What are you afraid of? Have you asked yourself this question? What is holding

you back from living the life you dreamed of? I know for me it was fear, anxiety, and depression. Did you know that 750,000 people every year try to commit suicide. Almost 30,000 of those succeed. That is horrifying to me. Depression has been linked to bullying in many situations. School bullying, work place bullying, healthcare
bullying of our elderly, and on and on. 7 out of 10 kids are bullied at some point in their lives. Over 60,000 kids miss school every single day in this country because of fear. What are they afraid of? being bullied. It is a huge huge problem. This year my life is very different. I am making some changes. I am on a crusade.                      

                    Yes I still make music and I still perform concerts, but, I am and was one of those statistics above. I released my new book last year about my experiences in my own life. It was a very hard book to write and a very personal book to write. I felt it needed to be written for the sake of others. I wrote the book out of desperation for what is happening to so many of us. Life is hard. I had no idea what to expect or if anyone would even like my book. I was so scared to even let anyone re
ad it. I figured not printing my book would be going against everything I wrote the book for.  Well lately the momentum has been picking up on this book and I am so surprised that it is helping as many people as it is. I get e-mails, comments, and even personal letters mailed to me almost every day about this book and how it is helping others. So my goal is to get my book into the hands of as many folks who deal with Fear, depression, and anxiety as possible. I want to get my book into the hands of at least one student in every high school and middle school in the United States. That is over 100,000 copies. I will need help with this huge task. I know it will save lives though. If you can help me get this book out to these kids then please do so.  

                Please read the reviews below and the link on where you can get this book now. This is the year of Why Not Today?. I hope you will get on the Why Not Today? band wagon with me. This is the year for all of us to Face our Fears and Chase our Dreams! Why Not Today? 

The book is currently on sale for a great price at amazon. If you get a few copies the shipping is free. It is available on the kindle and through the kindle app on all devices digitally. I am currently looking at making it into an audio book and an apple I books as well. Here is the link. 

http://www.amazon.com/Today-Face-Fears-Chase-Dreams/dp/1511909927/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1452386388&sr=8-2&keywords=eric+dodge

Why Not Today? Face Your Fears and Chase Your Dreams! By Eric Dodge

“Eric Dodge, has written a very inspirational book on how to “face your fears and chase your dreams.” It’s titled, “Why Not Today?”

I bought a copy on Amazon…and loved the book! I think you will, too — especially if you’re dealing with challenges in your personal or professional life”:

                      Scott McKain, Best-selling author and speaker

“This book is true inspiration for anyone who dreams big dreams but sometimes lacks the courage to follow through.”

                -Brad Barton, CSP, Author, Speaker, World Record T&F Athlete

“Eric has found a way to take his life experiences and teach us all a lesson on how to never give up. Wait until you feel the passion he has for showing others how to face fears and chase dreams.”

                  -Laurie Guest, CSP, Author, Speaker

“Since I have known Eric Dodge he has impressed me with his ability to turn his fears into his passion for helping others. This book is just another example of that.”

     -Marla Cilley, Best-Selling Author and internationally renowned mentor.

‘Why Not Today?’ Eric Dodge gets it right

By Rich Rogers

Book Review: “Why Not Today?” by Eric Dodge

      If you’ve been reading this column for many years, you may have noticed that I rarely review self-published books. The reasons are simple. Most writers who self-publish don’t spend the money to get a good editor. And if they do spend the money, it seems they don’t listen to what the editor has to say. In the almost 20 years I’ve been writing reviews, I’ve only read two self-published titles that were worth my time. It got so bad that I made it a personal policy to flat-out refuse to read anything self-published. It wasn’t worth my time. (Ralph Rohr, a sometime contributor to the Independent, asked me to review a self-published book of his on the New Testament Book of Revelation, but time constraints at the time wouldn’t allow me to do so.) The stories I could tell.

                Back in July, I noticed something from Eric Dodge, a country singer based in St. George, Utah. I really don’t know why I wanted to read his book, but I decided to ask him for a review copy, which I picked up while I was visiting the States in August. I’m glad I did.

