Eric Thomas - The Hip-Hop Preacher Redux

Full transcript: Eric Thomas on London Real

0:00 This week on London Real, we have Eric Thomas, the hip-hop preacher. I came to London with a specific purpose, an assignment that I’m here to get something done. All roads lead through hard work. So if you don’t like to work hard, then you might want to cut back on some of your little dreams and some of your goals. But if you dream big, you better work even harder.

0:26 And then my haters say what’s on their mind, you know, and sometimes what they say is real, you know, that there are some adjustments that I need to make. You’ve got to be courageous enough to be able to look at yourself and say everything about me is not solid. Whatever you do, because it speaks of who you are, don’t do it if you’re not going to do it great. Why waste my time? With pain, when I see pain coming, I don’t try to push it to the side, I don’t try to rush through the process, I feel it, you know, because once it’s over, I can use that energy.

1:09 I just want to go down in history as this guy motivated as many people as he could possibly motivate and he changed the course of their life and maybe even a course of history by using his gift. London Real presents Eric Thomas, the hip-hop preacher, Redux. When I invested in myself, other people began to invest in me. When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, only then will you be successful. I’m quoting Eric Thomas, the hip-hop preacher who was made famous in a video on YouTube that was filmed many, many years ago where he was speaking to a young high school class I believe somewhere in America and it was actually a video that he had forgot about and someone had posted and it had very few views and as he told me during this episode when he was in London all of a sudden it just kind of went viral and people discovered who Eric was and he’s now gone on to become one of the most famous motivational speakers he now does commentary for NFL and baseball and he’s become a huge brand in the US and he calls it the ET brand and now he has a YouTube channel and videos that he puts out every Monday called TGIM. Thank God it’s Monday and his excitement and his passion is infectious and I was rewatching this video which I filmed with Silly Breaks as co-hosts back when we used to have the trial on format and as I told Eric in the beginning I just get excited when I watch you and he’s such a motivating guy. He was a former

2:53 Baptist preacher in the South and you can feel the way that he kind of owns the stage and has a real presence about him in that way that kind of only comes from the South when it comes to those kind of Baptist speakers and priests and ministers. And so I was just so excited to rewatch this episode and try to get the knowledge. You know sometimes I’m interviewing guests and I don’t hear them like you guys get to hear them because I’m busy worried about the next question or all those things going on and so really to listen to what Eric has to say it it’s really humbling he was so excited to be in London we barely made this show happen I was juggling balls and trying to coordinate people and even the day of the show Sully and I waited a couple hours I think for Eric to finally make it and you know I was just so happy to get him to sit down with us in this old trial log format and I’ve recut this video for you so it’s a single person single camera and you can really get all of Eric kind of going in but it’s really special to be have him for 90 minutes talking like this. I don’t think anyone could get him to do this video today because he’s just such a busy and such a popular guy but he was excited to be in London he had just done like a private seminar around the London Eye and you know he had his whole crew with him he rolls like 20 deep his family was there his mom was there I I met her outside and and it was just really a positive to sit down with Eric

4:15 He had also just coached Anthony Pettis from the UFC who is now you know the the champion at 155 pounds and he just spent some time with Anthony definitely check that video out on YouTube and go to Eric Thomas’s channel and check that out so we’ve re-released this plus you can see a young silly breaks co-hosting with me when we were kind of early part of our friendship so it’s a lot of fun to re-release this and I will be doing a few more of these Redux episodes from some of the old school and bringing it to the new school. So I hope you like that. Eric Thomas is so special, he’s one of a kind and it’s funny, I forget some of the great people we’ve had on the show and Eric Thomas is top 10 easily and I hope you really listen to what he has to say and I think you will really enjoy it.

4:57 You might be noticing I’m wearing something different, yes I have a shirt on with buttons, I know it’s a little different, I’m a week back from the castle in Scotland. I was at Guthrie Castle with Mr. Dan Pena for a one week long seminar where I was wearing a suit and tie every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner for seminars. It was six days of training and I have a lot to tell you about that. I will be releasing an article probably the day this comes out on our website.

5:27 It’s called either Dan Pena Before and After or I think is what the title will be and I’ll tell about my experience. And then next week we will have not one, but two interviews from Guthrie Castle, one before I took the seminar, and one eight days afterwards, after I had been given all the knowledge from Dan Pena. And I don’t want to spoil what happened, but I can quite unequivocally say that Dan Pena is the baddest motherfucker I know. He has so many facets to him, but more importantly he is just so congruent.

6:00 You know, when Dan is on camera, or off camera, or motivating you, or telling a story, he is always Dan, and I just haven’t met that many people like that. So I really was inspired, and a big thanks to him for having me up at the castle. It was a unique experience, one I will never forget, and definitely one of the most pivotal weeks of my life. So that’s coming up, and I’m back to London now, I’m back on the muscle ups tomorrow with my man Roger Frampton, so we’re going to be back on that, and that’s sponsored by the guys at Monkey Nutrition, you know, they are a different kind of supplement company, one that looks at things in an intelligent way, you know, in an organic way, and really questions about what you put in your body and what you don’t. So I’ve been using their Primal 26 to finally get this muscle up. Man, it’s hard, but I really think it’s going to happen in this calendar year, so I’ll be pumping that product and trying to figure that out a little bit myself. Plus, the guys have helped me out this week, and they sent me one of products called the Moodulator. So I just want to thank my man Neil over at Monkey Nutrition. He says he didn’t send me because I’m a moody bastard, but this is good stuff. It’s going to kind of boost my neurotransmitters and my hormone levels, improve mood, help my sleep. So I’m going to give it a try this week and I’ll be reporting back in a few weeks. As usual, you can get 5% off

7:18 All of the Monkey Nutrition products by using the code London when you check out and you can click on the link right here where the logo is, you’ll go to their site and yeah, love what they’re doing, you can get it in the US and the UK and support them as they support us to bring in these fabulous, fabulous episodes. And there you go, I started off in a graveyard, in London we don’t think of graveyards as bad places, they’re okay so parks are connected to them and everything’s going to be okay. And as I said, next week I will be bringing you Dan Pena in all of his glory and I am now on this mentorship program, so I’ll be reporting every hour of every week up to Mr. Peña to make sure that I’m not slacking. And that includes daily affirmations and all sorts of things that I will tell you more about when that drops next week. So that’s going to be exciting. And Dan was at the Bulletproof Conference in LA, checking out everything that Dave Asprey had to show them. And he was drinking Bulletproof Coffee every day of the seminar, as I do. And if you’re not familiar, it’s a coffee that’s free of molds and toxins. You mix it up with grass-fed butter and the brain octane oil and you drink it. And what can I say? High performers do it, including Peña. My guest yesterday, which is Ben Greenfield, one of the top Ironman competitors and a serious biohacker in his own right. And me, you know, everyone’s drinking it. So check that out. Check out the Bulletproof products. They’ve got a

8:40 New product called Unfair Advantage, which I’ve been knocking back in the morning and there’s definitely some interesting things going on there. I’m I’m pretty impressed so far, so check that out too. And yeah, just lots of love to those guys. They’ve been big supporters of the show, and we like that. So that’s it, I’m gonna keep strolling through and finishing off at the graveyard.

9:01 If you wanna pick up some gear, I’ve been getting great pictures from London Reelers, from Gibraltar, from Florida, from all over the world. So pick up your T-shirt, you can go to londonreel.tv, click on the gear section, grab a shirt, different colors, we’re gonna have coffee cups and soon as well. Tweet me a picture of where you are and I’ll retweet it to people in the world and guests as well. I just shouted out to chess grandmaster Gary Kasparov. He’s gonna be here in December but if you have any other ideas like that of who should be on the show hit me up at brianatlondonreal.tv and there you go. Like I said we’ll have more about the pania situation next week and until then really plug in and really try to listen to what Eric Thomas has to say.

9:45 This will be a man that will be remembered for many generations to come and I got a funny feeling he’s just getting warmed up. So now I leave you with Mr. Sully Breaks and Mr. Eric Thomas, the hip-hop preacher. This is London Real.

10:00 I am Brian Rose. With me today is Mr. Sully Breaks who is a spoken word artist. You would have seen him on this show a couple months ago. His episode is called Change Through Verse.

10:09 He’s racked up about 4 million views on YouTube with his videos. I hate school but love education and the America can’t dream you got a new video out. What’s that called? I will let not let an exam result decide my fate. Okay, that’s cool, too. Yeah, that’s very good Yeah, I know so is so this a real deal different check his stuff out You’ve been featured in the Washington Huffington Post you spoken at over a hundred universities, right?

10:32 That’s crazy. All right, and with us today is the hip-hop preacher himself. Mr. Eric Thomas You might have first seen him in his video when you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe If you haven’t seen that video, you must be from another planet. I Was asking I was talking to like grandmas I was talking to like French people people from Africa Spain I was like you heard of this. Oh, yeah. Yeah, I heard that guy So I don’t know that thing went viral in a weird way Yeah, I don’t know I didn’t have anything to do with it So I don’t know I went viral because like I asked people from all walks of life, you know Not just any type of person. They’re like yeah, yeah, yeah, I know him and I was like wow I didn’t realize so you had a big impact with that um Just speaks through when you see the video the voice just comes to you know I mean yeah, there’s something about it, but Eric is a motivational speaker an educator author activist and minister as well Absolutely, okay, and I’ve been watching your videos on YouTube, man I get excited just watching you you got this some series called TG. I am absolutely just thank God God is Monday and just trying to get folks to you know see just a different perspective see going to work is you asked for it I mean you signed up so you might as well put a hundred and twenty percent in it And I guarantee you if you look at it differently you’ll get a different result from it

11:49 I was thinking only you would come up with the title. Thank God is That’s like some Eric Thomas brand Yeah, I know I was watching that and watching you’re coming to London video, but anyways welcome to London Good to be here guys. I really appreciate it. Phenomenal experience, you know, it’s one thing to be here But my family’s here my wife my son my daughter. My kids will never be able to say I didn’t do anything I brought you to London at 17 and 15. My mother’s here. My mother-in-law. I think I just met your mother outside Yeah, so I don’t know if London’s ready for her and about 17 of us came from the team so phenomenal experience man I just wanted everybody to feel it to see it and I knew London would change them so it’s just phenomenal being here I was on the London Eye you know and I had a little VIP with a group of people there and it’s just like if the fact that people would even want to come and see me and spend time with me is unbelievable yeah you know I was thinking about I have different co-hosts on the show and I was trying to think who can handle Eric Thomas you know absolutely because I was telling Sully earlier and you know Sully’s the only Englishman in the room you know I’m from the States but I was just thinking you know I mean I have a little experience with with people who speak as passionately as you because I’m from America but over here I don’t think in Europe and in England I don’t think

13:16 They’ve ever met anyone like you oh they wait till they get a little they They just need to get a little bit in it and everybody will be doing it once I leave. How you finding the reception over here? It’s awesome, you know, it’s awesome. I don’t know if it’s because of the videos, because we have a close knit history together. I’m not sure what it is, but I mean, man, it has been overwhelming.

