Relationship are extremely difficult beasts to tame. However, little tricks and tips that relationship magazines often spoonfeed their readers can often only provide a minimal benefit to a relationship, and may only create an advantage that lasts for a minute, an hour or just a few days.

When it comes to being happy in a long term relationship, it isn't about 'tricking' your partner into being nice to you, or 'winning' a night out in a posh restaurant where yuor other half pays the bill. Instead, it's about creating a sustainable atmosphere within your relationship, whereby your partner respects what you have to say, and there is a positive and friendly interaction between the two of you.

This can be achieved using ordinary principles of leadership.

When I speak about leadership - people often respond negatively. They say, 'I'm sorry, and I don't mean to be rude, but I don't want to be acting like the next Bill Gates, or a spitting image of Richard Branson, I want to be me'.

Let me just tell you - educating yourself on these leadership principles will not have that affect at all. (Almost) everyone wants to improve themselves in one way, and improving your leadership ablity is just one element of personal development that I think all of us should at least attempt to improve marginally each year.

So when I talk about leadership, I don't want you to envisage a burly businessman sat behind a desk in a grand office. Instead I want you to remember an old friend you once had who really made you think, or someone you know now who isn't afraid to live by their own values, regardless of what modern or popular culture is pressuring them to do. I want you to think of the last time that someone showed genuine courage and made a sacrifice or expended alot of effort in order to do you a favour, without wanting anything in return. These are some of the behaviours of a true leaders. And this behaviour, in the perspective of a relationship, can turn a stagnant and 'ok' situation into a blooming success.

Have I convinced you that leadership is an area of yourself that is worth investing time and energy into improving yet? Do you realise how much you could improve your relationship with your partner and your friends if you simply applied simple principles that celebrated leaders the world over use everyday? If I have, then I'm glad I wrote this thought provoking article.

I invite you to explore the world of leadership through reading books, watching videos, doing some personal exploration and coming to your own conclusion.

Some recommended reading:

The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People, By Stephen Covey
How to Win Friends and Influence People, By Dale Carnegie

These are both old, personal development classics, and I think that they will help you START along a path that could lead to a degree of personal transformation in your life, whether it's simply the new way in which you deal with annoyances, or it's how you approach proactivity when it comes to romance.

Good Luck!