Former U.S. Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman‘s words of wisdom?

Dan Glickman

‘s words of wisdom?
Don’t waste your energy raising campaign money all the time.

Don’t waste your energy raising campaign money all the time.

For Hill Navigator, the former Kansas representative and current senior fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center weighs in with what he wishes he’d known.

One of your earliest experiences?

I hung up yard signs and distributed bumper stickers for U.S. Sen. James B. Pearson of Kansas while I was in high school and college. I was also a member of the steering committee of Michigan students for Romney and Johnson in 1964 (while in college at the University of Michigan).

Best advice received?

From my father: take risks (sensible ones) while you are young because the older you get the more risk averse you become in all decisions, particularly career decisions. If you don’t like a job, don’t stay and make yourself miserable. Find something that you like and that fuels your passions.

What I didn’t know then but I do know now?

The most important thing I learned is making everyone I deal with feel important, no matter what their station is in life.

What pays off in the long run?

A good sense of humor, particularly self-deprecating humor, has been critical to whatever success I have had. It disarms folks and makes you appear more human.

Fill in the blanks in this sentence:

Don’t waste your energy:

raising campaign money all the time, but do put extra effort into actually listening to people about their concerns.

but do put extra effort into