13:38 And just to see, you know, I’m over the pond. And to see that, you know, God told me, all the way from Detroit, you’re making a difference in my life. You know, so it has been phenomenal. I mean, they’ve just treated us first class from the time we landed to now. And so one of my staff members, he’s like, I’m moving in life.

13:57 You have to get them pounds up. Yeah, it’s not cheap over here. Absolutely, the American currency can’t hang. Yeah, yeah, but so far, man, it’s been phenomenal. Okay, and you’re giving a big, you’re giving the talk this weekend as well, the mermaid, right?

14:11 Absolutely, I’ve been doing a little, you know, a few smaller events, little intimate stuff, trying to you know speak to a group and make sure that we impact the group but the big show of course is on Saturday we’ve got a couple shows I think Sunday we’re doing some stuff as well so it’s been a packed schedule man okay you know for people that don’t know a whole lot about yeah I was just wondering if you just give us a quick kind of where you started to where you are right now I know you you were a high school dropout absolutely had some days homeless in Detroit and then I was watching the video of Eric and he said he had a vision when you were 17 I think and he said something else and he said for success only one person has to believe that’s it that’s one of the many things and I was wondering if you could explain yeah what what happened when you were 17 and you know my story is no different than a lot of people you know Drake said it best started from the bottom you know we’re in London you know so unfortunately my mom was a teen mom you know wasn’t Mary had me at 18 years old and you know it was just me and mom’s for a while moved to Detroit she married her husband adopted me I wasn’t really you know feeling my man like that wasn’t feeling the relationship and so you know just just a downward spiral didn’t take school serious didn’t take life serious and I end up at 16 so rebellious you know so angry with my mom that I eventually got kicked out the house I’m

15:37 Living in abandoned buildings eating out of trash cans you know hanging with the wrong group just going the wrong way man and you know one day I was like man I want better you know like I can’t I’m looking at guys on the block you know you either end up in jail or you’re dead like you don’t retire from the life that we were living and I was like this can’t it’s not it’s not for me man like I gotta be able to do something better you know and so I made my move you know I got in a different environment I start going to church start dating this young lady who really you know may help me accountable she’s like I’m going to college and I’m not dating a high school dropout you know and so I end up getting my GED going to college and for real a lot of people didn’t believe in me your mom you know came from nothing you know your daddy wasn’t in your life you didn’t do well in school so there’s a there’s a journey for that type of person I was like hey and not for me you know I’m going to be somebody and although people didn’t believe I always say you sometimes when you’re running a company when you first start a company you got to be the CEO the CFO you know You got to be the administrative assistant the mail mail clerk. You got to do everything and you know mail man You got to do it all and so from my personal life I became that person for me and I want everybody to hear this now There are hundreds of people maybe even thousand

16:55 I don’t know who believed in me, but it all happened because I believed in myself So once you invest in yourself people are willing to invest in you and I get tired sometimes, you know kids called me Mr. Thomas, I have this business or I have this idea. I want you to invest 3,000 pounds. I’m like, that’s your dream, that’s your vision. You have to invest in it more than anybody else.

17:20 And when you do that, then you’ll get other people to support you. So that’s just what I believe. You gotta believe in yourself before anybody else is gonna buy into your vision. Well, it’s definitely, I agree with that 100%. I mean, even with what I do, like he said, I’ve got like almost 4 million views, but prior to that, there’s a hundred videos on my channel which nobody watched, you know what I mean?

17:38 So yeah, it’s huge. So you’ve got to put in that, so you just believing in yourself ultimately does reap the rewards. So I can identify with that totally, man. I don’t know if I have 4 million hits, so that’s impressive, yeah. No, I’ve been there too.

17:51 I mean, this is the 92nd episode of London Real. Started this on a whim, everyone said we’re crazy, and first people said it’s too long, and now they say it’s too short, you know? And like you would say, I was watching another video of you And it’s like when you get the check in the mail all of a sudden people are like, oh what you’re doing is real Once we started getting views and subscribers and getting people on they’re like, oh, they’re not so crazy Yeah, and again, that’s that’s the reality that your reality is reality that that’s reality So I tell people, you know, I’m not just in London. I’m here with my son This is a reality like son I need you to see what your father is doing and I don’t want you to do what I’m doing doing but I want you to see all the work I put in you know all the videos all the stuff I do for free I want you to see it my wife was with me in Vegas you know and we couldn’t go it took us an hour and 15 to get to a restaurant you know people wanted to sign wanted me to sign autographs people you know wanted to take pictures and my wife is like whoa I was with you when you were and my wife didn’t really and I love my wife and no disrespect but you know my wife is about having a full-time job so in the beginning she was like what’s what is How are you going to get paid, how are we going to take care of our family, kids, have asthma, how are they going to get insurance, you know, health insurance in order to, you know, you

19:10 Know, go to the hospital. And I just told my wife, like, look, I don’t care who believes in me, this is a reality, you know, and so with each video, with each check, with each signature, with each, whatever we do, that becomes reality. So I want my kids to walk in it, I want them to, you know, fly first class and see that, Whatever it is they want to do, they don’t need anybody’s support, they just need to know if they can see it in their mind, eventually it will manifest into the physical realm.

19:39 Do you draw power from all the people you bring with you, or is this like a celebration and a thank you? I mean, you’re rolling 17 deep, that’s an entourage. Oh yeah, man, that’s fair on there. No, I draw inspiration, man, from every person that comments. It’s tough, you’re looking at a camera, talking to a camera, you’re not talking to a human being.

19:57 It’s a camera. You’re not in a live audience where you’re getting at feet. So in my mind, I’m thinking about each person that I’m talking to, and I’m looking at the camera like you, people say all the time, like, Eric, I felt like you were talking to me. I was talking to you. That’s exactly who I was talking to.

20:12 So in my mind, I envision, you know, this young entrepreneur who’s out here trying to make it happen, and you’re hitting roadblocks, you know, but you know, you got a gift. Brinks got a gift. know that that is creativity is innovation is is something that people never heard before and so every now and then you might get discouraged so I want to be that guy that motivates you because you’re motivating thousands. I want to motivate you because you are in a relationship you do have a wife you do have children you are getting up and going to the same job you do have a vision that nobody’s believing in and so I want to be your cheerleader like I want to pump you up I want to and so I draw from all the different people all the stories I’ve heard you know of you know what I want to accomplish you know in people’s lives and so that energy comes from within but it’s every tweet tweet it’s every post you know it’s every phone call it’s every signature I sign I’m signing signatures and asking questions and listening like who am I signing this to who are you well who do you want me to sign us to who are they and so that’s the inspiration that I pull that allows me to do what I do and keep doing what I do how do you how do you get in your zone and relax a bunch of people asked us like how does he sleep you know how does he how do you ever kind of cool down or do you not need to eat he don’t sleep in it it has to be um you

21:33 Know me and my wife or family on vacation and my wife has to like look give me your phone you know cut the computer off you know and I have to go into that all right your family gives so much of you that this is the time for for you you know you gotta pour back into them you know but but you have to literally force me I mean we got in as soon as we got in I’m doing interview after interview after interview they’re like ET did you eat like no this is my food like give me the next interview all right and I give me the next one 30 minutes and I how do you do it and it’s because I wasted so much time in my life you know I wasn’t using my gift I was being rebellious I was a disobedient I was getting in trouble with the law and I was one of those kids that literally I was going to be a statistic and so now I’m in London like how do you sleep when you have the opportunity like I’m only gonna be here seven days so I have to get as much done as I can in seven days why because if I do what I’m supposed to do in a seven the next time is 30 but if I don’t take advantage of each opportunity then I may never come back to London but I want my kids not only visit London once I want them to say hey dad we’re out of school I know you got work in London, so let’s go hang out in the summer in London.

22:48 I don’t want you to taste success once, and then you go back to being who you are. I want London to be a reality. It wasn’t a visit. I want you to come shop in London. You haven’t shopped here yet.

23:00 You haven’t taken a class here. You haven’t met the people. You haven’t been immersed in the culture. You’re just visiting London. The next time, I want you to learn from London.

23:10 So every interview I do, it’s got to be hot because it’s got to be, we want more of E.T. And that’s just kind of how I think, 86,400 seconds in a day, each one represents an opportunity and I have to take advantage of each one, why? Because each one creates another one. And so these moments are so, and that’s why I’m so pumped and so hyped because you only get so much time in a day, you only live for so long and I want to make each moment memorable You know you’re all about success and in trying to get people to act be successful Yeah And do you think in America especially that?

23:48 People are our kids are pressured too much to be successful and get that money and do that or do you think is not enough? Yeah, I think they’re pressured too much to get money and not be successful. Okay, you know for me success is I’ve been married 23 years I was in my children’s life. I know my gift. I know my purpose I’m passionate, money follows because when you have a service that you can provide for people that is genuine, that’s unique, that’s special and that’s needed like it really helps.

24:19 You don’t have a problem with people making an investment in themselves. I mean that’s what I see myself as like people are not buying anything when they get Eric Thomas. What they’re doing is investing in themselves. So they want to be motivated so that a football team may bring me in to speak. They’re not asking me to come in because I’m not saying that they don’t care about Eric Thomas, but they didn’t bring me in for Eric Thomas.

24:39 They brought me in because they felt like you’re going to give us that edge, that advantage we need, boom, to win that World Cup, or to win the Super Bowl, or whatever it is. So for me, people are making an investment in themselves. So success is being the best that I can be, and it’s not what you say, because you don’t know that I have three to four more gears. You’re comparing me to the other motivational speakers. So to me success is living your life to the fullest.

25:07 Is Mother Teresa not successful because she wasn’t considered to be a billionaire? Like I think she’s one of the most successful human beings. To me Gandhi was successful, Martin Luther King was successful. He was only a pastor at a church, you know like he wasn’t this business tycoon. So for me success is saying you’re going to do something and doing it.

25:25 Saying you’re going to be somebody and being that person every single day, every single moment no matter what the circumstances or the situation is. So I think we need to pressure people to be successful. Be who you are and break, that’s what I love. You’re talking about education versus going to school. Too many people are forced to go to school, but aren’t forced to learn.

25:45 You should want to learn. So what, you don’t get a degree, so what? You don’t get A. The kid who got all A’s, does that mean his life is richer because he memorized, you know, because he was able to retain information longer than me or he had some trick up that I couldn’t retain information, no, it doesn’t mean that. So for me, we’ve got to make this shift from making money to being successful, because successful people, in my determination, they will make money, but people who make money aren’t necessarily successful people.

26:15 And you say you hate average people. I hate average, I hate average, I hate average. And you said good is worse than average, right? Yeah, because it’s a facade. I mean, you think you’re getting something, Like, that’s like getting an imitation Louis or an imitation Gucci.

