Allow me to (re)introduce myself, my name is ...
Kimo.
Well, technically, Leopold A. Kimo Richardson, but let's stick with Kimo, eh.
Among many things, I am the founder of www.InIttoWinItBook.com and the author of, "In It to Win It: A Guy's Guide to the First Years of Marriage."
I have been a minister for upwards of 17 years - and I have seen people at some of their happiest times and at some of their worst. It is crazy to think, but marriage, for many people, is the thing that triggers those happiest and most challenging of moments.
Even before I was married, I had men who would reach out to me to share things that were going on in their relationships - even relatively strong relationships. Why they mentioned some of the things that they did not really make sense to me until I got married, however. While I would characterize the relationship that my wife and I have as a strong one, when I say that life hit us, it hit us: 2 surgeries, job changes, long stints of work travel, 7 family members passing away in a short period of time and several others being impacted by a natural disaster, and working through infertility. We've walked through several seasons in a short window of time. If we only know one thing about marriage, it is this: You get to determine how long your honeymoon season last, because what one couple will experience in 10 years, another couple might experience in 10 months.
My wife and I were fortunate to have the advantage of good premarital counseling before we got married. But, one day, when we were reflecting on all the situations that we had walked through after the honeymoon, we could not help but think about the value of post-marital counseling ... I mean a check up from the neck up and the heart down before a marriage goes haywire.
That conversation is where the inspiration for the In It to Win It book, blog, MasterClass and events came from. I wanted to find a way to leverage the conversations that I have had with men over the years and the intense experiences that my wife and I have walked through to help men get and stay in it to win it in their marriages.
Marriage seems tougher, when you do not know that others have experienced what you are experiencing and have found a way to make their honeymoons last in it. Marriage seems tougher, when you do not know some of the questions that you can ask (of yourself and of your wife) and steps you can try to strengthen your relationship.
Listen, if getting and staying in your marriage is something that you are willing to try, then I (along with some others) am here to help - and In It to Win It is how. Let's stay connected!
I, along with some other contributors, are in the process of adding more resources to this site. In the meantime, there is one resource that I would suggest that you check out, "In It to Win It: A Guy's Guide to the First Years of Marriage." It is a relationship book for guys who do not like relationship books, with short, easy-to-read, action-oriented chapters on all the things that help you to focus on the win in your first years of marriage.
Check it out on Amazon.com by following this link.