Great relationships have 3 essential ingredients — and one factor that can ruin everything

Simon Sinek says lasting relationships depend on three kinds of compatibility: intellectual, emotional, and creative, which he links with sexual intimacy. He argues these qualities can rise and fall over time, but having all three is what can make a relationship great.

Sinek says a relationship may work with one or two of the factors, while external circumstances such as distance or poor timing can still prevent a match from developing. He also cautions that early infatuation, which he says may be driven by dopamine or by an imagined version of a person, can be mistaken for compatibility; a slower-growing connection may still become love.