Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
SALT LAKE CITY — Mitt Romney says he's never measured his life by what happens at the ballot box.
"Winning and losing an election, that really doesn't define who I am. My relationship with my family, my wife, my God, that defines who I am. And so losing is not as hard as people might expect in a circumstance like that," the retiring Utah senator and former Massachusetts governor who lost his bid to become president explains in the latest episode of "The Thread," streaming on YouTube.
The documentary interview series from Life Stories, a nonprofit that produces and distributes films "about people whose lives inspire meaningful change," features a wide range of subjects, including the rapper Big Boy, former Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards, and Father Greg Boyle, founder of the world's largest gang intervention and rehabilitation program.
For a half-hour, the 77-year-old Romney responds to questions about what he learned from his father, former Michigan governor and presidential candidate George Romney; and then, from his own experiences — starting a venture capital firm in Boston, turning around the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City and enduring the ups and downs of politics.
It's his family and his faith in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, though, that Romney says have always come first.
"I guess that's because I found the most rewarding part of my life is my relationship with (wife) Ann and my kids, and my commitment to my faith. They don't fail. Those things are there for me," Romney said. "If I had a sense of personal accomplishment based on what happens politically day to day, gosh, I'm not sure what my stock would be at this point."
Born and raised in Michigan, Romney said as a boy, "My friends were Catholic or mainline Protestant and I belonged to a little church. I was the only one in my school that belonged to that church and so I grew up very comfortable with the idea of being different. ... You get used to it. I think if you're different in important ways, that can make a difference in your life."
I found the most rewarding part of my life is my relationship with (wife) Ann and my kids, and my commitment to my faith. They don't fail. Those things are there for me,
–Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah
His father "didn't worry about what other people thought. He had his own values and perspectives," an example Romney said he's followed. "While we're all interested in whether we're popular and whether people like us and whether they agree with us, I think I'm a little more comfortable with being, if you will, out on a ledge myself than perhaps the average politician."
One such move was taking over the organization of the 2002 Winter Games amid fallout from an international bribery scandal. Romney said his initial reaction when his wife told him Utah wanted him to take the job was, "That's ridiculous. Of course, I'm not going to do that."
But over time, he said Ann Romney changed his mind, persuading him that the Olympics need to thrive as "the last great stage on the public arena, where young people were able to see the greatest qualities of humanity, dedication, teamwork, determination, hard work."
She also showed him that leading the Salt Lake Games "was something I desperately needed, that my life up until that point professionally had been focused on being successful and making more money, but that ultimately was not going to be fulfilling. That I wanted to make a difference. That I wanted something bigger in my life," Romney said.
The success of the 2002 Olympics helped him capture the governor's office in Massachusetts and led to races for the White House, first in 2008 and then as the Republican Party nominee in 2012. Romney later decided to run for the Senate seat occupied by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, in 2018. Romney won that race, but announced last year he would not seek reelection.
He's been vague about any specific future plans, brushing aside speculation he would play a role in organizing another Olympics should Salt Lake City be awarded the 2034 Winter Games this July and joking about a Washington Post op-ed touting him as the best pick for president of his alma mater, Harvard University.
