I talk with lesbians from all over the world about their love lives.  And it’s an honor.  I work hard everyday to become better at supporting their success.  I LOVE my job!

I love what I do because I know, personally and professionally, how important love is to all of us.  Research is showing, more and more, how vital a healthy, happy love relationship is to a person’s quality of life.  This is all the more reason it’s important to fight for our relationship rights.  We deserve to have access to the experience of marriage, which is an opportunity unlike any other for finding the ultimate romantic fulfillment.

Yes, people like to joke about the fervor with which many gays and lesbians wish to be married.  Straight comedians like to say, ‘I’m for gay marriage – Why not let gays and lesbians have all the hassle of marriage too!?!’.  Well, they have a point, but, ultimately they are speaking from a much different perspective from which I come: they’ve never NOT had the right to marry who they want to marry.  Big difference!

People who don’t ‘get’ it also don’t get that it’s NOT just about our individual rights.  When a person is able to freely pursue their happiness fully, the entire society benefits.  People who are fully supported with a caring, loving relationship at home are more likely to be productive at work, use less health care, contribute positively to other relationships and their communities, etc.

I want to be as vocal and confident as Dan Choi is (as he talks about military matters) when it comes to telling society to drop the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ attitude towards our right to love.  How about you?

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So, congratulations!  You’ve made the connection via Coach Sappho’s matchmaking services, online dating or through friends, family or co-workers.

OR, perhaps you want to ask out that special someone you’ve just met (or someone you’ve been admiring for awhile now, from afar).  Now what…

It’s time to go on your first date!

It’s as simple as that, right!?!  Exciting?  Nerve-wracking?  Doesn’t have to be.  Not with Coach Sappho’s tips for great first dates.

First off, you want to start by feeling confident, on the outside and on the inside, for the experience.  Dating is a numbers game, particularly if your goal is finding your Mz. Right.  More importantly, dating is meant to be fun too, so that’s the attitude you must have towards it.  If you are too heavy about the experience, you will defeat your purpose.  Pushing to meet Mz. Right will drive her right away.

So if we take a look at outer topics, that means issues such as your appearance and how you present yourself.  On the inside, that means being aware of all of those emotional and mental elements Coach Sappho has oodles of information and support about, to guide you in gradually zeroing in on a woman you fit well with, not only in the short run, but for the long haul!

So, stay tuned for my next post, where I’ll share tips on preparing for that first date!

Join Barb and Donna as they welcome very special guest, career coach Paula Gregorowicz, this Thursday, September 16, 2010 at 4p ET on Coach Sappho’s podcast GLBT Talk with Barb and Donna.

Barb met Paula several years ago as both are life coaches who specialize in working with lesbian women. Paula’s story is unique in that she followed her heart and successfully left corporate America to create a career she loves.

Paula will be sharing the process she’s created to help her business and personal clients, called Life Alchemyâ„¢.  She’ll share how she came to develop the process; what is unique about the way she helps women reinvent their lives and careers; the biggest barriers she sees women struggling with, especially lesbian women, when it comes to succeeding on one’s own terms professionally and more.

Be sure to set aside this hour now and give yourself some nurturing.  Particularly if you are bored, frustrated or hating your current job, you will want to tune in!  Men and women invited.

Click here to bookmark the podcast page now!