If he thinks that you hang on his every word he may find it unattractive. Letting him know that you will talk to him when it suits you can build intrigue and show him that getting your attention will be a challenge that will be rewarded. Keep him on his toes and reward him for finally getting the chance to talk to you. It will make him value your limited interactions. Be careful not to blow him off too many times or he may think that you will easily to ditch out on him. Don’t reveal too much of yourself too soon.  Keep your interactions fun but brief so that he wants more and values your time.

Summary: Don’t answer his calls. Change your schedule. Establish intrigue to draw him closer.


Most successful politicians started at the local level and then worked their way up for the years to national positions at the federal level. If you are just entering politics, you should focus on building momentum as a local politician and then use this as a foundation to aim for higher positions. You may start by campaigning for a school or community board position, a position as mayor or a town council member, or a seat in the lower house of the state government.  At the local level, staffs, budget, and campaign funds are usually small and limited. You may not have a lot of funding or a big staff, but you may not need it to be successful at the local level. Getting a position at the local level can also allow you to build relationships within your preferred political party, which could help your career later if you decide to go for a higher position in the party. Even at the local level, you will need to set up a political team that will support you during your campaign. You may have a small team of individuals that you can rely on and then a small team of volunteers who can act as boots on the ground. Your team may consist of a campaign manager, a marketing manager, and a volunteer manager, or you may have one to two people splitting these roles. You may ask family and friends to fulfill these roles for your campaign, as you may not want to pay for outside help and you want individuals you can trust.  You should also enlist family and friends to act as volunteers for your campaign. You can do this by sending out a mass email requesting help with your campaign, by going in person to enlist help, or by setting up a volunteer sign up page on your campaign website. To run an effective campaign, you will need to develop your political platform. Your platform should detail where you stand on key issues in your community and how you are going to fulfill the expectations of your elected role. You may also include a campaign plan along with your platform. The campaign plan may be used internally by your team to ensure the campaign is well planned and laid out ahead of time. The campaign plan may detail the estimated budget of the campaign, your marketing strategy, and your fundraising strategy. Effective communication is a major part of a successful campaign. You should sit down with the marketing person on your team and come up with a detailed marketing strategy. This will allow you to stay connected to your voters and help to promote your platform.  Your marketing strategy may involve creating a campaign website, where you have a professional photograph of you, your campaign slogan, and information about your platform. You may also do daily social media updates to connect with potential voters. You may also create printed materials, like brochures or fliers, to put up around the community to promote your campaign. No matter how small your campaign may be, you will still need funding to run your campaign. These funds will help to pay for your marketing material, your campaign supplies, and any travel you need to do for the campaign.  You should use the lists, labels, and letters approach. Start by creating a list of people for you or the fundraiser volunteers to call. Then, label and send out letters to get solicitations for funds into the hands of potential supporters in your community. You should also be willing to knock on doors in the neighborhood and ask for the support of your voters on election day. Hand out brochures and fliers at public, local events to solicit more fundraising for your campaign. Remember that most political campaigns, even at the local level, can be challenging and require lots of hard work. You may end up working overtime to try to win the election and your volunteers may be working with you to get your platform out to as many voters as possible. Though you may be motivated to win, you should also try to run an honest campaign. Make campaign promises that you can keep and strive to work with your community to respond to their needs, rather than serve your own needs or wants. Running an honest, motivated campaign will likely increase your chances of success and your chances of remaining in office once you are elected.

Summary: Start small and then work your way up. Set up a political team. Outline your platform. Create a marketing strategy. Solicit funding for your campaign. Run an honest, motivated campaign.


Coffee is a main source of antioxidants in many diets, and looking to stop coffee consumption means that you will need to find a new source of antioxidants for daily health. Decreasing your daily coffee intake may mean increasing the amount of tea you drink and/or the amount of fruits and vegetables you eat.Teas such as white and green tea have antioxidants that can replace those in coffee, but they also have caffeine. If you are trying to eliminate caffeine along with coffee, you may want to opt for whole fruits and veggies, or whole natural juices. Rather than decreasing the amount you drink incrementally, try drinking the same amount, but swapping some cups out for a coffee substitute such as tea or water. If you drink more than one cup of coffee per day, only substitute for one of them. If you normally drink one cup of coffee per day, drink a little less of it daily and then have some of your preferred coffee replacement.  Make sure you have your substitute handy at all times. Keep some tea bags at your desk, or in the car. If you don’t have your substitute handy, you’re likely to opt for a coffee when it’s convenient. Choose a substitute that you genuinely like. If you can’t stand the taste of green tea, you’re not likely to stick with it. Get used to drinking one cup less coffee per day. At the same time, you’re getting used to the substitute of your choice. This will help turn your new beverage choice into a habit. If you develop any caffeine withdrawal symptoms, such as headaches, take a caffeine-free pain reliever as needed. Once you’re ready, make the switch. By now, you should not be having withdrawal symptoms. You may find that you drink less of your substitute drink than you did of coffee. That is perfectly normal. You can always switch substitutes if you need to. You may eventually want to quit caffeine altogether, or do without all of the sugar in hot chocolate. Once you’ve quit coffee, quitting another beverage will likely not seem as hard.

Summary: Look for a replacement with antioxidants. Swap one of your coffees for a substitute. Repeat this for two to three days. Replace all of your coffees with the substitute.


After you give your reasons, your mother might have a response.  Do not interrupt her.  Try to make eye contact and nod, to show that you are listening. Take note of what she says, so that you can respond to it.  You want to be able to convince her, not argue with her. If you have listened carefully to what she said to you, you should have a couple things to respond to.  If she thinks that you are too young, you can respond by saying,”Everyone starts shaving at different ages.  This decision should be based on my maturity level.” Try to emphasize the fact that you are the one making this decision.  If you are submitting to peer pressure, or only want to shave your legs because people tell you that you should, shaving may not be a good idea. Your mother may just want you to ease into shaving.  Be willing to meet her halfway.  Compromises might be shaving below the knee, using hair removal cream, or having her help you shave. Suggesting compromises might be a good way to convince her. You can say, “What if we think of a compromise that can work for both of us?” Your mother may say no the first time around.  Wait before asking her again.  After about a month or so, you can suggest a compromise again.  Remind her that you were mature about her rejection of your request last time. It may take more than one or two tries to get her to say yes.  Stay mature and calm, and eventually she will agree that you are ready.
Summary: Hear her out. Calmly give your response. Be willing to compromise. Be patient.