Seize Opportunities and TRANSFORM Your Life (Act NOW!) | Eric Thomas EP 570

0:00Hi, my name is Lewis Howes and welcome to the Daily Motivation Show.

0:11What's your why? You're so passionate. You're so committed. Why are you so committed to excellence and greatness in your own life? Opportunity is the biggest thing. Like, people ask me, why did you wake up at 3 o 'clock in the morning? If I could be a millionaire in America and live wherever I once lived, all I have to get up at 3 o 'clock in the morning. That's pretty sweet. That's it. That's a sweet deal. I can go to bed whenever I want to go to bed. I can buy a good bed. Right that I can sleep in what I'm gonna be right so for me it's opportunity this country has had its dark past You know, but I'm not perfect.

0:44Yeah, I'm fortunate enough not to live have lived in that dark past So there wasn't there was a time in this country's history where Eric Thomas would not have had some of the opportunity I have not so Opportunities that Dr. Martin King did have Opportunities that just 50 60 years ago. They didn't have so in my generation It doesn't make a difference what your race is. It doesn't make a difference what your ethnic background is. I can be an entrepreneur. Like, 100 years ago, somebody from my background couldn't have been an entrepreneur. I can be a CEO of a company. The two of us can get together, you know, and work together.

1:22Like, I live the dream. I have an opportunity to live Dr. Martin Luther King's dream. You mean to tell me that I have that opportunity, I'm not going to take advantage of it? Like, that's ignorant. There was a time where we couldn't go to school, where if we were trying to get into school, They bring the National Guards, they've got dogs, and they're walking these kids in, you know, to a school where people don't want them. I have an opportunity to go to school and be embraced by professors. I have an opportunity to write books. I have an opportunity to do conferences. I have an opportunity to have a show on YouTube.

1:50You mean to tell me I have an opportunity to do that and get paid for it, and I'm not going to take advantage of that? Like, that's what I'm passionate about. We flew first class last night, my entire family. I have an opportunity to fly first class. I have an opportunity to walk up to the street, Ontario Airport and just get a vehicle. Like, that's not something that happened two, three hundred years ago. And here I am living the dream. And you mean to tell me that the whole world is in front of you and you're not going to try to be a millionaire or billionaire? You're not going to write books.

2:22You're not going to get degrees. And this is the biggest thing that has ever happened in my life. And I know we all have different goals, different dreams to each his own. But the greatest contribution of my life, I dropped out. My grandfather dropped out. My father dropped out. My son graduated from high school on time, went to Michigan State University. He is a student at Michigan State University, a Big Ten institution, works for Tom Izzo, who is going to go down in the NCAA Hall of Fame as a basketball. My son is working with one of the top coaches in the world as a general manager, traveling the world.

3:04Man, that's my greatest that I broke the cycle. So for me to have this opportunity and to set my children up now, you know, for this type of life, that's my why. That I have an opportunity, but more importantly, I can break the cycle. I can change the trajectory of my family forever just by the decisions that I make. I say this a lot to entrepreneurs. the stuff you're doing right now, the decisions you're making right now, Warren Buffett, you know, Bill Gates, the stuff, the decisions that they made 20, 30 years ago has set their children up for the rest of their lives. And here I have an opportunity to do the exact same thing I told my son.

3:43I will pay for you to get a degree. I told my daughter, I will cash. I will pay for you to go to school. That's my gift to you, to give you one of the greatest starts that you could ever have in America. You know, so that's my why. And then for all those kids out there who don't have their fathers, who haven't had, you know, exposure to certain role models, certain opportunities. You know, every day when I do my videos, I'm trying to give them access, you know, to some of the greatest speakers I've heard. I've been with Les Brown. I've been with John Maxwell. I've been with Bob Proctor. I've traveled the world.

4:19I've met people like Dan Gilbert. I've met, you know, people in this industry who are just, I mean, gurus. And now I want to take that same knowledge and I want to give that to these kids so I can give them the same opportunities that I had. How important do you think it is for people to have mentors slash coaches throughout their entire journey of their life? Whether they're in school, playing a sport, running a business, you know, trying to be married. And how important is it to have key mentors and coaches? I mean, it's everything. because, you know, my mother calls it triple darkness. You don't know that you don't know that you don't know.

4:54You know, it's triple darkness for the kid that's growing up in a certain neighborhood without his father. You know, he hasn't had, he's never left his city. He's never been a 10, 20 mile radius outside of his city. There are kids in Los Angeles who've never been to a beach. You know, it's unbelievable. You know what I'm saying? There are kids in Chicago who've never been downtown at the pier or never walked the Magnificent Mile. You know, there are kids in San Francisco who've never been to the Golden Gate Bridge. I mean, can you imagine kids in Huntsville, Alabama, who've never gone to the Space and Rocket Center?

5:23You know, so I think it's everything. I'm not where I am because of who I am. I am where I am because of the information that individuals gave me. I would say to young people, you know, if you're living in a community and the resources aren't there, I challenge you to get on the bus and go to the library on the other side of town. I challenge you to go and learn the handles Messiah. I challenge you to pick up a piano, to pick up a violin. I challenge you to not accept the life that's been given to you. Just because somebody gained that life, that does not have to become your reality. I challenge you to go outside of your immediate environment.

6:01And I challenge you to explore. I challenge you to discover.

6:15Thank you so much for listening to today's episode of The Daily Motivation. And I hope you have an amazing rest of your day. If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to click the link in the description. That will take you to the full episode of our main podcast on The School of Greatness. And if you are loving The Daily Motivation, please follow us over on Apple Podcasts and Spotify and leave us a review over on Apple Podcasts right now. And if you want more exclusive content and ad-free listening experience, make sure to subscribe to our Greatness Plus channel on Apple Podcast right now. And if you want to get even more inspiration from our world-class guests and learn how to improve your life and take it to the next level, then make sure to sign up for the Greatness newsletter and get it delivered right to your inbox over at greatness.com slash newsletter.

7:04Again, have an amazing day, and I'll see you tomorrow with another episode of the Daily Motivation Show.