Aaron Schock

I hope I'm building a record of being a good team player and not just standing for my principles but being willing to work for them. I think when you do that and you work really hard, people take notice.

I'm not from a political family and didn't grow up dreaming of being George Washington. I started working in 8th grade and have held every odd job possible - working in a gravel pit, weighing big wheelers, ticket sales, data base management - but I knew if I worked hard and got experience, I could apply that experience to my next endeavor.

Obviously, exercise is an important part of my life, and I think taking care of yourself is an important part of every individual's health care.

The biggest misconception people have about me is that when they see how young I am, they think, 'Oh, this guy must have always wanted to be in politics; his parents must have been politically connected.' I'm a finance major and always intended to go into business.

When 'Men's Health' reached out and said, 'Will you be on the 'Today Show' and do a fitness challenge?' I said, 'OK. I'm not showing them anything they don't already know.' But I'm going to take what some would argue is a negative or not substantive and turn it into a substantive thing to hopefully do some good for people.

I think Michelle Obama is on the right track with her Let's Move campaign to bring down childhood obesity. She and I come from the same state, Illinois, which is number four in the nation for obese children. One out of five Illinois children are considered obese. Not overweight, obese. And two-thirds of Americans are either overweight or obese.

Your belief system tends to be a function of how you were raised. Being raised in the Midwest and in a relatively conservative household, my views were shaped by my upbringing, by my Christian faith.

I didn't start working out until college. But in college I could feel my body changing, and I knew that if I didn't make some changes, I was going to go in the wrong direction.

I'm a big believer if you want to change people's minds or get someone to vote for you, either a voter or a colleague, you've got to first get their attention.

Hard work and a good education will take you further than any government program.

My only personal time is a couple of hours in the gym in the morning.

I have always had great respect for former president Mandela. The personal sacrifices he made in order to achieve what was right for the people of South Africa is something I carry with me every day.