Hi

I have got to tell you about something that happened to me this week. So I love to make new year goals and plans. I usually fail but at least I try. I always accomplish some of my goals especially at the beginning of the year when I am all charged up and ready to go. So this year one of my goals was to try new things. To live more adventures, and to take more chances. This was kind of my theme for the year. To face my fears and do things I wouldn’t normally do. So I was not doing very well with this and was at my house having a good ol fashioned pity party. It was about 5:10 pm and I was laying on my couch watching tv. I was doing my normal time wasting on Facebook and wishing I had something fun to do. I saw the little tab on Facebook that said events next to it. So I decided I would check and see what events were happening around town and maybe talk myself into going and checking one of them out. So the first event to come up said Fire Walk. That grabbed my attention fast. I had seen these on reality tv shows and heard about people who had walked on hot burning coals bare foot but I had never been to one. It started in 20 minutes. I had the argument in my head about should I go, should I not, should I? back and forth. I decided to go. I decided I could leave at any time and just watch other people walk on these coals. When I got there it was windy and freezing outside. There were not a whole lot of people there but I recognized a few people so I started talking to them. They talked me into staying and told me once it started there was no leaving until it was over. I was really worked up over this and wanted to sneak out. Then they asked me if I would help them with fire wood and load it in the back of my truck. I couldn’t resist helping out so now I was really stuck. There was no getting out of it at this point and so I decided to stay and make the best of it. I went through all the steps of the process. I helped build the fire. I helped prepare the fire. Then we were asked to write our biggest fears on a 3×5 card and once the fire was burning throw them into the fire. We had several team building exercises where we told complete strangers what we thought that their gifts were just by how they made us feel on first impressions. We told of how we got to be at this event. Most thought it was funny when I said I was laying on the couch and saw this event on Facebook. I told how my new years resolution was to try things I would not normally try and that this was very much something I had never seen or been to before. The instructor told us that our minds had to be right to walk on the coals. This fire was super hot and it was a huge bon fire. I could barely stand by it. I had no plans at this point in walking across it. I made it clear that I was just here to watch. As it got closer to the fire being only coals they spread out carpet on all 4 sides of the fire. They invited us all to remove our shoes and socks and told us that this in no way meant we had to walk across. That if we weren’t in the right frame of mind it was highly possible to get burned. He told us that many times the fears we see or feel before walking across the coals are very real and could be not just fears about the coals and getting burnt itself, but fears that are really big in our own lives. I remember standing at that point with my shoes and socks off and freezing. A lady next to me said are you going to walk?. I told her that I was not going to. That i didn’t want to get burned and that I already know what my fears are. I remember hearing him say “The coals are ready and I invite any of you who feel like you are ready to cross the coals. What is on the other side of these coals that you need to cross for? Don’t look down, look past the coals and just tell yourself what is it that you need to get past in your life.” It hit me hard at that point. How could I go home and say I had spent 3 hours of my evening getting prepared to cross hot coals, and