You can reach an important agreement with an authority figure if you both agree to follow the same path no matter where it leads. Alliances with people who are more powerful than you can be extremely hard to create, but they are the most valuable alliances you can have. If you have to give a little bit more than you want to in order to win this person’s trust and favor, do it. It might cost you a little in the short term, but in the long run it will be worth any sacrifice.

Increase the odds of meeting the right one with your profile by being as flexible as you can in describing what you’re searching for. Ask yourself what’s really important and what you’re willing to compromise on. That person is out there, but you have to meet them halfway!

Go ahead and toot your own horn, at least to your significant other. If you can’t brag about your myriad accomplishments with them, then who can you celebrate your greatness with?

Just how much longer will this dry spell last? You don’t have any ready answers, not that anyone is looking to you for them anyway. But on the off chance someone asks, it pays to be prepared.