YOU Are Your Greatest Asset | Eric Thomas

27:02Why? Because I didn't stop where I started. I didn't stop. I was like, okay, this is where we started, but this is not about to be my end. And so his beginnings look dope. My man went to Michigan State and was a general manager for Izzo. He traveled the world. He's got a Final Four win in the V8 ring. He's got the Jack. He sat under Coach Izzo, Hall of Fame coach for four years. Coach OG. He sat under these guys. Like his boys, some of his boys went to the league. There's some of them still in the league. He got that because I didn't go. I quit because my mom, my dad did. So I quit. I give up.

27:37This is the worst thing ever happened. I was like, you get a reward for it. And so to see my son, I'm coming to a concert tonight with my daughter. Listen to me like, I didn't give up. And so I'm saying to everybody, we all go through pain. Some of us go through pain. And it becomes our tombstone. Some of us go through pain and it's a scar. And we live a life of reward. So I'm just going to say, again, 2025, do me a favor. Check you. So you're in the ballot box and you're looking at all these options, doctor, lawyer, teacher, whatever you see, president, mayor, governor. Do me a favor. Before you check off any of that S &P 500, real estate, before you check any of that, check you.

28:19before you check anything, check you and go look yourself in the mirror and go yo, I'm my lottery ticket I'm my ticket out of the neighborhood or I'm the broken curse, like whatever you want to call yourself, but the day I stopped saying my mom, my dad this person, the police, the comp the day I stopped doing that, the day I said you Do you think anyone can have a beautiful amazing life if they live in a blaming mindset? No No. You know why? Because what I didn't realize as a young adult is that when you say it's somebody else, whether you mean to do it or not, you give them the keys to your life.

28:58You give them power over you. They got your whole life in their hand because you said it. You said it. They didn't do this. And because they didn't, they got the keys. Now, I'll be honest. The reason why we don't want to take the keys because we got to drive. We got to drive. And I told you today, I was like, I got too much to do. I normally drive. I'm like, I got too much to do. And it felt good to be in the car driven. It felt good. Yeah. Like, I'm on the phone talking to my wife. We having worship doing our thing, making a couple business calls. Like, I don't have the responsibility of the traffic.

29:28Paying attention. I got paying attention. He moved over and got, I was like, why is he stopping in the middle of, in the car? But it was a truck. So he had to move over. I didn't know what was going on because it was the first time in my life that I wasn't really like responsible because I normally drive. And that's why people don't want to drive in their lives. They don't want to be responsible. It's so much easier to say my life is messed up because you did this and you did that. Once you take the keys now, you got to go anything. But I'm going to tell you this. This is why I like it. While it's more responsibility, it's more freedom.

30:01It's more independence. It's more control. Opportunities. They limit it. The living list went, you take the keys. And so I took the keys in my life and said, ma, thanks. Dad, thanks for not being there for me. You gave me a dog. You gave me a passion. You gave me a resilience. You taught me how to make it when the very thing that's supposed to be there for you isn't there for you. And I tell people, what I want, some kid asked me the other day, he's like, man, wouldn't you say your son is lucky because you're in his life and his mom is in his life? I said yes and no. I said, yes, he's blessed to have his mom and dad, but he ain't got that dog.

30:39He doesn't have the hunger? He ain't got that dog. Oh, man. My son is a great kid. But he doesn't have the drive. He ain't got the same drive I got. And that drive came without some stuff that I had. That stuff came from lack. And so I say to anybody, you got to understand, it could go either way. But when you take the, it's like I walk into a school and I ask, how many of y 'all? 50 kids. How many of your kids in here? A thousand kids. How many of your dads, one in your life, was not living in the house? 90 % raised in the house. Wow. And guess what? I automatically can relate to them. That's the je ne sais quoi, that my daddy wasn't there.

31:16That's the it factor. If my father had been there, I might not be able to go in here and relate. Or my videos that go viral, people are like, okay, maybe if I just had air voice. Or if I just scream and I just look passionate. Bro, that's not what it is. it's when I speak you hear it because I've been through what you've been through wow and so you you recognize that voice you recognize the pain you recognize the struggle but you recognize I overcame it and that's why you're like I want to rock with this dude because this one ain't some kind of way Eric ain't the one that's making us feel like oh it's okay that you went through this and it's okay that this and you it's okay if you don't want to grow and it's okay if you don't want No, what you hear from me is a coach that's saying, Jordan, you got six rings in you, but you got to stop playing this way and you got to start playing this way.

