0:00:07.830,0:00:13.290
[music fades in near beginning and [br]continues loudly throughout]
0:00:14.580,0:00:17.020
So if you wanna make six figures,
0:00:17.020,0:00:20.047
you can't just be talkin' about[br]you wanna make six figures.
0:00:20.047,0:00:21.665
You hear what I'm sayin' here tonight?
0:00:21.665,0:00:23.998
If you do the three things I tell you[br]to do tonight,
0:00:23.998,0:00:27.435
I guarantee you, whatever it is you wanna [br]do in life, you'll be able to do.
0:00:27.435,0:00:31.572
You will be able to accomplish whatever[br]you want to academically, financially,
0:00:31.572,0:00:33.997
relationally, whatever. So three things.
0:00:33.997,0:00:36.290
All right, I'm gonna tell you this story[br]and I gotta get outta here.
0:00:36.290,0:00:38.960
And the story is about, you guys have[br]probably heard about this before,
0:00:38.960,0:00:42.509
it was a young man who, y'know,[br]he wanted to make a lot of money,
0:00:42.509,0:00:45.111
and so he went to this guru, right?
0:00:45.111,0:00:47.866
He told the guru, "I wanna be on[br]the same level you are."
0:00:47.866,0:00:50.394
So the guru said, "If you wanna be on[br]the same level I'm on,
0:00:50.394,0:00:56.193
"I'll meet you tomorrow at the beach [br]at 4 a.m."
0:00:56.193,0:01:00.259
He's like, "The beach? I said I wanna[br]make money, I don't wanna swim."
0:01:00.259,0:01:04.811
Guru said, "If you wanna make money,[br]I'll meet you tomorrow. 4 a.m."
0:01:04.811,0:01:08.025
So the young man got there at 4 a.m.,[br]he all ready to rock and roll,
0:01:08.025,0:01:12.732
he got on a suit, shoulda worn shorts.[br]The old man grabs his hand and said,
0:01:12.732,0:01:15.137
"How bad do you wanna be successful?"[br]He said, "Real bad."
0:01:15.137,0:01:19.107
He said, "Walk on out in the water."[br]So he walks out into the water. Watch this.
0:01:19.107,0:01:21.500
When he walks out into the water,[br]he goes waist-deep.
0:01:21.500,0:01:26.683
So he like, "This guy crazy. I wanna[br]make money, he got me out here swimming.
0:01:26.683,0:01:29.940
"I didn't ask to be a life guard.[br]I wanna make money."
0:01:29.940,0:01:33.219
So he said, "Come out a little further."[br]Walked out a little further,
0:01:33.219,0:01:37.382
and he had it right around this area.[br]The shoulder area.
0:01:37.382,0:01:40.586
Said, "This old man crazy. [br]He makin' money, but he crazy."
0:01:40.586,0:01:43.255
Said, "Come on out a little further."[br]He came out a little further,
0:01:43.255,0:01:45.069
It was right at his mouth.[br]My man like,
0:01:45.069,0:01:48.128
"I'm 'bout to go back in here.[br]This guy's outta his mind."
0:01:48.128,0:01:50.415
So the old man said, "I thought you said[br]you wanted to be successful!"
0:01:50.415,0:01:52.508
He said, "I do."[br]He said, "Walk a little further."
0:01:52.508,0:01:55.772
He came, dropped his head in,[br]held him down, holding him down,
0:01:55.772,0:01:58.023
my man scratching, holdin' him down.
0:01:58.023,0:02:00.147
[Says something to man in class he's[br]actually holding down -- I got you.]
0:02:00.147,0:02:04.781
He had him held down -- I need you[br]for illustration -- he had him held down.
0:02:04.781,0:02:07.974
Just before my man was about to pass out,[br]he raised him up.
0:02:07.974,0:02:11.980
He said, "I got a question for you."[br]Somebody answer the question for me.
0:02:11.980,0:02:14.992
He said, "When you were underwater,[br]what did you wanna do?"
0:02:17.092,0:02:20.680
"Leave?" I'm lookin' for a different word,[br]brother. What's that word?
