Host: What is the natural way to meet people?

Gloria MacDonald: One of the ways to meet people is through what we call the natural way, is meeting people through friends, relatives, coworkers. Obviously, one of the great benefits to that is it is free, it doesn't cost you anything and generally speaking, there is a comfort level because if someone is saying you really should meet my friend or my cousin or this buddy of mine at work or this friend of mine, you have some sense of comfort that, that person is pre-qualified in a way, you have a level of personal security and safety. So that's a good thing. But the challenge is that your friends, relatives and coworkers don't always have such a great sense of who is good for you. I hear lots and lots of stories from people about, they introduced this woman to a nice guy because he was single and the woman comes a way and thinks, What on earth did they think we would have in common? The friends say, Well, but he is such a nice guy.

As you know, if you are a single out there looking someone just being nice, doesn't mean that you are going to have anything in common with them and that they are the right person for you and of course, when you are meeting somebody through friends or relatives, it can be a little dicey sometimes to tell your buddy that his wife's, cousin's, sister's best friend isn't the woman of your dream. So it can be a bit touchy, but of course, it is free. Now the thing about this is if you are going to use this method, you really need to work hard at it if you want to be truly successful. This is all about increasing your opportunities of finding that great person. So if you are serious about this, you should be out there networking with everybody you meet, friends, relatives, coworkers and let them know that you are looking for someone and give them some ideas about what you love to do. That you are really looking for somebody who loves to ski or loves to golf or loves to hike. Give them a little bit to go on so hopefully, one thing you are doing is broadening their horizon so that they can think of people who they might not have otherwise thought of. But you are also helping them have some sense of who might work for you. So it is a great way because it is free, a little bit tricky because you have to tell people that their friend might not be the right person for you, but you also have to work at it in terms of telling people that you really are looking for someone.