Motivation Daily by Motiversity - DO IT FOR YOURSELF - Powerful Motivational Speech ft Eric Thomas

Episode Date: July 8, 2026

SpeakerEric Thomashttps://www.youtube.com/user/etthehiphoppreacherhttps://twitter.com/Ericthomasbtchttps://www.instagram.com/etthehiphoppreacher/https://www.facebook.com/etthehiphoppreacherhttp://etinspires.com/MusicReally Slow Motion Buy their music:Amazon : http://amzn.to/1lTltY5iTunes: http://bit.ly/1ee3l8KSpotify: http://bit.ly/1r3lPvNWhat Have We Become - Confidential Musichttps://www.youtube.com/@ConfidentialMX Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Durant scare me because when Durant score, he don't say nut. He ain't getting nobody excited. He ain't trying to get LeBron pissed off or pumped up. He just score on my men and shh. Only thing he does at the end of the game, he kissed his mama, hug his brothers. All right, I'm out. Game over. But the one thing he does, I don't know if you watched it,

the first thing he does is what with them numbers. Touched them numbers on the front. Touch them numbers on the back. And he's doing that for who? His coach that was killed, he got a Y. He got a Y. He ain't just playing for no championship. He's not, you got to hear what I'm telling you.

If y'all's going to be great on that field, you gotta have a why. You gotta have a reason for why you do what you do. All he keep thinking about is I'm gonna get one for my coach. That's why he ain't all smiling because why? He's not smiling because what he's trying to accomplish he has not what. He ain't got it yet. Y'all better start watching these games. start watching these games bruh because you're gonna need to do with these champions doing it

you're gonna be a champion the problem with some of y'all the reason why you don't give 120 every dog on time you get on the field because you ain't got a why for what you do you ain't got a why so because you don't live long you don't have time not to make your dreams and goals become reality every single day because you don't know how long you have every single day should be about What can I do? What can I have? What can I be? And you gotta hang out with other people on the same trajectory you're on. Anything you could think of. If you could actually think of it, it means you can do it. There is no dream that's too big. There is nothing that you could think of in your head that you can't do.

Listen to me closely. Everybody want to win, everybody want to be able to win a team. Everybody want to win, but everybody don't want to work. Everybody wants a reward, but everybody don't have to want to work. We all got to work. You have to make a decision that nobody in your position will outwork you. You hear now. You hear now. You finally made it.

And this is where you break up. This is where you start chilling. This is where you get comfortable? You made it now. This is where you make it permanent. Why do you wake up in the morning? Why do you put on that jersey? Why do you go out and practice? What's your why? I'm about to give everything I got and I will know if I don't get another gig

it won't have to do with the fact that I didn't put everything on the field. You better grow up and get to the point as a man that if you ever get beat, you better get beat by somebody that's just purely more talented than you are. You better not ever get beat by somebody because you beat yourself. At the end of the day, your superpower is when you're a super power is when you're just, you're just being. you are your authentic self. That's your superpower is when you're you. If I'm going to be like anybody else, it's not going to work. And at the end of the day, if you are your authentic self, that's the 1%. There's 1% of us that don't care about what nobody else say or think about us.

We're going to be our authentic self. That's what the 1% is. I'm number 1. Why? Just because I'm being myself. At all costs. It does not take 10. You don't have to be talented. You don't have to be gifted. You don't have to be the quickest, the strongest. You don't have to be the most intelligent to get to where I am. That's what you got to do. You just got to grind, though. You're grind. Listen to me. You might come from privilege. Your daddy might hook you up with a car. He might know people. He might be able to get you a job. But you will not outwork me. The reality is, it's not that you don't have the talent. It is what it is. Y'all can run just as fast. You can catch, you can throw up, you can tackle. I say, here's the problem.

The problem is you got average will. There's two things you need to do to take advantage of this opportunity and be a dog. You need phenomenal skill and you need phenomenal will. You need both. I'm telling you, you got to have phenomenal will. And I wasn't smart as you, but I passed you up. Why? Because I had that dog. I had that will. I had that determination. I don't care that I can't read or write.

Like I fell English twice in college. I still got a four-year degree. It took me 12 years, but that dog, that will. I said, if God gave me the ability to get up, yep, it might take me five days to do what it takes you to do in one day, but I'm going to do it in five. It may take me four weeks to read a book that you can read in a week, but I got that, I got that dog. And guess what happens? If you don't have phenomenal skill, but you got phenomenal will, you can make up for skill. I went in the dark, y'all. I went in the dark for 10 years. I ain't watched no TV. I ain't listened to no music.

Sacrifice. I sacrificed like 10 years to catch up with everybody else. Like for real, ADHD, I had a learning disability when I was younger. Like, I overcame all of that with that dog. I overcame all of that with Will. So I cut the TV off. I cut off intramural sports. I cut off everything.

