 For a couple of years, I've been doing a regular practice that I call a content sabbatical. I want to share that with you and see if this will be helpful for your learning to be a more resilient creator that can generate momentum and flow. So I just said a lot of words there and let me go ahead and explain what I mean by this. First of all, what is a content sabbatical? I should explain that every four weeks or five weeks, I take one week off of creating or I should say posting content. I might still do a bit of creating that week. There's no obligation. It's more just optional and for fun, I guess, or there's no pressure. Of any sort to post during that content sabbatical week. And that's the key is to take some time, some structured time on a regular basis where there is no pressure for creating or sharing content. And well, some people just call this a vacation. It's just taking a taking a break every now and then. I used to do it every like three to four months. I would take a week off or two weeks off. And then last year or maybe two years ago now, it's been a couple of years where I started doing it every six to eight weeks. And now this year thus far, I've been doing it every four to five weeks and I've been really loving it. So during that week of my content sabbatical, I like I said, I don't post any content. Yes, you might be surprised to hear someone like me who's always preaching, you know, consistent, authentic content to be taking a week off of no content posting every four to five weeks, about once a month, basically. So it ends up being 10 to 12 weeks a year, 11, usually about 11, 11 to 12 weeks a year of no content posting. So you go to my social channels that week and I'm not posting any content. I might still like post an occasional interview with somebody else, but I've scheduled it in advance, but it's not me, you know, sharing and creating content. So during those weeks, like I said, I don't post any content. Number one, number two, I don't have any client calls or group calls or teaching calls. I might facilitate co-working time for my client group because during that week. So just summarize again, no posting of content and no client calls or teaching calls. Basically, I'm not, I'm not, there's no meetings, essentially, is what it is. I don't have meet with colleagues or anything like that. It's a week, it's a quiet week. It's a week where sometimes I'm taking a trip somewhere, but usually I'm at home still and I'm usually I'm still working several hours a day doing more longer term stuff, yeah, longer term planning, dreaming, longer term creating, essentially, maybe systems, looking at my systems and see how they can improve them. So it's a quiet week of no pressure, no meetings and more spaciousness. I don't work as many hours a day. I take more time at the park and hang out with my wife and hang out with, you know, my dog and cat, you know, et cetera. So it's, yeah, it's just a more spacious week. And some of you do this, I hope, if you, if you aren't doing it, I, I really think it's a healthy practice because, you know, if you're just going with the typical pace of your business, you know, week after week after week, there's no, you know, there's something I like to say often, which is distance creates perspective, or another way of saying that is space creates insight, or another way is emptiness is the source of creation. So if you aren't building in enough spaciousness on a regular basis where you don't have the same rhythm of work, then you are not giving yourself that gift or that opportunity to reach into more of your potential as a creator. This is why that, you know, in there is the idea of a Sabbath that has been so popular in various religious or cultural traditions. A Sabbath isn't just a religious thing. Yes, you know, it is for some people, a religious ritual or worship dedication. But I think it's good for mental health and it's good for social health. So I, you know, feel free to comment below. I'm actually really interested to know if you have a regular Sabbath rhythm or what I'm calling it here, a content sabbatical. It's a mini sabbatical. So sabbaticals are usually longer in the academic sense. But this is just a one week of no work meetings. OK, so a couple of concerns come up when I tell people this. Number one is, oh, George, so if you're off, if you don't post for a week, do you schedule posts to go out during that week? Generally, no, like I said, I sometimes have like interviews and I'm doing that kind of backed up bunched up like right now. I just did like three interviews this week. And I'm going to be sharing them during my content sabbatical week. So sometimes I have that. But and sometimes I have like a launch where I'm promoting my course that's coming up and the part of the launch happens during my content sabbatical week that I don't mind promoting something. But usually that's scheduled. And like I said, that particular week is off of creating sharing content. So that's the idea. So the concern I was going to say is. Doesn't that hurt your social media presence? And what's interesting is now that I've been doing it for a couple of years, I've noticed that the social media algorithm actually rewards taking breaks and then posting again after a break consistently. So that's interesting, right? Because you would think, oh, people don't see you for even a week. Then somehow when you come back, they still won't see you. No, no, no. When you come back, the algorithm actually wants to encourage you, right, because they want you to keep showing up on social media, too. So they actually try to encourage you by giving you a temporary boost in front of your followers when you first return. Now, I'm not I haven't researched exactly how big of a boost that is. But I just have noticed that at least it doesn't decrease my original reach, but usually increases it at least a little bit. So that's cool. Number two concern, actually, maybe more important for some of you is that it's hard to get back to creating. It's hard to get back into generating momentum