Dont Be Caught Frozen In The Headlights When Something Threatens Your Relationship Or Marriage

My beloved workshop was once hit by a flash flood, and while I was outside building dams and watersheds behind it to divert the flash flood current in the middle of a deluge of rain, something struck me that every man should know, especially when things aren't working right in his relationship or marriage.I live at the mouth of a somewhat shallow sort of box canyon, elevated above the normal flood plain, but in the perfect spot for the run-off from two ridges and a hillside tor run past my house and into a large creek that continues down the hill. The rain started coming down very hard that day, on the heels of a solid week of rain that had already saturated the ground to the point that we already had standing water, and I looked out a window and saw the largest stream of water I've seen since I've lived here running from behind my workshop and across about an acre of my lawn. Curiosity and concern aroused, I donned rain gear and went out to inspect, and it was a very good thing that I did so, and not a minute too soon.The rain was increasing, and the run-off had started a flash flood coming down the hills and converging just behind my workshop, and it was slamming into the back of it so hard that the water was shooting under the walls and washing across the concrete floor of the shop. Luckily, all of my equipment is on wheels or mobile bases, so none of the cast iron parts of my table saw, jointer, planer, drill press, lathe, etc., got wet, but there was some exotic wood and a few cardboard boxes with new tools and materials in them getting wet and the feet of my solid beech workbench were sitting in an inch of water.I quickly got those things out of harm's way and went out back to address the on-coming flood, which now literally resembled rapids in a large creek. There was a pile of broken concrete where I had repoured part of the driveway and several large ricks of firewood, so I grabbed a shovel and mattock to dig trenches through some high spots that were allowing water to pool near my workshop and then started throwing up dams of concrete chunks, firewood, and spare roofing shingles to divert the water around the workshop to keep it from driving into and under the walls.While all of this was going on, I was reminded of an old naval comedy called "Down Periscope" (you can see the description and reviews at IMDB's website at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116130), in which there was a scene where the submarine they're on is leaking and flooding and everybody is scrambling, and at the end, one of the crew, who had almost drowned trying to stop a gushing leak any fire hydrant would be proud to produce, brushes the water out of his hair and says, "Now that was FUN!" And it hit me...I grew up on a farm, and when something bad happened, there was neither time nor tolerance for throwing up one's hands and saying, "Oh no! What are we going to do?" or to simply do nothing and hope that the problem fixed itself. Problems that affected the farm equipment, or especially the crops, could mean the difference between eating and going hungry. So when a problem came up, we were like the guys on that submarine. Everybody pounced on the problem, handling what they were best-suited to do first, getting the most critical elements handled first, and continuing, quickly and rationally, until it was fixed and the crisis was resolved.That's how a man must handle ALL problems if he is to respect himself and be respected. It's the only way that he can head off trouble before it gets too big, and the only way he can handle trouble that is too big and moving too fast to head off while it's small. It's the only way that his wife will trust his judgment and leadership, which must happen if she is going to be happy in the marriage, want to play and have fun with the man, feel like engaging in an active sex life, etc.So if things around the house, at work, or especially in your marriage are anywhere from slowly deteriorating to being in full-scale crisis, don't be some scared wuss frozen in the headlights of an on-coming disaster while your life and everything you hold dear washes past your feet. Take action. The self-respect you gain from handling things will boost your confidence, and thereby your attractiveness, and as your self-confidence and self-respect grow, your wife will be drawn inescapably closer to you as primal instinct overwhelms her with the feelings that she can trust you and that she has married well.It sounds like a tall order, but it's really not. If you look back at your life, the hardest part of every crisis or major project you've ever faced has most l likely been the decision to act, not the action itself. Once the decision is made, everything else is just follow-through. And if you take off in the wrong direction, you can make course corrections, whereas standing still and doing nothing will do nothing more than guarantee that whatever problem you're facing will get worse until either you do something about it or it runs over you.If it's your relationship or marriage that is slowing down, hiccupping, or coming apart at the seams, that is the LAST problem you could expect to fix itself; relationship and marriage problems always get worse without attention. They fester like a boil, and finally erupt in a smelly, painful mess of pus and blood. And it doesn't have to go down that way, even if the marriage was one of those that never should have happened in the first place. The worst marriages in the world can be dissolved peacefully and with dignity if you know that it must be ended and know what to do to end it properly.There's tested and proven help for you in my book, "THE Man's Guide to Great Relationships and Marriage," and it's about a mouse-click away at http://www.makingherhappy.com/. It started with the stated needs and desires of 188 women, and was then tested and refined through the use and feedback of 118 couples, and has been continuously refined with the experience of thousands since; indeed, I'm about to release another, much larger update now, and it has always been and will continue to be my policy to provide free updates (and to replace lost copies) to anyone who has purchased in the past (as long as one of us can find some record of their purchase, even if it's just an old credit card statement with my company name and the right price on it). It's working for everyone who uses it, and I have the testimonials to prove it. Think not? This one came the day I first posted this lesson:David,Nearly four years ago I purchased your book when it was still titled "How To Be Attractive To The Woman You Love." I consider it among my personal list of top five most influential and helpful books (a list that includes the Bible). Your book is a short read loaded with invaluable tools for MEN. You not only help understand the advanced intuitive female mind and its machinations but also help each one of us "man up." It's when I've drifted from your lessons that old habits or new complications have entered my life.I was in a long-term relationship that recently ended. Part of it I attribute to finding myself unemployed and dealing with the ongoing distractions that presents. The other, deeper problem was the inability to completely connect with the person I loved even after years of being together. I believe the end came about because of a lack of intimacy. Outwardly, she seemed easily offended or embarrassed by matters relating to sex, yet I realized too late that she longed for ongoing sexual intimacy. As men, I think we tend to focus on sex from the physical aspects and easily lose sight of the emotional reinforcement it brings for women we love.I'm now trying - too late for my last love - to refresh that awareness into my personal spirit of manhood. That has brought me back to a new diligence in following your manly wisdom. Your ongoing newsletter is the best at providing daily jewels of information on how to be a man, a loving man in a relationship. You have done your part. I must do mine with constant vigilance. I honor you for your dedication and the insights you share. You are a great guide to the mysterious path of womanhood. Thanks for lighting the way.LYou see? Even when unusual stress takes a man out of character, he comes back and regains his manhood, his life, and a great relationship or marriage, whether he has it or finds one. And this guy is a well-read corporate type who is into self-help texts, and he's listing this on among his "top five most influential and helpful books." I wonder what he would have said if he had been able to join our forum, http://forum.makingherhappy.com/, and been able to share his questions and experiences with others as today's members do.Today is a perfect example; two men are having intimacy problems with their wives, I'm answering their questions and the women are jumping in to reinforce what I tell them and then elaborate on things I didn't mention. We've spent our lives wishing women would tell us when they had a problem with something we did instead of telling everyone they know BUT us, and here they are, laying it out in detail to help us get it.So it's time for you to get moving to http://www.makingherhappy.com/ and start making things better right now. Or you could just keep right on standing there, the deer caught in the headlights, while everything you hold dear (and own!) goes right down the tubes in a flood of emotion, frustration, and confusion, except of course for the part that goes to line the lawyers' pockets or to keep the wife's boredom from killing you both. It's your choice, so make it a good one.In the meantime, live well, be well, and have a wonderful day!David Cunningham "Being a man is something to which one should aspire, not something for which he should apologize." --David Cunningham