People are moving into their most productive stretches of the year – the quarter from post-labor day to Thanksgiving/Christmas season.

Because of culture and climate we are used to certain times of the year being related to certain activities. Summer = vacation. Fall =Thanksgiving. Winter = Christmas.

What does that have to do with tactics? Timing. Timing can be everything.

Have you been frustrated by people’s lack of involvement and interest in politics the last couple of months? Your wait is over. Most people don’t pay attention to candidates until after Labor Day (not withstanding major Presidential campaigns).

This is also the time of year to propose training in your organization and to start teaching. Why? Because people are used to going to school this time of year. Most of us did it for 12-16 of the best years of our lives.

You can fight against tradition, but you will lose. We love our traditions. That’s why they are traditions.

You might want to start thinking tactically about your timing. This is a great season to think about things you want to do in the next few months.

· Best time to solicit for charity? Thanksgiving/Christmas

· Best time to discuss goals and long term objectives? New Years.

· Best time to talk to the significant other about a TV upgrade? College Bowl and Super Bowl season.

· Best time to start talking to people about the legislative session? January

· Best time to talk about romantic stuff? Early February.

PLEASE LISTEN CAREFULLY: This does not mean you start planning when it is that season. It means that’s when you pull the trigger and start talking to your audience about it then.

Let’s get romantic for a moment, shall we?

GUYS – don’t think you can talk to your spouse about potentially romantic things to do on February 14. You need to have already planned for that in January.

However, if you sell Valentine cards, putting them on display in December is dumb. Too early. But if you order them for your store in December you are smart.

If you planning your special Valentine’s Day marketing program to attract new customers today, then you are really smart.

So your job is to look at the calendar. See what will be happening in the next few months and plan now and get ready for what you will be talking to people about in three months.

“I am really questioning the logic behind the idea of working within the republican party. Not one single bill passed last session. Not one Liberty candidate made it past the primary. The OK republican leadership is laughing at us. And it’s not just Oklahoma … some pro-wrestler lady beat Peter Schiff, a man that predicted the economic crash! But I guess when it comes down to it there is not much difference between pro-wrestling and our current political system anyway. We need to rethink what we are doing and get back on track. We need to stop watering down our message for “conservatives”. I’m not saying I have the answers but I know the current plan is not working.”

My thoughts:

1)     Politics is a long ballgame and it is basketball, not soccer.  Political change is not:  we scored a goal and the game is over.  We are going to score and so are they. Who ever scores the most over time wins.

2)     Don’t give up on groups because of the leaders.  These groups have members that are screaming for change and may be as frustrated with you with the direction of the group; they just don’t know any alternatives.  “Like minded groups” provide you with the opportunity to create relationships with people who do share your views.  We will never create change by retreating into smaller units that don’t recruit or reach out.

3)     Yep we didn’t win with this legislature.  But the Tea Parties were created AFTER the election of 2008.  The people in charge of the Oklahoma legislature of today started 10 years ago to take over.  Tea Party people have not begun to fight.

When I came to Oklahoma 17 years ago to pass Right to Work we had only 1/3 of the legislature in support, it took nearly 4 election cycles to get Right to Work passed.  Every week someone told me, “you can’t get it done, just quit or do a referendum.”  If I had taken their “advise” it would have never gotten done.  They only beat you if you quit.

The question is:  are you going to learn to win, or are you going to keep doing the same things that lead to defeat and permanent minority status?  Are you seeking to be loved, or feared and respected by the political class?

Politics at one level is a game of manipulation, only because politicians are manipulatable.  Their behavior is predictable; hence you can create change IF you know what you are doing.

Kirk

GUEST COLUMN – This goes along with my thoughts above . . .

“Set your goals high, and don’t stop till you get there.”

Bo Jackson

The False Indicators of Success and Failure

By Bob Cox

There are three emotional levels most everyone experiences during their journey through setting and achieving their important life goals:

1. THE HIGH
2. THE LOW
3. THE PLATEAU

When a positive experience (the high) impacts one of our goals, we become very excited and say, “This goal is going really great!” When it happens to me, I usually say to my wife, Karin, “This is going to be easier than I imagined.”

I take that positive experience that moves my goal forward and extrapolate it out to a larger universe. The goal becomes a conceptual video in my mind that is now nearly achieved. However, though this high point in reference to my goal is good news… it’s not an indication that I’m going to achieve the goal without continued hard work and persistence.

