[Eric Thomas] Separate Yourself (Motivational Speech)

Somebody talk to me. Yep. Before I point, what do you gotta do to separate yourself?

Wake up earlier than the rest.

Yep. What time is that? What time are they getting up?

Getting up to 9.

Good. So you need to be up at least by what? 7. 7. Am I better than the other motivational speakers? I don't know if I'm more talented than them. I just know I get up at 3 o'clock and put my videos out first. I just know I do 5 a day. So if you're actually better than me, nobody will know. Alright? Watch this.

Tony Robbins back in the day, Les Brown back in the day, when you watched a 2 minute video and you ordered one of their videos, how long you think it'd take for the CD to get to the crib or the DVD to get to your crib? Anybody, how long do you think it takes? 2 minutes. 4 weeks. 4 weeks. I did something nobody else did. I gave away my content. I put my content out every day. You're probably in love with ET at that point. You're about to get a divorce.

You just failed your bar exam. Your team just lost in the championship. You don't need motivation 4 weeks from now. I saw a gap y'all. I saw a gap in the industry, and I said, just give your stuff away for free. And guess what? When you give it away for free, they will be endeared to you because I believe the content is sweet. You know when you go to the grocery store or you go to the, to the mall and they say, try fried rice. He was like, yo.

I'm good on that.

No. No. No.

No. Try fried rice.

He like, bro,

I want them try fried rice. And then you taste it. You're like, woah. They're like, come come 5.99. Right? They gave it to you for free, and then you bid it for free and guess what happened?

You brought a whole meal.

So I'm being real. What are you gonna do to separate yourself? I separated myself. I started getting up early, 3 o'clock in the morning. I'll never forget a kid from Chicago told me, like, yo, E, you talking about thank God it's Monday. You release your videos on Sunday night. I said, bruh, it's Sunday in Chicago. It's Monday in Singapore. It's Monday in Australia, baby.

We ain't just getting American money. We all over the world. I'm separating myself. I'm putting my stuff out on Sunday night in the shy, but in the world, it's Monday. So what are you doing to separate yourself? 2, 3 more. Talk to me. What are you doing? Wake up early. I love it.

What are you doing?

Having extreme hardship.

Good. Taking extreme I love that. Accountability. Coach ain't gotta tell you. Your mama ain't gotta tell you. Your daddy ain't gotta tell you. But that's what happened when you got an entitled spirit and you think you're there already. You don't hold yourself accountable.

Good. Talk to me.

Figure out your priorities.

Good. Figure out your priorities. Give me some of your priorities.

So you're

leaving the gym early, give me an example sometime what you left the gym early for? Dude, how much money that pay?

Now I'm a

say it again. How much money that pay you? But staying in the gym could possibly do what? Take care of your family. Good. Somebody else love it. Talk to me. Stop worrying about what other people got. Good. Stop worrying about what other people got.

Because one day you're gonna what?

Happy yourself.

Bro, when I see these bros making bro, when I see them making paper, this is what my mama used to tell me. My mama say, if he got his mail, then I mean the mailman is on it. When I watch, in this year, he got I'm like, woo hoo. We can make that kind of money. Let's go. And guess what? It don't mean I'm a make the same money, but it shows me I can be a millionaire as an African American male who puts in the time with his craft. So I'm not I'm not watching what other people are doing, but am I being inspired by other people? Absolutely. So we're not watching what they do because guess what happens? Just because a man is on top one day, it don't mean he gonna be on top forever.

And just because you're not on top today don't mean you ain't gonna be on top forever. Who would have ever thought Toronto would have won this year? Right? That came out of nowhere. Everybody was saying what about the east? Everybody was saying what about the east? They don't got a chance. Right? All kind of stuff happened. They got a chance. So I love it. Good. 2 one.

Where we at, baby? Talk to me. This is where the rubber meets the road where you take personal accountability. Good. Hey. Can I say this? No disrespect to rap and where rap is, but, like, don't try to be something you like, don't listen to stuff on and try to be something you're not. Alright? Don't be like a studio gangster. Right? For real, some of y'all, you come from good backgrounds. Like, embrace that.

Some of y'all come from good homes, good parents. You got 2 parents at the crib, or you got your mom and your dad both involved in your life. Your grandma dog gone took you to church. Your mom pray with you, and you get out the house trying to act like you feel me? Look. I like I told you, I'm from the shot. You can look up my birth certificate. I went to school too in Detroit. You can look it up.

I don't gotta act like I'm hard. I don't gotta act like I'm nothing. Like, I'm going to be who I am. Y'all came out y'all all came outside. Each one of y'all, when y'all came outside, I did what?

Shook your hand.

I shook your hand and look you in your eye and said, what's up? And I said, I said, what to you? I said, who I, who I was and where I'm from. Some of y'all, you big time. You like, whatever. Who was this jerk?

Or who's this dude?

I'm like, I don't care how big time you are. Hi. I'm Eric Thomas. My grandma killed me if I don't introduce myself. That's just what my grandma taught me. That's polite. I don't care how much money I got. I don't care how much fame I got.