because you walk, it's like it's like when you stop a vehicle and trying to get it going again, it takes a lot more effort. Now, the way I see that is. It is a practice of generating slow and creativity yet again. Like I said in the beginning of this video, right? It is it is an opportunity to now practice generating it again. And there, thereby, keeping your creation muscles strong. Yes. It also it basically strengthens your resilience of creating because if you're always afraid that, oh, if I stop, then I can't get back going again. You you aren't a resilient creator. You just too easily given to inertia or like you have this illusion that if you don't have, if you have momentum, you can't stop it because it's dangerous. And if you don't have momentum, then you can't create. I see so many of you who have this. I guess limiting belief, I'm not I don't love belief. I I I'm not a big fan of believing and limiting beliefs, but this is certainly a misconception, might we say. It's a misconception about the potential that you actually have as a human and as a creative spirit in the human form. So let me explain when so I've said this in many videos, but I want to I want to say here, this is important. The the the most basic block, I guess, for so many of you that because I've worked with so many, you know, thousands of students and clients by this point in terms of creating authentic content, what I the the basic block I've noticed is that you believe that inspiration and intuition must be there at the start of your creating moment, process, hour. And you believe, therefore, oh, I'm not inspired right now, even though I scheduled to be here to make this video. Or well, this is this is a prime example. I have I have I always schedule at this time of this my current lifestyle, I always schedule Fridays at 2 p.m. Pacific to do my Facebook Live video, which I'm making right now for you. Did I feel like doing it today? No. Did you know and people are always shocked when they hear this? I pretty much never. I mean, I very, very rarely. But I can I can say with with with with high accuracy that I never feel like starting a video. When I began this video, I didn't feel like starting it either. But I knew that I had to go live, press start, press publish, press go, press, you know, press go live. And then after a few minutes, the flow would be generated at that point. Like right now, I'm feeling much more flowy than the first couple of minutes of this video. In the first couple of minutes, I was pretending. Yeah. Yeah, I was at George thought it was all about authentic content. No, you're getting me wrong. What authentic means authentic doesn't mean that I'm that I never pretend by pretend. I don't mean that I'm somehow trying to deceive you or anything. I'm trying to deceive myself of anything. That I'm authentic in my spirit of service and in my genuine desire to explore my thoughts. That's authentic. So in other words, I am authentic on a deeper level. But then the action itself doesn't have to be authentic. Yes, I've never said this publicly, but let me explain it now. Authentic to me is on a deeper level of values, of intention, of spirit, you might say, like the commitment one has to one's purpose. Like that needs to be authentic. Like I need to really believe in that these are my values that I want to practice, that there's a purpose that I'm serving that's higher than just my life, my pleasure in my life or whatever. So the authentic is at the deep level. And then showing up to make this video, first few minutes aren't authentic. First few minutes, I'm faking it till I make it. I am trying and I'm not trying to be like anybody else. I'm trying to be like myself, actually. First couple of minutes, I'm trying to be like my highest self. The self that I notice when now that I'm in flow, you could see that I'm much more animated and more maybe energized or connected, real, maybe, or at least more enthusiastic. But it's a genuine fire. First few minutes, I'm trying to be this. So I have to pretend to be this in the first few minutes. First few minutes of my videos, certainly when I'm writing, it takes me like 15, 20 minutes of pretending to say, OK, I know, I know that there is a flow that happens after a while of writing. I'm not in it right now, but I'm going to practice generating that flow. And so it's going to feel inauthentic the first five, 15, 20, 25 minutes. Sometimes originally, when I first started practicing regular writing, it was like 45 minutes, it was like 50 minutes of like pretending and kind of like trying to play with this and trying to find a way into my flow. And then now, of course, that I've been able to through a lot of practice, shrunk that time down to just like 15, 20 minutes of I think I can write. I think there's something here. I believe it. I mean, I don't feel inspired, even though I don't feel inspired right now, even though I don't want to do this right now, right? In the beginning of my video and beginning of my writing. So. Same thing when you come back from a content sabbatical, you get to practice generating momentum again and getting back to your regular rhythm again. Yes. So what that means is I do recommend that after your content sabbatical that you plan this in advance. OK, you plans by the way, your content sabbatical, you should block off your calendar so that no clients can schedule with you. I I hope that was clear and I definitely block off my calendar. You know, it's like I said, no meetings. But I also plan that the day really, the at least one day after the contents about the first work day that I come back is more spacious is less. I still have my regular meetings, but I don't do any other meetings besides that. And I just try to give myself more. Yeah, more of a gentle coming back into work instead of expecting myself to go full force and lots of creative work that that first day. No, that first day is like, OK, any meetings that are already normally scheduled by standing meetings, plus a very spacious day of catching up and things like that. Now, I