How the 1% Protect Their Wealth During Economic Shifts | Eric Thomas (Archived Episode)

Summary

Podcast Summary

Title: How the 1% Protect Their Wealth During Economic Shifts | Impact Theory with Tom Bilyeu & Eric Thomas

Original Airdate: December 5, 2024
Host: Tom Bilyeu
Guest: Dr. Eric Thomas (“ET the Hip Hop Preacher”)

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Main Theme & Purpose

This archived episode of Impact Theory sees entrepreneur Tom Bilyeu dive deep with Eric Thomas—internationally acclaimed speaker, educator, and author. The conversation centers on what separates the ultra-successful (“the 1%”) from everyone else, especially amid economic turbulence. It explores mindset transformation, the power of execution, self-accountability, overcoming adversity, and the cultivation of resilience. While the episode's economic framing looms over the discussion, the real focus is on mental frameworks and practical tools for achieving and sustaining success, regardless of one's starting point.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Execution Over Everything

• Execution > Excuses: Eric emphasizes the non-negotiable importance of acting on one’s goals, regardless of feelings or circumstances.
  • “Execute on the things that you said you were going to execute on.” —Eric Thomas [01:06]
  • Many potential high achievers falter by letting emotions dictate their discipline and performance.
• Feelings Aren’t Facts:
  • “They go wrong because they think it's a feeling when execution is a fact.” —Eric Thomas [02:15]
  • Tom paraphrases Eric: facts (not feelings) lead you through adversity.

2. Owning Your Story & Transforming Pain

• Eric shares his own journey: Homeless in Detroit in his teens, he credits a pastor who gave him “purpose”—shifting his self-perception.
  • "He gave me something that I had never had before, and that was purpose." —Eric Thomas [08:12]
• Recycle Your Pain: Every setback is an asset if you choose to extract value from it.
  • “You're already in pain, so at the end of the day, everything is already messed up. So why would you go through all that pain and not get something for it?" —Eric Thomas [05:18]

3. The Power of Belief and Exposure

• Eric describes how exposure to new environments and people (like being in rooms with billionaires) allowed him to imagine broader possibilities.
  • "Your level of exposure often determines your level of success." —Eric Thomas quoting Jamal [18:32]
• Tom shares his strategy at Quest Nutrition—taking inner-city employees to Beverly Hills to expand their sense of what's possible.
  • “I need you to know that this kind of stuff exists… to expand their sense of the world.” —Tom Bilyeu [21:47]

4. Radical Accountability, No Excuses

• Both Tom and Eric advocate for ruthless self-accountability—applying the same standards to oneself as to others.
  • “How can you hold another human that responsible, but you don't hold yourself responsible?” —Eric Thomas [39:35]
  • Tom draws analogies from racing: Focus on the road ahead, not the wall of obstacles.

5. Leverage Opportunities

• Eric urges gratitude and action given unique American freedoms and resources—even amidst systemic issues.
  • “We have opportunity. Whatever you do, don't waste it… Don’t cry about it. Get up and go make it happen.” —Eric Thomas [25:53]

6. Overcoming Distraction and Focusing Your Energy

• Discipline sometimes means radical choices: Eric recounts advising his young business partner to give up sex to eliminate distraction and channel full energy into building their dream.
  • “I saw at that time that it was a distraction for him, that…as much potential as he had…I need you to get focused. I need you to get locked in.” —Eric Thomas [27:00]

7. Redefining Adversity as a Crucible

• Eric reframes hardship as the moment “Game 7,” where real legends emerge.
  • “Let the gas go up, I'm gonna make more money. Let the inflation go up. Game seven like this. Game seven in life. Let's go.” —Eric Thomas [44:09]
  • “When I see trials and tribulations, I go, it's showtime. With a real Eric Thomas with a game seven.” —Eric Thomas [46:19]
• The tools for survival and success (in racism, economics, life) are preparation, adaptability, and mindset.
  • “Prepare yourself for [every challenge]...Prepare yourself accordingly.” —Eric Thomas [52:13]

8. Continuous Growth & Upgrading Yourself

• Citing Kobe Bryant: "Boos don't block dunks." No matter the obstacles, greatness comes from relentless skill-building.
  • “You owe it to yourself to get so good that people can't stop you.” —Tom Bilyeu [53:43]
  • Eric elaborates: Technology upgrades, why wouldn’t you? There’s hard work in every path, but only excellence rewards.
  • “It takes a lot of work to become a new model, but it also takes a lot of work to suck, to be average. The rewards for being average don't match the reward…” —Eric Thomas [55:30]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Excuses:
  • “The most insidious thing about excuses is that they're valid.” —Tom Bilyeu [02:53]
• On Adversity & Mindset:
  • "This setback will only be a setup for a comeback." —Eric Thomas, about Inky Johnson [03:29]
• On Opportunity in America:
  • “I've been to third world countries where it does not matter how early you wake up…you don't have opportunity…where much is given, much is required.” —Eric Thomas [22:40]
• On Self-Accountability:
  • “Use that same energy you use to hold others accountable on yourself…You'd be shocked how much further you'd be in life if you just put you on punishment.” —Eric Thomas [41:53]
• On Preparation:
  • “Prepare yourself in advance for these situations so that when they come, you have a better chance of controlling those situations and not letting those situations control you.” —Eric Thomas [49:26]
• On Legacy and Scaling Impact:
  • “When I die, I will physically be dead, but you'll still be knowing about Eric Thomas…Can I duplicate myself? Can I scale this reality?...Can I scale taking a bad hand and turn that joker into a royal flush?” —Eric Thomas [45:02]
• On Fatherhood & Being Present:
  • “If you can't count on nothing else, you can count on your daddy being present… you'll never be able to say your daddy wasn't present.” —Eric Thomas [63:00]
• Closing Lightning Bolt:
  • “If there’s another mountain to climb. Climb it.” —Eric Thomas [65:31]

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• Execution and Mindset: [00:50–07:20]
• Eric’s Origin Story—Finding Purpose: [07:20–11:55]
• Impact of Exposure & Mentorship: [16:08–18:30]
• Accountability and Self-Reflection: [38:23–42:04]
• Overcoming Adversity & Mindset Shifts: [43:37–47:20]
• Handling Racism & Economic Struggle: [47:39–52:39]
• The Kobe Bryant Principle: Becoming Unstoppable: [52:39–57:51]
• On Family, Freedom, and Presence: [60:41–65:00]
• Final Quote & Outro: [65:28–65:56]

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Tone & Style

• Language: Boldly motivational, urgent, and unvarnished—“tough love” blended with empathy and encouragement.
• Delivery: Stories punctuated with direct challenges to the listener, real talk about hardship, and repeated affirmations of self-agency.

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Summary in the Spirit of the Show

Eric and Tom argue persuasively that the core advantage of the “1%”—especially in turbulent times—does not come from secret market plays or external luck, but from an implacable mindset rooted in execution, accountability, and vision. The true “wealth” of the successful is cultivated internally first, allowing them to thrive no matter what economic, social, or personal storms arrive. The episode is an invitation to anyone, anywhere, who’s ready to bet on themselves, seize opportunity, and “climb the next mountain.”

Transcript

[Commercial Announcer]

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[Interviewer / Host]

Nine out of the ten largest banks get it. They get advantagescore. The modern credit score is the leader in predictive power, improving mortgage default predictions and saving lenders billions. Better predictions, better for your business with VantageScore. Eric Thomas. Over the next 60 minutes, you and I are going to give people the keys to success. You ready?

[Eric Thomas]

Let's go.

