Treat Your Love Life like Entrepreneurship

Recently I’ve been asked to give relationship advice almost as much as business advice, which I find hilarious because I’m single so I wouldn’t assume I would be the right person to talk to. That being said, being single allows me to reflect on all the idiotic things I’ve done in my past and through that, I’ve drawn some interesting parallels between successful relationships and entrepreneurial endeavors.

1. Drive value

Ever heard of the term givers gain? It’s when you change your focus to driving valuing and suiting to the attention of what the other party is looking for and always focusing on what you can give, not what you can get. The most successful businesses are focused on their customers and their needs just as the most successful relationships are focused on the other person and their wants and needs. Drive value and rewards will return tenfold.

2. Execution and passion is everything

Ideas are a dime a dozen, and there are a million fish in the sea. At the end of the day, your success depends on your ability to execute on your business ideas or taking the leap in relationships. Only when live life passionately and with disregard to loss can you ever truly succeed. Don’t dabble on your business and don’t just dip your toes in a relationship, go forth and give it your all, you may get hurt or may lose a lot of money (can happen in both business and relationships) but give it your all, some failure is enviable but at the very least, walk away proud knowing you gave it everything you had.

3. Persistence and determination

It goes without saying in business that persistence is critical yet too often relationships are unwilling to battle back and work through issues and problems. The CEO of 3M once asked Jack Welch when will his company be a great company, the famous Jack Welch responded by saying, “you’ll know when your company nearly dies and you bounce back stronger”. Success in life, business, and relationships is about taking your problems head on, working through them, persisting and becoming a champion on the other end.

4. Innovation and iteration 

People need variety in their life and businesses need to continuously think about how they can improve, grow, and innovate new and exciting features for their customers. I find growth incredibly important, both on the business end and personal end and I think as couples, you should continuously seek to improve oneself and make one another better. I hate it when somebody says that they should just accept them for who they are, that’s a cop out and I’m sure there is somebody that will just settle for that, but if you want to be a competitive business or, keep your significant other focused on you, you better never rest on your laurels and keep innovating and iterating. The world is a competitive marketplace, and there is no room for rest in both business and relationships.

5. The power of focus

I wrote earlier this week about the power of focus and that in order to be successful in business, we must make sure we are not over stretched with your time and we’re not being distracted by other attractive opportunities. I think this goes without saying in relationships but just to remind you, a successful relationship cannot be built on the foundation of you always wondering if the grass is greener on the other side. Only with the power of focus can you truly be successful in business and in relationships. Have the discipline to act upon it.

6. Know when to cut your losses

Sometimes in business, we find that it just doesn’t work and we’re bleeding our resources and passion dry. Cut the losses and move on. Business is at the very least a 10 year commitment, and if you find that it’s not working, walk. A relationship is a forever commitment, if you find that it’s just not working, get the fuck out and don’t kid yourself.

My last comment is to be trail blazer because we need more leadership in business and in the dating world. Set new standards and expectations for yourself and what you will give, and don’t let society’s marks dictate how you should act. As a leader, you should push the limits and lead only through servant leadership. I’m not saying don’t date around, but boys and girls, stop acting like a bunch of immature assholes (that’s what college is for), and don’t complain that there are no good guys or girls out there when you yourself are juggling 6 different people on the side (look at yourself first). I’m all for experiencing the world but just do it with some class.