0:02:20.680,0:02:23.084
He said, "I wanted to breathe."
0:02:23.084,0:02:30.024
He told the guy, he said, "When you want[br]to succeed as bad as you want to breathe,
0:02:30.024,0:02:31.965
"then you'll be successful."
0:02:32.845,0:02:36.400
I don't know how many of you all [br]got asthma here today,
0:02:36.400,0:02:39.700
but if you ever had a asthma attack before,[br]you short of breath.
0:02:39.700,0:02:42.672
SOB. Shortness of Breath.[br]You wheezin'.
0:02:42.672,0:02:47.039
The only thing you trying to do[br]is get some air.
0:02:47.039,0:02:48.893
You don't care about no basketball game,
0:02:48.893,0:02:52.704
you don't care what's on TV, you don't [br]care about nobody calling you,
0:02:52.704,0:02:55.740
you don't care about a party.[br]The only thing you care about
0:02:55.740,0:02:59.514
when you trying to breathe[br]is to get some fresh air. That's it.
0:02:59.514,0:03:03.739
And when you get to the point where[br]all you wanna do is be successful,
0:03:03.739,0:03:07.269
as bad as you wanna breathe,[br]then you'll be successful.
0:03:07.269,0:03:10.917
And I'm here to tell you, number one, that[br]most of you say you wanna be successful,
0:03:10.917,0:03:14.056
but you don't want it bad. [br]You just kinda want it.
0:03:14.056,0:03:16.500
You don't want it badder[br]than you wanna party.
0:03:16.500,0:03:18.461
You don't want it as much as[br]you wanna be cool.
0:03:18.461,0:03:22.105
Most of you don't want success[br]as much as you wanna sleep!
0:03:22.105,0:03:25.738
Some of you love sleep[br]more than you love success.
0:03:25.738,0:03:28.733
And I'm here to tell you today,[br]if you're going to be successful,
0:03:28.733,0:03:32.232
you've gotta be willin' to give up sleep.
0:03:33.610,0:03:36.659
You've gotta be willin' to work offa [br]three hours of sleep, two hours.
0:03:36.659,0:03:38.846
If you really wanna be successful,[br]some day,
0:03:38.846,0:03:41.980
you'll have to stay up three days in a row.
0:03:41.980,0:03:45.917
Because if you go to sleep, you might[br]miss the opportunity to be successful.
0:03:45.917,0:03:47.846
That's how bad you gotta want it.
0:03:47.846,0:03:51.291
You gotta go days without -- listen to me.[br]You gotta wanna be successful so bad
0:03:51.291,0:03:52.879
that you forget to eat.
0:03:53.639,0:03:58.317
Beyonce said, once she was on the set,[br]doin' her thing, three days had gone by,
0:03:58.317,0:04:01.960
she forgot she didn't eat.[br]'Cause she was engaged.
0:04:01.960,0:04:05.051
I'll never forget, I went -- [br]50 Cent was doin' his movie,
0:04:05.051,0:04:07.019
I did a little research on 50 --
0:04:07.019,0:04:11.270
and 50 said that when he wasn't doin'[br]the movie, he was doin' the soundtrack.
0:04:11.270,0:04:13.399
And they said, "When do you sleep, 50?"
0:04:13.399,0:04:18.047
He said, "Sleep is for those[br]people who are broke.
0:04:18.047,0:04:20.625
"I don't sleep."
0:04:20.625,0:04:23.811
He said, "I got a opportunity [br]to make a dream become a reality."
0:04:23.811,0:04:25.673
Football players --[br]how many football players?
0:04:25.673,0:04:29.017
Got anybody like football in here,[br]raise your hand, anybody like football?
0:04:29.017,0:04:34.617
Emmitt Smith. I used to be a Cowboys fan.[br]Before they did my boy Tom Landry wrong,
0:04:34.617,0:04:37.895
I used to be a Cowboys fan. And watch[br]this, there was a commercial.
0:04:37.895,0:04:40.964
Emmitt Smith had won his first Super Bowl,[br]and he had this commercial,
0:04:40.964,0:04:43.992
and he was liftin' weights. [br]I don't know if you saw the commercial.
