’s a huge, “YES!” I need to read “The 4-Hour Workweek” by Tim Ferriss. You say you are “addicted to consistency”, I think my intentional purpose for my first sabbatical will be to identify my addiction(s). It sure is good to have you back on CZcams!
I thought the book reviews were AI generated like the photos of Kate Middleton. I was worried. The KGB finally got to you
😂