Eric Thomas | BEAST Mentality

I am a poster child for being homeless, high school dropout, and doing what I needed to do to improve myself to get to this point. I will go down in history as one of the greatest to ever do it. Why? Not because I was the greatest when I started, but because I started with asking a series of questions. And all of those questions led me to where I am today. The end of the earth or God come. Whatever happens, I. I die. I truly believe that I will continue to be able to make money and make impact because I am what I say I am.

Well, look, I want to jump straight in and pay special homage to Dee Dee. Like, I had zero idea how instrumental Yalls relationship was in getting you from where you were to where you are. Talk to me a little bit about Dede and the importance of her relationship with you.

He said talk to you. I don't know if we got enough time to do that. That relationship circles back, you know, to 1986. But I will say this, man, I've been on this heavy, you know, Usain Bo, you know, did something that was super unique. You know, I grew up, you know, watching the Olympics, track and field especially, bro, we had that joke on lockdown. Yeah, you talk about the 80s, Carl Lewis, Michael Johnson, Flo Jo, you know, Jackie Carter, Joyce, whatever. She was like, bro, like the Olympics we was about to. There's no way in track and field you're gonna be able to. And this dude Boat came in and not only was he able to compete with us.

Yeah.

You know, and dominate. Eventually, the Jamaican men start rolling with my man. And boom, before you know it, they was competing. Then before you know it, the women start practicing with him. And now the women, the last one, the women won gold, silver and bronze, you know what I'm saying? Which is almost unbelievable. And so what I tell people is like, yo, it really matters who you yoke with. Like, it really matters who you create a bond with, the circle that you're in. It really matters. And that the very first person, you know, from the time I left home and I was homeless, that was my usain boat was Dee Dee. Yeah. Didi was the first person in my life that was like, yo, you got a chance to be great, but not as you are. You feel me? Like, the version you are, you not gonna be great, but you got the potential. And if you let me, I'm going to single handedly, you know, give you every resource, give you all of me. Love you. And man, it's just when I think about, like an earthly relationship, like, man, it's just. It's crazy that a person would literally sacrifice their all. And I. Listen to me. Diddy went to college. Diddy went, got her nursing degree, was. Became a registered nurse, you know, in four years. So I don't. I don't. I don't mean gave up. Like, you know, she didn't have her own dreams and goals, but. But as she was doing her thing, she was like, any resource that I have, anything that I have, including not cheerleading for you, but being your Phil Jackson, anything I could do to help take you to that next level, you know, I'm committed to doing, bro. So it's just been a crazy, crazy relationship. I'm grateful. And, yeah, nobody's ever done that before, but they really do. Oh, anybody that's been blessed by me, you.

Well, that was one of the biggest takeaways, you know? So, first of all, I absolutely love this dude. I've gone through, like, three of these highlighters, so I've got. I've got a lot going on there. But, you know, one of the things that really stuck out to me is, you know, I'm on a similar journey, so it's not often that I get to have somebody else on the other side who's also been homeless, who's also had to fight back, who's also had to grind, who's also had to figure stuff out on their own, who's also had to go and figure out who their niche people are, who's also got to figure out are right, who is safe to be around, who's not safe to be around, and all this kind of stuff. And, you know, my wife struggles from. From a pretty serious health concern herself, and she's in the process of healing, thank God. But, you know, it's interesting that she has been my rock solid for as long as I can remember, including telling me like, hey, don't mess with that person. That bad news.

Don't go over it.

Don't do this deal. Bad news. And every single time I go against it, it cost me $50,000. Every time.

Every time. Hey, I feel you 1,000%. And I really think that's the. That's the area that I had to grow most in. Yeah. From 16 to up to now is trusting.

Yeah.

You know, Didi, when she says that, and I don't know if it's trust now, like you said, I got burned so much. I'm just like, yo, just like, whatever.

You say, I'm doing it.

Whatever you say, you better at it than I am. But honestly, you know, man, you know, I woke up this morning, man, so, you know, discouraged and not, not in a. Not in a, you know, woe was me and woe is life. But I just have so many young people that I'm talking to, maybe middle aged people who think money is the key to everything.

Yeah.

Oh, and it's just like, bruh, if you could understand that there's a formula to success and if you could stop trying to create your own. Yeah, feel me, like, stop trying to create your own. Like, yeah, God has blessed us. It's already here.

Is already among us. And so, you know, with Dee Dee, that was one of the things that I could have been successful faster, but it was always fighting her and fighting Truth and fighting was right. Because I had my own plans and my own way of wanting to do stuff. And I'll just be real, bro. It wasn't even working. Like, you read the book.

For some reason, I was married to. I was married to my way and married to this how I do stuff. And even though I was losing, I still felt like, well, it's all right because it's me. And I remember getting to a point of surrender. And every successful person gets to a point of surrender. Michael Jordan.

Yeah.

I mean, Mike didn't want to lift weights. Phil Jackson was like, bro, I'm going to be real with you. The Pistons is killing me. You know what I'm saying? Like, and your frame, your frame is not going to take you to an NBA final. Like, you're scoring 60 some points. Like, you're not about to win no finals doing that. And so even Michael Jordan had to submit and surrender. So I watched the last dance. A part of success is ring. Kobe was like, get Phil Jackson out of here. I can do this by myself. And he never won a championship without Phil Jackson. Beg for him to come back. And he won two. Like, how many could he be won if Phil would have stayed there, you know? And so I need people to hear what I'm saying. A major part of you being successful is not just chasing money. It is surrendering to what's right or what's better. Even though you didn't come up with it, even though you didn't think about it, even though it may not make sense to you, man, the truth is the truth. A formula is a. Please excuse my dear Aunt Sally. I promise you it still work. Parentheses, you know what I'm saying? Exponent, you know what I'm saying? Like, it's still multiplication. Like, it still works to this Day. And that was one of the things when I think about Dede, as you talk about your wife. I had to get to a point where it's like, yo, E.T. right is right. Surrender. Relinquish your power. Relinquish your control to the formula and stop fighting the formula and the formula, will you? You put the right stuff in, you're gonna get the. The formula's gonna get the success, bro.

Well, the crazy part, I think so many of us is I was in this camp for a long time, was like chasing success itself.

Yeah.

Ended up leaving, leading me empty. However, when I started putting excellence behind the service of others, all of a sudden success started chasing me. How did that shape up in your life?