26:32 It looks so much like the real thing. I mean, it looks just like the real thing. It’s in the, they got it in the store. It’s got all the strappings and everything looked exactly the same, but it wasn’t manufactured by the real company. It’s inferior product.

26:45 And that’s what good is. Good has this image. At least with average, you know what you get. You know it’s not real, but there are people who are literally in, I don’t know about in London, but there are people in America who paid for what they thought was authentic because it looked so real. I mean, it looked like this is the real deal.

27:01 And now to discover that they got beat, that that watch that they got wasn’t a real Rolex. You know, that that diamond ring that they got wasn’t real. But it looked so much, and so good, looks so close to great. Some of the characteristics are so, the traits are so close, but it’s not. And so that’s why I hate good because it looks like great is not, but average, man, average people, You know, they don’t serve my food properly.

27:27 You know, they don’t pick me up when they said they were gonna pick me up. You know, they say eight, but they meant nine. You know, and I tell people, the reason why I’m so aggravated is because, you know, for real, honestly, and this may sound weird to you guys in the studio, but if you burn down my house, as much as it may, you know, be like, oh, you burned down my house, I can buy nothing. And they can actually, my grandmother’s house was burned down about five years ago, and we grew up in that home.

27:52 Listen to me, guys. They redid the house. It looks exactly like the house we grew up in. It’s not the house, but it looks exactly like the house. You could take my money out the bank, guys, and I could get a couple more engagements and I could put that money back.

28:06 But once you take time from me, I can never get that back again. I can never get yesterday back. I can’t get a second back in 2012. I can’t get it back. So I take time so serious because it’s the only commodity that once is spent.

28:21 You can never regain it. And so average people don’t understand the importance of time. And so that’s what aggravates me is that while you’re being average, you’re dragging me into your reality when that’s not my world. And I don’t wanna live in that world. So I like to hang with great people because they get it.

28:39 And people who are good, transitioning to great, they’re not stuck in great, they get it. They understand my passion. They understand I was with, I wasn’t, is it Edgar? Edgar Davis yesterday. The Davis, yeah.

28:53 The football player. The football player. Me and Edgar are talking and it’s a wonderful conversation because we both did it. And we’re going back and forth and back and forth. He was one of the best.

29:02 We’re going back and forth and back and forth and he’s like, Eric, I don’t understand some of these guys that play now. They don’t have to drive. They’re not hungry. And it’s because they don’t see that opportunities have to be seized. You have to and so that’s why I have a problem with average and good.

29:19 They frustrate me because they’re facade. They look to be a certain thing, but in reality, it’s not what it appears. They say that you’re the average of the five people that you spend time with. Absolutely. Do you believe that?

29:31 I do. I do. That’s why I try to spend as much time alone as I can. I’m just kidding. And what about the average people, do you edit them out of your life?

29:40 Are you ruthless? I mean, if someone’s just not coming up to par, are you just like, I can’t hang with you anymore? Yeah, you know, and again, I see it this way, guys. I see it as you have your inner circle, to me, your sanctum. Those are the people who you’re with every day all day.

29:54 Those are the people that have access to your phone. They’re calling you, you see that number, you answer that. These are the people that you work with, that you travel with. Those individuals, I cannot allow them to be average. Now there are average people who I associate with because my attempt is to help you to reach a level of consciousness that you realize I’m not where I need to be and I need to transform.

30:19 So those are people that, you know, on my terms, I’ll spend time with you. I’ll recommend a book or you can call me and I’ll give you five-minute conversation. So it’s not like I don’t have contact with them, but when I’m choosing a restaurant, like literally, guys, I mean, this may sound weird to some people, but there are times when I fly home and I only have two hours to be with my family, I’ve got to get on another flight or I’ve got to drive somewhere, I’ve got an interview.

30:46 So those two hours are not about dinner, it’s about spending time with my family. So if I go to a restaurant and you waste, you take hours getting me my food, you know, you don’t get it that I’m not coming, that’s to say, to eat. I’m coming to spend time with my family. We don’t have time to go home, cook the whole night. And so for me, it’s this thing of, I go to the restaurants and I ask for the same server, the guys who I know when I come in, They’re like, oh, Mr. Thomas, we know your wife likes the fettuccine with the chicken and your daughter wants the spaghetti and the vegetarian lasagna.

31:20 We remember you want ranch, you want, and I’m willing to pay more because they get it. Like, this is an experience for you. This is a memory with your family, you know, and they’re not distracting you or taking time away. I went to a restaurant the other day, you know, and a girl comes, she said, what’s your drink order? I’m like, I’m good.

31:37 We all want water, but we know what we want to eat. And she’s like, okay, well, give me a minute. I forgot my pen. I’m thinking you forgot your pen. You are a waiter.

31:46 Come on, you’re a waiter. That’s what waiters do, they serve. So why don’t you have a pad in there? Because in her mind, she’s like, I’ve done this a million times, drink order. We just start with drink order.

31:56 And I’m like, I’m beyond drink. I didn’t come here to drink. I came to eat, we know what we want. Come back, my wife orders. I’m so sorry, we don’t have the corn with that.

32:06 I’m like, you don’t have the corn with it. When you’re, as you’re buying corn. American service, man. you’re buying corn you don’t know that corn is running out you know and so she brought me some a replacement coleslaw which was sour you know I’m thinking come on God so of course not my wife is not doing what we’re not talking family talk my wife’s attention now is on the fact that she didn’t get what she wanted she she’s eating something that’s not good and so it’s distracted us from coming together whereas it’s superb service it’s so seamless that you can stay focused on what you’re focusing on and I mean you did a wonderful job when we We got here phones off, you know, make sure this is the art, mics there, chairs need.

32:46 Why are you doing that? Because you’re setting an atmosphere so that once we get started, we’re not interrupted. Our flow is not interrupted and average people don’t think like that. They don’t think about the flow that if we’re talking and the phone rings, it will interrupt. Yes, we can start over again, but we might not be able to start over with that ethos, that passion, that same spirit, you know, that we have.

33:07 So that’s why I have a problem, you know, with average people because they live in in a different world and nothing is important, where there’s no sense of urgency to them. Did you used to be a waiter? Did you order? I once was a waiter. And I was one of the best.

33:18 I was a waiter myself as well. And you waited where? It was like, and we have a branch called Marks and Spencers. But I wasn’t one of the best. I’ll be honest with you, but I was definitely a waiter.

33:26 But even what you’re saying about average people, especially when you come from environments like inner city London, for instance, you find that it’s crucial that you hang around with people who can be detrimental to your success. It can be the difference between life and death, you know what I mean? So it’s like, you know, it sounds cruel, but you have no other option, but to cut those people out of your life, because that’s the difference between you, maybe at a later date, providing for your family, or not, you know what I mean?

33:48 So I can kind of, I can definitely relate to you on that subject. Absolutely, you get it. And you said it best, you said life or death, and at the end of the day, that’s what it is, life or death, professionally. Which spills over into other areas of your life. I mean, I’m with my whole family, I was able to either budget so much, and then pay for other tickets, because I am so serious.

34:13 And it’s funny when I got here, people are like, yo, E, you really like that? Like, you got here, like, you really, they’re thinking like, when I, you know, it was funny yesterday, they were like, you were as advertised. And I’m like, no, this is me. This is who I am. I’m not playing.

34:26 When we met outside, I’m looking at, where do we start? Let’s go. I’m looking to get into it. So, and we just left an hour documentary. My mom and I took us about 30, 40 to get here.

34:37 And hey, you wouldn’t have known that I just left doing a documentary because it’s over. That opportunity is over. And if I was to say, well, that opportunity was great and I’m still living in that moment, I wouldn’t be able to nail this moment. And what this opportunity is going to do for me, for real, we’ll talk again years from now about how being at this particular form at this particular time with the sun, I might add, the sun shining outside, how this is going to leverage my career and give me more exposure that I’ve been blessed to be on this show.

35:14 Some of the exposure that I’m going to have after this hour, I would’ve never had before. So, I get one shot, one moment, and I’ve got to capture it. Yeah, he was ready to go. I met him on the sidewalk, and I don’t know, you thought I was a fan or what? I don’t know what he thought.

35:28 I’m like, hey, who’s the guy? Let’s go. Let’s go. Do you ever meet somebody, and can you tell in the first 10 seconds whether you can help him or not? Absolutely.

35:37 Really? Absolutely. The questions. People, Lauren Hill said, you gotta ask the right questions and there are people who call me and I get so frustrated because it’s like, I can’t believe, a young lady called me about two weeks ago and so I said hello, she called my personal number, I gave my personal number out and so she said, I can’t believe it. I said, you can’t believe what?

36:00 She said, I can’t believe this is ET. I said, I gave you my number. Why can’t you believe it’s E.T.? She said, well, I’m thinking, you know, based on your status, I’m gonna get your clerk, or I’m gonna get a voicemail. And I’m like, no, you’re talking to E.T., how can I help you?

36:14 And I know she thought I was probably rude, but I realized I can’t help her because she’s starstruck. So you’re not calling me because you want to elevate your game, you want to go to the next level. No disrespect to those of you who are listening, but I don’t do groupies. I mean, I’m not, I don’t have an ego. I don’t have a self-esteem problem.

36:34 I’m no better than any other human. We all have to wake up in the morning, get dressed, go out and do what we do. So I said to her, do me a huge favor. Either call me back when you have a question, or please don’t call me back again because you’re wasting my time. So people who come to me and say, yo, E.T., like for real, what, of all your research, all your study, and all your traveling, give me the five secrets that you gained from all of this traveling that’s helped you take your game to the next level.

37:01 Pop, this guy’s serious. I can help this guy right here, like, he is reflective, he’s thought about it before he called me, you know, I’m not saying that there’s some people, you know, who called maybe the first 10 seconds, like, I can’t, you know, I’m shocked that you literally answered your phone, because for real, so many, and this is an American term, but we say, you know, people are hot dog, you know, they’re hot dogging, they think they’re big time, and so I’m sure that when people call me, they are kinda, the first 10 seconds, this guy’s really answering the phone, but I know I can’t help you when you’re on the streets, there’s this look in your eye. hunger has a look, you know, drive has a look.

37:36 It, you know, even if I was here, you wouldn’t even know I wasn’t from London because the way I walk, I walk like I’ve been here before. I don’t walk lost, you know, I don’t walk like I don’t have any place to go. I came to London with a specific purpose, an assignment that I’m here to get something done. So yes, there’s a look, there’s this alertness, this detail, this attention that people have their body language that lets me know yeah I can help her well I can help this guy but there are other people I look at and it’s like yep you you were just like you saw a ghost you know I’m saying and like I said I’ve met celebrities but when I meet celebrities there are people like man I wish I and I know it’s not gonna happen but I wish I could meet Adele you know because that drive that she has I feed off of that drive you know 21 was all about we’re gonna take we’re gonna take this opportunity called pain, failure, disappointment, and we’re gonna turn it into a Grammy. You know, we’re gonna go in that studio and I’m just gonna let it all out. You know, so she took, for real, for real, there are people who go through what Adele went through and they commit suicide. Yeah. Or they start drinking and become addicted to something to get away from that pain.

