Have you seen Arianna Huffington on the interview circuit for her new book? She’s one of many major business figures who have recently joined the conversation on one of the pressing questions of our age: are people are getting enough rest? Or more specifically: are entrepreneurs getting enough rest?
She says, “No”. Hmm…
She lays out a good argument, but there’s something about it that bothers me. Health is important, I agree; and I wouldn’t argue against a fuller sleep schedule improving your creativity—but I do know my own experience and the experience of those around me. My experience tells me entrepreneurs who follow her advice, especially those in their early years, they aren’t going to reach the stars. Not that everyone needs to be Elon Musk, but I assure you he isn’t getting his 8 hours.
Consider this—she happily admits that while she was building The Huffington Post, she wasn’t spending much time sleeping at all! I have to question if she’s sure she could still command so many opportunities to plug her book if she had followed the advice in it. Sort of ironic isn’t it? Just sayin’.
And we do have perspectives from younger players in the game, people who are still fighting their way up. Nathan Latkas has an awesome podcast covering entrepreneurs called The Top, and he recently had me on his podcast to ask (as he often does) how much sleep I was getting. I am not the first of his guests to answer that I wasn’t getting much at all. In fact, I’ve followed his podcast for a little while now and I don’t believe I’ve heard anyone on it say they were enjoying a healthy 8 hours.
It’s possible there are entrepreneurs out there who are achieving what they want at the pace they want while still getting a luxurious eight hours of slumber, but I am not sure that’s the model. If you want to be in a position where you can be invited to a slate of talk shows about your new book on getting enough sleep, you’re going to have to spend a few years burning the midnight oil this observer thinks.
There is no right, or one way to the top, but as I write this at 11:37PM, sleep is the last thing on my mind. Perhaps I just haven’t earned that luxury yet.
What about you? Are you getting your recommended 8?