The book is part memoir, part self-help book, and part motivational book, and Dodge gets it right.

               “Why Not Today” is one of the two self-published books that have been worth the time to read. Why? First, Eric Dodge didn’t try to write the Great American Novel, or Great American Confessional, and get in over his head. He wanted to share his story, which he truly believes can help people change their lives. And secondly, he obviously spent the money for a good editor – and more importantly, he obviously listened. None of the typical mistakes of a self-published writer are found here.

So what is his story?

                His story is one that goes from being a super-confident 4-year-old – daring enough to run in front of a car with a sheet tied around his neck in his Superman underwear, holding out his hand to stop an oncoming car – to deep suicidal depression, to becoming a country singer who’s shared the stage with performers such as Travis Tritt, Carrie Underwood, Chris LeDoux, and Collin Raye, to name a few, as well as becoming a motivational speaker and singer (he mixes his music in with his speeches) and a member of the National Speakers Association.

And he is a real country singer with a rich baritone voice. I’ve got to hunt down some of his albums. Check out “The Last Real Cowboy.”

          With his simple, winning approach, he shares what it was like to go out and try and stop a car in his Superman undies and then lose a beloved grandfather. One of the most powerful sections was the section about bullying. I think we’ve all encountered bullying to a certain degree. But his story is horrific, and I don’t use that term lightly. In fact, one of the things he speaks about around the country is bullying.

And in the chapter on dating, I found myself saying “Amen, Brother!” often throughout. In my single days, people often asked about my marital status, and I would tell them my love life was so insane that if I were to tell them half of it their response would be, “That doesn’t happen in a badly written Mexican soap opera, let alone real life.”

              The writing and voice are smooth, never trying to overwhelm but giving you a simple story with lessons from life buried in there. I will say I would have liked him to go into a little more detail about his depression. For those who struggle with it, they want to see just how dark it was for another person so they can connect better. But that’s a small quibble.

I felt refreshed as I read this book, and I realize that Dodge is someone I want to really get to know, not just through books and his music. I know, I’ll have to take a number.

          I’m curious to see what he’ll do next. Dodge is definitely someone to watch.

Hi there,

I am sorry to send this e-mail to you so late but I could not wait to break this news. I have been kind of quiet lately. Not doing as many concerts and not being online as much. The reason for this is I have been working on a brand new book since January. Many times I went back and forth about actually publishing this book. It has many painful memories from my past. It is “my story” that rarely gets told. I have been so afraid to share this story but something kept telling me that I should and I needed to. I worked on this book as if my life depended on it. I can’t tell you how many hours I have put into this. Will it ever be a best seller? I don’t know and I really don’t care. I wrote this book to help anyone who suffers from Anxiety and depression. Anyone who has felt hopeless or felt like they were afraid to try something new. You are the very first of my friends to know this book is now available. I hope you enjoy. You can get it on Kindle or a paper back copy from Amazon. Or it will also be available at my concerts and book signing events. Thank you for all of your support. Please let me know what you think about this book. It is a very personal piece of my past. Thank you. If you like this book please help me share it with anyone who may need to hear these stories. Click the shop tab at ericdodge.com and you will see the new book. 

Eric

Get our song Break Free
Break Free Links

Itunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/break-free-single/id980748484

Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Break-Free-Eric-Dodge/dp/B00VBZAV84/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1427942984&sr=8-2&keywords=eric+dodge+break+free

CDBaby http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/ericdodge5

For free tracks join our newsletter. Text the word Dodge to phone number 22828.
Concerts coming up

July 17th Shelby, Montana
July 18th West Yellowstone, Montana
July 24th Wellington, UT (Near Price,UT)

Hello there,

I have some exciting things to let you know about. First of all, our very popular O.C. Tanner Zion Canyon concert is coming up next month. Once again we will be joining up with John Houston’s gospel choir. I am also going to be teaching more line dances this year. Come join us. The date is May 30^th, at 8pm. Here is the link to get tickets.
http://www.dixie.edu/tanner otherwise you can just get them at the door but they only take cash I think. Here is the Facebook event page. Please go add yourself if you have Facebook and let your friends know by sharing the event. https://www.facebook.com/events/1087104677972835/

We just got in our awesome new concert hats, and all sizes of concert shirts in stock for this season. The yellow hats are limited and will probably note be reordered once they are gone. The black hats we are waiting for another shipment so be patient if it takes a few weeks to get them to you. You can go to https://ericdodge.com///products-page/ to see all the fun stuff we have and get it ordered.

