What you have is plenty." (Thomas, Eric.) If we are content with what we have and work everyday to achieve more we will always be successful. He says, "Start where you are with what you have. Thomas shows that sometimes people have to work with what they have instead of complaining. As long as they don't make excuses and begin to work towards their goals. Even if someone started weak, they can change whatever they want about their lives. Thomas is saying that even if someone made poor choices, they can change that anytime. 'Starting today, you can do it, '"(Van Valkenburg). I don't care if you started weak,' he said. But, he used that as motivation to pursue bigger and better things. Thomas may have made a few mistakes as a kid, followed the wrong crowd, and made bad decisions. Anyone could be the first in their house to go to college, be a doctor or a lawyer or a teacher. He is living proof that we can break the cycle. Eric Thomas put in the "sweat equity," and became one of the best motivational speakers in the world. He said, " 'You can be, do, accomplish whatever you want if you put in the sweat equity,'" (Van Valkenburg). He turned his problems into a success by working hard everyday. All he had was his ambition and his dreams. Eric Thomas is my hero because he is hard-working, he has a positive attitude, and is therefore inspiring.Įric Thomas is hard working because he turned what he had (which was not much) into something great. Eric Thomas falls under the category hero because he kept a positive mindset around a negative environment, which is not something that everyone can do. Someone who falls under the title "hero" is willing to do the hard work and make something of themselves. Now, I know you're wondering, how could a man who dropped out of high school, and got kicked out of his own home be a hero? Well, a hero is someone who takes their time to succeed and takes all the negative in their life and turns it into something positive. Eric was never the best student, however he returned to school to get his GED and continued to get his PhD, which took twelve years. He was homeless for two and a half years as well. Eric Thomas was not only the son of a teen mother, but a high school dropout at sixteen. He makes people want to get up, and stop being victims. Eric Thomas is a fantastic motivational speaker, who continues to motivate people to work hard and be great. This is only one of many inspiring quotes by my hero, Eric Thomas. "I've got a dream that's worth more than my sleep,"(Eric Thomas).