In a nutshell: Saying YES opens doors. Saying NO closes them. This sports mantra applies perfectly to finding a Ukrainian or Russian wife: every criterion you add closes a door, every criterion you remove opens one. The men who succeed at CQMI are those who said YES — to the subscription, to unexpected profiles, to a woman from a different culture. That's exactly what I did when I agreed to meet Boryslava, and it changed my life forever.

  A Mantra From the Cycling World That Changed My Entire Outlook

Dear friend, I'm about to tell you something that — on the surface — has absolutely nothing to do with Ukrainian women. And yet, by the end of this article, you'll see that everything is connected.

Every morning, I climb on my stationary bike and follow the training sessions of my coach, Yuri Hauswald. For those who don't know him, Yuri is a former lacrosse athlete who became a professional cyclist — a fascinating, demanding, and deeply inspiring man. We've only exchanged a few emails, and yet I feel like I've known him for years. That's the magic of a true coach: he doesn't know you personally, but his words hit you right in the heart.

One morning, mid-workout, Yuri dropped a mantra that hit me like an uppercut:

The Power to Say YES. Four words. And when Yuri explains them, everything suddenly makes extraordinary sense. When he was a university student, Yuri was a dedicated lacrosse player — a physical, intense team sport to which he devoted all his energy. One day, a friend who was passionate about cycling invited him for a simple bike ride. Cycling? That was absolutely not his thing. He could have said NO. After all, he already had his sport, his routine, his certainties. But that day, Yuri decided to say YES.

That bike ride — a simple "yes" given almost out of politeness — completely changed his trajectory. Step by step, Yuri became a professional cyclist. An entire career, incredible adventures, a life transformed. All because he said YES one afternoon when he could have stayed in his comfort zone.

And Yuri doesn't stop there. He shares example after example from his life where he decided to say YES to proposals that didn't necessarily appeal to him — and the doors it opened every single time. The pattern is always the same: when you say YES, you open doors. When you say NO, you close them.

This mantra has become my daily companion. And I promise you that what I'm about to explain will probably change the way you approach your search for love.

  Your Criteria: The Power to Say NO to Your Own Happiness

At CQMI matchmaking agency, it works exactly the same way as it did for Yuri on his bike. You have the power to say YES or NO. You have the ability to open doors — or close them. And believe me, after nearly 15 years of helping English-speaking and French-speaking men find a Ukrainian or Russian wife, I can tell you that the majority of you — unconsciously — choose to say NO.

How? Through your criteria.

I've written about this many times on the CQMI blog. Criteria are literally the power to say NO. Every criterion you add to your list — "I want a blonde under 35, no children, English-speaking, living in a big city, at least 5'5" — every single criterion is a door you close. Slam. Slam. Slam. With every additional requirement, you reduce your chances by a significant percentage.

Conversely, every criterion you remove opens a new door to happiness. You accept brunettes? A door opens. You accept a woman with a child? Another door opens. You accept a woman who doesn't speak English yet but is willing to learn? Yet another door.

I'm not telling you to abandon all preferences — that would be absurd. I'm telling you to think about what is truly essential for a fulfilling life together, and to let go of the rest. The woman who will transform your life might not be the one you had pictured on paper. She might be a thousand times better than your checklist — but you'll never know if you closed the door on her before even giving her a chance.

  The CQMI Subscription: 10 Doors to the Unknown

This YES principle applies from the very moment you sign up at CQMI. You have a choice between two approaches:

The first is our subscription at $350 CAD. One month, 10 contacts with serious women who are genuinely interested in building a relationship. When you choose the subscription, you decide to say YES to surprise. You step into the unknown. You'll discover profiles of women you might not have picked yourself — and that's precisely where the magic lies. You open 10 doors to happiness. Ten women who have taken the step of wanting to meet you, ten possibilities, ten potential adventures.

The second approach is the single contact. You choose the one and only woman who matches your visual criteria. You say NO to surprise, NO to the unknown. You close doors one after another to keep only the one who, based on a photo, appeals to you the most. It's human. It's understandable. But it's also the best way to miss the woman of your life.

I see it every week in my work: the men who succeed at CQMI — those who end up getting married, building a home, being happy — are almost always those who agreed to say YES to profiles they hadn't anticipated. The men who fail are often those who clung to their checklist like a life raft.