32:06Kobe, you got great, but you got to do it this way. Serena, you got Venus, you got that. Richard Williams is saying he's not out there just. He's teaching, training, but he's also correcting. And so for me, they hear my voice. I'm not letting you get away with murder because greatness is in you. The greatness is in you. And now it's time to go to school. It's time to go to work and bring that greatness out of you. So just anybody, anybody could be successful. But as long as you're playing the blame game, you have given permission, the license, registration, the keys. You give it all over to somebody else.

32:44And the day you take it is the day that you can start deciding which direction you want to go. Wow. So it sounds like step one, take the keys back to your life. Take the keys back. What would steps two and three be for setting people up for their ultimate life? What would that beginning process? Is it get clear on a goal? Is it start with motivation? Start with discipline? Like change your habits? What would the next couple steps be to set up the mindset for success? I would say step two, and I don't know why they don't teach this in school. Like, be your first best friend. You know? Like, get to know you.

33:22We're so busy wanting to be in a community that we don't realize we are a community. Right? And look, I'm not trying to be deep. You know, people, you know, you believe this, you don't believe this. but what I was taught you know in school especially Catholic school it seemed like Adam was by himself first it doesn't seem like it was like somebody else Adam was first and then whatever happened after that so the first man was by himself and I think that's important for those of us who study that why? Because all of us think we have to have somebody to be somebody and this guy started his journey on his own before he connected with somebody He, whatever, he knew his purpose.

34:06You know, he walked in his confidence. He walked in his, and a lot of us are going, I hear people say all the time, well, I'm not doing good in life. Why not? I don't have nobody. I'm not in a relationship. I'm saying, you're telling me, no, listen to me very closely. Do you think for one minute that getting in a relationship with somebody, it can't be the key because so many people have gotten in relationships and gotten out of it. So that can't be the key. Now, two healthy people, not perfect, but two healthy people coming together. Oh, no, that's different. It's expansive. But guess what has to happen?

34:34You got to be healthy with you. You can be with this. So we even messing each other up when we have two dysfunctional people trying to connect with each other because we think two functional people don't come together and make each other. It's not going to work. So I just think the first step after the first step is you got to figure out who you are and love you and feel good about you and show up in the ring. You and not care what nobody think about you. And that's why this relationship has worked so well for me over the years because when we're together, it's never been a thing of, E, why you do that?

35:06E, why you do that? Or E, why you do that? It's always been like, E, you have a unique set of skills that make you great. You have a unique set. And so we've always focused on what's our unique skills and what do you know that I don't know and how can you help me get there? And so a lot of these young kids are joining things they shouldn't join and being with people because they think their happiness is going to come from being with somebody else. And I just think if you be, if the eagles aren't trying to, they just are eating, they're not trying, lions aren't, what do you think about me? What do you think about my roar?

35:41You think I'm too loud when I roar? That's not concern. And so I think step two, figure out who you are, love you. And step three, figure out your North Star and wake up every single day going after your North Star. Because when you have a North Star, you know, and the people that you love and you spend time with have a North Star, have a purpose. And their purpose might be we both have people whose purposes help us with our purpose. Yes. They don't necessarily have an individual purpose. Right. Like they felt like they were called to help us. To serve our mission. That's it. So we need a North Star so they can know what their North Star is.

36:18So that would be my third one. It's like, you've got to figure out what makes you happy. And again, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with it. First time, I did a behind the scenes coming in here. Just because I was like, to my Patreon community, like, yo, y 'all need to understand where I am and what's going on. But I don't, if you follow me on Instagram or TikTok, wherever I'm on, you don't see behind the scenes. I think that's a phenomenal tool to show other people what, but my wife is private. So, so for us, that does not work. She does not want to be seen in the La La. She doesn't want to be in Dubai and stop and go, let's take a, let's document what we're doing.

36:59She doesn't like that. So for some people it works, but I don't have to do that to still find a space, right? There's some people, you know, they do tours, right? I don't do tours. That's not my thing. I used to do them. I don't do them now. There's some people that write books. Some people don't write books. Like, it doesn't matter. But what matters is you have to find a thing that wakes you up at 3 o 'clock or 6 o 'clock or 10 o 'clock. Like, you got to find a thing that brings the life out of you, the joy out of you, the happiness out of you. And you can't do that following somebody else's North Star.

37:30So my last one would be, man, figure out what you was put on this earth to do. And I mean every single chance you have to do it. Do it. And when you're not doing it, enjoy your life. my son was like, Dad, I'm tired. I said, you tired? You burnt out for what? Look at your mom and dad. You work for the family company. What are you doing? Well, I've been up the last six days working 10, 12 hours. I said, for what? What would you be doing that for? Like, why wouldn't you take advantage of the... He said, what should I be doing? I said, you should figure out what it is you do. He's a designer. Right?

