I Took a Whole Month Off and Didn’t Tell a Soul — Here’s What Happened.

  Sam Vander Wielen: Hey there, and welcome to On Your Terms®. On Your Terms® is a podcast for online business owners who want to be as present in their lives, as profitable in their businesses. And I don’t know a better way to be present in your life than to take a break, which is exactly what I’m gonna do this summer. And this episode is all about why I’m taking a break, what I’ll be up to, what I will be doing and not be doing, and kind of how I plan from a business perspective to be truly out of office, but also secretly what I retain no matter whether I’m off or on.

So I’ll break it all down in this episode, and I’m sharing kind of the truth or the reality, I guess, of behind the scenes of being a business owner that I just feel like I don’t hear people talk about enough when it comes to taking a break, um, and are we ever really off when you own your own business?

So here’s the deal. I’m taking a little summer break, not just from the podcast, but actually from working in general. I’m not working, technically speaking. I know my friends are cackling right now, ’cause as my friend Steve said the other day, um, “I can’t wait to watch you be the most productive person I know this summer.”

And I was like, “Okay, that’s fair. That is an accurate description.” Like, when I say I’m not working, people are like, “Is this not working?” Like, “Are we not working now?” But technically speaking, just trust me, I will not be working in July and August except for all the things I’m about to tell you that I am going to be doing.

For the podcast, I had an idea a m- month or two ago that for the summer months when I was taking off of the podcast, ’cause, you know, it takes a lot of time to create this podcast. You might think we just wing it and we do it off the, off the top of our head, but it takes a lot of time, and we, every other week, we have a big chunk of recording time.

Obviously, it’s a lot of editing time on Michelle’s end, and so that’s going to be a huge, you know, help in terms of taking a break just to, like, not record this summer. So what we’ve done is actually read aloud. I have read aloud a lot of the Substack essays that I’ve written. If you don’t know, I have a Substack, just creatively titled Sam Vander Wielen, and, uh, that’s where I write more personal essays, like personal narrative, and I wanna share some of them with you here.

So for the next several weeks, you will hear these essays. A lot of them are about behind the scenes of founder life or grief or loss or creativity and, like, discovering hobbies, getting offline more. Um, so they’re fun topics, at least I think. But that’s what I’ll be doing here on the podcast for the next several weeks, and then I’ll be back in full force on September 14th with all of your favorite normal, regular Monday episodes of On Your Terms®.

With that being said, if you don’t already get my weekly newsletter, Sam’s Sidebar, that’s the very one thing I would encourage you to do from this episode is click the link down below and sign up for my free weekly newsletter, Sam’s Sidebar, because that will be current and that will be the thing I will be focusing on this summer and sending out every single week.

So that will really be the only place you’ll hear from me and about what’s going on, um, between there and Substack, like behind the scenes

So speaking of, let’s talk about what a summer break looks like for me and kind of how, how I go about this. So I was talking to my friend Shawn Blanc about this the other day, and he was saying that every quarter he takes a one-week sabbatical, and sometimes he’ll take, like, a longer sabbatical here and there.

He thinks it’s really important for just, like, well, mental health, but creativity’s sake, and, like, burnout and all that kind of stuff. And we were both saying about how when we take time off or sabbatical, that we don’t completely not work. And we were talking about how, like, it’s kind of shunned in this industry, I would say.

It’s like this, like, oh, like, my friends are on me about it and, you know, or even, like, last week when I was at Craft + Commerce, when I got done, I had done so much at this conference, but it was all, like, one part of my brain. Like, it was all, like, socialization, meeting people, talking, having conversations, being on a podcast, like, going to dinners, going to happy hours. Like, it was that kind of stuff.

I then have this craving in this, like, other part of my brain that feels very underused. Like, I wanna get back to writing, for example. Like, that feels good to me. I think the difference and, like, the key here is, like, are there things in your business or in your creative, uh, work in some way that you’re actually excited to do and that you, like, miss not doing?

