Trey Gowdy – The Color of Death

Trey Gowdy, Fox News Channel host of Sunday Night in America with Trey Gowdy and author of the book The Color of Death, was born in Greenville, South Carolina and grew up in Spartanburg, South Carolina.  He is the son of Hal and Novalene Gowdy and has three sisters: Laura, Caroline, and Elizabeth. 

From 1994-2000, as a federal prosecutor, Trey prosecuted the full range of federal crimes including narcotics trafficking, bank robbery, carjacking, kidnapping, child pornography cases, and the murder of a federal witness. He was awarded the Postal Inspector’s Award for the successful prosecution of J. Mark Allen, one of “America’s Most Wanted” suspects. He also received the highest performance rating a federal prosecutor can receive – two years in a row. 

In 2000, he left the U.S. Attorney's office to run for 7th Circuit Solicitor (District Attorney) in Spartanburg and Cherokee Counties. As 7th Circuit Solicitor, Trey led an office of 25 attorneys and 65 total employees. He started a Violence Against Women Task Force, a Worthless Check Program, enhanced and expanded Drug Court, and implemented a Drug Mother Protocol designed to assist expectant mothers break the cycle of addiction.

He has been recognized statewide for his commitment to victim’s rights and drunken driving enforcement and nationally for excellence in death penalty prosecutions. 

In 2010, he ran for congress to represent the 4th Congressional District (Greenville and Spartanburg Counties).  While in congress he served on the Judiciary Committee, Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Intelligence Committee, Education and the Workforce Committee and Ethics Committee. He was also chosen to chair a Select Committee on the events occurring in Libya on September 11-12, 2012.  

While in congress he actively participated in numerous congressional investigations, sponsored bills signed into law and had deep and meaningful relationships with scores of colleagues on both sides of the aisle. 

After four terms in congress, he announced he would not seek re-election in 2018 and would leave public service for good; thus, ending his career with a flawless record in the courtroom and undefeated in political races. In January of 2019, he returned to his beloved South Carolina to practice law, teach classes with his close friend Senator Tim Scott, and speak on legal issues he considers important to our country. Trey is a best-selling author, host of a television show, and podcast.

Trey is married to Terri Dillard Gowdy, a former first grade school teacher in Spartanburg, South Carolina. They have two children, Watson and Abigail.

Takeaways:

1. Significance over success.  As you heard, Trey described winning with class as living a life of significance as defined by us and being able to say that you lived a life that mattered.  As Trey emphasized, it’s NOT about success, money, or fame – all of which are totally overrated.  So, we need to all first determine what significance is to us – then go out and live THAT life.  Trey also mentioned the IMPACT he wants to make – making people around him better - as he's living his life of significance.  Overall, I think Trey gave us a great model of significance over success by saying he wants to be remembered as a great husband, a great father, a good friend and, ultimately, in terms of his profession, he wants to be remembered as a fair prosecutor. 
2. Both sides of the aisle.  As you know, this is not a political show, but if you listen to Trey, both in this episode and elsewhere, you will often hear of him refer to his friends on both sides of the aisle.  This is one of the things I like most about him – he serves as a good example of where we need to be in terms of treating all people with respect, calling out truth and lies equally, no matter which letter comes behind a person’s name.  I heard one leader say recently how we all need to put country over party – we simply need to strive to get back to that place.  As Trey mentioned, fairness – a beautiful virtue – is absent in politics as it’s become too much about chopping down the opponent, popularity and getting clicks.  The path back from this, as Trey mentions, is to get to a place where our value for fairness and justice supersedes all.   
3. Passion for Justice and Fairness.  It was great to hear about why Trey ultimately chose the path of being a prosecutor.  First, his Mother, who had a background as a victim’s advocate inspired Trey by noting that it often seemed like the defendants got better attorneys than those who were seeking justice for the victims.  Then, secondly, Trey was inspired to jump in and do something as he was driving home from the funeral of a family friend who was murdered for not giving up his grandfather’s watch.  I’m not sure there are better motivating factors than that. And, as Trey indicated, to handle all that comes with that job of a prosecutor – you need to have a passion for it and truly love it.  I gained even more respect for Trey, all prosecutors and law enforcement through our conversation.  Trey does a great job of portraying the soul crushing nature of the entire pursuit of justice process in The Color of Death.
4. Success Principles.  As you heard, Trey’s record as a prosecutor is impressive.  I loved the notions to which he credits his success – preparation, communication, authenticity, credibility, and integrity - priding himself on the judges and, everybody involved for that matter, being able to rely on what he said.  These principles pretty much work with any avenue you choose to pursue and are principles we should carry with us everywhere we go. 
5. Peace.  We’ve spoken previously about how the ultimate goal of all we are talking about on this show is the peace that comes from a well-anchored pursuit.  I loved it when Trey said – “What other people think about me is none of my business.”  What a great reminder of a great place to be in a world full of comparisons and negativity.  We get there by achieving peace through our anchored pursuit.  Trey is on this path – living his life of significance - and we can all get there too. 

Links:

Websites:  https://www.treygowdy.com

Instagram: @tgowdysc and @gowdyamerica

X: @tgowdysc

Facebook: Trey Gowdy

Other Books by Trey:  Unified, How Our Unlikely Friendship Gives Us Hope for a Divided Country (New York Times Best Seller with Tim Scott) Doesn’t Hurt to Ask, Using the Power of Questions to Communicate, Connect, and Persuade (New York Times Best Seller), Start, Stay, or Leave, The Art of Decision Making (New York Times Best Seller)