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Win at Work and Succeed at Life: 5 Principles to Free Yourself from the Cult of Overwork
Great leaders are driven to win. Yet career wins can come at great cost to your health, relationships, and personal well-being. Why does it seem impossible to both win at work and succeed at life?Michael Hyatt and Megan Hyatt Miller know we can do better because he's seen it in his more than four decades as a successful executive and a loving and present husband and father. Today Michael and his daughter, Megan Hyatt Miller, coach leaders to live the double win. Backed by scholarly research from organizational science and psychology, and illustrated with eye-opening case studies from across the business spectrum and their own coaching clients, Win at Work and Succeed at Life is their manifesto on how you can achieve work-life balance and restore your sanity.With clarity, humor, and plenty of motivation, Win at Work and Succeed at Life gives you- an understanding of the historical and cultural forces that have led to overworking- 5 principles to rethink work and productivity from the ground up- simple but proven practices that enable you to slow down and reclaim your life- and moreRefuse the false choice of career versus family. You can achieve the double win in life.
208 pages, Hardcover
Published April 20, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 114 reviews
May 7, 2021
Honestly? There is very little new stuff here. I've been listening to the podcast for ages and reading everything the Hyatts come up with. I'm a full focus planner evangelist. But this? This is a tidy, tiny summary, but I was hoping for something new. And after reading far more interesting and challenging books on this topic, like Cal Newport's amazing "A World Without Email," this sort of happy clappy self help is starting to sour a bit.
June 24, 2021
Reading this book once isn’t enough. While it was written for the corporate “knowledge worker,” it equally applies to those of us in education. We so often give in to the guilt of “best for the kids” and take on far more than can be done in a day. The Hyatts’ sage guidance makes me step back and think about what is “best” versus what is “nice” or “better,” along with reminding me that I need to do what is best for my own children too.
I strongly recommend this book to teachers coming out of the hardest school year in education ever as it provides concrete ideas for establishing boundaries, reasonable expectations, and the overall “self-care” preached to teachers this year (while piling on more work
I strongly recommend this book to teachers coming out of the hardest school year in education ever as it provides concrete ideas for establishing boundaries, reasonable expectations, and the overall “self-care” preached to teachers this year (while piling on more work
April 20, 2021
I’m not just drinking the Koolaid friends, I am diving in and inviting others! I really appreciate the Double Win for how relatable and practical it is. The tools and tips in the Double Win really work. But, keep in mind, like all things worth having, there is still work involved. I appreciated one story Michael shared about balancing on a rope- even when you are balancing, you are not done. Your body is still working to maintain it. I had developed bad work habits while I was widowed- staying late to finish projects, working on weekends, etc. If I am being brutally honest, I did that before, too. I recall one time being at home caring for my husband who was dying of cancer, and I was working (!) from my laptop. I couldn’t shut that off even under those circumstances. Fast forward 6 years to my new marriage; I started feeling resentment at working all the time. COVID enhanced that. Sitting all day in front of a computer and feeling that I didn’t have time or energy left for things I really wanted to do was making me miserable. Plus, my concentration was shot after years of multi-tasking, I would end each day feeling like I hadn’t accomplished anything. My hours got cut but the workload didn’t lighten and I really started stressing out. Then a manager at my company sent us all Free to Focus and the lightbulb came on. As I read, I started seeing ways I could achieve more by doing less. It got me carving out time for rejuvenation, delegate some of my load, not just at work but at home. I was on to something here. The more I made shifts to apply what I was learning each day, the happier I was with everything. That’s when the gift of the Double Win appeared. Great on its own, but its also the perfect compliment if you have read the Focus book. I am still working on integrating what I have taken away, but I already see improvement. I’m much happier and feel accomplished at the end of the day. I’ve even spearheaded a wellness initiative within my company. I am excited and motivated to keep on this path and share with my company and others. You best believe, I will be advocating for 6 hour workdays in the near future!
December 10, 2025
Hans andre bok Free to Focus var mye bedre!
August 24, 2024
This book challenges the notion of overwork as a path to success and shows through examples that the work-life balance exists and is reachable. It’s a self-improvement guide that can help you make the mindset shift, reach personal fulfillment, and not burnout.
June 20, 2024
As an entrepreneur who is living in a culture that wears “busy” like a badge of honor this book really resonated with me. Yes, I’ll admit it seems like all the messaging in today’s business world points to working harder equaling more success.
This book is inviting you to look at this subject from a different point of view- “Balance is about distributing demands so we can stay on track with a win at work and at life.”
This book is inviting you to look at this subject from a different point of view- “Balance is about distributing demands so we can stay on track with a win at work and at life.”
September 19, 2021
I enjoy Michael Hyatt’s blog and his other books I’ve read, and I listen to most of his and Megan’s podcast episodes, but this book was more principle than practical for me.
August 26, 2024
Neglect in one area often signals neglect in others.
When facing such an impossible choice, it’s wise to look for a third option.
The Double win sees work and life in partnership, not opposition.
Good ideas tend to produce good outcomes, and good outcomes reinforce good ideas. But the reverse, as Caplan explains, is also true. Bad ideas tend to produce bad outcomes and reinforce bad ideas. “Once you fall into this trap,” he says, “all it often takes is common sense to get out. But when people are desperate, common sense gets even less common than usual.
Picture what your life would be like if you really had time for your career and your relationships and the time to take care of yourself.
Why am I so driven?
Am I overworking to secure approval or affirmation?
Am I working long hours to avoid my spouse or my kids?”
Am I secure in my position at work? Or am I fearful that without the long hours, I may be replaced by someone who appears to have more ambition?
Work Is Only One of Many Ways to Orient Your Life
I began to wonder why success . . . meant privileging career achievement above all else. ANNE-MARIE SLAUGHTER
When work is the primary orientation for life, the rest of life gets left behind.