38:03You should be designing clothes Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, whenever. Five, six hours a day. and then Saturday, Sunday or Friday, Saturday, because of your family, you should get a trip somewhere and go spend it with a friend. You should go to Italy. You should go to Rome. You should go to South Africa. You should go to the Gold Coast in Australia. Son, what are you doing? You should work. But a part of work also is where is your play? You should play. We worked hard so you could be back. So don't be like us. We grew up in a working class home. We grew up in Detroit. We grew up blue collar.

38:42You're not blue collar. So go enjoy your life. Be balanced. So I'm not just saying find your North Star in terms of what you've been called to do for others. But there should be a healthy amount of time that you spend enjoying your life, you know, and enjoying the little time that you have here. We both know we won't be doing this podcast 100 years from now. Sure. We don't know how much longer we have. But I won't be 154 sitting down talking to you. So however much time I have left, I need to work hard and I need to enjoy that time. Absolutely. Those are beautiful, man. I've heard you talk about a concept I want to share in a second.

39:23But I feel like there's a group of people we've been talking to, you've been talking to, that are the people that maybe don't have the opportunities they want. They don't have the life they want. They feel like people are holding them down. That's one group. Then there's another group of people, which I feel like is a majority of people that have a good life. It's okay. It's good, but they're not living a great life for themselves. Maybe they got a good job and they're pretty healthy, got a decent relationship, but there's something missing. I think if that resonates with anyone listening or watching, comment below or leave a like if you feel like, yeah, my life is good, but I feel like something's off.

40:01You have this great concept called creating a mental rock bottom to push yourself towards your goals. Can you share more about kind of some practical steps of creating your own mental rock bottom so that you can go to the next level in your life? Okay. I want to use the term that you use and you said create. And I just think so many of us have stepped into careers, that group. We have worshiped careers more than we worship create. And so the first thing I would say to that group is, what would life look like if you did it on your terms? Because right now, you're really not doing it on your terms.

40:37What you've done is say, yo, if I want to survive, if I want to strive, this is what I have to do. And you have allowed people to tell you, okay, you need to be an engineer. Or you need to be a, and you need to move in. So you've done a phenomenal job in being obedient. You've done a phenomenal job in complying. Yes. Like, you've done a phenomenal job. You follow the rules. Yes. Congratulations. You know what I'm saying? Like, you didn't rob a bank. You know what I'm saying? Like, you haven't done anything illegal. You did exactly what a good child should do. And I have a daughter that I have to get on her sometimes because she's that child that's like, yo, dad, what do you guys want me to do?

41:15And I said, do me a favor. Don't always be obedient. Like, you need to sit down and ask yourself, if you weren't thinking about the family's name, if you didn't, if Eric Thomas, E.T. the hip hop preacher was not your father, what would you be doing? What would you be doing if you didn't have to worry about honoring, you know, the dynasty? And you do a phenomenal job of honoring this dynasty. I'm not saying anything. Went to school, handled your business. You've never been in trouble before. We've never had to spend money doing anything. You've been a phenomenal child. But what would you do if you live life on your terms and you were able to go where you're going to do?

41:53And so that's the first thing I would ask them to do. I want you to think about your life instead of the life, because that's what you've been thinking about, the life. Now, think about your life, and I want you to start putting it everywhere. Now, the next thing I want you to do is I want you to know that if you have the ability, like I'll never forget. CJ was like, OK, you know what you're missing that the big boy, all the big boy speakers, you know what you're missing? And I was like, no. He was like, the New York Times bestseller. Now, I'm not telling you got to do it, but I'm saying that's what's missing.

42:21Yeah, yeah, yeah. You got it. You got it. So he was like, first of all, do you want it? Do you want it? Don't do it because I'm saying you need it. But do you want it? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And he could elevate you, but do you want it? And I was like, yeah, I want it. The next question becomes, what does it take to do it? And then am I willing to do what it takes to get it? Yeah. No, that's it. Because it's a lot. It's a lot. But here's the thing. I believe if you think about it, it is only because somewhere inside of you, you have what it takes. Now, capacity is there. Willingness is something totally different.

42:57Yes. That's different. But I want every human to know you wouldn't be watching the school. You wouldn't be watching or listening to the school of greatness if you didn't believe you were great. I'm just I'm just for real. You wouldn't be spending time with this man on a regular basis. I'm telling you, I wouldn't be going to Columbus. Bruh, I drove to Columbus. Bruh, it's not a – trust me when I tell you it's not a – you don't get off the freeway. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's not 65 and you get up. Why did I go? Because this man is great and greats want to hang with greats. I need you all to understand.

