The Secret To Success with CJ, Karl, Jemal & Eric Thomas

Eric Thomas thought he was a people pleaser. Then he looked around his own company and noticed something. Nobody was pleased.

Payroll was astronomical. Every month was a prayer just to cover it. Morale was low. And every time the money ran short, ET had the same answer: get back on the road and go make more.

This conversation starts with one sentence. CJ told someone who wanted in, "I don't trust you in the we right now." Not with his wallet. With the mission. Because CJ had already watched a people pleasing spirit up close. He watched E people please his way into that payroll.

So CJ turns to E and asks him to talk to the people pleasers. What comes next is ET at his most honest: "I lied to you about what we was."

He tells you why he did it, and it goes all the way back to being a kid watching Roots. He tells you what one conversation with TJ about the NFL finally made him see. And he gives you the one question that exposes whether you are really people pleasing or just worried about what people think.

Then it gets personal. ET grew up in the Serengeti, but he raised his kids in the safari, where the meat gets thrown out to you right on schedule. So he made a decision about his son Jalin that most parents will not make. Then Jalin got COVID, missed four days of work, and opened his check. What he said to his dad after that is the whole point of this episode.

Also in this one: why ET says workers don't get paid in this country, what a fourth and inches call has to do with your life, what being "half and half" gave CJ that E never had, and the phone call ET made to the father who raised him to apologize for something that made him mad as a kid.

So be honest. The people you keep taking care of. Are they actually pleased?

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CHAPTERS

00:00:00 Cold Open: You Can't Say It's Bad When You're Part of What's Making It Bad

00:02:08 Welcome: AI, Water, and the End of the World

00:04:42 Chat GPT Turned E Into a Handyman

00:12:36 The AI Water Crisis: Chat vs Coca-Cola

00:18:06 Pre-Order We Is Greater Than Me

00:19:15 The People Pleasing Problem: When You're Really Self-Pleasing

00:22:08 The Payroll Crisis: When E Created a False World

00:23:39 Fourth and Inches: The Dan Campbell Philosophy

00:25:05 You're Not People Pleasing If They're Not Pleased

00:29:31 TJ and the NFL Reality Check

00:31:49 Workers Don't Get Paid: The Real World vs The Safari

00:34:07 If You Made Me, Make Another One: The Hov Principle

00:40:02 CJ's Half and Half Advantage: The Power of We

00:41:59 The Safari vs The Serengeti: Raising Kids in Reality

00:45:19 The Hidden Coke Story: Why Parents Hide Their Stuff

00:47:07 Jalin's COVID Check: When Reality Hits

00:48:32 Real People Pleasing: Standards That Set People Free

PRE ORDER WE IS GREATER THAN ME

The new book from Eric Thomas and CJ Quinney. Help us hit the New York Times Best Seller list. Buy one for you and one for your squad.