Interestingly, it’s the professional class who tends to work the most hours. Keynes and the futurists were right about automation shrinking work hours. But the greatest reductions have been among service-sector and low-skilled workers. Meanwhile, professionals now work the same or more than they did in 1965.
If we don’t occasionally stop to sharpen a blade, it gets dull and requires more effort to achieve the same result.
Three Nonnegotiables
1. Self-Care
2. Relational Priorities
3. professional Results
Self-care. Your health, your relationships, your children, your hobbies, your work—at the center of all of these is you. You’re all you have to offer these various facets of your life. “You are a dimension of every problem or personal interaction you face,” as historian Richard Brookhiser put it. “You are the tool that is never put back in the box.”19 If you’re not nurturing yourself, if your self is not thriving, then the influence you bring to these other dimensions is going to be less than what it could be.
David Whyte says, “To rest is not self-indulgent. To rest is to prepare to give the best of ourselves.
let’s figure out how to make this happen.” She started making a list: “What are we good at? What did we study? What are we gifted at? What are our interests?”
Work is like water. It’s life-giving. It also flows wherever it can unless otherwise constrained.
You probably know Parkinson’s Law: “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.”3 Well, here’s Hyatt’s Corollary: “Work contracts to the time permitted.”
Constraints Enable Focus
...embracing a limitation could actually drive creativity.
If you want to win with your business and succeed in the rest of your life, the secret lies in constraining labor to make room for the rest of your life.
We had several valuable takeaways. First, balancing and walking on a tightrope is one thing when you’re doing it alone. As soon as you add another person—or several persons—the difficulty factor increases exponentially. Second, we had to learn how to hold on to each other as we worked our way across the line. We were constantly counterbalancing each other as we moved forward. That required communication and coordination.
Third, and what I remember most of all, when we were balanced, it never really felt like we were balanced. Our legs constantly moved and wobbled; we strained to grip each other and the nearest tree. But we stayed on that line a long time by making little corrections, adjusting our weight, trying to stay upright. If we were static, we’d fall down every time.
Balance requires constant effort. We were in the least danger when we made adjustments to the imbalance we felt. With intentionality and practice, nobody needed to fall off. And that’s exactly how life is.
It’s a mistake to believe that you will ever reach a season in life when you can evenly distribute your time, energy, and focus, so you’re spending the same amount of time at work as in your personal life. That is never going to happen. Nor is that the goal. Instead, the key is to spend the appropriate amount of time in each of the major categories of life. That looks different in different times and seasons.
Balance is not the same as rest. When people we coach talk about their need for more balance, what they’re really saying is that they’re stressed, overwhelmed, worn out, and in need of an extended period of rest. We get that. But if we think attaining balance means finally getting a much-needed break, then we’re missing something important. Balance is not about rest, though it does include rest, because without proper rest, productivity and efficiency suffer.
Balance is about distributing demands so we can stay on track with a win at work and at life. We don’t want to cannibalize one sphere of life to feed the other. That takes intentionality. Don’t be discouraged. It’s just part of the challenge.
Balance is dynamic. “Life is like riding a bicycle,” Albert Einstein said in a letter to his son Eduard. “To keep your balance you must keep moving.”7 We’ve all experienced this. The slower you go, the more trouble it is to keep your bike from wobbling until you crash. Momentum helps us stay upright and on course.
Balance requires tweaking our schedule and task lists. If you have it right one week, it still requires attention the next week—or when unexpected developments arise.
Myra Strober uses another analogy. “A rocket is exactly on target only at takeoff and landing,” she says. “Between those two points, it constantly moves away from its trajectory and has to be ‘straightened out.’
Balance is intentional
...balance begins with your intention to create something different with your future.
When facing such an impossible choice, it’s wise to look for a third option.
The Double win sees work and life in partnership, not opposition.
Good ideas tend to produce good outcomes, and good outcomes reinforce good ideas. But the reverse, as Caplan explains, is also true. Bad ideas tend to produce bad outcomes and reinforce bad ideas. “Once you fall into this trap,” he says, “all it often takes is common sense to get out. But when people are desperate, common sense gets even less common than usual.
Picture what your life would be like if you really had time for your career and your relationships and the time to take care of yourself.
Why am I so driven?
Am I overworking to secure approval or affirmation?
Am I working long hours to avoid my spouse or my kids?”
Am I secure in my position at work? Or am I fearful that without the long hours, I may be replaced by someone who appears to have more ambition?
Work Is Only One of Many Ways to Orient Your Life
I began to wonder why success . . . meant privileging career achievement above all else. ANNE-MARIE SLAUGHTER
When work is the primary orientation for life, the rest of life gets left behind.
Interestingly, it’s the professional class who tends to work the most hours. Keynes and the futurists were right about automation shrinking work hours. But the greatest reductions have been among service-sector and low-skilled workers. Meanwhile, professionals now work the same or more than they did in 1965.
If we don’t occasionally stop to sharpen a blade, it gets dull and requires more effort to achieve the same result.
Three Nonnegotiables
1. Self-Care
2. Relational Priorities
3. professional Results
Self-care. Your health, your relationships, your children, your hobbies, your work—at the center of all of these is you. You’re all you have to offer these various facets of your life. “You are a dimension of every problem or personal interaction you face,” as historian Richard Brookhiser put it. “You are the tool that is never put back in the box.”19 If you’re not nurturing yourself, if your self is not thriving, then the influence you bring to these other dimensions is going to be less than what it could be.
David Whyte says, “To rest is not self-indulgent. To rest is to prepare to give the best of ourselves.
let’s figure out how to make this happen.” She started making a list: “What are we good at? What did we study? What are we gifted at? What are our interests?”
Work is like water. It’s life-giving. It also flows wherever it can unless otherwise constrained.
You probably know Parkinson’s Law: “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.”3 Well, here’s Hyatt’s Corollary: “Work contracts to the time permitted.”
Constraints Enable Focus
...embracing a limitation could actually drive creativity.
