i bookmarked this video on mike king‘s blog some time ago, and finally got around to watching it. it’s stefan sagmeister, a new york designer, giving a talk at TED about the power of taking time off.

i often find that i need people who do things more extreme than me to push me to do a portion of that extreme. sagmeister’s regular year-long sabbatical is extreme – but how cool would that be? in the mean time, this is a reminder to me that i have to be diligent in planning my quarterly three-day silent retreats.

i got diligent about this last week, and found a place (and dates) for my next retreat. and it’s now. i’m leaving tonite, after my final ‘leadership coaching program’ meeting with john townsend, and will be isolated and silent through thursday noon. no internet, no cell coverage – nothing but me and god and a small handful of books.