Driven men – smart, entrepreneurial, curious, open-minded, ambitious achievers – shape our world and set trends for others to follow. They are the innovators, the creators, the influencers and the leaders.
Hence, it is crucial these driven men find the perfect partner who would support and compliment them the way they need to. However, it is often very challenging for driven men to find emotionally fulfilling relationships. This is why ambitious men need to know exactly what they are looking for when seeking a romantic partner.
“Ambition is like love, impatient both of delays and rivals.” – Sir John Denham
Driven men, successful men, and entrepreneurial men all have something in common…
They all yearn for an emotionally fulfilling relationship.
Sure, all people crave a highly functioning and fulfilling relationship. But in my career as a relationship coach, I have consistently seen driven, high-achieving men, to be the most love-starved.
But why would that be?
Related: 8 Reasons Why An Alpha Woman Is The Best Partner You Will Ever Have
Why Driven Men Have Messy Love Lives
“A man without ambition is like a beautiful worm–it can creep, but it cannot fly.” – Henry Ward Beecher
The more time and energy that driven men put into their careers and self-optimization (fitness, education, nutrition, spiritual practice, etc.) the more they tend to delay being in intimate relationships.
Since driven men are risk-tolerant in business yet risk-averse in emotional intimacy, they tend to subscribe to the “I’ll just keep getting more and more perfect until one day I’ll just fall into the perfect relationship that’s meant for me.”
But this is akin to standing next to a golf ball and taking 400 practice swings before you actually take a shot. You can prepare all you want, but the real learning comes from the experience of breaking through your emotional barriers within a committed relationship.
Unless of course, the relationships you keep falling into are just as safe as taking your practice swings because you end up in relationships with people that aren’t a compatible match with you.
So how do you, as a driven man, know what sort of things to look for in a partner?
The 3 Things That All Driven Men Need In A Partner
“Love is not about finding the right person, but creating a right relationship. It’s not about how much love you have in the beginning but how much love you build till the end.” – Jumar
While this isn’t an exhaustive list, between all of the most highly functioning long-term relationships that I have been witness to over the past decade, these are by far the most common traits that I see embodied in the partners of driven men.
1. Someone who is kind to you when you are wrong.
In their business dealings, driven men are wizards at being stubborn and laser beaming to the core of the matter. And while this helps them in business negotiations, it doesn’t help them nearly as much in their love lives.
Having a partner that will be kind and patient with you in those moments when you forget that she isn’t your employee and you can’t make all the decisions will be invaluable to your love life’s long-term success.
Related: 6 Things Men Look For In a Woman
2. Someone who is a cheerleader.
Entrepreneurs have an overactive optimism bias – meaning that they assume that they have a lower risk of experiencing a negative outcome than others. As such, they need a partner who can support them in their near manic-like work sprint phases of productivity.
Not only do they need encouraging words when they are up, they especially need someone to help them with emotional support when they are down.
After great success with his first two businesses, my father (a brilliant and talented serial entrepreneur) sold them to open a third business that went bankrupt within a year. With three children under five years old, it was a tough time for my parents. My dad struggled with depression and lost confidence in his entrepreneurial abilities. Fortunately, he had the courage and strength of a strong woman behind him (my mom) to help him through those difficult years.
A less supportive partner would have looked at the current reality of “what is” and packed up and left. But his brave and loving partner was able to see “what was” and “what will be” in the future and knew that he would be able to pick himself back up again. My dad speaks positively about that early business failure. It taught him the value of having strong support in family, friends, partners, and mentors, and not hesitating to ask for help.
Driven men can’t go it alone 100% of the time. Sometimes they need someone to lean on for support. So choose a partner that will be your cheerleader through both the good times and the challenging ones.
3. Someone who sees past your resume.
If you’re used to being one of the most impressive people in the room, you likely get turned off by women that are overly impressed by you.
And it’s not your fault.
As people, we don’t value what we don’t work for.
But the moment a woman stands out for you is when they aren’t as impressed by your past accomplishments as they are impressed by your character and personal values.
Sure, maybe you had a best-selling book or smartphone app, or you flipped businesses for impressive amounts of cash, but that was never you. Those were just things that you did.
So when you meet a woman who hears your resume and listens patiently with a “What else ya got?” kind of attitude, your interest is piqued. And for good reason. We all want to be seen for who we truly are, not for the things that we’ve done or achieved.
So while having a partner that is encouraging and supportive is essential for a driven man, you also want to make sure that she isn’t fully buying into your PR/bio page/resume about who you truly are as a person.
Can Driven Men Be As Successful In Love As They Are In Life?
“Don’t wait for a perfect person to love. Love a person and make him or her perfect with your power of love.” – Debasish Mridha
Absolutely.
If you spent years figuring out how to become a success in one area of your life, you can experience those same results in other areas.
If you’ve read more books about startups, investing, entrepreneurship, or business than you have about love or relationships by a ratio of more than 10:1, then you might want to reconsider your priorities.
Related: 4 Unspoken Traits Every Man Looks For In A Partner
Wealth and societal impact are one piece of the pie chart of life, but there’s also plenty of room for emotional fulfillment, nurturing, and authentic love.
Dedicated to your success,
Jordan
Here’s an interesting video that you may find helpful:
Smart and driven men embrace and appreciate aspirations, independence, and creativity in their women. They want their partners to stand their ground, speak their minds and do what she believes to be true. Although this can create a little bit of friction in the relationship from time to time, this will also build a fulfilling and deep connection between both partners.
Women who understand driven men will not only help their men take one bold step after another, these women will also walk their own paths and be valued as equal partners in the relationship.
Written by Jordan Gray Originally appeared in Jordan Gray Consulting
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