If you want to win with your business and succeed in the rest of your life, the secret lies in constraining labor to make room for the rest of your life.
We had several valuable takeaways. First, balancing and walking on a tightrope is one thing when you’re doing it alone. As soon as you add another person—or several persons—the difficulty factor increases exponentially. Second, we had to learn how to hold on to each other as we worked our way across the line. We were constantly counterbalancing each other as we moved forward. That required communication and coordination.
Third, and what I remember most of all, when we were balanced, it never really felt like we were balanced. Our legs constantly moved and wobbled; we strained to grip each other and the nearest tree. But we stayed on that line a long time by making little corrections, adjusting our weight, trying to stay upright. If we were static, we’d fall down every time.
Balance requires constant effort. We were in the least danger when we made adjustments to the imbalance we felt. With intentionality and practice, nobody needed to fall off. And that’s exactly how life is.
It’s a mistake to believe that you will ever reach a season in life when you can evenly distribute your time, energy, and focus, so you’re spending the same amount of time at work as in your personal life. That is never going to happen. Nor is that the goal. Instead, the key is to spend the appropriate amount of time in each of the major categories of life. That looks different in different times and seasons.
Balance is not the same as rest. When people we coach talk about their need for more balance, what they’re really saying is that they’re stressed, overwhelmed, worn out, and in need of an extended period of rest. We get that. But if we think attaining balance means finally getting a much-needed break, then we’re missing something important. Balance is not about rest, though it does include rest, because without proper rest, productivity and efficiency suffer.
Balance is about distributing demands so we can stay on track with a win at work and at life. We don’t want to cannibalize one sphere of life to feed the other. That takes intentionality. Don’t be discouraged. It’s just part of the challenge.
Balance is dynamic. “Life is like riding a bicycle,” Albert Einstein said in a letter to his son Eduard. “To keep your balance you must keep moving.”7 We’ve all experienced this. The slower you go, the more trouble it is to keep your bike from wobbling until you crash. Momentum helps us stay upright and on course.
Balance requires tweaking our schedule and task lists. If you have it right one week, it still requires attention the next week—or when unexpected developments arise.
Myra Strober uses another analogy. “A rocket is exactly on target only at takeoff and landing,” she says. “Between those two points, it constantly moves away from its trajectory and has to be ‘straightened out.’
Balance is intentional
...balance begins with your intention to create something different with your future.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 28, 2024
Michael and Megan Myatt Miller do a good job of debunking the main premises of the cult of overwork, namely that
1. work is the primary orientation in life;
2. constraints stifle productivity;
3. work-life balance is a myth;
4. you should always be busy; and
5. rest diverts time away from work.
To meet these goals, the authors say, you should identity what you want; communicate what you want; and arrange your life to get what you want.
These goals are admirable. However, their anecdotes are geared towards professionals and those with money who have the ability to delegate work they don't want to do to others. For those who are the "delegatees," the book's suggestions are unrealistic.
1. work is the primary orientation in life;
2. constraints stifle productivity;
3. work-life balance is a myth;
4. you should always be busy; and
5. rest diverts time away from work.
To meet these goals, the authors say, you should identity what you want; communicate what you want; and arrange your life to get what you want.
These goals are admirable. However, their anecdotes are geared towards professionals and those with money who have the ability to delegate work they don't want to do to others. For those who are the "delegatees," the book's suggestions are unrealistic.
May 8, 2021
Very helpful guide to balancing life and prioritising effectively
If you’ve been struggling with the overwhelming demands of work and family or you’ve never had a role model for how to structure your work life and seperate it from your home life, I recommend this book. It not only helps with home and work balance but also helps prioritise all the other little necessary things we often neglect (like exercise, friendships, hobbies, etc). There is a lot to absorb and implement but I’m looking forward to implementing it for me and anyone who works for me.
If you’ve been struggling with the overwhelming demands of work and family or you’ve never had a role model for how to structure your work life and seperate it from your home life, I recommend this book. It not only helps with home and work balance but also helps prioritise all the other little necessary things we often neglect (like exercise, friendships, hobbies, etc). There is a lot to absorb and implement but I’m looking forward to implementing it for me and anyone who works for me.
January 14, 2025
Great book. Full of really good work/life balance info & truths. I'd say this is a must read for anyone that tends to work too much or wants/needs more balance in their life.
April 14, 2021
It always strikes me as odd when people brag about how overworked and busy they are at work and at home. It is almost like their accomplishments don't count as much as being able to talk about their stress level. The same applies to those who complain about how many hours they work and how little sleep they get. They don't want to fix it. Instead, they brag about it.
"Win at Work and Succeed at Life: 5 Principles to Free Yourself from the Cult of Overwork" is just the opposite. It is a manual that prescribes a work-life balance. Leadership author and consultant Michael Hyatt and his daughter, Megan Hyatt Miller, who runs her father's company share personal stories and advice that show how you don't have to choose between professional successes and being present for your family to enjoy a personal life.
They call their ideal work-life balance the "double win." Both Hyatts share personal stories where they faced challenges maintaining the double win. Michael admits that early in his career, professional success came at a cost to his relationship with his wife and children. Megan shares the challenges of being a parent of five children while working as CEO of a successful company.
The book details these fundamental principles:
- Work is only one of many ways to orient your life.
- Constraints foster productivity, creativity, and freedom.
- Work-life balance is truly possible.
- There's incredible power in nonachievement
- Rest is the foundation of meaningful, productive work.
"Win at Work and Succeed at Life: 5 Principles to Free Yourself from the Cult of Overwork" is full of practical advice for those who struggle with this balance and a good reminder for the rest of us.
"Win at Work and Succeed at Life: 5 Principles to Free Yourself from the Cult of Overwork" is just the opposite. It is a manual that prescribes a work-life balance. Leadership author and consultant Michael Hyatt and his daughter, Megan Hyatt Miller, who runs her father's company share personal stories and advice that show how you don't have to choose between professional successes and being present for your family to enjoy a personal life.
