On this week’s episode, Melissa and I sit down with Dr. Ali Binazir, author of The Tao of Dating: The Smart Woman's Guide to Being Absolutely Irresistible and several other books. He's a super insightful guy, and we cover a lot of different topics in this interview including: The 5 Principles of the Tao of Dating The Principle of Abundance Don't think scarcity Be. Do. Have. Be the kind of person. Do the kind of things. Have what you want. Enlightened Self-Interest Good decision making = The deci...
Feb 04, 2015•58 min
On this week's episode, we finish our conversation with Steve and Natalie from the 'burbs of Chicago. - What do you do to keep the love alive after having kids? - What advice would you give to people who want to have a relationship like yours? -"Go in with the mindset that you are not #1 anymore." -Natalie - Taking a leap of faith. "The bigger the promise, the bigger the leap." -Melissa Joy Kong - Loving people needs to become a habit, or a default. If love always has to be a conscious act, it's...
Dec 05, 2014•47 min
On today's episode, Melissa and I sit down with Natalie and Steve of the suburbs of Chicago. We talk about their courtship, how it ended in breakup, then they got back together, then almost broke up again. We learn about why their belief in God is essential to the type of marriage they enjoy. And we talk a lot about trust and taking risks, and a lot of other awesome stuff like: - Blind dates - Favorite things - Dating so long you get to the point where you either get married or break up. - Somet...
Nov 20, 2014•51 min
In part 2 we wrap up last week's conversation with Jim and Cindy Wigdahl. Jim and Cindy have been friends for over 30 years, but have only been married for 4 or 5 years. Their story is amazing and sad and full of hope all at the same time. It will open your heart. I hope you love it.
Nov 06, 2014•59 min
In this week’s episode we sit down with Jim and Cindy Wigdahl. Jim and Cindy have been friends for over 30 years, but have only been married for 4 or 5 years. Their story is amazing and sad and full of hope all at the same time. It will open your heart. I hope you love it.
Oct 28, 2014•48 min
In this conversation, we discuss: -Love at first sight. -The importance and meaningfulness of the "little things." -Managing finances and overcoming debt. -Marriage rituals. -Living your faith inside your marriage. -Marriage takes work every day... want to know what that work looks like? Good. We talk about it here. -Love will find you when you're least expecting it.
Oct 08, 2014•57 min
Jackson Dunn with Focus on the Family talks about how busyness is the enemy to love, and how you can measure the quality of a man by the radiance of his wife.
Sep 29, 2014•48 min
Listen as Tom and Beth describe how they have been able to create such a beautiful and simple love despite having to overcome many of life's trials, including merging families, traveling for work, losing pets, and much more.
Sep 05, 2014•1 hr 13 min
Some of the most powerful lessons I've learned as I've interviewed hundreds of couples have come from some of the least common relationships. This interview was no exception. You'll quickly see the deep, abiding, and unique love that can be created even if you don't date before marriage. Here are 5 lessons I took away from interviewing Iskara and Baldev. Don't just read them... apply them. It could transform your relationship: http://loveumentary.com/5-important-relationship-lessons-you-can-lear...
Jun 26, 2014•46 min
On a scale from 1-10, how is your love life? Many people, maybe even most people will answer between a 6 and 8. I'd say a solid 7 would be considered acceptable, livable, and even relatively enjoyable for most people. Liz and Ryan are my kind of people. They decided that there is no place in their life for a mere 7/10. And so, they started their project, Amazing Life Together. Together they are talking to experts, interviewing real couples, and opening up the kimono to share their own story on t...
May 23, 2014•38 min
Buy Seth's book, "Marriage Isn't For You" here: http://goo.gl/wFSZlR Buy the full interview here, and support the Anasazi Foundation and The Loveumentary: http://goo.gl/XopAZ2 "When you’re looking for solutions, they have odd ways of making themselves appear.” -Seth "You never lose by loving. You never lose out by choosing to love somebody else." -Kim "You live when you give.” -Seth "To love is always going to be the right decision.” -Seth “The more you understand someone, the more you love them...
May 12, 2014•37 min
I grew up playing sports. Ever since I was a kid I played soccer, basketball, ran track, and one season of little league baseball (which is how I found out I desperately needed glasses. Thanks for realizing that the reason I missed every ball was because I couldn’t see it, Mr. Davis!). My favorite sport was always soccer. When I played recreation soccer my team would practice once – maybe twice a week if we were lucky. I wasn’t a great player until I became a teenager and decided that I wanted t...
Apr 23, 2014•35 min
All the experiences that we have in our life - good, bad, neutral - they all turn us into who we are. So if you take those away, you aren’t going to be the same person.
Apr 10, 2014•38 min
"Your relationship could be so much easier if you just stopped expecting the other person to be who you are.” -Bradford "If you’re trying to get into an open, honest relationship, it has to start with you. You be open and honest in your dealings with everyone. It shouldn’t start with the person you’re attracted to. It should start with your everyday life." -Kendall
Mar 05, 2014•1 hr
The price of sex has dropped from, in our grandmother’s generation, it was probably a year of dating, in my generation it was 3 dates. We had a thing called the 3-date Rule in the 80’s. Now the price of sex has dropped down to the barrel-bottom price of one well-worded text. What it takes to grow a long term bond isn’t sex. It’s everything else! It’s communication skills, conflict resolution skills, empathy, compassion. It’s really hard to develop those when your brain is being assaulted with a ...