I cut it off. I'm up at 3 o'clock in the morning, praying, and after that, I'm reading, I'm studying. Listen to me very closely. Two things, skill and will. Like, you only had a small dream. You had a dream of a house and a car and to take care of your mama.

All that is done. So what you plan for? What you plan for? You ain't plan for nothing. That's why they beat you. Discipline is doing what you said you were going to do when you don't feel like doing it.

when you felt like doing it in the first place. That's all it is. When you first start playing this game, when you fell in love with it, you were just like, let's go, let's go, let's go. But then stuff's going to happen. Like, I gotta dig deep now and go a little harder. I actually went harder.

You've got to discipline yourself and you gotta learn that when you don't feel like it, you must still do it or actually go harder when you don't feel like it. Because out of 365 days, there are going to be days you don't feel like getting up. There are going to be days you don't want to work out. There's going to be days you don't want to watch film.

There's going to be days that you don't want to practice. There are going to be days you might not even want to play. There might be days you don't even feel like getting in the game. But listen to me very closely, champions, if you want to make it to the next level, you've got to win in the dark before you can win in the light. All of us can go by a car, but all of us can't get up in the morning and grind. I'm not that guy that just started off and had everything together. Like I learned, I grew, and got better.

So I'm a living example that you don't have to be born number one to be number one. You can be last, born last, but through hard work, determination, you can work your way up to number one. You told yourself to get up at three is three, get your butt up. You cannot tell nobody else to get up at three o'clock in the morning. You can't tell nobody else how they need to grind. They grind look like they grind. You can't tell them about you. You need to get up early.

Maybe they don't. Who knows? You know what you need to do. You can have a say for you. So if you're going to separate yourself, growth is the greatest separated between men. As you grow, right? You see CP3 leadership grow. You see the way he handles himself.

Grow. So I'm asking, what sacrifices are you willing to make? Everybody want what you want. Everybody want to go to the lead. Everybody want to take care of their family. Everybody want to be a celebrity or whatever. you want to be right what are you willing to give up for what are you willing to sacrifice that's that's next level that's saying that although I'm already

great at what I do I'm ready to dig deeper I'm ready to do so I'm ready to make another sacrifice I'm ready to go somewhere everybody else ain't way to go why because I'm ready to take it to the next level no matter what has happened to you no matter what somebody said to you no matter what somebody did to you I need you to walk away knowing you were one of one strive for Don't mean you got to be perfect but strive for people tell me all time. Oh, you got this thing his image. You try to be 1,000% I'm trying to be perfect 1,000% it don't mean I'm not trying to dog you out. I'm not judging you. I don't even think I'm better to you But I am striving for perfection. I am

I definitely not trying to be the same version of Eric Thomas I was last year or the month before I'm definitely if you knew me five years ago you better take a picture Because the only way you're going to be able to prove that person exists is that you got film on it. I'm telling you that you got to be possessed with the vision. And somebody's trying to mess up my vision. And I need to make sure my vision is protected and care for. If you really want to be happy, getting that vision.

You think a car going to make you happy, I promise you it won't. You think a house going to make you think status. You think, you think, I promise you, I promise you, you get in that vision, you're going to sweep so well at night. When you're going to level up? What's the goal? What's the mission? What's the priority? What's the purpose? Stay focused on the mission and don't let anything distract you from getting it done No fighting no fussing get focused focus on the goal are you listening to what I'm saying like we ain't we ain't letting the noise

distracts I need you to lead I don't know how much time I have left on this earth so I have to focus on you have to focus on What's the goal? What's the mission? What's the priority? What's the purpose? Opportunity You have an opportunity of a lifetime. When you understand you have an opportunity, you play a little different. When I dropped out of high school and I started going to this church and let me speak, I picked up the mic. I was 16 years old.

I picked up the mic. I'm not going to say it was the best speech I ever did, but when I picked up that mic and got off that stage, I was like, yep, I can do it. So here what I'm saying. Opportunity. I got an opportunity. You got an opportunity. So here's a deal.

When you have an opportunity, Why would you give 80%? Why would you give 80%, 70%? Why wouldn't you always give 120%? It's sports, it's basketball. Why wouldn't you give 120%? You can't dictate if the ball will always go in. You can't dictate what kind of game you're going to have.

You can't dictate how your body is going to respond to moving around. But you can dictate your what? You can dictate your good. You can dictate your good. You can dictate your. sure you can always give a hundred and twenty percent efforts and every day I want you to wake up and not just go I'm sweet like that I want you to go I'm not just going with skills there's a one type of do who feel like because he's gifted that

it's just an automatic role for him let me tell you all something you are gifted but you better humble yourself you got to understand that pride come before fall you may get it but right now what oh I can't hear y'all you may get it but right now what You don't have it. That's not what gets you in the lead. Not what you were born with. You got skill and you got will.

You got skill and you got will. Two total different things. You were born with certain things but to get to the next level and not just get to the next level, to stay at the next level, you gotta have will. So when you play, you have to compete. I'm a high school dropout. My daddy wasn't in my life.

