This year doesn’t need more motivation.
It needs clarity, discipline, and intention.

In this episode of the Secret to Success Podcast, Eric Thomas breaks down 7 rules that actually matter if you want to win this year — not just stay busy, not just feel inspired, but make real progress.

These aren’t trends.
They’re principles.

You’ll learn:

• Why delusion keeps people stuck longer than failure

• How choosing what’s good beats choosing what feels good

• Why boredom is a requirement for mastery

• How to become unreplaceable in any environment

• The difference between playing defense and playing offense

• Why responsibility beats loyalty

• How to decide the meaning of whatever this year brings

No hype.
No shortcuts.
Just truth you can build on.

Happy New Year. Let’s work.

• 00:00:00 Opening: This Is What They're Not Telling You
• 00:00:52 Rule 1: Get Out of Delusion and Into Reality
• 00:08:05 Rule 2: Choose What's Good, Not What Feels Good
• 00:16:05 Rule 3: Boredom Builds Champions
• 00:24:45 Rule 4: Become Unreplaceable Through Diversification
• 00:30:44 Rule 5: Stop Playing Defense and Learn to Play Offense
• 00:39:32 Rule 6: Responsibility Beats Loyalty
• 00:48:06 Rule 7: Do Dark Different
• 00:54:01 Closing: Decisions Define You, Not the New Year
• 00:55:07 Outro and Call to Action

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As 2025 comes to a close, we wanted to take a moment to look back.

This episode is a collection of some of our favorite moments from the Secret to Success Podcast this year — real conversations, honest questions, unexpected laughs, and truth-filled discussions that stayed with us long after the microphones were off.

From relationships and communication…
to mindset, reality, and self-awareness…
these clips capture the heart of what S2S has always been about: growth through real talk.

Whether a moment makes you laugh, reflect, or pause for a second longer than expected, our hope is that it reminds you how powerful honest conversations can be.

Thank you for listening, sharing, and being part of the journey with us in 2025.
We’re grateful for you — and excited for what’s ahead.

“Be honest — what’s something you’ve been consistent at… but haven’t seen results from yet?”

You can do the right things and still be headed in the wrong direction.
In this episode of the Secret to Success Podcast, the conversation goes straight at a frustration many disciplined people quietly carry:
“I followed the rules. I showed up. I stayed consistent… so why isn’t it working?”

This isn’t a motivational episode. It’s an examination.

The team breaks down why effort alone doesn’t produce growth, how consistency without measurement becomes rehearsed failure, and why isolation — not laziness — is often the real reason progress stalls.
You’ll hear why pain is often proof of progress, why feedback is essential (even when it hurts), and how following the wrong formula can keep smart, hardworking people stuck for years.

If you’ve been doing the work but questioning the results, this episode will help you identify what needs to change — without throwing away everything you’ve built.
This conversation is about alignment, correction, and building with intention — not just grinding harder.

• 00:00:00 Opening: Consistency Isn't Enough
• 00:01:26 Welcome and Team Introductions
• 00:06:55 How Do You Know When God Is Telling You to Move?
• 00:11:33 The Power of Making Decisions Over Waiting
• 00:13:23 Patterns Over Decisions: Learning God's Ways
• 00:15:57 Excellence Is God: Moving in the Spirit of Excellence
• 00:16:46 Consistency Without Quality Is Rehearsed Failure
• 00:21:37 The Sandpaper People: Why You Need Correction
• 00:24:18 Stop Working in Isolation: The Cage Mentality
• 00:34:39 Measuring Progress: Pain Equals Progress
• 00:38:04 Quick Evaluation: The Secret to Accelerated Growth
• 00:40:15 Being Coachable: ET's Jordan Brand Adjustment
• 00:43:09 Real Numbers, Real Accountability
• 00:57:52 Breaking Free from Your Cage: Changing Your Circle
• 01:02:07 Closing: Merry Christmas and Final Encouragement

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New conversations drop weekly, focused on discipline, clarity, and building a life that actually works.

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Share This Episode
If this episode made you uncomfortable — it’ll probably help someone you care about.
Share it with a friend who’s doing everything right but feels stuck.
Share this with someone who’s doing everything right but feels stuck

If life feels heavy, confusing, or just stuck… you’re not broken. You’re not cursed. You’re not “falling behind.”
You’re in a phase nobody teaches you how to navigate: the dark season.

