Does being a successful entrepreneur always have to come at the expense of everything else? For those who think work-life balance is a myth or an impossible luxury, these 11 quotes from prominent founders, CEOs, and execs might just change your mind.

As almost every entrepreneur knows too well, founding and running a growing company can take a serious toll on your personal life. The responsibility. The long hours. The unenviable stress. The questions about your future. The sleepless nights.

Very often, it can be a thankless existence that’s in stark contrast to the Hollywood portrayal of entrepreneurship (Expensive cars! Big vacation homes! Gold-plated yachts!). And, unfortunately, that sometimes causes entrepreneurs to believe that if they don’t commit every waking hour to their business, they are doomed to fail.

Au contraire.

With Labor Day as a backdrop, we could all probably use a reminder of the importance of work-life balance.

So, take a few minutes to read these 11 quotes from entrepreneurial rock stars like Ev Williams, Marc Benioff, Sheryl Sandberg, and Brad Feld. While all of these founders and execs have sacrificed something to grow their business, it’s obvious that they also understand the importance of stepping away to unplug, recharge, and realign their perspectives with what’s truly most important.

11 Successful Entrepreneurs on Achieving Work-Life Balance

“When you’re gone would you rather have your gravestone say, ‘He never missed a meeting.’ Or one that said, ‘He was a great father.’” — Steve Blank @sgblank, author of The Startup Owner’s Manual http://blogs.wsj.com/accelerators/2013/03/25/steve-blank-an-epitaph-for-entrepreneurs/ “You don’t have to make yourself miserable to be successful. It’s natural to look back and mythologize the long nights and manic moments of genius, but success isn’t about working hard, it’s about working smart.” — Andrew Wilkinson @awilkinson, founder of MetaLab http://pandodaily.com/2013/04/03/you-dont-have-to-make-yourself-miserable-to-build-a-great-company/ “I don’t think a lot of founders really want to hear this, but you set the tone from day one, so who you are is going to be reflected in the culture of the early team. So for us, that was a culture of being scrappy, but honest. Working hard, but also having that sense of balance and sort of respecting one’s life outside the office. Making it happen no matter what.” — Julia Hartz @juliahartz, co-founder of Eventbrite https://www.path.to/inspiration/julia-hartz-eventbrite “Take care of yourself: When you don’t sleep, eat crap, don’t exercise, and are living off adrenaline for too long, your performance suffers. Your decisions suffer. Your company suffers. Love those close to you: Failure of your company is not failure in life. Failure in your relationship is.” — Ev Williams @ev, co-founder of Medium and Twitter https://medium.com/on-startups/ea0b02c504cd “Burnout is about resentment. [Preventing it is] about knowing yourself well enough to know what it is you’re giving up that makes you resentful.” — Marissa Mayer @marissamayer, CEO at Yahoo http://www.entrepreneur.com/blog/223723 “I believe a balanced life is essential, and I try to make sure that all of our employees know that and live that way. It’s crucial to me as a manager that I help ensure that our employees are as successful as our customers and partners.” — Marc Benioff @Benioff, CEO at salesforce.com http://www.sonshi.com/benioff.html “The most important career decision you’ll make is who your life partner is.” — Sheryl Sandberg @sherylsandberg, COO of Facebook http://www.businessinsider.com/sheryl-sandberg-husband-2011-12 “Once a quarter, Amy and I go off the grid and totally disconnect. It’s totally doable and it will change your life.” — Brad Feld @bfeld, Managing Director at the Foundry Group “Imagine working 20% smarter instead of 20% longer…Work-life balance and startup success at any stage aren’t mutually exclusive. There are enough hours in the day to be effective and present.” — David Cummings @davidcummings, co-founder and CEO at Pardot http://davidcummings.org/2012/06/23/worklife-balance-and-startup-success-arent-mutually-exclusive/ “Don’t take things too seriously. I would never de-value the importance of your business; but it’s not worth sacrificing your life for.” — Ben Yoskovitz @byosko, VP Product at GoInstant and Founding Partner at Year One Labs http://www.instigatorblog.com/how-to-start-a-company-and-family-at-the-same-time/2007/07/11/ “I tend to lose track of what is important in life when I am running around the office. A vacation with my family helps correct that…Your entrepreneurial spirit should help build what is important…not destroy it.” — Kyle Lacy @kyleplacy, Senior Manager Content Marketing & Research at ExactTarget http://kylelacy.com/5-reasons-why-it-is-important-to-unplug-for-young-entrepreneurs/

Bonus Quote and TED Talk Video

“It’s up to us as individuals to take control and responsibility for the types of lives that we want to lead. If you don’t design your life, then someone else may just design it for you, and you may not like their idea of balance.”

— Nigel Marsh, author of Fat, Forty, and Fired