[Interviewer / Host]

Awesome. All right, guys, you're going to want to stick around to the end where I'm going to give you what I think is the most powerful Eric Thomas quote, and you are not going to want to miss it. All right, Eric, what is one thing that highly successful people do every day that helps them achieve greatness?

[Eric Thomas]

Execute. Execute on the things that they say they wanted to get done. Not what you want me to get done. My mother wants me to get done. My coach wants me. But the things that I really feel like if I do these things, I'm going to be successful. Execute on the things that you said you were going to execute on.

[Interviewer / Host]

So then why don't most people ever find success? Like, if it really is. And I know what's hiding in the word execute, but most people do not. And I always tell people only execution matters.

[Eric Thomas]

That's it.

[Interviewer / Host]

But how do people get good at that?

[Eric Thomas]

So the first thing you got to do is you got to get out of your feelings. Like, for me, these are great people who could blow up, like, who could be successful whatever they touch. But. But something happened that day. You know, you woke up, got into it with your spouse or your kids, called with something that was going on or you were sick. Like, there are a group of people that feel like it's okay not to execute because I'm not feeling okay. Because today is not a good day. Because all the stars didn't line up. And at the end of the day, none of that matter. Like, to have a good day is great, but just because you have a good day, you still gotta execute. And so I think for most people, they go wrong because they think it's a feeling when execution is a fact.

[Interviewer / Host]

One of my favorite quotes from you is about that, that feelings basically aren't facts. And facts are the things that are gonna help you process through your feelings. That's A paraphrase, but it's pretty close. And I got that actually from the book you owe you, which is absolutely phenomenal.

[Eric Thomas]

Thank you.

[Interviewer / Host]

And what I love about it is this idea of you need to take responsibility for you, that there are gonna be difficult times in your life. There are gonna be times where you have every reason to make an excuse.

[Eric Thomas]

Absolutely.

[Interviewer / Host]

But that won't serve you. And I'm always telling people the most insidious thing about excuses is that they're valid. Like, most people have a real reason to say, like, hey, this didn't happen for me, whatever. In fact, tell us about Inky, which was. It's a really powerful story. I've heard you tell before.

[Eric Thomas]

Yeah. So, you know, first of all, for me, the whole Inky, you know, I don't want to call it a disability. I don't want Inky to call me. You know what I'm saying? But for one not to have the

[Interviewer / Host]

use of their arm, training every day for the NFL, going hard, I think he was trying to get out of some pretty dire circumstances.

[Eric Thomas]

Absolutely. Multiple cousins living with them. They're shifting out the bed, right? So one person sleeping in the bed one day, another person sleeping the bed. And for Inky to lose everything but say to his self like, yo, this doesn't matter. What matters is the success that I want, what I promised my grandmother, what I promised my mother, what I promised my wife, what I promised myself. And so Inky's thing was, yo, despite this happening, I owe it to myself to still be the person that I dreamed of being. And this setback will only be a setup for a comeback.

[Interviewer / Host]

How do people cultivate that? Because. So I know your story. My story certainly is nowhere near as difficult as where you started. But even for me, there were times where it just felt like, oh, my God, this is so hard. There's so much to overcome. The emotions kick in, and I know firsthand that you can mistake your feeling for. I'm just recognizing an objective fact. Right. So Inky training all this time to get into the NFL, really excelling, ends up, like, severing an artery or something crazy in his arm because he hit somebody so hard, ends up losing use of his arm. At that point, he has to pivot like, there is no more NFL. That's completely off the table. And so to say that it would be justified to say that, well, I had a shot. It was my body to get out. God, whatever way that you're going to frame it does not see fit for that to happen. How do you help people in that state cultivate a different mindset. Is it by just pointing out it's more effective? Is it something else?

[Eric Thomas]

No, it's you already in pain. Get a reward for it. Like, you already in pain. So at the end of the day, everything is already messed up. So why would you go through all that pain and not get something for it? Like, it doesn't make sense. Like, it doesn't make sense to put all those hours in. Okay, yeah, it was football, but it doesn't make sense to put all those hours in and not transfer those hours. Hours to something else. It doesn't make sense not to recycle the pain and get wealth or a successful life, a successful spouse, like, whatever, have kids, whatever it is. And so for me, just going through my go through, I was like, e, it can't end here. Like, bro, it can't end here. I've worked too hard. I've done. I've read the books, I've gone to the conferences, I went to the classes. I got the degrees. It can't end with just life is gonna deal me this hand, you know, and so I truly feel. And I don't want to promote gambling, you know, but I gambled, you know, as a. As a young adult to make money. And I. And I watched guys who had a royal flush lose because of the giddy and the excitement. I'm like, oh, he. He got something, you know, I'm saying, okay, take what I have and leave. But I also watch people who had nothing in their head with that poker face actually act as if they had a royal flush and win. And so I learned early, like, yo, it doesn't matter if you grow up rich. You still got to play your hand. It's not like life says, all right, you rich. So you're not going to have any. Your parents will never get cancer. You know, nobody in your family will ever have multiple squirrels. Like, you'll never get Covid. You're rich. It doesn't work like that. Like, you still have to do life regardless of how you come into life. And I think some people feel, well, if you come into life and everything is great, then that's the way you live life. But no, it doesn't matter if you come in great, if you come in poorly, it does not matter. You have to do life. And if you're smart, you do life on your terms, and you don't let life make you do it on its terms.

[Interviewer / Host]

So you were homeless at 16.

[Eric Thomas]

16. Let's say you read the book so honestly, 13, okay, that's when you first started running away at 13. At 16, I kind of felt like I did this a couple times. I got this. I got this. I can't handle this, you know, So I jumped out.

[Interviewer / Host]

This is in Detroit, though. I want people to know this is in Detroit. It's not exactly warm in the winter in Detroit.

[Eric Thomas]

Not at all.

[Interviewer / Host]

So start leaving at 13, make it pretty much permanent at 16. You've got a lot of reasons to say, you know, hand I've been dealt a bad hand. It's going to be difficult to play. What was the moment where you switched around and decided, you know what? No, I'm not going to tap out. I'm not going to let this be my future.

[Eric Thomas]

So church, and not necessarily church, because I didn't grow up going to church. So it wasn't like the building. Ah, it's magical. But the pastor there was a military man. I think he was an army man, you know, so he had love, but it was tough love, right? And I'll never forget, he pulled me to the side and he gave me something that I had never had before, and that was purpose. He gave me a sense of purpose. And he said to me, you are a phenomenal speaker. You got to imagine I'm like 16, almost 17, high school dropout coming to church smelling. You know what I'm saying? Like, I think it's so funny. Like, when people like your story. I think that's funny. Like, man, you have a phenomenal story. I'm like, I wish this was a story. Like, this is my life. So I'm literally coming to church when I come, haven't brushed my teeth, I haven't taken a shower. I smell. Based on whatever was the last time I had an opportunity to take a shower. You know, I'm in a strained relationship with my mom. I'm on the verge of getting kicked out of school. I have no bank account, no credit cards. And this guy looks at me and says, you're going to be a phenomenal speaker. Like, you just. You got that je ne sais quoi. You have something about. And I'm thinking, what? First of all, nobody's ever said anything like that to me before, and nobody's definitely said it in this state that I'm in. And so for me, I'm pulling for strings for something in life. And this guy's like, yo, you got it. And not only do you have it, I believe in you so much that I'm going to use my name at my alma Mater to get you in school. If you could just get a high school diploma or a ged, we're going to get you. And so I don't know if it was him. I don't know if it was the words, but this sense of purpose and this identity. Like, yo, you're right, I can't. I've never seen Speaking in a way. He saw it before. I got in trouble, clowning in class, telling jokes. But now he's saying that what I do with Martin Luther King, with Malcolm X, with Garvey, what these people do, you have the ability to do it. And it was at that point, I was no longer. I wasn't homeless. And I don't think I've ever said this before, but I was homeless. But I wasn't discouraged at that point anymore. It was the craziest thing. I was literally homeless. Practicing sermons. I was literally homeless visualizing being in college at that time. A Different World was on a spin off, you know, from the Cosby Show. And, like, you could actually. I was, like, watching A Different World and seeing myself in the cafeteria, seeing myself in the dorm room. So this was the first time in my life that I had this sense of life, this sense of purpose that, yo, I am not worthless. Despite the fact that what I consider my parents, they weren't married. They didn't. They weren't in a long relationship. Like, I saw myself as an accident. Like, these are two kids. You know what I'm saying? I don't know if it was in love, in lust. I don't know what it was. But there wasn't a nursery. There wasn't a book with names. There wasn't a baby shower. I looked at myself like I'm an accident. And this is the first person who spoke to me and said, really, you're not an accident. You really were designed to be here. And you have a phenomenal gift that's going to change the world. And it was at that point, I'm in abandoned buildings, seeing myself speak. I'm in abandoned buildings, you know, seeing crowds. I'm in abandoned buildings seeing myself travel. And it was at that point, I believe that this Eric Thomas, not this version. I was definitely the Eric Thomas 1.0. But it was at that point that I began to see myself in a way I'd never seen myself before.