not ever try it. It will haunt me for the rest of my life. I could see myself saying to myself, Why didn’t you just cross the coals. Even if it burned you at least you can say you tried. Just then I saw the first person cross the coals. He looked so determined and he never looked down. I remember being jealous that he didn’t need to see anyone do it before. He just trusted that it could be done and he went for it all on his own courage. Then I beat myself up more that I didn’t trust the leader. I didn’t even trust that the guy I just saw cross wasn’t burned. Then a few others crossed. There were cheers and hugs and people crying on the other side of the fire. They were saying that they weren’t burned. I thought in my head that this was all a big trick. That they were all in on this. Maybe the lesson was that you did get burned and that you were to go home and think about how it hurt but it was worth the pain to cross and beat that mental hurdle. Then I felt myself inching closer and closer to the coals. Someone said are you going to go? I said no way but I want to stand up here and at least look at it. A few people offered to walk with me and help me. I looked closely at the coals and looked for the darker spots where peoples feet had dampened the heat and thought maybe I can just step on those spots. Just then a gust of wind hit and I saw all the coals fire up and start glowing intensely. I stalled for a minute to see if they would start to cool off again. My heart started pounding. Just then I heard the words in my head, Eric, you never finish anything. You chicken out at the very last minute and you don’t trust anyone. You made it this far and the worse thing that can happen is your feet will burn. However if you quit and walk away now, you failed. I was in a huge turmoil in my head and I was literally on the verge of a panic attack. I remember saying that my new years resolution was to try new things. I was here, I was prepared, I needed to show myself that I don’t always quit, and I don’t need to trust, and so what if I get burned. Is the pain of burning worse than the pain of regret? I felt myself step off toward the coals with no turning back and i remember saying out loud, OH My Gosh!! I can’t believe I am doing this, before my foot even hit the coals. I pushed ahead and one foot after the other, never looking down, never slowing down, and only looking at what was on the other side. I crossed those burning coals and I conquered the inner voice in my head at that time that wanted me to fail. There were cheers, and Hugs, and high fives all around. This was exhilarating and amazing. My feet hurt just a little. They may have been slightly singed but definitely not burned like I had thought they would be. I am attaching a picture of one of the coals that I took home and put in a jar in my window sill as well as a picture of my foot. I am ready for this new year and I know that my fears will always try and control me. I also know that at that moment I didn’t listen. I let that voice whine and cry at me all night that I could’t do this but I still crossed those coals. I accepted the risk of failure over the risk of regret. The pain of regret is much stronger then the pain of pushing ahead. I felt it that night and I hope you are pushing ahead this new year. Whatever hot coals may fall in your path I hope you tell yourself that you have come to far to not cross these coals. Maybe you will get a little burned but it will be SO worth it in the end. Thanks for letting me write a whole novel to you about this experience. I know it is long and you may not even get through it all but to me that was a very incredible important night worth writing about. I learned so much about myself. I also have made a commitment to continue to try new things. Even if it seems a little uncomfortable or crazy at first. You never know what kinds of friends you may meet or what kinds of road blocks you may break through. Have an amazing week.