Not because you’re afraid of falling behind, not because you’re afraid of, like, no one’s gonna remember you or that you’re gonna lose the momentum or you’re scared to not make money. I don’t mean it from that, but, like, do you truly miss it? Like, that’s how I feel about writing my newsletter. I’m like, y- I’ve had so many people over the years offer to write my newsletter, and in 10 years I’ve never done that except for, I think for maybe, like, a month after my dad died, uh, my copywriter wrote a couple emails for me ’cause I went out really suddenly.

And so that’s it. Otherwise, I was like, “I’m not… I, I never wanna hand that over.” And it’s not from a control perspective. It’s also not because I think I’m the best at writing newsletters or anything like that. It’s truly because I enjoy it. Like, I just really, really enjoy it. And so when I told Lindsey, my director of operations, months ago that I was like, “Oh, I wanna take off for the summer,” she’s like, “Okay, what does that mean about Sidebar?”

And I’m like, “Oh, I’m still writing Sidebar.” She’s like, “What does that mean about Substack?” I go, “Oh, I’m still writing Substack. Like, you’re not taking that away from me.” And she’s like, “Well, what is this? What is off?” You know? And I’m like, “Well, I don’t wanna go to meetings. Like, I don’t want meetings. I don’t want calls.

I don’t wanna record for a little bit because I don’t wanna produce content because I wanna let my brain take a break, right?” In that respect.

But my newsletter never feels that way to me, right? It flows. I can’t wait to get back to it. As I’m recording this episode, I’m in a sale week right now, and I’m, like, dying inside to get back to writing my newsletter.

I’m like, “Get out, everybody get out of the way. Like, I wish I could get rid of the sale and just write a newsletter.”

So I think, like, it doesn’t mean that I’m broken or addicted to work or, like, I, you know, I’m hustle or whatever, all the things. Like, I think we just take this stuff, like, way too black and white on the one hand of, like, there, there definitely are people, and I’ve definitely had my moments, don’t, don’t get me wrong, and there are ways I do that in my business, but this isn’t one of them. Like, I, I thoroughly enjoy it, and I don’t need to sit around, like, sitting on my thumbs all summer.

And having one thing to do, writing my newsletter, is, like, not very onerous. It also doesn’t take me a lot of time, uh, so that’s probably part of the calculation, is, like I mentioned, some of my friends who do spend tons of hours doing it, but that’s not me and never has been me, so it’s really not that big of a deal for me.

Like, I already can’t wait for, like, summer coffee shop dates where I can go and, like, write my newsletter. So yeah, I thought, I thought it was interesting and I guess just, like, a bit of a relief to talk to my friend Shawn about this, where he was like, “Yeah, I feel like that too,” and like, Everybody always thinks you have to be, like, so off.”

I’m like, “Yeah, I know.” And I think that truthfully Being a business owner means that you’re always sort of on, right? Like, w- how are you ever really off? Like, whether I’m on vacation, I’m in the shower, I’m playing tennis, like I have a very, like, creative brain in that sense of, like, where I’m always thinking about ideas of something we can do in the business, but I’m also always worried about…

It’s like your baby. Like, if you go on vacation, are you not worried about your baby? Like, of course. No, I’m, like, thinking, like, “Is the baby okay? Is anyone feeding the baby? Did anyone forget about the baby?” It’s a part of me in, in, I think, a healthier way now, for sure, than than when I started.

But I just, like… I don’t know, I guess I, like, wanted to put it out there and just be like, “It’s normal. This is normal.” Like, you’ve created something that has your face on it, and your… and in my case, my name on it, and my voice everywhere, and all this stuff, and, like, it’s me. It’s my reputation on the line.

If people don’t like something or somebody writes something nasty about me or whatever, it’s me, right? And so I think that, honestly, my business is as well-oiled of a machine as you can literally ever get, uh, for an online business, as much as I’ve ever seen, in apparently all my friends. But it still requires me, right?

Like, there’s still stuff they… I don’t want them AI cloning me. So there’s still a lot of stuff that they need me for. There’s also a lot of stuff they don’t need me for. That’s the truth of it, right? And where I can work on stepping aside and being like, “I’ve already created all this stuff. You guys run and prosper.

Like, you can do it,” right? And that’s awesome, and I love what I do, and I think it comes with way more perks than cons.

