Deepa Purushothaman: I made partner at Deloitte when I was 34. That was after 21 years of really going for it, putting in crazy hours, and wanting it "bad". But right when my career was taking off, my body just gave out. I got really sick with Lyme disease and my adrenal glands were shot. I had to slow down and rethink what I thought success meant.
After I left Deloitte in 2020, I wrote The First, the Few, the Only, started nFormation, and talked with tons of women about being leaders and being included. But even then, being a workaholic and stressing out messed up my health all over again. It took me stopping everything, really thinking hard, working on my spiritual side, and setting some limits to get better and get back on my feet.
Now, I run re.write, which is basically a group that’s trying to rethink how we work. I’ve realized that doing well at work doesn’t mean much if it messes up your health. I'm reaching more people and having a bigger impact now, and I'm telling everyone: pay attention to what your body is telling you, make your health a priority, and change how you view success.
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