We have seven summers left with our three daughters all at home before our eldest daughter leaves for college and summer jobs, holidays with friends, and other commitments might take priority.

I wrote about How to Make The Best of This Unusual Summer last month and how we are planning our seven summers. Now I am delighted that finally, the Wrights escaped our house after four months in lockdown.

…and the Wrights are on a road trip! Have you planned an escape yet for this summer?

We found a delightful horse ranch in Penn Valley, CA where horses, sheep, chickens, donkeys, miniature horses, and the odd rattlesnake rule the place, and part two will be at a beach cottage in Carmel. The perfect escape.

I’m hearing that many people are avoiding vacations this year, some for understandable health precautions, but other reasons are more concerning. Don’t hold back taking a vacation because you are worried you need to “stay present” for your company. Don’t hold back taking a vacation because you are concerned about potential lay-offs, reductions, or any other negative reaction from your CEO, board, or company. Here’s what I have been telling my executive clients:

Take A Vacation. Before September. Be a role model for your team. Encourage your team to take a vacation too. It can be a brief escape. Change your location. Remote work can happen anywhere. Your remote classroom doesn’t have to be in your usual home. Change your view. House swap. Rent an RV. Go camping. Use Silvercar to have a sanitized luxury rental car delivered to your doorstep.

I didn’t realize how much we all needed a different view until we pulled up the long winding driveway into a picturesque horse ranch in Northern California.

The novelty of a different car, in-car WiFi (kids' minds blown!), personal home delivery by a socially distanced suitably cautious delivery driver made the road trip from LA all the more delightful. Even with two ten-year-olds and a twelve-year-old to entertain!

How and where are you going to escape?

Dedicated to growing your business,

Val

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