So for me, it’s like if I think about my business when I’m on vacation, I’m like, “Who cares? I can go on vacation.” First of all, I can afford to go on vacation literally because of my business.

I… Like, it’s, it’s what financially supports me. And second of all, when I was a lawyer, I couldn’t even go on vacation because it was literally just, like, buying time. I had to make up all the time when I came back or before I went away, and it was chaos, and it was awful. And so it’s like, okay, so if I think about a funnel idea, or Lindsey texts me and says, like, something broke or there’s a problem or whatever, big deal.

Like, I don’t care. I’d rather take a half an hour and sit and do something, and it gives me so many more perks and flexibility in my life that it doesn’t matter to me.

So what does a summer of, like, me taking a break really look like? So what we’re really talking about is July and August, because I worked qui- quite a bit, actually, in June and was traveling a lot in June.

But for July and August, my hope and my plan for myself is to really just spend time with family and friends, um, to have a lot of beach days. I do live on Long Island, so we have some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, so… And they’re everywhere. It’s like every corner, there’s a new beach. So, um, you know, kinda surrounded by water, so it’s a benefit of having, uh, living on an island.

So I, I wanna do- just, like, spend a lot of time on the beach. I grew up, uh, if you know, if you’ve listened to anything I’ve e- probably ever said, I’m from Philadelphia, and I grew up going to the Jersey Shore. And, like, just having those, like, full days where you’re on the beach and you, like, pack a lunch and you, like, drive home all sandy and sweaty and, like, the…

It’s just a… It’s a vibe, as my friend Mal would say. If you know what I mean, you know, and I wanna have those kinds of days. Like, I have a beach down the street. I’m not talking about sitting out for an hour. I want, like, a day of this, this kind of stuff.

Um, I also have my, every other week CSA, my community-supported agriculture box, last, last year I did it as well, as the last several years, and it’s just, like, so fun to make that such a big project ’cause you gotta, like, figure out how to use up all the produce, whether it comes to, like, creating a jam or a sauce or, like, something like that. And I’ll just hopefully have more time and spaciousness to do that.

Um, and I also have a lot of little, like, day dates sketched out that I want to do. Um, I have I have a perfect 2010s day in mind that I’m calling it. Um, so okay, back in the day in Philly, I was lucky enough to be in Philly at, during the girl boss era, like pre-girl boss era, and SoulCycle was real big, and you better believe I was into it.

And so I would go to these SoulCycle classes like it was church, and I felt moved by the whole experience, and I loved it so much. I definitely drank the Kool-Aid. And I have this dream of going… There’s a SoulCycle on, like, the more, like, western part of, um, Long Island, closer to the city. So I have this dream to go to this SoulCycle, and then next door there’s a Dry Bar.

So then afterwards I’m gonna go and I’m gonna get my hair blown out. And then I’m gonna go to the Old Westbury Gardens, ’cause I’ve heard about this place, I heard it’s insane, and it’s, like, eight minutes from the SoulCycle. So I’m gonna have this… Um, obviously I’m gonna get lunch. There’s gonna be lunch involved.

I don’t know where. I’ll… TBD, I’ll fill you in. But, Yeah, just, like, stupid like, very stupid stuff like that. And I’ve made a list of, like, many museums that I wanna go to in New York City. I also wanna ride a bike through Central Park. I’m terrified, and I’m considering bringing my own helmet, but I really, I really wanna do this.

So yeah, I just have, like, a list of a lot of random things I wanna do, and I’m… It, it’s my, it’s my little summer bucket list. Highly recommend that you make one every year. I bullied my friend Michelle into making one. So I hope that you… I hope you make one, , for your summer too. But yeah, that’s really my plan.

Now, on the work side, let’s talk about, like, what I’m doing, like, task-wise. So when I say I’m not working, what am I really doing, okay? So I wanted to talk about this because I, I guess I wanted to show you, like, what is bare basics, like, necessities of behind-the-scenes of a business like this. Like, I, I guess I could probably just, like, pause and walk away.

I don’t… I wouldn’t really wanna do that. So I thought that I would share, like, this is kinda what I do, like, bare maintenance of what I’m keeping afloat. Um, so that if you ever thought about doing something like this, I think you could do this at any stage. So what I am doing is writing my weekly newsletter, Sam’s Sidebar, like I mentioned.