Last of all by popular demand and a whole lot of support, we were able to re order and a better price our Inspirational Hymn CD. This has been a very popular CD for many people. We decided that we were going to try something fun. Introducing our Inspire with Love campaign. For every “Never Walk Alone” CD you buy, we will double the order for free. If you buy 10, you will get 20. If you buy 1 you will get 2. You won’t have to pay for shipping. The fun part is we want you to share this with others. Neighbors, Strangers, people who are struggling, anyone you can think of who may need a little uplifting music in their lives. We ordered a pallet of CD’s and it is my hope that we can share this music with so many others. That is why we are making it easy to do so. I know some of my friends already did that with our last order of CD’s and that is what gave us this idea. Thanks to the duplicators and studio for helping to make it more affordable this time around I think now we can really change some lives. Here is link to get your CD’s. https://ericdodge.com///products-page/cds/youll-never-walk-alone-available-april/ Thank you for everything. I hope you have a great week.

One last thing! The Why Not Today book is coming along great and should be out in a few months or sooner. There will be an entire Why Not Today movement going along with this. Just wait until you see what is on the way.

Your Friend
Eric

Join our Newsletter for 6 free downloadable songs from our Unplugged Journey CD. Text the word DODGE to number
22828 or click here Join Newsletter

Hello there, 

              I have some news I want to share with you but first of all I want to apologize. I have been very quiet lately, I know. Many friends who have been concerned by this have contacted me. The good news is I am fine and have just been traveling so much and working on a large project and so I have not been able to write to you. You may or may not know that I recently transitioned my music career into a motivational speaking career with music. Now I did not give up my concerts or my touring I just do a lot more speaking events. I sing my songs and tell my stories to different groups of people and this is a way to get my music and my message out to a lot more people. Some speeches are based on my book and others are based on my life changes. I speak on bullying, personal development, change, and facing fears basically. I speak to a lot of different youth groups, some churches, music programs, and health care groups, etc. Here is the big news; I had this idea to write another book about a year ago. Yeah this guy, the guy who dropped out of college because he couldn’t pass English. The guy who had to have a reading and writing tutor all through grade school. The guy who was not allowed to write for the school paper because he wasn’t a good writer. I am working on my second book. It is a very important book to me about fear. I suffer from depression and anxiety and always have. I was speaking to one of my speaker friends named Laurie and I told her “how can I stand in front of a crowd and tell them to go out and take charge of their lives when sometimes I don’t feel like I even have it all together.” She told me that I should be honest with my audience and tell them that it is a constant struggle even for me. Then I decided that this was what I needed to do. I would write my book about all the struggles I had in my past and how I dealt with them. I would tell how some of these struggles helped me create the music and speaking career I have today and how I wouldn’t trade any of it. This book started flying together as I started typing. Within 3 weeks I had 40,000 plus words and several chapters typed. Now it is sent off to my editor for editing. I almost can’t believe it. I don’t know what will come of this book or what will happen with it but it has been written. In the process a new song was born. It is unlike any song I have ever released before and any song you have ever heard me sing. It is going to shake things up a bit. I absolutely love it. It is called Break Free. Of course my good friend Amy Lacey and her cousin Natalie Johnson helped make this song a reality. Natalie had the idea after reading my first book and Amy really worked hard to make it what it is today. As we all 3 pulled it together at the end we knew we had something special on our hands. The studio and musicians worked super hard to create the most complicated piece of musical works I have ever been part of. Even they were excited about what this song can do. It’s going to help people. It’s going to change lives. I can’t wait to share it with you. It will be a few weeks still before it is out but I just wanted you to know that the song and the book are coming. The book is called Why Not Today? Face your fears and chase your dreams.

