Thoughts

Opinion pieces, newest first.

123 articles

Summer Writing

Yesterday, I spent some of my time at the summit outlining the next book, Prepare Lead Win. I admit, my brain gets very excited about writing. It's a somewhat effortless activity for me. I don't know what I would do if I couldn't write every day. I love words and the power of...

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Do It with Numbers

It doesn't matter what your political ambition is. It could be winning an election. It could be defeating a bond. It might be TEXIT. It could be vacating the chair. Whatever your ambition in politics might be, you need numbers. I appreciate those who highlight an issue. They...

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The Hero is the Orchestra, Not the Soloist

We lost Wisconsin, it seems. For all of the effort that went into it, in a state that voted for President Trump 49.60% to 48.74%, Supreme Court candidate Brad Schimel appears to have lost by 9 points. How does that happen? It happens because Republicans don't organize, don't get...

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Pick a Side

We're in a war. One side wants peace and prosperity. The other favors a stressed-out lawlessness. The Democrat Party is the party of violence. Maxine Waters, Jasmine Crockett, and others urge their people toward violence against those with different political views. You could...

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Busy Busy

It's been a minute since I posted. I've given two trainings in the last week (Beaumont and Llano). I'm updating Grassroots Priorities daily and the session is starting to move quickly. I'm trying to keep up with my client work. I've got some things on my mind, so I'll just talk...

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Predictability

The fastest way to get someone to stop moving is to make them uncertain about their next step. We like a predictable environment. Generally speaking, women don't like a man who lacks predictable income. Men don't like women whose mood and attitude change by the moment. Children...

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Dividing the Herd

Those who work hard to divide the grassroots bore me because it's lazy. It's not hard to foment division. You see predators do this in nature. They find a herd, push hard up the middle in a surprise sprint, divide those previously peacefully assembled, go after the closest prey...

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Mastering the One-Inch Punch

Bruce Lee was famous for many things, and one of them was the one-inch punch. With proper training, he said, a one-inch punch could be just as devastating as a full-wind up punch. Lee said this about it: "It's about delivering maximum force in a minimal distance." The...

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Saving Lives

Yesterday, I had a great conversation with a pastor in the Rio Grande Valley. He's interested in having a Goal is to Win seminar down there and he discussed his time in politics. He mentioned how critical it is for Christians to be engaged and how elections could be easily won...

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Local Revolutionary Truth

Tell the truth. It can be revolutionary. Think of the times in history that publishing the written word led to profound change in the world. Luther's 95 theses. The Gutenberg bible. The American and French revolutions. Pravda's profound role in the Russian revolution. The recent...

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It's All in the Delivery

Last night, I'm driving home from dinner with Nicole and listening to Steve Martin speak about comedy. He gives the example of how the line from Groucho Marx "I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member" would be very different when delivered by various comedians...

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Changing the Representative

Sometimes, the representative you have needs to be replaced. Like a burned out light bulb now grown dim and flickering, you need to install a new one. To do that, you don't just point at the defective light bulb. You go find a new one, a better one. So here's my joke of the day...

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Defining County Republican Leadership

A leader is never a leader because of their title; a leader is someone people choose to follow. As I travel the state of Texas, I've been thinking about the role of Republican county chair because it's often the case the people talk to me about their county chair. Some want...

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They Want to Squash You

Business success happens like this: an entrepreneur find some product or service that the public wants, makes it, markets it, and captures a market for the product. Having found the recipe for success, everything the business does from that moment forward works to offer more of...

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Selling the Drive

Yesterday, I was in Montgomery County doing what is now becoming a weekly event: a training seminar. For three and a half hours, I walked them through grassroots preparation, candidate preparation, campaign preparation, and how to prepare to go against the opposition. (Photo...

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