If you answered, Yes, then you’re in the right mindset to make a list of things you will do to achieve your dating goals this year. That’s how I created my list. I will share my top 10 dating resolutions with you now, in the hope that it may help you build your list of dating goals and fulfill your dating dreams right along with me.

My Top 10 Dating Resolutions For 2009

I Will:

1. Stay confident that my ideal love match is out there hoping to find me
2. Rev up my best qualities so I attract a love match who appreciates and shares these qualities
3. Feel grateful for the love of my friends and family, knowing that gratitude attracts love like a love magnet
3. Devote an hour each day: communicating with matches who contact me online & conducting my own online searches
4. Accept each offer from friends to introduce me to their single friends
5. Be willing to date younger, older, near or far, even if I have to travel to another continent to meet a love match–again
6. Be aware of things I like or learn from each date and discover about myself, so dating inspires my personal growth
7. Talk with depth about those qualities I bring to a relationship and those I seek, as a way to help me narrow my search
9. Give a dating friendship time to catch fire before I say, “Next”
10.Take a risk of loving deeply and freely once I meet a love match and let down my dating armor for amore

Will you write down your dating resolutions and do whatever it takes to fulfill your dating dreams this year?

Keep me posted on your progress in the comment box below.

Wishing you a greater love, joy, health and prosperity in 2009!

Hadley

This review will reveal the film’s ending.  For a good reason.

I’d like to caution single parents who may be seduced by the adorable puppy in the film’s promo to bring young children to meet Marley onscreen. If you do so, be prepared to explain how we deal with feelings of loss after our beloved family pet dies.  Marley’s death scenes include a series of emotional moments that made many adults in the audience sniffle or weep.

Why would I recommend this tender tearjerker as a matchmaking opportunity for dating singles?

Dating singles know the pain of lost love.  Grieving a big breakup can be part of the dating process–each time a significant relationship ends.  When you watch the Grogan family say good-bye to Marley at the end of the film, it will tap into your wellspring of emotion that bubbles up each time you face another episode of lost love.  Don’t you feel better when you get to release some emotional steam in a dark movie theater?

What if you’re single and tired of dating relationships that break up?

You may feel a ray of hope when you watch the devoted couple, John and Jenny Grogan (played with endearing subtlety by Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston) as they work and grow through their career and family challenges–instead of running to divorce court like half of American couples do.

Singles may recognize the relentless pursuit of superficial thrills that drives a playboy co-worker named Sebastian (Eric Dane) from one woman to the next for a dozen years.  If you often feel attracted to a date who can’t connect in meaningful ways, Sebastian may remind you to make better dating choices.

You’ll get some amusing relationship advice from a newspaper editor played with droll charm by Alan Arkin.  It’s refreshing to see him offer career and marital guidance to his pet columnist, John Grogan. John is the ME in MARLEY AND ME, and he turned his newspaper columns into a bestselling book on which the film is based.

Tender and true emotional connections between actors Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston in scenes with their film children and with Marley will open your heart and soften it.  That’s why it’s a lovely time for single dog lovers to meet each other–when your heart is open, even if your eyes are red from emotion after seeing this film. This romantic notion has inspired a matchmaking idea:

Let’s create a singles meeting section in movie theaters across America, so that singles can gather to watch MARLEY AND ME, and then mingle and meet each other after the final credits roll.

Let’s save the back rows in theaters that teenagers used to claim in the old days, for single adults who’d like to see the film and strike up a friendly conversation with like-minded singles who love dogs and sweet movies.

If every single man and woman who reads this idea would start spreading the word to your single friends, this matchmaking idea could catch on and unite single dog lovers across America.  Wouldn’t that make all of our Marley’s very happy.

What are your dating habits?

Do you go on a date hoping to meet The One, and you’re consistently disappointed? Do you present unrealistic Love Tests that only a superhuman could pass? Are you tired of feeling that you’ll never meet the right date or mate? Are you frustrated that a relationship which starts off with promise often fizzles and fails? Do you share your sad old stories with your dates and wonder why you’re not creating fresh new stories with a new love? Would you be willing to change your dating habits if this would help you create a dating miracle?

