Bill Gurley on work-life balance

February 05, 2025

“There’s this great dichotomy because we’ve all gotten so excited about the notion of work-life balance… When we study great athletes or musicians or chess players or painters, like if a ballet dancer works 80 hours per week on her craft, we all think that’s glorious. Michael Jordan practices more than anyone else. But when you apply it to the work environment, all of a sudden it’s heretical and you don’t believe in work-life balance.”

Bill believes that if you want to do truly great work, you have to be just as dedicated as a great athlete.

“If you want to be at the top of your game, you have to decide whether you want to make that tradeoff or not. You don’t have to. There are plenty of jobs on this planet where you can work 9-to-5. And you may care way more about your family life or personal life, and that’s fine too. But to think you’re going to excel and not grind? Good luck.”