Because being a fan of a team or particular political view is a choice you make - people can shout "Hey - you're not a real sox fan!" all they want, but you've

Because being a fan of a team or particular political view is a choice you make - people can shout "Hey - you're not a real sox fan!" all they want, but you've chosen to be a fan of them - and you have the ability to withdraw that support if you like. Thus, building up an identity that includes that facet is healthy and empowering - you can get ungracefully fired from your position or laid off though - and that can cause emotional distress at a time you're also suffering financial distress. That's not a healthy scenario to set yourself up for. Your work and your life are two quite separable things - when you're young it's easy to be entirely consumed by work, but you'll grow out of that hopefully (whether or not you have kids - you can also just start valuing yourself more). The more they are intertwined the more you're putting yourself at risk of a serious sudden life shock. I think being a founder is a bit easier life-shock wise - things can definitely go horribly wrong (they usually do in fact!) but you get a lot of warning and you should see the end coming before it slaps you in the face. If your company graduates to being a full corporation with a board and such - I think that's the time when you should regroup and step back a bit - since you are now a disposable employee.