Eric

Hi

“Wether you think you can or think you can’t, You are right.” Henry Ford.

I have to tell you. This has been an amazing few months. I have been busy with concerts and speaking events with youth, adults, and all kinds of different people. Last week as I was speaking to a high school choir group I had some major “Ahaa” moments. I had dug out old business cards, shirts, marketing ideas, old cd’s I made locally, newspaper articles, and much more. This was because many of these kids wanted a career in music and I thought it would be great to really dig in with my failures and successes with them. Some of the items were down right embarrassing but I felt I needed to share. One of my favorites I wanted to share with you now. I feel like it is important. You see I would not be here today without others supporting me. So many times we fail to achieve our potential or we fail to chase our dreams because we fear. We fear failure, rejection, or just have plain old self doubt. From day one I had people who cheered me on. Even looking back now I see I was not at the level I thought I was at the time, but because of my supporters I pushed through and got better. They helped me to believe in myself above all else. Here is the story and this is in my book as well. I was fairly new at singing. I had tried out for a local contest the first year I started singing. Whoever won this contest got radio airplay, newspaper press, and got so much publicity that I really wanted to try and win this thing. Well the first year I did not win and actually came in 8th out of 8 in the final round. The next year I worked really hard and hired performance coaches, vocal coaches, and I took every opportunity to perform that I could. I also made friends with a songwriter and helped co-write my first song called “It ain’t love”. The next year I felt ready. I tried out for the contest again. I made it through all the rounds and got to the finale. I did my best job and felt so prepared. When the announcement was made that I had actually won this contest I was so excited. I said to myself “this is it. I finally got my big break.” Cheers, hugs, and high fives all around afterwards. It was so amazing being a new singer and feeling this feeling. I knew from all the years past that the next day the radio station would be playing my song, my name would be announced for days on end, and I would finally have a career in music. Well as the next day showed up I eagerly listened to the radio and never heard a mention of my name. I thought maybe it would be the following day and so I would be patient. Then it would be in the paper as well. Well on day 2 there was still no mention of me winning this contest anywhere. Everything went silent. I was concerned and I emailed the station manager and asked him what was going on. He messaged me back and asked me to call him asap. I made the call and found out that the win I had experienced was surrounded by accusations and scandal. That some of the other contestants had complained and threatened to take action against the radio station if they gave me any publicity. He informed me that they had to re count the scores because some of the judges knew me. They threw out the scores from the high and the low judge and I still won the contest. Then the next accusation was that I had not wrote my song. That it was not an original and that I should not have gotten the extra points for this. I remember crying over this and feeling so hurt. I remember calling the songwriter that I wrote it with. He offered to call the station and set it straight. He did so and they said they were ok with me being the winner but would not announce it or play my song just to be safe. I was so hurt by all of this. I was very crushed and wondered why this had to happen to me. A few days later I saw a nice big article in the paper. It was about me winning and had a picture of me from the contest. I was so happy to see that they had let the accusations go and were finally over the problem. It was quite a while later that I found out that my family was responsible for paying and placing the add. They wanted me to have the recognition so bad and they were so upset at how everything had went, that they literally designed and paid for an add in the local newspaper. I will always cherish this out of all the years of articles I have got since as my most cherished and most important article. Thank you to my family, my friends, and my supporters over the years. The last line in the song “Just One Person” from my Fork In The Road CD says, “And when all those people believe in you,Deep enough and strong enough believe in you, Hard enough and long enough, it stands to reason you Yourself will start to see what everybody sees in you. And maybe even you, can believe in you, too.”

Thank you for believing. I attached the article from back in 2004 at the bottom so you can see it.

Please don’t ever give up on your dreams. Please support those around you in need of support. Ive been booed on the stage. I have been threatened. I have had some of the nastiest emails you have ever seen sent to me. I have had terrible phone calls. I have had my house defiled with terrible profanities. You know you are making a difference when people will go out of there way to try and stop you. Don’t stop. Keep going, and never quit. It is always easier to quit.

Thank you

Eric

We have our OC Tanner and gospel choir show coming up on May 31st out at Zion National Park at 7:30pm. Tickets are on sale at the door. $12 for adults. Family and children discounts will be given.

PRODUCT ALERT:

Also we are just about out of our Never Walk Alone Hymn CD. If you have not got this CD we will be out very soon. Make sure you get your copy today. We have less than 100 cd’s left.

You’ll Never Walk Alone Inspirational Hymns CD

Get the bundle with the Greatest Hits CD

https://ericdodge.com///products-page/product-category/limited-combo-special-free-shipping-jan-31st/

Hi

If you know me very well, or you happened to read my book, you have heard me say that I don’t believe in accidents. I believe that everything happens for some reason or other. My entire music and speaking career has happened based on a series of strange events and random meetings. The Cruise Ship, the meeting with Flylady, and on and on. Well something very odd happened to me this weekend and I can’t get it out of my head that I need to tell you this story.

