I weighed nearly 300 pounds when I introduced businessman and reality TV star Donald Trump at his first political speech at CPAC 2011. (You’re welcome, America!)
I sat on the dais as then-CPAC Director doing my best to take up as little space as possible in my 5’4” frame as the audience cheered and shouted, “Obama, you’re fired!”
Two months later, I was fired. Following that day, I had various jobs in the political sphere — as I continued my transformation to becoming a sphere.
By October 2018, I was single, over 40, over 300 pounds, unemployed again, in credit card debt, and desperate for stability. I found it in a surprising place – my weight loss journey.
In my new book, The Gen X Handbook for Middle Age: The Pursuit of Health, Success, and Human Fulfillment, I write about losing 170 pounds, becoming debt free, finding love the good old-fashioned way (think: John Hughes movie plot), and eagerly leaving a blue state (Virginia) and moving to Texas with a Gen X edge and nod to pop culture.
Charlie Kirk gave Generations Z and Alpha a simple plan:
Get married.
Have children.
Build a legacy.
Pass down your values.
Pursue the eternal.
Seek true joy.
If you’re an older millennial or Gen X like me and find yourself falling short, the good news is that if you’re middle age – between 40-65 – you’re in a prime state for change. StudyFinds reported that a study published in Intelligence “found that when multiple psychological dimensions are considered together — intelligence, personality, emotional intelligence, and decision-making — overall functioning continues developing through midlife, reaching its apex around age 60.”
And it doesn’t stop at 60. StudyFinds wrote, “Crystallized intelligence (accumulated knowledge and vocabulary) keeps rising until the 60s. Financial literacy continues improving into the late 60s.”
The beginning of making America great again was doing something uncomfortable and radically different in D.C. — electing non-politician, “show boater” Donald Trump. Likewise, the beginning of making your life great in middle age might be getting uncomfortable and doing things radically different.
My transformation in middle age started with two quotes. One from Moses and one from Greg Gutfeld. In a PragerU video, Gutfeld noted, “Exercise is the best example of conservative thinking at your disposal.” He also said, “Fitness is one bank where you deposit effort and you build a portfolio of reward.”
Then in 2018 at my first Bible study, one verse hit me like a lightning bolt, changing my view of weight loss. In Deuteronomy 30:19, Moses told the Israelites, “I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore, choose life.”
Those words were the “reframe,” as Scott Adams puts it, that have guided me through tremendous change. Similarly, in 2024, Adams said, “When life gets dark, I ramp up my risk of embarrassment in the pursuit of something worthy. Works every time.”
I could be embarrassed about being public about my weight loss and massive debt — or I could use it as a catalyst to write a book (and help people)!
My second priority for making my life great again was becoming debt free. I followed financial guru Dave Ramsey’s snowball method and paid off over $50,000 in credit card debt. I have stayed out of debt since 2021. I happily drive a 21-year-old car that I love. When it’s time to get a newer car, I hope to pay cash. MAGA supporters shouldn’t care more about government spending than their own. Take your eyes off D.C. and look in your garage. According to Experian, a normal average new car payment is $745 per month for a term of nearly 70 months. Here in Texas, I’m surrounded by huge trucks, and I’m told the normal payments are close to $1,000 per month. Don’t let your car take your retirement money.
Ramsey often refers to biblical teachings that say, “The borrower is slave to the lender.” Gen Xers don’t want to be slaves. Ramsey is punk rock finance for Gen Xers. There is freedom in not being normal. Rejecting “normal” is rejecting the Boomer “If it feels good, do it” mindset when it comes to things you can’t afford. We grew up latchkey kids, and we’ll soon be latchkey retirees. Like the Goonies, we must save ourselves and save for our future. You might be behind when it comes to your health or your savings but always remember – “Goonies never say die!”
Another example of something uncomfortable that may need to be reframed for 2026 is leaving the state you call home. In 2022, after 23 years in the D.C. area, I moved to a Texas town I had only visited once and into a house I never saw in person before signing a lease. I could have looked at it as leaving friends, connections, and job opportunities behind, or I could reframe it as a new adventure with new friends and better opportunities.
Any political consultant or talking head will tell you all politics is local. It’s time to get hyper local. If you want to MAGA or MAHA, start with your body, your household, your future. If you’re scared about the future, reframe it as Scott Adams says and use it as motivation for “relentless improvement.” You owe it to yourself to not just embrace America’s Golden Age but also your own.
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