A couple years ago this week I spoke for the Women in Consumer Technology conference in NYC and Cathie Black, former President of Hearst Magazines was the other keynoter.

When asked her most important lesson-learned about work she said, “You can love your job but it won’t love you back.”

This came to mind because several people have said something to me recently about their job that caused me to think, “WHY do we do this to ourselves?”

One was flying from our afternoon meeting in one city to another city, had two presentations the next day, one at 8 am and she hadn’t begun crafting her power point presentation which meant she was going to have to do it that night when she arrived on the East Coast after 10 pm or the next morning at 5 am.

One spoke about how “insanely busy” she was and that it was going to get worse before it got better because September was going to be a “brutal month.”

The other had gotten sick six times in four months (she said, “How is that possible?!) and realized it was a wake-up call as to how toxic her work had become.

So, the question is, “Do you love your job?” At what cost?

Can you love your career AND maintain your quality of life?

How will you love your job AND make time for other priorities you love that love you back – like your friends, your family, your health and your __________ fill in the blank?