What would you do if you could take a year off and use each month to focus on something important to you? That is what Beth Wishart, my guest for this episode, set out to do two years ago. She is joining me today to share what inspired her to do so, how it all worked out and what she learned along the way. In 2019, at 35 years old, Beth found herself in a secure, well-paying job in Wellington, on track to what most would call a successful life. But it didn’t feel all that successful to her. She felt stuck in her career without any progression in sight, frustrated by the long daily commute and was struggling with being unwell frequently and taking way longer to recover than she used to. Initially, Beth didn’t know how to fix things and thought this was just what life is like. But, during yet another lengthy sickness, the urge to change something became stronger and stronger – eventually resulting in the idea of an adult gap year. Twelve months to focus on the things that are truly important to her. After some encouragement from family and friends, Beth decided to take the leap. She resigned from her job and rediscovered the joys of life. That one gap year has turned into two years and has been everything Beth had hoped for and more. In this episode, we talk about • What inspired Beth to make this change • How she planned for her gap year – and what she actually ended up doing • Making it work financially • Balancing living in the now and planning for the future • Transitioning back into life with a job • What Beth thinks the future holds for her • The importance of putting yourself and your happiness first • Living minimalistic • And the many, many lessons Beth learned along the way.