Deep Thoughts & Planet Waves Cables with Nick Hipa from As I Lay Dying

A few days ago while driving I noticed an assortment of words on the back window of a pickup truck. From its appearance, this wasnt merely a truck stop sticker with a witty saying, but rather a combination of individual letter stickers that were meticulously arranged to form this quote: He who desires to succeed will find a way, he who does not will make an excuse. The intent of this person, who went through such great lengths to share this message with fellow motorists in the greater San Diego area, was probably meant to inspire...
In my case it certainly did!

I began thinking about the plethora of goals I have set for myself, and how instead of realizing them I have made excuses as to why I fail to fulfill them. Most of these goals are quite trivial in the grand scheme of life (ex. Goal - Go to the gym constantly and become the most shredded dude ever) yet the only obstacle I truly have that keeps me from it is my mind (Excuses- ahh the gym is way too crowded right now/I dont want to become a bulky steroid looking dude/burritos are so delicious/I enjoy beer/etc).

History has proven that I do tend to set way too many goals for myself that are more or less cool ideas that I think I really want, but somehow never get around to. When trimming out the fat, however, and addressing things that are a real concern in my life, the notion that I am making excuses for my lack of discipline and fortitude in pursuing my dreams is a harsh bit of reality. I alone can make it happen or not.

The beauty of coming to this realization, though, is that it really is all up to me. It is all up to you to. Life and all of the things we dream of accomplishing in our span of time in it can be ours if we exercise our willpower and discipline. Upon arriving home I googled the quote (as best I could remember) to find out who actually coined it. Although I had no luck (perhaps it was an original?) I did get caught in a whirlwind of other awesome inspirational success quotes:

He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else.
-Benjamin Franklin

I attribute my success to this - I never gave or took any excuse.
-Florence Nightingale

Nothing is impossible; there are ways that lead to everything, and if we had sufficient will we should always have sufficient means. It is often merely for an excuse that we say things are impossible.
-Francois La Rochefoucauld

Niney-nine percent of failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses.
-George W. Carver

Now to shamelessly tie this all in to Planet Waves and my relationship with them: I am on the noblest of pursuits to obtain the raddest guitar tone known to all of mankind. There are many variables involved with achieving this, with the most basic division of categories being the player and the gear.

True tone comes from the fingers, but unless you plan on playing acoustic sets in coffee shops for your entire musical career youre going to have to run through some amplification! Most players focus the majority of their gear attention to simply amp and cab. While this is the bulk of your tones awesomeness, the cutting edge and extra sparkle of quality resides in the little details.

The most important of all these little details is what transports every moment of your sound: Cables! In my opinion, to truly succeed in honing sonic excellence is to use the best, and the best cables in existence are made by Planet Waves... hands down. I use the Custom Pro Series both live & in the studio. To use anything else would be to make a sorry excuse for lackluster tone.

Peace and I'm out,

Nick Hipa
As I Lay Dying

http://www.asilaydying.com/