They call their ideal work-life balance the "double win." Both Hyatts share personal stories where they faced challenges maintaining the double win. Michael admits that early in his career, professional success came at a cost to his relationship with his wife and children. Megan shares the challenges of being a parent of five children while working as CEO of a successful company.
The book details these fundamental principles:
- Work is only one of many ways to orient your life.
- Constraints foster productivity, creativity, and freedom.
- Work-life balance is truly possible.
- There's incredible power in nonachievement
- Rest is the foundation of meaningful, productive work.
"Win at Work and Succeed at Life: 5 Principles to Free Yourself from the Cult of Overwork" is full of practical advice for those who struggle with this balance and a good reminder for the rest of us.
May 18, 2021
I'm a regular Lead to Win podcast listener and have read a couple of Michael's other books... this, to me, didn't add anything extra, it wasn't bad, just not for me
January 11, 2023
motivating!
I can’t say there were a ton of ideas I had not read or heard before (including from Hyatt’s podcast)… BUT they were framed in this book in such a way that it made me realize I CAN make changes to my life so life-balance moves from a myth to a reality. A very manageable read with some important ideas that can change our lives. I really appreciated reading the personal stories because if the authors can do this with their intense high profile roles, i can too. Looking forward to making my personal life and health more of a priority!
I can’t say there were a ton of ideas I had not read or heard before (including from Hyatt’s podcast)… BUT they were framed in this book in such a way that it made me realize I CAN make changes to my life so life-balance moves from a myth to a reality. A very manageable read with some important ideas that can change our lives. I really appreciated reading the personal stories because if the authors can do this with their intense high profile roles, i can too. Looking forward to making my personal life and health more of a priority!
June 24, 2021
1.7
Unfortunately, this book is nothing new and makes some peculiar leaps in logic.
One argument is that our personal relationships suffer because "work is addictive" and we are slaves to "hustle culture." This in turn leads us to fall into the "hustle fallacy:" that working harder means being more successful. While "hustle culture" is nonsensical in it of itself, born out of a greedy neoliberal culture where the only valuable status is money. Yet this books never talks about the root of this problem: capitalism and greed. It talks about long hours worked, and "burnout" and creativity, but never scratches the surface of the reasons behind those things. Burnout for example, isn't because people love to work hard and love the structure provided to them by their bosses rather than the complex and convoluted relationships in their personal lives (an actual argument made), burnout is because most companies and workplaces abide by a neoconservative and neoliberal logic where productivity and growth must be infinite, so you are not only trying to outdo everyone else at the office — a toxic competitive spirit fostered in these systems — but also trying to outdo yourself last week, yesterday, last year, etc. The book does not mention any of this.
It talks about how a good work-life balance is needed for fulfillment and how getting a good amount of sleep means you can be more productive, but again, it refuses to discuss the reasons behind those statistics. Some people cannot sleep because of the stresses of those infinite growth models, or because they are simply forced to work long hours as slaves in a capitalist cog. It is very obvious that the writers are upper-middle class and have jobs in middle-management where they get by while doing the minimum amount of work, regardless of their nonsensical argument for a "work-life balance" for everyone. It's like telling a homeless man to "get a job." They tout a good night's sleep and a work-life balance as if it never occurred to any of these mindless drones working for these companies. The writers break their spines bending over backwards to make sure they never badmouth a company's toxic work environment or culture.
All in all, no new information is contained within these pages. Very obvious information that is born out of privilege and is quite tone-deaf to the global neoliberal order — and especially the way the American workplace is set up. It's set up for burnout because the labour force is perpetually expendable.
I'd skip this one unless you enjoy being frustrated, or you're a middle management bureaucrat who has the freedom to say "lol I won't answer emails after 4:30PM, deal with it, I have a date!"
Other books I will recommend on this topic where you will actually learn something:
• The Burnout Society
• Liberalism: A Counter-History
• Profit Over People: Neoliberalism and Global Order
• Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City
Unfortunately, this book is nothing new and makes some peculiar leaps in logic.
One argument is that our personal relationships suffer because "work is addictive" and we are slaves to "hustle culture." This in turn leads us to fall into the "hustle fallacy:" that working harder means being more successful. While "hustle culture" is nonsensical in it of itself, born out of a greedy neoliberal culture where the only valuable status is money. Yet this books never talks about the root of this problem: capitalism and greed. It talks about long hours worked, and "burnout" and creativity, but never scratches the surface of the reasons behind those things. Burnout for example, isn't because people love to work hard and love the structure provided to them by their bosses rather than the complex and convoluted relationships in their personal lives (an actual argument made), burnout is because most companies and workplaces abide by a neoconservative and neoliberal logic where productivity and growth must be infinite, so you are not only trying to outdo everyone else at the office — a toxic competitive spirit fostered in these systems — but also trying to outdo yourself last week, yesterday, last year, etc. The book does not mention any of this.
It talks about how a good work-life balance is needed for fulfillment and how getting a good amount of sleep means you can be more productive, but again, it refuses to discuss the reasons behind those statistics. Some people cannot sleep because of the stresses of those infinite growth models, or because they are simply forced to work long hours as slaves in a capitalist cog. It is very obvious that the writers are upper-middle class and have jobs in middle-management where they get by while doing the minimum amount of work, regardless of their nonsensical argument for a "work-life balance" for everyone. It's like telling a homeless man to "get a job." They tout a good night's sleep and a work-life balance as if it never occurred to any of these mindless drones working for these companies. The writers break their spines bending over backwards to make sure they never badmouth a company's toxic work environment or culture.
All in all, no new information is contained within these pages. Very obvious information that is born out of privilege and is quite tone-deaf to the global neoliberal order — and especially the way the American workplace is set up. It's set up for burnout because the labour force is perpetually expendable.
