February 2012
1 post
Give The World The Best You Have
People are often unreasonable, illogical and self centered;
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.
What you spend years building, someone could...
January 2012
2 posts
Something To Prove
I’ve never been a big sports fan, but I’m starting to get into football more. I watched a program on Tom Brady last night called “The Brady 6”. The show was about how Tom got into the NFL. It said that he was the 199th pick of the 2000 draft. This means that there were 198 players picked before him that year. It also said that he was the 7th quarterback picked that year,...
Future
The future is a scary thing to think about. It is completely unknown. We have plans and we have ideas about what will happen tomorrow, next week, and next year. But in the back of our mind, we know that we have no control over our future. Anything could happen. Anything.
A lot of people are planning on the world ending this year. I don’t know if that will happen or not, but either way I...
December 2011
3 posts
If You Build It, They Will Come
I don’t know if you know the movie Field Of Dreams. But pretty much, Kevin Costner renovates an old baseball field in hopes that players will come play. He builds it, and they come.
I am doing something similar with my band, and this blog, and my life. I want to build something that people can come to and feel ok. They can feel respected, they can learn, and they can be helped. I want to...
Show Me Love
A good friend of mine told me he really likes the Phone Calls From Home song “Show Me Love”. I listened to it today and was reminded of the message it told. I want to share that message with you and the reason behind the song…
I hate mornings. They are the worst part of the day for me. Sometimes I wake up feeling that I’m just stuck in rut. I have thoughts and dreams of a...
Create Your Own Luck
The more opportunities you give yourself, the more chances you get to be “lucky”. Sometimes I’ll talk to people about our band and they’ll say, “You’re lucky you get to do what you love, your lucky you got signed to a record label, your lucky you have a booking agent that books your tours” and I’ll say, “It’s not about luck.”
I am...
October 2011
5 posts
Popularity/Fame is not the Destination
Some of you, like me, have hopes of being famous. Others, maybe the high school crowd, have hopes of being popular in your school. To me they are the same thing, high school popularity and national fame. To some people, it is the goal, and to others, it is the means to a different goal.
I realized my goal wasn’t just to be famous when I realized that all fame meant was that people know who...
The See-Through Generation
Somewhere between Reality TV and Twitter, I had this feeling that we are the Transparent Generation. Nothing is hidden. If I want to know about someone, I can just look them up on Facebook, or Google, or LinkIn, or Twitter. If I’m patient and motivated, I’ll find them.
Whether you are a celebrity or an average joe, your cellphone is always on you and you are most likely on the...
Better
I am admittedly not the best singer or songwriter or musician or entertainer. I’m not better than most professionals. I’m not the best writer. I’m not the best anything, but I feel I am good enough to at least try and do the things I want to do.
I gave up on trying to be the “best”. I just want to be myself and hope that people like it. Not to say that I don’t...
Keep Your Head On Your Shoulders
No matter what happens to me in my life, I hope I can keep a strong head on my shoulders.
I used to hope for fame and success. I still hope for that, but more importantly, I primarily hope that I can keep grounded on my way there. If becoming successful means that I lose myself, I do not want success. If becoming famous means that I stop being real, I do not want fame. There are more important...
In The End
Someone told me recently that they lost a friend who was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 4, and died a few days ago at the age of 12. There are few things that slap you in the face harder than death. It causes you to question a lot of things about life. I think that those questions are important and often overlooked.
Look, I know you are stressed about school or work or awkward friendships...
September 2011
5 posts
Self Discipline = Learning To Like What You Hate
To me, self discipline and long-run thinking are synonymous. You need to have self discipline if you want to achieve your long-term goals. And those goals don’t have to be outward achievements, they can deal with health, love, faith, happiness, etc.
Part of disciplining yourself to work toward your goals is to learn to like things that you generally wouldn’t like. Another way of...
It Comes Full Circle
We played a show outside of Detroit tonight and I got to talk to a fan about our band and this blog. She told me how much our music and these words have helped her through some hard, hard times.
I got a letter from a fan last night that read, “You help me keep my sanity and my faith in times I feel like I’m losing them.” When we are on tour now I get to hear from people...
