2012 February

Be conservative for the right reason

February 29, 2012 By wesleydonehue

Day 208 – Last week, Rick Santorum experienced a surge of support due to his comments against the Obama Administration. It seems he’s taken a break from lobbing bombs against his primary opponents, and focused his attacks directly towards the President.

Rick Santorum’s comments on college attendance earlier this week are a sharp contrast to his other comments. Earlier in the week, he called the President a “snob” for the suggestion that college should be a realistic goal for every young American. How unrealistic, right?

Filed Under: Being Better, Growth, Political Shots

Expect the downs and live the dream

February 28, 2012 By wesleydonehue

Day 207 – It’s Tuesday at the San Francisco office. Today was spent going through statistic after statistic after statistic. My team is doing some very cool experimentation with voter-targeted advertising and the influence of content on donations. Advertising is fun, but I have a real passion for figuring out exactly what kind of content compels people to hand over their cash.

For example, does image, video, text or audio drive more donations? Short text, long text, fiery language, wonkish language, first-person, third-person, etc…

Filed Under: Entrepreneurship, Work

Running away from micro-management

February 27, 2012 By wesleydonehue

Day 206 – Columbia – Atlanta – Detroit – Las Vegas – San Francisco – Washington, DC – Columbia – Yep, I’m criss-crossing the nation. Three of those are layovers, but still, I’m burning up the clouds for ten straight days.

Some might complain, but I love it. I’m chasing my dream. I want to innovate politics and I’m going to keep busting butt until I do something new, something big.

The hardest part of this journey has been to let go. I’m a natural micro-manager. I want things to be perfect and I’ve established in my mind that I’m the only one who can do it perfectly.

Filed Under: Uncategorized, Work

7 years with CarolinaCoquette

February 26, 2012 By wesleydonehue

Day 205 – It is with extreme happiness that I wake up on this 2,555th morning married to Elizabeth, my CarolinaCoquette. Today is our 7th Anniversary.

I would use the word “soulmate” but it seems as though former South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford has ruined that term for us. I will instead call her my journey-mate, for together we have embarked on a grand life journey that has already taken us to the most beautiful places God has put on this earth.

It is rare to find someone with whom you have so much in common, while having so little in common. We were raised in completely different atmospheres, but our journeys crossed one day at a tanning salon in Columbia, South Carolina. Yes, a tanning salon.

Filed Under: Relationships

Changing the world while it changes us

February 25, 2012 By wesleydonehue

Day 204 – Its late and I should probably be sleeping, but I’m full of energy after a night on the Las Vegas strip. Today we celebrated Elizabeth’s birthday. I gambled real money for the first time ever at a casino during lunch. It was practice for the night to come.

We started our big evening with dirty martinis at Sinatra before dinner at an amazing French Restaurant, Mon Ami Gabi, within the casino Paris. In case I have not told you in the past, my southern belle at times believes she is a Parisian girl. I don’t tell her otherwise because sometimes I believe it too.

Filed Under: Growth, Travel

The New American Dream

February 24, 2012 By wesleydonehue

Day 203 – I write as I sit on a bus waiting for my fellow tourists to arrive back from the Hoover Dam. What a remarkable piece of architecture this is, one I never thought I would see with my own eyes.

It is only to be outdone by the architecture of God himself. Located just two hours away is the Grand Canyon. Throughout the past four years, I have seen so much and the Grand Canyon even outshines the mighty cliffs and volcanic eruptions I saw while cruising through Hawaii.

Filed Under: Being Better, Entrepreneurship, Growth

Happy Birthday Elizabeth

February 23, 2012 By wesleydonehue

Day 202 – It’s my wife’s 30th birthday. Yeah, she’s freaking out because her twenties are over. I’m sure I’m going to get yelled at for telling you that she’s freaking out. Or for telling you that she’s 30. Oh well, if it weren’t that it would be something else.

Ok, I’m kidding. Unlike what I perceive as most wives, mine does not yell at me very often. When she does, I deserve it. I’m totally willing to admit that. Truthfully, I’m a very frustrating individual. I annoy myself, so I know I annoy the crap out of her. I don’t know how she puts up with me.

I love my wife. I always have. I knew as soon as I met her that I was going to marry her. We weren’t even dating and I told her that. Yeah, it freaked her out. That’s probably one of the reasons she didn’t talk to me for a few years. But I look what happened. I was right!

Anyway, right now Elizabeth and I are on a Delta flight on the way to Vegas to celebrate her 30th and our 7th Anniversary. Tomorrow we visit the Grand Canyon. Saturday we hit up the strip. Sunday we watch the Daytona 500, do some shopping and hang out with our dear friends Jacklyn and Kyle Bressette.

Vegas, here we come.

Filed Under: A day in the life

A Heated Pub Politics

February 22, 2012 By wesleydonehue

Day 201 – Last night was the most intense debate we’ve had on Pub Politics. Christine Johnson, Executive Director of South Carolina Equality joined us to talk about equal rights for gay, lesbian and bi-gender South Carolinians.

Let me say outright that I’m a very open-minded and accepting white southern male. I try to be friends with everyone, and I myself accept the decisions of my gay friends. Personal choice don’t bother me like they do some folks. While my religion says that homosexuality is a sin, and I believe it is, I myself am a sinner.

