About

When I tell people that I’ve started playing online video games in order to find the secrets to success in real life and love, I often get funny looks in response. “Really?!” They’ll question, “relationship advice from World of Warcraft?”

I’m not proposing that World of Warcraft is the new Match.com… But I do see these games offering a sense of community that we’re increasingly lacking in the real world, and fulfilling a very primal role in people’s lives – providing digital citizens with a sense of purpose and belonging, so that they can foster profound relationships built on balance, shared reliance and trust.

I’m suggesting that we harness the 21st century primal wisdom of the virtual game experience and apply this survival knowledge – the Avatar Secrets – to real life, to attain the success, happiness, balance and love that we all strive for. Think of this as the game world guide to real world fulfillment.

So who am I and how did I end up here?

I’m a digital journalist, multiplatform producer and actor. In the beginning, I set out to explore the lives of people who’s most profound experiences were being lived, online. I’d finished a masters degree at NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program and had been working as the Interactive Producer for PBS Frontline’s “Digital Nation.” I was at a giant gaming convention in the summer of 2009, and was amazed by the amount of couples I saw, walking hand-in-hand, pushing baby carriages. When I returned back to New York after that shoot, I looked at my best friends – beautiful, fun, successful women – and was struck by a startling realization: These girls are all struggling to find the right guy, yet MMO gamers seem to be finding true love. It was in that moment that my journey began.

Time and again I’ve encountered gamers who’ve found their soulmates “in-world”. With digital citizens spending a staggering 3-billion hours a week in online games, I ventured out on a mission to find out what they’re onto that the rest of us should know. How is the internet fostering our primal instincts? And how can we apply this magic to our real lives?

As I set out to answer these questions, I found myself on my own quest for self-discovery. While some people turn to God in their quest for meaning, and others turn to therapy… I turned to video games, challenging myself to look for wisdom about love, success and meaning in one of the most unlikely places: World of Warcraft.

Now, I’m sharing the lessons about life, success, perseverance and communication I’ve learned in my game world expedition. I hope that my journey, and the Avatar Secrets to Real Life and Love, will inspire you to embrace your personal quest – online and in the real world.

I hope the Avatar Secrets can inspire you in your journey and I look forward to hearing about your adventures!

Ramona