             I have traveled all over this past few weeks. I have been in Northern Utah, California, and North Dakota. My travels are not over yet. This year is going to be a very busy year for me. I have already spoke and sang for 5 different events. I have several concerts and 3 speaking events coming up. 2 of the speaking events are public and are both on “making it” and creating your music career. If you or anyone you know is in Southern Utah and wants to learn more about starting their own record label then send them to one of these work shops.
Thank you for all you do for me. This is going to be a great year. It’s time for all of us to “Break Free from the past that leaves us haunted and live the life we were meant to live.”

Southern Utah Songwriters Workshop
Thursday March 19th at Spiral Studios at 7pm.
$10.00 per person free to Suswa Members
The first 12 people will get an autographed copy of Eric’s Book.
https://www.facebook.com/events/821220801305778/821865677907957/

Southern Utah University Music Program Workshop. Open to the public
Tuesday March 31st. 7:30pm in Cedar City Utah at SUU.

If you know anyone interested in booking us please share our website and promo video with them.
www.ericdodge.com
Promo Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDCCfw0Lbqs

Find me on Instagram now under ericdodgemusic I share lots of fun pictures.

Thanks
Eric

Dear Friends, 

           This has been a very interesting and different end of a year for me. I have been completely off course compared to years past. You see, every year I plan and scheme and set goals for myself. I always know what I want and how I am going to get it. Over the last few years even to my surprise I have changed a whole lot. Some of the things I wanted a few years ago are not things I want anymore. I will still set goals this coming weekend I am sure, but I find that I have a hard time focusing on more than 1 or 2 goals at a time now days. When I sit down and set my business goals, my health goals, my relationship goals, my finance goals, and my personal goals, it can all get very overwhelming. I was allprepared to setup my vision boards, goal journals, and books of goals again this year. As I was reviewing my year and reflecting back, it hit me. I have most of what I want. I used to think it was about getting more money, nice houses, better cars, toys, things, but it just isn’t for me this year. I have a great life and I don’t need those things. I was listening to one of my mentors speak and he was telling a story about the Beatles. They said it best when they said

“There’s nothing you can do that can’t be done

Nothing you can sing that can’t be sung

Nothing you can make that can’t be made

No one you can save that can’t be saved

Nothing you can do but you can learn how tobe you in time

It’s easy

All you need is love, All you need is love

All you need is love, love

Love is all you need.”

                       After seeing these words and remembering what FlyLady always says FLY (Finally Love Yourself.) I decided to wrap my whole year and goals around one theme word, LOVE. This year I am going to Love. Love myself more first of course. I am going to stop being as hard on myself. I am going to love my family more. I am going to love my freedom, Love God, love what I have and where I am in my life. I am going to Love every day and try and love the ups and downs of life. I am going to love being more giving to others. I am going to love helping others and love spreading joy in all I do. You see, the Beatles were right. All we need really IS love. Everything we do we can do with Love in our hearts. If you want more Love in your life you have to give more love. Now don’t get me wrong. I have to take care of me first. It goes back to my #1 goal of loving myself first. I will say no to more things that take away from me loving me. I will spend more time on my mental and physical health. I will say yes to more things that give me joy, peace, and happiness and offer me more time to spend with those that I do love. I will allow myself to be more unpredictable and have more of an exciting life that I love. I want to LOVE life more. I want to laugh more and live more. It all starts with Love. Starting today I will ask myself as each goal, decision, or opportunity arises, how it fits into my theme of “All I need is love.” I hope you will join me. Why Not Today,  Love yourself first. Why Not Today, Take care of you first. Then love the world. If everyone did this I could not imagine how wonderful everything would be. Why Not Today, Love more. 

Thank You

http://www.ericdodge.com

PS, we already have a calendar that is filling up very fast for this year. Thank you for being such great promotors and getting your communities and events to bring me in. This is all word of mouth and I can’t thank you enough. See ya soon. 
Thanks and Happy New Year. 