He was the same thing you said, man. I got to a point where. And I was fortunate because I went to a university, Oakwood College, at that time. It's a university now. And I went. The environment itself, you know, it was what you would call like a, you know, a Christian school, if you will. And again, formula, what they taught us was become, do, and have.

Yeah, right.

So I. So. So I was. I was in a culture that didn't promote getting first and having. So, you know, still I got to grow up. Because the way I grew up before I got in that culture was, you know, everybody on the block with money must be. You know, it was just lifestyles of the rich and famous. You know what I'm saying? Like, we had. We didn't have.

You know, Internets, social media, we didn't have that. So Robert Leach was the only. That was the only time you could see the rich and famous, but it was like the lifestyles of the rich and famous. You're like, yo, it seemed like everybody with money must be. And so there's a part of you that believes that lie.

Yeah.

And so there's a part of you that believes that lie. And because you believe that lie, you are actually trying to do the thing that you believe.

Yeah.

But then the university was like, yo, bro, that's not how it worked. Like, the people who have honestly and have it the right way are the people who become.

Yeah.

And then based on their values, they do certain things. And then based on that, like you said, they're not chasing anything. Everything begins to chase them. Why I tell people I never got no money problems. Why? I am who I like. I have created who I am. So whatever people think about me, there is a brand of me that is a giver. I have experience, I have knowledge, I have wisdom. I am professional development Like, I'm. I don't do professional development. I am a poster child for being homeless, high school dropout and doing what I needed to do to improve myself to get to this point. So I'm not. I don't need to practice. I don't need to read something. I'm now. I am now walking, breathing, living, professional development. So of course I would get opportunities to come and develop people. And of course I would made a lot of money. So I do see a lot of people are like, I'm gonna wear a hat like E. I'm gonna wear a T shirt like E. I'm gonna scream in the camera like E. And I'm gonna be E.T. and I'm like, ah, bro, about that. I. I became this organically.

Yeah.

I didn't chase this. I. I transformed into this.

Yeah.

And as a result of this, as long, I just. I believe until the end of the earth or God come, whatever happens, I. I die. I truly believe that I will continue to be able to make money and make impact because I am what I say I am.

Yeah, man. Dude, it's so good. You know, it's crazy to me how our stories are very similar, but also very different in action. I'm a big believer that principles govern promises. Right. And if you're going to get somewhere, you got to follow specific principles to get there. And as I've been going through the book, I'm like, you can see it, like, really clearly that not only. Not only did you go through the transformational process, not only did you get in the radical honesty, not only did you become transparent with yourself and the people that loved you, but it's a proven process to say anybody can do it. If they'll do the stinking work. If they'll just do the work, anybody can do it. And one of the things that I love. I jotted this down. You are the only person who determines your value in a world that everybody else is chasing value from 10 different. 10 different other ways. Talk to me, bro.

Man, I. I can't say no names, but I'll just say somebody that I love truly. You know, I told him the other day, I was like, yo, I quit. You know, I've done everything I could possibly do for you, and it's not working. You know, And I'm not upset. I'm not mad. I've just done everything I know. We've tried everything we could possibly do. We've done it. And it seems like it's hurting you more than it's helping me. And I said, this is why. Because you don't know your value. You don't know your worth. And so what you're actually doing, as powerful as you are, you're actually going to other humans for your self worth when your self worth is already inside. So you can't find it because you're looking in the wrong places. Yeah, like, you can't find your value because you outside looking for your value. I don't know if you heard this story. I'm sure you heard the story. It must have been Napoleon Hill that told it or somebody. Maybe it was think and grow rich. I read Dennis Kimbrough's version, Think and grow richer, Black choice. But he mirrored it after Napoleon Hill, so I'm sure it came from there. And it was the story of the dude who was just super frustrated, wanted to be rich, and, you know, wanted to have the world. So he left his crib and searched for it, couldn't find it, sold his house for pennies. A dude moved into his house, went to the backyard, start digging up for some reason, and found gold. You know what I'm saying? And the dude was like, hey, bro, thank you for selling me the crib, bruh. I'm filthy rich. What you mean, you filthy rich? Like, yo, bruh, all them diamonds you left me in the backyard, bruh, Muchos gracias. I appreciate you, man. My man was sick. My man was sick. He was sick to death. Like, yo, I just. Bro, I went. I spent everything I had searching for greatness when greatness was in my own backyard. That's what I'm saying. I'm saying, you know, to everybody out there, that once you realize your value and once you realize who you are and what you have to give to the earth, and once you realize it's not extrinsic, it's intrinsic. Once you realize who you are and what you capable of doing and how the world needs the version of you that's your greatest version, then you stop chasing. And I'm telling y', all, the Mona Lisa. You be shocked if you've ever gone to see the Mona Lisa in person. It's a long, long line. You'd be shocked. That joke about.

And everybody's going to see it. And there are 3,000 other pieces, and people are looking at those pieces. But standing in line for the Mona Lisa and the Mona Lisa is worth. I don't know how much it's worth, but if you saw the actual Mona Lisa, it would blow your mind. But it's not the size that Matters. It's is not how many other pieces are in that art museum. It does not matter. The Mona Lisa is valued and it's valuable.

Yeah.

Because it's valued and it's valuable. People are willing to spend thousands of dollars to come just to. To look at it. And I'm telling you what you. What you want externally. If you knew who you were internally. I promise y', all, it would come to you. And the book you owe you is about. You owe it to you to see your value, to see your worth and stop asking other people to see your value and see your worth.

Well, and the other thing, too, I think it's important for people to know is other people are not going to see your value that God put in you. Like my. My father straight out of the gate, long time ago, said, skoggins don't get ahead. They get by. You know, we grew up in a white trailer park, right? So barely getting by, lights getting shut off, roaches everywhere and stuff like that. And I believed that life for a good four or five years before my first mentor ever stepped up and helped me. You know what I'm saying? And then you mentioned something else in the book that I just thought was profound, which is the untangling the dynamics of your family and kind of where you came from. How does that. Because I feel like a lot of us are living somebody else's life based on what our family said we should be doing.