Takes A Jerk To Know One
I will almost always write deep thoughts or advice on here, but today I wanted to do something random.
I wanted to say that I try to be a good influence on others, but this week I’ve been feeling like haven’t been. I broke someone’s heart badly. A girl that I have grown to love over the last two years. It sounds cheesy but it is not. She has been my best friend and my muse. I...
There is "Good" in Everyone
This is going to be one of my favorite posts. I’m excited to write it, and for you to read it.
A famous preacher named Rob Bell from Michigan wrote a book called Velvet Elvis a while back. In the book, he says that he believes that you can find “Jesus” in everything and everyone. Now I know that not everyone reading this believes in God or Jesus and I’m sure that some of...
Don't Ever Take Life Too Seriously
The people that know me well may tell you that I am a pretty serious guy. But the people that know me best will tell you that I have a very dry, awkward, and sarcastic underlying humor to everything I say and everything I think. People often comment on my morals or my positive attitude, but few comment on my sense of humor. I’m ok with that, because I know that I don’t have to be that...
August 2011
4 posts
Perception Is Reality
I talk about this a lot, but I can never stress it enough: You are what others perceive you as. That’s a confusing sentence so I’ll word it differently… Who you are is not what you think you are, it is actually what people perceive of you. So I may think I am a nice guy, but if my friends, my family, and new acquaintances say that I’m kind of a jerk, than I am actually a...
The Shadow Proves The Sunshine
I love the band Switchfoot. They amaze me. They have a song called “The Shadow Proves The Sunshine”. You should listen to it. It’s been one of my favorite songs for the last 7 years. It never gets old to me.
I love the metaphor that the song portrays. You see, we all have shadows in our lives. We have so many things go terribly wrong around us. Even worse, things go wrong...
Find Inspiration, Then Go For It
What am I supposed to do with my life? Go to college? Travel the country? Find a career with a salary? What should I do!
I think most of us ask ourselves this question often. The answer comes from another question: What makes me feel inspired? This is something you really need to find out about yourself. What do you love to do? What comes naturally to you?
I love writing music. But I also love...
Trust and Respect
Many of us have trouble giving others trust and respect. However, trust and respect are both pinnacle in any healthy relationship with friends, families, and anyone else close to you in your life. Look at the people closest to you and ask yourself if you trust them and if your respect them. You don’t have to respect all of their actions, but you do have to respect them as people, to the best...
June 2011
2 posts
Don't Run Away
Our band just released our first single of our new CD. It’s called “Don’t Run Away”. You can listen to it here http://HearTh.is/h66SUU and you can buy it off of iTunes. I wrote the lyrics below. I haven’t written songs blatantly about myself in a long time. I felt for the last few years that writing vague songs about different subjects was the way to go. With this CD...
Long Winter
I haven’t wrote on here in a while. It’s been a long, weird, rough winter/spring for me. Nothing tragic happened in my life, it was more of an internal thing. I want to write on here daily again. However, I just haven’t felt stable or sound in a while. I’ve been struggling with some important beliefs, thoughts, and understandings and I’m looking for answers that make...
April 2011
1 post
Help Support
Since the music industry has gone down the drain, it’s become harder and harder to make a career out of being a musician. Record labels used to put money into promoting bands. They would receive that money back from album sales. Now, every record label is hesitant to invest in promoting bands because not as many people buy music. So, it is still possible for musicians to become successful,...
March 2011
2 posts
Live Your Dream
When I was in high school, all I wanted to do was play music for my career. It was such a constant need that it would be all I thought about when I was in class. I would pay attention to the teacher and then slowly daydream away about being on stage and touring around the country.
Now at 21 I’m doing it. It’s exciting and perfect.
People say, “I want to live the dream”...
Bragging Rights Are Only Good Until You Die
I was contemplating a depressing view point the other day: Maybe this life is based on filling your days and your mind with busy plans to keep you occupied until you die. Why is everyone so busy? Money? Love? Fleeting happiness? Selfish accomplishments? Selfless accomplishments?
