Rest Is the New Hustle: Why I Chose Sleep Over Stress in My Second Act
For over 30 years, I believed that sleepless nights were the badge of honor for every ambitious man. I wore exhaustion like a trophy. Early meetings, late calls, emails at 2 AM—I thought I was “winning.” Success, I was taught, belonged to those who outworked everyone else. But at 62, after retiring from my long career in operations management, I had time to ask myself: Was all that stress truly worth it? The Turning Point: From Burnout to Awakening My blood pressure was creeping up. I was constantly forgetful. My wife said I snored like a freight train, and I kept dozing off in front of the TV. I used to joke that I’d “sleep when I’m dead,” but frankly, it felt like I was dying because I wasn’t sleeping. That’s when I stumbled upon a TED Talk by Arianna Huffington, where she said something that hit me like a bolt of lightning: “Sleep is a performance-enhancing drug.” She didn’t say to hustle harder. She said to sleep smarter . It wasn’t laziness—it was recovery. It was longevi...