Neil Wood - Dating Success After 40 by Nancy Michaels and Neil Wood

Nancy Michaels and Neil Wood

Copyright 2014 Nancy Michaels and Neil Wood

Smashwords Edition

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We are so indebted to our mutual friend, MarkMagnacca, for bringing the two of us together and ultimately, tocollaborate on this project. Without him, we would not have met andhad such a fun time writing this book for our fellow singlefriends, ages 40 and up. Thanks so much Mark!

Given that this is a book on dating, we needto thank our past matches and relationships who have helped uslearn more about ourselves, what we want, and what we are seekingin our current (Neil) and future (Nancy) partners. Steve Harvey, ifyoure out there, Nancy would like a fix up!

We have immense gratitude to our panel ofexperts we interviewed. They provided exceptional breadth and depthto the book that would not have been possible without them. Theyinclude Stacey Alcorn, Anthony Ambrose, Cija Black, Ginger Burr,Dr. Diana Kirschner, Ande Lyons, Susan Ortolano, Rosalind Sedacca,Kimberly Seltzer, Robert Siciliano, Jodi R. R. Smith, Emmi Sorokin,Roseanne Thomas, Robyn Vogel and Susan Winter.

Oftentimes some of the most challengingcircumstances in our lives become our greatest gifts and growthexperiences. Our past marriages have blessed us with six childrenbetween us and we have overwhelming and unconditional love forthem. Thank you Nick, Tim, Audrey, Chloe, Noah and Sophie.

Huge thanks go to our amazing team includingBarbara Remillard, Sandra Brauner, Bhupendra Kunwar, and VictoriaGazeley all of whom have made huge contributions to this book andhelped us to keep the ball moving forward. They also were key inhelping us to edit, re-write and re-organize the content, alongwith designing the book cover and website. We could not have donethis without you.

To our mentors, past employers and clients who have taught us the importance of building long-termrelationships in business, life, and certainly, in love. We haveattempted to apply all of these marketing and sales principlestoward finding love after 40!

Coming together is a beginning. Keeping togetheris progress. Working together is success. ~Henry Ford

Congratulations on picking up DatingSuccess After 40 and embarking on an amazing journey ofself-discovery and love. It takes courage and bravery to putyourself out there in the big wide world of dating especially atmid-life and beyond. We get it! We get you!

Here's some great news for you to thinkabout. Today, there are more single people over the age of 40 thanever before. There are 54 million single people in the U.S. alone.That's right, so hold off on your myriad of excuses about how fewpeople are really available.

There is a plethora of single people waitingfor you to meet them, and many of them are probably in your backyard, or right under your nose.

The fact that you've picked up this book andhave started reading is a great sign that you're ready to startdown the road of dating, once again. We want to help you every stepof the way.

We know you're afraid. We feel your pain. Weeach have experienced the highs and lows of long-term marriages(18+ years) and understand the heartbreak of dissolvingrelationships.

We also understand that what you're facing isa process of "getting out there" into the dating scene, possiblyafter decades as was the situation for each of usand it can bedaunting.

What can we say, but - we're here to help. Wewill help you navigate the online (and offline) dating landscapethat, trust us, is nothing like what you've experienced in thepast. Fasten your seat belt, because it's sure to be a sometimesbumpy, thrilling and, ultimately, a joy ride.

Thankfully, we live in the Information Ageand are able to access numerous ways to connect with people, nearand far. Although nothing can replace that ultimate face-to-faceconnection with someone, we are now blessed with the availabilityof tapping into networks of people who are just like us: mid-lifeand looking for love, companionship, friendship... and/or "TheOne."

Online dating is an amazing venue enablingyou to search for the one you like - who may be the one you love -in a much more efficient and productive manner than you could'vedone in earlier days. Among its many advantages are:

Accessibility to large numbers of single people

Commonality and shared interests

Close geographic region (if you prefer)

Physical traits you desire (or don't) you can "see"before you meet

Viewing others in the comfort of your own home oroffice, prior to a face-to-face meeting

We want you to know that you're not alone. Infact, there's a designated week for us Unmarried and SingleAmericans Week every September. That's right, the Buckeye SinglesCouncil "National Singles Week" was established in Ohio in the1980s to celebrate single life and recognize singles and theircontributions to society. The celebration is for all unmarriedpeople, including those who were never married, or are widowed ordivorced, unless otherwise noted.

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There were 102 million unmarried people inAmerica, 18 and older, in 2011. This group comprised 44.1 percentof all U.S. residents 18 and older.*

Fifty three percent of unmarried U.S.residents 18 and older were women in 2011; 47 percent weremen.*

Sixty two percent of unmarried U.S.residents, 18 and older in 2011, had never been married. Another 24percent were divorced, and 14 percent were widowed.*

Seventeen million unmarried U.S. residentswere 65 and older in 2011. These seniors comprised 16 percent ofall unmarried people 18 and older.*

There are 89 unmarried men 18 and older forevery 100 unmarried women in the United States in 2011.*

Fifty five million households were maintainedby unmarried men and women in 2011. These households comprised 46percent of households nationwide.**

Thirty three million people lived alone in 2011. Theycomprised 28 percent of all households, up from 17 percent in1970.***

* Source: America's Families and LivingArrangements: 2011< http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/hh-fam/cps2011.html >Table A1.

** Source: America's Families and LivingArrangements: 2011?< http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/hh-fam/cps2011.html >Table A2

*** Source: America's Families and LivingArrangements: 2011?< http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/hh-fam/cps2011.html >Table H1 and HH-

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The numbers of single people looking for loveonline are staggering. There are more than 40 million people whohave enrolled with online dating sites.

We both admit, contemplating going "online"to find true love seemed awkward and forced... at first.However, what are two recently single mid-lifers supposed to dowhen nearly all of our friends are married, know relatively fewsingle people (if any) who might be potential "matches" for us, andmight be unlikely to make an introduction, regardless?

Not only were our married friends hesitant tomake introductions, but we were uncomfortable to ask them to, incase it might not work out. That would be, ah... awkward. Wealready were feeling like we were reliving our pubertyyet here wewere, already middle aged, and found ourselves faced with datingafter years of being off the market.