38:47 And so she took her pain and used her pain to make her great. You know, so yes, there are people who I can just look at and tell I can help this guy. You’re blocking it, talking about how you’re the worst celebrity ever. Absolutely. Absolutely.

39:01 It’s quite funny. Yeah, absolutely. And I’ll be honest with you, some of the CEOs in America, you know, some guys who are, you know, millionaires, they’ll come to me like, Eric, you got to, you got to do better. Like this whole, you know, you go into a room before the show starts, like you got to wait for the build up. You know what I’m saying?

39:16 You got to let them say your name and do this big intro and then you come out, you know, like you’re taking away that glamour thing, you know, or, you know, you can’t sign every book. Some books you don’t sign, some books you sign to give it this. It’s not common feel, you know. You can’t do a video every Monday or maybe do three minutes and then you send them to this blog where they can get this prescription or membership and they can sign. It’s like you’re becoming too common, you know, you’re just walking up the street. They’re seeing you at the malls, they’re taking pictures with you, you know. You’re not sitting in first class. I’m like, first class costs too much. And it was only in our fight. Like, you’re sitting in the back with people and you’re having a conversation.

39:54 It was funny, on my way here from Detroit, there was a guy from London who had gone to the States to Chicago for some marketing thing. He was like, ET, I’ve got a ticket to your show, you know what I’m saying? And I’m like absolutely, he’s like, well, when we get on the plane, can we talk? I’m like, no doubt. So I’m in the back, we’re talking, and Stuart is like, I can’t have you guys, you know, sitting here talking, like you guys gotta sit down.

40:15 And so, I mean, we’re just kicking it. He’s like, I can’t believe I’m with you. You saved my marriage. You saved my career. Like, I can’t believe I’m literally talking to you.

40:23 And I’m like, why can’t you? We’re on the same plane. We paid for the same plane. And when we get off, he’s following me through the airport and we’re talking. I give him my number.

40:32 He’s calling. He’s like, let’s do English breakfast together. I’m like, I love it. So I am one of the worst celebrities because I just don’t buy into the hype. I truly believe, for real, we’re all humans.

40:42 We all have a gift. And some of us have been courageous enough to follow it. And some of us haven’t been courageous enough to follow our dreams. Talk to me about haters. I mean, Sully’s putting out videos on a regular basis saying things like, well the America can’t dream, or I hate school but love education.

40:58 You get a lot of counterpoints, people that are coming at you saying, wait, university has a purpose. I think you might be heading to the BBC later to talk to people about that. I get hate all the time from London Real, and you said something like, don’t totally dismiss your haters. No, no, no. And this is what I love about my haters.

41:17 And I just believe you can get something out of everything. I think everything teaches. If you’re with a three month old, if you pay attention, they’re teaching you something. I mean, it’s something you can get out of watching this, this three month old that’s not concerned about time. You know what I’m saying?

41:33 He’s not on the etiquette thing. I mean, he’s just living free, you know? And so for me, the one thing I love about my haters is they give me a perspective that my mother doesn’t give me. My mom loves me so much that I think, you know, there are times where, you know, she may want to correct me and she’s like, I don’t want to hurt his self-esteem, you know, or my wife, you know, may not say a certain thing because you’re like, I’m not 100% sure. I’m not in the field. Maybe I shouldn’t say that.

41:58 But I find that my haters say what’s on their mind, you know, and sometimes what they say is, is real, you know, that there are some of the adjustments that I need to make, you know, and that now I don’t take their hate and allow it to tear me down, but there are things that they say, you know, about me. I never forget this one guy who was hating on me was talking about how I have four or five jobs, you know, he’s like, he’s doing this and he’s doing that. He’s doing that.

42:20 And I thought about it one day, I was like, okay, what is he saying? Now, take away that he’s not making his dreams become a reality, and he’s jealous about the fact that I’m fearless, that I’m going out here and I’m trying it. But there was some validation in what he was saying in that if you’re doing too much and you don’t have a solid focus, you may not be getting the most out of your life. And I was like, you know what? This guy, he’s telling the truth.

42:44 And so I started to narrow my focus. And I quit my job at Michigan State and start doing free, thank God it’s money, and I’m traveling across. So the dude was right, you know what I’m saying? There were a couple things that I was doing that was really taking me away from going from good to great. The job was, you know, my wife loved the stability, she loved the 401K, the health plan, you know, I was getting a steady check, you know, my wife loved that, you know, but when I left that job, that job did not allow me to come to London because I can only take off for so many weeks.

43:13 I only had so much time off. So, honestly, nobody else was courageous enough and say, this guy’s got four or five jobs, but this guy, he’s doing too much. And I sat down one day and said, you know what, he might be right. And then what I love about my haters as well is that I know they don’t want me to succeed. So there are times, honestly, when I’m thinking about sleeping in, I’m like, my haters would love this.

43:37 Or making an error, I’m on the road, and I’m thinking about maybe doing something I don’t have no business doing, and I’m thinking, how would my hater like to see this in the newspaper? They take this and laminate this and put this on show. They put this on the wall and they probably start their own blog and start their own radio show and just talk about I told you I told you so I told you he wasn’t the father you thought he was or the husband you thought he was or I told you He didn’t have the integrity that you think that he has and so those are the two ways that I use my haters You know to push me You know to a place where my loved ones and trust me my loved ones have supported me You know in ways I can’t even imagine But my haters have given me that extra, that edge, that advantage that I know that they’re always in the backdrop waiting for me to make a mistake.

44:21 They’re waiting for me to fall. They’re waiting for me to come out with a video that doesn’t represent the videos I’ve done before. They’re waiting. And so I’m going to keep them waiting. I’m going to keep them waiting.

44:33 So when you talk about hate, talk to me. I haven’t had the chance to hear some of the stuff that you mentioned about the way you frame it. Talk to me about that. in terms of like, but I kind of view it the same way you do in terms of people write a lot of negative stuff because what I’m saying it doesn’t exactly go for the status quo you know I mean if I’m telling people learn to educate yourself you can educate yourself and there’s more you can gain out of school than what they put on a piece of paper that grade they put in a paper there’s a lot of people who have ended up in positions on in their life that make they may not be happy with and because of that they feel they have to address it in an ignorant way but like you say I always see that everyone’s entitled to an opinion and like I say to my friend I put a video up and my friend would be like to me oh it’s got lots of likes and I say no I need dislikes because my most successful videos are the ones with the most dislikes on them so that you need you need you need that kind of you know I mean and like at the end of the day I don’t mind you can be entitled to opinion as long as it’s not ignorance that it’s like affecting other people you can insult me all at once but if I’ve got like my girlfriend in the video and you’re saying oh ugly girl that’s ignorance that’s nothing to do with the content you know I mean but aside from that you like you need like you said you need

45:37 Don’t take us to go forward, definitely. Absolutely. You know, when you work out, you know, you don’t gain muscle from lifting feathers. You gain muscle when you lift weight. And what happens is it literally tears the muscle up. And when you rest, you build a muscle. So if you’re accustomed to lifting a hundred pounds, you can’t keep lifting a hundred pounds and see results. You have to add. So what my haters do is they give me that pressure that I need to tear me down, to rebuild me, so that my muscles, whether it’s professionally or personally or whatever it is, spiritually, they build me in ways that, for real, my family doesn’t put that same amount of pressure on me.

46:19 I love them, they love me, but they don’t challenge me in a way that my haters do. My haters make me think. Think before you talk. You’re about to say something, how could this be ammunition? Word this properly because if you word it improperly, even though that wasn’t your They could take that thing and run with it.

46:36 So for real, I love my haters because they give me a perspective that nobody else in this world gives me. And I know that they know I’m in London right now. So I’m kind of wondering what’s going on in my mind right now. I bet most people would think you didn’t have haters, you know? Oh man, so many, man.

46:52 And I will say this to you, because my content is so strong and because it’s not narcissistic in the way. It really is about helping other people. I’ve noticed that when people get on and say negative things, that the community molasses them. So they’re a little bit more apprehensive about getting on because the common guy, people that they know, it’s like, yo, how dare you disrespect the person that’s not charging us, that’s putting out this motivation that’s, you know, and so I find that I have haters, but they’re in their own little community talking.

47:28 Not brave enough generally to come out you know and say how they feel you know so but trust me somehow word gets back you know what people are saying but I love it you know and for real it really it really motivates me and challenges me you know to think about what I do and what I say and sometimes everybody needs you know that positive pressure and I see it as positive pressure yeah it’s definitely definitely need it like the honesty the fact too is the honesty is is there, you know what I mean? It’s great. It’s only insecurity that makes you not look into it.

48:01 Absolutely. I guess you could thank Twitter and YouTube because we didn’t have that kind of anonymous criticism. Absolutely. 200 years ago. I guess you didn’t have it, right?

48:09 Yeah. Man, it’s hard to thank them sometimes. But I find if you get a little, a few hateful comments, I’m like, whatever. But if you get the same people saying the same thing, like 20, 30, 40 times, then you’re like, maybe there’s something going on here. Yeah, you know what I mean?

48:22 I’ve got to look into it. Yeah. I’ve got to look into it. Absolutely. You’ve got to be courageous enough to be able to look at yourself and say everything about me is not solid or there are always room for improvement.

48:34 What do you want to be in like five, 10 years? Are you trying to be completely, I guess, ubiquitous, be like known all over the world or do you have like other goals in mind for you, for the ET brand, for everything? I think for the ET brand, man, this may sound crazy, but we’re doing exactly what we want to do. I get that feeling. Yeah, I just think, yeah, you know, for people, media is so important, you know, like, that you would be known everywhere.

49:03 I’ll be honest with you, I was in Vegas eating with my wife and a group came up to me and you know, I saw them looking at me and I’m like, put my head down, kind of. And not that I’m mine, but when I’m with my wife sometimes, like, my wife is very private, she’s an only child, so she doesn’t really, she like, she doesn’t get me a lot. So when she’s with me, she kind of just wants to be alone. And you know, a group came up to me, I saw them, you know, and they kept going back and forth like, are we going to go talk to this guy?

49:29 And eventually they come up to me, Mr. Thomas, we apologize. We know what you’re with your wife eating, but you said it. No opportunities wasted. And I’m like, absolutely.

49:36 You know? Do people quote you back? Yeah, they quote me back. So I’m taking pics with these guys, man. You know, so sometimes being known has disadvantages, you know, because when I’m with my family and they want to get to private time, you know, but I respect my supporters.

49:50 They’re like, yo, this is an opportunity of a lifetime. So there is that dichotomy that makes it challenging, but I’m doing exactly what I wanna do. The only thing I like about the media attention and et cetera is that the reach is expanded and people need this type of inspiration. You know, being a positive artist yourself with spoken word, people need positive, like when you look at what you do and how many other people are out there doing what you do, the number is small.

