Success stories are often defined by the founders who takes companies to global recognition or revolutionize their field. But one narrative that rarely gets the spotlight is about the founder who knows to step down at the pinnacle of success.

Leaving at the peak is rare.

This founder left at his peak. Sabeer Bhatia, the co-founder of Hotmail walked away at the right time, giving a clarity that most founders fail to find.

Stepping away when the company thrives needs a different kind of courage. It is the ability to prioritize long- term vision over any personal attachments.

The Truth Noone Likes to Admit

“If you burn out building your dream, what’s the point?”, said Sabeer Bhatia.

It is not always the burnout that causes the problem. People often mistake struggle for meaningful progress. At times, one might feel like they aren’t doing well enough and tries to go beyond their limit.

Long hours of working and constant stress are worn like badges of honour. In the constant battle to keep pushing forward, they forget the real challenge of burnouts.

Pain is meaningful only when it fuels purpose. In a culture obsessed with hustle and visible efforts, leaving at the peak is a profound statement: success isn’t about enduring pain endlessly, it is about knowing when your purpose has been fulfilled and stepping aside with intention.

There is something deeply uncomfortable about that statement, especially in today’s hustle culture. Because we have glorified exhaustion. We have equated long hours with legacy, pain with purpose and struggle with significance. We assume that if we’re not constantly grinding, we must be falling behind. If we are tired, it means we are doing something meaningful. The 100 hours long work in weeks gets automatically translated to impact.

Creating impacts is important but it does not necessarily mean to keep going even when you are exhausted. Knowing when to walk away from the space is about the courage that most of us fails to achieve for themselves.

How it Should Work?

The idea of overworking reflects the bad design. Not just in systems, but also in delegation and thinking. A forceful work out of duty forces the person to overwork and causes a rupture in the existing system.

Rest more is not just a cliché reminder from Bhatia. It is a note to prioritize your well-being along with the work schedule. To succeed is not just about constant push to achieve the highest. It is maintaining a perfect balance of working and resting.

The Power of Real Leadership

We live in a place obsessed with leaving a mark, creating something that truly lasts often feels like a constant tug-of-war. The truth is, it may be one of the easiest things to achieve, if you have a clear plan of where you want to be.

To reach close to your dreams is what drives you to become ‘perfect’. The qualities of a true leader do not limit itself to vision, courage and commitment. It extends to the ability of the leader on how much you carry and how much you are willing to let go.

Letting go of something is not a symbol of weakness. Rather it is a sign of strength, self-awareness and resilience that you carry within yourself. Those are the qualities that define leaders who inspire rather than control.

It is also a silent call out to all founders who believe that they are the ones building empires while actually they are actually just micromanaging in disguise.

You dream need not always have to be entirely about you, being on full- throttle for the whole time. It is a trap you set for yourself. It limits not only your potential but also the potential of those around you.

Unlearning is a Way of Learning

Creating something that lasts instead of going into the history books sounds difficult but it is the easiest if you have a clear plan of where you want to be. Equally important is the practice of unlearning. Growth is not just about accessing knowledge on different things, sometimes its about how you shed the outdated habits or patterns that no longer serve your purpose.

Unlearning is a way of learning too. There are instances when you have to unlearn some things in order to have a stability. Ultimately, lasting impact comes from the balance of clear intention and the courage to rethink what you already know. The unwavering commitment and the ambition that pushes us forward drives us to seek perfection. But true leadership transcends these qualities. It is not only about how much you can carry, but also about how much you are willing to let go.

Being in the realm of health tech, I have realized that the real takeaway for today’s founders and creators is that you can either build something that needs you constantly or something that will be remembered long after you are gone.

What’s one thing you need to unlearn in your leadership style right now?