A "Very Special" Posting...

Every day, we gain more and more readers, so I thought (for the sake of new readers); I would tell you a bit about why I started this blog.

(For those of you who've been reading this blog from day 1, this post may seem a bit like one of those "flashback" situation comedy episodes).

First of all, I do not consider myself a blogger, per se. I am a political person who has a blog. If that makes me a blogger, then so be it. Being a blogger is not how I define myself. This blog is merely one medium I have to communicate to you.

So why did I start this blog?

For many years I worked full time to train conservatives how to be more effective candidates and activists. To this day, I speak to thousands of conservatives at training seminars, each year. It is, without a doubt, one of the most rewarding things I have ever done in my life.

Until a few years ago, I believed that the only way to train people correctly was at a seminar. My reasoning was that training in person is more effective, plus, it is easier to keep this information from being passed on to liberals, if it is done within the confines of a seminar.

(It's not that we would screen people out. It was self-selecting. It takes less moxie to buy a book or surf the net than it does to "infiltrate" a training seminar).

Today, I realize that was short-sighted.

How did I come to this realization?

Perhaps, my favorite author is John C. Maxwell, the famous author of many leadership books. Maxwell teaches that most people tend to make the mistake of putting a lot of emphasis on "events" and not as much emphasis on process (this is called "The Law of Process). What he means is that people who attend a seminar believe that this one event is the end all and be all of training.

But the truth is that students only retain a portion of what they learn during a seminar. Maxwell's argument is that seminars are good at inspiring us to start working hard -- and pointing us in the right direction. But they are not good at actually taking someon from one level to the next.

As I thought about the Maxwell's "Law of Process," it immediately occurred to me that I had been wrong all these years.

After all, through his many books, John Maxwell had been mentoring me for years. Yet I had never heard him speak live (though he does go on tour).

If Maxwell had changed my life via his writings and cds (and I'd never heard him speak live), then by creating more opportunities for conservatives to learn, I could also touch more lives.

At about this time, I decided to move on from the Leadership Institute (where I was running the grassroots department) and go be political director at GOPAC.

I had always believed that LI was better at putting on seminars -- but that GOPAC (thanks in large part to Joe Gaylord) -- had always been better at putting out tapes and books, etc. My goal was to merge LI's training with GOPAC's merchandising. Unfortunately, my tenure there was very short-lived.

I ended up moving to North Dakota to run a Congressional campaign. On the campaign (this was late '03 into '04), I started a campaign blog (this was my first time blogging). I also ended up reading Joe Trippi's book that year (when I could find a spare moment, that is), and a lot of his thoughts really rang true to me.

As soon as I got back to DC, I immediately started working on building this blog, publishing a book, and growing an email list. I also created a website with resources, such as downloads and interviews of political experts. (Students who hear one of my talks receive a free passcode that allows them to access this premium info for free).

We're always looking for new ideas and new ways to help grow conservatives. For example, I am also very excited that sometime this year I will be releasing a dvd of my campaign training. (It is based on a lecture series that I did all across Texas, last year. )

Again, this is another step toward putting useful info into the hands of grassroots conservatives (who may never hear me speak, live).

The purpose of all these resources is for me to better serve conservatives who are interested in improving. For example, instead of training some students in California, and then disappearing, the new paradigm is to find ways to continue mentoring them on a daily basis.

Ultimately, the goal is to train conservatives and help them grow into politically savvy operatives. Since growth takes time, I am in this for the long haul.

My emails (you can sign up to the left of this screen) are specifically campaign tips. I don't really get into philosophy in the email tips (it is focused on strategy and tactics). Conversely, the blog (Matt Lewis & The News) does inject a bit of my opinion. Usually, I try to use current events to illustrate timeless political maxims.

Granted, what I do is not for everybody. I know I have a target niche, and that is okay. There are a lot of blogs out there to choose from, and it occurs to me that not everybody is interested in what we do here. That is okay.

This whole experience has been very rewarding for me. For one thing, having to come up with constant material has forced me to do more reading and writing. I have also learned that the biggest secret to the success of a blog is simply to keep at it. This has also turned into a dialogue where the readers keep me posted on new ideas and new technology.

In fact, please feel free to email me with your thoughts on how I can continue to be a resource for conservatives.