So talk to me, bro. I promise you. I always tell people, like, why Michigan and not Miami? You know what I'm saying? I'm like, yo, how we get in Michigan? You know what I'm saying? Like, it's cold. It's how we get to Chicago. It's freezing. It's cold. Like, we live, bro. We live in the Midwest, bro. It's terrible in January, February. Everybody watch the snow of Christmas. Don't believe the hype. It's cold. Where there's snow, there is cold. And let me tell you something. One day I woke up and was like, for real? Y' all think I'm playing? I was like, why am I in Michigan? How did this happen? And it happened because my grandma, you know, who was in Alabama at that time, smart move on her behalf. She actually was like, we don't want to do sharecropping no more. We want to go up north and see if we can find. You know what I'm saying? So I ain't mad at Grandma, but somebody didn't ask the same question Grandma asked. Grandma's like, yo, this sharecropping ain't working. We gonna go up north. So I guess every generation was just like, whatever grandma did, that's what we own. I'm like, oh, no, I. I'm about to start talking. I'm about to start thinking. Like, grandma, why am I here? And so when I started thinking about, why do I live. Why do I live in Michigan? I went to Alabama, where grandma left. I went to and got transformed there. And then when I came back to Michigan, I was like, no, bro, I'm going to get a crib in California. I'm going to San Diego. Like, I'm going to stay the winter sometimes in Miami. Like, the United States of America. Bro, you ever been to the Carolinas, bro? Like, you ever been to North Carolina? The trees, the green. Like, bro, you don't gotta leave America. I'm just being 1000 with you. I've been all, yeah, yeah, yeah, but you don't gotta leave America, Brother C. To make. To go wild. And so for me, it was, okay, well, if you questioning, why do you live here? Well, question, why are we.

Why are we middle class? And why do we believe that hard work is the way to. And why don't we believe in entrepreneurship? And why don't you. I just started asking a bunch of questions, like, okay, okay, I see why grandma did that. Okay. But why did my aunts and uncles. Okay, why didn't we go to school? Okay, why didn't we go get degrees? Okay, why didn't we go get certificates? Okay, why didn't we go to conferences? Okay, why don't. Why. Why wasn't we heard nothing about audiobooks? Like, why didn't people talk about mentors and getting mentored? Like, okay, hold up. Something wrong. Okay, okay, cool. Grandma did what she had to do. It seemed like this generation wasn't really. You know what I'm saying? Like, it seemed like whatever grandma did, that's what they was on. Grandma moved into the projects. A lot of my aunts, uncles in the project. Nothing wrong with that. But I was like, yo, somebody gotta start questioning. I gotta start questioning. Yeah. Like, if the American dream is this, why are we just getting a little small piece of it? And I start questioning it. And as I start coming up with questions, I start coming up with solutions. And I start asking people like yourself, Stephen, I start asking people like you, hey, why is this? And why is this? And why is this? And people like you start saying, hey, E, maybe you think that. And maybe you need to get. Bro, we were just talking the other day, he was like, you probably need to do this and eat. Did you ever call this person? And e, what about that? And I'm telling you, everything you said, I've already done.

I don't doubt it a bit in the world.

It's already been done. And so I just think many of us settle. We take what has been given to us and be grateful for whatever's been given to you. Like, I ain't mad at my grandma. It ain't my grandma responsibility for me to get to California or for me to get to Miami. She don't owe me that. I owe that to myself. But to your point, it started with not settling, but it started with being curious. It started with exploring. It started with seeking. And before you knew it, boom, here I am. Yeah, I will go. I will go down in the hall of Fame with whatever speakers, like, whatever. The Les Browns, whatever, zigzag, whatever, Tony, whatever. I will go down in history as one of the greatest to ever do it. Why not? Because I was the greatest when I started, but, yeah, because I started with asking a series of questions, and all of those questions led me to where I am today. Oh, man.

It just fired me up, David. I love it. You know, one of the things I was just thinking about, too, is I don't know if you dealt with this when you were growing up, but at least when I was growing up, the circle of influence that I had, like becoming wealthy or becoming successful, was actually technically seen as evil. Like, you were somehow going to be like, I don't know what, for lack of a better word, you're. You were trading, you know, trading your life, like, you know what I'm saying? Trading yourself. Did you run into that at all when you growed up as well?

I. I ran into it twice. I ran into it in the neighborhood I grew up in because I grew up in a working class community.

Yeah.

So even. Even for a gym in Chrysler, if you work the plant, the doggone supervisor was the enemy. You know what I'm saying? He made more money. The. The CEO was probably the enemy because they made more money. And so these people became the enemy. Instead of us going, yo, look at these individuals. We can get there. We just starting here. So I kind of grew up with like, yo, you gotta be like, you gotta take pride in being middle class. You gotta take pride in being in the working class. You gotta take pride in wearing that hard hat, you know, and the steel toe boots. You gotta take pride in that. And it's like, yo, I'm not mad at you. I take pride in it. But at the end of the day, if the iPhone 4 started with the 4, now we're on the 14.

Yeah.

If technology is advancing, can I advance? Do I gotta stay stuck in where we are? You know? And then when I went to church, it was even worse. I got to church, you know, I started, you know, probably going to church heavy. Late 16, early 17 years old. And the church was definitely on. Anybody with money is evil. But I found it funny that the few people that were rich in church, everybody looked up to them, and they got to make all the decisions. So I was like, this is weird, y' all telling me that money is evil, and. But the doctors and the lawyers of our church, they seem to be making all the decisions and making all the. Coming up with all the rules, and everybody look like they looking up to them. You feel me? And so I got to a point where I was like, I need to study this for myself. And when I studied as, you know, I realized that the love of money is the root of all evil, not money itself. I realized, like, oh, that just means you was evil already in the first place, and now you just got bread and it just showing you were evil or you are pursuing money as if it's a God. And I tell people all the time, bro, like, look, I love. I. I. Listen to me. I. I respect money. I'm not gonna say I love it. I'm not gonna say that. I probably love people more than anything else in this world, but I respect money, though. I do respect it. And here's what I understand about it. People always ask me, e, you own this God stuff, so what you saying? I said, look, I'll be real. Get as much God as you can and as much money.

You know what I'm saying? Like, you ain't gotta choose y of both of them. Why? Because money. When Didi was diagnosed with ms, we couldn't go to our bank and take out all our money and just ask him if we can go downstairs where the money is in the safe and let Dee Dee roll around in it, and then the legions get off her brain. Yeah, it don't work like that, bro. Now, could we use the money to get good insurance, you know, and maybe get good healthcare? Yeah, but they still practicing.

Yeah. Yeah.

They still don't know what they doing. Like, ain't no definite. Like, they don't know. All right? If we give you this and this and this, your body gonna react like this. They don't know that's why them commercials always had a quick stuff at the end. You can cause cancer. It could cause big. You could be bleeding.

But still go take it. But here are the side effects. You know, where is. This is the time where I need to go before the Lord in prayer.

Yeah.

