Don’t do what Réal did…
This is the story of Réal; a real story.
At the first company I worked for, Réal was in charge of Web development. He was pulling in long – 10-12 hours – days and weekends trying to improve the business. I was looking up to him, thinking that, this is what I need to do to succeed. This is why, leaving at 4pm on a Friday, I felt really bad when he told me:
Already leaving? You need to work a lot in order to succeed.
This stayed with me all weekend.
I was convinced that Réal was right until, the next Monday, the owner of the company came in and fired 80% of the staff. They told Réal that the company was closing… I think we both realized how wrong his approach was the next week when he came to the office and saw that the remaining employees were doing his work.
Be smart about your time. It’s been proven many times that more work hours don’t equal more results or productivity; it just makes us dumb and inefficient (not counting stressed). Use constraints as opportunities; figure out how to best utilize your time.
21 lives is a digest of hand-picked lessons and stories meant to inspire and expand your mind. Together, we'll see what Babe Ruth, JFK and my dad can teach us about business, work or, maybe even, life. We can do more. My personal goal is to inspire action towards whatever you wish to do with your life. 
Maybe true, but I still hope that all bosses aren’t as crazy as the one who ran this company…
Somehow, I knew you were going to pick up on that. Your answer: No they’re not. ;)
That attitude is still prevalent in our industry. With exception to a few select startups I’ve worked for—and you and I worked together with one of them—most startup companies suffer from this “work is life” affliction. They forget that we have lives outside of the workplace and if we do something other than slave on their project we’re slackers or we don’t have “passion” for what we do.
I love my work and my clients, but I love my family, my friends and my life much more. As always, thanks for the read, Etienne.
At least, there seems to be a shift in the right direction in the industry. “Work is life” is less and less the norm. Thanks for the comment William. :)