Eric

My Dear Friends,

I have something that happened to me that has been weighing on my mind and I want to tell you what happened. As I was shopping for some gifts the other day I ran into an old friend I hadn’t talked to in years. I mentioned to her that I had also ran into her mother as well just a few days before. She told me that she and her mother were not on speaking terms anymore and that it had been many years since they spoke to each other. They live in the same town and both work in different stores right across the street from each other. This has been eating at me since that day I talked with her. I feel so sad about this. They are both very nice people. Life is to short to have that kind of strained relationship with someone, especially a mother. Maybe it’s one or both of their faults but that does not matter to me. My thoughts are not about whose fault it is. My thoughts are about what they are losing. They are losing the most precious gift we have, the gift of time. I really hope that they can make amends before it’s to late. Maybe this Christmas it could be more about Family, more about friends, or neighbors, or coworkers, instead of about stuff. Sometimes the hardest thing to do is let go of anger or hurt from when we feel that somebody has wronged us. I have worked and am continuing to work very hard to not harbor these feelings for anyone. I just know that someday one or both of these individuals are going to regret the years they let slip away while holding on to the anger that should and could be replaced with love and forgiveness. This is just one several examples that I have seen over this past year. There are so many people I know that have sacrificed great friendships or great relationships over simple disagreements. I think the best gift we can all give this Christmas costs nothing at all. It’s the gift you can give to everyone around you. It is the gift of Love and the gift of your time. Time is a very valuable and it can be such a great gift to others. Let those around you know how much you care. In the end it won’t be about who has or who gave the best gifts. It won’t be about who has the nicest house or the most money. It will be about how much love you have given to others. Thank you for everything you do for me. I truly want to wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

 Go to my website for a free download of the Christmas song that I wrote with my friend Amy Lacey called “A Christmas Wish” as well as a very old recording of a duet to “Silver Bells” I sang with my friend Lyndsi Housekeeper.

 also thank you for the incredible sold out Christmas concert this past Friday night. There are no words to describe how great that was to have such an amazing celebration with my friends and family all in one place.

http://www.ericdodge.com

Thank You

Eric

Hello Friends,

             This week is the week of Thanksgiving. I have always liked the holidays. There is just something magical during this time of year. From the music, to the charitable hearts, to the spirit in the air, I love this time of year. This month I decided to start doing my usual Thanksgiving gratitude journal. Each day I write one think or a short paragraph of something I am thankful for. I have done 22 days so far and today I will write my journal entry right here with you all. Today I am thankful for my friendships. Because of my music and my career as a singer I have been very fortunate to be able to meet people all over the world. I have built friendships and relationships with so many of you that I never would have had the opportunity to meet. So for that reason alone I am thankful today. I hope you have a great week. I hope you take some time to think about what you might be thankful for. I see so many people having a hard time right now. I think no matter what we are going through if we look hard enough, I bet we can all find things we are thankful for. That is my challenge this week. You could even reply to this e-mail if you feel like it and share what you are thankful for if you wish. I love reading your messages.

   I have had a super busy few weeks. I am already getting concert bookings for next year and a decent amount of them. I have been in Laughlin this week and also Bryce Canyon for conventions. Today I am glad to be home. Thanks for all you do for me in getting the word out about me. Almost every booking request I get is because of you telling someone about me. Word of mouth is so powerful.

   Some of you have been getting my Christmas CD and my Ultimate CD to give away as gifts. Thank you for that. Here is a link if you decide to do so. I am still covering all the shipping costs.

https://ericdodge.com///products-page/

This weekend I will be in one of my favorite towns. Parowan Utah. Friday and Saturday night I am the MC for the local Christmas show. I will be singing some songs in between acts.

IMPORTANT NEWS! You know my Christmas Concert that sold out a few weeks ago? Many people tried to get me to do a second night. I decided that I will not do this because of some very busy schedule conflicts that week. So we will only be doing 1 concert this year. However, that being said, they have opened up another 10 seats. They were able to put some chairs on the floor. Please if you have wanted to get some tickets to this show now is the time. It will be full to capacity and a very unique and intimate show. You can buy the tickets by going to this link. https://www.showtix4u.com/boxoffice.php?submit=Search+for+Events&begin=1542968&current_client=0231561405041955&ts=1415724679

Have a wonderful week.

