Staying on Track with your New Year's Resolutions
1. Set realistic goals. Oftentimes, people set themselves up for failure by resolving to accomplish impossible tasks. Losing weight is a popular New Year’s resolution, but a goal of losing, say, 20 pounds in a month guarantees disappointment. Instead, outline realistic goals and how to get there.
2. Prepare, prepare, prepare. Whoever said that you had to go cold turkey? Take baby steps to reach your goals. Realize that achieving any goal takes planning and preparation. It also takes time. 3. Expect some setbacks. Change is tough. And you’re probably going to experience some setbacks as you are making modifications in your life. But the important thing is to not fall into the “all or nothing” trap. A step back doesn’t mean you’ll never go forward again. Many people find themselves in the trap of “all or nothing” thinking and give up. But instead of beating yourself up for “failing,” get back on that exercise regimen. You’ll feel much better for it. 4. Find someone to share the experience. Support makes all the difference. If you plan to stop smoking, find a buddy who will quit with you and begin planning strategies. A buddy will also serve to keep you on track toward your goals. 5. Don’t compare yourself with others. While finding a buddy to share your progress is helpful, don’t let someone else’s progress get you down. Comparing yourself to others is a very self-defeating behavior. Your only competition is yourself. 6. Don’t over scrutinize your progress. Evaluating your progress every day often ends in frustration. Don’t do it! Progress updates every week or every two weeks are better since enough time will have lapsed for even small changes to be evident. And resist the urge to compare yourself with others; it’s ultimately self-defeating. 7. Don’t be afraid to reward yourself. Don’t be afraid to give yourself a pat on the back when you make progress. Schedule rewards during the process. But be sure to plan rewards after you’ve taken a step toward reaching your goal. For instance, exercise first and go to the movie second, not vice versa. 8. Seek professional help. Many people try for years to change their bad habits, without success. There is no shame in asking the advice of a medical professional or other support staff. Just think of it as doing something a little different this year to help you reach your goals. New YouTube Show "Tammie Talk"   I'm so excited about my new YouTube show called "Tammie Talk" about people, places and things especially those that I love. The first episode was posted to YouTube this past week. To see future episodes as they are posted, please go to my YouTube Channel and subscribe. We will also try and include links to each new episode in the newsletters so you can share with your friends. We'll be working on a website page for 'Tammie Talk' to list epsiodes, gather feedback, post comments, and possibily a submittal form for you to send in your ideas. We just purchased TammieTalk.com and will be working on setting that up over the next few months. I expect to improve the show considerably over a short period of time and can't wait to do the next episode. - TD Looking Back on 2011 Looking back on 2011, it's been a pretty awesome year for me. I have no complaints at all. I knew this road was going to be long and hard and don't get me wrong, it is but I have to say that I've been extremely blessed and I'm motivated more than ever and willing to work even harder if that's what it takes. My Uncle Bob’s Experience Well I’ve been waiting sometime now to be able to tell this story so here it is…. A few months back, I received a FB message from Bobby Plowman, owner of Uncle Bob’s Foods, LLC about him being interested in a sponsorship agreement with me. Bobby had heard my song "Tall Dark and Lonesome" on the Radio (WKML 95.7 Fayetteville, NC), that's what made him contact me. I took his email like most of the emails I get, with a grain of salt, and emailed him back and told him when I was available to meet him. One thing I've learned in the music business is to NEVER blow someone off, it doesn't matter who they are or if you think they are crazy or not. Come to find out that Bobby was serious and as things worked out and the deal was made, I am now partnered with Uncle Bob’s Foods, LLC under a sponsorship/co-marketing agreement….but aLOT happened to make that actually work out. For one, I personally can not promote ANYTHING that I don’t like so when Bobby and I met for the first time, he gave me some ‘grillin & dippin” sauce to take home and try. I then also handed it out to my friends, other sponsors, fans at the shows, family, etc. and told them to get back to me on if they liked it. I’ve never been a BBQ lover. I don’t know why, I’ve just never was in love with BBQ. In the past, I would eat BBQ and even cook it from time-to-time but never really liked it that much - I’d rather eat a hotdog than have a BBQ sandwich or plate. When Bobby gave me the sauce, we had a few cases of it here at the house so I was able to cook with it on several different types of meat. From the very