The Anti-Autopilot Manifesto: Why My Business Grew When I Finally Left Town

Recently, I was gone for two weeks straight—the first week in Guatemala on a women’s trip and the second week in Mexico for a family vacation. And you know what happened? The sky didn’t fall. It expanded.

In fact, while I was hiking and sipping drinks (non-alcoholic), six sales opportunities came through or got scheduled.

It got me wondering: How do we actually do this? As founders, how do we travel and keep the momentum moving but actually take the break that we desperately need (but let’s be honest, never really take, haha)? With Slovenia and Greece on my calendar for later this year, I realized I needed to figure this out. I want my business to grow because I stepped away, not just survive in spite of it. 

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Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Note: This blog post is focused on women’s trips and/or solo traveling. Family trips are a whole different story that requires a completely separate blog post! 

I recently stumbled across a philosophy from Psychology Focus that explained exactly why I feel so stagnated when I stay home too long, and it hit me hard. The concept is simple: Familiar environments keep the brain running on autopilot.

When we stare at the same walls, drive the same routes, and see the same faces, our brains stop actively processing. We just repeat old patterns and run the same loops. But the moment we step into a new place, the brain is forced into "active attention." It releases dopamine and builds new neural pathways.

I felt this shift physically. That problem that felt overwhelming at home? It shrank when I viewed it from a distance. Rumination lost its fuel because the environmental triggers just weren't there. It made me realize that the "vacation version" of me isn’t a fantasy—it’s just what happens when my brain finally wakes up and discovers the parts of myself that routine suppresses.

But, I’m still a business owner. I couldn’t just disappear into the ether. We are currently in founder-led sales, so I had to find a way to stay connected without getting sucked back into the daily grind.

My approach was all about "transit time." On the women’s trip, we moved around a lot. So, instead of being glued to my phone during events or dinners, I utilized those 2- to 3-hour bus rides or walks between destinations to check in. I bought an international plan to keep tabs, but I set a hard boundary: I generally didn’t respond to anything unless it was sales-related.

I also had to learn the art of "releasing." If I popped into my inbox and saw something hard had happened in the middle of the day, I made a conscious choice to let it go and save it for the evening. Ruining my afternoon wasn't going to fix the problem. Instead of a constant stream of texts, I had my business partner send me one daily wrap-up. I only needed to know the absolute most important things from the exec team, not every single, small detail.

And honestly? I applied that same boundary to my personal life. This might sound controversial, but I didn’t do a lot of check-ins with my spouse and kids while I was on the solo leg of the trip—maybe a few times a day, but usually not at all. If you are a mom and an entrepreneur, you know that mental space away from "home management" is healing. It is so important to reclaim that part of yourself.

I spent a lot of that time journaling, capturing the life lessons my mind was finally clear enough to learn. I realized that you don't need to go far; any break from sameness wakes the brain up.

So, if you’re waiting for the "perfect time" to leave, stop. Your business—and your brain—needs you to break the autopilot. Have an abundance mindset and trust that just because you take a break, it doesn't mean your business will too.

Enjoy some lovely photos and images from Driftwoods Photography of my trip to Guatemala. And special thanks to my dear friend Christina McEvoy with Macs Explore for a life changing experience.