https://www.weisgreater.com

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Eric Thomas and CJ break down leadership, team building and why you can't build it alone. The greatest wins in your life will never come from solo effort, and the thing that made you successful as an individual might be the very thing destroying your team. CJ said it at the 1% event. Your vision only has enough room for you.
It is just CJ and Eric Thomas at the table this week, and E opens by saying he has never felt this good. The reason is not a new win. It is something he removed. E explains how the Flight Assessment showed him he was the opinionated flight attendant in his own house, and why the biggest thing he did for his family this season was stay out their business. His kids Jalin and Jayda left the “family we”, landed at the same company, and took off.
From there the two get into money. E breaks down why money cannot buy happiness but it can buy options, the number he chased so Dede could retire, and why he stopped trying to fund everything on me income after a handful of kids came back from Dubai changed.
Then CJ pushes E on the hard question. How do you know you are in the right we, and when do you leave one? E talks about God telling him to leave Huntsville, the day CJ told him he was a brand and made him keep the hat on, and why he picks people on character. CJ closes with the line that carries the episode. He and E did not find a finished table. They built one with a hammer and a nail, and you can build yours with the people already around you.
So be honest. Are you building your own table, or waiting on a seat at somebody else's? Drop it in the comments.
CHAPTERS
00:00:00 Cold Open: CJ Almost Got Fired in His First Month
00:01:39 Welcome: Just CJ and E This Week
00:02:54 Pre-Order We Is Greater Than Me
00:04:22 Why E Has Never Felt This Good
00:05:42 Jalin and Jayda Outgrew the Family We
00:10:30 What E Had to Change on the Inside
00:12:44 The Flight Assessment and the Opinionated Flight Attendant
00:15:36 "Stay Out Their Business"
00:17:33 Sometimes Growth Is Removing Something
00:20:29 Coaching Grown Kids Without Controlling Them
00:25:22 Money Can't Buy Happiness, But It Buys Options
00:29:31 The Number That Let Dede Retire
00:31:09 Tithing, Giving and Who Really Carries the Church
00:34:18 Sending Kids to Dubai: When Me Income Runs Out
00:38:00 "Your Vision Only Has Enough Room for You"
00:42:19 A Vision Big Enough for a Thousand People
00:43:18 Dallas, the Hospital and the Van
00:48:45 How Do You Know You're in the Right We?
00:53:19 God Said Go: Why E Left Huntsville
00:54:30 From Anointed Speaker to a Brand: The Hat Story
00:57:14 Leave the We or Grow the We?
00:59:45 E Chooses People on Character
01:02:56 We Built Our Table
01:04:19 You Can Build It With Your People
01:06:35 Build Where Your Feet Are
01:09:10 Why CJ Only Wants His Own Table
01:10:37 What a 12 Year Old Taught the Pastor
01:14:15 Closing: Go to WeIsGreater.com
PRE-ORDER WE IS GREATER THAN ME
The new book from Eric Thomas and CJ Quinney. Help us hit the New York Times Best Seller list. Buy one for you and one for your squad.
https://www.weisgreater.com
EXTREME EXECUTION CERTIFICATION
Live, October 24 and 25. Only happens once a year.
https://www.extremeexecution.com
JOIN US LIVE ON PATREON
New audio every Tuesday, video every Wednesday, plus live recordings with the S2S fam.
https://www.patreon.com/c/S2SPodcast120
SUBSCRIBE
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LISTEN ANYWHERE
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Why do talented people keep losing? Eric Thomas says sometimes it is not the talent. It is the team.
This week the crew breaks down the power of we. The Bears walk into Monday Night Football with their third string quarterback and still get the win. ET explains why that was not luck. It was the right me inside the right we, and it is the whole reason the new book is called We Is Greater Than Me.
From Raider Nation to the Lakers, Dennis Rodman to Draymond Green, the conversation keeps landing on the same truth. It matters who drafts you. It matters who coaches you. And it matters whether you know your role.
CJ tells the story of giving up his speaking slot so ET could take the whole stage, and what he said when someone told him to stop dimming his light. ET goes back to the Michigan State cubicle where he, CJ and Karl figured out who was the brain, the hands and the mouth. Then he drops a rule for your house and your business. If you are not the best at it, stop doing it just because you can. That is your ego in the we.
Plus, Jemal on why your life is really a series of pivots, Karl on the funeral video that got a standing ovation, a fair or foul on a grown man with his own face on his phone screensaver, and the 45 dollar heart test everybody listening needs to ask their doctor about.
So what is your role in your we? Are you playing it, or are you still trying to do everything yourself? Drop it in the comments.
CHAPTERS
Chapters

00:00:00 Cold Open: The Third String QB and a Powerful We
00:01:32 Welcome: Blessed, Highly Favored, and the Calcium Score Test
00:04:13 God Put ET's Kids at the Same Company
00:08:48 Fair or Foul: A Grown Man With Himself on His Screensaver
00:10:56 Donuts, Breakfast Tacos, and When to Lock Back In
00:14:47 Jemal's Keynote: Your Life Is a Series of Pivots
00:18:34 You Don't Get What You Experience, You Get What You Focus On
00:19:37 Karl's Funeral Video That Got a Standing Ovation
00:22:29 NFC North: The Third String QB Who Won
00:24:19 Why the Book Is Called We Is Greater Than Me
00:29:45 Extreme Execution Certification, October 24 and 25
00:31:21 Raider Nation: Why We Gives You an Identity
00:33:51 The Brain, the Hands and the Mouth: How ET, CJ and Karl Found Their We
00:40:03 Rodman Never Wanted to Shoot
00:41:14 CJ Gave Up His Turn: "Stop Dimming Your Light"
00:43:30 Draymond Green and Finding Your Role
00:45:56 Your Ego Is in Your We: Roles in Marriage
00:49:37 I Only Do What I Do: Jordan and the Baseball Bat
00:53:21 Power Washers, Lasers and a Magnifying Glass
00:54:26 Closing: Go to WeIsGreater.com

