Why Dr. Tony Jacob Stepped Away from Work for a Year

Have you ever wished you could put your career on pause, step away from the rat race, and reboot? You should, says Dr. Tony Jacob, who did just that.

Tony’s decision to step away from work for an entire year was not impulsive, nor was it driven by burnout or dissatisfaction with his professional life.

Quite the opposite, in fact.

After building a thriving, multilocation business, successfully scaling operations, and eventually overseeing its acquisition, his choice to pause was strategic, deliberate, and perhaps even inevitable. In stepping away, he did what many entrepreneurs struggle to do. He recognized that professional success is incomplete without space to reflect, recalibrate, and reconnect with personal ambitions.

Tony Jacob Explains His Decision

“I’ve learned that when you’re feeling overwhelmed or unfocused, it’s usually because you’re doing too much or not saying ‘no’ enough,” Tony shared. “Taking a break helps me reset and get perspective. I also remind myself that the world keeps spinning without me, and most things aren’t as urgent as they seem. It’s important to step away and clear your mind so you can come back more focused.”

He Learned to Appreciate the Value of Time over Money

Time has been a recurring theme in Dr. Tony Jacob’s life. Starting with his teenage years working at a movie theater in Canada, followed by shadowing a medical professional on weekends, and eventually running a multimillion-dollar operation, he consistently demonstrated an appreciation for hard work.

But years of growth, followed by the painstaking process of scaling to 11 locations and managing a team, forced him to confront an unavoidable truth. His time, like everyone else’s, is finite.

At the point of selling his business in a major private acquisition, Tony had long since achieved financial independence. The business had provided him with the means to sustain a life of freedom. This is a concept he admired and strategically pursued.

He Encourages Entrepreneurs to Learn to Scale Their Business

However, the irony of success, particularly for those who scale businesses, is the way it can encroach on freedom. Even after removing himself from the front line, Tony’s role as CEO required significant time, attention, and energy. Over a prolonged period, Tony Jacob embraced this as part of his journey. Doing so allowed him to unlock new levels of business mastery as he went.

However, COVID-19 hit in 2020 and shifted his outlook. Forced to slow down, Tony began to reevaluate how he wanted to spend his days. More importantly, he began to assess who he wanted to spend them with.

“After the pandemic had occurred, you start contemplating life,” Tony said during an interview on “The Lifestyle Investor” podcast. “You’re thinking about, ‘I’m spending time at home again.’ And, ‘Gosh, I do want to spend more time at home with my family? I really love my business, but it’s becoming challenging to run a business.’”

Having already achieved what many would consider the pinnacle of entrepreneurial success, Tony realized that accumulating wealth or expanding further wasn’t the objective anymore.

The next chapter would require a different currency: time. Stepping away, even for a year, was an intentional exercise in reclaiming that currency. Moreover, that year allowed him to invest it into pursuits that aligned with his deeper values.

Tony Jacob Reflects on His Entrepreneurial Journey

Dr. Tony Jacob’s story follows a trajectory familiar to many self-made business leaders. That is, he began with a clear goal followed by relentless execution and incremental growth toward success. Throughout his career, he embraced quandaries as learning opportunities. In the process, he adapted from a medical professional to a business owner, then to a CEO. Finally, he became an investor. Each stage required new skills, new mindsets, and new ways of leading, and each stage presented its unique demands.

And so, taking a year off wasn’t a summation but rather a pause. He used that year to look back at what he had built and plan for what would come next. It was an opportunity to reflect on the years he had spent juggling the pressures of entrepreneurship.

In contrast to many business leaders who might feel inclined to “hustle harder” or immediately dive into the next venture after an exit, Tony Jacob’s decision to slow down speaks to his self-awareness and recognition that real growth often requires stepping back.

He Encourages Others to Experiment with Creating Space for Family, Passions, and Personal Growth

A desire to spend more time with his family and focus on personal passions was a significant factor behind Dr. Tony Jacob’s decision to step back.

Entrepreneurship, particularly when scaling businesses, often requires trade-offs. Moreover, for Tony, it meant years of intense focus on building his practices and ensuring their success, even as he recognized that time spent on the business was time away from loved ones.

Stepping back gave him the opportunity to rebalance those priorities. It wasn’t about abandoning his professional drive but rather shifting the focus of his energy toward his family and personal life. He could now embrace the simple joys of being present. He could now share experiences, explore new places, and create memories that would endure far longer than the accomplishments of his professional career.

Dr. Tony Jacob Used His Year to Explore Personal Interests

He also used this year to explore his passions beyond business. Having already achieved financial independence, he approached the year not as a void to be filled, but as a chance to explore what brought him genuine fulfillment.

“I really wanted to be in control of my time,” Tony recalled. “I wanted to have a fairly empty calendar and pursue my projects and passions that really drove me. And I think closing this chapter feels good because I was able to accomplish so much in a short period of time. It may seem like a long time when I think about it. But really [it] was a short period of time and [I] learned a lot of great things.

“And so, once this chapter closed, I looked back and said, ‘You know what? I’m a hundred percenter. I can stop and take a break.’”

Dr. Jacob Discovered the Power of Strategic Downtime

Taking a year off might seem counterintuitive to those accustomed to relentless productivity, but Dr. Tony Jacob’s decision was a calculated one. Amid the tapestry of enterprise that often glorifies hustle culture, stepping back can be seen as complacency or lack of ambition. However, his experience highlights that strategic downtime is essential for long-term success.

Having created space between his professional accomplishments and his next venture, Tony gave himself room to recharge, refocus, and gain clarity. This kind of intentional pause allowed him to see the bigger picture—to identify new opportunities, revisit goals, and think creatively about what the future could look like.

Rather than jumping into another high-stakes commitment, Dr. Tony Jacob embraced the year as an opportunity to harvest wisdom and refine his outlook, ensuring that he would undertake any future endeavors with purpose and intention.