When I took a sabbatical a few years ago, I decided that my theme/purpose was Creative Renewal. I set off for Europe with no itinerary, but plenty of notebooks. Anything and everything that caught my fancy was recorded and composted.

Like all sabbatical takers I had interviewed, I consider it one of the best things I’ve ever done. However, I continue to take regular jaunts to inspire my self and nurture my creative spirit.

Even a day trip can yield results if you’re open to it happening. Why not explore a new gallery or visit a unique business? It can be time well spent.

On a trip to Minneapolis, Alice Barry suggested we pay a call to Wild Rumpus, the imaginative children’s bookstore. Somehow I had never managed to get there when lived in the area.

It’s such a magical place, that I’d include it on any future trip to my old hometown. And if I lived nearby, I’d have it high on my list of places to go if I was in need of a creative jolt.

“The ability to put everything aside, leave your surroundings and simply absorb is the only way for me to keep from getting burned out on design  and on life in general, “ says interior designer Genevieve Gorder. “Travel awakens every sense. There is never a time you return from a trip and don’t have a new idea.”

That’s precisely why I’ve made a commitment to travel more this year sharing my most popular seminars in new locations around the country.  This endeavor has also had some pleasant surprises that I hadn’t anticipated.

At next week’s Joyfully Jobless Weekend in Milwaukee, one of the participants is coming in from New York. There seems to be a pattern evolving here.

The Houston and Phoenix Weekends both had folks who’d come from afar. One of the Phoenix participants, who lives in New York, then urged a friend of hers from Seattle to fly to Las Vegas for my seminars there.

During one of the breaks, he told me that he’d traveled incessantly with his previous job. Then he laughed and said, “Coming here was the first time I’ve been on a plane in six years.”

He sent me a message from the airport while he was waiting to return home. I was delighted when he wrote, “Thank you so much for your wonderfully informative and thought provoking seminars. It sure was worth the trip to meet you.”

If you’re ready to give yourself a creative jolt, you can participate in a Weekend in your own backyard—or across the country. The distance you travel isn’t nearly as important as the commitment you make to investing in your life and business.

And if you’re feeling really frisky, there’s the upcoming Mastermind Magic with Terri Belford and me in Nashville on April 21-23. You’ll have the opportunity to nurture your next project/dream/endeavor in a distraction-free, supportive session with other creative thinkers.

By the way, the Early Bird pricing, which ends on April 1, will save you $100.

Not sure it’s worth the  bother?

Consider this: Artist and writer Danny Gregory reminds us, “When you are iin the deep end of the pool surrounded by others full of energy and ideas and examples, you learn to swim a lot better.”