first taste I was hooked. I immediately threw out all the BBQ sauce in my fridge because now there is no other kind of sauce in my book. I became a huge fan of Uncle Bob’s and my family loves it too. Everyone that I’ve given the sauce to for testing, LOVE it. I now plan meals using Uncle Bob’s Grillin & Dippin’ Sauce and I’ve never planned meals around a specific product before. We use it on Chicken, Beef, Pork and Seafood. It’s great a tons of stuff. I’ll let you know when the recipes are posted to the website. All the locations are posted to the Uncle Bob’s Website to let you know where you can purchase Uncle Bob’s. Right now, it’s not available nationally but with a taste like this, it won’t be long. To see some comsumer reviews click here. It Breaks My Heart I get really sad when I read about missing babies or abused children. It breaks my heart to think that people can actually do these types of things. What’s wrong with people? Are they missing part of their brain – the part that tells you to protect the innocent? Sorry, but that should be a natural feeling and way of living. I was looking at some pictures on Kenny Chesney’s No Shoes Radio Face book page and saw a picture of a little girl who is missing in Kansas City. That sparked my interest because I was just there little more than a month ago singing the anthem at the speedway so I looked her up. Her name is Lisa Irwin, little bitty girl – I’m talkin’ she just turned 10 months old when she went missing in October of this year. After reading some of the articles about the case I get a strange feeling that the family is not telling the police everything. It’s so sad but in a lot of these kinds of cases, the family or parents aren’t taking good care of the kids so the police start looking at the family for answers. As I was researching little Lisa, I ran across a little boy named Tyler Dasher who’s mother beat him to dead at the age of one year. She has confessed to the police that she became angry and beat her son because he wouldn’t stop crying. How sad that is that not only is her son dead by her own hand, she has to live with that for the rest of her life. I remember back when my baby was a baby and how I would watch her sleep. I would have stayed up all night if that meant her feeling safe and comfortable. I can’t imagine any parent being any different with their children. It breaks my heart to know different.
Love your children and have a great day! Press Forward With Your Plan - Personal Goal SettingI had somebody ask me today what I had in the plans for 2012 and what was coming up that was big news. I have to say that I always have things in the plans. The plan might change several times but eventually something will pop out of the bag. Someone told me recently that you need to have ten irons in the fire before something will get hot and I truly believe that. I’ve also learned that over the last three and a half years of being in the music industry to not ‘tell all’. Sometimes it’s hard not to burst out and tell everybody what you are working on but I’ve also learned to make sure you have your “T’s” crossed and your “I’s” dotted before you go running your mouth because nine out of ten times, you’ll have to retract what you said and give some sort of explanation as to why something didn’t happen. Fact is – “that’s the music business” and it always happens and it happens to everybody. It’s how you handle it that is what matters.
I also had someone give me some great ideas today and I think I’ll give some thought to them. That’s so cool because if you listen to other people talk, you can get some of the coolest ideas and they don’t even know that they are giving them to you. Stop listening to yourself talk and listen to others. Are you ever in a conversation with someone and you can tell that they aren’t hearing a word you are saying? That’s sort of rude on their behalf but that’s how a lot of people are and they don’t even know they are doing it. With in the last four or five days I’ve had people say things to me and I had this “OMG” moment right then – Why didn’t I think of that before? The other thing is actually acting on your idea even if you think you don’t have the means to pull it off. “The way” will come if you just pursue it. Most folks don’t believe that because they grew up with their folks telling them that “that’s not possible” or “you better be made of money if you plan on doing that” or something to that nature. You may have had a parent or someone in your life growing up that told you those things. Well I’m here to tell you “That’s Bullshit!!” (Excuse the French) but it most certainly is a load of crap and - Did their folks tell them the same thing? My lord, why didn’t somebody tell them differently? Thank God somebody came along in my life about four years ago that informed me that “It doesn’t work that way”. Now I can actually do something with my life and talents without having this thing hanging over my head telling me that “I can’t”. Life can be hard but live and love like today is your last. I remember in January of 2008 when I lost my Dad how I felt so empty inside. It