Society trains us to believe that achieving greatness requires sacrificing our sleep, health, and happiness. That to be successful, we need to embrace the grind, work 100-hour weeks, and prioritize work over everything else. This has even amounted to hustle porn—romanticizing and glamorizing sleepless nights, ramen for dinner, and back-to-back calls.

At lume, we refuse to accept that success requires self-sacrifice at all costs.

In reality, the harder you work, the more you need to rest and recover. If you're not sleeping well, fueling your body, or taking care of your mental and physical health, you and your work will erode. Burnout, anxiety, and stress can compound in your body over days, weeks, and years, creating a vicious cycle.

Earlier this year, this was me. I hit an all-time high level of stress and anxiety due to mounting pressure at work plus overwhelming changes in my personal life in NYC. My body went into panic mode, feeling dizzy, lightheaded, and on edge.

I explored all kinds of solutions to get back on my feet—yoga, silent meditation, acupressure, therapy, daily journaling, vigorous exercise, sauna / cold plunge, breathwork, studying Buddhist philosophy, supplements, deleting social apps, sobriety, and more. Some were more effective than others. Overall, they showed me just how deeply connected mental stress and physical health are.

But I couldn’t see how all the pieces came together, without my coach. She showed me how to bridge my personal growth and professional worlds, re-define success for myself, listen more carefully to my body and intuition, and set new boundaries. I saw how the same Type A, ENTJ, Enneagram 3 behaviors that pushed me to chase gold stars in my twenties—from Stanford engineering to Harvard Business School, starting multiple companies, and moving cities 8 times in 10 years—might no longer be serving me in my thirties. Finally, it clicked.

Society often paints self-care as candles, eye masks, and beach vacations. But in truth, it’s about mastering the fundamentals—how we eat, sleep, talk to ourselves, and manage our time. This is exactly lume’s focus.

I’m thrilled that among the roster of world-class experts that we’ve assembled, my own coach is included.

This work also comes at an important time in history, as we face a crisis of stress and burnout on a global scale. In the U.S. alone, over 77% of professionals report feeling the effects of burnout at work. Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the country, affecting 40 million adults each year—roughly 19% of the population. Meanwhile, stress is cited as the root cause behind 75% of doctor visits, contributing to countless health issues, including high blood pressure, heart disease, and insomnia.

These stats are more than just numbers—they reflect a society that has normalized the breakdown of mental and physical health in pursuit of professional success.

That's why we’ve built lume—an innovative 1:1 coaching platform that combines career and health coaching. We’re not saying that people shouldn’t work hard—in fact, we encourage ambition and commitment. But we believe that the harder you work, the more important it is to consider how this work impacts your body, mind, and other parts of your life. The key is awareness—understanding the toll that stress and overwork can take, so you can avoid burnout and perform at your best without sacrificing your health.

At lume, we believe you can have it all—you can work hard, achieve your career goals, and prioritize your health. It’s not just about hitting your career milestones; it’s about doing so in a way that supports your longevity. lume is designed to help you hit your goals while prioritizing the well-being that makes it all sustainable.

It’s time to re-write the rules of success.

If you think so too, I would be honored for lume to play a role in your journey.

Sincerely,
Katie Kirsch
Co-founder & CEO of lume