I’m a very task-oriented person. I spend a lot of time trying to accomplish short-term and long-term goals. I...
January 2011
6 posts
A Bitter Pill Is Harder To Swallow
I know my headline is a famous saying, but I didn’t understand it until recently. You see, every now and then I have random epiphanies from random events. Very random events. I learned the true meaning of this saying quite literally from one of those random epiphanies. This one had to do with feeding my cat…
I was at my house one morning eating breakfast. Phone Calls From Home had...
It's About What They Hear, Not What You Say
I’ve always been able to understand complex things, but I’d always miss the obvious. I am pretty bad with common sense. So it took me 20 years to find out one of the easiest and most important lessons of my entire life. It’s something that you should take ahold of right away because I guarantee it will help you very, very, very much.
I was taking a class on human communication...
Doubt Is Healthy
I’ve been living with a lot of doubt over the last few months. It is something I generally keep to myself. I don’t think it is always 100% necessary to share my doubts with everyone so I wouldn’t be surprised if none of my friends even realized.
I did talk about it with someone I trust though. They assured me that I am human, and humans tend to doubt. I think it is part of our...
Do Your Best... What More Can You Do?
As a musician I used to get very caught up in writing the perfect songs. I used to get a lot of anxiety from feeling like my songs and my voice and my band wouldn’t be good enough.
I’ve grown since then. I’ve realized that I just need to do my best and let it go from there. What’s the use of worrying if I’m trying my hardest? What more could I do? It gives me a...
Surround Yourself With The Right People
I think it is very important to be around people that make you feel happy. The more I make friends around the country and the more I travel with the friends I have, the more I realize how much the people around me matter.
The people around you have a huge influence on your life. Whether you think it’s true or not, you have the ultimate power to choose who you want in your life, other than...
It's About Them, Not Me
It’s human nature to be selfish. I definitely live a very selfish life, I think most do. So I put a post-it on my computer that I read everyday that says, “It’s About Them, Not You”.
I want to be successful and feel fulfilled. But success and fulfillment don’t come from trying to fulfill myself. They come from helping to fulfill others. So, though I make mistakes,...
December 2010
2 posts
Strengths/Weaknesses
A while back I had to do an assignment for college where I had to list 15 of my strengths and weaknesses. In business, they call it SWOT Analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats). I like to be completely transparent with you guys. I hate having anything to hide and I want you to know me as well as you can. So I want to share my strengths and weaknesses from that assignment with you....
3 Points On Life
Here are three easily digestible thoughts on life. Read each one a couple times because they are short and sweet.
Life is not a dead end. You can change yourself and your situation tomorrow if you’d like.
Life is not a waiting room. That is the title of a Senses Fail CD. I love it because the sentence breathes so much thought into me. What are you waiting for? Live. Love. Right now....
November 2010
9 posts
Crazy
These past few weeks I’ve been feeling like a different person. I feel very emotionless and numb. I can’t really put my finger on why. It is definitely odd though. I feel alone in my own head. I try to listen to different songs to produce some type of emotion from me, but no song seems to be working.
I know I almost always write helpful words on here. However, I also try to be very...
Perfect Purpose
I think too much into everything. One thing I think about it the purpose behind all of my actions. Why do I do what I do? Why do you do what you do? I know it’s a mix of internal and external factors, but a lot of it can be controlled.
That is why I strive to do things with perfect purpose. I think that most people don’t really have much strategy in their life. They don’t...
Let Others Know
I get a lot of comments that say, “This blog has really helped me.” If that is the case and if you truly feel that my writings have helped you, or gave you direction, or gave you someone to relate to; then I think you should let other people know about it.
I write in hopes to help others with life insight. It would mean the world to me for you to let a friend (or more than one...
Never Point Your Nose Up
I just got home from doing a national tour with a couple of great bands, The Scenic and Just Surrender. It’s funny. I went to my church on my way home last night and went to the Thanksgiving Communion Service. It was weird going from touring with bands who drink, and party, and do drugs to stepping into a church full of suits and ties. Definitely a change in scenery. But let me tell you, I...