Over a year ago my band and I were doing a benefit concert in our home town. We were part of an event that was raising money for a great cause. They had a silent auction, food, entertainment, and the whole deal. Well as we were walking around, my keyboard player John Houston and I were looking through the silent auction items. There were a couple of different books up for grabs and nobody was bidding on anything. I went to put bids on a book called The One Thing – by Gary Keller. John said “Hey, I think I need to know what the One Thing is.” He said “It says how to live an exceptional life, I need that.” So I let him bid on it. I decided to bid on the book next to it. It looked great as well and was titled Take Life By The Helm – by Doug Nielsen. So we bid on our books and we both won. I took my book home and put it in my closet of hundreds of books I want to read someday when I get the time. So a few weeks ago I decided I need to start reading, listening to motivational stuff again, getting back into better habits, and taking control of my life again. I went to my closet to grab a book and there was Take Life by the Helm staring me in the face. So I grabbed it and decided to read a few pages and see if I liked it at all. I was hooked. I loved this book and kept reading and reading. So after I finished the book I decided to check out the Authors website. I found his site and decided to send him an e-mail. I messaged him on April 21st saying that I loved your book, I hope I remember all the good stuff in it, I hope to see you at an event somewhere sometime and meet you. He sent me a message back saying thank you for reading my book. So yesterday I was registered for a training conference in Salt Lake City, Utah that I had registered for almost a year ago. It was kind of a long drive and I didn’t know if I wanted to go. I had decided not to go last week but on Thursday I decided at the last second to go and I booked my motel room. I showed up to the event in a small conference room with a small group of motivational speakers and entertainers. As I was sitting there a man came in the room and sat down next to me. They announced that our morning keynote trainer had just showed up and he was a speaker who travels all over the world. His name was Doug Nielsen. It didn’t register right away but the name sounded so familiar. Then it clicked. Could this be the same guy that wrote that book? I looked at him with huge eyes and he looked and me and I said did you write Take Life By the Helm? He said thats me. I almost fell out of the chair. My reaction was pretty noticeable by others in the room. I said I don’t believe this. He said What? I said I just sent you an e-mail last week about your book. He said “Oh that was you?” At the mean time the conference is going on and we are making quite a ruckus. They went to a short break so Doug could get set up and the leader , another great speaker, Ty Bennet came over and I told him what had happened. They had me tell the story to the group. Doug ended up talking to us for an hour and it was amazing experience. I don’t know why things like this happen but they always do. Doug and I talked and will now be friends hopefully for years to come. Here are a few statements Doug made during this training that I loved so much. He posted a word on the board and said what does this say. Opportunityisnowhere. Some people see Opportunity is nowhere and some see Opportunity is Now Here. He said that everyday you can choose your attitude and choose your direction. Everyday you should reverse engineer your day first thing in the morning and say to yourself, how do I want to feel tonight when I go to bed. What can I accomplish today so that tonight I feel great and at peace. He also said something that I will never forget. “In the end, Hell will be meeting the person you could have been.” He was very clear that if you are still breathing, you have a purpose and a chance you make your’s and others around you’s lives better. “Procrastination is the beginning of depression.” Take action right now.

Anyway I could go on and on but I wanted to share this story with you. I don’t know why things happen. Out of all the books I could have bought, (glad John bought the book he bought.) out of all the places I could have been Saturday, out of all the books I could have chose from my book closet, the chances of this happening like it did are about as good as winning the lottery. The author just happened to live in my State, and happened to be in the same event I was going to on Saturday, that I almost didn’t go to.

Have a great day and remember, you never know what is just around the next corner. I believe we all have a purpose, we all have talents, and there are no accidents.

Thanks

Eric

PS

We are trying to reach 10,000 Facebook fans this week. If we hit it I will be giving away 10 autographed copies of Ultimate Collection. My newest CD.

http://www.facebook.com.ericdodgemusic

Also find me on

Twitter

Tweets by ericdodgemusic

and now Instagram at EricDodgeMusic

http://instagram.com/ericdodgemusic

Don’t forget about our O.C Tanner Show on May 31st and I am attaching a flyer for a special Eagle Scout event I am performing at Friday night in Cedar City Utah.

