Are you always giving 100% at work?

i give -19%

You're living the life, my dude.

No, because I'm not an android.
I tend to want lunch and a five minute break from time to time.

I worked for an auto supplier that was owned by Ford Mo Co. I was welding car doors with a 200lb spot welder. The spot welder was suspended from the ceiling by a cable which help with some of the weight but it was still heavy. I was working in 90* heat 11 1/2 hours a day 6 days a week. Management had stop watches and would time us on how many doors we could weld. If we didn't get our quota they climbed up our ass. Each door had 30 welds and if you didn't hold the spot welder at the right angle it would shoot molten metal at your face. Did that for 3 years.

I do strategy, concept and design at an internet studio. So when we're invited to pitch for a client I have to come up with a concept that works, based on a sound business case, with a vision towards the future to help the company grow. I have to present it impeccably, the concept has to be solid as a rock so the client can't poke holes in it. And all of that has to be done in little time, there's no time for slacking.

If I don't give it my all, the end result will be sub par and we lose the job to another agency. If I'm not able to sell the concept, my colleagues won't have a job to be done and our company loses money. Our agency is in the top 10 agencies of my country, so the competition is brutal.

It's pretty stressful, because you always battle deadlines and strong competition and the stakes are high. And your creativity has to come out, always. So having a day without inspiration is basically not an option. It can make you pretty insecure if you know that the concept you've come up with is not enough to convince the client but you don't see a way to improve it. The stress makes me physically sick sometimes.

It feels so awesome when you win a pitch (and luckily we do quite often), but I'm working on coping with stress and shifting my field of work. Because I know I can't do this until I retire. I fear that if I continue like this I eventually collapse and I'm not going to wait until that happens. :-)