50:17 But when you think about how many people are maybe using the spoken word for something negative, the numbers are bigger. So the only thing I would like to do is inspire more not necessarily ET to hip-hop breaches but I want to inspire more people who are motivational and inspirational in nature to do what they’ve been called to do and not get caught up in status quo you know so I think that’s it for me I would like to die knowing that for real the inspiration that Mother Teresa gave the world that Martin Luther King gave the world that Gandhi gave the world I’m I’m talking about the world. These people weren’t limited to a certain demographic or a certain race or gender or age.

50:58 These people inspired people all over the world. And I would like to go down in history as one of the individuals in this era that was responsible for pushing people toward greatness and heightening people’s sense of awareness. Like, Eric, I could be doing more. I’m not doing everything. I could be a better husband.

51:17 I could mop the floor better. I could be a better server. I truly believe, and I could be wrong, that a part of the downfall of the economy is that people are going to work and not working with a spirit of excellence. And so you start making inferior products and you start doing things from an inferior nature and you reap that. And so for me, I just wanna go down in history as this guy motivated as many people as he could possibly motivate and he changed the course of their life and maybe even a course of history by using his gifts.

51:46 You had a talk on New Year’s Eve, I think where you said, we’re not in a recession. He said something like, we’re just not at the time where people are giving you free money anymore. Absolutely, absolutely. What did you mean by that? I mean, there was a time, you know, there was a time, man, I’m from Detroit.

52:01 So Ford, GM, and Chrysler, we know that Henry Ford, they say, at least in our part of the world, they say he was the first to design the car. And when he first started, I mean, people were taking pride in the fact that, wow, we’ve created something. I mean, think about it, guys. People were on horses or walking. So with a car, you can get from one part of wherever you live in the world to another part of the world.

52:24 And you’re talking about in the hours driving. And then the Wright Brothers come out with a plane. So now I can get from Detroit to London in seven and a half hours because these guys had this dream and then there were individuals after the Wright Brothers who kept perfecting the dream, evolving the dream. Like if you ever been, I was in Egypt, we flew first class, it was a bed. Like the Wright brothers never thought that there would be a bed on a plane.

52:51 And so there was a time because of these genius men and women, these dedicated men and women, that they created industry. And you didn’t have to dream. You could live off another man’s dream. So Ford put us in a position where you could just go to work and do what he dreamed of and make good money. But after years and years, decades of making good money, people were like, hey, this money is going to be here.

53:18 This industry is going to be here. So whether we go to work excited or not, they’re, listen to me, man, and I mean, this is deep for me because I’m from Detroit, but most people don’t know that Detroit, Henry Ford created the middle class America. He was either poor or rich. He created the middle class America where a person without a great education could go get a job and make good money. And so after years and years of this, it became a part of the American culture to be middle class.

53:50 It didn’t exist before and when it didn’t exist, people were so excited about it. But as the years progressed, people started taking it for granted. You know, I tell people all the time, Eric, why is your marriage so great? I don’t take my wife, thank you for cooking. Some people think, oh, you’re supposed, I say thank you after 20 something years because I’m as grateful for the first meal you cooked as I am for this meal.

54:09 Thank you for working. Thank you for taking care of my children. You know, thank you for believing in my dreams. And so I think what happens sometimes people get content that they’re hungry when they don’t have it. And when they get it, they forget what got them there.

54:21 So people start going to work and stop forgetting. You took the job as a server. Why aren’t you serving me? Like you took the job, but now you don’t want to do it. Why?

54:31 Because you’re trying to make money and you’re not trying to be faithful or be committed to what you said you would do, which is why I have so much passion. So every TGI I do, I’m trying to be better than the last one. I don’t care what somebody thinks about him, that you’re not making money, I put my signature on everything I do. It speaks volumes about who I am as a person. So, unfortunately, for Jim Chrysler, inferior products, Honda came on the scene, you know what I’m saying?

54:59 Other car industries came on the scene, they start, why did they come on the scene? Because they made a better product that didn’t break down after the warranty was over. That was better gas mileage. So people start to buy those vehicles. I mean, like it or not, it’s a fact.

55:12 This is what happened. And so eventually, the car industry is not what it used to be. So I say, you know, the days of people having these great dreams and people, just thousands of people working to make those dreams become reality, it doesn’t exist anymore. But are people still in need? Yes, ET The Hip Hop Preacher came on YouTube, used a free social media to inspire the world and it turned into what it is right now, that I’m traveling across the country and people are making investments and me and my company to work for Corporate America.

55:41 Now, I work for, you know, NBA, NFL, et cetera. I’m doing voiceovers for sports. I created, I created whatever it is that I currently have. I don’t even know how to define my reality, but I created it. And I didn’t create it by standing in bed all day.

55:59 I didn’t create it by blaming people, you know, and pointing fingers at what’s not working. And I said, I said, what’s not working and what can I do to fix it? Not, you know, this person is the blame, the government is the blame, this industry is the blame. No, Eric Thomas, what can you do to make the world better? And I took responsibility for it, and I’m seeing that I’m reaping the benefits for that.

56:18 So that’s what I mean by, no, there’s not as many free jobs as there were before where you can come to work and not really work and still get a paycheck. That doesn’t exist as much as it used to, maybe, I don’t know, 30, 40 years ago. Okay, what do you think of that? I think it’s an interesting point, Because there’s an opposite argument whereby when you are traveling, like I said, I was a waiter, but I wasn’t the greatest waiter, but it wasn’t because I knew that I didn’t want to be a waiter for long, do you understand?

56:46 But I definitely agree that if someone makes a commitment, that’s what I say to people. A lot of people say to me, oh, you’re doing what you want to do, you know, I don’t want to be in school anymore. I said, okay, do you know what else you want to do? And a lot of people say no. And I said, well, if you don’t know what you’re going to do, make sure you work very hard in school, because they want that in between, the middle ground, whereas if you’re If you’re gonna commit to being a waiter, if you’re gonna go nine to five, not working anything else, I believe you should commit to being the best waiter.

57:08 If you’re gonna commit to being in school, make sure you commit to being the best student. If you’re gonna commit to being like a spoken word artist, like I make sure you commit to be the best, that’s what I feel. A lot of people want the middle ground, whereby they don’t wanna do the hard part, but they just wanna relax in the middle without all the commitment. And I think that kind of resonates with what you’re saying in that sense. Yeah, and again, my thing is, whatever you do, because it speaks of who you are, Don’t do it if you’re not going to do it great.

57:34 Why waste my time? If people say, Mr. Thomas, I love what you’re doing, I want an intern for you. You want an intern for me because what you can get from interning for me. But what about what am I going to get?

57:46 If I hire you, what am I going to get? It’s not fair, it’s called mutualism. What am I going to get? You’re a leech sucking off for me. What am I going to get if you work for me?

57:56 Now, if you’re going to work with me and you’re gonna have the same passion I have and what I do in terms of speaking, and you’re gonna do that with your artwork, or you’re gonna do that designing T-shirts for me, then definitely, but it’s not fair for you to take a job because you’re trying to get from that job to where you’re trying to get, and you’re gonna give that owner, you’re gonna have work for that owner. You’re not gonna show up when you’re supposed to show up. You’re gonna be a different person on Monday than you’re gonna be on Friday.

58:26 Like, it’s not fair for me to invest in you, but you don’t invest in me. So my thing is, if you don’t plan on being a waiter and being a good waiter, then don’t do it. Because when I pay $30, $40 for that meal, I want the best meal. I think it’s only fair. You want a tip from me, but you don’t want to work.

58:43 Like people expect tips, but they don’t want to serve. And I think it’s equal. You serve me, and I will tip me. Well, I tip anyway, because I just believe in the law of attraction. You reap what you sow.

58:53 But if you want a 20% tip, can I get a 20% service? Don’t give me 8% service, but you want 20% tip. I just don’t think it’s fair. We don’t have that kind of incentive here, in the UK. There’s no tipping system.

59:05 My girlfriend said she went to Vegas, and she goes, she had to tip everyone, the bus driver, the waiter. But in here, because no one has an incentive, and they know they’re gonna get the same pay packet at the end of the year, no one is ready, you get that enthusiasm, you know? It’s only when you find people who’ve come from unfortunate situations in other countries and stuff, who will come to this country, and they see the opportunity, and they’ll take that job and take it as their life.

59:27 It’s rare, but it’s rare you kind of get that service. You might not find that quick, quick, quick castle American service here, but you might find it at some places. Well, and if you don’t find it, it’s good. You know, again, I always say it’s about learning. So when you come to a culture that’s not quick, fast in a hurry, you respect that culture and you understand why they’re doing it.

59:46 Because I moved to the south for years because it was a slower pace, you know, than up north. You know, so when I come here, trust me, I’m constantly moving. I don’t have a problem going to a restaurant and it takes an hour, cause that’s an hour that I get to spend, you know, with my wife and I’m not at home, you know, and it’s a different culture, but you know, and that’s why I say wherever you go, you can learn because there’s a reason why the culture does what it does.

1:00:12 And so many times people try to fit their culture into a culture instead of going to that culture and valuing it and learning as much as they can, you know, and adopting what they find good here, you know, and taking it back and making it a part of their lives. Travel is so important. You learn about yourself. Oh, absolutely. That’s what I find I’m not I’ve been to a lot of places Japan I’m but I remember I was in Brazil walking down the sidewalk in Rio on the beach and I was like God damn these people are moving slow. I was like get out my way get out my way and then I was like Look at me I’m the problem. Yeah, learn from these people. That’s right. They know how to relax So, yeah, you will learn a few things You know you move down to the south and then you’re a minister as well Well, do those things come at the same time or were they very separate in terms of me moving to the south and becoming a minister Yeah, yeah, you know, I think so. I went to a school that was Religious in nature And so for me being in that environment, I didn’t grow up in church. I didn’t grow up with any faith or any religious belief And I had a lot of respect for it while I may not consider myself to be the most religious person.

1:01:22 When I look at Gandhi, when I look at Mother Teresa, when I look at Martin Luther King Jr., one of the things that I noticed is that they had a belief system. While they all had different belief systems, there was this belief system that kind of guided their practice, you know, and was almost in a sense like accountability. You know, if you’re Martin Luther King, you can only do X, Y, and Z, I’m sure in his faith, Gandhi and his faith, he fasted a lot.

1:01:47 That was a part of what he believed. He believed in a simple life as a Hindu. He didn’t believe in being extravagant. Mother Teresa believed that she should serve. So I picked up that, man, this thing is, I like this.

1:01:59 This is an accountability that I didn’t have growing up and something to lean toward or believe in that took me to a whole new level. And so I wouldn’t consider myself like a traditionalist, if you will, but definitely a minister. I definitely tell young people, you know, I believe in doing unto others as you would have them to do unto you. You know, I believe in that kind of stuff. I believe in serving, you know, giving, which is why I do TGIM for free.

