***The Best Marriages on Six Continents of the World

By America’s #1 Love and Marriage Experts.

The “heart of the matter” is this – successful marriages around the world are bound together by their commonalities – certainly not by their differences. Learn the lessons, emulate them, practice them, take them to heart, and engage in the simple acts that make great marriage work every day.

For more than 26 years, we have traveled the world in search of the best marriages. Our travels have taken us to five of the world’s seven continents and to nearly 40 countries. We have written extensively about our findings on SelfGrowth.com and in our book, Golden Anniversaries: The Seven Secrets of Successful Marriage and the companion book, Simple Things Matter in Love and Marriage.

Our research and writings over the years on the subject of successful marriage have been our “labor of love,” make no mistake about that! To do what you love with someone you love is a great place to be in life! We have been there for nearly three decades of research together. And this August 27, we celebrate our 43rd Wedding Anniversary.

In our writings and musings about love and marriage we always make note of the commonalities present in the best relationships in the USA and around the world. We often refer to the “pervasive characteristics” present in all the best marriages – if you will, the seven secrets of successful marriage that form the fabric for love that lasts, more often than not, for a lifetime. We have been continually astounded that the “secrets” are nearly identical on the continents of the world we have visited. Pretty amazing, huh?

This November we head for Continent Number 6 – the African Continent! We are excited to say the least. First stop – Morocco! Look for our postings from there as we start our journey this fall.

Just imagine, being able to interview successfully married couples on six of the seven continents of the world. Can number 7 – Antarctica – be far behind?? Trust us, we are working on it! Maybe we can interview the Penguins. With over 40,000 human inhabitants during the “summer months” on Antarctica, we are confident we will find many to interview! Stay tuned as that story unfolds.

Marriage is alive and well around the world – of that you can be sure. According to recent estimates (2007), there are about 44 million marriages worldwide each year. And for the record, there are approximately 9 million divorces each year. Clearly, each year marriages out-number divorces worldwide by more than four to one. Those who have successful marriages prevail over those who don’t by a wide margin worldwide.

In addition to exploring the seven key ingredients that define a successful marriage--togetherness, truthfulness, respect and kindness, staying fit, joint finances, tactile communication, and surprise and unpredictability--we have shared hundreds of insightful and practical interviews with happy couples.

Now, you see why we are so excited about our work – why we enjoy sharing our findings with you through our writings and musings for SelfGrowth.com and through our books.

Successful marriages are very similar around the world and the characteristics of the great ones are very much alike irrespective of culture, race, ethnicity, language, or continent. The real beauty of our many findings about successful love and marriage are the similarities beyond all these “surface differences.” Get past the obvious physical differences between the different peoples of the world, get to the heart of the best relationships beyond the cultural nuances and language barriers, and you find people pretty much alike across continents and around the world.

In so many ways, what makes marriage work is universal. We think we have found those pervasive characteristics that transcend culture, race, geographic location, and religious and spiritual traditions. They form the model for couples to follow if they want to have a loving and successful relationship.

We have said so many times before, simple things matter in love and marriage. Successful relationships represent nothing more than an accumulation of having done the simple things day in and day out. And the truth is, this “simple things” notion prevails in the best marriages – and it doesn’t matter much where you live in the world.

If we learn something new on Continents 6 and 7, we will let you know!

So, loyal friends and colleagues, if you want to know the seven pervasive characteristics present in all successful marriages you will have to read our book, Golden Anniversaries as many of you have done!

Having a successful marriage can really become habit forming! Simple things matter in love and marriage. Love well!

Enjoy receiving our new companion hardback book Simple Things Matter in Love and Marriage at no cost with the purchase of the multiple award winning book Golden Anniversaries: The Seven Secrets of Successful Marriage through special publishers’ closeout of hardback versions.

By Dr. Charles D. Schmitz and Dr. Elizabeth A. Schmitz

Authors of Golden Anniversaries: The Seven Secrets of Successful Marriage
Winner of the INDIE Book Awards GOLD Medal for Best Relationship Book
Winner of the 2009 Mom’s Choice Awards GOLD Medal for Most Outstanding Relationships and Marriage Book
2009 Nautilus Book Awards Winner for Relationships