Good comments, thanks. I was hoping others would argue the other side; indeed that's also why I started the post with four excellent articles about how you CAN have a family and good health and do a startup.
I, too, have done a decent job with exercise and diet. And of course when you allow your health to deteriorate to the point of having medical problems, nothing's worth that (e.g. @pwncat).
Still, I've never seen actual evidence for claims that skimping on sleeping and eating for a few years will cause you to "pay for it in spades" (@trevorj).
The best counter-argument IMHO is along the lines of @sh1mmer -- that over-extending yourself doesn't equal more productivity. Again, I made that same point myself in my post and included a specific argument for why this is true.
In the end though, I maintain that it's the obsession that drives not just the startup but this self-destructive behavior, and the obsession is required.
I think many more people can agree that passion/obsession is required; self-destructive behavior can be caused by this obsession.
But your post suggest the causal link is the opposite: that sacrificing health and family can lead to success. I think that's misleading, and hope you don't believe it either.
Good comments, thanks. I was hoping others would argue the other side; indeed that's also why I started the post with four excellent articles about how you CAN have a family and good health and do a startup.
I, too, have done a decent job with exercise and diet. And of course when you allow your health to deteriorate to the point of having medical problems, nothing's worth that (e.g. @pwncat).
Still, I've never seen actual evidence for claims that skimping on sleeping and eating for a few years will cause you to "pay for it in spades" (@trevorj).
The best counter-argument IMHO is along the lines of @sh1mmer -- that over-extending yourself doesn't equal more productivity. Again, I made that same point myself in my post and included a specific argument for why this is true.
In the end though, I maintain that it's the obsession that drives not just the startup but this self-destructive behavior, and the obsession is required.
Thanks all for a great debate!