Ed Clay MMA

Imagine

2011-06-27T21:35:00.000-07:00

Imagine for a moment that somewhere in the middle of Texas there was a large foreign military base, say Chinese or Russian. Imagine that thousands of armed foreign troops were constantly patrolling American streets in military vehicles. Imagine they were here under the auspices of "keeping us safe" or "promoting democracy" or "protecting their strategic interests."

Imagine that they operated outside of U.S. law, and that the Constitution did not apply to them. Imagine that every now and then they made mistakes or acted on bad information and accidentally killed or terrorized innocent Americans, including women and children, most of the time with little to no repercussions or consequences. Imagine that they set up checkpoints on our soil and routinely searched and ransacked entire neighborhoods of homes. Imagine if Americans were fearful of these foreign troops and overwhelmingly thought America would be better off without their presence.

Imagine if some Americans were so angry about them being in Texas that they actually joined together to fight them off, in defense of our soil and sovereignty, because leadership in government refused or were unable to do so. Imagine that those Americans were labeled terrorists or insurgents for their defensive actions, and routinely killed or captured and tortured by the foreign troops on our land. Imagine that the occupiers' attitude was that if they just killed enough Americans, the resistance would stop, but instead, for every American killed, 10 more would take up arms against them, resulting in perpetual bloodshed. Imagine if most of the citizens of the foreign land also wanted these troops to return home. Imagine if they elected a leader who promised to bring them home and put an end to this horror.

Imagine if that leader changed his mind once he took office.

The reality is that our military presence on foreign soil is as offensive to the people that live there as armed Chinese troops would be if they were stationed in Texas. We would not stand for it here, but we have had a globe-straddling empire and a very intrusive foreign policy for decades that incites a lot of hatred and resentment toward us.

According to our own CIA, our meddling in the Middle East was the prime motivation for the horrific attacks on 9/11. But instead of reevaluating our foreign policy, we have simply escalated it. We had a right to go after those responsible for 9/11, to be sure, but why do so many Americans feel as if we have a right to a military presence in some 160 countries when we wouldn't stand for even one foreign base on our soil, for any reason? These are not embassies, mind you, these are military installations. The new administration is not materially changing anything about this. Shuffling troops around and playing with semantics does not accomplish the goals of the American people, who simply want our men and women to come home. Fifty thousand troops left behind in Iraq is not conducive to peace any more than 50,000 Russian soldiers would be in the United States.

Shutting down military bases and ceasing to deal with other nations with threats and violence is not isolationism. It is the opposite. Opening ourselves up to friendship, honest trade, and diplomacy is the foreign policy of peace and prosperity. It is the only foreign policy that will not bankrupt us in short order, as our current actions most definitely will. I share the disappointment of the American people in the foreign policy rhetoric coming from the administration. The sad thing is, our foreign policy will change eventually, as Rome's did, when all budgetary and monetary tricks to fund it are exhausted.

Ron Paul

Attitude of Gratitude

2010-11-05T21:04:00.001-07:00

"Of all the "attitudes" we can acquire, surely the attitude of gratitude is the most important and by far the most life-changing".

I just returned from Washington D.C. from our MMA millionaire mastermind meeting. Lloyd was brilliant as always and I couldn't help but feel extremely thankful to be given the opportunity to be involved in everything team Lloyd Irvin has done culminating to a mastermind meeting where other people outside of our inner circle where brought in.

I was asked the other day what I thought was the most important thing when it came to being successful. Let me first say that when I'm asked this kind of question I always ask what kind of success they're talking about because my idea of success in life is different than most. The easiest path to both, in my opinion, starts with passion which is directly tied to appreciation which if successful should eventually mold into gratitude for others

There's a lot more to success than just passion and gratitude but I thought it was interesting how the two things were so close together. I don't think you can be truly successful without showing REAL gratitude. Most unnsuccesful people do the opposite of show gratitude and hate on success and furthermore hate on anyone doing better than them. Instead of focusing on their passion and staying positive they focus on the negative and are jealous. I've lost a lot of so called friends to this.