43:31Look, you all may not know. Listen to me. I've got nomad suitcases that I still carry this day because he gave them to me. Like, I didn't buy a new one. I've carried the exact same ones that he gave me. And my son bought a set because I had a set. Because it reminds me of him when I travel. It's like greatness. So you wouldn't be watching. You wouldn't be locked in. Something in your spirit has you tuned into this bed because you know you're great. Now you got to say to yourself, am I willing to cooperate with the greatness that's in me? And then once you do and you start consistently operating in that, you're going to feel good about it.

44:11Here's what you have to do. You have to understand. Andre DeShields, I think, said the top of one mountain is the bottom of the next. Wow. So so so you get to the top of the mountain. But you understand the GED was just one. The foreign degree was just one. The master just after the PhD was the New York. After that, it's the assessments, it's the training, it's the coaching. I'm in masterminds. I get coached. Yeah. Right. And so it's this idea of yesterday's greatness can't be enough because I'm alive today. So if I'm alive today, it must be some more greatness in me. And it's my job, like the toothpaste, it's my job not to just lose.

44:52I don't know about you, but I would just use a little bit of it and get another one. He's getting the last drop. I'm squeezing. I got money. I'm squeezing that toothpaste. Why? Because I'm trying to get everything out the tube before I go to another one. And with my life before I get out of here, which is why I could murder myself, that I didn't realize at 12 that I was great. And that's why I said you got to check in 2025, you 2025. Right. Because I didn't know I was great. And once I checked in and realized how great I was, I was like, bro, we're going to keep doing this until the day we die.

45:28And so I would just say to you, you're watching, you're in this space, you're reading his books, you're going to his conferences. because you know it's in you and it's time to stop being lazy and it's time to it's time to activate it i love that man well here's the thing why i think a lot of people might stay stuck is they they allow their feelings to keep them in place of frustration you have this great example that you say execution should be fact-based not feeling basic but people feel the overwhelm of the economy or the government or their parents or their partner or whatever the responsibilities of the world, they feel anxious, avoided, overwhelmed, burnt out, like doubtful, insecure, and they allow feelings to consume their inaction.

46:20So what's an example of how someone can shift from being driven by emotions into fact-based actions towards their goals? This is what you teach, man. The meditation thing. People don't take it serious. This is the time to get control of your mind. And for most of us, our mind is in control of us. So when you talk about meditating, it's like this is a habit of the greats. And one of the habits of those individuals who are not where they want to be is I'm not trying to be funny, but it's like lazy. To actually meditate regularly is a discipline. It is, man. It's not easy. It's not easy to get control of your...

47:02I'm like, where did that thought come from? Right? So, guys, let's go back to the 12-year-old that found the birth certificate. Right? We found the birth certificate. We found the birth certificate in the emotional state. We found it in an emotional state. Listen to me. I'm not the first kid who has ever gone through this experience. And you know what? I had to ask myself in that mirror at 16, 17, 18. I had to keep asking myself, when you saw it, why did you see it that way? Why did you not call your mom and say, mom, you wouldn't talk about this? Why didn't you go, hey, mom, the counselor, can we go sit down and talk to the counselor?

47:42Hey, mom, call dad. Can we just sit down? And listen to me. I went from, I can't believe that you would do me like this. I went from a ball of emotions to living in abandoned buildings. It was the most, it was the stupidest decision I had probably ever made. I put myself in so much danger as a 12-year-old, 13-year-old, homeless. Based on emotions. On emotions. So the same document, nothing changed about it. But if I could go back as this adult and look at that, I would look at it as facts and go, wow, your mother protected you. Wow, your mom loved you so much that she didn't want you with your biological father because she thought he could be a threat.

48:21Right, wrong, or indifferent. Your mom didn't do this because she was trying to hurt you. your mom did this because she was trying to protect you your mom brought you into a family your mom didn't try to hide the identity she wanted this man to be your father he didn't he changed your name and gave you his last name wow he treated me as if i was his own wow he didn't lie he made his family treat me as if i was and don't ever say anything about my past because my past has nothing to do with him making a decision at the courthouse to be my dad wow it's the same document. One emotional. The other one is factual.

48:58Your mother loves you. Your mother cares for you. Your mother's trying to put you in a healthy environment. Your mother has a job. Your mother married somebody who was a foreman at GM. He has a job. He has a college degree. He played basketball. He's a responsible man. He protects us from taking emotion. Wouldn't let me be rational. Emotional wouldn't let me think rationally. It had me irrational. So I would say when you make emotional decisions, you get emotional consequences. But it takes meditation. It takes controlling of the mind to say, how should I behave? How should I think in this situation?