That comes out every single Tuesday. If you don’t get it already, make sure you click the link in the show notes, because that is the only kinda timely thing you’ll be getting from me all summer, so make sure you sign up for that. Um, I’ve also been writing weekly on Substack, and the reason I’m keeping doing that is because Substack, I’m not currently considering work.

For me, this is more of, like, a creative outlet, creative expression, and, like, playground sandbox situation, where I’m learning and flexing a different writing muscle. And writing has been something… I just said this. I was on a podcast earlier today, and I was saying, on Holly Haynes’ podcast, and I was saying, like, I did not grow up being a writer.

And I actually had somebody say to me the other day at Craft + Commerce, like, “I wish I was a writer like you,” or, like, “I wish I was natural like you,” because, um, I would love to write more in my business. And I was like, “Wait, I didn’t, I didn’t write until a couple of years ago, um, when I started this business.”

Because I was a lawyer, I, I wrote like a robot. And so I had to really, like, retrain myself. I had no creative writing experience, like, no story. I would’ve never been able to tell you that I loved, like, telling stories through writing, and then, like, was, like, a metaphor queen and, and transferred everything into a metaphor.

I had no idea until I started practicing. So it was kind of a news to me, and, like, a, a f- I think a surprise to me, especially once my dad got leukemia and then ultimately passed, that I was like, “Oh, this whole, like, writing thing, it actually, like, makes me feel a lot better.” Like, I… Because I was just never something I even had before in my toolbox.

So that’s a lot of my thinking around, like, keeping the writing as well, is, like, it’s something I really enjoy, but it’s also a big expressive outlet for me. Now, of course, with, like, over 5,000 something customers, I can’t just, like, peace out on all our customers either, so I will check our Facebook community and our, like, customer comments inside of The Ultimate Bundle®, um, of course, several times a week if people h- have questions from, like, the customer perspective.

And then there’s a monthly member newsletter, it just goes out once a month. So we’re literally talking about, uh, well, it’s really only one newsletter that I have to write because I’ve already pre-written July, so I have to write August, and that’s it, um, in terms of while I’m out.

The other thing I’m doing is going to Colorado for a week, um, for my mastermind, um, Aspen. So we’re meeting up in Colorado. And, you know, this is one of those things, to be honest, like, I guess most people chalk this up to work. It is work in the sense that it’s like, it’s a l- it’s a lot of social, like, uh, outward energy. I guess it’s, like, technically networking. But all of the people who are in this group are all my friends, and I really like them, and most of them feel like a family at this point, where, like, even if they’re a little dysfunctional, you, like, love them.

And so I, I feel like I’m going to hang out with friends. And we’re gonna be in Colorado at, like, a really beautiful hotel in, like, a beautiful place. So I’m like, “Is it really that hard? I don’t think so.” For me, at this point, I’m like, “This is gravy.” I think if you’ve ever been, if you’ve ever been a corporate attorney, you’re like, I am still, I am still riding high off the feeling of feeling like I broke out of prison. So, like, I am so grateful and appreciative to be here and to be able to, like, go on trips like that.

Now, last but not least, this is something I’m not doing for work, but, like, if I’m being honest, is something that’s always going to end up benefiting my work, and that is living. ‘Cause getting out there and just living is going to be the thing that ultimately gives me lots of ideas, um, s- tons of stories, lots of fodder.

Anytime you can get around other people, you got stories for days. And so I, I’ve always thought that, like, in order to write, create, you know, promote something, you have to live first, right? And so even though I’m like, I’m not taking the time off in order… Like, I’m not sitting there, like, squeezing my brain, thinking, “Okay, now I have to come up with a content idea out of this.”

I just know at this point, out of experience, that by giving myself some spaciousness and letting myself go out and live, I am going to come up with lots of things to write about or to create content around. I also just think from taking a break of, like, not creating content, it sometimes makes me really excited to come back to create that content. And to be honest with you, after this year, I’m feeling like I need that for sure.

Now, what I’m not doing is that I’m not taking on any meetings. So there have been lots of requests for me to, like, teach trainings or do podcast interviews or have meetings with people or intro calls and, like, all of this stuff.