If you're reading this right now sit back and think about anyone you're jealous of. Picture them in your mind and then replace it with something your grateful for. Gratitude naturally combats jealousy, you just have to train your mind to think that way. When I ask someone what they are grateful for I see a lot of times people don't even realize all that they have. And by doing this excercise I can't tell you the last time I was actually jealous of someone.

When I ask myself that question and look at my life and my success I quickly realize that theirs a lot to be gratful for. I'm grateful for my parents who have supported me all of these years through the ups and downs, Lloyd who has motivated me and made me believe that I am actually capable of achieving anything, my best friends Byron Schneider, Adam Jones, Shawn Hammonds, Josh Schockman, Eddie Bravo, and Scott Nelson, all my other friends who are really friends, my team here at Nashville MMA, team Lloyd Irvin and the list can go on and on when I think about it.

Most importantly I'm grateful to God for letting me be alive right now. (I'm very fortunate)

I hope that you all find your passion and can understand the attitude of gratitude and why it's so important in being happy and succesful. If you read this I am grateful:)

Peace!!
EC

Suffering Is Necessary For Happiness

2010-08-29T20:49:00.000-07:00

Just got back from UFC 118. John fought a good fight and simply got caught. I was happy with his camp and happy with his effort. One of the the things I tell all of our fighter is that no matter how you do, as long as you give 100% you're still a champion. John trained very hard and came up short, but make no mistake he is still a champion.

I finished reading “A Million Miles In A Thousand Years” that my friend Steve Hannah gave to me as a gift. It was a good book about how life is basically a series of stories that we are living. And to have a good life you must have a series of good stories that define you.

The book referenced one of my favorite books: “Man’s Search For Meaning” and the story of Job from the bible. It also reminded me of the first line in the book “The Road Less Traveled” where it says “Life is difficult”.

One of the common themes in all of these great books is that our own suffering is necessary to live a better life and have a better understanding of the meaning. The “story” that we live must have conflict to make us stronger.

This idea, is in my opinion, why so many people are unhappy in life. We are so afraid of conflict that we avoid it at all costs. We don’t deal with problems and are looking for the quick material fix to make us happy. Conflict and suffering are absolutely necessary to have a truly meaningful life.

If we look back at all the adversity’s that we’ve had in life I would bet that with the majority of them we would say have made us stronger people. So why is it that we run from these adversity’s and choose not to deal with them? It’s through these trials and tribulations that we learn who we really are. Some people seem so happy on the outside but are being torn apart internally.

This got me thinking about the story that I’m currently living. I read something the other day that said “The blessings God places in your hands are determined by what you are willing to let go of first”. This is so true and something that has played out in my life. I know the things that I currently need to let go of and I have let go of a lot. I’ve learned this truth through my suffering.

I was meditating a couple weeks ago and a simple idea came to me that less is more. When I started thinking about what this message meant it made me realize the things that I need to let go of in life. It’s the suffering that I’ve experienced that allowed me to know what to cut out and what to keep. The idea is that the less stress, bills, and distractions I have the more happiness and financial freedom I can have and even in the end the more money I can make. I’m not at a bad financial spot right now but the recession over the last two years was very tough. It was through the suffering that I learned that a lot of the things I was doing with my money to make me seemingly happier was actually making me unhappy. It caused more stress. It caused me to have to re evaluate what I really wanted in life and what was truly important. In the end all the material things that I have had made me no happier.

I’ve been torn about wanting to do projects to help people and do the things that I’m currently doing now. I’m working on a system where I’m cutting everything out that does not help me be truly happy. In this process a lot of people will be cut out and I’m going to seem a bit cold. But the situations and experiences that have dragged me down in anyway must go. It’s only going to be when I let go of these things that God will bless me with more.

As I said in a previous blog I had something come to me in another mediation that said “let go and let be”. I’ve started to do this and I’m seeing good results. Spiritually I’m getting stronger. My heart is telling me to go save the world. I know that sounds a bit absurd but I have an opportunity to make a huge impact on society. I’m not sure when I’m going to make the project I’m working on public but I believe with everything in me that it will help millions of people.