I'd skip this one unless you enjoy being frustrated, or you're a middle management bureaucrat who has the freedom to say "lol I won't answer emails after 4:30PM, deal with it, I have a date!"
Other books I will recommend on this topic where you will actually learn something:
• The Burnout Society
• Liberalism: A Counter-History
• Profit Over People: Neoliberalism and Global Order
• Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City
April 17, 2021
Are you someone who’s trying to climb that corporate ladder? Is starting work before anyone else and going home after everyone else leaves sound like success or winning at work? Are you spending more time focused on work than with your loved ones? When was the last time you had a good night’s sleep? These questions and many more are answered in Win at Work and Succeed at Life by Michael Hyatt and Megan Hyatt Miller.
This brief summary of how people destroy their own lives because they are more focused on that promotion at work than their own child’s ball game or dance recital. Find yourself engrossed in the stories because they are so very relevant to your own life! Is it really worth the trouble? Are we really winning in the end or are we finding ourselves troubled everywhere else?
I love that readers find themselves agreeing that having boundaries in life is important. Schedule time with your family and don’t allow work to interfere with that precious family time! Make sure your coworkers, staff, and clients are aware that you only do work during certain hours. Anything outside of that time is for your family. Your physical presence at your sons baseball game while taking phone calls and answering work emails does not equal watching him play without interruption. Your child sees this!
One analogy I enjoyed was about water. When it has boundaries of a glass or tumbler to hold the water, it is confined to that space. But when it’s open like the ocean or river without boundaries, you could get rushed down river in a flood or even drown! It’s a symbolism that means so much to me because I’ve been there. I’ve been at that corporate job trying to be the best, spending all my time at work, and literally having no social life whatsoever. It was miserable and I don’t wish that on anyone.
Thankful to read Win at Work and Succeed at Life by Michael Hyatt and Megan Hyatt Miller via NetGalley and Baker Books. I give this book 5 out of 5 tiaras because it was a learning and growing experience throughout the book! I recommend it to anyone who is trying to get ahead at work and in life!
This brief summary of how people destroy their own lives because they are more focused on that promotion at work than their own child’s ball game or dance recital. Find yourself engrossed in the stories because they are so very relevant to your own life! Is it really worth the trouble? Are we really winning in the end or are we finding ourselves troubled everywhere else?
I love that readers find themselves agreeing that having boundaries in life is important. Schedule time with your family and don’t allow work to interfere with that precious family time! Make sure your coworkers, staff, and clients are aware that you only do work during certain hours. Anything outside of that time is for your family. Your physical presence at your sons baseball game while taking phone calls and answering work emails does not equal watching him play without interruption. Your child sees this!
One analogy I enjoyed was about water. When it has boundaries of a glass or tumbler to hold the water, it is confined to that space. But when it’s open like the ocean or river without boundaries, you could get rushed down river in a flood or even drown! It’s a symbolism that means so much to me because I’ve been there. I’ve been at that corporate job trying to be the best, spending all my time at work, and literally having no social life whatsoever. It was miserable and I don’t wish that on anyone.
Thankful to read Win at Work and Succeed at Life by Michael Hyatt and Megan Hyatt Miller via NetGalley and Baker Books. I give this book 5 out of 5 tiaras because it was a learning and growing experience throughout the book! I recommend it to anyone who is trying to get ahead at work and in life!
April 17, 2021
I've followed Michael for almost a decade and found nearly all of his books to be delightfully well written, but none has the potential impact that this book can have!
Through the pages of the book, Michael and Megan provide a series of "hacks" that are meant to allow us the "Double Win," meaning "winning at work" and "succeeding at life." For example, there’s ample discussion around the fact that constraints, or limits to our day, can actually foster productivity, creativity, and freedom.
The acknowledgement that work-life balance can actually be achieved, is an important one when we’re intentional in planning and executing our days. In addition, something you'll rarely see in any other business book is a plea to adopt a "hobby that delights you." Michael and Megan take us back to the playground when they say” Kids have recess at school, and adults similarly need breaks to stay productive. We need a rhythm of work and rest to be our best at work and at home.” Like Michael, I'm an avid fly fisherman and find my time on a trout stream to be deeply cathartic, and while fly fishing might not be for everyone, you'll benefit from investing in something that takes your mind off of your work. When I return to my office from a day on the trout stream, I’m refreshed and ready to launch into a new day.
In my work, I help business owners and CEOs build great businesses for a greater purpose, and Michael and Megan’s book has a similar focus. While so many business books strive to help business owners climb the ladder of success, Win at Work and Succeed at Life helps the reader to make sure that their ladder is propped against the right wall!
Through the pages of the book, Michael and Megan provide a series of "hacks" that are meant to allow us the "Double Win," meaning "winning at work" and "succeeding at life." For example, there’s ample discussion around the fact that constraints, or limits to our day, can actually foster productivity, creativity, and freedom.
The acknowledgement that work-life balance can actually be achieved, is an important one when we’re intentional in planning and executing our days. In addition, something you'll rarely see in any other business book is a plea to adopt a "hobby that delights you." Michael and Megan take us back to the playground when they say” Kids have recess at school, and adults similarly need breaks to stay productive. We need a rhythm of work and rest to be our best at work and at home.” Like Michael, I'm an avid fly fisherman and find my time on a trout stream to be deeply cathartic, and while fly fishing might not be for everyone, you'll benefit from investing in something that takes your mind off of your work. When I return to my office from a day on the trout stream, I’m refreshed and ready to launch into a new day.
In my work, I help business owners and CEOs build great businesses for a greater purpose, and Michael and Megan’s book has a similar focus. While so many business books strive to help business owners climb the ladder of success, Win at Work and Succeed at Life helps the reader to make sure that their ladder is propped against the right wall!
