140 episodes

Smart Dating Academy helps busy, successful professionals to jump start their dating lives. We have a results-oriented, fun 8 step process - which transforms you into a better dater - helping you find "the one".

This podcast is meant to help you put more love in to your life, and more life in to your love

Smart Dating Academy - The Podcast The Smart Dating Academy Podcast

    • Education
    • 4.9 • 117 Ratings

Smart Dating Academy helps busy, successful professionals to jump start their dating lives. We have a results-oriented, fun 8 step process - which transforms you into a better dater - helping you find "the one".

This podcast is meant to help you put more love in to your life, and more life in to your love

    HOW to Break Up With Someone

    HOW to Break Up With Someone

    This episode will take the mystery out of the BEST and most humane way to break up with someone that you've been dating for any extended amount of time, and is with Natalia Juarez. Natalia is a seasoned relationship coach specializing in heartbreak. Following a broken engagement at the age 29, she redefined heartbreak as an opportunity for transformation. In 2014, she started helping individuals in navigating romantic hardships and fostering healthy relationships.

    We talk about:


    How one can be sure that breaking up is the right decision
    How to not blindside your partner with a breakup
    Choosing the right time and place to initiate a breakup
    In what circumstances it would be appropriate to break up through a phone call or text
    Strategies to maintain firmness while also showing compassion during the breakup conversation
    Setting boundaries after a breakup to ensure both parties have space to heal
    When it's appropriate to consider reestablishing contact after a breakup 



    Natalia's Website: Lovistics.com
    Follow Natalia on IG: @thebreakupcoach
    Free Breakup Scripts


    For more free tips and up to date information, click here to register for the Smart Dating Academy free newsletter!   https://www.smartdatingacademy.com/contact

    Follow us on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/smartdatingacademy/

    • 39 min
    Navigate Change WITH EASE and Create the Life You WANT!

    Navigate Change WITH EASE and Create the Life You WANT!

    This week I welcome my esteemed colleague and great friend Jenny Stevens to the podcast. Jenny is a licensed clinical counselor turned personal/ professional/divorce coach. She is known as 'The Champion for Change' having gone through her own share of difficult life changes.

    We talk about:


    How working with SDA has helped her find the lid to her pot
    The difficult changes that Jenny had to navigate to lead her to where she is now
    How to redesign your life in 3 simple steps 
    The importance of mindset and breaking free of our limiting beliefs
    The Top 5 mindset hacks
    How to break free from perfection and overthinking

    Jenny will inspire you to not wait for a life changing event to create the life you want. You can do anything you set your mind to! Life is so short, don’t wait!

    https://jennystevenscoach.com/

    For more free tips and up to date information, click here to register for the Smart Dating Academy free newsletter!   https://www.smartdatingacademy.com/contact

    Follow us on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/smartdatingacademy/

    • 47 min
    Healing and Moving On From Breakups

    Healing and Moving On From Breakups

    This week we welcome the wonderful Kendra Allen to our podcast. Kendra is a breakup coach, host of the Heal Your Heartbreak Podcast, author of The Breakup Workbook, and founder of Break Up Bestie. She shares how she saw a huge gap online for practical and healthy heartbreak advice, after going through a series of painful breakups. So, she set out to fill it in.


    We talk about:


    The first steps to take to get through the beginning of a breakup (and it starts with sharing your true feelings!)
    Why it's not good to numb away the breakup
    The importance of the No Contact rule in healing
    How moving on from a breakup is similar to the experience of getting sober
    Kendra's stance on on-again, off-again relationships
    Navigating social media when it comes to your ex
    Practical things people can do to help to heal from a breakup
    Why routines are so important when going through a breakup

    You will love this episode! Kendra is such a wealth of knowledge and you will learn so much about how to navigate this difficult time.


    For more free tips and up to date information, click here to register for the Smart Dating Academy free newsletter!   https://www.smartdatingacademy.com/contact

    Follow us on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/smartdatingacademy/

    • 40 min
    Secrets to Lasting Love!

    Secrets to Lasting Love!

    This week on the podcast I chatted with the amazing Sharon Pope about the secrets to keeping a relationship healthy.Sharon Pope is a certified Master Life Coach and Relationship Expert helping women and men get the tools they need to improve, heal, or release their struggling marriages. She is a
     seven-time international best-selling author and has appeared in numerous media outlets and online publications, including the “Modern Love” column of The New York Times.


