Rita Goodroe joins host Becky Sampson to talk about how to enjoy dating again.
About Rita, from Rita: "Hop back with me to 2006 when I started Singles in the Suburbs, a social group for singles in the 'burbs of DC. I figured that a few people would join, I'd make a friend or two and the group would die out. Nine years later, it has about 4,000 members. I started getting media requests for interviews about "all things single" which is really funny because I met a guy, seriously, 2 days after I started the group. We dated, and ran the group together, for 5 years until #suddenlynotsosuddenly we broke up. Well, he dumped me. And of course it wasn't "so suddenly" because, let's get real, 5 years...no ring...lots of things I ignored...you get the picture. Thanks to a bottle of wine and a birthday (I was about to turn 35), I brainstormed an idea to go on 35 dates in 35 days and blog all about it. I emailed out to my friends and gave them the time range and told them I didn't want to know anything about the guys...not their age, not their race, not what they did for a living...and I wanted the guy to pick the activity. The point was to do things I would normally not do and meet people I would normally not meet so I would be all kinds of uncomfortable so I could deal with how I handled those situations and learn about me. It was these lessons that I blogged about (not the guy or whether he paid or pushed in my chair). Through one of my 35 dates, I was introduced to a coach who told me I was being crazy and I should quit the law immediately and coach people myself. I, being a lawyer, ignored her and poo-poo'd that idea 'cause "seriously??!" was all I could think. I did take her training because I was on a personal growth kick and figured it couldn't hurt. But, wouldn't you know it - I had gotten too comfortable and the Universe was having NONE of it so it conspired to end my contract with the firm I was working for at the time. So I was at a crossroads and instead of being miserable and finding another legal job I decided to be happy and hop into coaching. I threw myself into dating & relationship coaching and knocked it out of the park damn near immediately! I mean, the DAY after I made the decision - it was rewarded, as I was asked to be a dating expert for The Washington Post live chat with readers! Shortly thereafter I was asked to tour as a panelist for the national tour of The Great Love Debate AND, a year later, I was a finalist for the iDate 2014 Best Dating Coach award (yes, the date coaching world has the equivalent of the Oscars haha). It was then that I realized that most of the people coming up to me WEREN'T singles asking about dating but, rather, were entrepreneurs asking me how I did it...how I manged to quit Corporate America and build a successful business so rapidly. So I dipped back into my business law background, sat and gave my busines a hard look and started advising entrpreneurs on designing and growing their businesses. I've sinced founded my coaching business and my Facebook community that has turned into an extension of my coaching practice and LOVE helping people make more money, find more time and LIVE their lives. (I also still do date coaching because it's just too fun to leave - and still participate in the Great Love Debate and run a group date coaching program!)"
