Setting Yourself Up for Sucess

The great and glorious masterpiece of
man is to know how to live to purpose.
Michel de Montaigne

You want to be successful? Then never be satisfied with the level you are at. There is always room for growth in life, and if you are not growing you are dieing. Do you want to simply live, or would you rather thrive? I believe that there is something very powerful about putting your goals down on a sheet of paper. It is here that your goals go from simply being thoughts and dreams in your head and move into reality. Through the act of physically putting them down you are committing yourself to making them real. I would even challenge you to take it a step further as I have  and to share your goals with others, you will be sure to work that much harder to achieve them when you are proving to others that you got what it takes.

On my list I have already started working on a number of these items.
1) I have begun drafting my book.
2) I am meeting with a friend from U.W. who has been going to school for years learning these kinds of things to work on putting together a seminar.
3) I am working my butt off in the gym so I can make it to Men's Health magazine
4) I am training for my marathon and races.
5) I began bike training this past weekend for the Seattle to Portland Bike Classic. That one is a doozy, 202 miles!
6) Working with a few different artist from as far away as Africa on new music!
7) Registered today for the 6th annual Winter Pineapple Classic. This is a race for charity, we are raising money for cancer research.
8) Raising money for charity!

If you are reading this I would encourage you to get inspired and light your motivational fire. It only takes a small spark and fuel before you are a raging inferno of passion and drive! You can do it.

I would ask for your help in raising money for the 6th annual Winter Pineapple Classic, my teams goal is to raise $1,000.00 for research. If you can donate even as little as a dollar it is ALL going to the foundation and an AMAZING cause. Please visit the website below and help end this disease today with your gift :) God Bless you all. Make a Gift Today.

http://www.llswa.org/site/TR/Events/WinterPineappleClassic?px=1509890&pg=personal&fr_id=1200

Build a Strong Foundation in Life

If you have never heard the story of the wise builder and foolish builder it goes something like this. "There were two men who were each building a home. The wise man built his home on a stone foundation. The foolish man built his home on the sand. So when the rains, winds, and storms came crashing down on the homes the wise mans home stood strong throughout. The foolish mans home washed away."


So what kind of foundation are you building your life on? The storms in life are unavoidable and unpredictable. The best we can do is to make sure that we are prepared when they do arrive. A strong foundation in life is built on a three simple tenets. Having a strong body, mind, and soul.


#1. Having a strong body. In the current day and age of fast food, and no time for the gym, this is probably one of the hardest tenets to keep rock solid. The reason I start with this facet of your life foundation is that it will effect all others. You live every day in your body and how healthy you are impacts the quality of your everyday life. Lets take two different types of people, someone who takes care of their body and is healthy, and someone who is overweight and unhealthy.How do you think they would answer this question. "Are you happy?". Obviously the healthy person would likely answer "Yes" and the unhealthy "No"? The focus here is not on physical beauty but on your health and vitality. "Health is a state of complete harmony of the body, mind and spirit.  When one is free from physical disabilities and mental distractions, the gates of the soul open".  ~B.K.S. Iyengar

You will never regret the decision to start living healthily. However, everyday living unhealthy is a day of regret. One more day that you can not experience all of life's joys. One more day that you can't climb that mountain and see the breathtaking view at the apex. One more lost opportunity. No matter how long it has been since you ate something good for your body, or stepped in a gym, it is never too late. All journeys start the same, with one step.


#2. Have a strong mind. Life is not meant to be lived in front of a television screen. Life is a journey. "How often I found where I should be going only by setting out for somewhere else.
~Buckminster Fuller"  The pursuit and desire for knowledge is the thing that has driven humanity towards it great heights. Often when we are searching for something we end up finding what we were "really" looking for along the way. It is the great tragedy of this generation that minds have been so neglected. A life not used learning along the way is a life truly wasted. How else can you achieve your great unlimited potential if not for pushing yourself. For all you know, you could be the one who is destined to discover a cure for cancer, or write the next great symphony, maybe solve the great questions of the universe, or just have the right thing to say to save someone when they need it. The point is, if you do not push yourself towards greater heights of knowledge and understanding then you are not the only one who is suffering, it could be the world. It is only through mutual understanding and the pursuit of knowledge that one day hopefully this world will know true peace and happiness. Apply these lessons to your life.


#3. Have a strong soul. What does this mean? "There is no easy or quick plan to happiness, there is no single spot where you can start. Where you are right now is the best place to begin. Be careless in your dress if you must, but keep a tidy soul".~Mark Twain. Oh, I love this quote so much. Mark Twain describes so succinctly how one of the foundations of our lives is so integral to happiness. "OK", you may be saying to yourself, "but what is a soul, Ethan?". A favorite description of mine is one by C.S. Lewis, "You don't have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body." You are your soul. It is who you are, your character, your conscience, your ideas, your values, your morals, and all that is you. Keep this strong. It is so important to have a strong belief and faith in yourself. You must live with integrity and keep a clear image of who you are and what you are meant to do. Christians, like myself, believe that our soul is eternal and that we will one day stand before God to be judged for our actions. I pray that my soul is strong enough to follow the path I have chosen and love so much. Others, may follow different theologies or philosophies but the message resonates through them all. Have a strong soul that you can be proud of, live well, do well to others. Do this and you will then have a firmer foundation in life.



So, are you building your home on a stone foundation or on the sand? If its on the sand, today is the time to move. Life has storms, do not be afraid of them washing you away. Be able to stand tall and proud and KNOW that it is all going to be ok.


Ethan R. Ames

Dream BIG

When we are motivated by goals that have deep meaning, by

dreams that need completion, by pure love that needs expressing,

then we truly live life.

