Americans have been tethered to their jobs ever since the Great Recession took a major blow to the economy of the United States. According to USA Today, for a household to live the “American Dream” as of 2014, the ideal lifestyle costs $130,357 per year. This includes mortgage, children, food, retirement planning, and health care. The average household income in the United States as cited by Census ACS survey is $52,250. For every Americans to afford the “American Dream”, taking a vacation is not an option. The fear of losing their jobs and getting left behind deters American to take vacations from work.
Many renowned and successful people, in terms of wealth and hard work, are aware that vacations are important in maintaining high-quality performance, not just as a reward for hard work and an outlet to release stress. Here are 12 renowned and successful people that may inspires you to grab that vacation you’ve been setting aside.
1. Bill Gates
This year, Bill Gates is the richest man in the world according to Forbes. He is the founder of Microsoft. Bill Gates undertakes two, week long retreats each year. He evaluates the works of his company, devises new ideas, and reads the latest trends. He calls these two, week long retreats as his “Think Weeks.”
2. Marissa Mayer
Marissa Mayer is the current CEO and president of Yahoo! Inc. Amidst all the issues surrounding her position and ethics at the multinational internet corporation, Mayer still finds time to rest and works 10-11 hours a day. According to CNN, Mayer said: “I pace myself by taking a week-long vacation every four months.”
3. John Donahoe
As CEO of the multinational corporation and e-commerce company, eBay, John Donahoe encourages people to take their vacations to reorganize their work schedule and to rejuvenate their spirit. “From time to time, I like to take a “thinking day.”
These are pre-scheduled, uninterrupted times to step away from the chaos, zero-base my time, and refocus on the issues that are most important.
4. Richard Branson
The founder of Virgin Group, which comprises more than 400 companies, Richard Branson adapted the “unlimited vacation time” for his employees at the Virgin’s US. He hopes this policy will strengthen the relationship of the employee and company and will have positive impact on the overall organization.
“How can you find time to get to know your children if you’re working with the very little holiday time you’re given?” cited by Branson stressing the importance of taking vacations from time to time.
5. Tim Cook
Tim Cook is the current CEO of Apple Inc., the company that produces the iPad, iPhone, and iPod products. He recently gave his employee a Thanksgiving Week off due to the successful launch of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.
According to Cook, “Our people are the soul of our company, and we all need time to refresh and renew.”
6. Sheryl Sandberg
Sheryl Sandberg was the Vice-President of Global Online Sales and Operations at Google and she is now the Chief Operating Officer of Facebook. She constantly spends quality time with her two young children. How does she manage this? She leaves her office at 5:30 PM every day.
Sheryl Sandberg said that “Hey! I am leaving work at 5:30. And I say it very publicly, both internally and externally. And I hope that means other women and men, importantly men, feel comfortable going home seeing their kids” in a video by Makers.com.
7. JJ Ramberg
JJ Ramberg did not take vacations seriously when her company Goodshop.com was just starting, but now that it had grown into a success, she takes vacations incredibly serious as it helps her ward off burnout. “The successful entrepreneur will figure out what’s not working — and then come up with solutions, whether that’s hiring help, devising a new business strategy or simply taking a vacation to recharge the battery.”
8. Jim Mofatt
Jim Moffatt is the chairman and CEO of Deloitte Consulting LLP. He wrote an article entitled “Take a Serious Vacation: A CEO’s Advice to all CEO’s” to encourage people, most specifically CEO’s, to take vacations from their professions.
“If you really unplug, you will start thinking about the long term, strategic issues, and what we have to do to be successful over the 9-to-24-month period, and that is essential.” Jim Moffatt wrote.
9. Sarah Michelle Gellar
The star of the hit-series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”, Sarah Michelle Gellar, knows the importance of taking vacations from work. She said in an interview by Cosmopolitan, “We work really hard, and you have to remember once in a while that you can actually stop working and appreciate things. I’m definitely leading a much slower life now that I’m not working every single day on a television series.”
10. Larry Page
The co-founder of the world-renowned company Google, Larry Page’s contributions to the World Wide Web is revolutionary. He thinks that reducing the work time of employees will leads to positive results and overall greater performance of an organization.
In a chat with Fireside, Larry Page said, ‘Would you like an extra week of vacation?’ They raise their hands, 100% of the people. ‘Two weeks vacation, or a four-day work week?’ Everyone will raise their hand. Most people like working, but they’d also like to have more time with their family or to pursue their own interests.”
11. Oprah Winfrey
Dubbed as the “Queen of all Media”, Oprah Winfrey has been ranked as the richest African-American of the 20th century. As a host and producer of her own talk show, the Oprah Winfrey Show, she has taken her entire staff and their families on lots of tours – a Mediterranean cruise in 2009 and an all-expenses paid trip to Hawaii in 2005.
Talk about generosity and the importance of taking a vacation, way to go Oprah!
12. Tiger Woods
Tiger Woods is one of the most successful golfers in our time, and one of the highest-paid athletes in the world. Interestingly, he takes a vacation before heading on to major tournaments so he can spend time with his kids and girlfriend Lindsey Vonn. Amidst all the issues surrounding him, he still knows the importance of taking a break. “We had a good little time,” Woods said of his vacation with girlfriend Lindsey Vonn and his two kids. “We toured a little bit and even played a little Putt-Putt, which I won every single time.”
Featured photo credit: Spring Break Joy.jpg/clconroy via cdn.morguefile.com