What is a dating miracle?

A dating miracle has nothing to do with walking on water or changing water into wine to attract or win the love of your ideal date. A dating miracle is what happens inside your heart when you make a conscious emotional shift away from fear, frustration or worry of being alone. Then you welcome renewed feelings of love, connection and wholeness which will attract a like-minded love match like a love magnet.

What if you don’t believe in miracles?

Each day you are presented with miracles you may not recognize. A blizzard, spring blooms, billions of crushed diamonds in the night sky, the smiles of a loved one or passersby, your own two eyes that let you behold this beauty. All miracles.

Thought leaders often say that you are what you are aware of. When you see these miracles you become one with them. If you overlook them, you may feel alone and disconnected, feelings that fuel the singles holiday blues.

What’s the antidote to the singles holiday blues?

Einstein once said that we can see the world as if nothing is a miracle or as if everything is a miracle. Do you see how the latter view can lift the blues? Are you resisting the idea?

How do you see miracles when you’re being battered by the blues?

Instead of focusing on love you’ve lost, you can choose to see and celebrate the love that’s left. Make it a habit to ask yourself how you can see a miracle each day and take appropriate action. Stay awake to the beauty that surrounds you and feel thankful for it. Light a candle and enjoy simple pleasures of the season, including dark chocolate that’s filled with feel-good brain chemicals. Reach out for your supportive old friends and create positive new memories.

What if your old friends aren’t single or supportive?

This is an ideal time to expand your circle of single friends. Join a local singles group. Create your best self portrait, live up to it, and post it on an internet dating site.

There are millions of singles seeking love online and offline. If like attracts like, you will attract a love match who sees life the same way you do.

Be sure to mention in your dating profile or when you meet a date that you are seeking someone who also sees the miracles in each moment. When you make this your new dating habit, you will attract the love you seek and deserve.

“I don’t want to be alone for the holidays.”

This was the touching first line of an email I just received from a man on match.com. This man is a Don Johnson look-a-like in his 40s, who wrote me that his wife had died several years ago and he’s finally ready to find a new relationship. His note was optimistic, tender and perfectly timed.

For the first time in two decades, my college-age children will be traveling with their dad and his new family for the last two weeks of the year, so I will be home alone for the holidays. I’m blessed to be able to join my brothers’ families for holiday meals. Then I’ll return to my home to enjoy the fresh tree I’ve trimmed and the fresh snow that’s created a winter wonderland for me and my chocolate lab to romp in together.

“A shared joy is a double joy.”

I agree with this Swedish Proverb.  That’s why I invite you to double your holiday joy when you meet me and other single men and women for a half-hour group telephone discussion on Friday, December 19, 2008 at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

You may join this complimentary conference call for singles over age 35 when you dial this phone number: 1.218.486.3695.  You’ll be asked to dial this Conference ID: 507785#

Then you will be connected to the call, which begins promptly at 6:00 p.m. Eastern (5:00 p.m. Central, 4:00 p.m. Mountain and 3:00 p.m. Pacific time zone.)

There is no charge to participate in our First Singles Telephone Conference, other than any long distance telephone charges that would apply when you call your Aunt Sally.

There is room for 200 singles to be on this call.  Will you join us?  Will you arrive on time so I’ve got someone to talk with?

This is a novel idea, so let’s discover together if we can offer creative ways to celebrate the season and share the joy with new single friends across America.  Let’s talk on December 19th!

1. Wake Up With A Feeling Of Gratitude For All Of The Love In Your Life.

As you open your eyes each morning, think of the people, pets, and purpose that fills your heart with love. Give silent thanks for each one. When you express gratitude, you send positively-charged thought waves of energy into the Universe. This activates the Law Of Reciprocity in which you receive more of what you are grateful for.