To be able to do this to the best of my ability I’m going to have to let some things go and I’d be lying if I said this wasn’t difficult. But with the idea that less is more and let go and let be I’m well on my way to finding the true happiness we’re all searching for in humanity. Remember to give without remembering and receive without ever forgetting. Be good and loyal to those who are good and loyal to you. Because when you find people that you know are soldiers with you, that will fight to the end and have the whole ride or die mentality, those are the people that you should be concerned with when going on with relationships. I know who my real friends are and I know who is truly loyal and wants the best for me. All the other fake people can kindly get out of my way. It’s time for me to let go. I’ve learned this from suffering and I thank God for this blessing.

God Bless,

Ed Clay

What I've Been Doing In my Spare Time

2010-08-11T21:19:00.000-07:00

When you peel the layers of your skin back and look deep into your soul what do you see? I don’t expect most people to know this answer, but I’ve been peeling a lot the last few months. The more I peel the more I realize that I was really nothing like I thought I was. I’m not talking about in a physical sense. I’m talking about a deeper, spiritual, soul searching sense. And when I use the term soul searching I don’t mean it in the way most people perceive it.

I was talking to a friend today about the transitional period I’m going through. I’ve reached a point where everything that defined who I was in the past isn’t really important to me anymore. I didn’t have your average upbringing where you go to college and get a job. I received on the job training from the age of 18. College, at the time, wasn’t for me.

From there I started multiple company’s, overcame legal adversity, got involved in real estate, including investing in foreign countries, traveled the world with my fighters and friends and lived the life that I thought I always wanted to live.

Simply put I got caught up in what society has taught us to be a good life. I was listening to Nido Qubein speak the other day and he said "when we’re talking about success, we talk about the three F’s of success, Fans, Fame, Fortune.” He then speaks on how empty this idea or thought is. He goes on to speak about the three F’s of significance: Faith, Family, and Friends. And as he put it when you have this, what else do you really, really, really need?

This brought me to the thought about faith as I was explaining to my friend today. Faith implies that we believe in something that we don’t see. The bible says in Hebrews 11:1 that Faith is being sure of what you hope for and certain of which you do not yet see. But if God is all around us everyday then what is it that we don’t see. Is it because I have seen God that I don’t think I need faith? Or do I just know? Or is me just knowing really faith?

As I go into deeper meditations and peel back the layers I find myself asking the question “what are we really?” When I ask this question the idea that there is a God is never more evident. Not in the traditional religious way, but from a state that we are all coming from the same consciousness. If from the time we are children we are given a collection of thoughts from other people, and we grow up with more and more ideas from other places we are not really ourselves. We are just a collection of thoughts and ideas from other people that we choose to keep making us the people we think we are. This is scary when we consider that we allow media sources to give us information and accept it as truth or fact. The three F’s of success become the most important thing in life and we forget about the three F’s of significance.

I’m trying to go from a state where I don’t just believe in God but I know God in everything that I do. God is everything and everywhere. God is in all of us. And now I’m searching for the peace in God… this may take some time.

Peace!

Ed

Happy Father's Day and Nashville MMA is Blowing Up!!

2010-06-20T21:43:00.000-07:00

First of all Happy Father's day to all the dad's out there. I was blessed with an amazing dad who has always been there for me. I can't imagine where I'd be if I didn't have such a positive influence in my life. If I look back, I can't remember a baseball game or wrestling match that he wasn't at. He supported me and believed in me when my family was my only team. As success and failure come and go I know I can always count on him no matter how I'm doing.

Our team fought last night and did very well going 11-1 in the Gameness Fighting Championships. Matches that stick out in my mind are Chris Camacho's brutal k.o. in one of the best ammy fights I have ever seen, Charles McTory making his MMA debut and winning by k.o., and Luke Sanders having a very tough first fight with our team and coming out victorious.

I could go through the list and talk about everyone, but the truth is they all did very good. There were some very close matches that they had to dig deep, but they did what they had to do and got the job done. Even our one loss I was happy with as David fought hard even when he was gassed out.

A lot of people don't realize the sacrifices that our fighters make. I just added all the weight up that the guys cut and we had 10 of the 12 guys cutting weight for a total of 171 pounds! I was helping Chris Barnhizer cut on Friday and it brought back old memory's from wrestling. He was sucked out and broke, but he worked through it and got the weight off he needed. And of course he went out the next night and dominated.