49:38And what's going to give me the best outcomes? And I'm going to be honest, I've learned we can save the emotions for when I'm looking at the nomad bag and going, man, that's my boy. Thank you. Why would you even buy me? Like what would make you think of, and this is a perfect gift. You know what I'm think to buy suitcases for myself that's where the emotion should be me coming in seeing you hugging you what's up fam but when it comes to business yeah when it comes to being a leader and a decision maker we're not doing emotions we're doing empirical evidence wow we're doing facts what does the fact say what does the research say what does the evidence say okay and based on the research and the evidence this is the game plan let's go it doesn't matter how you feel yeah Yeah, don't matter how you feel.

50:18Man, I love this. Yeah. Again, if we're talking about really developing kind of a bulletproof mindset when the last five years for a lot of people has been a lot of stress, overwhelming anxiety, in order to have a more powerful, resilient mindset, how important is it for not just me and you, because I already know the answer for me and you, how important is it for everyone to have mentors in their life? It's everything, man. Listen to me. I never even thought about being a multimillionaire or a billionaire until I was in the room with Warren Buffett. I didn't even know how much it was worth when I was in the room afterwards.

50:59And then this all started making sense. Okay, now that I know who I am, you, 2025, like, check, I know who I am. Now it's, oh, real estate is a way? Oh, so you mean to tell me that being a blue collar, okay, that's what my parents knew. but you don't make a whole bunch of money work. You make more money when you put your money to work. Oh, that's real estate. Oh, helping kids who are talented figure out their talent and taking a percentage. Oh, okay. I didn't even know this stuff existed. Got it. And so it is important. Bob Proctor pulling me to the side. How much do you charge? You should be charging.

51:36Les Brown calling me and said, I'll meet you in Orlando. Les Brown sitting me down, talking to him. Listen to me. Coach, it is everything. Why? Because I just said, think of Michael Jordan without Phil Jackson. Right. Think of Venus and Serena without Richard Williams. Like, yo, I just want you to picture Kobe without Phil Jackson. Think about Tim Brooke without Mike without. You know what I'm saying? Tim Grover. Come on, about Tim. So coaching is critical, and here's what's going to blow your mind. When you get to our level, you really need more coaching. because we didn't exhaust all the stuff.

52:15You really need coaching. After Jordan won his first championship, he didn't say, I think I've got it figured out on my own. I don't need a coach. He said, let me find Tim to train me. Let me find the mindset coach, the recovery coach. You know, make sure we're getting to the next level. They said, I read it, but it's research. I'm almost sure it's true. That LeBron, look at LeBron, what he's doing right now. It's amazing, man. Bro, let me check it out. A 40? Check in Duncan. Whoever had the arguments, you know what I'm saying? Because there were those of us who was alive. Yeah. We watched George do his thing.

52:46But, bro, what LeBron is doing right now, but when I do my research and not emotional about, oh, how is he doing this? No, when I do my research, he's spending$1.5 million on his body. Recovery coaches, meaning dietary coaches. Everything. Meaning mental and emotional coaches, acting coaches. Like, he got on. And so you see the decision he made and you see, okay, yeah, he was great. But that investment that he made in himself and now look, his son is in. And then he got another son. These are decisions that he's making. He's not emotional. These decisions are based on facts of experts. And then we're seeing the outcomes of it.

53:24We're seeing the numbers that he's putting up at this age versus the, and nobody's ever put these kinds of numbers up at this particular age. So we all need coaches, you know? And so that's why I've made the decision that, E, the one area that you need to step up in, speaking is good, traveling the world, talking, but you got to, the same way people open up doors for you and walk you through, you have got to do the same thing. And I've literally, the last two years, have had a small group of people that every morning I wake up with and I train them for an hour every single morning. It's amazing.

54:01And what's amazing about that is to see the difference between people I coach and people who watch me online. Wow. It's a difference. You're watching me online. You're getting the motivation, but you're not getting the daily schedule. You're not getting the things to do list. You're not getting the mindset. You're not getting the analytics. You're not getting the blueprint. So it's like you're watching and then you are in turn. And this is why I think audio books are good. But I think training with our books are good because people will read our books and interpret them in a way that we didn't intend for to interpret it.

54:35So when we do the training or they get to come to a conference where they get to watch the podcast, they're really investing more to what was he really saying? And if they can do what you're saying, that habit, they can get the outcomes of me and you get. Yeah, and it's also being around other people who are in that mindset, who are pushing and you're seeing them grow and it's influencing you to grow. And you're, so it's the community aspect of we're getting coached together. We're growing together. We're working on our goals together, all that stuff. I wanted to ask you a couple more questions before we wrap up.