2. Inhale Love. Exhale Loneliness And Limiting Thoughts.

Get out of bed and open your window, if possible. As you breathe in the fresh air, imagine each inhale is magnetic and literally drawing your new love to you. With each exhale, imagine you are purging everything negative that could be blocking you from your new love. You may add a deep knee bend to each in-out breathing sequence to increase both your physical fitness and the power of your thought vibrations.

3. Smile In The Mirror And Give Yourself A Compliment

After your morning cleansing routine, gaze at your refreshed self in the mirror and smile with every cell in your body. You will attract love based on your good feelings from within.

Imagine your new love complimenting your best features; then go ahead and say it outloud: Gorgeous smile, darlin. Great dimples, handsome. Great hair, honey. Great abs, Adonnis. A compliment charges your love magnet.

4. Dress Your Best To Feel Your Best Everyday

If you’ve saved a sweater or a shirt for a special occasion, wear it now–even if you pair it with jeans. Wear the clothes that you love as another way to feel loved. Give away the rest to a charitable organization and you create room for the new arrival of all sorts of good things in your life.

5. Walk Your Love Walk

Walk with confidence that springs from feeling loved and desired now–before you even meet your new love. You need to feel loved and loving to attract more love. Remember John Travolta’s love walk in Saturday Night Fever? How does yours compare?

6. Connect With People You See Each Day

See yourself as a giant love magnet as you walk through your day. Imagine your body sending out magnetic waves that attract love to you. Stay alert and open hearted. Smile. Speak first. Seek social interactions instead of solitary pursuits at least once during each day. See if you can brighten someone’s day by something you do or say.

7. Spend Time With Fellow Love Magnets

Like it or not, you absorb thoughts, feelings and attitudes of people you spend time with. Your love magnet grows stronger when you choose to be with people who also radiate the kind-hearted enthusiasm of a love magnet.

Whether you are attracting like-minded friends or your new love match, be sure to give thanks for all the love in your life as your final thought before you go to sleep each night. Follow this 7-step attraction action plan for 30 days, and you will make it a habit to be a love magnet.

1.  What is a Love Language?

People express and experience love in different ways.  In his best-selling book, The Five Love Languages (Northfield Publishing), Dr. Gary Chapman reveals five specific languages that we use to express heartfelt commitment in a relationship.

According to Dr. Chapman, the Five Languages of Love include:  Quality Time, Words Of Affirmation, Gifts, Acts of Service and Physical Touch.

2.  What is your Love Language?

You will know your Love Language when you consider what makes you feel loved in a relationship.  Ask yourself some questions:

Do you need to receive verbal compliments, praise, encouraging or affectionate words to feel loved?

Do you need to receive gifts in order to feel loved?

Do you need the gift of someone’s presence in your daily life to feel loved?

Do you need the comfort of physical touch to feel loved?

3.  What do you complain about in your relationship?

Your complaints can reveal your preferred love language that is not being spoken by your date or mate.  How can you turn a complaint into a chance for positive change?

4.  Will you tell your beloved about the Love Language you speak?

What speaks volumes to you may be meaningless to your date or mate.  When you tell your beloved what love language you’d like them to speak in order to make you feel loved and cherished in your relationship, they will understand your unique needs and be able to respond accordingly.

5. Do you know what Love Language your beloved speaks?

Can you guess how your beloved would respond if you asked them questions about their preferred Love Language?  Why not ask them the questions so you know for sure how to speak their love language.

6.  Will you express your love in the language that your beloved speaks?  Will your beloved speak your love language for your well being?

If you answered a whole-hearted, YES, you will experience profound satisfaction and joy of being able to express your love and feeling truly loved in return.

Early in 2009, I will invite you and Dr. Chapman to participate in a telephone interview (known as a TelePowWow for the Tribe Of Blondes).  Stay tuned!

Dedicated to your dating and relationship happiness,

Hadley

Many of your relationship building skills were learned from the dear people who surround you during family gatherings. As you gather to give thanks for your bountiful blessings today, this is a chance for you to look at how the couples in your family relate to each other.