When a negative experience (the low) impacts one of our goals, we become sad and a little discouraged and say, “This goal is not going well.” When it happens to me, I usually say to Karin, “This is going to be more difficult than I imagined.”

I take that negative experience that slows down my goal and extrapolate it out to a larger universe. The goal becomes a snapshot in my mind… frozen in time… and it seems as though I will never achieve it. However, though this low point in reference to my goal is disappointing… it’s not an indication that I can’t or won’t accomplish the goal.

The highs and lows are both great deceivers!

They are false indicators of success and failure, as they are simply moments in time.

The plateau is when you reach a point that makes you feel like you’re stuck in neutral.

For example…

Your goal is to lose 15 pounds this year. So far, you’ve lost 5 pounds, but haven’t lost any more weight in several weeks or months.

Or…

Your goal is to increase your income by $30,000. So far, you’ve bumped your income up by $10,000, but it no longer seems to be increasing.

The reality is that these flat spots are normal — and part of the goal achieving process!

What can you do to push past these plateaus? The best way is to take continued positive actions toward your goals.

If you feel like you’re stuck in neutral, here’s what I want you to do. Schedule 10 minutes with yourself (10 minutes of quiet time) each morning for the next week. During that time, remember WHY you set that goal. Visualize the benefits of achieving the goal. In addition, ask yourself these questions:

• Have I allocated enough time to accomplish this goal?

This is the most common problem that I have discovered during the one-on-one coaching calls I make to members of the Epiphany Alliance program. Make sure you’re not overreaching by trying to accomplish a goal in an unrealistic amount of time.

• Have I asked other people for their help?

There is no one right way or set formula for every person and goal. You need to be creative and open to suggestions and ideas.

• Do I have too many goals?

Making three financial goals for the year in addition to their health, personal, and social goals is too much. My recommendation is to make only one goal in each category.

My goal experiences have taught me to… make my promises to myself sparingly and keep them faithfully. This (which has become my simplified personal mission statement) keeps me from overextending myself — and, thus, underperforming.

A lifetime of success is at your fingertips. You merely need to reach for it. Turn your goals into promises… take continued, positive actions… and you will achieve success — and recreate success — in whatever you pursue, for the rest of your life.

[Ed. Note: You can change your life and accomplish all your goals with simple strategies like the ones Bob Cox just shared. For dozens more ways to turn your dreams into reality -- plus tons of goal-setting tools and motivation to get going -- sign up for ETR's Epiphany Alliance program.Learn more here.]

Yes there is a difference – and a potentially huge one.

You create strategy based on a number of factors – you your advisory, the environment, the stakes.  Being bold at the right moment can be vital – but it is a tool, a tactic, not a strategy.

There is no substitute for planning and preparation.

Too many activists want to “do something now” but refuse to think through the situation, or plan their steps, anticipate possible reactions.  They attack the motives of those who want to make sure there are adequate resources to fund the programs, or make the programs happen.

The result of these bold but misguided frontal assaults is burned out and discouraged activists and half baked ideas that hurts efforts from other groups.

This is not to say that boldness and political courage are bad things.

As part of the planning and preparation process you need to make sure that you have a bold person to pull the trigger at the critical moment.  It is also discouraging to movements when bill sponsors wimp out and when grassroots leaders don’t hold elected officials accountable at election time.

Don’t mistake boldness for brilliance.  Sometimes the courageous are just crazy.  Be sure those who urge caution are not cowards.  Real leaders plan, prepare and implement boldly.

CAMPAIGN UPDATE

Speaking of boldness – congratulations to Rand Paul for winning the GOP nomination in Kentucky.  The GOP Establishment twisted, distorted and maligned Dr. Paul every step of the way, but he stuck to his guns and prevailed.

A great victory like this does not just happen.  Rand has attracted a large number of supporters, many of whom came into the political arena from Ron Paul Presidential campaign.  New activists have risen up and made a huge difference.

But don’t think that this race was won just because of “organic” or “spontaneous” grassroots activism.  That would just ignore reality.  Some very good people took time off their political jobs to help in the campaign.  Sen. Jim DeMint helped attract some additional support from other conservative groups.

The race is not over.  The “corporate/establishment/business as usual” crowd is terrified at the prospect of someone like Rand in Senate.  Independent thinkers scare the heck out of them.  People like Sen. Coburn and other lawmakers who are not motivated by desperately holding on to an office threaten to derail the plans of special interests.  No doubt the attacks will continue through November.

Sometimes (and too often) marketers work to manipulate people. I define manipulation as working to spread an idea or generate an action that is not in a person’s long-term best interest.