55:08Again, we're going back to the 12-year-old you who's down and out figuring about your dad's not your biological dad in your life. Your mom lied, you know, challenges in life. and we're talking about where you're at now. Where do you think you'd be without a spiritual relationship with God in your life over the last 30 plus years with all the ups and downs? Where would you be in life right now, the ETU with no spiritual relationship? I'd say either dead. I'd say dead. Really? Yeah, because I was an extremist. You know, everything I did, I did it to the fullest. You know, so I think I would be dead, honestly.

55:47I would say this to simplify for people because sometimes when you talk spirituality, it's just, for some people, it's just too deep. I would say to you, what happened when I, you know, made a commitment to God is that I connected with the person that made me, that knew me like nobody else knew me. And he coached me from the 12-year-old to God. He coached me. He's like, bro, I know you. I made you inside out. I know what's the best environments for you. I know who's good for you, who's not good for you. I know your temptations. I know your vices. You know, I know your good habits, your bad habits.

56:18and just let me teach you. Wow. You know, and so it was maybe five, six years of fighting. Resisting. Resisting, you know, because he introduced himself to me at eight. And I guess maybe it was too young, but homeless. I was like at 16, like, okay, I'm ready to get coached. Where's that coaching program you sent you? I'm ready for that coach. And so from 16 to maybe 25, you know, it was like, okay, I'm going to come to coaching some days, some days, some days. some days i'm going in some days i'm not and then my son was born i was almost 25 years old jaylen was born and um jaylen was born in 1995.

56:56i turned um 25 in september he was born july 20th and when jaylen was born it was the day coach said to me this is why i've been trying to train you because i wanted you to be the best father you could be yeah and so you miss him you miss some classes. You missed some lessons. Your son is here now. He needs the best version of you. Wow. We can't, we can't, we can't repeat the mistakes of the past. And so I need you to hurry up. And so when Jalen was born from that day forward, you know, I remember when he was born, I held him. It was kind of like, he looked at me like, you're the person that's going to take care of me.

57:37Wow. You know, and that was the day. And this is what a lot of you are running from. It's the R word. And I get it because it's tough. Responsibility. That was the day where it was like, you know, you got to be responsible for somebody else. Yeah. You cannot. You got. I've never played a video game since Jalen was born. Wow. I've read more books since Jalen was born. That first year or two that I ever read in my life. I took my career seriously speaking. I start, you know, Zig Ziglar, you know, Nightingale, you know, Ogmundino. Yeah. Bob Proctor. Oh, bro. You name him. Dennis Kimbrough. Like I went.

58:11I went deep. I went heavy. you know um Arthur Ashe you know days are great and I read everything I was in the library like an addict just studying and studying and studying and it was because I didn't want the I didn't want some of the consequences of the past to come in this generation you know and so for me it was like yo your son's here you got to handle your business and I just heard I was more attentive I started getting up at six and then I'd play this game daylight saving times would come i would okay say don't follow it stay up at five is the new and then the next year the four and then i got started getting up at three and i started getting up at three o 'clock in the morning because it was still there was no dogs outside nobody was driving around the family was asleep and i was like okay coach i'm sorry let's go back over the lessons i didn't get and let's go over the new lessons like coach me show me show me nobody knows me and i tell people I had a brand new Cadillac, man.

59:06It had 10 ,000 miles and the engine blew. And I immediately took it back to Cadillac. I didn't take it to BMW. I didn't take it to Honda. I took it straight to Cadillac. And I went right back to the creator. I was like, yo, you made me. And I'm tearing this car up. I'm not putting oil in it. I'm not changing the rotating the tires. I'm not putting fluid in it. Show me how to take care of this. And he began to show me how to do it. And it's just amazing to see when we're on one accord and I'm following the... He told me, he's like, yo, it's I think I called you maybe last year. I'm like, yo, I need to.

59:37And he was like, no, no, you're just supposed to call and say, what's up? You know, and then this time it was like, yep, you need to do it. You know, I was like, all right, I got it. Brandon, I think I was like, all right. You know what I'm saying? So just listening to him doing what he's telling me to do and let him coach me. So I would say, you know, don't spiritualize it and make it too. It's the coach and just get a relationship with the coach. Let the coach get a relationship with you and just do what he tells you to do. And you're going to love the results. you alluded a little bit about, you know, this version of you is kind of speaking to your 16 year old self and saying like, here's what you need to do.

