When I first started up I worked 80-120 hour weeks, busting my backside off to the detriment of my friendships and even my marriage. I decided one day that enou

When I first started up I worked 80-120 hour weeks, busting my backside off to the detriment of my friendships and even my marriage. I decided one day that enough was enough. There had to be a better way. I'm still looking for it but it's rare you'll see me bust over 60 hours a week at the moment. The two most important things in your life are your time and the company you keep. Time is the most valuable resource, you only have so much and you're not able to get any extra, so what you do now with your time is gone. Once you recognise that you will hopefully start to optimise your time, not as an organised obsessive, but with a basic understanding of the value of your time. I'll pay extra for certain things that others won't, because my time is more valuable to me than it is to them. My mum takes the bus to see her sister, it's about 7 hours by bus. I take the train, so that I can go up on a Friday and work on the train and lose no time, or I'll fly up. Your relationships are closely tied to your time. Perhaps the two people you know the best - your parents - will only be around while you're young. At some point they're not going to be here anymore and the time you spend working all the hours $deity sends is time you could've spent with them and you'll wish you did afterwards. The same goes for your significant other. They should be your closest friend. I try to spend as much time as I can with my wife, sometimes to the detriment of friendships. The simple reason is that I'll only have another 30-60 years or so with her, and anything that eats into that time better had be extremely valuable. I still try to see my friends as often as I can, but I'm fortunate to have so many friends that I can't always see everyone. You can have it all, you just have to prioritise. Sometimes the things you slave over, no matter how much you may enjoy it are not necessarily the most important thing. I'm reminded of an oft-misquoted quote from Richard P. Feynman sent to a Mrs Chown after her son wanted a birthday note thinking it'd help him when he tried explaining scientific things to her: "Tell your son to stop trying to fill your head with science — for to fill your heart with love is enough."