Honesty Really is the Best Policy

When you join an online dating service, you are looking for a girl that you can like,even come to love. That girl is looking for a guy that SHE can like or even love. What you aren't looking for is a girl who would like your best friend or your idea of what the perfect guy looks like or talks like or thinks like. So, in order to find the right girl for you,and she IS out there,you need to be completely honest with yourself about yourself when writing the online profile, during the dating process and beyond.
The best way to begin writing your profile is to carefully analyze your past relationship (s). What was right? What was wrong? What things really made you like the last girl? Which didn't? Don't assume that just because you hated that your last girl was so totally self-involved that she couldn't see anything else, you'll be able to overlook that quality this time. You won't.
If you aren't 6'1" with a six-pack to be proud of, don't claim to be. If you are a bar tender, don't claim to be a lawyer with a six figure income. If you are 40 going on 50, don't pretend to be 30 something.
Remember, the idea here is to find a girl who will like you exactly like you are. If you have lied in your profile, the first face-to-face meeting will remove all her doubt that you are a liar,and probably a cheat, as well.
Lastly, once you have found a girl that you believe can be the one for you, for goodness sakes, cancel your membership to the online dating service. After all, you know and she knows that online dating services are intended for those who are looking,not those who have found or been found.