Growing up, I would always roll my eyes when I’d hear the classic adage: Behind every great man is a great woman. It didn’t make sense to me. I was on the front lines hustling my face off with no woman in sight.
Then I grew up, I fell in love, I became a man, and I realized how wrong I was. The truth is, I’m absolutely flabbergasted by Lizzie’s impact on my career. Her support, her complete and utter 100,000% support, is a major factor that gives me the headspace I need to be all-in and do my thing at VaynerMedia. I’m able to give 100% devotion to my businesses for enormous amounts of time every day because of Lizzie and the way she supports me.
It’s absolutely crucial to have as much freedom to execute on your vision as you can get. That said, when you fall in love with somebody, that person needs to take precedent over everything else. Lizzie allows me to give 100% of my focus to VM when I need to, but maybe you’re in a different situation. That’s totally fine, it’s not a game of absolutes, but the communication needs to be incredibly strong so that regardless of how you split your time, you’re both on the same page about it.
So, having a supportive significant other is massively important for success. It’s not necessarily the only thing, as success is hugely predicated on talent, but the support is what allows you the time you need to execute on it.