April 17, 2021
I recall vividly when Meg Whitman, then-CEO of eBay, spoke to my university and for an hour had us all spellbound with tales of her success and focus on work-life balance. Now a Fortune 50 senior exec, in the ensuing almost two decades, I have chased that type of success and balance, failing more often than not. Timely in its release after a year-plus of pandemic-induced self-reflection on what is truly important, Michael Hyatt and Megan Hyatt Miller lay out a formula the double win, winning at work and succeeding in life. This book is a worthy successor to my all-time favorite book/most shared book with my teams, Michael Hyatt’s Free to Focus. With such principles as recognizing work-life balance is not a myth, revolving your life not just around work but around all 10 life domains (such as the physical, marital, parental, social, financial, spiritual…), and the importance of simultaneously prioritizing self-care, relationships, AND professional achievement, using personal and vulnerable stories, the book aims to create a movement of those who can pursue and achieve the double Win following simple choices and clear advice. My only regret is I wanted more and could not put it down. So inspired, I have already started to put hard constraints and limitations around the start and stop of my work day and requested my team to do the same, for the rejuvenation, creativity, productivity and double happiness it will bring, and you should too!
April 20, 2021
In Win at Work & Succeed at Life, Michael Hyatt and Megan Hyatt Miller expand on their Double Win philosophy by setting out 5 principles to free yourself from the cult of overwork.
The timing of this new book couldn’t have been better. I've long struggled to balance work with the rest of my life. The challenge is all the greater since my wife is my business partner and we run a global consulting business from a home office. It’s easy to talk shop all hours of the day, ignoring whatever else we’re (supposed to be) doing. We absolutely love our work, but being “on” all the time drives our children nuts and is exhausting.
I certainly wasn’t aware of the extent to which working within hard time constraints can foster productivity, creativity, and freedom. It’s hard to break old habits, but investing in the new mindsets embodied in Win at Work & Succeed at Life is already paying dividends. I’ve become more intentional in creating hard boundaries between work and the rest of my life. I’m more focused on my priorities during the workday, and on everything else I love in life once the workday ends.
The stories Michael and Megan use to illustrate their 5 principles are simple, yet compelling, and make the book a fun read. I strongly recommend Win at Work & Succeed at Life to anyone who, like me, finds it hard to strike their own balance between work and life.
The timing of this new book couldn’t have been better. I've long struggled to balance work with the rest of my life. The challenge is all the greater since my wife is my business partner and we run a global consulting business from a home office. It’s easy to talk shop all hours of the day, ignoring whatever else we’re (supposed to be) doing. We absolutely love our work, but being “on” all the time drives our children nuts and is exhausting.
I certainly wasn’t aware of the extent to which working within hard time constraints can foster productivity, creativity, and freedom. It’s hard to break old habits, but investing in the new mindsets embodied in Win at Work & Succeed at Life is already paying dividends. I’ve become more intentional in creating hard boundaries between work and the rest of my life. I’m more focused on my priorities during the workday, and on everything else I love in life once the workday ends.
The stories Michael and Megan use to illustrate their 5 principles are simple, yet compelling, and make the book a fun read. I strongly recommend Win at Work & Succeed at Life to anyone who, like me, finds it hard to strike their own balance between work and life.
May 1, 2021
We all want to achieve more by doing less, but say you do find a way to "work smarter." Does it lead you to a place you hoped to be?
Or are you like me and just get rewarded with more work instead? The achievement treadmill is fun for a workout, but not a lifestyle.
Michael Hyatt & Megan Hyatt Miller propose a way off, without sacrificing our ambition or family. It just requires us to reexamine our destination, and they give the tools to make this happen.
I never considered myself a workaholic, but this book gave me a new frame for how I actually engage in my work. The biggest thing for me, is the exploration of "why I'm do driven" in the first place.
I consider myself "always on," and do love my work, but never considered the cost of how a "full-time hobby" can hurt other people.
Definitely would recommend if you:
✅ Don't believe in work/ life balance
✅ Would like to believe it's possible for you, but don't want to sacrifice your values or results along the way
✅ Often influence other people's schedules
✅ Find yourself spending the majority of your week in a single domain of life
📚 I left a more detailed review on my blog as I processed the content for myself.
If you're a high-achieving leader seeing stacked fulfillment, you'll definitely enjoy it as well.
Or are you like me and just get rewarded with more work instead? The achievement treadmill is fun for a workout, but not a lifestyle.
Michael Hyatt & Megan Hyatt Miller propose a way off, without sacrificing our ambition or family. It just requires us to reexamine our destination, and they give the tools to make this happen.
I never considered myself a workaholic, but this book gave me a new frame for how I actually engage in my work. The biggest thing for me, is the exploration of "why I'm do driven" in the first place.
I consider myself "always on," and do love my work, but never considered the cost of how a "full-time hobby" can hurt other people.
Definitely would recommend if you:
✅ Don't believe in work/ life balance
✅ Would like to believe it's possible for you, but don't want to sacrifice your values or results along the way
✅ Often influence other people's schedules
✅ Find yourself spending the majority of your week in a single domain of life
📚 I left a more detailed review on my blog as I processed the content for myself.
If you're a high-achieving leader seeing stacked fulfillment, you'll definitely enjoy it as well.
April 15, 2021
Michael Hyatt and Megan Hyatt Miller have become some of my most trusted leadership and productivity resources in the past two years. Their latest book, Win at Work and Succeed at Life, is perhaps their best yet. The book lays out several broad principles for achieving what they call the “double win,” which is winning at work and home.
Rejecting the false dichotomy of the hustle fallacy (work 100 hours a week and neglect your family to get ahead) and the ambition brake (put your career and goals on hold in order to best serve your family), Michael and Megan remind us of important principles like setting constraints on your work time instead of allowing to consume our evenings and weekends, getting adequate sleep, and giving equal attention to all domains of our life, even if we are not giving equal time. I really enjoyed reading about the Stanford study that found working overtime didn’t really help people’s careers. Once you hit about 40 hours, the payoff for additional hours really decreases.
