31principles, he emanated his sense of mission and we all
drew energy from him.
Political consultant Joe Shumate, one of the shrewd-
est people I’ve ever worked with, kept us all focused
with consistent campaign strategy. It was the job of the
advertising and media work to keep it strong and simple.
Although our opponent ran nearly 15 different TV
ads, each one about a different issue, we determined
from the outset that we would stick to the same mes-
sage throughout, from the first ad to the last. We basi-
cally ran the same ad over and over. We knew that al-
though the district was largely Democratic, our polling
showed that philosophically it was more conservative.
Kolbe himself was conservative, so his views coincided
with the voters’ better than our opponent’s did, although
the voters weren’t yet aware of it. By having each of our
ads focused on our simple theme—who better repre-
sentsyou—we gained rapidly in the polls as election
night neared.
The nightlong celebration of Jim Kolbe’s upset vic-
tory brought a huge message home to me: The simpler
you keep it, the stronger it gets. Kolbe won a close vic-
tory that night, but he remains in Congress today, more
than 10 years later, and his victory margins are now
huge. He has never complicated his message, and he
has kept his politics strong and simple, even when it
looked unpopular to do so.
It’s hard to stay motivated when you’re confused.
When you simplify your life, it gathers focus. The more
you can focus your life, the more motivated it gets.
7. Look for the lost gold
When I am happy, I see the happiness in others.
When I am compassionate, I see the compassion in other
Look for the lost gold