Hi ,

I was reminded of a story today when I saw my mother post this picture on Facebook. It was 11 years ago. I had just begun singing and had started to record songs for the first time in my life. My brother Andy had written a song called Two Different Worlds. It was a song about a girl in a wheel chair and a guy who was not. They ended up falling for each other against all their differences. It actually had a good message behind it. I recorded the song and sent it to the local radio station. Now looking back this was a terrible idea. First of all the recording equipment we had was very sub par and the song needed some work. I didn’t know this at that time. I didn’t know that artists used, vocal lessons, pitch correction, compression, multiple takes, etc to make a really great track. I really had no idea that they had all those tricks to make the songs sound even that much better. So from my limited musical experience I thought I had a good, radio ready, recording. I gave it to the radio station and they said they liked the song. Then they said if I could get enough people to request it they would play it. I remember asking all my friends to call and request my song. Well long story short they never played my song despite lots of requests. At the time I was really crushed by this. Looking back I see the reasons why. The quality just wasn’t there. I wished they had just told me that instead of having me ask everyone to call and request the song but that’s all in the past. So I attached this picture and tell this story for a couple of reasons. If you have read my book you know how important I think consistent branding is. Well look at the website address. From day one I have had the same website address. I also have wore a cowboy hat from day one. I am embarrassed at this cd cover, picture, outfit, and at how many copies of this CD are probably still out there but it’s such an important part of my musical journey. I would print these labels in my own house with my color printer and burn my own copies of my songs. I would sell them at my small local performances so I could raise money to buy my first small sound system. I started with a portable karaoke machine from Costco. I would sell the original song and include bonus cover songs to make it worth more money to my fans at the time. This was my first attempt at making a cd that I could afford. I don’t know if anyone who reads my e-mails even has this cd or any of first cd’s but its sure fun to look back at that. I know that many of my friends at the time thought this was all just a phase and I was just playing around. I believe that it shows that I am here for the long haul and willing to do just about anything to stay in the game. I love what I do and I love meeting everyone as I travel around. The concert last week in Vernal was incredible. Not because there was a large crowd, it was actually a pretty intimate crowd. It was incredible because so many people from my Facebook, or my newsletter list, or just a supporter of my music, made the trip to see me. It really made me feel special to sit and talk with so many of you after the show. Hearing your stories and how you first heard of me and my music. I love that so much. Thanks for being part of this adventure. It’s only getting better.
Thanks
Eric

Our next concert is the Washington County Fair in Utah. August 8th at 8pm on the outdoor stage.
Then on August 9th in Price, UT at the Carbon County Fair at 7:30pm at the outdoor stage.
August 16th Rush Valley Days, Tooele County.
Hope to see you at one of these.
Thanks
Eric

Here are Facebook links to the upcoming concerts.
Washington County
https://www.facebook.com/events/1414234285497507/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming

Carbon County
https://www.facebook.com/events/470464473087648/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming

Satuday August 16 we are back at Rush Valley Days in Tooele County.

Hi ,

Do you keep a Journal? Do you write in it regularly? I do. I keep a journal right by my bed and I go through phases here and there with my writing. Sometimes I only write when I am upset or depressed. Sometimes I write only when I go on adventures and want to document my every emotion and feeling. Sometimes I use it for a 30 day gratitude journal and for 30 days I write only things I am grateful for. I have filled up several journals now over the years. I started writing in a journal when I was 11 years old. It’s so fun to go read some of those writings from when I was that age. Sadly there is little substance and not many entries. I often wished I had wrote myself letters of my hopes, dreams, goals, and ambitions back then. How fun would that be to be able to go back to that and see those types of entries. I went through a dry spell for several years and picked it up again when I was in my 20’s. This week I decided to go back and read some of those pages from the past. Some of them I never wanted to read again and still don’t like to read them. However this week I came across 2 of them I wanted to share with you. Even though this is super personal to me I feel like it is important. I wanted to share this with you.

