This is romantic drivel. Another example of "Tom-Peters-hyperbole."
My view: Don't let your work kill you. Do less. Do it better. And have fun.
Football players and ballerinas are sick people, very sick people.
On the other hand, I do sometimes collapse with exhaustion after working on a project - usually because I haven't slept at all. This is not the best way to be creative, but it is the best way to meet a deadline. Why do they call it deadline anyway? Because you're dead at the line? Tom Peters supports that.
Let's see - do the workers on the Toyota production line keel over at the end of the day? Hope not. Not exactly a sustainable business model.
Why do you write that "Football players and ballerinas are sick people, very sick people?" I've only know a few but they seemed okay to me (as much as high achieving professionals are okay)
I went to the Peter's link and think Tom doesn't know that much about either. His stuff seems to me to be just high sounding yip yap.