1:00:09Stop doing that. Start doing this. Like whether that was you in the future or God speaking to you in the future, in the future, like, Hey, this is what your higher self needs you to do right now. Yeah. What do you feel like God is speaking to you now or your future self is saying to you now for the wisdom you need to here to take you to the next this this this this this is what god is saying you spent all of your mature life pouring into people who can't do a whole lot for you you spent some kind of way in your soul you feel like because of where you were and all these people that help you get to where so it's like you like you feel like you owe people to not be a mutual relationships like you feel like you're so blessed and you have so much it's almost a survivor of guilt and now you just got to be with people who you got to pull and you got to be with people that you got to beg to and you got to be with people who you just got to bless and you may not get nothing back he like no no no in this season these relationships have always been there for you but you haven't taken advantage of them because it's like i gotta help and i gotta fix and i gotta be a i gotta savior's complex i gotta help you help you help you because somebody helped me and i wouldn't be And CJ said to me, Eric, no, the only reason it worked is because you wanted it to work.

1:01:29Those mentors didn't do nothing for you. They did, but you had to want it. You're helping people that don't even want to be helped. They want a handout. They don't want to be helped. Now, the rest of your life, son, be in relationships where it's mutual. Just, bro, this might seem insignificant to you. But, you know, they called me and was like, yo, let us know when you get here. and I was like alright I'll be there you know whatever and he was like no no no tell us you know when you pull up I'm like tell you when I pull up like I can get upstairs on my own they're like no no no tell us when you get there we're gonna meet you downstairs oh and you want anything from Starbucks no I'm like nah I'm good I didn't say anything to her I was like nah I'm just in the car I'm good I can get my own Starbucks he said no no no no no I'm trying to teach you something she didn't ask you if you had money to buy Starbucks she asked you did you want something from starbucks and i said you know what i even texted her and said you know i i i normally say no yeah i don't say yes to this kind of stuff but you know what yes i'd like a grande medicine ball with no honey but three agave wow you you know and she was like okay you want to get you need to use the rest you need whatever and he was like yo this is the season ah you're pouring out so receive get something receive get in these mutual relationships and get something so that's what i'm hearing him say you know as i come today it's like you these relationships have been there for you and you've done your part to make sure you stay alive but you don't always you don't always allow people to reciprocate you know so that's the season for me is like hey bless the world and hey if you don't ever put out another video there's enough videos and all kind of content for people to now look out for Eric Thomas.

1:03:17Now put Eric, now go to the weddings. Stop working all the time. Now go to the events. Stop just working all the time and stop just you and your wife or your little. No, no. There are other communities that are waiting to bless you in the way you've blessed others. And it's time for you to enjoy that. Yeah. So that's what he's telling me. You deserve to receive, man. I would acknowledge you, Eric, for being in this season of life because I've known you for 10 years, but you put so much focus on giving in a big way, which is a beautiful blessing. But I think you can also give and receive at the same time.

1:03:55It doesn't have to be mutually one way. Just give, give, give, give, and like exhaust yourself to like serve, serve, serve, serve, and then you can give nothing back to self. So I really acknowledge you for being in a season of like, how can I give and receive? How can I deepen these relationships with people who, because I know people try to pour into you. Absolutely. But you're always too busy or you're trying to give, give, give or you're traveling nonstop. I got to help save the kids and teenagers. Of course, dude. And so I acknowledge it for, you know, acknowledging this season of life for you and saying like it's time to like, and I can even see it in your face, in your chest, even just energetically when I saw you today.

1:04:33I was like, man, you look healthy. Yeah. Healthier. And I think it's because you're allowing yourself to receive it. And so it's really beautiful, man. It is. I'm glad you're in that space. You and me both. You look younger, too. You and me both. You know what I mean? And you know what? I've got people in my life who have, you know, my God choked at church. E, what do you need? I have people who've been there and I haven't even allowed. And so it's like, no, there are a few people already in your circle who try. You got to let them fully. 100%. And then there are other people not in your circle of influence who have been trying that.

1:05:05Sure. And you got to receive. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Receive. Receive, man. I love this, man. Okay, so you can get my email. Yeah, exactly. Well, if people want to learn more, they can go to u2025.com. They can also go to, I think it's erictomas.com or ETTheHipHopPreacher on Instagram, YouTube. Obviously, lots of great free content if you're not able to sign up for the challenge right now. It is free. Yeah, yeah. The challenge is free. There you go. u2025.com. Make sure you guys check that out. Leave a comment of the thing that spoke to you and resonated the most with you below on YouTube as well. and always make sure to share that with a friend that you think would empower them to step up in their life in a powerful way.

1:05:45Two final questions for you, Eric. I appreciate your time. Yeah, me too. I appreciate this opportunity. I think I asked you this seven years ago last time you were on, but I'm going to ask it again and see where you're at now. You keep evolving as a human. This is a question called the three truths. So it's a hypothetical scenario. Say you get to live to 150. You get to live as long as you want. We got to come back and do it. Right, yeah, yeah, yeah. Before then, you get to live as long as you want, but it's the last day on the list for you. You're as old as you want to be. You get to create and accomplish and give and receive all the things you want, but it's the last day, very far in the future.

