Then the issue is with your definition of successful. If you only main for professional success, indeed, working more hours will put you at advantage.

But having been with already some people on their last days of life, I don't remember any of them regretting of not having spend more time working, but always of having had more time with family and friends.

Clearly the definition here is success at work. Working long hours is unlikely to improve anyone's home situation unless they're impoverished and earning hourly wages or have a home environment so horrible that being at work is preferable.

You said "most successful people". That doesn't clearly mean at work.

The entire comment thread is about success at work. Aetherson used the word "work" 3 times and was clearly discussing the impact of working long hours on success in the workplace.

Willfully ignoring context to try to make your point isn't clever.

Nobody has ever become successful by doing more of the same repetitive work. They became a success by starting or running a business, creating a new product or service, inventing something etc.

Bringing that in to this discussion just muddies the water; we're discussing overtime for regular office workers.

If you're working long hours doing repetitive work and you aren't hourly, you should probably get a new job. Most people working long hours in, say, software aren't doing the same thing over and over. They're building more things, more quickly. They're managing projects more successfully. This can absolutely lead to measurable success without starting or running a business, creating a new product or service, or inventing anything meaningful.

If you can get significantly more done than your peers, competent management will notice and reward you meaningfully. The fact that you sacrifice your private life to accomplish this won't be very relevant to whether or not you deserve a huge bonus.

>> The most successful people I know work a lot of hours.

That's also anecdotally untrue.

Sure. I was pretty clear that this is my anecdote.

I have my very own anecdotes (based on my own definition of success) - The most unsuccessful people I know work a lot of hours. Don't get me started about my successful 4-hour week friends !

I can totally believe that, but I think it's less a matter of hours, and more about goals and environment and motivation.

Personally, I find it much easier to put in long hours on side projects and on my own company than it is to put in long hours for someone else'e company. And if the environment is bad at a company, long hours can be excruciating.

The most successful people I know work for themselves, or carve out a niche in their companies that allows them to do the things they want to do. And I suspect that enables the conditions under which long hours are easy to put in, and success is easy to achieve.