The easiest people to manipulate are those that don’t demand a lot of information are open to messages from authority figures and are willing to make decisions on a hunch, particularly if there’s a promise of short-term gains.

If you want to focus on the short run and sell something, get a vote or gather a mob, the easiest place to start is with populations that leave themselves open to manipulation.

There are habits and activities that leave people open to manipulation. I’m not saying they are wrong or right, just pointing out that these behaviors make you open to being manipulated… Here are a few general categories of behaviors that manipulators seek out:

Interesting to note that AM radio used to be filled with ads for second mortgages. And now? Gold.

Manipulating people using modern techniques is astonishingly easy (if the marketer have few morals). You only make it easier when you permit people and organizations that want to take advantage of you to do so by allowing them to use your good nature and your natural instincts against you. It happens every day in Washington DC, online, on TV and in your local community institutions.

[The late Jim Rohn was known as the salesman's philosopher.  He was raised as the son of an Idaho farmer, but struck off for the big city.  While he worked hard, he didn't turn his life around until his late 20's thanks in large part to the philosophy taught him by his boss and mentor, Mr, Earl Shoaff. To find out more about Jim Rohn CLICK HERE]

Knowledge fueled by emotion equals action. Action is the ingredient that ensures results. Only action can cause reaction. Further, only positive action can cause positive reaction.

Action. The whole world loves to watch those who make things happen, and it rewards them for causing waves of productive enterprise.

I stress this because today I see many people who are really sold on affirmations. And yet there is a famous saying that “Faith without action serves no useful purpose.” How true!

I have nothing against affirmations as a tool to create action. Repeated to reinforce a disciplined plan, affirmations can help create wonderful results.

But there is also a very thin line between faith and folly. You see – affirmations without action can be the beginnings of self-delusion. And for your well-being there is little worse than self-delusion.

The man who dreams of wealth and yet walks daily toward certain financial disaster and the woman who wishes for happiness and yet thinks thoughts and commits acts that lead her toward certain despair are both victims of the false hope which affirmations without action can manufacture. Why? Because words soothe and, like a narcotic, they lull us into a state of complacency. Remember this: TO MAKE PROGRESS YOU MUST ACTUALLY GET STARTED!

The key is to take a step today. Whatever the project, start TODAY. Start clearing out a drawer of your newly organized desk … today. Start setting your first goal… today. Start listening to motivational cassettes … today. Start a sensible weight-reduction plan … today. Start calling on one tough customer a day … today. Start putting money in your new “investment for fortune” account … today. Write a long-overdue letter … today. ANYONE CAN! Even an uninspired person can start reading inspiring books.

Get some momentum going on your new commitment for the good life. See how many activities you can pile on your new commitment to the better life. Go all out! Break away from the downward pull of gravity. Start your thrusters going. Prove to yourself that the waiting is over and the hoping is past — that faith and action have now taken charge.

It’s a new day, a new beginning for your new life. With discipline you will be amazed at how much progress you’ll be able to make. What have you got to lose except the guilt and fear of the past?

Now, I offer you this challenge: See how many things you can start and continue in this — the first day of your new beginning.

To Your Success,
Jim Rohn

Don’t let this weekend go by without taking some time to reflect on the hard work and sacrifices the Founders made to create this country. A handful of citizens took on the greatest superpower at the time to stand up for the basic principles of human liberty.

It is easy to always assume that freedom from foreign tyranny is the way it always has been, but we need to reflect that it is not the case and this country was formed because of the great sacrifice of some really hard core people. Individuals who put their lives on the line, their families at home and all their comforts behind them.

I saw this article from Robert Ringer and I think he did a great job explaining just how much we owe people like George Washington and the others who founded this country.

Have a great 4th of July,

Kirk Shelley

Reflections on a Revolution, Part I

By Robert Ringer

If you’ve ever wondered why that 555-foot monolith on the National Mall in D.C. is named after the first president of the United States, read a good book on George Washington. Let me tell you, the guy was one tough dude. I believe he honestly thought he was invincible … and he was, at least until the end. Ironically, it took what most historians believe was some sort of throat infection to bring him down in 1799.

They don’t make wars like the American War of Independence anymore. No antiseptic missile strikes that allow you to kill without having to see blood and guts flying in every direction. No way. The colonial patriots fought the English up close – real close … in freezing weather … sweltering hot weather … too little food … too few supplies … and a lack of manpower.