Is there a pattern in your family dynamics that you seem to recreate in your relationships?

Through the calm, attentive eyes of an explorer, you may discover a source of your romantic behavior patterns that you cherish or that you could change to create happier relationships.

Could you see your discovery as a love lesson from your greatest teachers?

How could you use this love lesson to improve a relationship?

Is there a heavy weight from your past that you carry into your relationships?  Could you let it go today?

Doing this will give you another reason to give thanks.  Enjoy your blessings today and everyday.

Happy Thanksgiving!

What is an entrepreneur?

Anyone who initiates, finances and runs a business is an entrepreneur.  Some economists say that an entrepreneur is someone who develops a fresh new product, a new way of producing something or an innovative way of marketing the product around the world.

What is a dating entrepreneur?

In our online community, we define a dating entrepreneur as a single man or woman who develops a fresh new version of themselves and invests in innovative ways of introducing themselves to like-minded singles around the world.

Some people are born entrepreneurs–thinkers and planners who work with diligent enthusiasm to achieve their dreams.  Anyone can develop the skills and qualities required for success in realizing their personal and professional dreams.

Innovation, creativity, leadership, being a risk-taker, and having the right inner drive and passion are some of the attributes of a successful entrepreneur.  Let’s examine 7 attributes of a dating entrepreneur which will help dating singles realize their dream of love:

1.  Confident Optimism

Imagine your ideal love life with your ideal love match.  Remain confident that you will realize your dream and deal with challenges that arise on your path to your love.

2.  Creativity

Think outside the bar.  Why settle for an ordinary search for love?  See your quest for love as a great adventure that requires you to explore new ways of meeting your love.

3.  Stability In Body, Mind, Spirit

Be a stable leader who handles tough situations during tough times with strength and grace.  You will attract a love match who shares these qualities.

4.  Charismatic Intelligence

Be a smart communicator who conveys a magical charm that is irresistible, like a love magnet.

5.  Energetic Drive

Explore every innovative means to realize your dream of love.  Expand your dating horizons and invest your time, energy and money to join global dating services and local matchmaking networks.

6.  Enthusiastic Commitment

Move beyond conventional way of thinking and acting.  Dream big and take big actions to realize your dream of love.  Live in gratitude for the love in your life, so you attract more love in your life.

7.  Risk Taker

Examine the risks and rewards of meeting and pursuing your love match.  Research your prospects to make sure you are entering a good match. When you meet your love match, eagerly let down your armor for amore.  Cherish your beloved to create a joint venture that grows and thrives for a lifetime.

1. What’s Your Goal In Dating?

Are you dating for short-term fun or to forget about a past relationship?  Are you running from a new relationship no matter how wonderful your lover is? Are you satisfied with casual connections? If so, you can take a pass on this Love Test.

Do you want to create a happy relationship that lasts? Are you willing to change your life when you meet your ideal love match? To discover your answer, consider the next question:

2. What’s The Value Of Your New Relationship?

How do you determine the value of a new relationship? When you meet someone who inspires your desire to create a relationship, hold them in your heart and your thoughts as you ask yourself:

How do you enrich each others’ lives?

How satisfying is your sex life and emotional intimacy?

Do you feel stronger, more energized, more joyful with this person in your life than you do without them?

Are you willing to consider their needs as much as your own?

Are you willing to make a priority of enjoying time together?

Are you clear about the challenges that may arise when you share your life with this person? Are you willing to handle these challenges as a team?

Do you accept each others’ flaws and bring out the best in each other?

Could you see yourself raising a family together, or enjoying your grown children and grandchildren together, depending on your parenting status and stage of life?

Do you share common values and life experiences?

Are you intellectually stimulated and eager to learn more about your partner? Do they feel the same about you?

Do you agree on a future form your relationship will take, whether it will be a legal union or a committed relationship without marriage?

Could you let go of other emotional connections without regret and happily focus on building a life together?

Once you understand your feelings about your love match, you are ready to explore the next question.

3. Do You Love Your Freedom More Than This Relationship?

How much do you love your freedom?

