Business Growth

The Perfect Vacation
for Business Growth

Is your idea of a perfect vacation hanging out by the pool and downing as many mojitos as you can?

What if, instead, you took a vacation that lead to massive growth in your business and personal life?

Today, Chris shares what the perfect vacation really looks like.

You'll hear how to choose the best location to be surrounded by nature, the daily routine you need to keep while you're there, and the incredible transformation you can expect if you stick with it.

Chris has built more than a dozen successful companies and has written books that help millions of people. This is the tip he gives entrepreneurs who want to have a similar impact, be super achievers, and change their worlds for the better. Don't miss it.

You just need to break away and do something to physically and mentally become more clear. Then take action and watch as your world transforms.

In this Episode

  • How to choose the best spot for your best personal vacation that will give you solitude and clarity
  • The exact routine you need to keep on your vacation to physically exhaust yourself and clear your mind
  • What two lists you need to make once you've found that moment of clarity
  • The key distinction that makes this type of vacation the most productive one of your life
  • How taking one of these perfect vacations can help you experience more growth in every area of your life that most people experience in a lifetime

Why You Need to Take a Perfect Vacation

For years I took a personal vacation, all by myself, once a year, and I've taught this to leaders in my own companies, and CEO's in my advisory program, and every person who's done what I'm about to share with you has come back super productive, driven more than ever, and most importantly, happy.

And you have to know that this is not a vacation to drink as many Mojitos, or Mai Tai or Margaritas as possible. It's just not like that.

But it's a vacation that – done right – is super powerful and will probably change everything for you, for the better, in your productivity, in your personal life and in the clarity you have surrounding everything.

Here's the basic game plan – and this is exactly how I personally get the most out of my time – and you might decide to add or subtract something, and that's fine, but just know that the formula I'm going to lay out for you here works.

Where You Can Go to Take Your Perfect Vacation

First, I choose a location that puts me in beautiful, natural surroundings, but in solitude.

For example, my first personal vacation was in Sedona, Arizona, right in the red rock mountains. The following year I went to a secluded part of an island, another year I went hiking in Catoosa, Tennessee, which is super secluded and beautiful.

What I'm looking for is a place that I can physically exhaust myself, be alone, and clear my head.

So when I was in Sedona, I woke up early each day, had breakfast, then chose a different mountain from the landscape. I hiked through the plains to the mountain, then hiked up to the top of the mountain which would take hours and get me physically exhausted.

Then when I was at the top of the mountain, all by myself, I would stare out into the desert until my head was clear.

Now that might not work on the first 2-3 days!

Gaining Clarity

So every day I'd stay on top of the mountain staring out and enjoying everything I saw, without any distractions. No one else was hiking around me, my cell phone was off, nothing and nobody had access to me.

And at the end of the day, right before it started to get dark, I'd hike down the mountain, through the plains, find my car, grab dinner, get a massage and get to bed so I could start the next day early too.

There's always a breakthrough when you do this. When you're up on the mountain, or wherever you are, secluded, and your mind becomes uncluttered, and your life becomes clear.

That might be 2, 3, 4 days of doing this.

At that point, I take out a pen and paper from my back pocket and write down what's working in my life.

In my professional life, are my companies built on my values? Am I still excited about growing them? Am I working too much or too little to make me happy?

And in my personal life, am I feeling loved? And I giving as much love as I can? Am I happy and am I making other happy? Do I by example? Am I feeling healthy? Am I doing everything I can to be supercharged?

Generally, I make a list of what's working in my life, and then I make a list of what's not working.

And then I write 1 goal in each main category of my life that I am committed to achieving over the coming months.

Creating a Detailed Plan

Here's the key distinction that makes this really work:

For the next few days, after choosing a different mountain, hiking to the top of that mountain, then clearing my head again, when I pull out that piece of paper, I create a detailed plan to achieve each of those goals.

When you do this, you'll get completely different results than any past attempts at goal setting, because your head is now clear!

Big difference!

Big big difference when your head is clear.

Personally, every time I take a personal vacation like this, when I get back, I experience more growth in every area of my life.

More growth than most people experience in a lifetime.

I've built more than a dozen successful companies in the same time than most people take to built 1 or 2.

I've written books that have helped millions of people.

I've found the woman of my dream, and I've created such close bonds with my kids that literally mean the world to me.

And so much more, all directly related to getting clear like this.

Every day we do things that either draw us closer to our goal, or anchor us down to staleness.

These personal vacations are a tool I use, and that I teach leaders in my companies and our clients, that accelerate our results, and help us excel in both business and life.

You just need to break away and do something to physically and mentally become clear. Then take action and watch as your world transforms.

Choose the right location and follow a good game plan like the one I just laid out here, and you'll come back more productive then you might even imagine possible.

Related Reading How Rich People Recharge → Related Reading Preventing Burnout and Overwhelm in Business (And Life) →
Common Questions

Frequently Asked
Questions

How do you remove yourself from your business enough to get real clarity on what needs to change?

Take a personal vacation alone once a year in a location with natural surroundings and no distractions. Physically exhaust yourself each day through hiking or similar activity, then sit in solitude until your mind goes quiet. That combination of physical exhaustion and mental silence produces clarity that is nearly impossible to get inside your normal environment where every fire pulls your attention away from big picture thinking.

What is the exact routine Chris Guerriero uses on his personal business growth vacation?

Wake early, have breakfast, choose a mountain or trail, hike to exhaustion, sit alone at the top until the mind clears. No phone. No access. Stay until clarity comes, which might take two to three days of repetition. Once clarity arrives, write down what is working and what is not in both business and personal life. Set one goal per category. Then spend the remaining days creating a detailed plan for each goal with a clear head.

Why does goal setting on this type of vacation produce different results than normal goal setting?

Because your head is clear. Most goal setting happens while you are still inside the noise of daily operations. You are setting goals with the same cluttered thinking that created the current problems. When you physically exhaust yourself and sit in solitude long enough for the mental noise to stop, the goals and plans that emerge are rooted in what actually matters, not in the pressures of the moment.

How often should a founder or CEO take this kind of personal clarity vacation?

Once a year is the baseline. I took one every year for years and taught it to leaders inside my own companies and to CEOs in my advisory program. Every person who has done it consistently has come back super productive, driven more than ever, and most importantly, happy. The annual reset is not a luxury. It is part of the operating system for anyone serious about sustained high performance.

What location works best for a personal business growth vacation?

Natural surroundings with solitude. Mountains, secluded islands, remote hiking areas. My first was in Sedona, Arizona, in the red rock mountains. Then a secluded island. Then Catoosa, Tennessee. What matters is that you can physically exhaust yourself, be alone, and clear your head without access to distractions. The location matters less than the solitude and the physical demand it places on you.

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