I'd rather go all in than call it balance

People talk about work-life balance like it’s the goal. I get the appeal, and I’m not going to pretend rest doesn’t matter, because it does. I learned the hard way that you can’t push without refueling. But rest is fuel. It was never the finish line.

My life never looked balanced, and I wouldn’t trade it. I left Lorena for São Paulo with nowhere to sleep and a junior dev offer. I slept on my bosses’ floor for nine months because the move mattered more than comfort. I did more than the job asked, in every role. Showed up to the events. Studied every day I could find. Applied, practiced, kept going. Five years took me from junior to partner; the years after that, some promotions. None of that came from doing the minimum and going home at five.

I don’t say this to shame anyone who wants a calmer life. That’s a real and good choice. I’m just being honest about mine: the life I actually wanted was on the far side of going all in, for a long time, on purpose. So that’s what I did, and I’d do it again.