Discover the CQMI Subscription — $350 CAD / 10 Contacts

  Accept or Decline: One Click That Could Change Your Life

There is a very concrete moment in the CQMI experience where the Power to Say YES manifests itself in the simplest and most powerful way possible.

When a Ukrainian woman selects your profile — yes, she chose you, she looked at your photos, read your description, and decided you interested her — her profile appears in your Favorites menu. And there, you find yourself facing two buttons: Accept or Decline.

Two buttons. Two possible destinies.

When you click Decline, you say NO. Nothing will happen. This woman will disappear from your screen and from your life. You'll never know what she had to offer, what conversations you might have had, what connection could have blossomed. The curtain falls. The door closes.

When you click Accept, you've just said YES. You've just opened a door to the unknown. And who knows? This door you've just opened with a single click might change your life forever. Just like Yuri, who accepted a simple bike ride on an ordinary afternoon — and ended up making it his career, his passion, his life.

I know what some of you are thinking: "Sure, Antoine, but this woman doesn't match what I'm looking for. She's a brunette and I prefer blondes. She's 42 and my limit is 38. She lives in Odessa and I wanted Kyiv." I hear you. But go back and re-read Yuri's story. Cycling was absolutely not his thing. And yet.

  Saying YES to Eastern Europe: The Decision That Enriches an Entire Lifetime

There's another scenario that speaks to me very personally and that I want to share with you.

You decide to find your future wife. Plenty of options are available. A woman from your own country — that's the easy solution, the comfort zone, the one where you minimize surprises. A woman who lives near you, speaks the same language, understands the same cultural codes. It's comfortable. It's reassuring. And for many men, it's exactly what has kept them stuck in romantic failure for years.

The man who chooses a woman from Eastern Europe decides to say YES to a woman from a different culture. He has just opened a door to unknown destinations full of surprises and richness. He says YES to another language, to different traditions, to a deeper and more committed vision of family and partnership than what he may have experienced at home. He says YES to an entire universe that will enrich his life — culinary, linguistic, emotional, spiritual.

The Ukrainian and Russian women who register with CQMI are not looking for a fling. They're not looking for a one-night stand or a casual relationship "to see how it goes." They are looking for marriage, a lifelong commitment, a man with whom to build a stable and loving home. This is precisely why these women choose a serious matchmaking agency over a dating site where genuine commitment is about as common as a sunny day in London. If you're not ready for a sincere commitment, please move along — you would waste your time and, more importantly, theirs.

But if you're ready to say YES to this extraordinary adventure, then welcome. You're in the right place. We have guided hundreds of men from the US, Canada, the UK and Australia who made exactly this decision, and our approach has proven itself time and again.

  What If It's YOUR Turn to Say YES?

This mantra — The Power to Say YES — is much more than a motivational phrase heard on a stationary bike at 6 a.m. It's a life principle that has been used before you by thousands of women and men who are now happily married.

My own wife, Boryslava, had decided to close the door on French men. She had gone through disappointing experiences and no longer believed a Frenchman could be the right partner for her. Then one day, our matchmakers at the Kyiv agency convinced her to reconsider. She agreed. She said YES.

On my side, I too had my own firmly held convictions. When the women at the Kyiv agency pushed me to reconsider my decision not to meet Boryslava — because she didn't exactly match what I had in mind — I hesitated. I could have said NO. I could have stubbornly clung to my criteria, stayed in my comfort zone, and continued chasing a ghost that only existed in my imagination. But that day, I decided to say YES.

You know the rest. Boryslava and I got married. Together, we built CQMI. And every single day, I realize just how profoundly that simple "yes" transformed my life.

So I'm asking you — you who are reading these lines tonight in your living room in Toronto, in New York, in London, in Sydney or anywhere else:

What if it's your turn to say YES?

Use this mantra in your life. On your bike, at work, in your relationships. And above all, use it in your search for love. Next time you're tempted to click "Decline," next time you want to add yet another criterion to your list, next time the fear of the unknown comes knocking at your door — remember Yuri and his bike ride. Remember Boryslava, who said YES to a Frenchman. Remember me, who said YES to a woman I hadn't chosen.

Happiness might be behind the very next door you open.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend, in good health and with an open mind!

Antoine Monnier
Founder, CQMI International Matchmaking Agency
www.cqmi.ca

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