“Hustle Culture” is Dead. Long Live...

Hey there,

It’s Yoela, reporting live from New York City this week, where I’m trying to juggle being social and “on” with the fact that I’m basically melting in intense infrared sauna sessions. If that’s not a perfect metaphor for life, I don’t know what is!

Let’s dive into something that’s been swirling around in my head lately: the so-called "myth" of moderation and balance. You know the saying "everything in moderation"? I’m starting to think it’s just another philosophical idea that falls apart in real life. And funny enough, it was a conversation with my brother’s 22-year-old friend, Jon, that inspired this thought process.

Picture this: I’m fresh out of an intense infrared sauna session, feeling like a human baked potato but somehow with a clear mind. Suddenly, I get a message on Instagram. It’s a callback to a conversation I had months ago with Jon, my brother Jacob, and a few friends at my place, where we were diving into the whole "Gen Z struggles" thing—especially the pressures on the young and ambitious. The message delivers a familiar line: "I'm trying to do everything in moderation," but he's struggling to figure out how to make that work in reality. We've all been there, right? Partying every night, acing exams like we're invincible, believing we can keep up the juggling act forever. Luckily, most of us outgrow that phase before everything falls apart.

Jon asked me: "Would you rather be 150% at one thing or 80% at many things?" Talk about a loaded question. It got me thinking about how we define balance and moderation, especially as leaders and entrepreneurs.

Here’s the thing: moderation isn’t a one-size-fits-all concept. For me, it evolves often. There’s moderation in experimentation, in pleasure, in diet, in risk-taking. The key is recognizing that moderation should be defined differently depending on what it applies to. It’s about tailoring it to fit the moment and the purpose.

Take my current situation in New York: I’ve been dining out way more than usual the past few days (I mean, how can anyone resist?!). But I’m also going full throttle with the infrared sauna to detox, and squeezing in at least one brutal megaformer Pilates session per day to feel like I’ve got it all under control. That, my friends, is what I call moderation. It’s not some perfect balance—let’s be real, that doesn’t exist. It’s more like a constant juggle of pushing your limits and desperately adjusting before things get too wild.

This applies to business too. Just yesterday, I was on a call with a founder friend who’s stressing about cramming as many features as humanly possible into his next product release before a funding round. He’s running his team into the ground, burning through cash like there’s no tomorrow, all because he’s convinced that more features will somehow boost his chances at getting funded.

I had to interject. "Why are you even doing this?" I asked. His answer? "Well, our competitor just raised $200 million last week." Ah yes, the AI hype cycle—still going strong, like a bad reality show that somehow keeps getting renewed.

Cue the facepalm. 🤦‍♀️

This is where the whole concept of moderation in business gets twisted. We see headlines, we hear about competitors' successes, and suddenly we're in this race to match or outdo them. But here's what I told him:

1. Have you talked to any investor, advisor or former employee of that competitor to understand what actually helped them close such a significant raise?

2. Are you sure it was about having more features?

3. What if the CEO just has amazing connections and a great story to sell? In this case, that was exactly what was happening, boosted by the momentum from the OpenAI team reorg.

So, naturally, the mad scramble for more features was the easiest cop-out to try and hitch a ride on the same hype train and snag some of those shekels being tossed around.

The point is, we create these loops in our heads based on assumptions, not facts. And in doing so, we lose sight of what true moderation and balance looks like for our own situations.

So, here's my Anti Status Quo take on moderation:

1. Define your personal goals. You can't achieve balance if you don't know what you're balancing.

2. Understand that moderation changes. What's moderate today might not be tomorrow.

3. Don't fall for the "hustle culture" trap. Working 24/7 isn't moderation – it's a recipe for burnout.

4. Question your assumptions. Are you chasing goals that are actually yours, or just copying others?

5. Remember: sometimes, going all-in on one thing IS the moderate choice.

It reminds me of my own journey. I’m open to experiences, always down to try new things, but I’ve got my own internal compass. I might go on a social binge for a few days, but I balance it out with some solo time, exercise, and something that pushes me physically back to neutral. Same with work—I’ll go all in on a project, but then I’ll take time to travel, mentor young entrepreneurs, and step out of my comfort zone to get some fresh perspective. That’s how I keep myself grounded.

The bottom line? True moderation isn’t about half-heartedly doing a little bit of everything. It’s about consciously deciding where to direct your energy, aligning it with your goals and values. It’s also about having the flexibility and intuition to read the situation and adjust your course as needed.

So, next time someone tells you to do everything in moderation, ask yourself: whose version of moderation are they talking about? And more importantly, what does moderation look like for you?

How do you define moderation in your life? How do your priorities shape the way you approach moderation and balance?

Let's keep this conversation going. After all, questioning the status quo is what we do best.

Until next time,
Yoela