So none of that is getting scheduled for July and August. I… this is 100% me, not, not the team. They’re, they’re good at this, and I’m not good at it. I am not adding on new things to my plate, so I’m not, like, signing up for new programs, not signing up for coaching. I’ve actually paused all coaching or, like, support stuff that I have.

Like, everything for the summer is paused. I’m not doing any calls with people. I do not work with a business coach, by the way. I work with a mindset coach, Jen Diaz, who I talk about here all the time. She’s amazing. Highly recommend working with her privately or joining her membership. Um, but she, she’s in- she’s incredible.

But I’m not doing calls this summer. I’m… She’s, like, supporting me behind the scenes, but not doing calls. So, um, people always ask me if I have a business coach, and I do not. I have not. So, uh, just thought I would mention that while we’re talking about it. And I’m not recording. I’m not recording this podcast.

I’m not recording, tons of social content for reels. I’ve asked the social team to use… I’ve got B-roll for days. We’ve got tons of content that’s already done really well that they can repurpose. , They’ll have my newsletter that they can turn in to a piece of content. They have the… my Substack that they can turn in to a piece of content.

We’re even going to experiment with taking a reel, like a video, for example, that’s done really well and just try re-editing it in a different style and seeing if reposting it does well. That’s something a lot of my friends do, and they think I’m crazy for not doing it. So we’re gonna try that. Just a lot of that kind of stuff.

It’s just, like, really reusing or using what we already have, and I think more than anything, that requires you adopting a mindset of, like, “This is good enough.” Like, sure, it… Creating all new, brand new content would be great. I also don’t wanna do it. So yes, that is a privileged position to be able to be like, “I don’t feel like doing this.”

I also have a feeling… Like, we’ll see. We’ll talk at the end of the summer. I have a feeling that content’s gonna do about the same, and we’re… what we’re all gonna walk away from this experiment thinking is like, “We don’t need to create so much new content.” Um, so yeah, before you go ahead and do the must be nice thing to me, I think we might all collectively see that we can repurpose what we’re already doing into content.

So I thought I’d talk a little bit about, like, how I essentially plan to be out of the office. Like, what do I do in my business to take a break, but also, like, how did I get here in the first place? And because I could imagine if I were you, I’d be listening to this being like, “Well, I can’t take a break like that,” or, um, “That sounds like a lot of work to do up front.”

Or you might be thinking it’s only ’cause I have a team that we can, like, plan like this, which of course is the case, and it helps, right? Like, I can’t… I couldn’t just leave if it was just me. So this all makes sense to me.

But I also think that’s where it’s helpful, like in last week’s episode, I talked a little bit about this, like, sometimes we want, like, the outcome of something, but we, we have to have that moment where you realize, like, we haven’t actually gotten there.

Like, we’re doing the work right now that’s gonna get us there, but we’re just not there yet. And so I’ve had this business for 10 years. I couldn’t have taken a break like this, when I started. And instead, when I started, I hustled all summer . I hustled my tush off and was working really hard all summer.

And you have to remember that I also hustled the whole time after both of my parents died and didn’t take a break, um, to the point that I burnt myself out so badly and, like, had such bad, like, health issues that I’m still exhausted and still feeling like I need a break. So it’s not exactly something to write home about that, that I even, like, need a break or something like that.

But I also just think it’s something that takes time. Like, as you build up the systems, as you hire the right people, Because you hire the right people and you have the systems, you put those, um, things into place, right? And, like, have them carry out the tasks that need to be done, um, that kinda just, like, keep the trains running on time.

And you also establish, like, you’re okay with not having a period of growth. Like, it’s not like I’m going out of the office for the summer, and I’m saying to the team, like, “While I’m out, I expect for you guys to, like, double everything. Like, everything better be exploding by the time I come back.”

Part of it is me saying, like, “I’m okay just, like, holding steady. I’m also okay if things slow down. These are just the things that, like, have to get done, and this is how we have to do it.” So there’s that, that part, right? But that takes a lot of time, and it takes a lot of, like, getting a lot of those things in place and systems in place.

