From the outside the answer is really obvious: if you're working for 12 hours a day and it isn't working then you're clearly working on the wrong things. Busine

From the outside the answer is really obvious: if you're working for 12 hours a day and it isn't working then you're clearly working on the wrong things. Business is 90% about knowing what is important and what is a waste of your time. When you're working 12 hour days and your business isn't becoming insanely successful it's pretty obvious that most of the hours you work are wasted. Hours burned and sacrificed with nothing to show for it. If you've been working on unsuccessful startups it's easy to get into a sort of rhythm where you keep doing the same things that didn't work in the past, but only with more vigor. It's complete and utter madness to try to brute-force your way to success. It can work, of course, but the odds are stacked against you, and as a business person you should only play when the odds are highly in your favor. My guess is that you've probably lost a bit of perspective if you've been punishing yourself like this for the past 4 years. Stop punishing yourself. You don't get rewarded for punishing yourself, and you shouldn't feel good (reward yourself) for working harder than is sustainable or harm your (mental) health. Reward yourself when you make good decisions, and punish yourself (if you have to) if you waste time on shit that doesn't matter. Because working on the wrong things will kill your startup, working 8 hour days does not.