PRE-ORDER WE IS GREATER THAN ME
The new book from Eric Thomas and CJ Quinney. Help us hit the New York Times Best Seller list. Buy one for you and one for your squad.
https://www.weisgreater.com
EXTREME EXECUTION CERTIFICATION
Live, October 24 and 25. Only happens once a year.
http://www.ExtremeExecution.com
JOIN US LIVE ON PATREON
New audio every Tuesday, video every Wednesday, plus live recordings with the S2S fam.
https://www.patreon.com/c/S2SPodcast120
SUBSCRIBE
https://www.youtube.com/@S2SPodcastChannel?sub_confirmation=1
LISTEN ANYWHERE
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-secret-to-success-with-cj-karl-jemal-eric-thomas/id844102142
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0GrMsi1Cxj3nipnI9HR1QX
FOLLOW
Instagram: @s2spodcast
ABOUT THE PODCAST
The Secret to Success Podcast is hosted by Eric Thomas, Karl Phillips, CJ Quinney, and Jemal King. Four friends, four journeys, one mission. Real conversations on faith, family, business, discipline, and drive.

Should the coach change to fit the player, or should the player change to fit the coach? This week the crew opens up one of the oldest arguments in coaching, leadership, and life, and nobody fully agrees.

CJ starts it off by admitting someone once told him his coaching style was too harsh, not wrong, not ineffective, just uncomfortable. That one comment turns into a debate that swings from brunch etiquette to Allen Iverson, from Navy SEAL hell week to the Mr. Miyagi principle to the exact moment you stop being valuable to a team.

ET explains why he walked away from being a democratic coach. Giving everyone an equal voice sounded fair, until it produced a room full of preferences and no results. But does that mean every coach should run it that way?

The Allen Iverson and Coach Larry Brown story becomes the test case, the only coach in history to win championships in both college and the pros, paired with one of the most talented players ever who never fully bought into the system. Was that on Iverson, or on the system?

Jemal argues that if the coach is proven, the player adjusts, not the other way around. You don't get to skip wax on, wax off. ET goes further, crediting his hardest seasons of being coached, not coddled, for getting him from homeless to number one in the world.

But where's the line between discipline and being broken down? The crew pushes into the screaming baby at brunch, why some kids need the paw paw, whether hell week coaching actually prepares you for real life, and why blessed kids might need a little manufactured hunger to grow.

So which side are you on? Does the coach adjust to the player, or does the player adjust to the coach? Where's your line between hard coaching and harsh coaching? Drop your answer in the comments, the crew wants to hear it.

CHAPTERS
Chapters

00:00:00 Opening: Stay Inside the Margins or You're Not You Anymore
00:01:35 Welcome and Fair or Foul: The Screaming Baby at Brunch
00:07:08 The Pow Pow Philosophy: When Kids Need Boundaries in Public
00:09:04 The Coaching Dilemma: Should the Coach Change or the Player?
00:12:16 The Mr. Miyagi Principle: You Don't Change the Winning Formula
00:14:29 The Allen Iverson and Coach Brown Story: When Talent Meets Discipline
00:17:43 Different Learning Styles vs. Taking Ownership: The Real Debate
00:21:55 From Homeless to Number One: Why ET Coaches the Way He Does
00:23:06 The Expectation Problem: Why ET Stopped Being Democratic
00:28:02 The 252 Moment: When You're Not Valuable Anymore
00:39:37 The Levels of Coaching: From Peewee to the Pros
00:45:11 The Letter With No You In It: Taking Responsibility for Your Story
00:46:58 Hell Week Coaching: Why We Came Up Different
00:53:04 Teaching Sons Not to Touch Women: The Non-Negotiable Standard
00:55:15 The Virtual Jungle: Creating Hunger in Blessed Kids
00:55:58 Closing: We Is Greater - Go Get the Book

PRE-ORDER "WE IS GREATER THAN ME"
The debut book from Eric Thomas and CJ Quinney. Available now.
https://www.weisgreater.com

JOIN US LIVE ON PATREON
New audio every Tuesday, video every Wednesday, plus live recordings with the S2S fam.
https://www.patreon.com/c/S2SPodcast120

SUBSCRIBE
https://www.youtube.com/@S2SPodcastChannel?sub_confirmation=1

LISTEN ANYWHERE
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-secret-to-success-with-cj-karl-jemal-eric-thomas/id844102142
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0GrMsi1Cxj3nipnI9HR1QX?si=f057018bcba44c15

FOLLOW
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ABOUT THE PODCAST
The Secret to Success Podcast is hosted by Eric Thomas, Karl Phillips, CJ Quinney, and Jemal King. Four friends, four journeys, one mission. Real conversations on faith, family, business, discipline, and drive.

