I love that you use the EBC trek as an example for breaking out of a rut. I completely agree with your point about "work to live and not the opposite". However, I did Salkantay, Laugavegur, and EBC, and all these treks simply made me want to do more travel. Going traveling did not teach me how to consistently work a few hours every day on a side project. It did not teach me how to work whole days, month after month, on my own projects where I was my own boss during a sabbatical. Travel is good advice, but it can be distracting too.