Filed Under: Being Better, Faith, Growth, Side Projects

WACH Me

February 21, 2012 By wesleydonehue

Day 200 – WHOO HOO! 200 straight days of blogging. Are you as pumped as I am?

I know you are! No time to blog today. Sooooo busy at the SC Statehouse. Today I will leave you with two quick WACH Fox hits. The first is from this weekend’s episode of On Point with Cynthia Hardy where I was once again the token white Republican on an African American show. Love that! The second is today’s Pub Politics segment.

Filed Under: Side Projects

Weeding through all the information

February 20, 2012 By wesleydonehue

Day 199 – The combination of politics and technology is explosive. Both are intense. And both provide way more news than one person can keep up with. It’s tough.

So how do I tackle all the information? Let me tell you about the tools I use to weed through thousands of newspaper and magazine articles, blog posts, videos and much, much more.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Work

Choosing not to choose

February 19, 2012 By wesleydonehue

Day 198 – What a great sermon in church today. Dr Estep continued his Sermon on the Mount series by talking about the narrow path to Heaven. As he stated “to not choose is to choose.”

Dr Estep is saying that the path to Hell is easy for the simple fact that you don’t have to do anything. You don’t have to choose because by not choosing, you have already made a choice. You have chosen a life without Christ.

Filed Under: Being Better, Faith, Growth

Not knowing is a strength

February 18, 2012 By wesleydonehue

Day 197 – It’s Saturday and I’m stuck catching up on Facebook advertising trends. There is so much I don’t know. But the good thing is that I know what I don’t know. And I admit it.

Too many people sale snake oil. They pretend like they know everything. They pitch clients and even sit on panels pretending to know everything.

I don’t. I know what I don’t know. I admit it.

Admitting what you don’t know is a strength because it allows you to find the people who do know.

Filed Under: Growth, Uncategorized, Work

I don’t have enough time

February 17, 2012 By wesleydonehue

Day 196 – Its an excuse that I cannot stand. I don’t have enough time.

We all have the same amount of time. Cliche, but true.

If I heard the excuse once today, I heard it a million times. It hit me from all angles.

You have enough time. What you do not have is time management.

Filed Under: Work

Settle matters quickly with your adversary

February 16, 2012 By wesleydonehue

Day 195 – Today during my Bible time, I came across Matthew 5:25 which quotes Jesus Christ as saying “settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court.”

This quote reminded me of two recent posts I published where I discussed making quick decisions and moving past trouble.

Combine those two thoughts and you have Jesus’ lesson to settle matters quickly with your adversary.

Filed Under: Being Better, Growth

This week in the pub

February 15, 2012 By wesleydonehue

Day 194 – Today would have been my father’s birthday. He died around 15 months ago after a fight with cancer. More on him later, as he is the real motivation behind this blogging project. That’s going to take a whole lot of time and that’s something I do not have today.

I’m slammed, swamped, under water and in the weeds today. All of that, so I’ll just leave you with yesterday’s WACH Fox and pub versions of Pub Politics. Enjoy!

Filed Under: Side Projects

Better than I used to be

February 14, 2012 By wesleydonehue

Day 193 – First off, Happy Valentine’s Day Elizabeth!

Next week we will celebrate our 7th year anniversary. I can’t believe she’s still with me. No big plans tonight except for an episode of Pub Politics. No, I’m not a bad husband. Next week we will be celebrating Valentine’s, our anniversary and Elizabeth’s 30th birthday in VEGAS!

Filed Under: Being Better, Growth

Front row with The Avetts

February 13, 2012 By wesleydonehue

Day 192 – Not a lot of blogging today. I’m sick as heck. And no, I’m not hung over. I know that’s what you are thinking after posting pics from The Avett Brothers concert last night.

Ok, drinking may have something to do with it, but I’ll say again – I am not hung over. I think the alcohol on top of the extreme work and little sleep has just slaughtered my immune system. Today I feel like complete butt so I’m staying in the bed.

Filed Under: A day in the life

I found a home within our church

February 12, 2012 By wesleydonehue

Day 191 – Last year I set a goal to get deeply involved in a church ministry by the end of 2011. I failed to accomplish that goal, but I wasn’t going to let another year pass by with another failure. I’m happy to announce that today we officially launched First Baptist Church of Columbia’s Internet ministry.

Filed Under: Faith, Side Projects

Put out the fire and move on

February 11, 2012 By wesleydonehue

Day 190 – I think some people exist just to cause trouble. Just to stir up drama. Just to be roadblocks. Just to start fires.

They exist in both our personal and professional lives. They are kinks in a system that could be productive otherwise.

Filed Under: Being Better, Entrepreneurship, Relationships, Work

Accept God’s gift of rest

February 10, 2012 By wesleydonehue

Day 189 – God gave us Sunday as a day of rest because we need it. It was a gift. And we should accept it.

I have not been. I don’t think anyone on the Donehue Direct team has accepted it. That’s a problem.

The entire office is sick. We’ve run our bodies into the ground. I can’t believe that Renee and Jonathan are still awake. Perhaps its because they are younger than me, or because they don’t bounce around to legislative parties on Tuesdays and Wendesdays, but they still have gas in the tank. I do not.

Filed Under: A day in the life, Being Better