Can't tell you how many times this has crossed my mind since reading your post about ten years ago. It reminded me of how eternal this problem is—and how challenging its resolution remains:
And the Chorus sings:
Women:
"But while we sit at home, our hearts are torn with aching,
Watching them march off, leaving us alone, forsaken."
Really appreciate you sharing this. I’ve seen too many of my female friends carry the mental weight of maintaining relationships while their male partners justify overworking as “doing it for the family.” It’s frustrating to watch this imbalance persist. Your candid reflection not only validates these experiences but also encourages other entrepreneurs to take responsibility for their share of emotional and relational labor.
When I built teams at Google Cloud, this was top of mind for both men and women. Just wanted to say thank you for sharing this. Looking forward to reading more!
this was really eye opening for me. our family needs to come first and it's so hard not to think of your hard work as the sacrifice that will put them first especially if you work from home like i do.
One thought provoking? What distinguishes an entrepreneur from others is that there is no such thing as work/life balance, to an entrepreneur; it's just life.
Steve, I also imagine you held some occasional pangs of deep guilt about your family life while you were at work, making the work part of your life even *more* stressful. This is also a great time to share this experience in light of how many twenty-somethings are unlikely to be in a committed relationship. Thanks for sharing this.
I appreciate the transparency and honesty on a topic that pretty much everyone that's jumped headfirst into startups has experienced.
I really need to hear the follow up post... @steve
Can't tell you how many times this has crossed my mind since reading your post about ten years ago. It reminded me of how eternal this problem is—and how challenging its resolution remains:
And the Chorus sings:
Women:
"But while we sit at home, our hearts are torn with aching,
Watching them march off, leaving us alone, forsaken."
Men:
"War is our duty, our honor to uphold,
To guard our city, brave and bold!"
Resolution?
Women:
"Let us cherish peace, for both home and land,
United together, we’ll take a stand."
Men:
"We’ll guard our city, yet hear your plea,
For harmony’s strength keeps us truly free."
Aristophanes
Lysistrata
Really appreciate you sharing this. I’ve seen too many of my female friends carry the mental weight of maintaining relationships while their male partners justify overworking as “doing it for the family.” It’s frustrating to watch this imbalance persist. Your candid reflection not only validates these experiences but also encourages other entrepreneurs to take responsibility for their share of emotional and relational labor.
When I built teams at Google Cloud, this was top of mind for both men and women. Just wanted to say thank you for sharing this. Looking forward to reading more!
I love this post. thank you for sharing
this was really eye opening for me. our family needs to come first and it's so hard not to think of your hard work as the sacrifice that will put them first especially if you work from home like i do.
One thought provoking? What distinguishes an entrepreneur from others is that there is no such thing as work/life balance, to an entrepreneur; it's just life.
Thanks so much for sharing. I’m going through something similar right now. Super helpful to hear your story and know I’m not the only one.
Great POST! STEVE
Steve, I also imagine you held some occasional pangs of deep guilt about your family life while you were at work, making the work part of your life even *more* stressful. This is also a great time to share this experience in light of how many twenty-somethings are unlikely to be in a committed relationship. Thanks for sharing this.