5-15-02
“I think I am having some sort of a midlife crisis. I was looking back at some of the papers that my mother had been saving for me. They showed a lot of things about my past. I was on the 11th grade honor roll. I was on the 12th grade high honor roll. Several Band and Choir awards. (Remember I was in senior choir but never sang for my teacher. I was just there to get out of an english class so I could get good grades.) I was on the Southern Utah University Honor Band and Symphonic band competitions. I was also an eagle scout. Look at my life now. I could be somebody. I just don’t know what to do. ”
_____________________________________________________________________

5-8-03

“Well I guess I have a talent in singing. I am now entering into contests and going into recording studios. I would have never thought I could get this kind of response from me singing. I actually sang a cappella in front of 1000 people at the mall for a local contest I was in. It was so scary. My entire family was there to support me. I also did my first concert ever last month at the St. George art festival. It went good. We will see where this new path takes me but so far I am opening all kinds of doors with it.”
_____________________________________________________________________
I am not sharing these very personal journal entries to be conceded or anything like that. I am sharing these because it is amazing what difference a year can make. I love that at any point your life can take a turn and go in a whole new direction that can change things for the better, or much better, forever. Tomorrow you or I could wake up and something will happen that will send our lives in the direction that when we look back at our journals in 12 years we may say wow, look how much has changed. I will continue to write in my journal. I will continue to follow whatever path is laid before me. I love the possibilities that life has to offer us. What’s next for us? What will we do now? You may be writing in your journal right now and saying “I am having a midlife crisis” or “I could be somebody” or ” I just don’t know what to do.” Well I truly believe there is something much greater and much deeper for all of us if we so want it. We just have to have the desire to “Be Somebody” and take baby steps towards that goal. If we have hope in our hearts I believe in time, it will be so.
Have an amazing week and go out and “Be Somebody.”
Eric.

PS if you live anywhere near Vernal Utah we will be playing this Thursday night July 24th at 7:00pm at the Western Park Amphitheater with our good friend Charley Jenkins. The show is free and should be fun. Come hang out with us.

I have to tell you a story. It goes right along with my last post. A few weeks ago when I was at the National Speakers Association convention there was a big announcement scheduled. They had us all in the grand ballroom and began to roll out the announcement. It truly ended up being a big one. The name that

had been the association name for 40 years was being changed. The National Speakers Association (NSA) was being changed to Platform, an association for professional speakers. The reasoning was that so many

people had gotten this NSA confused with the government NSA (National Security Agency) as well as some other reasons. They even used the funny saying we are the NSA that talks, not the NSA that listens. As

we were sitting there hearing all the wonderful things that this new name would bring, everything seemed like it was a go. The whole room applauded and even gave a standing ovation. The board of directors

gave us all a nice gift with the new name and brand on them. It was a cool travel USB charger and a nice luggage tag. See the picture. When the convention ended is where the story begins. Many people were not happy about this change. They did not want to let go of the old name. The social media sites blew up with negative and hurtful comments. I was watching this all unfold in horror. There were people I looked up to as motivational and positive people, people who spoke to groups on accepting change, and embracing the future, who were very much not themselves. I was not partial or impartial to the change. For me I really didn’t care either way. I am just happy to be part of the

group and be around the people and the friends I had made. This was just a simple name change to me. However it was far from that for others. Some were even canceling their memberships with NSA and the things they were saying and the jokes they were making actually hurt me for some reason and I had nothing to do with this. I couldn’t help

but think of whoever it was who had the idea to change the name to Platform. Whether it is a good name is not the issue here. This person, and I don’t know who it was, thought it was a good idea, and

thought it was the best choice for this organization. They had the guts to stick their neck out there so far that they risked

