Keep learning, or be passed on by.

No matter how "at the top of your game" you are, you can never stop learning.

Not ever, especially given how fast and furiously technologies, trends and information moves today.

Even if you work for a company that loves you just the way you are, you must realize from your comfy little corner office that complacency can kill even the most admired, celebrated professionals among us.

As a microbusiness owner and one who rarely unplugs from her laptop or phone, I could easily rationalize and say, "Oh, I couldn't possibly take time out for this class or that workshop" or "My customers would never understand my not being front and center the moment they email me."

But in doing so, my business and my professional growth could be at great risk.

And so this coming week, I am off to learn.

I'm off to participate in a weeklong entrepreneur's mastermind retreat that, as my exceptional luck would have it, takes place on cruise ship in the Western Caribbean. I'll be studying marketing, branding, and other topics specific to growing a business.

I will also, very fortunately, be spending some time with one of my favorite entrepreneurs (and occasional partner in crime), Ashley Ambirge of The Middle Finger Project. As one of the keynote speakers of the program, she ever-so-graciously invited me along on the trip.

As hilarious as it may sound, it was very challenging figuring out a way to say yes to this tropical educational event. When you manage two business and the schedules of three young kids, a night out with a babysitter is pretty much considered a luxurious break.

Justifying an entire week? Let's just say it takes some doing.

But I realized as I contemplated the opportunity that I must practice what I preach to my own clients, and one of the key messages in this sermon is quite simple:

Keep learning, or you are going to be passed on by.

Whether that schooling takes place under a palm tree, in a stale, fluorescent classroom, or with your nose buried in a book at the public library, stay current. Stay engaged. Stay at the top of your game.

I'm off to do just that. The fabulous Karen Friesen will be holding down the fort for a few days if you need us for any one-on-one work.

And, of course. I'll be back.