    We talked about:


    What led Sharon to become a certified Master Life Coach and Relationship Expert
    How we can become the best version of ourselves to attract and sustain the relationship we want
    How we can become more self-aware
    What Sharon learned during her divorce and how she met her new husband
    The one (most important) thing to look for in a partner (if you want a long term, committed, connected, loving relationship)
    Essential relationship tips before you say "I Do"
    Tragic mistakes that absolutely destroy a relationship and how to prevent them
    How to start conversations of evolution in a relationship and what questions to ask your partner






    For more free tips and up to date information, click here to register for the Smart Dating Academy free newsletter!   https://www.smartdatingacademy.com/contact

    Follow us on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/smartdatingacademy/

    • 44 min
    How to Talk to Men & The Secret to Happiness!

    How to Talk to Men & The Secret to Happiness!

    This conversation covers AMAZING gems, including:

    --3 Myths About Men (these are awesome, and have to do with 'the chase', sex, and feelings)

    --The differences between men's & women's brains (I about passed out when I learned this - it makes COMPLETE sense)

    --The AWESOME four communication archetypes (are you a lioness, puppy, koala bear or scorpion)?

    --How to get men to HEAR you (and it doesn't have to do with raising your voice)!

    --What are some quick communication tips that women can use in challenging situations with men?   

    --How to get men or anyone to help you (it's called the 'appreciation' sandwich)

    --The ONE simple daily practice to stay in balance

    --How we can tell if our lives are OUT of alignment (and how that affects our dating lives)--Why 'going hard' is BAD for a relationship

    --What 'coming from a place of love' can do to blossom your love for EVERYONE in your life. 

    Sandy Weiner, Bela's guest, is the founder of Last First Date, is a TEDx speaker, relationship coach, author and podcast host.   

    Sandy's communication archetype quiz is here:  https://lastfirstdate.com/4-communication-archetypes/#sthash.HVO24czW.dpbs

    For more free tips and up to date information, click here to register for the Smart Dating Academy free newsletter!   https://www.smartdatingacademy.com/contact

    Follow us on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/smartdatingacademy/

    • 59 min
    She almost didn't message him back...Megan's love story

    She almost didn't message him back...Megan's love story

    Megan's love story with Nick is wonderful, and you will hear yourself in her story.   She wasn't comfortable around boys growing up, and started dating after college (side note, Bela and Megan were college friends who had lost touch for many years).  Megan knew a few things:  she knew she wanted lasting love, wasn't picking the right people, and that she wasn't getting the results she wanted.   A college friend told Megan about Bela's Smart Dating Academy, and Megan enlisted their professional help because she knew that she wouldn't get different results doing the same things over and over again!  In this episode, Megan tells her story of dating 'life of the party' guys, and how she cast her net wider to find the 'life of the party's best friend who's an accountant' type of guy :)   She put her profile on a unique app that she mentions, and was VERY dubious when she received a “you have a match”message….she saw the guy and he looked good but you’ll hear why she almost didn’t message him back……You will relate to this and it shows why taking risks can sometimes be the best decisions you’ll ever make!

    Join our free newsletter database by signing up here:  www.smartdatingacademy.com/contact

    Follow us on Instagram at @smartdatingacademy

    Schedule your consultation with us here!   We are on a waiting list, and would love to help you!  https://www.smartdatingacademy.com/11-coaching/coaching-call-with-bela

    • 42 min

Customer Reviews

4.9 out of 5
117 Ratings

117 Ratings

Steph Anne S ,

What a wealth of knowledge!

I have been listening to Smart Dating for a few years. I have gotten so many great bites of info and knowledge not just for dating but for my life. Thank you Bella for leading us down a more insightful path in life! ❤️❤️❤️

Susie Ready ,

I LOVE Bela Gandhi’s SDA podcast

Dear Bela - I have listened to almost every single episode of your podcasts back to last fall and I’m going to keep going because I’m jloving them and I’m learning so much! I’ve discovered that you are brilliant, wise, intuitive, discerning, and you know how to quicky pinpoint the issues. Not just for romantic relationships, but for any type of relationship. And it’s so great that you’re willing to apply the teachings to your own life (real time therapy) — like when you talk about your relationship with your husband Andy or that episode about trauma where you analyzed your communication with your son when you were driving him to school! I sent that one to a friend to help her communicate with her own teen son. Your guests on every show are amazing and I take away helpful nuggets from each one. It’s hard to choose one favorite episode because I love so many. Listening to one of your podcasts before going on a date always makes me feel grounded, positive and hopeful. Thank you for offering this gift to the world.

erin 26 ,

Really Needed this Podcast!

Bela is a gem! Her approach to dating makes so much sense. And her kindness and optimism gives me hope and excitement for the future. Like others, I sooooo wish I could have learned this stuff back in my 20’s!

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