Um, and so I certainly wasn’t there for year one, two, three, four, five, probably up until, like, the last year or two to be honest. And there are also seasons, like when my book came out, I couldn’t be like, “Peace out, I’m leaving.” It was a really, it was a really busy time, right? So, like, you have to, I don’t know, take all of this with a grain of salt and, like, get to that point in your business where you feel like, okay, it’s stable enough.

I can kinda just have the team hold steady, and I can take a break.

So for one, I think the first thing you have to do if you wanna design a break is, like, you have to allow yourself to take breaks in your content ’cause a big part of this for me is, like, I probably could have done this before or earlier if I were mentally kinder to myself about taking a break in, like, a content schedule, for example.

Like, if I was okay going dark on the podcast for a month, which, like, so many people do, like people do seasons and they take breaks, like it’s a very normal thing in the industry, then I would have been able to do this earlier.

Another big way that you could go out of the office, whether even you decide to take two weeks, let alone you don’t have to take two months or whatever, but, like, if you wanna take two weeks, is just batching your content ahead of time. I mean, with all the tools that we have available to us now, like, there’s really no reason or no excuse why you can’t, because you can pre-write your newsletter, for example.

Like, if you’re on a once-a-week cadence like I am, even if you wanna take two weeks off, write two newsletters, schedule them to go out. Even if you had one social post per week, like, that… You don’t even need… It would be okay if you didn’t post at all. Like, everything will be okay. Everything will continue.

I bet you the people listening or watching or whatever, reading your stuff, they’re busy, too, right? They’re at the pool with their kids. They’re on summer vacation. They’re, they’re doing stuff, right? So I, I think that sometimes, you know, we just, as humans, like, we make ourselves a little more important and think all this, like, the cadence at which we put the stuff out is, like, way more important than it is.

But then we also just don’t realize how, like, we can just keep it really simple and set up a couple of things ahead of time. I mean, I could have written a month’s worth of newsletters and then truly been off, like not doing anything for a month. That would’ve been easy, right? So that’s, that’s totally doable, and I think that this is what’s so important about, like, stripping down your l- like, business marketing strategy to, like, truly what’s essential.

And from my perspective, it’s like I would just nurture your email list. If you have an email list, that’s what I would do. I would nurture that. If you have a podcast, you know, record a couple episodes ahead of time, and you have those scheduled to go out, and then they’re already linked in your newsletter.

So, like, that’s all… You have that little, like, flywheel going. If you just… I bet you, you would even, like, walk away from this experiment being like, “Oh, I could probably do a lot less and have more, like, concentrated strikes where it’s like I’m really focusing on sending my traffic to my newsletter and my newsletter to my podcast. And like, oh, what do you know? By doing less, I actually saw more traffic there.”

Obviously, if you have anyone working with you, or for you, this is a lot to do with communication of like, you know, when I was out in, uh… I actually took the whole month off of May, which I don’t think anybody knows. Um, and so I never told anybody. So I was out in May, and, uh, see, you didn’t notice. It didn’t matter.

Um, we had a huge month. We had like a multi six-figure month, uh, in the business, so just honestly didn’t matter. But I had told Lindsay ahead of time of like, uh, “Hey, this is my expectation of what I… Like, I don’t wanna be on calls. My plan is to not be in Slack. I don’t wanna check my email. If, if an- the house catches on fire, text me.

Like, just let me know if there’s anything.” She texted me. It’s no problem. I don’t mind at all ’cause it… I think it’s also as like, as the business owner, it’s really important to make sure the team is not afraid of you, like in a way of like they’re not afraid that they’re bothering you, right? And we know each other so well now that there’s not like an issue of her being like, “Oh, I didn’t wanna bother you,” so like then she’s sitting on something that turned out to be a problem.

She just asks me. And like I’ve also gotten better over the years where I hear about a “problem” and it doesn’t throw me off, right? Like it used to like ruin my day if there, many days, if there was like a bad customer or something like this. And now it’s just kind of like, “Yeah, you can go ahead and do that, no problem.

Get rid of them. Do this. Like, do that. It’s fine.” You know? I’m much more… That just took a lot of work on my part to detach from that. But I also think it’s about communicating with them and saying like, “This is what I do wanna know about. This is what I don’t wanna know about. This is what I need you to handle.”