[Interviewer / Host]

All right, I want to put a few ideas together. That is really incredible. So it's all about execution. We know that's where we started meaning and purpose. So you talked about finally having purpose to do this and then somebody believing in you.

[Eric Thomas]

Absolutely.

[Interviewer / Host]

I have the chills. Do you? So I know you do a lot of work with at risk youth. You go into the prison system is part of why you do that. Helping people find purpose and having that spark a belief that somebody else believes in them.

[Eric Thomas]

Yeah. But a part of that is feeling this. I owe Pastor and I owe all the people that sort of helped me to get from where I was to where I am now. And I owe him that tough love, you know, And I owe it to them to believe in themselves and to see that, like, I owe it to myself to recreate that moment between me and him with as many people as I can, as often as I can. Because he said to me, listen to me, there is absolutely nothing you can do for me but pay it forward. And at that time, I don't know. I don't know what pay it forward was. I didn't see the movie at the time, you know, but afterwards I began to understand what he meant. And so I literally wake up every day believing that I owe the people who didn't owe me anything. Now, again, I don't know this to be a fact, but I do believe that there are people who believe that I have value because of where I am. You're talking about people who, at my lowest point, that believed in me in the way somebody today would believe in me based on what I do when I hadn't done anything. And so I'm like, wow, that's rare. People don't necessarily do that. And I just felt I'm obligated to do that to as many people as I possibly can. And that's what I wake up. Like, I wake up every day with this, all right, I'm going to win a Nobel Prize. And it's not about the Nobel Prize. It's not about Norway. It is about if LeBron and Michael Jordan are playing for the finals and Gretzky is playing for the Stanley cup and somebody else is playing for the pennant. Like my. My pennant is the Nobel Prize. Because you don't get that without helping millions of people get from one place in their lives, you know, to another.

[Interviewer / Host]

You need a goal, you need something to aim at.

[Eric Thomas]

I love that.

[Interviewer / Host]

I love how often you talk about winning the Nobel Peace Prize. I think that's really cool. So going back to the. Going into the at risk areas and helping people. So I've worked in the inner cities a lot, and one thing for sure.

[Eric Thomas]

Thank you.

[Interviewer / Host]

I mean, some of it on purpose, some of it accidental If I'm quite honest. But it put me in contact with coming face to face with your zip code as the number one predictor of your future success. And so I was like, why? Is that true? And so I'm there. So my whole thing is, it doesn't matter who you are today. It only matters who you want to become and the price you're willing to pay to get there. Right? So that's. I just believe that to the core of my being. And so my wife and I are building our last company, Quest. We're in the inner cities because that's where you manufacture. And so I was like, is this really true, or is this rhetoric that it doesn't matter who you are today? And we're like, it's real. So if that's true, then I should be willing to employ people that have a criminal record. And so I'm like, cool. Put the word out that, you know, regardless of felony convictions, we'll consider you for employment. And so we had just a ton of people line up around the block. Just to be interviewed is crazy. And so we end up with these incredible people, some of them really intelligent, smarter than I am, and they're going nowhere. I'm just like, what is going on? And in your book, you talk about that poverty isn't just about money. You may have even said it isn't about money, but it's about mindset. It's how you think. And before we started rolling, you said to really help somebody, you'd have to go back to kindergarten and start planning the right ideas in your mind. That idea of it's a set of ideas. Now, the earlier that you can get them to people, for sure, the better, but that it's a set of ideas that end up holding people back. I want to talk about this idea of getting people to believe in themselves. The fact that somebody could look at you. And one thing that I find interesting, and I don't know what you think about this, I imagine that meeting you at 16, you'd see that glimmer of, like, whoa, this person can be something, but at the same time, there's probably a little bit of, like, let me, like, blow on this ember and just see what happens, even if I don't know that it's going to turn into a raging inferno. I want to give them a little bit of oxygen.

[Eric Thomas]

Absolutely.

[Interviewer / Host]

What is that? When you try to give somebody oxygen, what do you say to them? Is it just, you can do it or no?

[Eric Thomas]

You know, I think for me, and as a Speaker. I try to start with, like, where are you? So if you're in poverty, it's like, okay, I gotta show you wealth. Like, in your own world. I've gotta show you that this ideology that you're holding onto is probably not yours. You know, I tell people all the time, when I grew up, you know, it was no college. Why didn't I want to go to college? I was in Detroit. In Detroit, you could make $25 an hour working for Ford, GM, a Chrysler. So when you were a kid growing up in Detroit, like, the goal, the apex is I got a job at Ford Motor Company. I've got salary, I've got insurance, I've got health benefits, 401k. Like, I've got a career. And so for you, you growing up in Detroit, you see Ford, the bigger buildings are gm. You see Chrysler Iacocca. Like, you see him on magazines and books, and he's on the New York Times bestsellers list. And it's like, whoa, gm, Chrysler. And so what I do is I figure out where you are and I dare you to come out of where you are to. If nobody ever influenced you, where would you want to be? Like, what do you want? What do you want to do? Not what they want you to do. If you could dream, what would your best life look like for you? If you didn't have to impress your mom or your dad, if you didn't have to go to college because your parents went to college, what would you really do? And then if they can tell me, which most people can. Some people are so dark that they don't even know what light would look like. But more often than not, a kid would tell me, NBA. I said, no, I don't this be okay. The NBA is over. Where you live? Where do you live? Are you married? Do you have children? What do you. And if I can figure out where you want to go at that point, then I can snatch your current reality and help you to build a new reality to help you to get where you go now. I tell this to people all the time. I just wanted a career. I never. I never even heard the word billionaire before. I never heard anybody say the word I never. I was never. I didn't even know what that meant. And one day I was in the room with Dan Gilbert and Warren Buffett.

[Interviewer / Host]

Damn.