In today’s episode, the guys break down why your hardest moments keep repeating, why running from discomfort actually makes it worse, and the one shift that finally moves you forward. ET explains how every version of success he’s had was formed in moments nobody saw. Jamal talks about the darkness that exposed the real picture of his life and pushed him toward real estate. Karl breaks down how creativity, identity, and resilience are all born in the dark—never in comfort.

This conversation will change how you interpret struggle, setbacks, disappointment, and pressure. Because the truth is simple:
You don’t grow in the light. You grow in the hard stuff. And once you know how to face it, everything changes.

🔥 In This Episode You’ll Learn:

• Why God prepares your table in the presence of your enemies—and why you keep praying them away

• How darkness is not Satan's domain—it's where God forms everything

• The difference between light (what's already formed) and dark (where you're being formed)

• Why the Buffalo runs into the storm while everyone else gets stuck in it longer

• Jamal's real story: sitting in that squad car at midnight, feeling like a failure—and how that darkness exposed the picture God was developing

• How to do dark different: prepare before it comes, embrace it when it's here, and let it form you instead of break you

• Why your prayers in the light are different than your prayers in the dark—and how that's costing you your breakthrough

Surround yourself with people who won’t let you settle.
👉 ETOnePercent.com

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A blueprint for breaking through fear, hesitation, and overthinking.
👉 MovingPastPotential.com

Most people don’t fail because they lack talent—
they fail because their ego keeps putting them in positions they’re not built for.

This episode is a wake-up call for anyone who keeps blowing opportunities, breaking alliances, sabotaging good teams, or confusing “control” with “calling.” We’re talking identity, roles, loyalty, humility, and the dangerous trend of chasing titles instead of mastering your assignment.

If you’ve ever walked away from the people who built you…
If you keep trying to lead when you’re meant to support…
If you think you want the spotlight but can’t handle the responsibility…
If you’re losing while insisting on being in charge…

…this conversation is going to sting, but it will straighten out your whole approach to success.

It’s time to tell the truth:
You can’t win the game when your ego won’t let you play your position.

And for the first time ever, we’re introducing two new segments designed to shift your mindset daily:
🔥 Kalm Down with Karl
🔥 Mal’s Millionaire Moment

Powerful clarity. Tactical mindset shifts. Zero excuses.

Daily sessions. Real accountability. Serious breakthroughs.
If you’re stuck, drifting, or overwhelmed, don’t miss this.

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Life keeps bullying you because you keep handing over the power. Your habits, your phone, your job, your fears, your past — all of it is pushing you around while you stand there acting like you don’t have a choice.

This episode breaks that cycle wide open.

ET, CJ, Karl, and Jemal dive into the truth nobody wants to admit:
you’re either the bully… or you’re getting bullied.
By your circumstances.
By your imagination (or lack of it).
By the systems built to turn you into a full-time consumer.

Inside the episode, you’ll learn:

• Why the picture in your head is more important than the reality in front of you
• How to stop giving your power away to fear, bills, people, and your own patterns
• Why consumers get exploited, and why producers win every single time
• How social media turns you into a victim without you noticing
• How intentionality separates the bullied from the unstoppable
• Why your gift — not your job — is the real source of your freedom
• How to bully the bully in your finances, marriage, career, and internal dialogue
• Why one property, one skill, or one shift can flip your entire life trajectory

This is one of those episodes you replay when you feel stuck.
It’s raw. It’s practical. It’s uncomfortable.
And it’s exactly what you need.

CHAPTERS:
00:00 - Show Intro
01:25 - ET on Bullying Awareness
05:09 - Bully the Bully Strategy
07:32 - Discovering Your Gifts
11:55 - Overcoming Inner Criticism
17:19 - The Reality of Fear
19:14 - Understanding Menopause
22:15 - The Nature of Bullying
25:29 - Utilizing Your Gifts
27:18 - Embrace Assertiveness
30:25 - Valuing Your Worth
33:25 - Work for Your Demands
35:55 - Embracing Change
38:30 - Be the Solution
44:10 - Next Level Conference Overview
46:16 - Future of EYL University
47:40 - Inside The Lab
49:45 - Join the BU Community
50:01 - Support This Podcast

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If this hit you, share it with someone still letting life push them around.
The moment you stop being a consumer and start being a producer, everything changes.