was like somebody had carved me out like a pumpkin and I just couldn’t fill it back up. I’ve been seeing a lot of loss recently. I know how hard it is when you lose someone close to you and I also know that it can eat away at you and that’s all you think about for a really long time. I cried myself to sleep for the first six months after my father’s passing. I just wanted to see him one more time standing in the garage ‘waving bye’ to us as we left the house to come back to Winston after a visit. I used to make him promise that he would come back and visit me but no ‘confirmed’ visits yet, I’ll let you know if that happens but then you’ll think that I’ve lost my mind. We did have some unexplainable things happen right after Dad’s passing but we can’t say if it was actually him or not. I think that those that pass before us can actually see us. I guess that's one of the reasons why I try and live a decent life. My Dad’s spirit is actually watching me now, or that’s what I think, so I can’t be out there doing things that he would not approve of…lol. I have had some experiences where somebody came out of nowhere and helped me when I was having a rough time or in a troubling situation so I’m a believer that our loved ones are out there making sure we are taken care of. If you’ve lost someone close to you and you are still having a hard time with the loss whether it just recently happened or maybe it’s been a while, just think how you would want that person to live if you had passed before them. I know I wouldn’t want my loved ones to miss out on life by mourning me for too long. I would want them to live life and each day as if it were their last – then they can come see me. Hey, your life ain’t over - someday it will be but today is only chance you will have to experience today, tomorrow is another day and another experience.
Kansas Speedway Oct 7 ARCA Race 
I hate early mornings but this one was so worth getting up at 3:30am. Friday, Oct 7th, Rocky picked me up at 5am so I could catch a flight to Kansas City from Charlotte. I slept the first leg into Chicago then caught a flight into Kansas City and got there around 11:30am. The car service picked me up at the airport and BTW, awesome car service if you are ever in Kansas City and need one, call my friend, Ben at Ben's Transportation Service at 816-507-2821. Not that expensive and fabulous car and service. Taxis tend to drive you around in circles to get more money so you’re better off getting a car service to pick you up and take you from place to place. Ok, back to the weekend….Ben was great and took me to the hotel. I was able to relax for a few hours, eat and get ready to go sing the Anthem. I was greeted at the speedway by Tom Venturini of Venturini Motorsports and the rest was absolute history. I sang the National Anthem for my largest crowd ever, 46,500 race fans. The anthem wasn’t televised (there was a 50/50 chance) but singing for that many people was absolutely awesome. It was ARCAs first night race and a very successful one at that. As I walked up on the stage to sing, I wasn’t nervous. Usually I am nervous at these type events but as the Pastor was giving the prayer, I felt my heart start to beat really hard as if it wanted to jump out of my chest. I took a few deep breaths to calm myself then I saw the “queue” from the lady at the foot of the stage telling me to sing. I don’t think I’ve ever sang the anthem with that much feeling and emotion before. The sound soared through the speedway stadium. I’ve never been more excited singing at an event than I was that very moment at the ending phrases of the anthem my heart was filled with honor and joy. I came down from the stage and was greeted by some awesome folks and some picture taking. I went back to the trailer briefly then back to pit road where I found Tom once again. He got me a seat on the pit box of the #55 car driven by Alex Bowman. I had never sat on a pit box before which was pretty exciting. I was able to listen in on the driver’s conversations with the crew chief which made it even more exciting. The 55 car wasn’t doing so hot but the crew chief’s strategy was about to pay off. Alex came in during a caution late in the race and they hooked him up with four tires which allowed him to drive to his second victory, which is a huge deal since he’s only had two races in the ARCA series and he also won his first race! What an accomplishment to have won both races as a starter. Plus I was sitting on the pit box of the winning car!! Very exciting for everyone! I’m grateful to the Venturini Family who treated me so awesome and gave me the opportunity to be apart of such a great event. Check out the press release about Alex’s win at Kansas City. Thank you to ARCA.com for the press release about me prior to the race and much gratitude to everyone involved in me being there. Read my note about the flight back on my Facebook page by clicking here, another heart pounding event. Thanks to all my fans and friends here at home that were hoping to see me on TV singing the Anthem. No worries, you’ll get to see it because we’ve just got started.
