I left my stable tech job because I needed a break. I’m using a three-part plan to make sure I’m not blowing up my family’s finances.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Leo Robadey, a 44-year-old former customer success manager based in Denver, about taking a career break from his tech job in pursuit of a happier life. It’s been edited for length and clarity.

During the pandemic, I turned 40 and really took stock of where I was in life. I’ve been in hustle culture mode for the last 15 years. I wasn’t dissatisfied with my career, but I started to feel the mounting need to slow down in life and not always be chasing that next step.

Arthur Brooks, the Harvard social scientist and author, is a huge inspiration to me. He mentioned on several different platforms that he went on the Camino de Santiago, a hundred-mile pilgrimage across Spain’s northern mountains, and then found his life purpose.

I left my job in May and started planning my trip. I leave for the Camino de Santiago on September 1.

I’ve been my family’s primary breadwinner for the last 15 years. I’ve got a kid, and I want to send him to college. There’s definitely fear, and people may call my decision a midlife crisis, but I look at it like a midlife opportunity.

There’s no perfect job, as there’s no perfect relationship

I worked in sales for a long time. My job had its upsides and also its real challenges. At one point in my career, I decided that I no longer wanted to be a salesman, so I transitioned into account management. I was still involved in sales, but there was more emphasis on relationship-building and educational support.

I was still feeling a lot of stress in my job, even though I enjoyed it. My doctor noticed my cholesterol and blood pressure weren’t doing great, and I started to get a little worried.

I originally heard Arthur Brooks on one of my favorite podcasts

The idea that you have to always be chasing the next promotion or new thing started to jade me a bit in the corporate world. It wasn’t satisfying me on that spiritual level that I was looking for.

The turning point for me came when I was sitting down in my archery group this past spring, and we were talking about fulfillment and purpose through work. I started thinking more about how Arthur Brooks went on this pilgrimage and then found his life purpose in terms of becoming a diplomat for happiness.

I’m a huge fan of medieval history, so I knew of the pilgrimage already, but when I heard about his experience on it, I started to look into it more and realized it was what I wanted to do.

I came up with a three-part plan to prepare for my career break

We’re in this incredible space of being debt-free, which took a long time. I had to discuss my plan with my family and get their love and support. I sat down with my wife and we made sure I’m not blowing up our finances, or putting us in a bad place.

Our income definitely dropped, but I had some savings, so I’m going to give myself a salary for six months. I recommend that people get organized in their finances and maybe put some money away for a spiritual time fund. I know that not everyone has the luxury to do that. I figured out how to properly transition from work so that I could leave on a good note.

I went to all of my bosses and let them know. I made sure to meet with every single one of my clients and every customer success manager who was taking my account. I even planned executive business reviews ahead of time to help people out.

I made it as seamless and pain-free as possible. It’s always going to be painful for people you’ve developed relationships with, but I tried to do my best.

The last part was how to plan for my own sanity when I go from extremely busy to owning my own time. I want to have the luxury of de-stressing. I’m trying to make journaling a daily or very frequent practice. I also want this time to be about giving back. I want to cook more, do more laundry, and be a better husband and father.

I’m training for the Camino de Santiago, which has been active for 12 centuries

The Camino de Santiago aligns with everything that I’m trying to do: simplify my life, get out in nature, walk, not worry about being online all the time, and become more focused. I’m not doing the longest route, but I’m doing the oldest route, and it’s going to be about 21 days. It’s 15 to 20 miles a day through the mountains.

I would recommend that anybody who does it not book their hotels in advance, because it’s all about discovery. The bigger question for me and what I’m going to be thinking a lot about on the Camino is, what do I go back to? How can I serve people? Is that back in tech or not?

I keep getting on LinkedIn and seeing that people in my industry are having the hardest time finding work

My future job prospects could be awful. I could not work for two years. When I start worrying about that, I go back to journaling. Those worries don’t exist yet, and when they do, I’ll face them.

The financial portion of this transition is tough: How do I avoid spending the way that I spent when I had three times the household income that we have now?

I’m giving myself six months to figure it out. I think I’m a really good customer success manager, and I should maybe give myself the chance to work for a different employer when I return to work, find out what else I can do in the field, and just see where I sit.

I’m trying to just be optimistic that when I get back, I’m going to find a place to serve in this world

I’m really stuck right now, but I see my therapist regularly, and that helps. There’s a part of me that is leaning toward finding a job that increases my ability to serve other people. That could mean I make half as much, but I’m twice as happy.

I don’t care about the money anymore, and I don’t want to become a vice president of anything. I’m good with my life and optimistic about what’s next.

I just really encourage people to take the adventure. It might not even mean doing what I’m doing. Maybe you find your purpose through work, but take some time to get off your phone.

Do you have a story to share about a career break? Contact this reporter, Agnes Applegate, at [email protected].

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