This book is great for people who are working full-time and trying to balance family life or people who wish to advance their career without sacrificing their family. I’m grateful for authors who realize the importance of these two important areas.
Rejecting the false dichotomy of the hustle fallacy (work 100 hours a week and neglect your family to get ahead) and the ambition brake (put your career and goals on hold in order to best serve your family), Michael and Megan remind us of important principles like setting constraints on your work time instead of allowing to consume our evenings and weekends, getting adequate sleep, and giving equal attention to all domains of our life, even if we are not giving equal time. I really enjoyed reading about the Stanford study that found working overtime didn’t really help people’s careers. Once you hit about 40 hours, the payoff for additional hours really decreases.
This book is great for people who are working full-time and trying to balance family life or people who wish to advance their career without sacrificing their family. I’m grateful for authors who realize the importance of these two important areas.
April 21, 2021
This is well written book where Michael and Megan openly talk about how their driven and ambitious tendencies led to serious health implications, burnout and breakdown in relationships.
This is done to help the reader really appreciate how easy it is to fall into the trap of overwork. It can be viscous cycle which can be difficult to get out of and in many cases people in this situation do not even seem to realise they have this problem.
The book does a good job of defining this issue, through anecdotes and brings to life the key reasons why people behave this way, why they are so driven and it uses questions to help the reader appreciate what could be the reasons for this behaviour.
The book then provides practical tips of what you can do based on the 5 principles in the book to get what they refer to as a Double Win.
Having been through a phase where I have overworked, I could completely relate to what is shared and this book can be an enabler to help support people in this situation.
If you are a high achiever and you realise that your driven nature is creating an imbalance in your work life balance then this is a good book to review and use the 5 principles to enable you to Win at Work but not at the expense of your life.
This is done to help the reader really appreciate how easy it is to fall into the trap of overwork. It can be viscous cycle which can be difficult to get out of and in many cases people in this situation do not even seem to realise they have this problem.
The book does a good job of defining this issue, through anecdotes and brings to life the key reasons why people behave this way, why they are so driven and it uses questions to help the reader appreciate what could be the reasons for this behaviour.
The book then provides practical tips of what you can do based on the 5 principles in the book to get what they refer to as a Double Win.
Having been through a phase where I have overworked, I could completely relate to what is shared and this book can be an enabler to help support people in this situation.
If you are a high achiever and you realise that your driven nature is creating an imbalance in your work life balance then this is a good book to review and use the 5 principles to enable you to Win at Work but not at the expense of your life.
April 20, 2021
For far too many years, I bought into the doctrine that the more I hustled, the harder I worked, the more I focused on my career, the more success I would achieve and the happier I would be. Always the first one in the office and the last one to leave, I pushed myself to attain that feeling inside that "I'd done it!" In the process, all too often, I chose work over family and self. I sacrificed sleep to keep all the balls in the air -- house, career, family, further education. And it worked -- until it didn't.
As I rejoin the corporate world after stepping away for a few years, Win at Work and Succeed at Life couldn't have hit the shelves with better timing. Within its pages, the Father-Daughter team, Hyatt and Miller, provide a workable and achievable alternative to approaching work and life. They call this the "Double Win." The key takeaway from this book is that while you can never do everything, you can do everything that matters if you make it a priority. Each of the 5 principles explained within the book is followed up with actionable takeaways you can implement right away to gain margin in your day for what matters most to you.
As I rejoin the corporate world after stepping away for a few years, Win at Work and Succeed at Life couldn't have hit the shelves with better timing. Within its pages, the Father-Daughter team, Hyatt and Miller, provide a workable and achievable alternative to approaching work and life. They call this the "Double Win." The key takeaway from this book is that while you can never do everything, you can do everything that matters if you make it a priority. Each of the 5 principles explained within the book is followed up with actionable takeaways you can implement right away to gain margin in your day for what matters most to you.
April 16, 2021
Starting with stark personal stories of the negative impact of overwork, Michael and Megan then outline the positive benefits of pursuing achievement and success in all areas of life, not just work, and finally show how to achieve this "double win".
I appreciated the way the authors make it clear that "work/life balance" doesn't mean "work" or "life". By reframing that entire idea they show how it's not "either/or", one or the other - they show that if anything, to be truly at the top of your game at work, you must also be winning outside of work (and vice-versa). That concept has already changed how I speak with the team members I manage - making it clear to them that I don't just want to talk about "work/life balance", I want to understand what they need to truly feel like they are winning at work while also succeeding at life.
As a business owner, I can already see how helping our entire team achieve this double win will not only make our employees lives better, it will also help us have a more engaged, productive workforce.
I appreciated the way the authors make it clear that "work/life balance" doesn't mean "work" or "life". By reframing that entire idea they show how it's not "either/or", one or the other - they show that if anything, to be truly at the top of your game at work, you must also be winning outside of work (and vice-versa). That concept has already changed how I speak with the team members I manage - making it clear to them that I don't just want to talk about "work/life balance", I want to understand what they need to truly feel like they are winning at work while also succeeding at life.
As a business owner, I can already see how helping our entire team achieve this double win will not only make our employees lives better, it will also help us have a more engaged, productive workforce.
April 17, 2021
Hyatt and Miller make a compelling proposal that you can succeed at work and career without sacrificing various other parts of your life. They begin by showing several reasons why people can easily drift into the “cult of overwork” and provide examples of highly “successful” people who made massive achievements in career, discoveries, and even wealth — but at great sacrifices of other areas of their lives, namely family and friends. Hyatt and Miller then offer practical, realistic solutions to the issues with five key principles. While the five principles are not necessarily new, Hyatt and Miller give fresh illustrations from their own lives as well as new illustrations from the lives of others demonstrating that it is possible to have the double win of winning at work and succeeding in life. If you are tired of feeling overwhelmed and drained by all the demands that life seems to be throwing at you, this book is a definite read. I have been reading Hyatt for years now, and once again, now with his daughter Megan as well, I gained new wisdom for living.