We all humans. Be who you are, bro. Whoever you are, wherever you come from. You come from the suburbs, you ain't gotta claim, like you know what I'm saying? Like, if you're from the north side of Chicago, you ain't gotta be you're from the suburbs. You ain't gotta be like, yo, I'm from I'm from the west side. You ain't gotta try to claim something you not or be something you not like. Be comfortable in your own skin is what I'm trying to tell y'all. That's how I blew up.

I wasn't trying to be rebellious wearing a hat. I'm from Run DMC Air hat, LL Cool J hat, the Fat Boys hats, UTFO hats. That's the era I'm from. I've been rocking 59 fifties since I was 16 years old. The shoes, that's my game, bro. I don't do shirt and ties. I think a black man in a suit and tie look phenomenal. I just don't do shirt and tie.

I'm from the d. My people worked at Ford, GM, and Chrysler. Didn't nobody wear suits to the plant. We hard hats. So I myself, bro, and I'm comfortable with myself. I'm about 5:10 with my shoes on. I'm comfortable. Do like, are you sure? I'm comfortable.

Married, 510. Been married 30 years, 510. Two beautiful kids, 510. I don't need to be 66. That's your life. I see dude 6:10. I'm like, you're wasting it. You bragging about you 68? You're wasting the height.

I'm using all my 510, bro. I'm using all of it. Not to be funny. I ain't never got beat up. I use all my 510. I ain't been broke. I use all my 510. I use my mouth.

I don't dream to be 5, 6 4. I love my life. Y'all gotta start loving your life. And whether you make it to the league or not, you are not you are not who you are because of

the league. You are who

you are because of who you are. And if you make it to the league, then the league is gonna be blessed with your presence. Are you hearing what I'm saying? Be comfortable on who you are. Be comfortable if y'all poor. If you come from a family right now that's broke, you use that use that to your advantage. I use that to my advantage that I was a high school dropout, that I was homeless, that I ate out a trash can. I I love dealing with a dude who think because he come for money, he better than me. Let's go.

Let's go. You got money, but do you got that dog? Yeah. You got money. You got put, but do you got that dog? K. Do you got that stamina? So, yeah, you might have something I don't have right now, but if I work hard, I can have what you have. So so as I leave, guys, be if you if you a person who respect like, when you walked outside, if you speak to people just because the people you're running with don't speak to people, don't you do what? Don't you not speak? You you like, yo. Y'all do y'all, but I speak. What's up, bro? Like, my man gave me a firm one when we was out there.

He gave me a firm one. I remember him because of that. He looked me in my eye and said his name. Are you hearing me? Don't forget who you are. Don't forget who where you come from. My last name is Thomas. I represent my stepfather who stepped in my life because my old dude didn't wanna be there. I represent him.

I could change my name if I wanted to, but everywhere I go, I respect the man who came in for me when my father wasn't there for me. My mom was 17 years old. High school, they told her to get an abortion. I respect my mom for not getting a re an abortion, and so I respect the last name. Everywhere I go, I bring my mama pride. Everywhere I go, I bring my sister's pride. I bring my son's pride. Everywhere I go, I bring a pride.

Son, you ever had some you've been out on the block somewhere, heard some bad news about your dad. I ain't perfect, but he had somebody come up and tell you something that was embarrassing to you about me. I got kids, the decisions I make. My son has to deal with the decisions I make. My daughter has to deal with the decisions I make. Your mama and daddy and your family have to deal with the decisions you make. So tomorrow when you start training, train like it's your train like this, it's your life, not a game. Like, this your life.

Like, this the last opportunity, only opportunity. Give it everything you got. And if you fail, you can at

least do what? Come on.

You can say what? Try. You tried.

But if you

don't go out there and give a 120%, you're not a man. A man don't always put forth effort and accomplish his goals. As men, we fail too. We don't always do everything perfect, but if you're a real man, you try. Are you hearing what I'm saying? If you're a real man, you try. I said my my my biological father wasn't no real man, not because I'm mad at my man, but he didn't he he wasn't there. When you played football, how many games did I make? When you broke your femur, who was at the hospital? When you graduated from high school, where was I? I've always been there. I ain't trying to tell you I'm the man because I got money.

I'm the man because I I have a responsibility and I live up to my responsibilities. I give a 120% of everything I do. That's all I'm asking you to do. So when you go out there, stop playing yourself. Don't disrespect this game. Don't dishonor this game. If you're gonna go out there, don't go out there with just skill. Go out there with skill and go out there with will.

At some point, I see y'all in d one. I see y'all every year. I do the NBA draft. What is it called, son? Transition rookie camp, I'm there. So if you make it to the league, I'll see you there. I'm here for you. Some of you, you come from a very great support system. You don't need no more support, but some of y'all need support.

Right? And I'm here to support you. If that's you, pull out your phone. I'm a give you my number real quick. Bible says give honor where honor is due. CP 3 know people all over the world. He and his family can have anybody here, and he brought me here. So on behalf of myself, my son, and my family, I just wanna say thank you, bro, for the opportunity, man. Yep.

Thank you, guys.