I always call it the burying the body because I’m from Philly and that’s just the, that’s the idea that comes to mind. And so, and so, um, I grew up with Joey Merlino being like a, a celebrity, and so that’s what comes to mind for me. So I’m always like, “I just need you to like bury these bodies. Like, these are the things I don’t wanna know about because they will stress me out.

But if there’s like this stuff or whatever else you need, always, my door is always open.” Like, I think that’s the point. And just like making, I hope, the team feel comfortable that they can come to me about anything at any time, that I’m not like, “Ah, I can’t deal with this. Like, you can’t… I can’t be bothered.”

But I also want you guys to like… You guys are capable, and they know everything that, they know everything to do. Like, they’re amazing for a reason. And so, like, they can do it, right? So it’s like empowering them while also remaining friendly and open. It’s a, it’s a tough balance, honestly, but that’s, that’s kind of the balance that I strive towards.

Now, none of what we’re talking about today comes without its mindset issues, ’cause w- what would? I don’t know. Um, but I have to tell you, if I’m being honest, like, I worry about taking time off, like, not even just in the summer, but it’s so funny, for the last year, I feel like I’ve eased up in so many ways, yet in so many ways, things have been so much crazier and busier or just, like, more attention and traffic, uh, for lack of a better term, even though I feel like I’m trying so much less.

Like, it… I imagine that this was what it would’ve felt like in high school if I wasn’t so eager to, to have a boyfriend or have friends or, like, whatever, and then, like, all of a sudden everybody wants to date you. Like, I think that’s, that summarizes what my last year has felt like. It’s like all of a sudden I stopped caring, and now everybody wants to date me.

Um, not really, I’m just kidding, but it’s just like, it feels that way in the sense that I feel like I eased up and it got, it got a little nutty. , And even as I’ve eased up over this last year, and as I go up to, like, really easing up over the summer, I am worried about being lapped, about losing my progress, like, like losing the momentum of what we’ve been building, about missing something, like something falls through the cracks.

And like, is it too much pressure on, uh, the team? When I say team, I have three people, so it’s not like… We’re not talking about, like, a massive call center here. It’s like we, we have a small but mighty team, right? And so, like, it’s a lot for them to juggle and they… And when you have a small, a, a team as small as I do, we are, multifaceted, let’s say.

Like, we all do lots of different things, and, like, we don’t necessarily have, like, a clear box all, that we can all fit in because when you have such a small team, everybody has to pitch in a little bit, um, and do certain things, myself included. So it’s like, um, you know, that’s a lot to expect from them, and then you worry that, like, well, is it too much for them?

Is something gonna fall through? . I would say, like, the bigger issue that I have and that I’m continuing to work through is that I… Well, it’s so funny ’cause it’s, like, funny how, like, projection works, you know? So, like, I’m afraid that everybody thinks that I’m weak or bad person or a diva or whatever for needing to take time off, like, still because of grief or just in general, right?

And just, like, why do I… Like, people don’t get breaks. Like, normal people don’t get breaks. The people listening to this don’t get breaks. Like, you have kids, you have all this stuff going on, you don’t get a break. And it’s so funny how, like, I put that on everybody else to be like, “Oh, I wonder if the team thinks that about me.

I wonder if my friends think that about me, or, like, customers think this.” And it’s like, I think it was maybe my therapist was like, “Do you think that about you?” Like, it’s funny how it’s like, well, I guess, yeah. Like, I’m judging myself, right? Of being like, I’m thinking I’m weak. And she’s like, “Is it weak for needing a break?”

Like, would you think, uh, Michelle, my friend who’s listening to this right now, is a producer. Like, do you think… Would you think Michelle is weak if, if she took a break? I’m like, no. Like, I would think that means a lot. Like, how the hell hasn’t she taken a break already, right? That would be my thought. And it’s just kind of funny how we spin things around to be like, I’m thinking everybody else is thinking this about me, but really I’m worried about it about myself, and then I’m looking for evidence.