used to need like two or three of those days. And now I've practiced content sabbaticals, like I said, every four to five weeks now. So I just need one day of more spaciousness before I get into my regular rhythm again. So I recommend that you do try to create probably three days is fair, three working days after your sabbatical to with more spaciousness of catching up fewer meetings of any. Yeah, maybe like one or two meetings, you know, to kind of get back into what it's like to meet with another human being and then to get back in the flow. So the practice of resilience and generating flow again is very it's foundational to finding what I consider your authentic power because our authentic power isn't, in my opinion, what happens when we suddenly have like some peak experience and we're we're so inspired, something good happens in our life or whatever the stars align. And today we feel particularly good and smart and, you know, wise or or energized, have confidence or whatever. That's not authentic power, in my opinion. I think authentic power is the deeper and because a bigger part of you, right, outside, perhaps even outside your body, your your soul's essence. That is much. It's where the source of your creativity really comes from. You can, of course, wait for it sometimes, and sometimes you're lucky that you get blessed by inspiration at random times and days. But your authentic power is tapped when you practice tapping into it on a regular basis, believing that it's there. That's where the fakery comes from. You you don't feel it right now, but you believe it's there. You believe it's always with you because it is anything that today is not the day. That's just a limiting belief. That's truly a limiting belief. Today is not the day today. I don't know it's with you at all times. Like I don't care if you're having the worst day you're in covid right now, whatever sickness and illness and your authentic power is still with you. I was going to say, as long as you're breathing, but even outside your breath and you're at your freaks on the body, your authentic power is certainly certainly more in touch even then. But it's always with you 24, 7, 365 for the entire life. It's with you. But most of us have no practice tapping it. But most of us just it's why most human beings are not as successful in their career, their hobbies, whatever you want to call it, that whatever is purposeful for them. Most human beings are not as successful as they wish to be. Now, am I as successful as I wish to be? I feel like I've I have honestly I'm I'm I am grateful that I feel like I've tapped a lot of my potential. I know there's always more. There's always more potential of my power. But I feel like I've broken through my earlier years of being limited. And yeah, particularly in the past seven, I would say I was a seven years or so. I've broken through to a level of authentic power that I didn't believe I had when I was in my earlier years, I felt like I was always in my own way. But it's because I didn't understand this key point about the regularity of tapping into my authentic power, authentic creativity, no matter how I felt. And it's like the more you can practice creating when you don't feel like creating, the more you're tapping your authentic power. And most people don't believe it. Most people don't understand it. I don't care if they believe it or not. They don't understand that this is the truth. And I'm I usually don't say truth with a capital T. But this is what I've seen to be true of not only seen to be true of human beings, but this is what I believe to be true with a capital T of your spirit, your your your infinite source being embodied in this tiny body called the human body playing this human game. You, of course, have authentic power and infinite power within you. But we don't have practice tapping into it. So why am I talking about this in the video about content sabbatical as well? Content sabbatical, like I said, is healthy for the body and mind to rest and to have more emptiness and spaciousness to let more creativity come through. Come through the void. OK. But also when you come back, it is the practice of generating again the the touching into your authentic power. That is is very valuable. So I I hope that you'll you'll and then last thing I'll say, and then I'll end the video. This means that when I'm not on my contents of badicals, which is regular weeks, right, my four to five weeks in a row before I take the break, my regular weeks, there is no question that I create and share during those weeks. No matter how sick I am, no matter if family is visiting, no matter if I'm visiting family, no matter anything. Now, the benefit of having so many contents of badicals throughout the year is I get to plan my trips to visit family during those breaks so that there is more ease. So that's a that's a tip as well. You know, plan, you know, it's good to have those breaks so you can plan your visits and then visiting during those breaks, right? But even when I didn't have the these frequent breaks, I created no matter if my family was all in my hair this week or if I'm visiting, it doesn't matter that doesn't matter how sick I was. I've had covid three times in the last four years, four years. I created if those if those weeks were not contents of badical weeks, I created anyway, I posted anyway. I've had times when I'm like kind of coughing and stuff. Yeah, it's so because I because I understand that there is an urgency to practice creating and during your normal weeks, there should be no question that you're creating and sharing on a regular consistent basis because you can and you practice saying that you can and doing it to show yourself that you really can and that you really are an infinitely powerful creator. So I hope this is helpful. I look forward to seeing if you have any comments below about what your content sabbatical will look like and how this all sits with you and what you're going to do about it. And thank you for joining me. I'll see you in the next video. I wish you well.