And, often, without pay. In fact, after the Battle of Trenton, Washington offered officers whose tour of duty was running out $10 to re-enlist. He was willing to do anything and everything to win – including sleeping on the ground right alongside his troops on more than one occasion. Had another general other than Washington led the revolutionary troops, I seriously doubt that the British would have been defeated.

Almost from the outset, most colonists were skeptical about Washington’s ability to triumph over the most powerful fighting force in the world – the British military. And for most of the eight-year war, it looked like they were right.

Keep in mind that throughout the long war there was a civilian battle of words going on between – you guessed it – the hawks (”patriots”) and the doves (”loyalists,” who stood with Great Britain). And, interestingly, a similar war of words was being fought among the populace in Great Britain. Many Brits did not feel that fighting a war 3,000 miles away – at a cost that was draining the economy – was worth it. Sound familiar? The more things change …

In fact, the British had their own version of 9/11 when John Paul Jones, a former British naval officer who became a colonial patriot, brought the revolution to Great Britain’s doorstep by raiding the west coast of England! Suddenly, what had been an unpopular foreign war was threatening to expand onto British soil. The anti-war crowd howled its disapproval of the American quagmire even more.

And when, in 1779, the British tried a last-ditch strategy to gain a foothold in the South by sending 1,000 ships to the Port of Charleston in South Carolina, all hell broke loose. I doubt many Americans today realize it, but it actually became the country’s first civil war, with family members in South Carolina often split between the loyalists and the patriots. The fighting between the two sides was vicious, and often vindictive.

But if Washington was anything, he was stubborn. Make that tough and stubborn. On one occasion, he handed down a sentence for two officers to face a firing squad for treason. Then, in a move that would have made Saddam proud, he ordered the firing squad to be composed of the twelve men who had been the two officers’ accomplices!

If George Washington had ordered me to eat bugs, I would have asked him how many and how fast. I wouldn’t have even had the nerve to ask him if I could wash them down with water.

Thousands of volumes have been written about the American Revolution, detailing every strategy, every battle, and every side plot. But when all is said and done, for me what stands out most was George Washington’s incredible toughness and tenacity.

He undoubtedly would have been appalled to see what wusses modern Americans have become. Can you imagine today’s presidential candidates – purveyors of never-ending entitlements for Americans addicted to the good life – facing off against Washington? He would have brought them to their knees with his Clint Eastwood stare.

The colonists’ victory over Great Britain – against unfathomable odds – had to be the greatest comeback in the annals of war. It’s enough to make one feel ashamed of himself for stewing over every little obstacle that crosses his path.

Or you get an airline ticket for a price you are willing to pay, only to be hit with luggage fees, and “mandated government fees,” that drastically increase the cost of travel?

Or this new “fee” from Alamo—

This isn’t a hidden Alamo fee; it is a government tax, which Alamo is required to disclose as a “Customer Facility Charge.”

Or your cell phone service: you agree to a price for this, only to find additional monthly fees that are not revealed until you get your bill.

Or my latest favorite—last night I tried to order Pizza Hut’s $10 pizza—Advertised as “$10 for any large pizza, any topping” which they were glad to sell me for $12.50.  I mean, what the heck?

I thought I was doing something wrong.  So I played around with this order online,and tried to find an asterisk (*) that would list the exclusions .  Couldn’t find it.  So I called the local place, to order my pizza from them.  I told the guy on the phone I wanted the “Any Pizza for $10 deal.”  I gave him my preferences and he told me I could pick it up in 10 minutes; it would be $12.50!

So I asked him, “What part of “any pizza for $10” made this cost $2.50 more?”  He told me it was the extra toppings and sauce.  So I asked him to define “any” and after a short rant on my part, he agreed to sell me the pizza for $10.  (BTW, playing with the site, I found that the $10 price goes up by $2 if you want it delivered.  Again, there is no warning until you reach the check out page.

It is enough to make me sympathize with those people who defaulted on the subprime mortgages.  How many of them thought they could swing the $10 price, but were actually charged $12.50?

This used to be called “bait and switch.”  In most states it is an illegal advertising practice to make a public offer of one price and then charge another.  But we are either used to this, or government doesn’t want to advertise their greed so they won’t prosecute this any more.

I guess we are going to have to yell at everyone and demand the advertised price every time, or be willing to walk away, in order to end this practice.  Which will probably be more effective than trying to get the government to start calling taxes, “taxes,” not fees.

I just got back from Portland and a great training session organized by Katja. When I got home I downloaded a ton of emails from local tea party people upset because the local media had tried to link them to the militias.