If you were to look at our line up right now it's getting to be stacked. We have a room full of amazing athletes that are working hard everyday. Dave Herman, John Salter, Josh Schockman, Dustin Ortiz, Chris Barnhizer, Chris Camacho, Luke Stewart, Charles McTory, Dante Lawson and Kurt Kinzer were training with each other for this fight every night. That doesn't even count the guys like Cory Robison, Ray Casias, Dave Cook, Dave Hurst and Shawn Hammonds who are in the gym every morning. If you look at the first list of guys you have multiple highschool national champion wrestlers, 5 division 1 wrestlers, 1 NAIA national champion wrestler, 1 division 1 all american football player. And of course Herman, Ortiz, Schockman, and Salter have fought in the best organizations in the world. In the second list you have some of the top American BJJ player's out there and Cory Robison who is a world champ.

I was talking to Jeremy Boz the other day and he mentioned how deep the room was getting. The talent level is crazy and we're only going to get better. People can say whatever they want to say but the fact is if your in the area and want to get some of the best MMA training in the world, there is no reason you shouldn't be training at Nashville MMA.

If you don't want to be the best or if your ego is too big to get tapped out and/or beat up in practice,(just like I get beat up) then I completely understand why you don't train with us.

Congrats To Team Lloyd Irvin and Thank You Lloyd!

2010-06-08T15:00:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Team Lloyd Irvin became the first American Team in history to win a team title in any category at the brazilian jiu-jitsu world championships. I would say that I'm surprised by this, but I knew this day would come for the team, and I expect we will win many more. Going into the final day our adult team was in 2nd place and though it may take a bit of time before we win this title, I am confident this day will come too.

I've been reading a lot on the forums about what Lloyd does different than everyone else and a lot of what is written has been correct to a point. I've been a part of the team since 2004 and have traveled all over the world with Lloyd. Next to my parents, Lloyd has had a bigger impact on my life than anyone else in the world.

To have a great team you must have a great leader. That leader must also have a great vision on were he wants to take you and I have personally seen Lloyd's vision become a reality. If you want to learn how to be successful there is no better person to look at than Lloyd. He commands respect, does what he says he's going to do, and leads by example. He has the best work ethics of ANYONE I know and a wisdom about him that I don't think can be taught. His wisdom is his greatest asset and I think that this is something that he's simply been blessed with. Yes he has a desire to learn and get better, yes he studies what works the best for any and every situation, but all of that aside God blessed Lloyd Irvin to be an amazingly wise leader.

Over the years Lloyd and I have talked for hours about everything from life, to BJJ, to MMA, to just about anything. Lloyd has kept me sane through all of my crazy thoughts and shortcoming that very few people know about. I look at how our team does in competition and it's no surprise we win. The same thing that goes for our team has gone for me in life. I know if Lloyd is happy with the things that I've done, then I have done well. Sometimes I win and sometimes I lose.

Most people that know me would say I'm pretty fearless when it comes to things. But the fact is the biggest fear I have in life is failing. One of our teams motto's is that no matter what happens, win or lose, as long as we give 100% we're still a champion. I've flat out failed a number of times the last few years but Lloyd has always given me encouragement to get back up and give 100%. I'm sure it's been the same for the other members of our team. He has made a huge impact in a lot of people's lives.

To all the Team Lloyd Irvin members congratulations on your title. To Lloyd, congratulations and thank you for everything. I know that you probably realize this but you inspiring me and others inspires us to inspire and so on and so on. When it's all said and done you will have done some amazing work in a lot of people's lives.

In the end, none of this is really about BJJ, MMA, or Muay Thai. It's about becoming better people and Lloyd has produced a lot more champions in life than people know. In many ways he's something we all should aspired to become.

So with that... Time to go train!!

Ed Clay

"When I see I am nothing, that is wisdom. When I see I am everything, that is love. My life is a movement between these two."

2010-06-02T15:25:00.000-07:00

I was reading the book "I am that" by Nisargadatta Maharaj and doing some meditation. This book is a contradiction to my life in a lot of ways but i have a very open mind and I'm always open to new ideas. I was meditating focusing on the "I am" and I kept getting that I am nothing. This was a bit confusing to me and I didn't know what it meant. It did somewhat give me peace but I knew it wasn't the complete answer. When I was reading more of the book he said this. "When I see I am nothing, that is wisdom. When I see I am everything, that is love. My life is a movement between these two."