Lots of Love, Tammie What's New and Who to Thank?I know I haven’t posted in a week or so. I’m so sorry. I will try and do better, lol. It’s been a mind blowing week. I am pulled in a lot of different directions - it’s all very good stuff so I can’t complain AT ALL. I’m having the time of my life even though it’s a struggle sometimes. But think about it, life is usually filled with struggles anyway. Why not do what makes you happy and work through the struggles to get to where you want to be? Just say’ in. I wish I could tell you everything that’s happening right this minute but I can’t pour the beans until I have a pot to catch them. I can tell you that we have a press release coming out this week that’s pretty exciting regarding my corporate sponsor Bojangles’ Restaurants, Inc., that I can say. If you are connected to me on FB, you’ll see the link when it is posted and on the website. They are wonderful to work with and I can’t say enough good things about them as a company and a sponsor. Thanks also to the local store in Advance, NC and the manager, Hugh Quinn. He has been heaven sent and super supportive from the start. What an awesome person and I’m so proud to know and work with him on a regular basis. There are so many caring individuals who either work at or own businesses in this area. I’ve had to privilege to meet some of them. Like Vickie at Treasures Décor in Clemmons. She and her husband didn’t hesitate when they had a chance to support Make-A-Wish by sponsoring the MAW concert which helped raise almost 10K for Wish Kids in western North Carolina and Barry at Davie Jewelers in Clemmons, Kristina Lowery at Prime Builders in Advance, Kale at Interstate Service Center in Clemmons and the Associate Sponsor of the event, Modern Toyota of Winston-Salem and of course my corporate sponsor, Bojangles was there with their awesome sweet tea served up by non other than Hugh Quinn and his daughter who came to help– thank God because it was hotter than hotdogs on the 4th of July that day. I have done business with all of these folks and they not only run great businesses and have great products and services plus they care about the people around them. That makes me want to do more business with them time after time. This is what makes the world go round, people giving back to people and I’m all about that. So now, cross your fingers and hopefully you’ll be reading some pretty exciting stuff on this blog about Tammie Davis Music over the next few months and beyond. Buckle up!! Love you all and hope to see you soon. Oh yeah, you can pick up Free Comp tickets for the September 9th & 10th Rockingham ADRL Drag Race at the Advance, NC Bojangles Location, compliments of Todd and Denise Tutterow!! (Todd is the 2009 ADRL World Champion) Thank you!
Tammie P.S. Here's a picture of Todd's car that he will have at Rockingham on Sept 9th and 10th.  It's Crazy But Worth It !!What a crazy last couple days. I can’t wait to write a book, I’m serious. I can’t wait to put all of this down on paper. I’m going to have so much fun remembering, if that’s possible, all of the things that has gotten me from point A to point B to Point C and so on. It’s been a crazy ride so far but I think I get some thrill out of it. In the beginning, when that crazy Mike Jones said the magic words to me and got me motivated about a singing career, people looked at both of us like we were crazy when we said we wanted to go “all the way”, now “all the way” doesn’t seem that far away anymore. We’ve still got a long road ahead but for what we’ve been through so far, I’m stupid ready for whatever is ahead. We’ve given up a lot, I mean given up ‘stuff'. For example, before the singing career we took four vacations a year, now we’re lucky if we get one and went two solid years without a vacation at all and that’s just an example. I could go on but then you wouldn’t order the book now would you? And not just a book about my story, a book about the music industry which I think would sell a million. The things we’ve learned – it’s crazy. You have to know what to do, what not to do, how to smell red flags a mile away, what to sign, what not to sign and basic rules on when to kick someone’s “behind” and when to shut-up and leave it along….lol just kidding about the backside kicking. But really, there are rules to the music industry just like any other industry. Learning the ropes is part of the business. Anyway, back to my original statement “crazy last couple days”. It’s so awesome when your hard work that you’ve been doing for so long with no or little pay actually starts to pay off. I can’t explain that feeling to you if you’ve never had it. It’s like winning the lottery but better because you paid for it with your late and sometimes sleepless nights, 2am discussions about what’s next and how to make it happen, hearing rumors about yourself that are made up stories, working two jobs and not being able to hold your head up during the day, and time away from your family all to experience the end result and celebrate in it with the people you love. It’s all going to be worth it and I wouldn’t trade any of what all I just mentioned for anything in the world. All you’ve got when you move on is your story and I want mine to be a good one.
Lots of love and have a great weekend. Tammie |
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