This is the time that I need to go to church. I got the key to the church. This is where I need to open the door, lock them, go up to the altar and cry my little face off and say, God, if you out there and you can hear me and you love me, Diddy need help. Didi's done everything she possibly can to help me to get to where I am. And I don't want to share with another woman. I don't want to tell no another woman how good Didi was. I don't want to talk to my grandkids about. I wish Didi would have been alive. Your grandma. You would have had the best grandma. God, I don't want to do that. I want my grandkids to know they grandmama. I want the world to know Dee Dee. And I want other women to see what Didi did and go, I need to support my man like that. She didn't cheer for me. She was Phil Jackson, right? So for me, bro money, it has its function. You can't go to the gas station and pray. I pray for a full tank of gas. That costs money. But you have to put each one in their proper place.

Yeah.

And if you put each one in their proper place and let each one of them do what they do, neither one of them is evil. They're only evil when misappropriated.

Like, even God. If you're a fanatic and do God the wrong way, even that's bad. If you get everything God like, bro, that ain't God. That's gonna take a test, that's gonna get certified.

That's not God ain't about to just put that information in your head. Now, if you read it, he may bring it to your remembrance, but he's not going to put information in your head that you've never studied for. It just don't work like that. So both of them require you to use them effectively.

It's crazy to me. You just literally articulated how I was feeling when my wife first got diagnosed with all the health issues she's been battling and how I felt in that moment about her. And then in some cases, feeling a little bit helpless to help her.

Right.

Other than just kind of watching right from the sidelines or taking her to appointments and Stuff like that. And that's always been one of the hardest parts for me. Dude, thank you for that. Like, all of that. Thank you. Seriously, I want to pivot for just a second. One of the things you say in here. Let me see here. Excuses are the roadblocks to your aspirations. Excuses are the roadblocks. Your aspirations. Like, let's. Let's walk through that. Because you also made this other comment. You said nothing would work because you didn't want it to work. And I feel like a lot of people were stuck there.

You know, Excuses are real. You know, a lot of times people like, oh, you just act like life is just. I'm like, bro, didn't you read the book? Didn't you read the book? I didn't start off with. I'm like, I got the excuse sweater, the mug. I've been to the conferences. You know, I. At one point in my life, I was in the excuse hall of fame.

I was right there beside you on.

The wall like, hey, E.T. they go, oh, E.T. he made so many excuses. But, bruh, I started realizing that as significant as the excuses were, as real as they were, My mom got pregnant with me at 17. She was a baby. It's real, y'. All. That's a real reason, you know what I'm saying? To look at life in a certain way. My father wasn't in my life.

That's.

My biological father was not there for me. That's a. Bruh. I, I. Somebody asked me when I was dealing with the publisher, they was like, you know, we gotta edit. What was your. What's your father's. You know, what was your last name when you were. I was like, I don't have the slightest idea. I don't know what my name was. You gotta ask my mama. I don't know before. You know what I'm saying? Like, I don't know. That's a real reason not to be successful, that you got a point in your life where you don't even know what your last name is. That's real, y'.

All.

But listen to me. No excuse is realer than making my dreams become a reality. No, no. There is no excuse worth me not being able to get on a private jet if I want to. Yeah, no excuse. That's great enough for me not to fly first class, bro. Somebody was like, why you fly first class? Why you want to fly private? I don't want to be comfortable, and I don't want to do it in the middle of the hookup between me and Dee. Dee or I don't want. You know what I'm saying? Like, I know you've been on the plane before, and, you know, before I was flying first class, and me and Dee Dee was having a bomb conversation, and I was like, yeah, Dee, we gonna move to San Diego, my man. Like, what part of San Diego, y'?

All?

I'm like, what? I wasn't talking to you. How you getting fucked? So for me, I just want to be alone with Dee Dee. I want to sit with Dee Dee. I don't know how many years we got left. You feel me? And so no excuses worth. Jalen not being able to go to college. Jada not being able to go to college, and me not having to worry about another man or institution deciding if my kid. I ain't tripping on the blessings of the government, but I don't want somebody reading a piece of paper go, oh, no, we're not giving Jalen no money to go to college. Nope. Jaylen don't deserve to go to college. Nope. I owe it to myself, my wife, my children, the people that I touch and influence. I owe it to them to be in control. So for me, excuses make you lose control. That's what they do. Excuses make you lose control. They make you lose control. Taking ownership and responsibility gives you control. Day, bro. I just want. I just want to be in control. So for those of you who want to talk about your excuses and all of the roadblocks, you have the right to. They are real. And if you want them to dominate your life and control your life, you have the power. God has given us the power of choice.

Yes, sir.

As a recovering excuse giver, my name is Eric Thomas, and I'm gonna.

I'm just trying to tell you that if I were you, I would get on the other side of excuses, because every dream and goal, you have stuff you couldn't dream of. I never dreamed of being able to chase the New York Times bestsellers list. I was trying to get a GED beyond all of your excuses and reasons. And you know what I'm talking about. Beyond all of them is the life you want to live.

Oh, man, that's so good.

No, I.

Look, I get so frustrated when people are. They're stuck in their own way. They're stuck in their own head knowing that I used to be there with them. I'm like, no, do this pivot here, try this. Don't give up, like, all this kind of stuff.

And.

And I'll tell you, one of the things that came up was this accountability, responsibility thing you just. You kind of just bled into. Right. When that whole thing began to really take shape, I began to understand that I could reframe an excuse to become a marker of excellence. Like when you did with Talk with your dad. Like, we ironically, both became homeless because of. Because of arrogance, anger, and pride. Right? And when I dug into that and you were like, you know, you were going into the book you're talking about, you're not, you know, not knowing your biological dad. And then get. Later on, you're like, hey, but I had a man step up. He gave me his last name. He did this, he did that. And so many times, we don't reframe in order to get the very thing that we're actually aiming for.

Yeah, bro. And let me just tell you, here's what's so spooky. Both of them inside of you.

Yeah.

Being real. The ability to do both of them is inside of you. When you choosing to go with the one like you're choosing to go with the one that's the most defeat is like, you. You choosing to go with the one that is the most destructive.

You.

You choosing to go with the one that's going to destroy your whole life. And one day I woke up, was like, e, you losing with this way, it's just not working, E. And I woke up and was like, yo, you can look at the same situation in a positive way and you could get different results.

Yeah.

So I was like, yo, E, you. You like, bruh, you look at what you got. Like. Like, look at what you have instead of looking at what you don't have.

Yeah.