[Eric Thomas]

And I was like, whoa, God, why am I here? Like, I'm not a billionaire. Like, I'm not. Like, what would I be in this? Like, what did they call me for? Why. Why did they invite me into this room and I started doing my homework. Who else is in the. Went back, I thought I was, you know, a detective. And I'm trying to figure out, okay, who else is in the room? Why are they in the room? What's their net worth? And then one day it hit me. You're in the room because you're going to be this one day. So everything you heard, you didn't hear it. Just to hear it, just to be the room. Like you heard it, because you can do real estate, like venture capital, you can do that. These are all humans in this room. So for me, I was taken into a reality that I didn't know exists. And Jamal says it best. Your level of exposure often determines your level of success. So I was exposed to billionaires. So what I try to get kids to do is say, look, I want to expose you. You could go to LA without going to la. You put the. You could put the things on and go to la. You can go on the computer. You can read a book. Like, you can get to sunset without ever going. And then once you get to Sunset here and get to Sunset here, you can get to Sunset here. So for me, it's I gotta get in here, and I gotta get in here. And if you let me into these two spaces, I can get you wherever you're trying to get to.

[Interviewer / Host]

You keep giving me the chills. Get that Amex gold cart ready. I'm way too tired to cook tonight.

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[Eric Thomas]

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[Interviewer / Host]

Yes.

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[Interviewer / Host]

That's so powerful. So I was always freaked out that you've got people in Compton that live 20 minutes from Beverly Hills and they've never gone. And so back at Quest, I used to high performers. I would Take them to dinner in Beverly Hills, and then I would drive them around Bel Air. Now, at the time, I'm not making a lot of money either, but I was like, yo, you've got to dream to your point about getting in somebody's head, getting them to believe. Like, you have to imagine it. And I was like a. I need you to know that this kind of stuff exists. I need you to know that, like, a waiter will seat you and be kind to you and, like, try to take great care of you. And that there are fancy, beautiful places that you can go that are free. There are malls that are just nice that you can walk around and see and enjoy. And that to get them to expand their sense of the world.

[Eric Thomas]

Absolutely.

[Interviewer / Host]

And that so few people do it. So one thing watching your talks that I love, man, and like, I think is what makes you so effective to your point about getting in their heart, is you take people's excuses away from them and get them to really start recognizing that they owe themselves something. Absolutely, that man. Owe yourself something. That really hits me, like, that is a really cool idea. But you. You take their excuses and you get them to start dreaming about what they want. But one thing I wanted to ask you, there was a talk, and you may do this all the time, but I saw it in one talk, and I was like, damn, like, that's really out of fashion right now. But to me, I was like, standing up and I wanted to clap. You were like, I want everybody in this room. You live in the US And I want you to say with me, usa. And you got the crowd, like, chanting, usa. Why do you get people to do that?

[Eric Thomas]

Because people have to understand. And this was Utah, you know, this was a group of guys, 25 to 40 years old, and it was like, guys, you gotta understand the opportunities that you have. You know, I've been to third world countries where it does not matter how early you wake up, it does not matter how long you stay up, it doesn't matter what your skill sets are. It doesn't matter. You don't have opportunity. You have people all over the world who are dying to get here. Literally dying to get here. You have an opportunity of a lifetime. And where much is given, much is required. So if you have an opportunity to be wealthy, to build phenomenal relationships, to start a business, like, you can just. You got llc, non profit. You know what I'm saying? S Corp, like, you got opportunities. You got banks that you can get loans from. You can go online and sell stuff from online. Like, you don't even have to have a store anymore. You, a storefront. Like, you can literally become rich from your watch. So it's like, yo, instead of you looking at everything that's not, look at what is. So. Absolutely. Is there some stuff to complain about? 1,000%. It's a whole bunch of stuff I can complain about. It's a lot of stuff that I can be angry about. But, man, my grandmother died at 93, and a month later, my other grandmother died at 90. I didn't realize how quick life was. I'm like, yo, my grandmother was 93. I spent 51 years with both of them. They're gone. It's over. I will never be able to talk to my grandmother again. And I'm next. So because life is short, I don't have time to focus on what's not. I've got to focus on what is, then get up and go get it. And for me, it's like, guys, some of you in this room have opportunities that I don't have. Some of you in this room have connections or network I don't have, and I'm killing the game and you're not. So I need you to understand where you are. America's not perfect. I don't know if there's a place on planet Earth that is so we're not looking for perfect, but we are looking for opportunity, and we have it. So it's like, yo, say it. Because I need you to understand what you have, and then I need you to appreciate what you have, and then I need you to go after everything that's got your name on it with no excuses. Because some. Man, when I pulled up and I saw, you know, the sky, I was like, yo, do you know There were people 400 years ago, 300 years ago, who were in the process of building this? And it was a vision, and they never got to experience it, you know? You know, do you know what type of mindset you have to have to build something that you know that you're not going to get to enjoy, but yet you put energy into it because you're thinking about the next generation and you've got this vision that's going to outlast you? Like, that's. That's. That's rare. And so now it's been built. Go fly first class. It's been built. Go live on the. People ask me, why do you live on the east coast and then you live on the west coast? Because it's too coast. That's why. And if I can get A house in the Gold Coast. I'm going there. So it's like, yo, we have opportunity. Whatever you do, don't waste it. Don't cry about it. Get up and go make it happen.

[Interviewer / Host]

The get up and go make it happen. This is where you really shift into another gear. I heard an interview that you were doing, you and your business partner. And your business partner was telling a story about when he was 21 years old and you told him he needed to give up sex.

[Eric Thomas]

Yes.

[Interviewer / Host]

And I was like, damn, say what? And I just thought, okay, Eric isn't fucking around. This really is about execution. Why did you ask him to give up sex? And. And why on God's green earth as a Single man at 21, did he agree?

[Eric Thomas]

Now, that part I can't. That part I don't know. But grateful he, trust me, I saw at that time that it was a distraction for him, that as much potential as he had. And I knew in his eyes, when he said, I'm going to make you a household name, like, he was adamant about, yo, I can't believe you just gave that guru story and we can't book you for a free gig at a school. He was like. C.J. was like, yo, I just can't believe this. So his thing was, you don't have a problem. It's the fact that you don't have celebrity. People don't know you, so we gotta do the brand. And so I'm listening to a kid who's like, yo, we gotta go make it happen. But then I'm looking at a kid who's spending hours in relationships. I'm looking at a kid who, you know is coming to work, but after work, some of the energy is going to. And I'm like, bro, you gonna have to get that up. Because that is a distract of where we're going. And not only is it a distraction of where we're going, if we get to where I believe you can take us, you go, you can turn back on sex as much you're going to be all right. But it is a distraction. It is allowing you not to be as disciplined as you possibly can be. And we have an opportunity of a lifetime, the two of us, like, we can really create something together. And so if you can lock in, if you can give me 120% for the next few years, CJ, I believe. And we're here, like, we did it. But there were. It was a distraction. It was constantly on his mind when he wasn't actually engaged in it. It was just like, bro, it's taking up way too much real estate for us to be able to go where we're trying to go. I need you to get focused. I need you to get locked in.

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah, that story really hit me because I was.

[Eric Thomas]

The fact that he did it really hit me.

[Interviewer / Host]

Well, yeah, that he did it. That certainly is a testament to his faith in you. But it also, I think is a testament to. It works and getting focused and really deciding what is it that I'm trying to be great at and put in the hours and the energy to get great at that thing. There's two stories that I want to bring together here. You're either going to think I'm crazy or we're going to help people really understand what it takes to be successful.

[Eric Thomas]

Let's go.

[Interviewer / Host]

So I'm not religious, but I respond. It's interesting that you say that because as a true preacher, formerly at a church, now I think you refer to it as a ministry.

[Eric Thomas]

Absolutely.

[Interviewer / Host]

So you approach religion in a way that I think really resonates in terms of religion has survived for thousands of years for a reason. Right. And my hypothesis is that the reason is that it gives us something that's very effective.

[Eric Thomas]

Absolutely.

[Interviewer / Host]

And that you have a God shaped hole in your heart that you're going to fill with something. You could fill it with God, you could fill it with a marriage, you could fill it with a business, whatever. Many people fill it with things that are not very useful.

