In this article you will learn who Erick Thomas is, his story, and what his teachings are.
Isn’t it amazing that people who have been in situations of poverty manage to rise up and become millionaires? Cases like those of Howard Schultz (CEO Starbucks), Oprah Winfrey (Celebrity) and Chris Gardner (the man who inspired the movie Looking for happiness), are a motivation for all of us who are behind a dream.
It’s simple. If a person can beat all the odds against him, so can we; as long as we persevere and never lose our way.
Who is Eric Thomas?
Being born into a family with a good economic condition does not guarantee success and in the same way having gone through moments of poverty is not an impediment to go far.
Eric Thomas (he likes to be called ET) is a prime example of this. His name may not tell you much; but today Eric is one of the leading motivational speakers in the world. See it in action.
Eric Thomas story.
ET’s adolescence was not easy. At the age of 16, she made the decision to leave home and drop out of school; to later live on the street for 2 years.
In his speeches he tells that he must have eaten what he found in the cans and slept in abandoned buildings. Fortunately for him, at the age of 17 while living on the street, he met a pastor who knew how to see the potential in him and encouraged him to go back to school and ultimately change lives.
He eventually got his GED (general education development test), in 2005 he got his master’s degree. And finally, in 2015, a PhD in administrative education.
His career as a motivational speaker has an ingredient of great validity and that is that he talks about what he experienced; the reflections on the difficulties of the past together with the passion that he gives to each word; They have managed to inspire hundreds to get ahead. This has allowed him to write three books and these are some of his teachings:
Teachings of Eric Thomas.
1. You must want success as much as you want to breathe.
In one of his talks he tells the story of a young man who wanted to be successful. So she found a guru and told him that she wanted to be on the same level as him.
The guru agreed to be his mentor and the first task he gave him was to meet the other day at 4 AM on the beach. The surprised young man said that he wanted to earn money and not swim. To which the guru replied: If you want to earn money, see you tomorrow at the beach.
The young man came to the beach excited, he was wearing his suit and was ready to learn. The guru asked him how much he wanted to be successful, and the young man did not hesitate to answer: too much.
So the guru asked him to enter the water. The young man said that he wanted to earn money and not be a lifeguard. The guru insisted and the young man walked until the water level reached his waist.
The guru, who was also in the water with him, walked further down until the water was up to his neck and told the young man that he should walk further. The surprised young man left scared towards the shore and the guru shouted at him: I thought you wanted to be successful.
The young man replied that it was so and decided to return to the water. When the young man had the water at mouth level, the guru took him by the head and finished immersing him. The desperate young man tried to get out but he couldn’t. Desperation was seen in the movement of his arms.
Just when the young man seemed to lose the strength to resist, the guru pulled him out of the water and asked him: When you are underwater what do you want to do? The young man replied: breathe.
Finally the guru told him that only by wanting success as much as he wanted to breathe could he achieve it.
Preparation is essential.
The life of ET is an ova to the preparation. Not just because she was determined to get a Phd after she had dropped out of school; also because while studying and working at Michigan State University, he created programs to educate people who really needed it.
Now a motivational speaker, ET educates students, businessmen, prisoners, and even athletes; so much so that Lebron James, NBA star and recent winner with the Cleveland Cavaliers, credited ET as part of the inspiration for him to become champion with the Miami Heat in 2012.
We reap what we sow.
“Whether your goal is to earn an income with a lot of zeros, own a sports car, or live in a certain place; people need to focus on the fact that they only have 24 hours. Oprah, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett only have 24 hours and in that period they can make or break your life. Goals are always very high on our priority list and I think what matters most is going to sleep so we can get up and work hard. I am one of those who believe in what they see and if we work hard on Monday, we work hard on Tuesday, Wednesday, 5 or 6 days a week for a period of 5 or 6 years; something is going to come from there, ”says ET in one of his interviews.
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