Look at the blessing. And you know, man, I just want to say this to those of you who are listening, do it quick, because I made some changes, but I made them. I never used the word too late, but I didn't leverage some opportunities like I didn't leverage the man who raised me. I was just like, yo, bro, you ain't my daddy, bro. Like, I was on that before I even found out, because I always knew he wasn't.

Yeah.

You feel me? Like, it was always something in me that was like something not right about this situation. You know what I'm saying? And ain't nobody saying nothing but. So I. I blew what you could get from having a father. I blew that. I blew that. Like, bro left the crib, like, don't ever talk to me. I'm not talking to you. I went months without talking. I. I closed my heart. You feel me? And I put myself in A position where it's like God gave you something and you didn't even take advantage of what God. You didn't steward what God gave you because you was in your feelings and you weren't. You weren't in facts. You weren't dealing with facts. That he didn't lie.

Yeah.

That wasn't his responsibility to tell you who your dad. That was your mama's responsibility. He didn't lie. He actually took a very terrible situation and tried to make the most out of it for me. That's what he actually did. So I wasted all, what, 13 years was. I left the crib when I was 16, about 5, talking, what, 9, 9, 10 years that I. 11 years that I blew on some. Bruh, you ain't my dad. You can't tell me. So I'm just telling y'. All. Some of you are listening, and you're going to eventually stop making excuses, and you're going to eventually see a solution and not a problem. But I don't want you to wait and be like the person that put their money in the investment. Well, yeah, you made a little money, but you waited until the doggone thing was already taken off, and so you put your money in it. Yeah, you're making a look, but as you got in, in the beginning, your stuff, you'd be making so much money. So sometimes it's not just about doing right, it's about doing it in enough time where you could get the benefits from it. Some people in their deathbed, oh, baby, I'm sorry I did you wrong, bruh. Like, thank you for the transformation, but now you about to die. There's no benefit or reward we can get from this. So for those of you listening, do it quick, do it now. Make the adjustments so you can make the rest of your life the best of your life.

Amen. Amen to that. All day long.

Yeah.

Do you think. I mean, I'm. It's easy. I can answer the question from my personal experience, but do you think that we stay in victimhood because it's because there is a gravitational pull moving to victory. Like, you get. There's things you have to bust through and levels you have to bust through. Is that what prevents us from moving on?

You know, And I'd say yes, but I'd say deeper, yes. Because of the culture. You know, I read something that said, like, literally, bro, almost 80% of our thoughts are negative.

Yeah.

Like 80% of our thoughts are naturally negative.

Yeah.

So if you're going to be positive, like, if you go Be a victor. You're going to have to do some real work. Because the way the world is designed, the stuff on tv, negative. Like, most of it is negative. The news, negative, bro. I'd be trying to watch the news and figure out. I'm like, yo, this ain't even news no more. This is like a soap opera. This is like.

It's exactly what.

It's stuff like a soap opera, bro. Like, this ain't even new. Like, this is somebody's interest. And now I'm spending there spending 30, 40 minutes on your interest. We not even talking about what's really going on. Like, can I at least get the weather up in the dope? Like, everybody understand what the weather is? Like, this is unbelievable. So you see a lot of negativity, you know, in the script, everything is negative, negative, negative, negative. And, like, positive is in spurts. You feel me? And so, yes, culturally, it's a lot of negativity. And it's easier to just jump in with all the negativity.

Yeah.

But I owe it to myself not to allow the natural flow of life to rob me of the blessings that the Creator has for me. So I gotta go. I gotta go against the tide. And now I'm gonna be honest with you. Initially. Absolutely. And you know this initially. Yes, because you're going upstream.

Yeah.

But when you start doing it and it becomes a habit is actually harder to be negative once you get into the flow. Like me and you on this podcast. And I have not been into. I've not been invited to no podcast with no negative bumps. Like, they just don't. I'm not. Our frequency is we not even on the same street. They don't see me. I don't see them. We're not on the same street. So, yes, there's a natural bend toward that evil negative victim. Woe is me only seeing what's negative. I told somebody I was counseling with yesterday, I said, you got it so bad that you can walk into this house, and they got one small pee problem under a vase and there's no other pee nowhere else. You will come in this room and you automatic automatically your body will take you to that base, and you pick that base up and see pry. You just have a natural inclination for negativity. And so. But once you start practicing and you start getting around people who are victors, I don't know how. I don't know how it worked, but I'm, like, looking at Tom Brady, like, how did the ball bounce that way? How did the ball bounce that way, how did they get an interception? And it's a minute left and all he need is a minute to go down. Like, how did he go down? How did he get 80 yards in one minute? Like, bro, like, how did they get a field goal position to kick the field goal and make it? Like, how does this keep. How does the Golden State keep winning the world? Like, how did this keep. It don't. But once you get on that. Once you get on any road of habitual. Whatever it is, it just be it. It. You. You attract and are drawn to that. Yeah.

Yeah, dude. Oh, my gosh. You know, it's crazy. You know, back in May, I was my honor to host you and a bunch of our thought leader friends to come out and do an event together here in North Carolina. And one of the things that really stuck out with me during that time frame, and I picked up on it again when I was reading the book and in here specifically, was this. This element on the importance of people in service. So for the audience, you guys don't know this, but one of the things that ET did specifically, nobody else did that was that was here to speak during that event was he went ahead and left the green room and literally came back in the back of the room and sat in the back of the room to watch several other speakers in front of him, like, and actually feel the energy. And meanwhile, so ET Is in the back of the room. The audience doesn't know he's back there, and he's just vibing. He's just picking it up and picking it up and picking it up and picking it up. And then he comes out and closes the day with an explosion. Explosion. Explosion and speech. Explosion and passion. Explosion and heat. I'm curious, where did that love for other people and the importance of picking up on the vibe come from?

You know, it came from realizing that all of us are here because of what somebody else did. Yeah, it is. It is. You know, for those who, you know, of course, you know, we're seeing what's happening right now, you know, in Great Britain with, you know, the loss of the Queen and how they're responding, you know, but there was a time a group of people left there, you know, and came to America to build. What we know now is these 50 states, you know, so when I get to go to San Diego, when I go to San Francisco, Miami, like, yo, you gotta understand that this infrastructure was built in somebody's head before it was even built, you know, and then my ancestors coming over from Africa, you know, Being enslaved and what they went through to help build his country. It's like, bro, it was a lot of people that came over here and put in work and never got to benefit from that work.

True.