Thank you so much, and have a very Happy Thanksgiving.

Eric

           Hi Friends, This is big news. A few years ago I got the opportunity to put on my very on Christmas concert in Southern Utah out at Tuacahn. It was so much fun and we had a very good turn out. Ever since I have been getting asked by many to do another Southern Utah Christmas Concert. Well it has happened. St. George Musical Theater is sponsoring an Intimate Country Christmas concert with Eric Dodge. It is in the old St. George Opera house and is a very intimate setting of 150 seats in the round. This morning tickets went on sale and to my surprise they have been selling very quickly. Much faster than I anticipated. It is looking like this show will sell out very soon. I wanted to hurry and send out an e-mail to my online friends before it sells out. They are going to advertise this show in the newspaper and send it out to the public soon and I wanted to give you the first opportunity. I have not got the final numbers but I think there may just have over 50 tickets left available at this point. Here is all the information so you can grab your tickets now before the go to the public.
Thanks
Eric

Friday December 12th at 7:30pm. Tickets are $15.00 each
Link to buy tickets. If you are going please feel free to reply and let me know. I would love to see you.
Click here for Tickets

                   It was almost 20 years ago. I had my whole life figured out. I was still going to school and I was preparing for my future. I was so excited about the opportunities that were before me. What would I do with my life? Where would I be in 10 years? What about my family? Where would they all be and what would they be doing? How about my friends? What would my life be like with them? Would we all still be going fishing and camping together? Would we live in different areas of the world? Would I be rich? Would I own a ranch? Would I be a world traveler? I thought I would be making my living as a wild life conservation officer or something in the science field. I knew that I would be married with kids and live in a nice house. My friends, Family, and I, would all have our families together for outings, adventures, and backyard BBQ’s. My parent’s, grandparents, siblings, cousins, would all still be around for all of our traditional family events and activities. I had my future pretty well figured out and it was a good future. It’s kind of funny to look back now so many years later. Nothing that I thought and hoped my life would be happened. I barely see or hear from any of my old friends anymore except for on Facebook. My cousins live all over the continent and we never speak. I only have one grandparent left and now days everything is very different.

                     This year has been a year of tremendous growth and thought for me. I could be upset about the way my life went but I am not. Just because life didn’t go as I planned, doesn’t mean that I haven’t lived an amazing life. Every person that has been part of my life has had an impact on me and I take that part of him or her with me everywhere I go. I have boxes and albums full of pictures and memories of a life that I am very proud of. It is proof of a life that has been filled with so much in so little time. It is true that I have had to make many sacrifices to have the life I have had but it has been so well worth it. My profession as a singer is a purpose that picked me. I never thought I would be a singer or never wanted to be a singer, it just kind of happened.

                   This week I have had some problems with my teeth. I have spent several hours at the dentist and several days in a recliner with a swollen mouth with ice packs on my jaw. It has literally been pretty much anything that can go wrong, has. Last Sunday my temporary crown fell off and I almost choked on it. Even last night I was removing some of my own stitches in my mouth because they broke open and were driving me crazy. I have not been able to sing, eat or talk very well for several days. It made me think about how my life would be if I could not sing anymore. That thought sickens me to the very core. Something that I never planned on being, a singer, is now such an important part of my life that I can’t imagine life without it anymore. Just because life did not go as I had planned, does not mean that it isn’t the plan I was supposed to live. I know that I am doing exactly what I should be doing and I get validation of that every single day. I would not trade being a singer for anything. Yes there are a few things I may have done different knowing all I know now, but I am still very happy. Every day brings a new chance for new opportunities. I wonder where my life will be in 10 or 20 more years from now. I am blown away at how fast life passes by. Thank you for being my friends. I love having you in my life.

Thank you

Eric

P.S. I cleaned out my cd closest and still have about 30 of the Never Walk Alone Hymn CD’s. If you never got a copy of my inspirational Gospel Hymn CD you can still get a copy for a very short time longer.

Also we are getting low on our first run of our new shirts. You can still get some on our store as well. Here is a link for the shirts and cd’s.

https://ericdodge.com///products-page/