“I spent a year playing defense across my portfolio while my son was out of school with chronic health issues, and the thing that pulled me out was my chief of staff asking why I seemed miserable.”
“I don't try to eliminate stress; I build systems so it doesn't become chronic. Sleep, exercise, a clear decision ladder, and a trusted peer I can call keep me from carrying the load alone.”
“I learned the hard way that burnout is not a badge of honor. I walk nearly every morning, guard my sleep and caffeine, and spend time only with people who regenerate me, because a depleted CEO makes depleted decisions.”
“I used to treat stress like a badge, until my own bloodwork showed high ApoB and Lp(a) while I was sleeping badly and pushing through. Now I track cortisol, HRV, and inflammation the way I track burn rate, because a flatlined founder makes worse decisions than a rested one.”
“I don't meditate or grind harder. When the pressure spikes, I write down exactly what I'm actually worried about, call one peer CEO who's lived it, and rehearse the hard conversations before I'm in the room.”
“I don't try to eliminate stress anymore. After 25 years coaching founders and CEOs, I see it as fuel: a racing heart means your system is loading energy for the challenge, not breaking down. The real work is changing the story you tell yourself about what stress means.”
“I stopped trying to perform calm and started naming what I actually felt, because twelve weeks unable to leave bed taught me that bottling it only borrows energy you’ll pay back with interest.”
“I spent years treating chronic stress like a normal operating mode, until a January 2019 burnout forced me to see it as a signal, not a badge. Now I check in with my breath, limit myself to three real priorities a day, and build empty blocks into the calendar because reflection is where good decisions actually happen.”
“I used to treat stress as the enemy until a health scare forced an emergency landing on a flight and I realized I had been glorifying burnout. Now I treat stress like a gym weight: the load itself is not the problem, my refusal to recover between sets is.”