1:06:23And for whatever reason on this hypothetical scenario, you've got to take all of your content with you. So the world has no more access to ETs, content, books, challenges, YouTube. It's all, for whatever reason, hypothetically gone. called oh i know right it's a hypothetical it's not gonna happen but let's just say let's just say this but on the last day god says you know what i'm gonna let you leave three things behind three lessons from all the wisdom you've gained and all the content you created all your experiences you get to say three final things three truths and this would stay forever for people to watch chair what would those three chairs be so the first one is unplug unplug from everybody you know unplug from everybody i don't know if this is one but unplug from everybody and plug with the creator man like plug with the person that brought you into the space knows you loves you you know unplug number two man find love you know um dd man dd it's just been so rich being in a healthy relationships beautiful you know um because it shows you who you're not like it's not what you think it's not just this warm fuzzy you know but didi has been like hey you're a great human but you got to work on this you know um and then the last one man love you know love it's so easy to see our differences it's so easy to you know the things that are you know polar opposite you grew up here you could i believe in this i believe that you vote this way you vote this way i believe this i believe it it's so easy to let one or two things separate you when it's about a hundred things that you guys have in common because you're human yeah you know and so it's just like love and i think of a lot of my friends who've never gotten to go out of our community never meet anybody outside of our little world and to be in Dubai or New Zealand or, you know, wherever.

1:08:31Travel in love. So that's the last one. Love. But don't love in your little pocket. Like, get out and meet different people who come from different spaces and places and just see how dope the creator is by being around the people who he created. Absolutely. Because he created you and not like me. And so there's so much dopeness, you know, around you that I can get into. But I do. you know, I have a lot of, I have a lot of friends, you know, the thing I love about you is I've done podcasts with people. I just don't because people were energetic, but I always know when I'm with you, it's not about energy.

1:09:10It's about inward. And you make me go inward in a way that I don't have to do with a lot of people. So many people are surface. They don't make you go inward. Whenever I'm with you, it's like, no, E, let's have a meaningful, we may only be together for an hour, but let's make it meaningful and deep, so when I walk out of here, my wife is about to get a new version of me, so I'll say love, but travel and meet all the different people from all the different walks of life, eat different food, see the world different, live in different spaces, and just see how good the creator is by introducing yourself to the ones he created.

1:09:46Wow, that's beautiful. I love those. yeah final question what's your definition of greatness man um i'll just say this verse

1:09:59well done thou good and faithful servant you've been faithful over a few i'll make you rule over many to me greatness is fulfilling the purpose of the manufacturer so if i made this cup i i want to put whatever I want to put in the cup. I don't want the cup telling me I don't want to do that. And so for me, it's like, what is it that you want me to do? And there was a time you wanted me to save the world. Now you want me to save myself. Oh my gosh. So if that's what you, if that's what you want now, if that's the new thing you're asking me to do, I just want to make the manufacturer go, I created this for this use and I am, I am utilizing it in the way that it should be used.

1:10:44And that's, you know, of course you got to evolve and grow and do all the stuff you have to do. But yeah, that's to me, that's what greatness is. The creator getting everything out of you, not just you. Because I feel like, if you're creating to get everything out of me, I'm going to have a great life too. But it doesn't necessarily mean I've been married for a while. I've been happy. And my wife was like, I'm not as happy as you are. And I'm like, what? We happy. She said, no, no, you're happy. But there's some things I need you to do that you're not doing. I'm like, well, you're doing everything.

1:11:12It's like that two things could be true. But you're not. And so I don't want to just be happy. I want the creator to go, I'm grateful that I created you. And I see you're doing in the world what it was that I wanted you to do. And now also for yourself, what I wanted you to do, because I wanted you to be happy too. I didn't want your life to just be about work and being a blessing. I wanted you to be blessed as well. So that's it. My man, ET. My brother. Appreciate you, man. I hope you enjoyed today's episode and it inspired you on your journey towards greatness. Make sure to check out the show notes in the description for a full rundown of today's episode with all the important links.

1:11:53And if you want weekly exclusive bonus episodes with me personally, as well as ad-free listening, then make sure to subscribe to our Greatness Plus channel exclusively on Apple Podcasts. Share this with a friend on social media and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts as well. Let me know what you enjoyed about this episode in that review. I really love hearing feedback from you and it helps us figure out how we can support and serve you moving forward. And I want to remind you if no one has told you lately that you are loved, you are worthy, and you matter. And now it's time to go out there and do something great.

1:12:36No, no, no, no.