everything for this organization. Some of their peers attacked them over this decision. They spent who knows how many thousands of dollars on this roll out and they were very proud of what they had come up with. It severely backfired on them. Once the anger and commenting reached an all time boiling point, they asked for an emergency meeting. They asked us all to send them messages with our opinions and input on this matter. I heard that a very small amount of us actually took the time to send our input. Based on what happened with it and the entire name Platform was dropped and they completely pulled the plug on the entire direction they were going. There is so much more to this whole story but where many of you have no idea what the NSA (the ones who talk 🙂 is I just wanted to share what had happened. So here is what I learned from this all. Some people get way to angry over things, and they don’t look at the perspective or feelings of the person they may be lashing out against. Some people and I include myself in this category have a very hard time with change. Change is important and it is very necessary to keep things fresh and new. Lastly and most importantly, if someone as big as the NSA can spend that much time, and that much money, making such a big change, letting all pride go out the window and pull the plug and redirect themselves so quickly, then what is my excuse? I learned so much from this decision. I saw people commenting on getting rid of their new toys that say platform now that they are going away from this name. I decided I wanted to keep mine. It is a constant reminder that when I start off in a direction, if something doesn’t feel right, then it’s ok to stop and turn around. Just because I make a decision doesn’t mean I can’t change my mind. Even if it is a big decision and I am embarrassed or afraid to stop. Even if I am a so far into the decision that I don’t feel like stopping is an option. These guys could have let the complaining members drop out. They could have moved ahead and continued with the rollout. Most of the people would have stayed. It would have probably been just fine. However they showed how much they cared, and listened, and for this I am a true fan of the National Speakers Association, or whatever they choose to go by. They have my support no matter what and have proven that they are an organization of great integrity. I hope I can always live my life remembering it is never to far to turn back. It’s always ok to admit when you may have made a mistake or are wrong. And always listen to others around you. Their input may be invaluable. I don’t know if you will get anything out of this but it was something I got a whole lot out of. Have a great week.

Eric

Concert Alerts

July 24th at 7pm in Vernal Utah

August 8th at 8pm Washington County Fair, Utah

August 9th at 7:30pm Carbon County Fair, Utah

August 16th at 6pm Rush Valley Days, Rush Valley, Utah

Congratulations to Heather Weaver for winning the complete set of CD’s on Facebook. We will be doing more giveaways in the future.

Happy Birthday Mom. Thanks for making the decision to take control of your health 5 years ago. Glad you are still here with us today. You are a true inspiration.