I'm not talking about people who work for some, you know, CEO, work for some company and, you know, he started something benefit. No, I'm talking about the railroads was here long before you got here.

Yeah.

The highways and freeways was here long before the infrastructure for industry. Industry as a whole, period was here long before you got here. We're benefiting from somebody else's dreams and somebody else's hard work. And because they had a path, we could have a dream. Like, for real. Back in the day, there were some folks that couldn't even have a dream because they had a path and they were working that path so we could have a dream. So for me, it's like, how dare you come into a world that was prepared for you? How dare you come into a world where hotels already exist? There are people. I fly, y'. All. I fly. There are people who lost their lives trying to figure out how to get a plane in the sky.

Yeah.

They literally lost their lives. They didn't have TVs, they didn't have telephones on the plane. They weren't, you know what I'm saying, Like snacks. They weren't flight attendants. There wasn't no flight attendant. When the first jokers was trying to figure that joker out. It was no flight attendant. So. So silly of me to come into a place that was already established to put me in a situation where I can enjoy life and me not leave it better than when I came.

Yeah. Yeah.

Selfish. So. So when I got here, it was sweet. So when I leave here.

Yeah.

I'm gonna leave my footprint emotionally and mentally. People who need to be inspired, we gonna leave something for you. As long as they got computers or some kind of way.

Yeah.

Get content. I'm going to leave a bunch of content. Whether it's books, whether it's courses, whether it's audio, whatever it is, I'm going to do my part that wherever I go, I'm going to develop people and get them on this Victor. Victor mentality. I'm going to make this world a better place before I get up out the junk.

Oh, for sure. Well, you exude love, dude. I think it's funny how we. We watch those we admire just kind of in their daily life. Right. So we, you know, we finished the event. We have a great, great time getting everybody off to the airport. Went out with some mutual friends of ours to go have dinner after the fact. And we walk right in and somebody notice she's. Right away, guys, he could have done the whole, like, hey, it's nice to meet you. Shake your hand. Got it. No, he didn't do that. He went up and gave him a hug, gave him the picture, get up and talk to him for 10, 10 or 15 minutes. Like, that's the kind of guy this guy is, right? So when he's trying to give you thought leadership, when he's trying to give you the principles that. That can lead you to your promises, when he's trying to lay out the steps one by one by one by one, you can rely on what he's saying is true. Not only has he done it, he's done it for thousands of other people, routinely, consistently. I want to know why was now the time to write uou? Why? Why is now the time when in all the other things that you've done, why is now the time?

Because I could simplify the blueprint. I can simplify it now and to just. You owe you. Yeah, I know what y'. All. I know what's been missing. I know. I see what y'. All. I see what you own. Like, I see why you can't break through. You owe you. I get it. You think is everybody else's responsibility to bless you. And a little bit in America, depending on, you know, you know, people call it what they want to call it, but there are times in this country where you are being blessed, right. And you can sit back and wait for somebody else to bless you. You know, it's like, oh, somebody sent me a check. It's like, okay, it ain't nothing wrong with that. But the challenge is you gotta wait, and you gotta wait for them to tell you how much it's gonna be. I found another way where you could produce your own checks.

Yeah. And multiply them.

And you could be your own ATM machine. Yeah. You feel me? Meaning that, like you said, multiply and produce them at will. And so, since I see you so excited about these checks, I want to show you that there's another way to do to get a check other than have to wait on another adult to give you one. And you owe you to be able to do that. So that was the number one reason, the other reason we didn't self publish this time, because I realized.

E. Just being honest with yourself at this structure, this stage of your life. You don't have a machine to get the book to everybody that Needs it.

Yeah.

Your people can't be mailing to Africa or. And we did it.

Yeah.

We had books that we sent to Australia, books we mailed to Africa probably cost them about $80, a hundred dollars.

To send it to send a $20 book. I did it, too.

So I had to humble myself. We talked about that earlier. Pride, ego, anger. I had to humble myself and say, e, it's not about you and you holding on to more money when you self publish now. It's about the people that you serve, and you don't have the capacity to serve them. You not scaled to that level yet. And so you need to go with a publishing company that has the machine that can get it to Africa, that can get it to Australia, you know, that can get it to the world.

No, man, look. And here's the. Here's the. Here's the cool thing. So I was asking myself, when I. As I was reading it myself, I was like, all right, so who is this? Who is this book for? And the answer that kept popping up for me is anyone trying to get to another level, period. Another gear. I'll tell you. And I'll tell you this. Why. Had I had this book when I was homeless, I could have been a little further along. Had I had this book when I. When I busted through the $10 million ceiling, I could have used it. I'm telling you right now as I'm. I'm all over top of the nine figure ceiling, currently all over top of it. I picked up things in this book that I didn't yet know that are taking me to another level, thanks to you and Dede and CJ and all the people that have come alongside of you to. To get this out of you into the public. Right? This is not. Guys, this is not a book. This is a playbook. A strategical manual on how to make your dreams absolutely come true. This book ain't playing. I'm telling you right now. It is a one of a kind read that you've got to pick up for yourselves. You know, one of the things that I took away in the book that I've actually jotted down and written on my mirror now is Knowledge is currency.

Knowledge.

Knowledge is currency. Tell me about how knowledge is currency, brother.

Knowledge is the new money. Get you some.

Yeah.

And let me tell you why. Because I used to think. I used to think working was the currency. I should think that's all I knew in Detroit. People going to work and then they getting a check. And I started realizing no, E. Learning how to turn what you've done in terms of ministry into money so you can bless more people. And I'm going to be honest, like, we. I'm just now getting to the point in my brain and in my work where getting close to 10 million, you know what I'm saying? Like, I look back like, yo, bro E, all the, like, for all the content and all the stuff you put out on the earth, you should have easily been at a hundred million dollars. But I wasn't on knowledge, I was on ministry. And I'm not saying anything wrong. I'm not saying I'm. My spot in heaven ain't gonna be there, but I know God got to be looking at me going, yo, you could have done more. You could have done more, son. But because all you were one dimensional and all you thought about was ministry, I told you in the word, render unto Caesar what is Caesar's and render unto God what is God? All you cared about was giving me what was mine. And. And if you're gonna do one or two, you know, I'm sure God, like, I'm grateful on the side of me, but I didn't tell you to err on the side of me. I told you to render what is, what is unto Caesar what is Caesar's. And you haven't given Caesar's ears. And what is Caesar? Caesar is business opportunity.

Yeah.