Now keep in mind, this is in Oklahoma, where we just had services for the victims of the Murrah Building bombing 15 years ago.

It was bad enough that the story was published, but what made it worse was that “our people” were trying to force the press to print retractions and were working up press releases to respond.

Thankfully, I was able to get the tea party people to stop, shut up, and quit returning calls from reporters.

Based on my past experience with local political consultants, the reason for the news story was to get something in print they can use—for either a TV ad or slick, oversized postcards—against pro-liberty candidates. Everything about this episode looked like the work of a particular consultant.

He was putting this together so he could get a damning headline and a damaging quote. (If you thought the AP reporter was a sleaze for pulling words out of context, wait until you see the attack ad).

The reason I advised people to ignore this, say nothing, and move on was simple, although highly unsatisfying. The longer the story continued, the more press clips would be available as visual proof that their target is an extremist, or somehow too far out of the mainstream to be elected.

It was smart timing on the consultant’s part. It was right around the April 19 anniversary, there were lots of tea parties going on, and it was far enough away from the primary that the AP reporter didn’t know he was being worked over and used.

What can you do about it? Well, not much. You can’t stop them from printing stuff, but you can quit bringing more rope to your own hanging.

If you are talking to the press about anything that isn’t your issue or something you don’t want to talk about—Shut Up. You can’t win an argument with a newspaper no matter how brilliant you are.

But at least you now have a clue about what some of the attacks against our candidates might be, so you do have some options:

1) Predict it. In this case that’s risky, but you can preemptively claim that your opponent will use slimy tactics and character assassination in order to get elected. It’s these types of tactics that got us ObamaCare and the Bailout.

2) Wait until it happens and counter punch as hard as you can with flyer drops, response ads, etc. That’s what Rand Paul is doing so effectively in Kentucky right now. They have done good self-vetting and research on their opponent and they are on the air with really good response ads within hours of their opponent’s attack.

3) Don’t give them the chance to attack, but go on the offensive and keep it up from beginning to end, changing topics every three days so they can’t put together a response.

You can forgive your enemy, but DO NOT forget. At least you know what is coming.

And remember this is a long term problem. They will pull stuff out from 10 years ago to distract people and discredit their opponents. If you were quoted in the press about this story, you need to keep a copy of it because it will probably come up again and some “gotcha journalist” will use it out of context unless you have a copy.

I can tell you, getting on TV and being quoted in the newspaper is intoxicating. But it doesn’t result in change and it can be used against you later on. Think long and hard before you return a reporter’s call.

A few weeks ago I said –
“Sometimes it is a good idea to fake enthusiasm when you don’t want to do something, so when you “have to” disappoint, they feel bad for you and forget that they are actually hurting you. ”

I said it, but I do not belive it, nor do I belive in this practice. I don’t belive that it right to use deceiption as a means of transfering guilt. My thanks to those of you who caught this.

Within minutes of passing Obama care, the biggest grab of power and wealth by any government ever – liberal congressmen and activists complained that it is not enough.

What can you learn from this?

Well I guess sarcastically, you can assume that you can’t please Democrats so don’t even try.  I mean if they aren’t going to be satisfied with this, we might as well repeal it (if Republicans are not happy with it, and the Democrats are still complaining – logically you maximize everyone’s happiness with repeal).

But from a tactical standpoint it points out a very important point – you will stop getting when you stop asking.

In any negotiations, if you get everything you asked for, you have not asked for all you could have gotten.  If sales, if you have no resistance to your price, then you are priced too low for the market.  In politics, if you are not complaining, then you are the group that must compromise.

In a nation of whiners – the biggest whiner gets the goodies.

#1 – Never declare victory.  To do so prematurely tells your troops they can relax – and that can be deadly on the battlefield.  Look at Bush with his “Mission Accomplished” press conference in 2003.  He created the expectation that everything was over and normalcy could begin again.  When the troops didn’t come home and homeland security kept asking for more surveillance capabilities there was a real opening for dissent.

#2 – Always have “one more thing” that you need to make you happy.  Sure you are not going to get it, nor are you going to insist on it, but it closes the negotiations.  If they want to come back and change the deal, you can always raise your “one more thing” demand and they might just back down.

#3 – Don’t feed the ducks.  Don’t think you can just give something to your adversary, kids, and political opponents once and that will be the end of it.  You are probably wrong.  If you feed the ducks once, the ducks stays at that location until both of you drown in their poop.