The Perfect Storm: Why I Chose Full-Time Travel Over Full-Time Work

Hi there,

Welcome to G&T’s World: A Journey of Purpose, Passion, Curiosity, and Freedom

If I’m fortunate, I have around 25 summers left. That quiet realisation changed how I saw time, work, and the way I wanted to live.

For more than two decades, I worked in senior leadership roles, navigating complexity, leading change, and carrying significant responsibility. I’m proud of the impact the teams I was part of made, the people I supported, and the trust placed in me.

Yet as I've moved through my fifties, a steady question began to surface. Was I continuing on this path because it still reflected who I was becoming, or because it was familiar, comfortable, and expected?

What followed wasn’t burnout in the usual sense. It was more subtle, and more honest. A convergence of physical fatigue, emotional recalibration, and mental depletion. Not a crisis, but a moment of clarity. An awakening that asked for attention rather than endurance.

So I made a choice that often surprises people at this stage of life. I stepped away from full-time executive work and towards a life shaped with greater intention. I traded predictability for possibility, and routine for reflection.

This is the story of what led to that decision, and the lessons unfolding as I start to walk a different path.

1. Physical Well-Being: From Performance to Presence

Throughout my career, I prided myself on discipline, particularly when it came to fitness. Gym routines and structured workouts gave me resilience, focus, and clarity. But over time, the rigidity that once served me started to wear me down. Years of repetitive movements led to injuries, and my once-reliable routine became more limiting than liberating.

I realised that staying “fit” wasn’t enough. I needed to redefine vitality, not as performance metrics, but as the capacity to move freely, explore widely, and live fully. My future exercise regime is looking more like sunrise hikes, long city walks, and cycling through places I once only dreamed of visiting.

Vitality, I'm learning, is about energy that fuels life, not just work.

2. Emotional Clarity: Redefining Success on Our Own Terms

Even while finding meaning in my corporate roles, a quiet sense of dissonance began to grow. I was grateful for the work, the people, and the mission. On paper, everything made sense. Yet emotionally, something was shifting.

Over time, my attention was drawn less to milestones and metrics, and more to stories, lived experiences, and relationships that couldn’t be contained within quarterly cycles or performance dashboards. What mattered most no longer fit neatly into the structures that once defined success for me.

I found myself returning to a question inspired by the reflections of Bronnie Ware, a palliative care nurse who documented the the most common regrets of those nearing end of life Top Five Regrets of the Dying; and I kept coming back to one question:

Would I one day regret not having lived a life true to myself?

That question brought emotional clarity. It reframed success away from external validation and toward alignment. Toward living in a way that felt honest, intentional, and deeply my own.

3. Mental Exhaustion: The Hidden Cost of High Performance

Leadership asks a lot of us. It demands clarity, creativity, emotional steadiness, and sustained focus. And while I was still performing at a high level, I had begun to notice a quieter cost. I wasn’t failing. I was depleted.

Decision fatigue, constant context switching, and the weight of ongoing responsibility had gradually dulled my spark. The work was getting done, but it required more effort than it once had. Motivation felt thinner. Recovery took longer. What I was experiencing wasn’t weakness. It was information.

Research in cognitive psychology and neuroscience from the American Psychological Association has shown that prolonged stress and sustained decision-making can impair a leaders ve function, reduce emotional resilience, and narrow our capacity to think creatively. I didn’t encounter this insight in a textbook. I felt it in myself. Not as a crisis, but as a clear signal that something needed to change.

When I finally sat down with my CEO and spoke candidly about the need to reset, it wasn’t a resignation. It was an act of responsibility. An acknowledgement that sustainable leadership sometimes requires stepping back, not out, so clarity, energy, and purpose can be restored.

For anyone carrying heavy responsibility, that distinction matters. Sometimes the bravest move forward begins with choosing renewal.

4. Strategic Exit: The Plan Behind the Pivot

Stepping away from full-time work wasn’t an impulsive escape. It was a deliberate transition, shaped by the same disciplined thinking I had applied to organisational change throughout my career.

When Trina and I committed to full-time travel, our first priority was financial readiness. We simplified our lifestyle, released nonessential possessions, secured rental income from our home, and built a travel budget designed for both sustainability and peace of mind. The aim wasn’t excess. It was confidence and choice.

Next came intentional planning. We prioritised experiences over accumulation, choosing destinations and rhythms that aligned with our values rather than chasing checklists or external expectations.

Finally, there was identity reframing. I'm learning to loosen my attachment to titles, performance metrics, and external validation, and to redefine purpose around exploration, creativity, and meaningful contribution beyond formal roles.

Through that process, one insight is unmistakable. The greatest risk wasn’t stepping away. It was remaining in a life that no longer fit who I was becoming.

For anyone contemplating a pivot, the lesson is simple but powerful. Change is most sustainable when it’s intentional, well-considered, and aligned with what truly matters to you.

5. The New Definition of Success

Success, as we see it now, has far less to do with recognition, routine, or titles, and far more to do with presence. With having the energy to explore unfamiliar streets, the curiosity to connect with new people, and the courage to challenge long-held assumptions about what a life well lived truly means.

We are both trading corporate offices for border crossings, packed calendars for space and spontaneity, and professional milestones for personal meaning. The transition wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t free of uncertainty. But it was intentional.

And within that intention, we hope to discover something lasting. A definition of success measured not by what we accumulate or achieve, but by how fully and honestly we show up to the life we’re choosing to live.

Final Thoughts: It’s Okay to Want Something Different

If you’re reading this and recognising a quiet sense of unrest, take that feeling seriously. It doesn’t mean something is wrong. It may simply mean something is ready to change.

You don’t need to wait for burnout, crisis, or permission from anyone else. What meaningful change usually asks for is clarity about what matters, the courage to question familiar paths, and a thoughtful plan to move forward.

And sometimes, the most powerful act of leadership isn’t about guiding others at all. It’s about choosing to lead your own life in a new and more intentional direction.

With perfect storms,

G&T

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