One year later, one big decision

Well, it’s January… a time of reflection on the past and resolutions for the future. Decision time. However, January 16th specifically marks the one year anniversary of AreYouMyPartner. And I have made a resolution: to pause and think a lot bigger.

One year ago I launched this AreYouMyPartner blog with a simple mission to create a better way for people to Meet, Play and perhaps find Love. In my vision video, I gave myself a challenge and imposed a one year timeline in which to run this blog, then stop and decide what to do next based on what actually happened.

Over that year 10 AYMP events were organised where likeminded people could come together over common interests. It was an experiment – based on my own journey to find love – to see what worked (and what didn’t) when it came to creating situations that would reveal people’s true character and really allow bonds to form and flourish naturally.

And it has been a heck of a ride: psychological art, a treasure hunt, rollerblading, animals, music, climbing, tree-top adventures, BBQs, hikes and horseback riding – one year of adventures, good times and good people. I even got inspired to create bonus material for this blog, and one year later, my decision is…

To pause AYMP for now, but not forever. There is definitely more to come.

I’ve taken stock: I have an amazing wife, a great circle of friends and a career that is really starting to flourish. And CeCe and I are also hoping to start a family soon. And that means I only have so much time in a day, and increasingly I have less and less spare time – in other words, less and less to put into organising more AYMP events and running this blog.

Nevertheless, one year later I have learned a lot and fed those learnings into a big vision for how AYMP could grow and really help people Meet, Play and Love on a much wider scale. But I also realise I can’t keep doing this alone in my spare time.

So for now, this post will serve as a full stop to one year of running the AYMP blog. Behind the scenes I am working with other people to one day really scale this up. I know it will take time and focus, and I am willing to invest in the long term and create the right conditions to make the vision a reality.

For all of you out there that participated over the past year in AYMP on any level, I thank you profoundly. I have photos and testimonials to remind me of the adventures we had. I promise that this is not over, just paused, until I can line up the right team and then really go for it.

Until then, we can always look back over the incredible year we had, and dream about what might come next.

Previously:

Feartured content:

[SERIES] Note #16: You never know… The season of reflection and resolution is nearly upon us and it represents a BIG deadline for me… Read Note#16

[VIDEO SERIES] Flashbacks Five webisodes (plus outtakes) that explore how lessons from my personal adventure can pay forward and benefit this new AYMP journey. Watch Flashback series Vote on your favourite episode

Cutting through the forms… to the real you Do long personality/profile questionnaires really work? Or do you feel squeezed into a box? I found out about one experience that was nothing short of frustrating. Read this post

Interview with Snortle Listen to Podcast

Exploring Location Based Dating – Fun or Scary? Using your mobile to date in real time is very real. But is location based dating an advantage or a concern? Read this post

Joining niche dating sites… and Twitter recruitment A comedy podcast explores niche (uniform) dating – and how they use Twitter to recruit. Are they really niche? Or just a sheep in wolf’s clothing? Read this post

Sex sells… again and again WIRED magazine featured a story on freemium-style dating sites: the more you pay, the more profile you get. But where does the quality vs. quantity line get drawn? Read this post

Tags: anniversary, aymp, january, new year, resolution