1:02:24 You know, so I believe my faith has helped to shape me to be a better person than I was prior to having faith. Okay. Yeah. It kind of creates that natural kind of police which you would have on yourself. Yeah, absolutely, absolutely.

1:02:36 I mean, I’m away from my wife, away from my children, but there’s this, like he said, this, I like the term, the spiritual police, if you will. I was with a guy on our way here. He was like, we were gonna pile up in the car. He was like, we can’t do that here. I’m like, we can’t pile up in the car.

1:02:51 He’s like, yeah, if we pile up in the car, I’m gonna get points. You’re gonna get 12 points, and if you get 12 points, you lose your license. And I mean, he’s like serious. Like, I’m like, oh, okay, maybe when I go home, I need to respect the authority a little bit more. Back at home, I mean, even if you get pulled over, everybody say something to you or you might get a ticket, but you’re not gonna get any points because it was packed in, you know, people were packed in.

1:03:11 But it was that sense of there’s the higher authority that I would love to pile up the car, y’all do back at home, but here, you know, you can get a lot of trouble for that. Whereas I don’t think if there was a point system, he may have, we probably would have been in the car if it wouldn’t have been a point, if it was only our safety, you probably would have piled up. And so again, it is this sense that there’s this higher authority, not necessarily like policing you in a bad way, but sharing with you that, hey, here are some things that you need to do that could better your life.

1:03:41 And so I embraced that, I made that a part of my life, and everywhere I go, I share with young people. Not that you have to believe what Eric Thomas believes, because what works for me may not work for you, but it’s definitely working for me. My mother will tell you who I was as a teenager and who I am as an adult. This person of faith has literally made me accountable to the world and made me fall in love with people who I generally, the way I came up, you know, in Detroit, For those of you who haven’t been to the States, it is a very, it can be a very racist place at times.

1:04:11 There are people who, as you mentioned, who are very mature now in the States, and it progressed tremendously over the last 40, 50 years, but there are still some people who are in darkness. And so the way I would have handled a person in darkness at 18 is not the way I would do it now. I really feel sorry for people. I pity people who cannot expand their worldview, who not travel, who not been outside of their community and don’t know that there’s a bigger world than the little world that they live in.

1:04:39 Granted, there’s some great things about their world, but it’s a bigger world, you know? So, yeah, my faith has really helped shape who I am and changed me as a person. You mentioned Adele, like she made that beautiful album, but it came from so much pain. So much pain. I mean, like, so do you think all great art, including, you know, E.T., comes from a pain, is that point?

1:04:58 I don’t think it comes from pain, But I think pain can potentially spark something in you and allow you to focus in a way that you can’t. And the reason why I say that is because how many people have been through pain, but everybody’s not a deal. Everybody hasn’t used their pain. So I think pain is a motivator. Pain is an inspirator.

1:05:19 It has a way of bringing the best out of you. But there are other people who have been gone, who come from wealth and they have something in them that says to them they want to continue this legacy, that they want to keep this legacy going. And they haven’t been through what Adele and myself have been through, but they were able to turn that switch on, not necessarily with pain or poverty, but they were able to use their privilege that affluent background they had to say, I want this forever.

1:05:49 So whatever I have to do, I’m gonna click this great button on. This, you know, I want it as bad as I wanna breathe. this hunger that I don’t wanna live like that or I don’t want there to be a gap between what my father and mother set up for me and what I’m gonna set up for my children. So I think pain can be, but again, some people use pain, become addicts, some people use it to bring bodily harm upon themselves, some people use it as an excuse to withdraw from the world.

1:06:19 So I don’t think pain itself is a motivator, but in the hands of the right person, Pain can be something that pushes us toward greatness. It can be super powerful. Yes, it can be super powerful. I agree, because as an artist myself, obviously, what I find is the key to art is you tap into an emotion in it. And what I find is a lot of people were able to use pain because pain is the only emotion you don’t get to feel, if you know what I mean, like you can be happy.

1:06:42 You can choose to be happy, how happy you wanna be. But when pain comes, sometimes it comes from an external source and you can’t control that. So that’s you being in touch with a very, very raw emotion. And like you said, only a few people can channel that, but I think that’s one of the few emotions which you can’t filter. And when you are connected with it, it brings out so much of in you, you know what I mean?

1:07:00 Absolutely, I love it. Yeah, I couldn’t have said it better. You want to avoid it, but you really need to be with that pain sometimes and just feel what it’s like and that way you remember later, use it. And I mean, again, I know, you know, just looking at you, you believe in taking care of yourself and let’s be honest, you know, I don’t know that I like water as much as I like, you know, other beverages, But I know at the end of the day, what drinking pop is going to do, you know, for my health, for my body, I’m getting older.

1:07:27 I understand that I need water. You know, my kids, what’s that juice you’re drinking? It’s got kale and spinach and all kind of stuff in it. And it may not taste the best, but I do know in the long run what it’s gonna do. Every push-up that I do, I’m not doing push-ups.

1:07:40 Like, oh, I love it. You know, this is the greatest feeling I’ve ever had. But I understand that it’s necessary. And I think it’s the same thing. We shouldn’t run from pain.

1:07:50 We should embrace it. Because if we look at it as something negative, we will not use it or we won’t take advantage of it. We will try to dismiss it or like ignore it, but we really need to embrace it. And every chance we get to be in pain, I remember being a young man and not wanting to cry. And now when I speak, if it comes, I let it go.

1:08:10 I don’t hold it anymore. But there was a time where I remember talking to my biological father for the first time I was 25 and we were in the room alone. We were in a church building And I’ll never forget, I was so angry and I was so hurt. And he’d asked me a question and I wanted to just be myself and cry and say, you weren’t there for me. You abandoned me, you hurt me.

1:08:35 But I wasn’t mature enough at that point to wanna be vulnerable in front of this man. And so I, like a crocodile, I held those tears. They came out of my eyes, my eyelid, there was water, you know, and a water duct, but I wouldn’t let him drop. I refused to let him see me vulnerable. I refused to let him know I cared about him and that I wanted a relationship with him and that I wanted to tell him I loved him, but I couldn’t, I wasn’t mature enough to do it.

1:09:02 And so now I’m mature enough, you know, when the feelings come, I don’t care where I am. I let him go because if I bottle him up, I’m gonna hurt, but if I let it out, you know, I’ll be free and so with pain, when I see pain coming, I don’t try to push it to the side I don’t try to rush through the process, I feel it because once it’s over, I can use that energy. I can’t tell the story, but there was a guy yesterday who came to the VIP dinner and he was with the London Eye with me.

1:09:31 I’ve never seen a grown man this emotional, but he had gone through a lot of stuff in his life, even some legal challenges. He said at his most vulnerable moment, he listened to the mixtape. I used my pain to push me to greatness. And he said, he came out a new man after listening to that because he put his pain in perspective and he used it to elevate his life, and not let it devastate his life. And I’m thinking, wow, when I first had the opportunity to do that TGIM, I remember like, Eric, do you wanna be vulnerable?

1:10:07 Do you wanna really talk about? And I said, go for it. And I went for it and some guy heard it, who’s a DJ and put music to it and said, look, I don’t mean to be disrespectful to your experience, but I want to put some music behind it and I want you to hear it. And when I heard it, I thought, man, this is the most powerful thing I’ve ever done in my life. And it wasn’t done intentionally.

1:10:28 It was done through the most horrific professional experience that I had ever had. And I shared it with the world. So yeah, I think pain is powerful and that it can be and should be at all costs used to elevate us to another level of our lives. Along that same line, do you think we have a saying on this show where we say go to where the fear is? And I was just, it’s different than pain, but is that something you think about or you tell your people about?

1:10:53 I mean, it’s the edge. Don’t we all want to edge? Are we all looking for some type of advantage? I mean, as I listen to you and I haven’t had the privilege today, but I’ll listen to more of your stuff. But even as I sit here in a room with you and the way you frame things, you know what I’m saying?

1:11:10 That’s what makes you unique. Like the way you frame words, nobody’s thinking of it like that. So you had to go to a place where most people aren’t going to say things that you knew would capture their attention. But there’s this sense of anxiety because you’re not saying the average. You are stepping up beyond mediocrity and you’re saying things that yep, gets their attention at the same time in stuff that they weren’t willing to say.

1:11:33 So yeah, the edge is in the fear. If you do what everybody else is doing, you’re not going to fear. Most people are running from it, But if you go to fear, you automatically become what the average person can’t become because they’re afraid to go there. And that’s how you grow fast is by going to the fear. Quick, quick, death or life.

1:11:54 When you go to fear, you either become alive or you die. There’s no middle ground. It’s true, definitely like I even like, I used to title it, I used to say it’s the black hole in it. And I used to say that physically in my head and I say, do I want to go there? Cause I can come up with a brilliant idea And I think this is amazing, people love it, but I say, but if I take it there, it’s gonna be even better.

1:12:14 But if I take it there, it might never come back, you know what I mean? So like, you always like, if you go there, that’s a danger zone because people might not respond to it, you know what I mean? But that is where like, the beauty of the art is always created in it when you go into that place where no one is willing to go. And do what no one is willing to do. Absolutely, absolutely.

1:12:32 You know, I saw you giving a talk to the UFC fighter, Anthony Pettis. I’m a big fan of him. He fights at one, he’s gonna go fight at 145 pounds. and you give talks to like major league sports teams. And I’m just wondering what, I mean, you’re walking into these elite, the elite athletes, you know, you’re a big Michael Jordan fan.

1:12:50 I was thinking to myself, what would Eric Thomas have said to Michael Jordan, you know, back in the day, and you’re walking into these guys on the top to the top of their games. And what do you think of when you walk in there as far, how do you approach, you know, that versus say a big, you know, mermaid show where you got more and more different kinds of people. And what was your most memorable one? It definitely focused like that, and I’m going to say Pettis.

1:13:12 And I’m only going to say Pettis because there was this rumor out that he had a real slight chance to win. And there were people who were thinking, because he had lost a major fight, maybe two or three fights before. Yeah, like Rita or something. Yeah, so people were like, this kid is good, but he’s not ready. He’s not mature.

1:13:33 He’s a choker, if you will. And his proponent, Cowboy Simone, is no joke. So in my mind, I’m thinking, what’s Pettus thinking? Beyond the glimmer, you know what I’m saying? Beyond all of the hoorah, he’s at United Center, you speak at MJ, and we walk in, that’s MJ’s house.

1:13:53 So we’re in MJ’s house, and I’ve gotta stay focused like Ido, I’m focused on that right now. Because that’s big for me, I went from this kid who was homeless in a high school dropout to I’m in this form now, this arena, This kid wants me to walk out. So I’m thinking in my mind, what is he thinking? What is he thinking? Not the good stuff, but what is his fear?

1:14:14 What is his black hole? And what do I say to this kid to get him to look beyond all of that interstate focus? Because if he could be who he is, he can win this thing. I mean, physicality, he has it. He’s got some phenomenal moves.