0:04:43.992,0:04:46.528
He was liftin', and he said, Emmitt said,
0:04:46.528,0:04:50.260
"You know what? I won the Super Bowl,[br]so I can rest now."
0:04:50.260,0:04:52.351
He had been doin' his bench pressing.
0:04:52.351,0:04:54.441
So he said, "I won the Super Bowl,[br]so I can rest now."
0:04:54.441,0:05:00.126
So he throws on about 325, boom![br]And he rests for about two seconds,
0:05:00.126,0:05:03.401
then he -- boom.
0:05:03.401,0:05:04.841
Boom.
0:05:05.051,0:05:06.384
Boom.
0:05:06.564,0:05:08.493
D'you see that? [br]He'd already won a Super Bowl.
0:05:08.493,0:05:11.695
He said, "I think I'm gonna take a rest,"[br]and he rests for how long? One second.
0:05:11.695,0:05:16.260
Most of you won't be successful because when[br]you studying and you get tired, you quit.
0:05:17.590,0:05:21.754
And I'm here to tell you today -- somebody[br]came to my office the other day crying.
0:05:21.754,0:05:25.350
I said, "Look, don't cry to give up.[br]Cry to keep going."
0:05:25.350,0:05:31.980
Don't cry to quit! You already in pain,[br]you already hurt. Get a reward from it!
0:05:31.980,0:05:35.994
Don't go to sleep until you succeed.[br]Listen to me.
0:05:35.994,0:05:38.869
I'm here to tell you today that you [br]can come here, you can jump up,
0:05:38.869,0:05:42.441
you can do flips, you can be excited when[br]we give away money, but listen to me,
0:05:42.441,0:05:46.351
you will never be successful until I don't[br]have to give you a dime to do what you do.
0:05:47.801,0:05:51.682
You won't be successful until you say,[br]"I don't need that money,
0:05:51.682,0:05:55.278
"'cause I got it in here." [br]So listen to me.
0:05:55.278,0:05:57.543
Emmitt Smith said this, [br]at the end of the commercial:
0:05:57.543,0:06:03.137
Emmitt Smith said, "All men are created[br]equal. Some work harder in pre-season."
0:06:03.137,0:06:05.533
Ima say it again because [br]you mighta missed it:
0:06:05.533,0:06:10.579
All men are created equal.[br]Some work harder in pre-season.
0:06:10.579,0:06:14.521
So that means that there are some people[br]who are goin' to see the professor,
0:06:14.521,0:06:17.380
goin' to see the TA, [br]and even when the professor says,
0:06:17.380,0:06:19.869
"I don't meet with you,[br]my TA meet with you,"
0:06:19.869,0:06:26.650
you say, "I don't wanna talk to your TA.[br]I don't pay the TA. I pay you to teach me.
0:06:26.650,0:06:31.287
"So you gonna have to find some time to[br]meet me. If I gotta meet you at the mall,
0:06:31.287,0:06:34.766
"if I gotta meet you at your house,[br]you are going to see me."
0:06:34.766,0:06:38.501
Listen to me. All men are created equal,[br]some work harder in pre-season.
0:06:38.501,0:06:40.851
When I went to college,[br]guys were way smarter than me.
0:06:40.851,0:06:44.129
4.0, 3.0, they went to the Ivy League[br]high schools,
0:06:44.129,0:06:48.202
came to Oakwood from great high schools.[br]Most of 'em are not doing what I'm doing.
0:06:48.202,0:06:50.369
Why? 'Cause it's not about[br]where you come from.
0:06:50.369,0:06:52.104
It's about heart.
0:06:52.104,0:06:54.593
You come to a place where[br]being smart ain't enough.
0:06:54.593,0:06:57.565
You gotta have heart. That's number one. [br]What's number two?
0:06:57.565,0:07:01.230
Number two, I wrote it down.[br]I wanted to make sure you got it.
0:07:01.230,0:07:05.176
It says, watch this, we're talkin'[br]about sacrifice now.