Hi , I want to warn you ahead of time that this will be a rant. You may get something out of it and you may not. You could even be upset that you wasted time reading it but I felt inclined that I needed to share what was on my mind. In October of 2012 I started looking for a life coach. Some people had told me that I would make a good life coach, or a good financial advisor, or a good Country Singer 🙂 or some sort of presenter. So I contacted a life coach and went and met with her. The first meeting was not what I was wanting. It was a totally different experience and was all about energy work, and energy readings, and many things that I was not interested in becoming certified in. So I contacted another coach that I had heard about. She was not considered a life coach but a business coach. When I met Carol Leavitt for the first time it was a free consultation visit at a little food place down town where I live. I told her of my aspirations of being a coach. How I wanted to help other musicians and singers achieve their dreams. Or how I wanted to help people get healthy. I told her what I envisioned about having a book, and traveling all over helping people achieve their dreams. She laughed at me and said “you don’t want to be a life coach. You are talking about being a motivational keynote speaker, thats what you want to be.” This was the first time anyone had ever mentioned to me that what my goals were, was being a motivational speaker. Fast Forward to January of 2013. My book is now out. I can’t believe I wrote a book, but it’s now out and it happened. I am at an expo selling my show to fairs and festivals when I see this amazing speaker named Brad Barton. I loved his message, I loved his book, I felt something when he talked to me. There was a whole crowd, but believe me, he was talking just to me. So afterwards I waited in line to meet him. I wanted his book. He met me and asked me who I was and what I did. I told him I was an Inspirational Country Music singer. He said he loved Country music and wondered if I would trade a cd for his book. This was a deal I was willing to do. So I went my separate way and Brad went his. I read his book and I loved it. It was such a great book. A few weeks later Brad e-mailed me and told me how much he had enjoyed my music. How much he was blown away and inspired by my music. He asked me if I would come to an event in Salt Lake City and sing Why Not Today for en event centered around Speakers from the National Speakers Association in Utah. I went up to this event and I sang my song and told my story. I got a standing Ovation and I was encouraged to join this organization to get my message out. Well you know me. I have to do things totally opposite of everyone else. So instead of joining the Utah Chapter I joined the National Association and went to the National Convention without knowing what I was doing and not belonging to any chapters. I posted on the facebook group and a very kind lady named Laurie Guest shouted out to me. She contacted me and welcomed me and took me in. She helped me my first year and got me on my way and became such a great mentor to me. I learned so much my first year and even became friends at the National Convention, with some of the Utah members. I was so inspired and loved where I was so I joined the Utah chapter of the National Speakers, the National Association of the National Speakers, and I started going to all the events and even joined the Mountain West Speakers academy. The ride has been amazing. So I just returned from my second annual National Speakers Association convention. It was in San Diego, California this year. Each year I go by myself so I can observe and learn and meet new people. I even went out to eat one day all by myself and just sat there listening to all the conversations around me. I saw a very rude woman ask the waitress for so much and the waitress bent over backwards to make her happy, even making her a whole new meal for free because of her complaining, only to have this nasty woman leave her a 1 dollar tip. That’s a whole different story but if you ever want to have an experience, just go out and eat by yourself sometime and observe whats going on around you. So as I was sitting by myself another day over by the harbor watching all the boats pass by, I started thinking about my journey. Why was I here? How come after 2 years I still don’t feel like I belong?, how come I don’t fit in with other musicians? how come I don’t fit in with other speakers? Where is my place? Why do I not really belong anywhere? These were very serious and very discouraging questions. On the other hand I knew that I was supposed to be there. Doors were opening to me left and right to get me to this place. I was sitting in the same room with some of the greats in the whole world of speaking, and business. At the end of the conference I hurried home to do a 4th of July concert. All the way home I was taking notes and thinking about what was going on in my head. Then something dawned on me. I don’t know if I will ever be a top name Keynote speaker, I don’t know if I will ever be a top name Country singer. I have had people tell me that maybe it’s time to settle down and stop chasing something that probably won’t happen for me. Well here is my answer to that. Life without me singing would be a mistake. I know to my very core that i was meant to be a singer. I know to my very core that I was meant to join the National Speakers Association. I know to my very core that I am where I am supposed to be. I have made so many friends and lived such an amazing life in these last several years. I am living a dream right now. As I looked out at the audience last night I was so enlightened. I do fit in. I fit in with all my friends and people who support me in my journey. The concert last night was a result of one of my friends telling their hair dresser about me and then spreading the word to the city and the city bring me in. It was a total grass roots concert. One of you made that happen for me because you believed in me. Every one of my successes has come from one of you. I owe you so much and I owe all of my friends for this. I may not fit in with all those other people but I don’t need to. We have our own group. We started this thing and if we are all a bunch of big dreamers then so be it. Coach Carol said to me on my first lunch meeting. “Eric, go and write down your dreams and make them BIG. Shoot for the stars and land on the moon my friend. Don’t shoot for the tree tops and land on a branch.” This means make your dreams so big that you land higher than ever imaginable. We don’t have to fit in any molds. Yes some days I really want to fit in with those different groups. That’s just human nature. It won’t stop me though. I am a singer who has a message and my message will continue to be heard. I can’t wait to see what is around the next corner. Why Not Today?

Eric

P.S. I am going to be doing a giveaway for the complete set of Eric Dodge Cd’s. It will be for all 8 cd’s autographed. It will only be available to those who are members of this newsletter on www.ericdodge.com and it will only be available to those who actually read the message on the contest when I send it out. So keep watching.

Here is a link to a blog my mother wrote that goes along with this message I am sharing now. Must be something that is going around. Subscribe to her blog if you like the messages.

http://www.laureldodge.blogspot.com/2014/06/i-dont-belong.html

PPS. My next concert is on July 24th in Vernal Utah at the Uintah County Fair.