Feb 15, 2014•32 min
Valentines Day Surprise! - Gary Chapman (Author of "The 5 Love Languages") For 24 hours you can listen to, download, and enjoy this one hour interview with Gary Chapman, author of The 5 Love Languages. Sorry the sound quality is a little rough... my bad. -Nate
Feb 14, 2014•1 hr
Forgiveness isn’t fair. If somebody really hurt you, you don’t want to let them off the hook because what they did was wrong. And if you have a high sense of justice, you think “I can’t, because it’s not fair.” He hasn’t suffered enough. He hasn’t paid for his wrongs enough. And sometimes he hasn’t even admitted he’s wrong and said, “forgive me.” But it’s not dependent on any of that. It’s a choice that you make. "Unforgiveness is like drinking poison and hoping the other person dies." -Anne Gra...
Jan 29, 2014•37 min
Favorite quote from this episode: You become what the most important person in your life thinks that you are. “At the end of Ty’s life, I want him to be able to say, 'Terri was the greatest earthly blessing in my life - the best thing that ever happened to me - and that I’m a better man because of how she loved me. And that’s the goal that I live with every day. That’s how I want to love this man.'"
Jan 14, 2014•32 min
Jay and Lara have been together for over 20 years. We met with them on Jay's 49th birthday. They took us into their home, fed us, and gave us beds to sleep in. Last year Jay retired early so he could take time to reconnect with his wife. So now they're selling their house, buying an RV, and they're going to spend a decade exploring the world, and experiencing adventure.
Jan 03, 2014•36 min
What does it take to have an amazing relationship? What does it take to not only avoid a disaster, but to rise above the mediocrity and complacency that has infected most modern-day relationships? Here are two tips from Jenna McCarthy that will help you elevate your game. Click here to read the blog post for this episode: http://www.loveumentary.com/episode-34-you-get-what-you-settle-for-with-jenna-mccarthy/
Dec 04, 2013•34 min
6 Intimacy Skills to Transform Your Relationship Self Care – In any relationship, you are responsible for your own happiness. If you rely on others to fill your self-worth tank, you’ll inevitably end up stranded on the side of the highway of life, broken down, frustrated, and alone. Rather than relying on others to fill up that love tank, take initiative and fill it up yourself. This means you must love yourself, not just with words, but with actions.Make a list of things that fill you with joy,...
Nov 27, 2013•32 min
One of the reasons Kiran and MeiMei have one of the most beautiful relationships I’ve ever witnessed is that they have both failed. Not only have they failed, but they’ve failed big! They have put their hearts on the line, and swung for the fences only to be met with rejection, or disappointment, or a big old strike-out. What they so desperately dreamed and wanted did not unfold the way they had envisioned. And yet, these big failures did not break them. Kiran and MeiMei choose to use their fail...
Nov 13, 2013•45 min
Patience: The Art Of Being OK Not Getting What You Want When You Want It I remember that feeling I experienced when I had to wait for each Harry Potter book to be released. For months, and even sometimes years, I’d be left on pins and needles, wondering what was next, who would die, and how Harry would defeat Voldemort. Kids now-a-days who get to read through the whole series without having to wait don’t understand the months of anxiety and speculation and drama that preceded the release of each...
Nov 07, 2013•32 min
Alicia and Peter were such a joy to sit down with and interview. Nate and I laughed so hard the entire time. That’s the thing about incredible couples: when you’re around them, you cannot help but feel more energized, alive, and joyful. It was clear from the way they gazed at one another and laughed together that they were completely comfortable being fully themselves around the other person. In essence, they brought out the best, most authentic versions of each other. That was the first lesson ...
Oct 30, 2013•34 min
Do you want your marriage to be rewarding, and happy for over 70 years? Reed and Allene have done exactly that. I believe their relationship has lasted so long, and been so amazing because they have stuck to some incredibly effective and simple (though not always easy) values throughout the entirety of their relationship. Here are a few things you should do if you want your marriage to last as long as theirs: Always Speak Kindly Of Each Other When Allene was younger, she had a speech impediment....
Oct 16, 2013•28 min
Imagine how it would feel to have the most important person in your life suddenly torn away from you without explanation. You are forced to sit and watch your soulmate deteriorate piece by piece as they slip out of your life. You hope and pray every day for a miracle… for just one more day together, one more kiss, one more smile, one more look of affection. Meanwhile, couples all around you choose to give up, throw in the towel, and abandon their relationships when all you want is one more day, ...
Oct 10, 2013•35 min
True Love still exists...you just have to listen.
Oct 02, 2013•33 min
Most of us monogamous folks have hefty assumptions about plural marriage. Particularly in the case of polygyny (when a man is married to more than one wife), these descriptions aren’t uncommon: Misogynistic. Exploitive. Unethical. Ungodly. Distasteful. Selfish. Sexist. But, how much do you know about it, really? How many of us have actually ever interacted with a polygamous family? (And, no, watching Big Love doesn’t count). Growing up, polygamy was a concept semi-grasped intellectually, but I h...
Sep 25, 2013•1 hr 13 min
True Love still exists...you just have to listen.
Sep 18, 2013•1 hr 3 min
Religions Preach Virtue… But Do They Do It Right? Most religions throughout the world ask their members to follow a model of sexual purity. The rules and consequences vary in their intensity from church to church, but I believe the overall intention is typically good and pure. However, anything – including good things – if taken to an extreme can be damaging. Self-confidence if taken to an extreme can become self-absorption. An optimist can quickly become unrealistic. Loyalty can become blindnes...
Sep 04, 2013•1 hr 2 min