So before, all I knew was ministry because I was raised by workers. And so workers never told me about opportunities to make millions. They were working. They never told me, just don't use your hand, use your mind. And so now, of course, it's like, okay, I can help you and help myself at the same time with a book, with courses. Right. With starting other businesses with the individuals that I work with, with taking a commission for the people that I help and blow up for starting industries that are. You'd already started them. E. You already. You already building speakers. You need a speaker's bureau. Like, you're already building. Like.

Yeah.

And so for me, knowledge is the new money is just saying that there are. That you can use this and not just this. Yeah, well, you can use this in addition to this and this. And a lot of us got this and this.

Yeah.

But we've never used this. And I'll be honest with you, you could actually do more in terms of impact and influence with this and with this all day long. Look at the people who are doing well financially. Most of them are not doing this.

Yeah.

Doing this. And so that's what I mean when I Say knowledge is the new money and not just getting a degree. That's not what I mean. I went and got a degree because I realized I wasn't tapped into knowledge. And the university is one of the places that you can get tapped into quickly and start getting around. Speakers, professors, books, you know, conferences. All that stuff happens on the campus of msu. Michigan State was always doing that. So once I tapped into that knowledge, then I was able to tap into my individual knowledge. Yeah, that's why I said, not just money making money from your hands or hustling, but there's a way to make money here. And I'll be honest with you, I like that. One more, because that one. That one produces a freedom that this one doesn't produce.

Yeah, I think it goes back to that. The little boy in Scripture, giving. Giving Jesus a fish and two loaves. Right. Or, you know, I'm saying that's. That's how you multiply. You turn over your hands to your heart, to your head. You give it to him, let him take it all, and let him do his thing with it, you know? You got time for one more question?

The floor is yours.

Well, look, you know, one of the things that, you know, I run across people all the time, and especially when I was growing up, everybody's praying for a miracle, and their miracle is, I got a miracle to get my rent paid, Mary. To get a better job. Miracle to get out of this relationship or get into this relationship. Miracle to, like, any number of different things. And one of the things that you put in there that really talked to my heart was miracles are the product of intent. Miracles are the product of intent. And at least for me, one of the things that I took from that is this element of my miracles are a product of me tapping into source. Like, talk to me a little bit about that, if you don't mind.

You could create miracles. You know what I'm saying? People sitting here, waiting on them, it's like, ah, that's not how it goes. Like, yeah, you can actually produce miracles. And how do you produce miracles? By, again, being proactive, being intentional delivering. You know, by knowing what you want. You'd be shocked how clarity produces way more miracles than not knowing what you want to do. Like, how somebody gonna bless you when you don't even know what you want. Like, how am I supposed to. Yes. How am I supposed to look out and look after you? Right. So I never forget the first miracle formula. Not miracle. The first miracle formula. I was working at the Olive Garden, and it was Good money for that time. It get like, yeah, it allowed me to be able to eat and take care of my, you know, my family. And Didi and I. And we were in college when she was in college, I was at college.

And.

I love to work. Like, I wasn't tripping. I was a host. I love smiling and serving people. I wouldn't even know I was a busboy. I wasn't even. And I was a host. Busboy host. I wasn't getting paid to host. I was getting paid to busboy. But I host because I was good at it. And I served, too. Cause people were like, just my company. So they'd be like, can you serve? Like, long as you don't drink alcohol, I can serve you. They're like, all right. I'm about 19 at the time, 29 serving alcohol, period. But I was too young at the time to do it. And so I'll never forget, my car broke down. And I was devastated, you know, And I was like, man, I got to get to work. These people, like, they used to fire you back then, like, off a little stuff. And I never forget, my boy Bob was like, yo, I thought you said, yeah, I got to work. I said, I do, but the car broke. He said. And I said, the car broke. I need a ride. He said, you could get one. I said, how? He said, well, you can't get one from sitting on the couch.

That's a true friend.

You can't get one from being in this apartment complex. Like, you can't get one from being here. What you have to do is you have to start walking to work, bruh. It revolutionized my faith and what I thought about a miracle. And it was like, yo, you gotta put yourself in miracle territory in your house, on your couch, fully dressed, with the Olive Garden, boy. Oh, I had the full Olive Garden, boyo.

I have a couple of little chocolate mints in your pocket, bro.

I had my apron in my head, you know, bro, I was ready. And Bob was like, yo, you gotta go. You gotta go, bro. You gotta go walk. And I'll never forget walking. And I think, if I'm not mistaken, I want to say, man, I don't know if it's Sparkman. I want to say it was Sparkman. I started walking up Sparkman. And as I was walking up the hill in Sparkman, Olive Garden was on university. As I was walking up the hill, and Alabama is warm. It's warm in Alabama. I was walking up the hill. It's not warm.

It's hot.

Yeah, it's hot, bro. Nobody saw me. And they picked me up and took me to the Olive Garden. And I knew from that day forward, it's going to take a miracle. But in order for it. It's going to take a miracle. But in order for a miracle to happen, you got to be in miracle territory. And all that means is you are helping yourself by not just wishing and warning, but you are taking action and making the moves that you can make. Right? I believe this with all my heart. I believe this. I know y' all might be like, I don't know. I believe that there's some things that God can do, and I believe there's some things he want us to do.

Yeah.

I don't believe he's not gonna do it all. And the things that we can do, we got to get to doing those things. And those things are the things that I believe is an indicator to the Creator. Although he knows man's heart.

Yeah.

I just mean, like, he know you serious? When you're willing to get up and you're willing to go walk, and now he's in a position to go, hey, my son is walking. Somebody go this way. And when you're going that way, look here. And when you look there, don't be scared of a little teenager who trying to get to work, put him in the whip. Because some people brought older people, like, they don't believe in picking people up off the street or whatever. But I also think miracle territory also think people kind of trusted that you just wouldn't put an Olive Garden outfit on.

That's good. Yeah. Because they don't normally make that costume at the costume stores. I'm so good that you mentioned that, because I don't know if you know this or not, but just before COVID came out, there was an article that came out and said that it was enough wealth in the profession, Christian community as a whole, to solve hunger, solve trafficking, solve pretty much every need that we're constantly praying, please solve, please solve, please solve. And then I heard Bishop Jake say one time, he said, a lot of times, when you pray, God doesn't give you a table. He gives you the acorn to turn into a tree to turn into the table. Right. So I was just thinking through that. I was like, man, that's miracle territory. That's putting yourself in a position to be blessed and highly favored, rather than just thinking you'll be blessed and highly favored while you're eating potato chips. Yeah, right.