When I read that it smacked me in the face! I couldn't believe that my mind kept telling me, in this black empty space, that I was nothing. I had yet to be able to comprehend this. I guess I need to move on to the point where "I am everything" but I'm not going to force it. I kind of wish I would have figured it out on my own in meditation, but at least I came up with the "I am nothing" on my own.

I just got back from Vegas and it was a fun trip. Lot's of partying. Like always we had the best of everything. It's one of my favorite places to visit though I wouldn't go back on memorial day weekend. Too busy and much more expensive the on a normal weekend.

When I'm there I can't help but feel a little low in enjoying the superficial things in life. I've worked so hard on expanding my mind that it's always a let down. Everyday while I was at the pool my mind would wonder off thinking about how none of the stuff I was enjoying really mattered. That said we have such a short time on earth I think that we should live life to the fullest and go hard!lol In the end though the only thing that really matters is peace and love in/for yourself and others. That's a balance I'm still looking for... Waiting for full enlightenment... I've got a ways to go!

Peace!

EC

Weekend Stuff And The Diffference Between Being Selfless And Stupid

2010-05-24T12:48:00.000-07:00

The weekend has gone and passed and I'm getting ready for my trip to Lav Vegas for Camacho's fight and the UFC fan expo. Vegas is always an adventure and Memorial day weekend will likely be slammed. I have a ton of friends that are going to be there and I'm really looking forward to the trip.

This weekend I did something that I haven't done in a very long time... YARD WORK!! It was me and a bunch of my fighters, including Camacho, Chris Barnhizer, Rob Helton and even Dr. Scott Harbin stopped by. Greg Sanford came by for moral support LOL Dave Herman was lucky enough to be out of town.

I went to the lake each afternoon and got a ton of sun! It was really a great time and I got to relax and hang out with friends. The water felt pretty good and Rob threw me off the tube 3x's.LOL

This morning I went back to work excited as we launched the Ed Clay's Breakdown Technique Library. The launch has gone amazing and we're doing great right now. I'm tweaking different ads and running new ad copy and demographic tests every 3 hours. Our conversion rate is excellent and I think the site is going to be huge. If you get a chance go to www.breakdowntl.com and check out the site. It's free right now! It has a ton of great information and is probably the most comprehensive MMA technique website in the world.

In my last blog I talked about being selfless but still using the cut the rope theory in life. These two things seem like a direct contradiction but you have to understand a few things. It is my opinion that no one can be truly happy in there lives if they are not helping other people become better. Being selfless in this way is a great thing and a great way to be happy. But while being selfless you can not be STUPID and get taken advantage of repeatedly. This is where the cut the rope idea comes in. As a good person you're throwing out ropes as your climbing your mountain.(read my previous post for details)

If someone is pulling you down the mountain, making you have bad days, doesn't have a positive attitude, or doesn't appreciate the time that you are putting into them, then there really is no point in doing it. You become an enabler rather than someone helping. When this is realized you must cut the rope and have nothing to do with that person. They are holding you back and bringing you down.

Everyone has people in there life that are a drag. They constantly complain, take your happiness, and suck the life out of you. Just think of how many other people you could help if you didn't have these people in your life. Cut the rope and move on.

This goes back to the idea that if you cant change a situation, you must change yourself. If you can't change who someone is and they're a bad person in your life, you have to change yourself and get them out. If they want back in bad enough let them prove to you they deserve it by climbing back up the mountain with you, this time without a rope. Very few will actually do this and by the time they do, you'll be much more enlightened when it comes to them and be able to handle the situation better.

Hope this helps...

Gonna go train.

Holla!
Ed

"When we are no longer able to change a situation, we're challenged to change ourselves"

2010-05-21T18:09:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite books is a book called "Man's Search For Meaning" by Victor Frankle. My friend Amanda gave me a copy of it's notes a couple years ago and ever since it had a lasting impact. I regularly go back and read excerpts from this book, as I think it has a great idea of what life is about.

