The FOMO Effect
My friend Mike McCarthy is a true master of the FOMO effect, in that he gets you excited and enlists your help. He can recruit you before you know you’re being recruited. He makes it impossible to say no.
The value of being non-partisan
Political party affiliation can often be largely irrelevant, especially on local issues (unless your cause intersects a core issue or culture war issues). Locally speaking, people are far less likely to pontificate. They are all too close to the subject matter to not engage with the actual specifics, and there are cases to be made to people of all political persuasions. At the end of the day, people are byproducts of their upbringing and are invested in their local communities… the ones who aren’t complete shills.
The continuum of cause-based work
Danny Thomas was a Champion, and when he found the lost cause of childhood cancer, which others had seen and passed by, he “found” it, and the world is glad he did.
Sharing the limelight lets the wins "earn interest"
Always share the limelight with others. It helps you expand your coalition, which is full of leaders, worker bees, cheerleaders and hangers-on.
Champions play the longest game
People may remember what you said and did, but how you made them feel will be most important in terms of them listening to you in the future. Be kind always, even when it's hard.
More on setbacks, doubt and the value of having a deep bench
How wonderfully encouraging it is to realize that one of your team members has completed a project within or made a key connection at a mixer. Without any effort on your part, the group moved forward.
Setbacks teach us and develop our core strengths.
Setbacks not only teach us about our limitations, but they also help us better delineate our duties within the team.
The air support of public opinion
Just as “trust by verify,” is important in the day-in-day-out hand-to-hand combat of moving forward, an equally important tool in your arsenal as you fight the incremental war of the lost cause is to “keep them honest.”
Gentle Controversy
As activists, controversy is powerful wind in our sails, and any drama needs conflict as an animating element. But too much conflict and people tune out, and you need people to stay engaged.
Champions suit up to play
Champions are built of rugged stuff… self confidence wed to smarts and ingenuity… all made tougher still by the camaraderie of the teammates also in a quest to live out an unlived part of their lives… other people intent on doing what they were put on this planet to do.