1:14:30 Like he’s doing some stuff that nobody else is doing. And if I could get him to be him and not get caught up in this fight, who he’s fighting, what’s at stake. If I could get him to be who, and that’s the only reason I went in the ring because I believe in this kid. I don’t go into somebody like my name is on the line here, you know, if he loses or people are like, oh, ET, maybe he’s not that deep of a motivator. So it’s important to me.

1:14:56 You know, I’m putting my name on the line, put my character on the line, put my future, my career on the line. So I’m going in there and I’m thinking like, what’s on this kid’s mind? So I had a chance to meet up with him and practice, work out with him and get in his world and talk to him before the big fight. I’m talking to everybody that knows him and I’m like, what makes this kid click? What’s his why?

1:15:16 And if I can make him focus on his why and not focus on anything else, he’s gonna go in here and murder this dude. So it’s crazy because this dude on his team fights the fight before and gets murdered. I mean, I cut blood all over the place. They gotta stop the fight. Was he on the mat that day when you spoke to him?

1:15:36 Was he in the same room? He was in the room, but I only spoke to Pettis really that day. Okay, yeah, yeah, you were actually on Pettis. But he was still a part of the team, so I’m like, oh, I hope Pettis is gonna watch this. I’m hoping your ass not like, what in the world is going on?

1:15:52 So I’m just in the room with Ant, was playing the music and I’m in his head, I’m looking at him, and I believe that when you get to the level that these guys are on, You have to be able to say what you’re saying and use words only when necessary. I mean, this is a different level. So I’m not going in here just blabbing and just talking and be talking. These guys need to stay focused. So I wanna use as least words as possible, you know?

1:16:18 And so I’m thinking, gotta keep this kid focused. I gotta remind him of who he is and why he’s here. And we walk into the rink, I’m talking about, you can feel the energy, and I’m walking in, People are, E.T. is with Pat, E.T., what up? I’m like, Pettis, it’s Pettis.

1:16:35 You walked out with him? Yeah, I walked out, I walked out with him, you know? And, you know, he goes in the ring, I go back, I can’t, I can’t, I don’t, I can’t watch him. So I go back in with his little brother. You didn’t watch him?

1:16:46 Yeah, and we watch it from TV, I can’t be in there. I can’t be in there, and I’m talking about, you remember the fight? He goes in there, and in two minutes, he murders the Duke, in two minutes he murders him, And I’m like, yeah. So yeah, when you go in there, man, I’ve got some stuff I’m doing with the NFL this year. And what do you say to everybody who’s great?

1:17:06 Everybody’s on the same level. Everybody, and so you’ve got to get inside the person. You’ve got to see what they’re going through. And then you’ve got to use where they are to help them to get to that next level. And so it’s a challenge for me.

1:17:17 I’ve got to grow so much. But then the mermaid, you’re talking about 600 people from all different walks of life. It’s huge. I’ve been in there. You know, it’s just, it’s so different.

1:17:26 And so now you have to come in and become all things to all people. And again, you got to narrow it all. What does this population need to hear? And so that’s why this is so important. These interviews and meeting you and feeling London and hearing what’s going on in London, getting a pulse of London.

1:17:44 So when I go in, literally, you’re going to think at the mermaid, you’re going to think I’m from London. Because I’m going to spend so much time with the people and listening. This isn’t the time to talk. In preparation is the time to listen as many voices, to hear as many hearts, to hear as many cries and many dreams and visions as possible. And then boom, it’s gonna allow me to get in that room and become this culture.

1:18:07 I’m gonna have to give up the American people and come out. It’s just, if you saw his fight with, I mean his talk with Pettus, it was a different Eric Thomas. You know, it was the intimate. You were really talking about the specifics of his training. You’re like, look, you all train hard.

1:18:22 You all know you train hard. What’s the difference in this fight? It’s gonna be who wants it more. And yeah, it was powerful stuff. I didn’t realize you walked out with him.

1:18:29 I saw that picture whether you were afterwards. You walked in together, yeah, yeah, yeah. That is heavy stuff. You know, there’s a couple more questions and we’re gonna let you roll because you’ve got places to be. I only have to be here right now.

1:18:41 I like that, I like that. You know, one of the things you said is that sometimes you’re not giving things. Sometimes you have to go out there and take it. And you said like physically take it. And you’re a positive guy with a positive message.

1:18:53 But there’s something that’s, you know, quite, quite rough about that, that kind of thing. Absolutely. You know, I look at my career and no recruiters, no motivational speakers, no, you know, life coaches came to the west side of Detroit and said, hey guys, we’re gonna give you an opportunity. You know, my father wasn’t in my life, so maybe he was supposed to be that guy who came and said, Eric, you can be special, you got a gift, you’re talented, you’re a leader, you’re gonna be somebody, I’m gonna put you in the car, I’m gonna take you to college, I’m going to take you to go get your license.

1:19:25 Like I’m going to take you to see the world. I didn’t have my father. My biological father was not in my life. So maybe, maybe I am speaking out of turn. Maybe, maybe there are things that are given to you, but in my world, that person who was supposed to do that, he wasn’t there.

1:19:39 And so I knew, you know, for people who watch 8 Mile, you know, they see the movie 8 Mile, you know, it is a street called 8 Mile. I grew up on 8 Mile, but 8 Mile is not about a street. It’s about the divide between the rich and the poor. It’s about, if you grew up on this side of eight mile, you were part of the working class or poor. You grew up on the other side of eight mile, nine mile, 10 mile, 11 mile, 12 mile, that’s where the rich people lived.

1:20:04 You know, and so as a kid, we looked on the other side of what life looked like and nobody over there was coming to mentor us over on this side. Nobody was inviting us to come to their fancy dinners and their parties and, you know, the country clubs. We didn’t get to do golf. You know, we weren’t exposed to that world. And so I knew if you want that, you’re gonna have to get up and you’re gonna have to go over there and you’re gonna have to say, I deserve it and I’m willing to do whatever it takes.

1:20:30 I don’t want any handouts. I never forget we were on welfare when my wife and I first got married and she graduated from school. She got a registered nurse degree and she took our check and she took it back to the welfare department. I said, what are you doing? We haven’t made it yet.

1:20:49 She said, we don’t need this anymore. And I was like, wow. And my wife was saying to me, we’re going to get this new world. We don’t need this anymore. It got us through college.

1:21:01 It did what it was supposed to do. It’s a new life now. And so for me, there are people who will never get, they will never have, they’ll never come to London. They’ll never see my children was like, dad, the big band looks different in the real world. That’s the parliament right there, dad.

1:21:17 Look at these cars. You saw these, somebody said when we were in the car, London looks just like it does on TV. There’s some kid who will never get that, not because he doesn’t deserve to be here, but he’s waiting on somebody to give it to him. And if you’re waiting, depending on where you come from, you may be waiting for the rest of your life. So there are some things that yes, you can have it, you can be it, you can do it.

1:21:41 But I got on TGIM, nobody, nobody gave me this platform. We bought a camera, you know what I’m saying? use the equipment at the school. Nobody, we signed up. We put our stuff up online. Nobody gave us this chance. Nobody said take it. Now we’re grateful for the dreamer who came up with Twitter. We’re grateful for the dreamer who came up with Facebook. We love those guys. You know, they may, matter of fact, one of them made, he made the hundred most influential people in Time magazine, you know, so we’re grateful for him. But I don’t think he did Twitter or Facebook specifically with Eric Thomas in mind here’s an opportunity if you want it sign up and make it happen and that’s what we did so that’s what I mean sometimes you have to be aggressive you know sometimes you have to create your own luck I always tell people luck is for leprechauns and I’m like so I’m sure hey some leprechauns got a lot of luck but I’m not green so if I’m sitting here waiting for luck to happen it’s not gonna happen but I can’t create my own luck that’s exactly what we did and am I suggesting that you can you know pull yourself up by your own bootstraps that that a man you know can live on an island no man is an island but I’m saying when I invested in myself other people begin to invest in me and that term succeed as much as you want to breathe when did you come up with that and did you know it was gonna resonate so much I you know I say this all the time and I mean this you know with all

1:23:08 Humility I did not even do the video for the video to come out I didn’t record it some God needed b-roll for his thesis he was finished in school he did a documentary on me and was like Eric the documentary was too clean you know it’s just look stage like I just need so where can I get b-roll I said well I’ll speak every Tuesday at this platform you can come and as a matter of fact this I’ll be there. I’m gonna be talking. It’s like good b-roll put a mic on me I’ve never seen a mic in my life. I’ve never spoke with a mic crazy. I put the mic on I spoke What was this five years? This was yet five six years ago and guess what he never used the b-roll He never used it. So he gave it to us. He didn’t even give it to us He had it, you know, however, they save on computer or whatever added on some file a good friend of mine said, you know You know what, Eric, two years ago you did this phenomenal message.

1:24:09 I think every freshman that enrolls in Michigan State, they need to hear it. Every freshman in this program, they need to hear it. So let’s put it up on something called YouTube. I said, what? YouTube.

1:24:21 I said, okay, put it up. I don’t have a problem. We put some music behind it, which is now illegal, you know, at that time put some music behind it. We put it up. I promise you it was there for about two and a half, three years, hundred or two hits here and there.

1:24:34 I quit my job at Michigan State University to go out that fear to do this thing full-time, and I promise you, two weeks after I quit my job and began this free work, it went viral. Oh, wow. You know, I just, I don’t really throw up to you in it, but it’s like, I got fired from my job as well, isn’t it? I got fired in December from my job, and it’s like, for the reason, because I did something on YouTube, but obviously that same time is when I released the video why I hate school but love education, the same week I got fired, that’s the same week that that video just went viral.

1:25:09 You know what I mean? And I just always say to people, it’s because in my mind and on my wall, I had written that this is gonna happen, you understand? So that was just the universe taking me away from one opportunity to put me into the one. But when he just said that, it’s kind of like, I’ve got goosebumps because it’s crazy because it’s exactly the same scenario, you know what I mean? The same week I was sitting there and they’re telling me I’m losing my job and the video is like, I walk out and the video’s on 150,000 views, then next week later it’s on 1.5 million views, You know what I mean?

1:25:34 So when he just said that, I had to interrupt him just because of the similarity, the situation, and then. And the rest is history, right? But again, I took advantage of an opportunity. As I began to see it like you grow, I began to put out a series of videos because I saw this is an opportunity. Apparently, they like something about the message.

1:25:52 I don’t know what I did, you know? And then Giovanni did the video, and that’s the young man, the football player. He put it up just for the NFL to see it. somebody stole it off of Vimeo, and they put it up, and his went viral. So I had a year or two of mines going viral, and then his went viral, and then after that, there was the Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, Kobe Bryant.

1:26:15 Ho, um, um, um, Mayweather? Mayweather. Mayweather, everybody took their take on it. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, you go on and on and on, and everybody’s doing it, and before you know it, I can’t go anywhere in the States, and people are not, you know, recognized. That’s the guy right there, and from there, I did voiceovers for NBA this year.

