Martha Stewart, the lifestyle entrepreneur who has built a business empire worth an estimated $400 million, says people chasing work-life balance are pursuing something that simply doesn’t exist, and she isn’t shy about saying so bluntly.
“There is no such thing as balance. Just get that through your thick skulls,” Stewart said in an interview with Vivian Tu for the Richer Lives by SoFi podcast, pushing back on one of the most common pieces of career advice handed out today.
Stewart admitted she feels a flicker of jealousy toward people who do manage to achieve a balanced lifestyle, but was quick to add a caveat: in her view, they’re also boring.
At 85, Stewart still keeps a demanding daily routine, waking at 4 a.m. to read the entire New York Times before heading to Pilates or a session with her personal trainer, and arriving at work by 7 a.m. to oversee projects spanning her lifestyle brand and an AI startup she's involved with.
She has said she deliberately avoids letting any part of her work become stale, seeking out new ventures whenever something stops exciting her rather than settling into a fixed routine for its own sake.
Stewart's comments add a provocative counterpoint to the broader cultural push toward work-life balance, arguing that for people who genuinely love what they do, the pursuit of balance may matter less than the pursuit of variety and continued engagement.