0:07:05.176,0:07:08.030
The important thing is this. [br]You're writin' while I'm sayin' it,
0:07:08.030,0:07:10.344
'cause I only have about three[br]more minutes. Listen to me.
0:07:10.344,0:07:12.271
The most important thing is this:
0:07:12.271,0:07:20.606
To be able, at any moment, to sacrifice[br]what you are for what you will become.
0:07:22.236,0:07:24.893
That's the number two thing.[br]You gotta catch that one.
0:07:24.893,0:07:29.669
To be able to -- listen to me.[br]At any moment, some of you --
0:07:29.669,0:07:32.941
you can make sacrifices when[br]Monday Night Football is not on.
0:07:32.941,0:07:36.123
You can make a sacrifice. But when[br]the game come on, for some reason,
0:07:36.123,0:07:40.795
you just attached to it. For some of you,[br]when your favorite show come on,
0:07:40.795,0:07:44.479
you can make sacrifices on Sunday[br]when ain't nothin' goin' on,
0:07:44.479,0:07:48.025
but when your favorite show [br]comes on Monday, bam.
0:07:48.025,0:07:50.014
Some of you, [br]you focus until the phone rings,
0:07:50.014,0:07:53.609
and you like, "I gotta answer it. If I[br]don't answer the phone, I'm gonna die."
0:07:54.259,0:07:56.616
I'm sayin' to you today[br]that there's some of you,
0:07:56.616,0:08:00.568
if you give up your cellphone,[br]you will be successful.
0:08:00.568,0:08:04.076
But your cellphone is more important [br]to you than your success.
0:08:06.676,0:08:10.346
Ima say it again. Ima hurt somebody.[br]Ima hurt somebody.
0:08:10.346,0:08:15.784
Some of you need to give up your cellphone[br]because the time you spend on your cellphone
0:08:15.784,0:08:20.689
could be used for your success. The time[br]you could be using to be successful,
0:08:20.689,0:08:25.221
you're using on the cell. The cellphone's[br]not bringin' you nothin' but a bill.
0:08:25.221,0:08:28.303
And somebody has told you,[br]you couldn't live without it.
0:08:28.303,0:08:31.348
I'm talkin' about goin' deep now.[br]Givin' up stuff. That's what it says.
0:08:31.348,0:08:37.001
To be able, at any moment, to sacrifice[br]what we are for what we could be.
0:08:37.001,0:08:40.965
I don't do well in math. You're right![br]You ain't never studied!
0:08:43.035,0:08:47.075
I'm not good at writing![br]'Cause you have never written before.
0:08:47.335,0:08:50.652
But I dare you to fail at writing[br]for a whole year,
0:08:50.652,0:08:52.441
to see if you can get to the end.
0:08:52.441,0:08:56.157
I dare you to fail. I dare you to take that[br]same class over and over again.
0:08:56.157,0:08:59.462
I dare you to stop droppin' classes,[br]like you soft.
0:09:00.832,0:09:04.483
Always want to give up. I'm dropping![br]Why you droppin'?
0:09:04.483,0:09:07.301
I'm so grateful that the slaves[br]didn't drop and quit,
0:09:07.301,0:09:11.480
say, "I'm just gon' stop. I'm a slave,[br]I'm just gon' be a slave, Ima quit."
0:09:11.480,0:09:16.037
Listen to me. The slaves said, "We will[br]live, because one day we will become.
0:09:16.037,0:09:20.529
"We will always be slaves. [br]So today, although we're slaves,
0:09:20.529,0:09:24.154
"we gon' act like we free, [br]and one day our children will be free."
0:09:24.154,0:09:27.010
If the slaves woulda just said,[br]"We quit. We give up,"
0:09:27.010,0:09:30.201
we woulda died in the middle passage.
0:09:30.201,0:09:34.626
But some slaves said, "I don't care[br]what we go through, we gon' survive this."
0:09:34.626,0:09:37.592
400 years of slavery.[br]We gon' get through this.
0:09:37.592,0:09:40.666
And you can't get through a 1825.
