Eric Thomas - The Secret to Success

When I left the Olive Garden four years after the day I was hired, I can truly say I entered as a boy but I came out a man.

Unusual favor is bestowed on those that work

One of the first things I did to launch my speaking career was embrace the concept of meditation into my life. I decided to dedicate the first hour of the day to speak to and listen to God. I added listening to my meditation time because I hate those one sided relationships. You know the ones where your friend does all the talking and you can’t get a word in. One day during my meditation time, God gave me a revelation about work through the following scriptures:

First and foremost, He revealed that work was a significant aspect of His personal value system. Before He asked me to go to work, He went to work. According to Genesis, even before any signs or miracles were wrought, He worked. I am no genius, but I just believe He could have done in one hour what it took him six days to do. So He modeled what He wanted me to do - work. He specified the time frame so I would not think it was acceptable to work three days and play four days. Then He helped me make the connection between my faith and work. I began to understand that work is an outward manifestation of an inward change. And finally, He said if I am able to work, but unwilling, I should not even eat. Bottom line, a lazy person is not placing himself or herself in a position of greatness. That revelation sealed the deal for me. I knew from that day forward my pay scale was not in man’s hand. If God was pleased with my work performance then no one devil in hell could prevent me from getting what He had planned for me.

You have to place yourself in Miracle Territory

When I am trying to convince young people of just how invaluable working is, I often compare it to flying first class. If you have never flown first class before you might be under the impression that it’s all hype. You might be saying to yourself, there is really not a big difference between coach, business class, and first class except the price tag. There is a huge difference! I have flown coach on an international flight and I have flown first class. I preferred the first class experience. Besides the obvious, more leg room, wider seats, hot meals, convenient access to the restroom, electrical access, real glass, a hot washcloth, you get the point already; the potential networking opportunities are astronomical!

I discovered the same is true when you are passionate about your work or about the process. It’s like flying first class; you place yourself in Miracle Territory. It’s not about liking or disliking the company you are employed by. It’s not about the relationship between you and your supervisor or colleagues for that matter. It’s about taking advantage of the opportunity that has been given. It’s about working at your optimal level. And if you are not willing to give onehundred and twenty percent, then don’t get upset when those around you get promotions, raises, and other benefits. You have to realize you can’t expect a full harvest when you are not willing to put your best effort forward. Because I understood that concept, I walked in the Olive Garden like I owned shares in the company. I was not a cook and I was too young to wait tables. The law in Alabama stated that you had to be 21 to sell liquor. That did not stop me from learning the entire menu and what each dish contained. I studied everything. I could tell you what was in the salad, both the soups; my favorite was the classic minestrone soup. I could even break down the meat and vegetable dishes. There was a huge vegetarian population in Huntsville, and I wanted to make sure their experience was unforgettable. I worked hard, and because of that doors began opening up for me. For instance, regular customers used to request that I serve their table even though I wasn’t a waiter. I read Dale Carnegie’s book, How to Win Friends and Influence People, so I learned that it was important to remember the customers’ names and remember their orders. Every time they visited the restaurant and I called them by name and remembered what they generally ordered they felt like they were getting special treatment. Some waiters would request I bus the tables in their area because I did more than what was required. I would take the customers’ drink orders and sometimes even their entrees if the waiters were busy. That isn’t to say that I never made any mistakes. One night we were short staffed and my boss asked me to take drink orders at a few tables. This one particular table was special to me because there were some local pastors who I recognized and it was an honor to be able to serve them. They all ordered virgin strawberry daiquiris, only I forgot to tell the bartender to make them virgin. Well, after a few minutes I went back to the table to check on them and they all commented on how great the drink was and that they would take another virgin daiquiri. I walked back up to the bartender and said, “four more virgin daiquiris please.” “Virgin?” the bartender asked. “You didn’t say virgin last time.” It turned out that I gave all the pastors a nice big shot of rum! I felt terrible although they seemed to be feeling excellent. I never said anything, and neither did they. I learned a lot during my time at Olive Garden and just as important, I made a ton of great relationships that would benefit me in the future.

CHAPTER

12

WHAT AN EXPERIENCE

“Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.” - Dr. Seuss

Dorothy was on to something - “There is no place like home.”

As much as I loved my first year experience at Oakwood, I always felt like a fish out of water. The fact that I was not familiar with a lot of the cultural habits that existed bothered me. During chapel service they sang songs like “Bye and Bye,” “Glory Glory,” “The Blood that Jesus Shed,” “Precious Memories How They Linger” and so forth. For the first few months I lip-singed and pretended I knew the songs. Then there were those spiritual sayings they would repeat throughout chapel. It was like they had their own language. The biggest challenge was the cliques. It seemed like ninety percent of the students went to high school together or they had relatives attending the school. There were only a handful of freshmen from Detroit, and I only knew one or two of them on a first name basis because they went to school with De.

It reminded me of my basketball experience. I never truly embraced the game because I did not excel at it. I excelled in football. As a result, I loved the game of football. When it came to a football game, people went out of their way to make sure I played on their team, but when it was time for basketball they would go to the park and not even tell me they were going. College, for me, was a lot like my basketball experience. In order to get the full benefit of college, my academic game had to be tight or I had to at least be able to sing or play an instrument. Unfortunately, I did not posses any of those skills. I believe that is why I gravitated toward the work environment. I not only survived in that environment, I thrived. I had the work ethic that would allow me to become one of the best.

But after working in the real world for a few months, I knew busing tables was not for me. Bottom line, some birds are not meant to be caged. However, for the time being De and I needed the money so I was in no position to quit. From that day forward I purposed in my heart that I would do what I loved doing and not what I was forced to do to make a living.