From Hustle to Sustainable Performance

A personal reflection on burnout, ambition, and designing a life that supports both success and wellbeing.

There was a time in my career when my mom stopped calling my home because she knew I would still be at the office.

In the early days of building Rush, I wore overwork like a badge of honor. Long hours. Little sleep. Endless caffeine. I convinced myself that this was simply the price of ambition. That success required sacrifice. That exhaustion was evidence that I cared enough.

Until one day, I found myself sitting in Urgent Care with stress-induced acid reflux.

The physician looked at me and said something simple:

“Go home and sleep.”

I must have looked completely drained because there wasn’t much discussion beyond that. My body had already been communicating what my mind refused to acknowledge.

Sleep was something I regularly denied myself during those years. At one point, I genuinely remember wondering if I had done permanent brain damage from chronic exhaustion. Caffeine can only take you so far before you eventually crash and burn.

At the time, I thought I was building success.

In reality, I was building unsustainable habits.

The Advice That Stayed With Me

Years ago, my brother-in-law gave me a piece of advice that stayed with me:

“Make sure you plan your whole life and not just your work.”

He attended Harvard for both undergraduate and graduate studies, though I don’t know whether that message came from Harvard or somewhere else along the way. What I do know is that he is successful in every part of his life—not just financially or professionally.

I share that because for me, he became proof that you can be successful in business and life.

You do not need to sacrifice your life in order to earn the right to eventually have one later.

Your life should be designed to support your work—and your work should support your life.

Not compete with it.

The Quote That Made Me Pause

This quote from James Clear landed in my inbox recently and made me stop and reflect:

“The disciplined life looks impressive, but the well-designed life lasts longer. Before you try to find more willpower, design your environment and arrange your day so you’re more likely to follow through.”

That message resonates deeply with me now because design thinking has become central to the work I do with people today.

What I appreciate about design thinking is that it creates a dynamic approach to life planning rather than a rigid one.

Once you’re clear on what you want your life to look like, the process becomes less about forcing outcomes and more about testing possibilities.

You try different approaches.
You evaluate the results.
You adjust.
You iterate.

Many people already do this informally by constantly tweaking how they work and live. Others stay attached to a plan long after it has stopped producing the outcome they actually want.

That attachment can become especially dangerous for entrepreneurs.

When you’ve invested enormous amounts of time, money, energy, and identity into something, change becomes incredibly difficult—even when change is necessary.

If you’re navigating that tension right now, you may find this article helpful:

When to Quit

What Happens When You Stop Working All the Time?

I remember consciously weaning myself off working weekends.

Suddenly, I had time.

And strangely, at first, it didn’t feel good.

I didn’t know what to do with myself.

For so long, productivity had become my identity. Busyness had become my rhythm. Slowing down felt unfamiliar.

So I started experimenting.

I visited museums regularly.
I attended the symphony.
I took tennis lessons.
I met new people.
I explored new interests.

In short, I became a more interesting person.

What surprised me most was that creating more life outside of work didn’t diminish my professional performance.

It improved it.

I became clearer.
More focused.
More strategic.
More creative.

I also learned that when you become ruthless about how you spend your time, you can often accomplish more in fewer hours.

Busy Is Not the Same as Effective

Some of the old workplace beliefs no longer apply.

“Be in the office before your boss and leave after them.”

That mentality may signal dedication, but it does not necessarily produce meaningful results.

One of my newer colleagues is exceptionally disciplined about focusing only on what truly moves the needle. If something isn’t important, it either doesn’t get done—or it waits until it becomes important.

That level of focus has made him extremely successful.

There’s a lesson in that.

Not everything deserves your time.

Protect your attention.
Protect your energy.
Protect your capacity.

Use time bands.
Reduce unnecessary meetings.
Be intentional about what receives your best thinking.

Busy calendars often create the illusion of importance while quietly destroying effectiveness.

Sustainable Performance Also Requires Humanity

As important as efficiency is, how we treat people matters just as much.

Technology has helped us streamline communication, but context and tone are often lost in email and text. Misunderstandings happen more easily when humanity gets removed from the interaction.

When possible, pick up the phone.

It may feel uncomfortable—especially if you need to address tension, confusion, or conflict—but you may be surprised by how quickly things improve when someone hears your voice and recognizes your intention.

People remember effort.
People remember care.

The same principle applies in leadership and hiring.

If you’re rejecting a candidate after multiple interviews, consider the amount of time, energy, and emotional investment they gave your organization before triggering an automated rejection email.

How you treat candidates reflects your leadership.
It reflects your culture.
It reflects your company.

What do you want people to remember?