Hey, hey. That book is called you owe me, yo. That book Is called you owe me. You know what I'm saying? I didn't want to write that one. I'm gonna let somebody else make that a bestseller. Yeah.

I'm gonna read yours all day long. I don't know if I want to read the other one.

Yeah. You know what I'm saying? Like. But somebody out there is gonna write you owe me. Yeah. And that's not the. That's not the. That's not the book I chose. I owe me to leverage every blessing that God has put on this earth. Yeah. For me, I owe it to myself, my creator, everybody that loves me, the people that I love and I serve. I owe it to everybody.

To understand it's already there.

Yeah.

When you're dealing with a God, he don't do stuff. Today. It's already. It was when he was doing what he was doing, he did it.

He's not doing it today. He already did it. And he's saying it's the. The gifts are there. Now, y' all all know on Christmas, you've always had a loved one or somebody that maybe didn't at some point didn't show up to the house, but their gift was still there.

Yeah. Yeah.

Nobody else couldn't open it. And it wasn't for nobody else. And nobody else bet not open it. It was for that person. But for whatever reason, they couldn't get home for Christmas. They couldn't make it. But if they came in January, it was there waiting on them. February, it was there waiting on them.

It was there.

I'm talking about before UPS and FedEx was shipping stuff. That gift. That gift was, if Eric don't come home. Cause he down in Alabama, this is his gift. And when I will finally make it home, that gift will be waiting for me. I'm telling y', all, the Creator has already boxed your stuff. Amen. Owed your stuff. He already got all your stuff. And he can't open it for you, though.

That's right.

Can't open it for it. It wouldn't be sweet if he opened it for you to open. And so I'm just saying you owe it to yourself to get every single gift. If you got to drive through the snow, if you got to go rain, sleep. So if you got to go trains, planes, and automobiles. I mean, whatever. You got to get through traffic, you got to get through whatever. Yeah. You owe it to yourself to get every single blessing that's got your name on it. Amen.

Well, you know, the Bible says, those that seek, fine. Right. So if you're not seeking. You ain't finding nothing. Dude, I love you to death and I love your heart. I love everything that you've brought into this world. You know, I've. I've. Obviously, I've got this copy. I went ahead and got the audible copy. So I get to listen to you while I read you. Because I need this to highlight. Because I can't highlight an audible. Right. But I went ahead and got both. Everybody needs to pick it up. Is there a particular place that you want to send everybody to to pick up the book?

Yeah, I just think it makes sense if you don't know where to go. You know, go to Eric Thomas dot com. We got some phenomenal gifts for you, actually. I'm super excited about this. September 29th, Memphis, Tennessee. I've never been there before. We're starting there with our book tour. And it's not for grown folk. All right. Not that you're not gonna get nothing out of it, but I gave my men, you know, the 360 Conference in Atlanta. Right. My ladies. I gave you the 120 in Chicago. All right. We had tab, Lisa, Jenna, I gave you other phenomena. Now it's time for the babies. And because suicide is an all time high, lack of identity and self worth. Yeah. Because our children are struggling with purpose and direction. This tour is for them. Parents. Absolutely, you're welcome to come. I'm gonna make your job easier as a parent. But please, Memphis, Tennessee is the first one. Then I think Atlanta, 10-2-7. So all they need to get in is a copy of the book. So if you got three babies coming, all three would need to book. But come on, you're talking about $20. And let's be honest, between you and I, I do. When I get to charge what I charge guys, it's a hundred thousand.

Oh, easy day. Yeah, easy all day long.

So you. $25, whatever it is, times three is $75 or a hundred if you come. So get them the book, get in the building and let's talk to your babies and give them some. Let's give them something that many of them don't know how to find on the Internet. That's help, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Looking forward to ericthomas.com go there and get it again. If you don't know where to go, go there. And sometimes be careful before you go to a store. Call or drive there. Call on the way because a lot of the Barnes and Nobles have sold out.

And that's because the book's that good. Just putting that out there, Right. Well, the other thing, too, is, you know, the book is a legacy that outlives us, right? So it'll be here long after we're gone. But I'm telling you right now, this will be something that somebody reads probably again and again for probably the first year. And then you're gonna watch this book be like that. You ever seen that? Heard of that TV show about the traveling pants where it just gets travels all over the world? That's what. That's what this one is for sure. All day long, dude.

Praise God. Well, I thank you. And again, not for the podcast. Praise God for that. But, you know, there's some people you meet, and it's like, yo, I gotta stay in touch. And it's so funny. One of the most important things for me, which is my church, you know, and. And getting it renovated, you know, we just had so many people coming. I was like, nah, let me call my guy, y'. All, you know, And I'll be honest. I got some flat. It was people. We don't know him. I'm like, okay, I know his heart. People, you know, you don't know they heart. You don't even know they work because they never done no work for you before. I said, if I'm gonna fail, I'm gonna fail with a man with a heart, with integrity, you know, with a man that wants to help. I'm like, I'm good on that. So I'm just so grateful that in chapter two, you're never alone.

That's right.

You're never alone. If you're alone, it's because you chose to be. And on this journey, I have people, right, who are supporting me and helping me get to that next level. And this is one of them. So you guys better read the book. Not just for your own personal wealth, but when you become wealthy and healthy, these are the type of people you attract. And a lot of y', all. Y' all attracting people that are not healthy. It's because you're not healthy. That's what I'm saying. Get the book. Get healthy so you can get a community of healthy people. And don't you ever, for one minute, clunk people into any this. The. All these people are all these people. It's not the truth, but there are a lot of people who share my values, and God is bringing all those people to me. I feel like, you know, the marvel. You know what I'm saying? I feel like the marvel. Boy, I'm not doing. I feel like the X Men I ain't on this. I'm not on the solo. I feel like the Professor. And I got all these superheroes, you know, I got Wolverine, Storm, like I got Cyclops. I got a bunch of individuals who are helping me conquer, you know, the world and my journey. So you are never alone as we close. Don't believe the hype. You are never, ever alone. You have. God has left a family for you, and you better tap in.

I can't say any better than that, brother. Thank you so much for spending time with me. I love you to death. Is there anything I can do to help you win and move this? Holler at me.

You know, I'm gonna call you.

Awesome.

All right, dude. We'll take it easy. See you, buddy. I hope you liked that video. And if you did, make sure you check out this next video right here.

Just because you're profitable does not mean that that's what's in the bank. Profit is not the same as cash management. You have to keep your business expenses and your business bank account separate from your personal bank account.