But I found out I had a gift, Then I found out your gift shall make room for you. And I'm like, you mean to tell me if I perfect this? I can eat and my kids can eat and my kids, kids can eat. From today on, you play whatever your best game is. You play that level every single time. So some of you like me, I ain't had my daddy. Right?

I'm from Chicago, South Side. I had my father in my life. I don't know who my grandfather is. My mom got pregnant with me at 17 years old. I didn't have the people in my life that was supposed to be in my life. So I made some stupid decisions, dropped out of high school, homeless, living in abandoned buildings, eating out of trash can. I promise you, if a speaker came, I was like some of y'all once saying nothing. But guess what happened?

Guess what happened? Yep, one day I got a why. I got married. I had a son. And everything changed for me. That's why I'm asking you, who do you love? So when people ask me, E.T., why you get up at 3 o'clock in the morning? Why are you putting videos up every day at 3 o'clock in morning on Instagram?

Number one, because I want to be the best that ever done it. Like I honor my craft. I want Dr. Michael King to look at me and go, that's it, kid. I want Malcolm X to look at me and go, that's it kid. Just like you got the Hall of Fame in basketball, I want to be the Hall of Fame in speaking.

I want all the greats to look at me and go, that's it right there. Number one, I'm competing against everybody else in the world. I'm not mad at them, I'm not against them, but when you're number one, you don't have to negotiate with your check. I remember when I was like number 25 or something, they would be like, okay, you gotta fly here,

you got fly, now I tell people how to how I fly. I tell people where I stay where I don't stay. So number one in the world what happened? One day I woke up and was like I got to do this for my wife. Like I don't know what happened but she called me like yo E, I'm lost. I'm like what you mean we lost? We live in Lance. You can't be lost. She's like I'm lost. I got a brain fault. Took her to the hospital and found out she had MS. The doctor was like look this is the one thing we could tell you stress caused MS. I told my girl you will never work again. My son I didn't go to college when you finished high school

and go to Michigan State, I'm cashing you out. I found out I had a gift. I started thinking about what my mom need, with my sister's need, and a lot of y'all, you're selfish, flat out. How many in this room? Some of y'all, you're good. You're gonna make it to the league, you're tight work.

That ain't all y'all. How many y'all, your mama really need need you to go to the league, let me see your hand. Hands down, I'm gonna say it again. How many y'all need to move your mama out that neighborhood, and y'all need to put your mama in another neighborhood, And the league is how you're going to get there.

Let me see your hand. So what I'm trying to tell you is, while you plan, it might be some cats in the league who really are going or who do come from privilege. And you like thinking you them, I promise you, I ain't stupid. I ain't Tony Robbins. I don't come from where he comes from. I don't come from where Tiyosaki come from.

I don't come from where Zee came from. My mama barely finished Dunbar. I'm from the south side of Chicago. I ain't had no safety net. You're acting like if you don't make it to the NBA, You got like some second opportunity that's gonna pay you 100 meal. How many you are in the room right now? Your mama got a safety net.

Other than you making it to the league, you got another way where you're about to make a hundred meal. Let me see your hand real quick. Because that's what you're acting like. Now, if your parents got that, hey, you good. But some of you, your mama ain't got that. So when you hoop from now on, I don't want you to see basketball. I want you to see your mama getting out the hood. So every time you get your handle straight,

Your mama is that closer to doing what? Every time you get your character straight, you heard what the man said. He said if they got to choose between the two of y'all, they're not choosing the snotty nose dude who think he everything, who don't speak to people. You know, man, they always pick me. I always ask, why y'all pick me and not the other speakers?

They say, because you're easiest to work with. Because when you come, you don't talk down to nobody. You clean up behind yourself. He just said, I'm a grown man. They say you clean up behind yourself. You don't cause. problems in me. Number one, this is not about basketball, this is about who? Yourself and then who? Your family. So the days you don't feel like working out, it's easy. How do

you get motivated, how you get pumped up? You think about mama in that feeling on draft day. And which one is more important? You get some rest or mama coming to the draft. I'm just being real. Which one is more important? So somebody locking you down, you're trying to score and locking you down like in your mind you gotta go uh-oh this ain't just about me getting locked down this about mama not having what this mama not having what food so at halftime when coach go back over the stuff when you come out what you got to do you got to kill I just told y'all this how my man eats this how my grandkids gonna eat he's doing his own personal thing this how we eat this

ain't no motivational presentation this how my mama eat right This is how my wife never have to go to work again. This is how we live on the West Coast and on the East Coast. And I ain't no baller. And I ain't making millions of dollars. But my gift is making room for me. Every time I get on 3 o'clock in the morning, I'm killing him. Tony Robinson can't keep up.

He's a phenomenal speaker, but he ain't from the shy. He can't keep up. My motor! I'm killing him.