Winning the Week Without the Hustle Culture featuring Demir Bentley

Demir Bentley, a former Wall Street analyst who once worked 100-hour weeks, shares how a near-fatal stress-related illness forced him to reinvent his life—and his approach to productivity. What began as a crisis became the foundation for his book *Winning the Week*, a system that replaces hustle culture with intentional, sustainable planning. He reveals that the real enemy isn’t busywork, but the invisible lies in our calendars—underestimated travel times, unaccounted prep work, and unspoken commitments—that compound into burnout. His breakthrough? A radical calendar interrogation, where he treats time like a financial ledger, auditing every minute for honesty. The result? A 40-hour workweek that actually delivered more than 80 hours of old-style grind. But the deeper transformation came at home: by stepping into leadership not through grand gestures, but through weekly planning huddles that reduce mental load and create emotional safety. He reframes fatherhood as 'being the thermostat'—not reacting to chaos, but actively shaping the family’s emotional climate. For dads raising daughters, he emphasizes cultivating a home filled with fun, freedom, and playful energy, where girls feel safe to grow into their own identities. This isn’t about perfection—it’s about presence, planning, and purpose.