This is a good question. I can can speak to it based on decades of dating and life experience.
Here's my take:
I chose #1. My business is my purpose and passion. I make my own rules and answer to no one. I make all decisions and live and die by them. I am totally responsible for all outcomes of my profession and life. I own my own business, never been married, no kids. I have 100% complete control over my life. I date many women, have had many LTRs, have s*ex with a lot of women. Sometimes I take a dating break and turn the faucet off and when I get horny or want to date again, I turn the faucet on. I built my business from my kitchen table to a multi-state, multi-employee operation. Starting a business and navigating it to profitability to provide for yourself is about the most difficult thing a person can do--period. I've been in business for 18 years now. I funded 100% myself and asked for and received zero help from anyone--no handouts, inheritance, partners--nothing. How many operations can match this track record? Every bit of profit I earned after providing for myself
went back into the business. No fancy vacations, expensive cars, granite kitchen counter tops, or Viking appliances. You put it back into to your business if you want to stay in business.
The #2 path as defined by
@Trump would be exponentially more difficult while also pursuing #1, that it borders on the impossible. It's a MLB pitcher throwing a no hitter or even a perfect game. Possible, but extremely rare. I know because I've had a ringside seat for almost 20 years. Some might say, "Yeah, but I know this guy who...bla bla bla." Great. If we peeled away the layers of the story he/she probably had help of some sort along the way. For example, POTUS Donald Trump received a $1,000,000 loan from his father, Fred, to start his RE business. Donald Trump essentially started with his foot already on third base, a HUGE advantage. Most business owners start in the dugout and strike out a ton before earning anything. It can take years of long hours, huge effort, and little profits.
If you want kids, marriage, material possessions, all that stuff, it's going to come at a cost and the cost is, in most cases, setting out and building your own venture and focusing on YOUR goals. You are now working for the "family" and not "you" and need to consider child rearing costs, eventual college costs, a "happy" wife (because we all know the serious matter and damages of divorce for men) and a STEADY CONSISTENT paycheck which almost always means working for someone else, a "company" and helping the company achieve it's goals, not yours. Some might argue, "Yes, but I have a high paying job etc etc." OK, then your definition of success if different than mine. You're ok with working for a company, having a boss tell you what to do, having a set schedule, dealing with office politics, having limited time off and vacation, and being at the mercy of your employer if they release or fire you for some reason. BUT, you get a "large" paycheck you essentially pour back into your "family." And for some it's ok. They sacrifice their goals for a family. The family is their goal, and that's ok if that's their driving force. Just understand it comes at a cost to you. This, folks, is option#2.
Women to me are a small scoop of mashed potatoes on my Thanksgiving dinner plate full of food. Just a small side dish and certainly not the main course. My goals, purpose, and passion are the "meat."
I'll take #1 100% of the time. Genes or no genes, the legacy I want to leave is what I build and influence. I want to answer to no one and do it my way. So in the end, I took no orders and lived life MY WAY.