Would you rather make your own choices and plans without having to consider a partner’s needs and desires?

Would you rather maintain separate lives and homes and simply gather for couple activities as the need arises?

Are you dating someone who also prefers this type of relationship? If so, you both may be content to be a casual couple. If not, you may need to move on.

If you want to save this relationship, you may want to reconsider the value you place on your freedom.

4. Are You Willing To Give Up Some Of Your Freedom To Gain The Benefits Of A Lasting Relationship?

Does your new love magnify your joy, support your challenges and enrich your life in body, mind, spirit as you do for them?

How would you feel if you gave up their love?

How would you feel if you gave up some of your freedom to save this relationship?

Once you have discovered your answers to the questions on this Love Test, you will know if you are ready to experience the benefits and challenges of a lasting relationship.

The 7 Worst Ways To End A Relationship:

1. Become Invisible

Vanish without giving any reason. Don’t return phone calls or emails. Leave your ex wondering if you died, lost your mind, or if you’ll regain your senses and reappear in their life at any moment.

A Classy Alternative:

Offer closure by giving a general reason for leaving. No blame. Simply say you no longer see a future together. If pushed for your reasoning, remember that your parting words echo long after you’re gone. What can you say to make your ex feel better for having known and loved you?

2. Announce Your Decision To Break Up By Text Message Or Email

Do this only if you want to be remembered as a coward.

A Classy Alternative:

Muster up your courage to end a relationship calmly, face-to-face. Learn a love lesson: It takes courage to love and trust, and courage to part in a way that honors this love and trust.

3. Use Honesty As An Excuse To Be Mean

Criticize flaws, list reasons why you’re turned off, say that your relationship was a mistake and a waste of your time, make your ex feel undesirable before you move on.

A Classy Alternative:

Share a few reasons why your time together was important and meaningful for you. Mention good qualities and positive feelings you’ve enjoyed. Say that you’re disappointed you don’t see a long-term future together. Now that you’ve made this decision, you want to act with integrity and free each other to find the relationship that supports their well being and greatest happiness.

4. Break Up In A Public Place

Assume that your ex is less likely to make a scene in front of witnesses. If they do lose control, let them humiliate themselves in public and justify your reasons for walking out.

A Classy Alternative:

Choose a calm moment in a cozy private place to explain your desire to end the relationship. Be understanding of an emotional reaction and apologize for the pain your decision has caused. Unless you fear physical harm, leave when your ex has calmed down.

5. Leave Your Relationship For Dead, And Don’t Call 9-1-1 Before You Move On

Don’t try to heal the ills in your current relationship. Dive into a new relationship and find out if it has potential before you breakup with your partner. Tell them you’re leaving because you’re in love with someone else.

A Classy Alternative:

Is your relationship worth saving? Have you asked your partner to help you resolve your blocks to happiness?

If you feel no need to improve the relationship, then do the honorable thing. End it before you look for a new one.

What if you’ve already bonded with a new love while you’re in another relationship?

Assume your ex will find out and you will cause them great pain. Will you admit this and ask for forgiveness? How will you ease the pain of betrayal in someone who loved and trusted you?

6. Stay In Touch By Phone And Stop By For Breakup Sex

Make sure your ex stays bonded to you so they’re not emotionally free to move on.

A Classy Alternative:

Free your ex to find a wonderful new relationship by ending your personal interaction. If you are co-parenting with your ex, your future contact will focus on parenting issues, not personal ones.

7. Give False Hope That You’ll Reunite When You Know It’s Over Forever

Try to soften the breakup blow with a lie. Suggest that you may revisit your relationship after you take a break. Never contact your ex again, because the truth is you have no desire to stay in touch.

A Classy Alternative:

Speak your truth from your heart. Forget flaws, because this discussion will make your ex become defensive. Mention good qualities in your ex that will attract someone wonderful. Explain that you each need to let go of each other so you’re free to love again. So it’s best if you each grieve this loss privately before you enter a new relationship.