There's a ton of quotes that stick out from this, but I've gotta be ready to go in about 30minutes so I'll just hit on one for now. Frankle says "When we are no longer able to change a situation, we're challenged to change ourselves."

This is something that we all do at some point in our lives. There's been a number of situations that I did not like, and I fought very hard to make them right in my mind, but in the end there was nothing I could do about it and I had to make a change within myself. The change was often painful, but I made the change none the less.

I think this line goes along with healing as healing is always painful. Many people go throughout there lives and never decide to heal. They can't deal with the pain of there past and they live there life never knowing what it's like to be free from what's holding them down.

Jail was one of the situations I couldn't change. I remember vividly when I went to jail 7 years ago and it was an extremely painful time. 5 months sitting in a jail cell by myself, alone, isolated from the rest of the world, away from my family and friends. At times like this it's easy to let your imagination take over and do bad things to your mind. It was a task to control my thoughts and actually feel the pain I was going through. I didn't want to, but I was forced to. I was my own therapist per say and when I got out of jail I had a new appreciation for life and the freedom we have. I also had a lot more empathy for the people that were in jail and going through rough times. I was forced to change myself!

Over the years I've had a lot of success and with that comes people that try to bring you down. I hadn't changed at all, rather I was actually growing into a much better person. Still the attacks and the "haters" were at full blast and life began to be confusing and a struggle. I would here things said that I never did, I would here that this person said this or that. And eventually I reached a point where I had to choose to run away or make a change. Frankle's quote puts it into perspective. Again, I was challenged to change myself. I couldn't continue to live life letting the lies of other people effect my day. Instead of running away I had to choose get tough and not let what other people say effect me. As easy as that sounds, it's not!

About 3 years ago Lloyd Irvin told me his cut the rope idea of living life. I followed it diligently through some of my greatest success. For about a year, up until the end of April, I stopped following it and some cracks started happening. It's clear to me that not following this system caused these cracks. Here's what he said...

"I've got a goal at the top of a mountain and I'm climbing as fast as I can to reach my goal. As I'm climbing as fast as I can, I understand that to be a good person I must throw out ropes to help people who want to go to the top with me. I'm climbing and throwing out ropes, climbing and throwing out ropes. I'M CLIMBING AS FAST AS I CAN TRYING TO REACH MY GOAL!!! As soon as someone is caught lying or is starting to pull me down, I cut the rope immediately and start climbing again as fast as I can, never losing a stride."

This idea is one of the most powerful ideas in my life and I'm glad I've started living by it again. This is another example of how to make a DRAMATIC change in your life. It's not easy, but the results are amazing.

So with that, be good to people and do everything in your power to help people reach there goals within reason. I know I just wrote about being selfless and the cut the rope theory seams to contradict this, but incorporating the two is a whole nother story... I'll explain this weekend. Hope everyone is having a good day! I've gotta go!!

Peace!!!
EC

PS. Forgive typos I have no time to check!!

Pre fight thoughts that have nothing to do with fighting!LOL

2010-05-20T15:04:00.000-07:00

Forgive me for not blogging on this site in a while. It's been somewhat neglected and in the past was a lot of MMA stuff. Now I'm going to incorparate some of the stuff I blog about on some older sites...

I’m sitting here and it’s about an hour and a half before I have to leave for the fights tonight. Fight day is always a bit stressful as there are always things that pop up.

I’ve been reading a lot lately and doing a lot of auto suggestion drills that have been helping me see more clearly what I want and what it’s going to take to get there. Life is an amazing journey and I’m very thankful for having the opportunity to live the life that I do, get to travel the world doing what I love, and being able to make a positive impact on other people’s lives every day.

I was thinking a lot since the flood about the spirit of giving and how Nashville has really come together as a community to help one another. I think in life it’s easy to forget with all the material things being shoved down our throats that the most important thing in life is giving to others. Nothing in life worth anything is received without giving first.

At all of the charity events that have been going on here one of the common things that I hear is how good it feels to help others. Being selfless is something many people have problems doing, many times because of their own insecurities. But the fact is that unless you’re willing to give and truly sacrifice for others, you will never live a happy and fulfilling life.