0:09:40.666,0:09:45.105
You can't get through a writing class,[br]and you got tutor after tutor,
0:09:45.105,0:09:49.531
resource after resource. The problem is,[br]you ain't never felt no pain before.
0:09:49.531,0:09:54.481
You're soft. This is a soft generation.[br]You quit on everything.
0:09:54.481,0:09:56.741
Our people did not quit.
0:09:56.741,0:10:01.183
Harriet Tubman not only made it,[br]she went back and got some more.
0:10:01.763,0:10:07.173
She said, "You know what? I'm gon' walk all[br]-- listen to me, shh -- not ride the bus,
0:10:07.173,0:10:10.651
I'm gon' walk all the way back down to[br]the South to get some more."
0:10:10.651,0:10:13.334
And you quittin' on 1825?
0:10:15.704,0:10:19.202
Now watch this. You quit after you[br]-- listen to me, you get a sleeping bag
0:10:19.202,0:10:24.395
and you wait for him. You wait for the[br]first WIA instructor to come in,
0:10:24.395,0:10:26.583
and you come outta your sleeping bag,[br]"I need help."
0:10:27.643,0:10:29.698
You quit after you do that.
0:10:29.918,0:10:34.905
You quit after you had, listen to me,[br]a WIA party.
0:10:35.375,0:10:39.120
I'm havin' a party, everybody come over.[br]I got food. That's it.
0:10:39.120,0:10:41.600
And let 'em get over there, let it be[br]all the best writers.
0:10:41.600,0:10:44.841
All right, I fooled y'all. [br]I wanna have a writing party.
0:10:44.841,0:10:46.511
[class laughs]
0:10:49.353,0:10:50.901
I'm serious.
0:10:50.901,0:10:53.749
You quittin' and you ain't even[br]tried yet. Last one, I'm sorry.
0:10:53.749,0:10:58.295
Last one. Listen to me. [br]Pain is temporary.
0:10:58.295,0:11:05.442
It may last for a minute, or an hour,[br]or a day, or even a year,
0:11:05.442,0:11:09.979
but eventually it will subside,
0:11:09.979,0:11:12.417
and something else will take its place.
0:11:12.417,0:11:16.604
If I quit, however, it will last forever.
0:11:16.604,0:11:18.181
Listen to me, I'm tellin' you as I leave.
0:11:18.181,0:11:21.306
Tellin' you as I leave, I was homeless[br]for two and a half years,
0:11:21.306,0:11:25.496
and the problem with most of you is you[br]never felt no pain before. Y'all spoiled.
0:11:25.496,0:11:28.848
Y'all spoiled. Some of you all spoiled.[br]It's the bottom line.
0:11:28.848,0:11:30.715
Your parents have done everything for you.
0:11:30.715,0:11:33.731
You never had to do nothin' for yourself.[br]You spoiled. We gonna keep it real tonight.
0:11:33.731,0:11:35.591
Some of you are spoiled brats.
0:11:35.591,0:11:39.756
Every time you ever got in trouble,[br]somebody in your house got you out of it.
0:11:40.026,0:11:43.258
Every time you done something [br]you not supposed to do --
0:11:43.258,0:11:45.982
People say, "Eric, your mother's[br]a tyrant." You're right!
0:11:45.982,0:11:49.610
She kicked me out. You're right.[br]She mean. But she developed a man,
0:11:49.610,0:11:52.335
because she put me out there and said,[br]"You gonna have to grow up."
0:11:52.335,0:11:54.721
And some of you have never[br]learned to grow up,
0:11:54.721,0:11:58.181
and so every time somethin' get hard,[br]you quit. You call Momma.
0:11:58.181,0:12:01.639
I dare you to take a little pain.
0:12:01.639,0:12:03.254
I dare you.
0:12:03.254,0:12:05.111
I dare you not to go home.
0:12:05.111,0:12:07.159
Somebody said, "I gotta go home,[br]I feel bad."
0:12:07.159,0:12:08.984
Go through it!
0:12:08.984,0:12:13.250
You ain't gonna die. [br]At the end of pain is success.
0:12:13.250,0:12:16.246
You're not gonna die[br]because you feelin' a little pain.
