I've got some good news for you. There are women who absolutely adore shy men. I know a few couples like that, and their relationships are extremely close. The challenge for you is to encounter such a woman. As you've discovered, some women really do expect the man to take most of the initiative. But that is not all women. You just have to circulate and be willing to expose yourself to a lot of women. That increases the odds of you encountering the kind of woman who will give you the encouragement you need.

Don't keep your existance a secret and you might mention to people in your daily life that you are shopping for romance. A huge turn-on for some women is when another woman tells them that a certain guy likes them. So, if you find it hard to tell a woman directly, talk of your interest to others who know the woman. They will pass that on to her, and she might then meet you more than half-way.

Don't make the huge mistake of thinking that, because some women don't respond to you, then that means no woman will. Also, tell yourself that it won't kill you to get some rejection. That is part if the process. You have to think like a salesman. Maybe most of the people he approaches decline to buy the product, which just means he has to make his pitch to a lot of prospective customers.

Here's an important thing to know. It is a turn off to a woman to think that a man has approached her because he is looking for a girlfriend. A woman wants to believe that you have approached her because something special about her is making you interested. Often you can't really know what is special about a woman, until after you have started dating her. But never let on that you just want to try her out like test-driving a car, even if that is the truth. Get in the habit of talking to every woman you meet as though you find her unusual and remarkable.