Like, I get a, um… You know, I’m a product of, like, the first generation of texters, so if I ever get, like, a one-word response with a period after it, I’m like, “See? That was because she hates me. She thinks I’m terrible.” You know what I mean, if you’ll… If you too were an early 2000s texter. And so- Yeah, I just…

It’s something that is hard for me and is going to be hard for me this summer. It’s hard for me to be bored, even though I like being bored. I also like being alone, but then it’ll be hard for me to be alone, ’cause a lot of times when I’m alone, it’s kind of when I realize I’m, like, more globally alone, like, without family.

Um, I went to my annual, uh, pap today, and she asked me if there was any update in my family history, and I said, “No, they’re all still dead.” Um, and so that was an sassy move, ’cause the lady really pissed me off. But I, I… Anyway, it’s like, it’s those moments where you kind of realize, like, “No, I am, like, truly globally alone.”

So of course you wanna, like, fill it with stuff to do, and classes, and sign up for this, and be busy, and, “Oh, maybe I’ll just write another newsletter.” Like, I think I floated out to Lindsey at some point, like, “Maybe I should bring back the twice a week newsletter,” and she’s like, “Okay.” Like, “Put the, put the laptop down.”

So yeah, I, I… Those are things that I’m going to be battling this summer, and I will report back to you, um, come September for sure if you, if you want to hear. But in the meantime, I think that the, really the best and, like, the only way to follow along this summer if, if you care, should you care, um, is to make sure you’re signed up for Sam’s Sidebar, ’cause like I said, I’ll be writing that in real time.

And also to come over to Substack and check out my Substack, Sam Vander Wielen, where I will also be writing weekly about grief, and loss, and behind the scenes of running, uh, a multi-seven-figure business, and taking a break, and, uh, entrepreneur gap year, and all those things. So I’d love to see you there and hear from you there.

I would love to hear if you’re taking any sort of break. Um, I would love to encourage you to think about it. Maybe you could even do it for, like, a week or two. Just take, like, a little sabbatical. I think it doesn’t have to be so black and white. It doesn’t have to be super long. And it also can be, like, a sabbatical from something that you maybe just need a break from.

Like, it doesn’t have to be the whole business, but maybe you take a sabbatical from your podcast, or from YouTube, or Instagram, right? Like, maybe you could just take it from something. Like, letting yourself play with or experiment with not doing something that you don’t feel like doing anyway. Like, is there some part of your business that feels really sticky or forced?

And if there’s something also in your business that used to be something you really loved but is currently feeling a little sticky, I think that could be an interesting one too. Like, for me, I’ve always loved podcasting the most, and then I noticed just a couple months ago that I was kind of like, “Oh man, I’m out of, like, ideas,” because I was, like, pumping it out so much and just working a lot, and then it was not, like, refueling essentially.

So that’s to me a red flag when it’s like, I know I love this. Like, it’s not that I’ve fallen out of love with podcasting. I’m just maybe a little burnt out on, like, the process, and so let me just take a quick break. I’ll go out and live, and then I feel like I’ll come back really refreshed and, like, having things to say.

Um, and maybe I’ll even think of, like, an idea of, like, a different approach or, like, structure or something like that. So it’ll be really interesting to see what happens this summer.

I’d love to hear from you if you’re thinking of something. Um, you can always respond to any of my emails. I read all my emails and reply.

Um, I’m also on Instagram @samvanderwielen, but I hope you come and subscribe to Sam’s Sidebar so that I can chat with you every week, and we can both see what we’re up to on the summer break.

So with that, like I said, you’ll be hearing each week, uh, a Substack essay read aloud by moi. Um, and then I will be back full throttle on September 14th, right after Labor Day, with some really great episodes for you coming then and another big Ultimate Bundle® sale in the fall. So I can’t wait for that. With that, I hope that you have an absolutely amazing summer, and I’ll talk to you soon.

Thanks so much for listening to the On Your Terms® podcast. Make sure to follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you like to listen to podcasts. You can also check out all of our podcast episodes, show notes, links, and more at samvanderwielen.com/podcast. You can learn more about legally protecting your business and take my free legal workshop, Five Steps To Legally Protect and Grow Your Online Business at Samvanderwielen.com and to stay connected and follow along, follow me on Instagram at samvanderwielen and send me a DM to say hi.