0:12:17.946,0:12:19.951
I'm not eatin' like I eat at home.
0:12:19.951,0:12:22.069
That's why you're about to go through[br]the next level,
0:12:22.069,0:12:25.591
'cause if you keep eatin' like you ate at[br]home, you'll keep being a boy or girl.
0:12:25.591,0:12:29.461
It's time to become man, woman.
0:12:30.010,0:12:31.938
So don't worry about a little pain.
0:12:31.938,0:12:34.042
My greatest asset is, [br]I was homeless,
0:12:34.042,0:12:37.580
so I can't feel a whole lot of pain.[br]I've already been alone.
0:12:38.050,0:12:43.774
There's not a whole lot of hurt I can feel[br]on a little paper, or a little test.
0:12:43.774,0:12:46.966
So I leave you, listen to me,[br]we have gotten to a point
0:12:46.966,0:12:49.077
where it's midterms, [br]and we movin' forward.
0:12:49.077,0:12:51.961
The days of you gettin' money [br]-- I'm not sayin' we quittin',
0:12:51.961,0:12:54.941
but I'm sayin' the day has gotta go[br]from external to internal.
0:12:54.941,0:12:59.384
You have to give it everything you got.[br]No more TV. No more parties.
0:12:59.384,0:13:03.049
No more playin'. If you don't have a 4.0,[br]what you need to be doin' is studying.
0:13:03.049,0:13:09.514
Get off the phone! Sorry, I'm not[br]available until the end of this year.
0:13:09.514,0:13:12.057
[class laughs][br]No, I'm for real!
0:13:12.057,0:13:15.166
You've reached the right number,[br]but you called me at the wrong time.
0:13:15.166,0:13:18.314
Call me back January 1st.
0:13:18.314,0:13:22.178
I'm about to get busy now.
0:13:22.559,0:13:25.740
Huh? I want you to[br]have a countdown of your own,
0:13:25.740,0:13:29.967
and say when the countdown is over --[br]Shh, watch me, 'cause when I was homeless
0:13:29.967,0:13:32.605
I knew somethin' was wrong, [br]I knew that wasn't the best of me,
0:13:32.605,0:13:36.681
and one day I said, "Will the real[br]Eric Thomas please stand up?"
0:13:36.681,0:13:40.418
Will the real Eric Thomas please stand up?
0:13:40.418,0:13:43.534
Stop bein' this high school dropout.[br]Stop givin' up.[br]
0:13:43.534,0:13:44.830
Stop sleepin' on the street.
0:13:44.830,0:13:48.140
Stop walkin' up and down [?] Avenue[br]like you ain't got nothin',
0:13:48.140,0:13:51.840
and get your GED. [br]Stop bein' afraid to take a test.
0:13:51.840,0:13:54.883
Stop bein' afraid to go to college[br]'cause your Daddy didn't go,
0:13:54.883,0:13:57.346
and your Momma didn't go.[br]Stop bein' afraid,
0:13:57.346,0:13:59.530
and be the best Eric Thomas you can be.
0:13:59.530,0:14:01.155
But listen to me, it's gon' be hard.[br]
0:14:01.155,0:14:04.701
It took me 12 years to get a 4-year degree,[br]but I got it, and guess what?
0:14:04.701,0:14:07.205
On a degree, it don't have dates.
0:14:07.205,0:14:10.506
So if it took you 4 and it took me[br]12, it don't show up nowhere.
0:14:11.396,0:14:15.051
But I'm exactly where I wanted to be,[br]because I realized
0:14:15.051,0:14:17.676
I gotta commit my very being to this day.[br]
0:14:17.676,0:14:21.072
I gotta breathe it, I gotta eat it,[br]I gotta sleep it.
0:14:21.072,0:14:24.354
And until you get there, you will[br]never be successful in life.
0:14:24.354,0:14:27.701
But once you get there, I guarantee you,[br]the world is yours.
0:14:27.701,0:14:30.573
So work hard, and you can have [br]whatever it is you want.
0:14:30.573,0:14:33.749
Thank you guys for your time.[br][applause]