May 3, 2021
Stop wearing the Busy Badge and achieve the Double Win!
This book is all about showing you how to achieve the Double Win - win at work AND succeed in life. Michael Hyatt and Megan Hyatt-Miller provide five key principles and give examples and personal stories on how the Double Win is possible for you. One of the parts that stood out to me most was how so many people wear the “busy badge” and how we have come to equate “being busy” with being successful. The harder you hustle, the more hours you work, the more successful you will be. This book makes you stop and think about all areas of your life (not just work life) and what’s truly important in each of these areas (Megan calls them your non-negotiables). I’m working on my non-negotiables in each domain now and will be blocking that time off on my calendar. This book is full of practical and easy to implement advice (like getting enough sleep) for everyone to move from overwhelm to achieving their definition of success, the Double Win.
This book is all about showing you how to achieve the Double Win - win at work AND succeed in life. Michael Hyatt and Megan Hyatt-Miller provide five key principles and give examples and personal stories on how the Double Win is possible for you. One of the parts that stood out to me most was how so many people wear the “busy badge” and how we have come to equate “being busy” with being successful. The harder you hustle, the more hours you work, the more successful you will be. This book makes you stop and think about all areas of your life (not just work life) and what’s truly important in each of these areas (Megan calls them your non-negotiables). I’m working on my non-negotiables in each domain now and will be blocking that time off on my calendar. This book is full of practical and easy to implement advice (like getting enough sleep) for everyone to move from overwhelm to achieving their definition of success, the Double Win.
May 21, 2021
Michael Hyatt has been preaching the message that you can be successful at work without sacrificing a personal life. If you've read his other books or listened to his podcast you've heard the message.
In his newest book he pulls together many of his long held principles in this powerful book about the Double Win.
I've listened to Hyatt for years, I've been carrying the Full Focus Planner since it's first release, so a lot of what I read in this book wasn't new.
What was new and impactful was to hear from Megan Hyatt Miller who recently took over the reigns as CEO of Michael Hyatt Company. She brings to light many of the challenges women in the C-level face today and addresses the challenges head on.
I appreciated her insights and her voice throughout the book. Whether a man or woman dealing with the challenges of senior leadership you will be encouraged and receive great ideas on how to beat the hustle fallacy.
This is a quick read and definitely worth taking the time to read it and look for ways to apply the ideas and advice offered in this book.
In his newest book he pulls together many of his long held principles in this powerful book about the Double Win.
I've listened to Hyatt for years, I've been carrying the Full Focus Planner since it's first release, so a lot of what I read in this book wasn't new.
What was new and impactful was to hear from Megan Hyatt Miller who recently took over the reigns as CEO of Michael Hyatt Company. She brings to light many of the challenges women in the C-level face today and addresses the challenges head on.
I appreciated her insights and her voice throughout the book. Whether a man or woman dealing with the challenges of senior leadership you will be encouraged and receive great ideas on how to beat the hustle fallacy.
This is a quick read and definitely worth taking the time to read it and look for ways to apply the ideas and advice offered in this book.
April 17, 2021
Win At Work and Succeed At Life should be in the hands of every leader, regardless of where they lead. Feeling overwhelmed by work and home responsibilities? Over-run by a never-ending to-do list? Relationships taking a hit because you are so busy? Michael and Megan address these issues and many more in this book. Their candid examples from their own lives reinforce the principles they teach in Win At Work and Succeed At Life. As a former fire chief and state government official, I have won and lost the battle to find the “work-life balance” on several occasions. Utilizing these principles, I am winning that battle and getting the double win - Winning at work and succeeding at life. Learn more about getting your priorities organized, how boundaries can help you achieve more and rest can sometimes be just what you need in order to be more productive. I highly recommend this incredible addition to any leader’s library!
April 18, 2021
This book is one I wish I could give my younger self! Michael and Megan show us that a successful career is possible without sacrificing family, personal happiness and fulfillment outside of the office. They outline five principles to help us achieve this “Double Win”. In addition to these solid principles, they share their own stories about struggling to achieve work-life balance. This unique father daughter perspective is very powerful. Neither of them lived these principles their whole life. But they get better every day. The authenticity and transparency of their personal stories breathe life into the principles of the book. Our lives have many domains, and work is only one of them. Being intentional about scheduling time to invest in each of life’s domains is the key to a healthy, balanced and fulfilled life. We can all learn from this book. Application of the ideas can transform your life and lead to the “Double Win”.
April 25, 2021
4.75 stars
This is one book that is definitely needed in the current climate and as someone who has had more than one job during various periods of my life, I wish I had read it earlier. It makes the case for not having to sacrifice one part of your life over another. It is a workable manual for learning how to achieve a work/life balance that will have you feeling accomplished as opposed to drained and overwhelmed. Michael Hyatt and his daughter Megan Hyatt Miller offer five principles that demonstrate, through a variety of personal illustrations and those of others, how to have the “double win” of succeeding at work and life. The principles are practical and serve as a reminder for those who struggle in this area. If you are having challenges finding that balance between work and life, then this is the book for you as it will give you the necessary tools to make those changes towards a more fulfilling, well rounded life.
This is one book that is definitely needed in the current climate and as someone who has had more than one job during various periods of my life, I wish I had read it earlier. It makes the case for not having to sacrifice one part of your life over another. It is a workable manual for learning how to achieve a work/life balance that will have you feeling accomplished as opposed to drained and overwhelmed. Michael Hyatt and his daughter Megan Hyatt Miller offer five principles that demonstrate, through a variety of personal illustrations and those of others, how to have the “double win” of succeeding at work and life. The principles are practical and serve as a reminder for those who struggle in this area. If you are having challenges finding that balance between work and life, then this is the book for you as it will give you the necessary tools to make those changes towards a more fulfilling, well rounded life.
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