 - Greg Anderson

(This article is personal to me and shares a painful experiences I went through along with the life changing decisions made after.)

Wow I LOVE this quote! If you have followed me for long at all you know that I am a sucker for a good quote or catch phrase.I keep a little journal of them so that if I am ever in need of motivation I can just flip to it and BOOM, there it is.  In January of 2011 my ex wife and I separated to begin our divorce. I felt like every dream, hope, and love I had was being destroyed all around me. So for the next several months I went through a personal hell that I tried hard to hide, poorly, with alcohol and living a life very close to the edge. I had given up all my REAL dreams, REAL goals. And as for love, pffff! It did not exist. Then I had a life changing moment ,which is not the focus here, and began to immediately reevaluate my life, decisions, goals, aspirations, and relationships. What I saw was that I had given up on everything that mattered. 

It was in this moment of self-realization that I started to dream and make goals again. It was as if someone had lit a match in my heart that had started an inferno.  From this inferno came an intense desire to make a difference in the world. I could start to visualize all my dreams and desires and seeing how to obtain them. I started to see the good in people again. I realized that people do hurt eachother but they also are the source of so much love and support, that to become cynical and unresponsive to them is self destructive. Without dreams to live for and love to receive and give, life is hollow and holds little meaning. The beauty this is that it's NEVER to late for you to shed the cynical attitude and thick hide that we use as protection from hurt. And to begin to be receptive and  receive the blessings that this life holds for all who can dream to receive them.

Don't let life get shatter or get in the way of you dreaming big. If you have a passion, pursue it with all your heart. No one just magically attains their goals and dreams it takes hard work and sacrifice. But in the end would you rather ask "What if?" or say "Glad I did!"

Without goals, dreams and love to live for, what are you living for? Dream BIG, love BIG, and live BIG. God bless!

Ethan R. Ames

Your Life is a Story Waiting to be Written...

"Your Life is a Story Waiting to be Written..."

This is a powerful statement when you think about it. After all if you read between the lines it is saying a couple incredible things to us.

#1. It is YOUR life. Ever heard or said these words to someone "It's my life, I'll do what I want". Normally this is statement of rebellion against some authority figure in your life, like a parent for example. However, I think it is really empowering when you embrace the idea that you control the direction of your life. So all the successes and failures you experience are a result of the direction you are steering your life. Personally, I navigate life aided by my belief in God and his eternal love and wisdom for us. If you do not follow any theology, like an atheist, then this statement is STILL just as valid. You believe in man's power over his own life and his decisions to either embrace a life of goodness or evil directly correlate to his successes or failures.

#2. It's a story. If you have ever read any book you know that for it to be interesting it needs depth, twists, emotional involvement, plot, supporting characters, antagonist, protagonist, etc... Now think of how interesting this book would be: A man/woman goes to work, comes home, eats fast food, plays video games/shops, drinks/drugs, goes to bed, repeat for a year. I think after one page of that drivel we would all put that book away or use it as fire kindling. So, why is it that so many people live their lives this way? Is it exciting? No. Are there emotional connections being made? No. Are there meaningful interactions? No.

You get the point. Life is made to be experienced. We have five senses; sight, smell, touch, taste and hearing. Use them for more than the basic mundane activities of simply getting by. This world is majestic and full of adventure and new experiences around every corner. Get out there and start writing the best story that anyone will ever read. LIVE your life, Don't simply exist.

#3. It is waiting to be written.  Imagine a blank page of paper that gets magically filled with a story as you act it out. There is no erasing what has been written on this paper once it is committed. But there is the endless opportunity for you to change the narrative and story to your liking. We all make mistakes in life. We all do things that we may look back on later and think were rash or foolish. We also experience so many magical moments that we want to remember. This is your life. You can not change what is in the past. We are blessed with great memories to recall the amazing with the bad. We are also given the ability to control the future through our actions. Nothing is set in stone. Some of histories greatest figures were individuals that pulled themselves up from their bootstraps and rose to great heights. You have this same gift.

"Your life is a story waiting to be written. So go out and write an epic one." God bless.


Ethan R. Ames

First Post

You have great potential, do not be scared to live up to it. Take risks, the bigger the challenge, the greater the reward. ~ERA. #truth

So, here's the deal. In a world with a 24hr news cycle and a constant barrage of celebrity news and gossip from sites like TMZ and others. We are constantly hearing about the unbelievable lives of people who are portrayed to be so much "better" than us. All you hear about is how to "look like SO and SO, get ABS like Joe, or Make Money like Donald". It is great to aspire to better yourself financially, mentally, and physically. In fact I believe that it is a key part of living a happy and fulfilling life.

But realize that YOU are special and that no one is BETTER than you. Life is full of battles and obstacles to overcome, but look at these as opportunities to become a stronger individual. After all, how strong can you know you really are until tested. A muscle grows stronger by tearing its fibers and then growing back better than it was before. This is how our lives and we as human beings operate. We are tested, sometimes torn, and then when you make it through you come out on the other side stronger and better than you were before.

The greatest tragedy that any man or woman can make is to avoid these struggles for fear of failure. All this does is make you weaker and less able to stand up tall and strong in the world. It breaks my heart to see people suffering. Sometimes your challenge is to lift up those around you and not be afraid to put yourself in there place. Sometimes you are the person needing lifting up. 

So be strong, have faith, and know that whoever you are, wherever you are, and no matter how alone or weak and afraid you feel. There is at least one person in this world that is praying for you to succeed. And we may have never met face to face but I have love for you and if I met you tomorrow I would be happy to see another AMAZING human being. You have beauty and worth inside and out. 

Don't be afraid to live up to your potential.

Ethan R. Ames