Shine
I was told quote below this week. It speaks volumes about the potential of every individual on this earth. I want to do my best to serve my God and others so as to be a light for others. I want to shine bright so that others can see the light in themselves.
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our...
Response To Comment
I got this as a comment from an anonymous person so I am going to answer it…
“Hey dave this past five to six months have been really hard for me. My best friends in the whole world have left me, my brother sister and me got taken away from my parents and dont know if we r going back. What do I do? Iv cut myself an thought of suicide alot.”
I don’t have a perfect answer...
Appreciate What You Got
I was sick as a dog yesterday. I woke up at 5 am and spent the following 10 hours throwing up every ten minutes. I finally went to the ER where they hooked me up to 4 IV’s bags throughout the day.
Being sick is horrible. But it’s a good reminder of how good it feels to be healthy. There’s an awesome Goo Goo Dolls lyric that says, “Nothing is real until it’s...
Go With Your Gut
I have spent a lot of time logically trying to making sense of this world. And one of the most intelligent things I can tell you is to go with your gut. Go with how you feel. If you are in a situation that doesn’t feel right or have to make a tough decision about something, go with your gut. A lot of times it’s like your heart already knows the answer, it just has to wait for your mind...
Read and Listen
If you like what I say on this blog, just know that I got this far by reading and listening. There is a famous quote from the 12th century that basically says, “We can see as far as we see by standing on the shoulders of giants.” This meant that people know what they know only because of the people that came before them.
We can ignorantly turn on a light in our house without ever...
October 2010
8 posts
Neutral Is A Choice
I want to make this short, but understandable. There are a lot of opportunities in your life that are lost because your reaction to the the opportunity is simply just being neutral. You don’t say “Yes”, and you don’t say “No”, you instead don’t saying anything. You let the opportunity pass by, but in your mind you say, “Oh well” like you...
Answers
Thank you guys for asking these questions. It means the world to me that you would let down your guard and ask questions that are very personal to you. I hope my answers can help. Remember, what I say is just advice, it’s just words. Don’t live by what I say, just take it in. Also, there are many questions about God. So a lot of my answers are about God. If you do not believe in God or Jesus,...
Tomorrow
Hey all
I’m going to post my answers to all of your questions tomorrow. Sorry for the wait. You guys asked some heavy stuff. I needed to step back from this for a while to get a feel for what I wanted to say. Come back tomorrow. I hope my answers could help you, even if you didn’t ask a question.
Questions
I want you to think of a good question to ask me and write it in the comments. I don’t want any “What is your dog’s name” type questions. I want you to ask about stuff that is hard for you to ask regular people or that is troubling you in your life. I’ll try to answer a few. If you ever wanted to ask me something, now is the time.
This Is Advice For Me Too
I talk on this website about life, and issues, and perspective. I need to give advice with confidence and blatantly to make what I say concise and receivable. I don’t ever want to think that I follow everything I say to a T. I am not perfect. I have my issues, my struggles, my temptations, my skeletons, my history, and my downfalls. I will never be perfect.
That being said, I don’t...
You and I Deserve Nothing
It feels really good to wake up every morning knowing that I do not deserve the life I have. I do not deserve the food I eat, the friends I have, the health of my body, and the experiences I have. I Deserve Nothing.
People too often feel entitled to things. You feel like you “deserve” the world. You don’t. No one does. The sounds horribly depressing, but if you know me by now,...
We Are All Humans With Potential
What if you met the President? How would you treat him? That’s how I want to try and treat everyone. With honor and respect.
I have another question. What if you met the President when he was a 10 year old boy? Would you treat him well? That is the big issue. We treat all these rockstars, movie stars, sports stars, politicians, and public figures with such respect, but everyone has the...
Perfect
What’s up world!
So the last 2 shows that we played, we have had openers who played acoustic and had amazing voices. These guys could win American Idol. I swear to you. Their vocals gave me goose bumps. I know that is weird to say, but it’s the truth.
When we first started this band, I wanted it to be perfect. I wanted MY voice to be perfect. I wanted to sound like John Rzeznick...