You’re letting people with zero track record tell you how to run your life. And the wild part? Half of them couldn’t survive doing what YOU do for 24 hours.

In this episode of the Secret to Success Podcast, the guys break down the “Bully the Bully” mindset—why the world pushes you around if you don’t push back, why people in survival mode try to hijack what you’ve built, and why letting the wrong voices guide you is the fastest way back to the bottom.

ET, CJ, Karl, and Jemal unpack:

• Why unqualified opinions keep you broke and stuck

• The mentality difference between survivors and winners

• Why you MUST protect what you’ve built

• How the world “bullies” you financially if you’re not intentional

• The exact mindset shift needed to take control of your life

This one is raw, hilarious, and heavy with truth—perfect for anyone tired of being pushed around by people who haven’t done the work.

Video Chapters
00:00 Opening: Don't Let Bullies Give You Advice
01:21 Welcome and Team Introductions
09:48 New York Trip and Expensive Breakfast Revelation
13:45 The $69 Breakfast: They're Bullying You
14:19 Introducing Bully the Bully Mentality
22:10 Mike Tyson and the Mental Game
28:29 Recognizing Opinion Boys vs. Authorities
43:15 Black Men and the Bully Dynamic
45:02 Stop Being a Consumer, Become a Producer
52:31 Your Gifts Shall Make Room for You
58:58 Closing: Concentrate on Your Opportunity

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If this hit home, share it with someone who needs to hear it. And remember:
Stop letting people who can’t do what you do tell you how to do it.
Bully the bully. Take back your power.

If your feelings keep driving your finances, you’re paying an invisible tax. In this episode we break down how to regulate emotions, demand receipts (real due diligence), and replace motivation with rules so you stop bleeding time and money. Action over anxiety. Rules over mood. Results over excuses.

You’ll learn

• How to stop emotional decision-making before it costs you

• What real due diligence looks like (records over “trust me”)

• The mindset shift from motivation to non-negotiable rules

• Why KPIs and clear consequences end confusion and chaos

• How to do “the real work” (and why thinking about it is harder than doing it)
  

Tap in with S2S

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1. Comment: Drop “FIRE YOUR FEELINGS” if you’re done letting emotions run your money.

2. Share: Send this to a friend who keeps “investing” without receipts.

3. Review: If this helped, leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts—tell us your #1 takeaway.
   

Whether your team is 1–5 or your home feels out of rhythm, this episode gives you the playbook: peace over moods, standards over scoreboard, purpose over procrastination. ET breaks down the same locker-room mentality he brings to pro teams—then we translate it to your marriage, money, and mindset. (And yes, we clown Jemal about the Bears some more 😅).

• Serenity beats Happiness: why chasing “happy” keeps you stuck, and how to build steady peace you can stand on.

• Standards beat feelings: the non-negotiables that fix performance at work, at home, and on the field.

• The “fixer” trap: how to support your spouse without trying to control their journey.

• Imperfectly mindful: simple daily awareness habits that create momentum.

• From 1–5 to unstoppable: the mindset ET gives losing teams—and how to use it today.

• Train with ET for 21 days (free registration): etonepercent.com (spell out “one”).

• Join the Patreon for bonus segments, lives, and behind-the-scenes access for only $10: patreon.com/c/S2SPodcast120

The week the Ravens were 1–5 and about to face Chicago, ET walked into Baltimore’s locker room with a message—not hype, a standard.

Jemal, a lifelong Bears fan, wants to know why ET had to deliver that talk right before they played his team.

That friendly smoke sets the tone as we unpack the exact principles ET shared: why contracts beat feelings, how identity sets standards, standards drive behavior, and behavior produces results—on the field and in your life. We trace the arc from a losing record to a winning mindset, then translate it into practical moves you can use this week: building simple systems that work when your mood doesn’t, protecting momentum, and committing to one non-negotiable that changes the scoreboard at work and at home. By the end, Jemal makes his Bears case, ET makes the case for standards over vibes, and you’ll leave with a clear “12–5” plan—one covenant, seven days, real traction.

If this hits, subscribe and share it with someone who needs a standard, not a speech. Drop “12–5” in the comments with the one rule you’re locking in this week, and we’ll read a few on the next episode.