Happy Thursday, my friends, from Houston – Flying back home after an amazing day yesterday where I flew on the United Airlines “Apollo 11 Anniversary Flight” from EWR to Houston, along with multiple astronauts and a whole heck of a lot of space ice cream. Was supposed to fly back last night, but thunderstorms in both Houston and NYC had different plans, so I’m waiting to board right now.
Anyhow, next week, against every ADHD cell in my body, I’m going off the grid! I’ll wait a second while the horror sinks in, and give you a moment to take a deep breath and recover.
I’m taking my first true vacation in six years. A real vacation. I’m not attaching it to a work trip, or adding an extra day to skydive after a keynote. I realized that after 15 years of nonstop business travel, I’ve got enough Starwood points to treat a small city to a hotel stay, so I’m blowing a half million of them and headed to a secluded beach on the coast of an island somewhere. I’m spending five days hiking, snorkeling, and more than likely lying face down in the sand, doing absolutely nothing.
Best part? I won’t be online once my plane lands. For six days, I’m shutting off my email, my phone, and my socials. I’m going dark. To quote Eddie Murphy in Beverly Hills Cop, “I’m going deep, deep, deep undercover.”
And I think I’m ok with that. I’m going to bring my real camera and take pretty pictures, but not be in a rush to post them. I’m going to read. I’m going to journal. I might even sleep in for a bit.
It’s a little scary, I won’t lie. It’ll be the longest I’ve been off the grid since I first got on the grid! What if clients call? What if new speaking opportunities arise? How will I survive? Well, that’s why I have an assistant, that’s why I have voice mail, and that’s why I have an out-of-office auto-reply.
And here’s the thing: I think it’s required. We don’t disconnect enough. Our phones, computers, and devices were invented to help us, but it’s us who have wound up servicing them! And that, my friends, is a problem.
If we don’t take the time to get back in touch with who we are on the most basic of levels every once in a while, how can we possibly claim that we’re living at our best?
So I encourage you – Take a digital break sometime soon. Doesn’t have to be six days. Can be a day. Or an hour. But do it. Become present. Look up from your phones every once in a while. Turn off the news. It’s difficult at first. But the rewards are worth it. Imma try and find a turtle to talk to next week, and I think that’s gonna be a lot more fun than catching Pokemon.
Take care of you.
Much love,
-Peter
PS: When I do come back recharged and refreshed, I’m focusing on selling out my NYC Entrepreneurial Mastermind in September – Two keynote speakers, (Including Scott Monty!), and a full day of networking with me and 49 other brilliant entrepreneurs. We’ve got about ten seats left – And the price goes up in mid-August – So sign up now before it sells out!
Enjoy your vacation Peter, you’ve earned it!