I’ve realized through my own success that many times when I’ve had the biggest financial gain I’ve had somewhat of an empty feeling because at first I didn’t know how I was going to help other people with the money. Now I live in a way that much of what I make is reinvested into the lives of others so that they can have opportunity’s I wasn’t afforded.

This way of giving is something that has made me very happy and something that I strongly urge each and every one of you to do.

Now don’t get me wrong, I am not an advocate of enabling, although I have been guilty of this in the past. I believe that people should work very hard to reach their goals in life. But I do believe in helping people who deserve help and really want to improve their lives and become better people.

In the spirit of giving I think that we should know how we should be doing this. My favorite speaker, Nido Qubein said “We should give without ever remembering and receive without ever forgetting.” I love this quote as it’s so selfless and right. I’m not saying that I have done this every time but it definitely is something I aspire to be like full time one day.

I always get a lot from Lloyd Irvin and one of the many things that have stuck in my head is his idea that every single day we should try to improve ourselves by at least 1 percent in some aspect in our life. Every day we’re taking at least one step forward and never a step backward because then we have to make up 2 steps. If after one year we’ve done the we’ve improved ourselves 365% and although we weren’t taking giant strides in the beginning, now we’ve made a very positive change in our life.

Another thing I’ve been thinking a lot is balance in our life. Many times we get so caught up on one thing we forget what is most important. Work becomes our life and consumes us and before we know it we forget who we really are. That’s a question I’ve been asking myself a lot lately…” Who am I.” The frightening thing is at first it was hard to figure out and I’d be lying if I told you I really knew. The easy answer would be “Ed Clay the owner of Gameness”, or “Ed Clay the owner of Nashville MMA” or “Ed Clay who does real estate”or” Ed Clay who trains fighters”. But when you think about these blanket terms they really do not define me as a human being and those answers are really shallow when I think about them. I don’t want to be remembered to those who are close to me for being any of these things. And at this time, I’m on a search for exactly who I am. Meditation, reading ,and talking to intelligent people have helped but I think that when you go in search for who you really are it can be somewhat of a long journey. It’s not easy to really find yourself in an intense way that has deep meaning. Most people are afraid of what they may find and rightfully so. In the end though I think if we have a positive attitude on this search and a forgivness and understanding to ourselves for our shortcomings, only positive things can come out of this.

So with all of that, I’m off to the fights…

Peace!!

Ed Clay

My Christmas plate...

2009-12-24T14:27:00.001-08:00

I only eat like this twice a year and I wasn't feeling well for thanksgiving so its time to get down!!!

Eden and I reading a book

2009-12-20T11:17:00.001-08:00

And wathing the Titans.... She's so cute!!

Keith Burns entertaining...

2009-12-19T21:46:00.001-08:00

Me and Burns r drinking Wiskey playing the guitar... The partys dieing down but I gotta feeling we'll be at this for a while...

My little angels(nieces)

2009-12-19T11:21:00.000-08:00

Hangin out with there uncle today before my x mas party tonight.

We just bought a new golden tee...

2009-12-13T14:49:00.001-08:00

I walked in the pub and saw our new game... I need a key!

Dave has his own sign in Memphis

2009-12-12T22:29:00.001-08:00

Right in front of the hardrock

Just arrived in Memphis

2009-12-11T19:04:00.000-08:00

Darren and Dave at the hotel...

This video is why I love what I do!

2009-11-29T22:16:00.000-08:00

Melanys birthday party!

2009-11-28T19:56:00.001-08:00

Having a good time w/ friends!

Mel got caught saying the word!

2009-11-28T19:30:00.001-08:00

At Cantina Laredo in Nashville!

Fw: Dave Herman Elementary signing

2009-11-24T10:35:00.000-08:00

Dave doing an autograph session for an elementary school. He's so famous now:)

Puckett doing push ups

2009-11-22T15:35:00.001-08:00

She got caught saying the word!!

Bowling on Sunday...

2009-11-22T14:40:00.001-08:00

Its good to be back home!

Trevor and Rebeccas engagement party

2009-11-21T21:04:00.001-08:00

Back in Nashville hanging w/ some friends

Kery Vera wins!!

2009-11-20T21:55:00.001-08:00

After fight pic celebrating w/ brandon, lloyd, kerry, eric, and myself. Kery looked great!