[Eric Thomas]

Absolutely.

[Interviewer / Host]

But the stories that I want to bring together are. So you tell your partner that he needs to give up on sex. And when he was explaining why he listened to you, he told another story. And the story that he chills just remembering it. The story that he told was, you guys were on the streets of Harlem and this really big guy was like. He said he was like 6, 5, 280 pounds or something. And he was like barreling down the street. And he's on the phone yelling at this guy, telling him that he's going to kill him and all this stuff. And he jumps back up onto the stoop to not be in the way of this freight train coming down the street. And he said you wouldn't move. And he's trying to get your attention. You're just standing in the guy's path and the guy gets up to you, you grab him by the wrist, he looks at you like he's going to punch a hole in your head. And you tell him to get off the cell phone. You take him by both wrists and you Start praying. And by the end of it, the guy gets down on his knees with you and is sobbing and crying. And I was like, damn. Okay, now, the reason that I got it immediately when he was telling that story is one of your quotes, which is, the only thing standing in your way is you.

[Eric Thomas]

That's it.

[Interviewer / Host]

And once you understand that this is a game that you're playing here and you're playing here and that you have to. And for people that are just listening, I'm pointing at my head and my heart. That once you take control of what you're trying to achieve, you're thinking execution mode. You've got meaning and purpose. Now. That transitions us to the heart. And we're thinking about, okay, how do I get my emotions in check? And then how do I proceed towards something that means something to me? That is to me, somebody who really understands what the path to success is, that you have to get yourself under control. 1. I really want to understand what. What is it that you picked up on in that guy? Like, what did you see that made you go, there's a. A thing here that. That we could have a breakthrough or whatever?

[Eric Thomas]

Like, that's, you know, in life, man. Some things. Some things you, you know, mathematically you can explain. It's like. It's succinct, right? It's linear. But other things is like, frequency, like vibe. And so as he was walking toward me, I felt me. I felt that darkness, that dark place that I was once in. I felt that, you know, but I felt okay. Like, he's on the phone saying he's gonna do whatever, but he's still on the phone. Like, you. Like, if it was that deep, you just hang up the phone and you just go do whatever you say. You kill. You're still talking about it. And you're still talking about it, because whoever you're having this conversation with, some kind of way, you still care enough so I could hear this battle that he was personally going through. And when I saw him, I'm like, yo, et 16 year old, 12, 13 year old, et 16 year old, out of control, et and I. I saw the rage and the anger and the darkness. And I was like, yo, E, you gotta take a chance. Why? Because somebody took a chance on you. Like, I wasn't Tom. I wasn't the dude that was sitting with a poster saying, help me. I'm. I'm messed up. I was messed up. And somebody saw me and went, yo, we gotta salvage this kid. Like, some kind of way. This. This past. I don't know if it's everybody. Maybe he did it with everybody. I don't know. He made me feel like it was just me. And now when I look at my life, I'm like, wow, he really did. He really did save thousands and thousands of people's lives. I could have easily been in prison or dead. This guy, by rescuing me. You know how many people I've inspired? I don't know how many people I've inspired, but it's got. Looking at the videos and algorithm, it's gotta be a couple hundred. You know what? I'm so.

[Interviewer / Host]

Couple hundred thousand, maybe some millions.

[Eric Thomas]

So I'm looking at this guy like, yo, E, you got a chance to do the exact same thing. So being selfish, it might have been more of me. Just like, yo, E, here go a big one, baby. Like this, the finals. Like this, the Super Bowl. Like, go for it, you know? And his response, I'm nervous. I'm scared. Just like, you know, they don't know I'm nervous and I'm scared, but I'm too scared not to try. Like, I'm too scared not to take the risk. I'm all in. Now. I've been watching him, paying attention, listening. So, boom, I go in, and his response, falling on his knees and crying, was like, whoo. Okay, maybe I am.

[Interviewer / Host]

This story could have been real different.

[Eric Thomas]

This can go good or bad. There's no middle ground. And so for me, it's. I saw Eric, a young, hurt Eric Thomas, and was like, e, here's your chance to do for this guy, you know, what somebody did for you.

[Interviewer / Host]

Do you remember what the. What did you say to him that. That gave him the breakthrough?

[Eric Thomas]

I don't remember. The only thing I do know is the hug, you know, is. Is the. The command of. Bruh, you gotta get control of yourself. Like, you walking up and down the street, like, you just out of control. Like, what are you doing? You screaming and hollering, cussing. This is a church. I didn't even grow up in church. But, like, bro, you gotta have respect. It's kids out here. Like, come on, bro, like, not you. You're like, I'm not hurt that you're fussing and cussing at the church, but I'm hurting you out of control. Like, your emotions got the better of you. And, bro, you need to. You need to get a grip. And so whatever we said, other than, I don't know, hug, get control. And then before I know it, you know, he's balling, and I'm like, yo, this thing works. And this is before the hip hop preacher just ET at that time. This is no videos. You know, we hadn't really blown up at that time. But for me, I thought it was great because it was like, yo, pastor said, yo. It's working. And it's working on real people with real problems. This isn't. This isn't, you know, the studio E.T. like, this isn't, you know, the E.T. that's, you know, putting powder on and, you know, like, no, we out in the streets. Like, anything could have happened in New York. This is New York. This is Harlem. It could have went a total different way. So I even felt a sense of like, oh, I. I can. Like, I can't do this. People do respond. And I had to speak that night and I spoke with more energy probably than I spoke in a long time because it was like, yo, if it don't work in here, it's okay, because out there, it works out there. And again, I felt good about myself. I think people get confused sometimes when we do what we do. A part of it is for us and our life and our vitality and our belief and confidence in ourselves. Sound like Lisa now. Our confidence in ourselves.

[Interviewer / Host]

I love it, man. See, to me, that's the whole idea of you owe it to you.

[Eric Thomas]

Yeah.

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[Eric Thomas]

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[Interviewer / Host]

It's kind of a hard message. It's tough love. It's direct. It's. And I think that's a big part. That's certainly a big part of what I think people respond to in me is that I'm not letting myself off the hook and therefore I'm not letting anybody else off the hook. That there are Opportunities, you either capitalize on them or you don't. All of us are going to get kicked in the face at some point or another. And it's really about how you respond to it. And so by it's interesting because I actually didn't know because the time that you told that story, they didn't ask what you said to them. So I had no idea. But I'm not at all surprised that the punchline was like, you're out of control. Get it under control. Which one? Having somebody hold you accountable, it's really interesting. In fact, man, I really want to know your thoughts on this. So they've looked at, why is it that kids that grow up with a single mom do worse than kids that grow up in a two parent household? And look, I'm sure it would be equally bad if you only grew up with a father. There's just a lot less statistics on that. So when looking at it, and this is my wife and I don't have kids, but this is 1000% US. You've got the mom who's like, totally empathetic. They want you to go to bed because they know it's better for you, but, oh, they don't want to upset you. And so you end up going to bed late. The dad's like, no, no, no, you're going to bed. And if I have to drag you by the ankle, if I said it's 9 o', clock, it's 9 o', clock, and that's that. And when you don't have somebody that holds you accountable, there's a sense of like, I'm not seen, I'm not checked. Like, somebody doesn't. I don't know if it's that they don't love me because, you know, your mom loves you, but like, you. You want somebody to check you.

