[luxstyle]

I don't think anyone is necessarily saying what she has done isn't amazing, profound and admirable.

My comment was to the fact that she pretty much gave up everything to accomplish that. Was it necessary? Could she still have achieved what she did if she had friends or took even one day off a week? Maybe, maybe not.

My point was that it shouldn't be all or nothing to create a successful company. Many entrepreneurs, myself included have given up all of these things (at least temporarily) in the single minded pursuit of business success. I still work way more than I probably need to but also make time for other things.

Just because she is doing something lifesaving doesn't mean I shouldn't want her to also enjoy her own life. I would have said the same comment if she made the next WhatsApp instead. Good on her that she's saving lives. Also good on her if she wasn't and just accomplished something big.

To clarify (at least my own point), if you love what you do and don't need friends etc then that's great and I wish you all the best. Whatever makes you happy. If instead you like having friends, dating, a day off etc then don't feel you absolutely need to remove all of that to make a successful business.

[icc97]

I agree with you to the extent that I hope she doesn't burn out too soon.

> I don't think anyone is necessarily saying what she has done isn't amazing, profound and admirable.

Perhaps not but, (it seems to me) they're not showing anywhere near enough respect before coming up with some criticism.

Bare in mind Holmes is the most extreme case (i.e. the first female self made billionaire), and she knows this. In her words she's on a mission (see the youtube video). History is full of people e.g. monks, missionaries and leaders who devoted their lives to their work. They were no less happy for it. It's interesting in the article how much she relies on faith.

She's not just an entrepreneur. What she is doing is arguably more important than any of the self made billionaires (who are themselves extreme cases of entrepreneurs). Only Gates is doing something similar and he waited until he had billions in the bank first. Even Musk who I similar respect for made his millions first.

Further the point is she's not making the next WhatsApp. WhatsApp is a blip of nothingness compared to what Holmes is doing. She's going to improve the fundamentals of detecting life threatening illnesses which will continue an impact basically for the entire human existence. It will probably eventually impact every human (and any animal that is treated by a human) on earth.