Michael Gerber Quotes

More and more of us feel like emergency-room physicians, permanently on call, required to heal ourselves but unable to find the prescription for all the clutter on our desk.

Personally, one of the down sides of founding a company is that there is always too much work to do, and sadly I find I don't have much time to code any more.

… a job of infinite stress

The challenge in my life really is keeping the balance between feeling creatively energized and fulfilled without feeling overwhelmed and like I'm in the middle of a battlefield.

I envy people who can think, 'No, I'm not going to work today' when they have a huge pile of deadlines stacking up.

It seems that we have it backward in our society. We tend to look up to people who are under a great deal of stress, who can handle loads of stress, and those who are under a great deal of pressure.

Honestly, all I ever do is work.

If your business keeps you so busy that you have no time for anything else, there must be something wrong, either with you or with your business.

I was working, like, 14-hour days on 'Fargo,' and now if I schedule more than two things in a day, I'm like, 'Whoa, you guys. That's two train rides, and I have to plan for an hour-and-a-half lunch with my cat.'

I'm a workaholic, so I ignore the signs of fatigue and just keep going and going, and then conk out when I get home. It can be pretty stressful.

I'm working as hard as I can. Yesterday, I had five different debates. I don't get a half an hour a day to talk to my wife. I don't know how much harder I can work.

I drove a blue and yellow Super Shuttle van for two 10-hour shifts on the weekend after a week at ACT of 10 A.M.-10 P.M. I wasn't surviving too much.

Some days, I get overwhelmed and a bit breathless... I've probably cried at work, but I'm limited with my crying: I'm the boss; I'm not really allowed to cry at work.

Creative burnout and physical burnout is real. I mean, there are moments when I get home - after overseeing, you know, almost 16 collections a year - where I can't move.

You are overwhelmed, overscheduled, and dejected because you keep trying to have it all - or at least most of it. You want a fulfilling job and personal life, and it's not working. The way out? Work more.

We work too hard to be miserable.

I work 18 to 20 hours a day, seven days a week, so I don't have time for a social life. Or any life outside work.

Most of the stress we feel here in Silicon Valley is self-inflicted.

Most everyone I know feels frazzled and overwhelmed most of the time.

I don't really compartmentalize well. I'm in a state of anxiety and panic a lot, but it's for different reasons. It used to be because I had nothing going on, but I work very hard and there doesn't seem to be an end to it.

In the early days I was incredibly creative and productive - I loved the research trips, I loved the creation and finding technical solutions to creative challenges. I didn't need alcohol and the pills for that. What changed was, I was afraid to say no - that little word, N.O. Because I thought it showed weakness. And with more and more success I would just say yes. And keep on taking more work on - which took its toll.

Work will drive you crazy if you let it.

I'm working over 80 hours a week and have to keep on track.

I would rather not work than be a neurotic mess.

When I was young and ocean-racing competitively, and working the rest of the time, I was going 24 hours. I was on the verge of collapsing. But you've got to slow down a bit.