[Eric Thomas]

Yeah. You know, I tell people it's crazy. My biological father wasn't in my life, and me and my mom struggled because I knew my mom didn't want me to go after him because of what it meant in her life, whatever the pain, the remnant, whatever it was. And so I kind of never shared that. I miss. I want to know who my dad is. I want to. You know, it's crazy. It's like I was an adult and I still. I wanted my daddy, you know, I wanted to know who my father was. And I don't mean I knew who he was by name, but like, yo, who are you? How am I like you? You know what I'm saying? What were your goals? And aspirations. What was your struggles? What were your challenges? And so I feel that like you said with mom, you know that love is there. You know, moms will die for you, she'll do anything for you. But with dad, it is that, dad, what am I capable of? I remember my daughter, she loves her mom, they have the best relationship. But she would get dressed and walk right past her mom and be like, dad, what do you think? You know? And I'm like, wow, this is crazy. My son would play football and you could see he, you know, picked up a fumble and he. I'm like, run. But he's like, hey, did you see me with the. I'm like, yeah, we could talk about it afterwards. And so I think there is an affirmation in fathers along with that correction. But you said something earlier that I thought was important. You know what bothers me is individuals ability to check and hold people accountable. Like, I'm like, yo, it's crazy. If you weren't wired to check people or when somebody, you know, like didn't meet your expectations, I would be like, yo, don't hold yourself accountable. But like, I literally look at humans and when somebody doesn't pay them back on time or somebody picks them up later, somebody doesn't keep their promise. Like, you feel this. Why didn't you? How dare you? And I'm like, well, how do you pass you in the mirror? Like, yo, I'm not mad that you hold him accountable, but how can you hold another human that responsible? But you don't hold yourself responsible. Like, how is that possible? Like somebody doesn't do what you think they should do and you go off, but then you give you a pass. Like, you don't go off on you. I'm like, yo, if you go off on my man, that's cool. But when are you going to go in the mirror and check yourself? Like, why are you giving yourself a pass? Why are you giving yourself an out? That same energy you have to let others know about themselves. You cuss my man out. I mean, he didn't, whatever it was he was supposed to do, he didn't do. He almost ran into your car. Like, you cussed my man out. Like you went off, but then you didn't finish school or you didn't write the book or you didn't do the album or you didn't go back to school or you told yourself you was going to lose weight and you just let yourself off the hook like, well, you didn't do it. Poor you. I'm saying no, do me a favor with that same energy you use to hold somebody else accountable, hold yourself accountable. Because here's the deal. You hold me accountable and I change. How do you benefit from that? Like, how do you benefit from getting on me and making me make adjustments and corrections? You don't benefit from that. You don't get the money that I make when my business blows up or when I get my degree. And I've seen people get on me. Eric, you need to finish school. I'm like, bet, but you got some stuff that you need to overcome. I literally listened to you. You got on me and you checked me about not finishing what I started. Okay, well, I finished what I started, but you still haven't checked you about some of the character defects you have. So that's why I get a little taken back. Because I'm saying, use that same energy you use on others. I'm not saying don't hold people accountable, but I'm saying use that same energy on yourself. And you'd be shocked how much further you'd be in life if you just punish us. If you put you on punishment.

[Interviewer / Host]

That's what I like about you, man.

[Eric Thomas]

You put you on punishment.

[Interviewer / Host]

Put you on punishment. What I like about you is that the very reason that you want them to hold themselves accountable is because they would be shocked at how much better off their life would be. That, to me, is like, the interesting part. So we're living through a weird moment right now where there's this idea in race car driving where they say, don't look at the wall because you're going to go where you look. And so even though the wall is the thing that you're worried about because you don't want to crash into it, if you look at it, that's actually what you're going to hit. Now, if you pay attention to the turn and of the other cars, then you've got a shot. And I always thought that was really interesting. When you apply that to yourself. If you're looking for all the things that are wrong, you're going to find them, and there will be a litany of them. If you're looking for excuses, you're going to find them and they're going to be valid, and you're going to have every reason to give up. And you talk about the darkness a lot, dude. That's really important for people to understand. You can think your way into any state. You can think your way into negativity, and you will find it everywhere. You can think your way into Positivity. And despite the fact there are a thousand things stacked against you, you'll see the path forward and it will make your life better. Like, that's the thing that I'm really fiendish about. And so I want to ask you, like, given the way that right now people, especially in the US Are looking at the way things are working against them, what do you say to somebody like that? Because it's not like there aren't things to complain about, but how do you get them to refocus that energy on the things that they can control?

[Eric Thomas]

Man, I say. I say this world is fascinated with sports. So we are consumed with hours upon hours of just watching sports. So I say, hey, guys, if you're going to be watching all this sports, like, use the sports world in your world, because you're spending all this time watching it. What, kid? And I don't even know if I wanted to go, you know, and play in the majors, but I remember being with my boys on the block, and it was just a couple of us, and I would dream that I was on the plate. Two outs, two strikes, three balls, paces loaded, we down by three, and I'm on the plate. We all. You on the free throw line. Your team's down by one. You get to shoot two free throws. Is zero time on the clock. Game seven of the NBA final. Like, we all dream of that, but then we get in real life, we want to be punks. We get it in real life, we solve. It's like, yo, let the gas go up. I'm gonna make more money. Let the inflation go up. Game seven like this. Game seven in life. Let's go. If it was easy, everybody would do it. I don't even want it to be easy. Everybody would get a PhD. If it was easy to get a PhD then it wouldn't be valuable if you could just open up the door. So I tell people, like, look. Look at the tragedies and say, yo, you thought well enough for me to come at me, Batman. You. You. You trained in the dark. Bane said, I was born in the dark. This is what I do. Cut all the lights off if you want to. You're not going to stop me because you got all the lights. Like, I. This is. This is where I thrive. And I'm saying, if you're a real human, because we are a little different than some of the other things that were created. We have a will. There's some things that we have. I'm, like, activated. Instead of crying and quitting and giving up again. We're going to go through pain. All of us won't get a reward from it. I got a reward for mine. Like, I have worked so hard. When I die, I will physically be dead, but you'll still be knowing about Eric Thomas. The videos will still be out, the books will be out. Whatever businesses we set up, kids will still be going to college. They'll be going to the Super Bowl. Every year, I, through my foundation, they'll be taking a trip to Dubai. I, I, I, you know, I tell people all the time, they, like, what, what motivates you now, because you have what you want, what motivates? I said I did it. But can I duplicate myself? Can I scale this reality? You know what I'm saying? Can I scale positivity? Can I scale getting through pain? Can I scale taking a bad hand and turn that joke into a royal flush? Can I, Can I scale that? So for me, it's not, this is happening. This is happening. This is happening. I look at it, Game seven, this is going. This where. This, where the Michael Jordans are made. This. This is where the Magic Johnson's, the Larry Birds. Like, this is where the real ballers. This is when the real ballers come out. Okay, you won game one. Okay, you won game two. Okay, we won two. Then you was up three. One, three two, and we came back and beat you. Like, we don't go. We're down two, we go. This is what I signed up for. This is what all the weights were for. This is the eating right. This is the getting up early, going. This is the trainers. Like, this is why I went to this school. This is why I got this coach like this. I long for this, and I live for this. And some people, I don't know, are you not cut out for it? I don't know. But for me, when I see trials and tribulations, I go, it's showtime. With a real Eric Thomas with a game seven. Eric Thomas, please stand up. Activate Grand Slam. Grand Slam activated. In shape of ET and pop. Boom, it's out of here. So I just look at it as, hey, if you want to complain, go for it. I will rise to the level of the challenge.

[Interviewer / Host]

Dude, I love that so much. It is the only path forward. Like, everything that I've seen about life tells me there just isn't another option. Again, the excuses are valid. You can take them, but your life is going to be worse. What do you teach your kids about racism? Because I've heard you say, racism is real. It exists.

