"A balanced life" is winning - for 99% of us

Reid Hoffman is one of the co-founders of LinkedIn. He recently tweeted this.

If a founder brags about having “a balanced life,” I assume they’re not serious about winning.

https://x.com/reidhoffman/status/1925607842494693790

I think "a balanced life" is "winning" for 99% of the people. Sure, there are outliers like Elon Musk for whom the definition of "winning" is different. But for most people, burning out isn't a stepping stone to greatness — it's just burning out.

Silicon Valley loves to sell the myth: "Ditch balance, be the next Elon." But look closer — most who chase that path crash and burn. A few hit the jackpot. And that's all the VCs need — a few mega-wins to cover the wreckage.

But startups aren't just lottery tickets — they're made of people.

Yes, startups are intense. Yes, they demand more than your average 9-to-5. But that doesn't mean trading your health, relationships, or sanity is part of the deal. Folks join startups over incumbents for a reason. Does it mean one has to ditch "a balanced life". I don't think so.

Winning means having "a balanced life". Winning means living a life full of excitement. A life full of meaningful work, learning new things directly and through colleagues, new things to hack on, and new ideas you can work on.

Winning is thinking about problems at off-hours because you want to solve them, not because you have to.

Startups push you to take on tasks that are uncomfortable at first. That's winning.

A miserable journey in the hopes of "winning" one day is not a win. You don't have to win anything if you think the journey itself is a win.