1:26:32 I’ve already done it, but it won’t come out until next year. I’m doing voiceovers for the Detroit Pistons, where I live, and the audio book is coming out. I heard it the other day, phenomenal stuff. You doing, are you doing all the voice? I do all the voice.

1:26:47 I love that. I hate it when authors don’t do the whole voice. I did the whole voice. The only part about it, and this is why it’s taken so long, because the engineer that’s doing it is great. And he’s like, Eric, your voice, he was like, I’m loving.

1:27:03 He’s like, it’s like a full orchestra. You know, you leave now, and I’m just behind you adding to it. And I heard chapters one and two the other day, and it blew my mind, like, wow. I mean, I was emotionally, it’s like I had never heard the story before, but the sound effects and what he does, if this guy, if this collaboration doesn’t get a Grammy, Something’s wrong with the committee. Something’s wrong, I’m just putting it out there.

1:27:29 Something’s wrong with the committee if it doesn’t get a Grammy. Wow. What do you say to that 20 year old that’s listening to us right now? Actually, I want to get both of you guys. Yeah, because he’s the 20 something.

1:27:39 Yeah, how old are you? 24? 24, yeah. 24. So he could really answer this.

1:27:43 Yeah, maybe you could answer it. Well, both of you guys, what do you say to the 20 year old that’s listening to us and is like, all right, you know, what should I do? I mean, like, if there’s one thing you can tell them, you know, just one thing, because I think it’s hard for us humans to make all these changes at once. I’m going to go on a diet and stop smoking and go back to school. But if there’s one thing they could do differently, if they want to change their life and get to their goals, I want to know what you would say and what you would say.

1:28:07 You two and a four, so start us off. Like I said, I answered this question before, isn’t it? Yeah, I think I asked you something. I just think the most important thing is like you said, like you said, is believing in yourself. You know what I mean?

1:28:18 Once you believe in yourself and what you do, everything else comes into focus. Like if you go to work on Monday, You know you’re going to work because you need 500 pounds to edit them up to buy a new pair of equipment. That’s going to help you take you where you want to be. If you get on the bus, you know I’m travelling to a destination, which has helped me where I’m going to be. If you have a sleepless night, you know that sleepless night is investing in where I want to be.

1:28:41 And that’s what I found. And once I found that, obviously there was people around me who helped me to be who I wanted to be. But once I found that, as soon as I believed in myself, everything became into perspective. Now everything you do has a motive, it has an intention. Even if you’re in school, you know what I mean, you’re having attention.

1:28:55 I want to get my degree so I can do this, but then I know what I want to do, you know what I mean. And I think that is more important than anything. Don’t wait for someone else to believe in you. A lot of artists, especially when you’re like a musician or whatever, you make the best album ever and you wait for someone to come and sign you. You start sending it to like companies.

1:29:12 But in this era, especially when stuff like YouTube is available and Twitter and stuff like that, all you need is self-belief and determination and that’s all I can give anyone. I say if you want to do something just believe that you can do it and aspire towards it And the younger generation look at this Absolutely, that’s why I want him to go first because I think that’s important what I would say now You know looking back because I was in my 20s and I was the guy for I started when I was 20 years old You know people think I’m an overnight success, but really the internet Has given you know me exposure, but I’ve been doing his work forever You know, I would say to young people just in hindsight looking back now, you know be informed you like for real Do take the first step number one like don’t overanalyze and I think that’s what some people do they overanalyze You know like as kids in the States, you know, my cousins the female they did, you know Double Dutch and and double Dutch is when that rope you’ve got two ropes and they’re going around You’ve just got to jump in like you can’t you know How you just got to jump in that the rope it will never be a convenient time to jump in the rope Because it’s up and down up and down up not is never stable It’s up and down ones up ones down ones up one down and you just got to find that right moment where you get in I’d say Just take the first step I mean the worst thing you can do when you take the first step is realize that wasn’t the right step to take

1:30:35 But the worst thing to do is to be like a squirrel and you just in the middle of the road going back and forth back and forth. And so I would say, but as you’re taking those steps, get counsel. As you’re taking those steps, you know, learn, get a journal, write down, be strategic. Like don’t just blindly go into something. Do your homework, do your research. You know, we put up videos every Monday. Why? Because it’s the beginning of the week. We’re very intentional and deliberate. Yup. Still very passionate guy. I’m still motivational, inspirational.

1:31:06 But we make sure that we put it up not on Friday. Who’s watching videos Friday and 5 o’clock? Nobody. When we ask people to support us, buy our book or t-shirt, we don’t do it every day. Why?

1:31:20 We don’t want people to think that’s what we’re about. We’re not trying to saturate the market with our product. But at the same time, we really have a book that we think can change people’s lives. So when do we say it? On Fridays.

1:31:30 You know, we say it every other Friday, payday. So we’re very strategic. Like, we’re not trying to over saturate you. We’re not saying you have to buy a book so you don’t see us pushing it. 30 days out of the month, you might hear us three or four days, but we know that this book is changing people’s lives because people are telling us it’s changing lives.

1:31:48 So we want to be balanced. So I would just say be intentional and deliberate about every step is what you said. You don’t go to school not to get a degree. You’re not wasting time. And then I would say this, whatever you do, man, if you expect people to support you, it better be good.

1:32:04 It better be good. If you’re doing the spoken word, it better be good. If you’re speaking, it better be good. If you’re playing football, you better be the best. You better control that ball.

1:32:15 You kick with the left, control with the right. You better be able to be ambidextrous, go both ways. You better be able to use your head. Why? Because that’s what the greats are doing.

1:32:23 So whatever you do, don’t think you’re going to put forth half effort and get maximum reward. Maximum effort, maximum reward. The thing that bothers me about this generation, they want more than any generation has ever want it, but they don’t love work the way generations of old love work. You have to put the work in. Don’t fool yourself. You are not going to be successful by luck. You’re gonna put in as many hours as the other dude did to be successful.

1:32:48 There’s no shortcuts. There are no easy paths to get to success. All roads lead through hard work. So if you don’t like to work hard, then you might want to cut back on some of your little dreams and some of your goals. But if you dream Big you better work even harder Amen I’m with you on that. I don’t know what else to say, man. That’s crazy. How do people get your book?

1:33:11 How do they get in touch with you? How do they stay up? No one you’re talking all that good stuff Yeah, well if they want to stay with me, they got to be positive And you want to attract me in your life you got to be great at what you do But our website well, let me just say this because there are a lot of people who are not, you know Technologically savvy. So if you go to Google and just put in Eric Thomas, you know Everything is gonna come up for you. But for those of you know what you’re doing a little bit, you know You’ve got ET inspires calm on SR website. You’ve got the app ET to hip-hop preacher. It’s listen to me It’s a free app. So there’s no risk involved. So if you’ve got an iPhone or you know, you’re dealing with Whatever. I don’t know what the other thing is Android you have an Android, you know, you can go to the marketplace and ET to hip-hop preacher, you know It’s free material. You can listen to the stuff every day day. Twitter I’m constantly upgrading you know I’m forming people through my Twitter and again my schedule is not really out there like that because I do so many private engagements but through the website there is the schedule you can look the schedule up and you can buy all of our material listen to me. The second book is coming out in about three or four months greatness is upon you it’s I’m telling you it’s going I’ve grown so that it’s going to a whole other level but if you haven’t gotten the secrets to success yeah it’s real

1:34:28 Easy if you don’t want to spend a lot of money you got an iPad or you know you have a tablet or whatever not even seven dollars you can get the book but the hard copy you can get through us and get it autographed through ET inspires but definitely stay in touch you can sit in the background with us you don’t have to pay like you can get a whole lot of inspiration for free you know you don’t have to pay money but there are people who like Eric I want to get the stuff you do privately you can go to iTunes and put in my name and there are a private messages that I have up you know for 99 cent etc so go to iTunes as well CD baby and we have some unreleased stuff that’s there. Fantastic and Sully what’s the best way ever there for them to see your stuff? Likewise if you just like this you just go on Google just type in Sully Breaks or the YouTube channels predominantly where I keep most of the work in it so if you just go on YouTube Sully Breezy S-U-L-I-B-R-W-E-Z-Y because I did it a long time ago yeah But if you’re just going to change that, you can’t change it now, you can’t change it.

1:35:25 But if you’re just going to the YouTube and if you do everything, just kind of fill it there. Give me the spelling one more time. It’s Sully Brakes on YouTube. Okay, give me the spelling. Oh, S-U-L-I-B-E-A-K-S, that’s Sully Brakes, and the YouTube is S-U-L-I-B-R-E-Z-Y.

1:35:40 Z. Z, guys. Oh, no, no, no, no, no. It’s Z in London. Z?

1:35:45 Yeah, yeah. No, no, no, I’m saying, so my people who are listening, they’ll follow me, they’ll know. Oh, the YouTube. You don’t come for us last season Cuz my people back home were like, oh, what was that last thing you say? Oh Z S-u-l-i-b double-e-z-y cuz I want you guys to follow so make sure you please if you’re following me look him up guys Please please. Yeah. No, it’s just epic. You know, I Prepared for this interview and I got to watch a bunch of your videos and I got inspired just preparing, you know It’s crazy. Usually I gotta watch some scientists And my girlfriend’s like, you know, what do you think? I’m like, I don’t know, but I’m excited So I have to thank you for that I appreciate you know I I thought as Sully was one of the first people I thought of to join us today and I just think man I just think this is like an epic moment and I’m really curious, you know, what happens in five years Absolutely. Maybe we’ll all meet back here You know, we do a featured artist on our TGIM. Okay, so I’m definitely looking What he feels is his best piece, and we definitely want to expose our people to his information.

1:36:54 Excellent, I called Sully up on Tuesday and I was like, you heard it, Eric, come here. And he’s like, but you made my day. Likewise, now I’m getting informed. And I have a lot of youth that follow me, so I’m going to sneak and give him some content. Like, hey, can you say this for me and make it sweet? Absolutely.

1:37:12 Yeah, that’s excellent. I can’t wait to see like the 29 year old Sully 47 or 8 year old you the same with me. Maybe we’ll be back here in five years see what happens I think this is an epic meeting. So thanks so much for coming. Thanks for having some real pleasure If you’re listening to us on iTunes and you want to see Eric Thomas himself we’re on YouTube at our channel London Real TV. We’re on Twitter at the same handle We’re on Facebook and our website is London Real TV Come join us all contents free and we just like featuring like super cool people with good messages every week, man Super cool. All right. Yeah, so it’s a lot of fun. You know, best of luck not that you need it this weekend I’ll need a whole bunch of it That’s cool. I need a whole bunch of it. It’s good to have you in London, man I think the world needs more of you. Hey, man. Well, thanks to you. They just got more of me All right. Peace to you both. Thanks a lot guys. Thanks, man What we call reality is in fact nothing more than a culturally sanctioned and linguistically reinforced hallucination.