[Eric Thomas]

But Yeah. I say to my kids, for every challenge that exists, prepare yourself for it. Don't go into. Don't go into it unprepared. The man or woman who's unprepared for a challenge will probably not come out of it the way he or she wants to come out of it. You have a better chance. I'm not telling you that stuff can't happen to you, but you have a better chance if you are prepared for it. Which is why I went and got a PhD. Why? Because I felt like, talent wise, you were prepared to be one of the greatest speakers in this generation, but language wise, you are not prepared to be one of the greatest speakers. Diversity wise, you are not prepared. You grew up in Detroit, which is probably the most segregated city, United States of America. You're not prepared to be diverse because you've not been in an environment that was diverse. You need to go to Michigan State. You need to prepare yourself for where you want to be. So for my children, you will run into some of the greatest humans in life. Prepare yourself to get the most out of that relationship. I was just with somebody recently. It was like, yo, I love you more in person than I did on the videos. That's not by accident. Like, that's by. I walk in a room. Your personality. I'm going to be my authentic self. I'm going to bet. Got it. I'm not walking in the room like, Lisa, hello. I'm just sitting there timid and whatever. No, I'm like, yo, this is what presented itself in the room. You a hugger. I'm a hugger. Let's go. And so to my children, yo, prepare for everything. It doesn't mean that you're going to win because you're prepared, but you have a better chance of winning if you are prepared. So they got mad at me. I sent them to. When they were younger, they might have gone to a 50, 50 school in terms of diversity. When they got older, they were the minority. Why are we in high school? We're in minority because you're going to Michigan State. So we're not going to prepare you when you get there. We're going to prepare you now. So now they're like, okay, dad, when they travel the world, oh, we are prepared. Why? Because we went to school with. We have friends that are our teachers. Were. This was the environment. So I say, racism, economic struggles, marriage, parenting. Prepare yourself in advance for these situations so that when they come, you have a better chance of controlling those situations and not letting those situations Control you.

[Interviewer / Host]

One thing that you said in a video, and I was like, this just cannot be said enough, is you were saying like, imagine somebody, I don't remember the amount of time that you gave, but like 50 years ago, they don't have the Internet or 300 years ago when we're embroiled in the just absolute travesty of slavery. Like, that's like a whole thing that now you could take right now a course from Stanford University on your phone for free. You can take MIT courses on your phone for free. And so to not prepare yourself by taking advantage of those things, like at some point it's, you owe yourself to get in that, to learn that stuff, to prepare yourself, push your education. That to me is like, that's so powerful. Encouraging people to invest in turning their potential into skill set.

[Eric Thomas]

Absolutely. You get one life. You know, it's funny, somebody would say, well, how do you prepare yourself for. Well, when I was younger, I thought I had to address every human that said something to me. Now, depending on that person's intelligence, depending on that person's ideology, I don't have to enter, I don't have to entertain you. I'm not, I'm not forced because you made a statement. I'm not forced to respond. I tell my son all the time, bro, somebody, if you're on the road and there's road rage, drive home. You don't have to get into it with that person because they almost hit their car. Because here's the deal, son. That person may have nothing to live for, no one to live for. You do come home. Come home. And you could talk to me about Dad. I can't believe he hit the back. He almost hit the back of the car. He swerved over into the. I don't know, maybe somebody in his family died. Maybe he just lost his job, Maybe his mom just passed and like, he not in his right mind. But whatever you do, don't engage in a person who's not in their right mind. If you're in your right mind, there's nothing that good that's going to come out of it. You've been in your right mind, they're not in their right mind. And you're sitting there having a discussion, discussion with them. You having a discussion is not about to put them in their right mind. Like you're not about to change. So do me a favor, come on, and we can laugh about it at Thanksgiving. You remember the time the person almost hit you up? So. So becoming educated and prepared also lets me know Who I should be having conversations with, who I shouldn't have, when I should. Because there's a time and season for everything when I shouldn't. So it's like, oh, son, sweetheart, my daughter, prepare yourself. I don't. I'm not saying you have to get a master's, a PhD. I'm not saying any of that. But I am saying, you know the world you live in. You know what the issues are. Prepare yourself accordingly.

[Interviewer / Host]

Kobe Bryant has one of my favorite quotes of all time. Not as good as the quote, though, that I'm going to give you at the end of this from Eric Thomas and make sure you guys stay here till the end. But he says, booze don't block dunks. And to me, what I take away from that is that you can get so good at something. Because the talent scouts who know basketball better than anybody else in the world were given budgets to go around the entire globe to find the most talented athletes on planet Earth, pay them millions of dollars, and their only job was to stop Kobe Bryant from scoring points. And he still, despite that, scored 81 points in a single game. So literally, people, the most talented athletes on planet Earth paid millions of dollars to stop you from doing something, and they still can't do it because you can get better than they are.

[Eric Thomas]

That's good.

[Interviewer / Host]

And that's my thing is look there. There are. No matter what, even if it isn't racism, there are going to be a thousand things in business, let me tell you, people trying to stop you every single day. And so your job, you owe it to yourself just to stay with your book, which I love. You owe it to yourself to get so good that people can't stop you. And I love it. Because any human being can do that. Like that shit.

[Eric Thomas]

I love it. That's the answer. That's it right there. That's the answer. Other thing, I love that Kobe said, I thought he was a jerk. Kobe said, why would I pass the ball to you when you haven't even trained properly? I used to always wonder, like, why is my man hogging the ball? He's like, yo, why would I have confidence in somebody who's getting to the gym late, who's leaving early? We losing. Doesn't seem to care that we losing. Why would I give the ball to you? And I'm like, yo, genius, you're not even executing at your own personal responsibility. My whole career is contingent upon what you do and what you don't do. Yeah, I'm taking this and it shift my thought process Because I'm like, here I am, judging from the outside, why aren't you being a better teammate? But the real question is, why aren't you being a better teammate by seeing my energy and matching my energy. Because we on the same team with the same goals. So, yeah, but I absolutely love. We have the ability to, no matter what our circumstances are, get better. The iPhone is getting better. Why aren't we. Samsung is getting better. What? Tesla, Whatever it is, technology. Everybody sees the benefit of not staying where they were five, six years ago if they want to be progressive and survive. So as a human, why wouldn't I every day try to be the best version of me? Or at least every year say, all right, yeah, well, you don't know me. If you knew me in 2002, you don't know Eric Thomas. That was the 5.0 version. This, the 14, this, the ET14. You don't know who I am. And I would just say to people, yes, it takes a lot of work to become a new model, but it also takes a lot of work to suck, to be average. It takes a lot of work to do that as well. And the rewards for being average don't match the reward. Yep, I have to work hard, but to have even this opportunity. You know, there's something that I. I read in the scriptures that said, find a man who's diligent, who executes, and he shall stand before kings and queens and not mean men. So when I get the opportunity to come into an environment like this, I see it as, E. If you with number one, you close to number one if you're not number one because you are attracting high level. So when I used to have to do Wright State. Not run with Wright State Bowie. Nothing wrong with that. But when I started doing Alabama, when I started speaking at Auburn, when I started speaking at the elite programs, it was like, so. So when I. When I work hard and I come into a place like this, I don't go, I want necessarily, but I go, wow, this is what's capable for humans that operate at a high level. We sat down and you were like, e, I'm trying to take the podcast. I'm like, what? You the best? You considered one of the best podcasts out and you trying to get better. I'm like, yo, I can't wait till this interview is over. I got to let everybody in our sphere. No, hey, y', all, we playing with the podcast. Like, I know we. Not necessarily. Like, we just sitting around chatting around, but no, no, no, no. 20, 20. Three, we. We owe it to the people who follow us to not stay where we are, but to take it to that next level. So for me, being in a room with somebody who's executing and operating at a high level, it just get me juiced up. It's let me know that I would much rather work hard and, and, and, and. And experience this and hang out with and get to know somebody like you. Then I would be average and just get the stuff that I don't know who is. Who's deciding what I get. I don't know who. But those people who live like that and they have to decide what the government gives. Like, I don't want to live like that. I don't want you to tell me how much I'm going to get or how much money I can make or when I can take vacation or when I can, man, I'd much rather put in the work and live this experience.

