Eric Thomas - The Secret to Success

One evening at Wednesday night prayer service I made a deal with God. I was not sure if that was an appropriate thing to do, but I was desperate. I told God if he blessed my living situation, I would do whatever He asked me to do. No sooner than church ended, Brother and Sister Cannonier called me to the side. I was petrified, “What did I do this time?” I was so accustomed to getting in trouble that whenever an adult called my name, I knew it wasn’t good. “We understand you are studying for your G.E.D. and you are planning to go to college,” Sis Cannonier inquired. “Yes ma’am, those are my plans.” “We have a proposal for you,” Brother Cannonier chimed in. “We will allow you to move in with our family under one condition—by the end of August you have to move.” They hoped by then I would be packed and ready to go to college. They made it very clear, “our home is your home as long as you are studying for your G.E.D. and pursuing college.” Brother and Sister Cannonier, like the majority of the church family, had a passion for youth. I later discovered that Sister Cannoier was from Trinidad and Brother Cannonier was from Tobago, a small island off the Atlantic Coast and like most underprivileged nations, opportunities for prosperity are scarce. They constantly reminded me of the opportunity I had as an American and how I need not take it for granted.

They did not just talk about it; they lived it. I watched them both rise early in the morning and start the day off with Worship. The house rule was that anyone who stayed the night also rose for worship. It was crazy being exposed to the West Indian grind. Sister Cannonier woke up every morning and made fresh biscuits from scratch. After she cooked, she got dressed and headed to Murray Wright High School to put in eight hours as a math teacher. Brother Cannonier was a carpenter by trade, but he had about three jobs. I am not sure which one he went to first thing in the morning, but I knew for sure he was working on one of his properties at night. He’d come home for dinner and worship then spend some time with the family before heading back out the door to work on the rental property or the church.

I was exposed to a great deal in the short time I lived with them and as a result, I learned a great deal. Of the many values I learned from the Cannoniers, the one that stuck most was the non-negotiable family worship session every morning and evening. I am not sure if their sons, Sammy and Shane, were feeling family worship, but Brother and Sister Cannonier were committed to it. They also were committed to happiness. I’m not saying they didn’t have their challenges, but I saw first -hand how their faith allowed them to deal with and enjoy life in a way that was special. Hard work was another value I was exposed to. I grew up in a working class environment. I saw my parents and most of the neighbors get up in the morning and go to work, but this was a different type of work. The Cannonier’s were from the West Indies, so work was a major part of their cultural beliefs. They literally gave up everything and came to the United States to create a better life for their family. Thankfully, that work ethic eventually rubbed off on me.

Principle 12: You need your undivided attention .

Whenever you decide to change your life for the better, just know it won’t be a simple process. There will be a number of distractions enticing you to go back to your past ways .

“E, let me holla at you fam,” Lil B called out. It must have been around 2 o’clock in the morning. I assumed Lil B wanted to talk about the beat down we just put on these church boys. It was something like a showdown from an old western. It started about a year ago and climaxed that night at a church basketball game. Bob, Desrick, and I were walking up a dirt road chillin’ at camp meeting when we heard bass booming from a car. By the time we turned around we saw about four cats in a sports car swiftly approaching us. Instead of moving to the side and letting them pass through, I noticed B stop abruptly in the middle of the road and had this look like, I am not moving and you better slow down and go around me or something real is going to pop off up in here. Desreck and I were going to get out of the middle of the road until we noticed that B had not moved. At that point, we had to just follow B’s lead. “Get out of the street before you get ran over,” one of the passengers yelled. B did not blink and he did not say a word. Being out numbered was nothing new for us. In the city we would stare another brother down in a minute and dare them to fight because our crew was so massive. Plus, B’s older brother Bill was there and Bill Blast was into that ultimate fighting stuff and known for giving out beat downs. Because we were outnumbered, they confidently jumped out the car to see if we would back down. After about 15 minutes of going back and forth, B said something about his older brother that was enough to shut the arguing down. Apparently, they attended the same school with his older brother and knew he had a reputation of laying cats out. As we were walking away, B let one of them know it was not over and that they better watch their backs and get ready for a serious beat down when we got back to Detroit. B kept his word. Before the fight at the game a few of us decided to go to a major church collaboration and we kind of figured they were not going to come on our side of town (the west side), but we were wrong. On my way to the restroom I noticed about three of them walking toward me, so I did a serious 180 degree rotation and ran back to the balcony and warned the guys. By the time we exited the church and dashed to the parking lot and back to the ride, they were on our trail quickly. Goodloe told us to start the car, pop the trunk, and meet him at the spot. I figured it did not take all of us to start the car, so I stayed with Loe. He was about 6 feet 4 or 5 with a long reach. As soon as the fight reached us, Loe dropped the boulders. The first dude fell back. The second one ran up on Loe and Loe landed a serious blow to his jaw that buckled him like Thomas “The Hitman” Hearns against Sugar Ray Leonard. We hopped in the ride and headed back to the Twain to holler at the rest of the crew about the near beat down and figure out how and when we were going to deal with them. B suggested we wait and surprise them. He told us they played in the church basketball league and specifically, they played against their team twice during the season and we could bum rush them in the middle of the game. B got almost everybody to commit, Sweetdaddy, BoBo, Raymond, Tank, Jr., Loe, Bill, Bob, Lil B, Descrick and without thinking I said, “I’m in.” It rolled off my tongued like rain rolls off a window seal. Somehow I was in the moment and I forgot all about De and college. In that moment I felt trapped, like there was no way out. On the one hand, I wanted to sit this one out. I was a few months away from getting out of the hood and spending the next four years with my girl without her mother all in our business. On the other hand, I wanted to show my loyalty to my homies. This was my moment to show the homies my appreciation for having my back and practically raising me as far as the street game was concerned. I felt like I did not have a choice, I needed to hop in the ride and represent. One night, one ride, could change the rest of my life for the rest of my life. I guess that’s why I was so grateful when Lil B called my name that night. It meant we all made it back to the block alive without anyone getting hurt or put in a bag. Plus, we made it off the premises before the police made it to the game. “E, you still headed down south for school with De in the fall?” Lil B said like a concerned parent. “No doubt,” I said without being cocky but with a proud feeling. Lil B’s next words shocked me because I assumed he wanted to talk about how I got down that night. “Then you need to get outta here. You are not like the rest of us, you got a chance so don’t mess it up. You have an opportunity the rest of us don’t’ have. Get out while you are alive. I am proud of you boy, now go make the Twain proud.” As I walked off the block for the last time, I turned to B and said, “I promise, college won’t change me homie.” I walked away from the Twain that day and I never looked back.