You're avoiding the scale. Not just the one in your bathroom, but the one in your marriage, your finances, your health, your life. You don't want to see the number because then you'd have to deal with it. You'd have to admit where you really are. And until you get back on the scale, you'll keep telling yourself stories that never get you back in alignment.
This week the crew gets brutally honest about the scale. Not just weight, but every area of life where you're avoiding the truth. Jemal breaks down why he kept the scale in the kitchen, not the bathroom. Because the enemy isn't the number. The enemy is the cheeseburger. The cookies. The late night fries. The scale is just telling you what you already know. And when you run from it, you're saying you don't want to be successful.
ET opens up about why he stopped getting on the scale after going out of town for Dede's birthday. How he told himself a story that if he got on and it wasn't where he wanted to be, all the work he did would feel like it was in vain. But the scale doesn't tell stories. It tells facts. And the story you tell yourself when you avoid it is the one keeping you stuck.
Dr. King breaks down how he measures Camille's happiness. Low stress. Making sure everything is taken care of. The kids, the house, the business, the car. He knows her level of joy is directly connected to her peace. And the one thing he could do better? Travel more. Not five star Dubai trips. Just getting away. Because wherever they are together, that's home.
Karl gets real about what he needs to work on with Tamisha. Cooking. She does 99 percent of it. And even though that's become their family dynamic, he knows taking one meal a day off her plate would relieve stress. Because the scale in your marriage isn't just communication. It's the small daily decisions that show you're paying attention.
ET unpacks why he shifted his relationship with food. He used to be a taste bud junkie. Never thinking about vitamin D or vitamin C. Just grits and eggs with cheddar cheese. But God told him to shrink the goal. Stop treating fitness like faith. This is your Achilles heel. You can't go big here. You have to measure daily. Kale, supplements, resistance before cardio. There's an order to it.
The crew also talks about why most people use prayer as a crutch. Praying for Peter to be released while Peter's at the door knocking. Why your bank account dashboard isn't your enemy. Why date night isn't your enemy. The enemy is not doing the things you know you're supposed to do. Get on the scale. Stop running. The truth is your friend.
This episode will challenge how you measure success. Because you can't manage what you don't measure. And if you're avoiding the scale in any area of your life, you're saying you don't want to win. Get back on it. Face the number. Make the adjustment. We is greater than me.
CHAPTERS
Chapters

00:00:00 Opening: The Scale Tells You the Truth You're Running From
00:01:58 Welcome and The Margin Metaphor: Staying Inside the Lines
00:05:46 ET's Scale Confession: When You Make Truth Your Enemy
00:09:43 The Story You Tell Yourself Is the Problem
00:12:22 The Two-Year Investment Principle: What You Do Now Shows Up Later
00:14:49 Jamal and Camille's Cassette Tape Vision: Speaking Your Future Into Existence
00:22:15 Carl's Kitchen Scale Strategy: Put Your Help Where Your Enemy Lives
00:26:50 The 52-Day Journey: Shrinking the Goal and Changing Your God
00:32:01 The Order Matters: Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally in Marriage
00:37:00 The Visa Victory: How Tamisha's Mom Finally Got to Come to America
00:40:32 Carl's No-Stress Marriage Philosophy: When Everything Is Taken Care Of
00:41:55 Carl's Biggest Area for Growth: Taking the Cooking Load Off Tamisha
00:43:58 Jamal's Travel Revelation: When You Stop Creating Experiences
00:45:33 Closing: We Is Greater Than Me - Pre-Order Available Now

PRE-ORDER "WE IS GREATER THAN ME"
The debut book from Eric Thomas and CJ Quinney. Available now.
https://www.weisgreater.com
JOIN US LIVE ON PATREON
New audio every Tuesday, video every Wednesday, plus live recordings with the S2S fam.
https://www.patreon.com/c/S2SPodcast120
SUBSCRIBE
https://www.youtube.com/@S2SPodcastChannel?sub_confirmation=1
LISTEN ANYWHERE
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/secret-to-success/id123456789
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0GrMsi1Cxj3nipnI9HR1QX?si=f057018bcba44c15
FOLLOW
Instagram: @s2spodcast
ABOUT THE PODCAST
The Secret to Success Podcast is hosted by Eric Thomas, Karl Phillips, CJ Quinney, and Jemal King. Four friends, four journeys, one mission. Real conversations on faith, family, business, discipline, and becoming your best self.