[Interviewer / Host]

Dude, that's so well said there. I heard. Oh, God, I forget who it was. I was watching, I think it was a reacts video. And they were talking about people getting the checks from the government over, you know, the course of COVID and respect. Like you needed it for sure, for sure.

[Eric Thomas]

But they were exactly yours.

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah, yeah. They were talking about people, though, that were acting like they pulled a fast one on the government. And he was like, basically saying exactly what you just said. Like, yo, you're standing in line for a handout. And me, I'm over here, I didn't get a check. But like, I control my destiny. I control where I go and going back to Kobe. Like, when I see somebody playing at that level, I'm just like, oh, man, he's got natural gifts, right? Height, speed, agility, all of that stuff. And for anybody tempted to make that excuse for somebody like Kobe, let me say he won an Academy Award. Yeah, he won an Academy Award. ET so he plays basketball at the highest level and tells you this is about outworking everybody else. This is about getting so good that they can't stop you, that no matter how much people hate you, no matter how much they boo for you, you can be so good that they can't stop you. And the man won an Academy Award. I was like, this is insane. You want to talk about something that inspires me? I. There are two people that were celebrities that passed away that I can't let go of it for some reason. I never met either of them. Brandon Lee's. Sorry, Bruce Lee's son, Brandon Lee, when he died. I don't Know, that messed me up. It was just too weird. And then when Kobe died, I was like, never met him ever, But I'm still messed up about it. I don't like living in a world where he's not in it, because when he was in basketball, and I was super inspired by his attitude, but I'm not a sports fan in any big way, so he was on my radar just because his work ethic is so insane. But when he got out and won an Academy Award, I'm like, because entertainment, that's my business. So I'm like, I want to compete against him. I want to go against the best of the best. And honestly, not because I think I'm as good as him, but because I want to be that good. I want that. You know, when you look at the rabbit that the dogs chase and dog racing, like, I want that person that's outpacing me, that's just killing me with how good they are. Like, I'm so inspired by that. And that's what. Like, when I was watching your talks, not only do I get inspired, but when I think about what you're. The way that you engage the audience, and I'm like, he's trying to break them out of excuses. He's trying to get them to dream. He's trying to get them to visualize. And I'm like, wow, that's so powerful, because it will change their life.

[Eric Thomas]

Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. You know, and when you talked about Colby, what I thought about was, it doesn't have to be a hundred years, but look at what he did in such a short period of time.

[Interviewer / Host]

That's crazy.

[Eric Thomas]

So it's almost like, guys, we. Not only do we not have an excuse, youth, if you make it to 100, you lose two things. Perhaps your independence and definitely your youth, Right? So people who are 100, they might still be alive, but they may not have all of their independent. You might not be able to get in the car and just take off whenever you want to take off. Like, there might be some other things that mentally or your health that's not a hundred percent. And your youth is definitely gone. And I look at Coldman was like, yo, not, you didn't necessarily live to be a hundred, but the time you had on Earth, you put in work, and then you went and dominated one area, and then you start coming over and said, now I'm coming into some other areas that are not my areas, per se, but I'm going to bring my greatness over here. Then I'm going To kill it. And that's all I'm saying to people. Greatness is in you. Activate it. But what you're activating is the norm. This isn't right. That isn't right. Somebody said to me, you know how much the gas is? I said, I'm going to be honest with you. I didn't. I never went. I've never gone to the pump as E.T. you know, as E.T. this version of E.T. i've never gone to the pump and looked at how much it costs. And I never not filled up the gas tank as this version of ET now, maybe when I was younger, in my 20s, still making crazy decisions and not as mature as I am now, maybe I was like, give me 10 on five. But at this version, I'm just like, it doesn't matter how much it is. I'm going to fill it up. It doesn't matter how much the Emirates first class cost to go to Dubai. It doesn't matter. I don't want to sit in a row with three people because I don't want a stranger in my conversation with my wife. Like, I just want it to be me. So I'm going to pay whatever they want me to pay. So it's just the two of us in this cap. So. And we could bring that joker down. And for the 14 hours, me and you could get it in without my man in the middle saying, oh, what part of San Diego do you live in? I'm like, I wasn't even talking to you. Like, how are you in my conversation? So I will pay for whatever to get off the plane and be ready to speak, like, as soon as the camera. Like, when I land, they got the cameras on me. So I want to sit in the seat where I'm gonna be comfortable and I can get off ET Where I don't need two or three hours of preparation because I took a shower on my way there. You know what I'm saying? They gave me 30 minutes for the shower and I took like, give it to me an hour before we land. I want the best foods. Like, I will. I will do whatever it takes to have that reality than to be the average dude that everybody's telling me what to do. You can't go see your daughter get her award because you need to be at work. Nobody. I'm an academic advisor. Students don't even come to get academic counsel. At 9:15am they not even up. But because you control me, you could tell me, no, I can't go see my child. And I mean, no. I'll do whatever it takes to be there for my baby girl. I'll be there to watch my son play football or to watch my son walk across Michigan State's debret. I want to see it. I don't want a boss to tell me, you got to take time off to go watch him march. When my daughter got her master's degree, everybody was like, you stood the whole time. You never sat down because she graduated with her four year degree during COVID and she didn't get to march. So now I'm like, girl, you. Girl, you did it. You went and did two more years just to get that. Like they were about to mess up our record of me walking across the brass, my son walking across. We could say my daughter graduated, but we couldn't say she marched across. She marched. And I'm going to stand here the whole time and watch her and look in her face and I hear anything that the speakers are saying or miss all the other kids that are coming. Because I want my baby girl to know, if you can't count on nothing else, you can count on your daddy being present. I'm not the greatest father. I probably won't win father of the Year. I probably won't get that. I'm a little too aggressive for that, you feel me? But you will never be able to say your daddy wasn't present. And it doesn't matter how or why do you get up at 3 o'? Clock? Why don't you. Why don't you get up when you need to get up to do what you need to do? So you're telling me I live in a country that if I get up at 3 o' clock in the morning, I'll be rewarded for it, That I can control my own life. If I get up at 3 o' clock in the morning, I could take a nap. Whenever I need to take a nap, I'll stay up as long as it takes to be there for my wife when she was diagnosed with Ms. I'll go to every doctor's appointment with you. We'll go out to eat afterwards. We'll do ice cream. We'll make these hospital visits a date. This will be a date day. I'll do whatever it takes to make that happen. Get up early, get a PhD, write a book, put a bunch of free videos up online, learn a second language. I'll do whatever it takes to keep this freedom. I'll do whatever it takes.

[Interviewer / Host]

Damn. All right, I'm about to give you guys my favorite ET quote of all time. But first, where can people follow you?

[Eric Thomas]

Et inspires.com There it is.

[Interviewer / Host]

Everything et yeah, all right, boys and girls, definitely follow him. And this quote, I think sums up everything that we've been talking about today and certainly should tell you why you should be following him. And the quote is, if there's another mountain to climb. Climate that hit me like a lightning bolt. I hope it hits you guys. Speaking of things that will hit you, if you haven't already, be sure to subscribe. And until next time, my friends, be legendary. Take care. Peace.

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