Eric Thomas - The Secret to Success

CHAPTER

14

P.U.S.H

(Push Until Something Happens)

“Never underestimate the importance of the beginning. The beginning has the seeds of everything else to come. Started a G.E.D. program in the hood and the rest was history.”

We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope.

Almost an entire year had passed since I dropped everything to pursue my dream and no results. Not one student had registered for the G.E.D. test. An entire year of preparation and I was unable to convince one student that they needed to take the test. I was starting to believe I had made a big mistake. Maybe the doubters were right. Maybe I jumped the gun; I should have stayed in school; I kept thinking, maybe I should just throw in the towel and give up the hoop dream. Go get a “real job.”

“With every deed you are sowing a seed, though the harvest you may not see.” - Ella Wheeler Wilcox

I wasn’t sure which was worse, coming to grips with the fact that the program was a complete failure or dealing with the fact that I was succumbing to self-defeating thoughts… again. I took pride in the fact that I was this jubilant, upbeat person, that I was somehow able to rise above negative circumstances and defy all odds. But this one was hard to bounce back from, it knocked the wind out of me. I was no longer living for myself; I was married, so my decision had a direct impact on De. In fact, 6 months after I left my job to pursue my dreams and all savings evaporated, she decided to get a job to help make ends meet. I felt so bad because she was getting up at 5:30 a.m. to make her 6:30 a.m. clinical, stayed in class until about 3:30 and went to work until about 9:30 – 10:00 p.m. I decided the best thing to do for the sake of my marriage was to man up and call the G.E.D. program quits. Next week would be my last week. As that week was coming to an end I pulled all the students together and I made my announcement. “Guys, this has been one of the most enriching experiences of my life, in almost a year our relationship has grown, you each have grown academically and personally. I believe that for each of you the best is yet to come. With that being said, I hate to inform you that next week is my final week. None of you are the reason for my decision. In short, I am leaving for financial reasons. Over the past year I have poured my personal finances into this program and I can no longer afford to live and invest in the program.” As soon as I finished one of the most touching speeches of my career, Zanzabar, one of the top drug dealers in the city blurted out, “Did I just hear you say you were quitting? Tell me you’re kidding, right? Is this a joke?” he asked. I know “Mr. Don’t ever give into defeat” ain’t standing here telling us he’s ‘bout to give up on his dreams over money. I thought you were different Mr. Thomas but you just like the rest of them fake teachers. You don’t give a damn about us.” I am not sure if I was more stunned or embarrassed. What do you say after one of your students hangs you out to dry like that in front of the entire class? My ego had been slightly damaged, but Zanzabar was right. If there was one thing I tried to instill in them, it was that defeat was not an option, come hell or high water, never be denied and never quit short of the prize. Here I was being a hypocrite. I could not come back from that blow, so I just said, “Have a great weekend and I will see you guys Monday!” I spent that entire weekend to myself. I called on the Lord every waking hour. Father, I’m in a major jam again and I don’t know what to do. You said you would never leave me nor forsake me. That I have not because I ask not. Well, I am asking Father. I can’t afford to give up on my students but I can’t afford to keep doing it for free. Please Lord, show up and show out! Give me some sort of sign that I am doing the right thing. Less than a week later, on one of my last days, two older gentlemen walked through the doors of the community center and into the room where I held my G.E.D. classes. They just stood there and observed me in action. After I dismissed the class the two gentlemen approached me and informed that they represent the Department of Education for the State of Alabama. They said that for the past few months they had been hearing good things about the program and that they wanted to see it for themselves. They were so impressed with what they saw they offered their support. Needless to say, I accepted their help and continued teaching my class. From that day forward they purchased all the computers, software, textbooks, pencils, and took care of all my printing needs. That one act rekindled my belief in my dreams and if that wasn’t enough of a sign from God, a few weeks later, God showed up again. One evening De and I were scraping our pennies together for groceries and I felt impressed to pray over the mailbox. So we stopped, got on our knees, looked out the window and thanked God for whatever he was getting ready to do. Even though we were down to our last few pennies I truly felt as if God was about to do something special for us. After we prayed over the mailbox, the mail lady came 2 hours later. I will never forget going to the mailbox somewhat afraid. I kept thinking to myself, what if it wasn’t God? How would this affect De’s faith in me? As I got closer to the mailbox the spirit of anxiety overwhelmed me. Filled with more faith than fear, I opened the mailbox and grabbed the handful of mail. The first envelope was junk, the second was junk, the third was a bill but there was one more piece of mail that I didn’t recognize, so I ripped the edges off the side and when I opened it, it was a check for $285.00. I literally dropped the check and fell to the ground. “Thank you Father, thank you… not only for the check, but for hearing and answering our prayers.” To think I had almost given up. If it had not been for Zanzabar’s words, I would have removed myself from Miracle Territory and all the blessings that were about to follow.

“Keep on sowing your seed, for you never know which will grow -- perhaps it all will.” - Albert Einstein

I didn’t know much about farming at the time I departed to serve my community. But I must admit, the time gap between sowing a seed and reaping a harvest seemed awfully slow. However, I learned through the process not to make time the focus. The secret to success is in the nature of the seed, not how long it takes to see results. For what you sow you will eventually reap, some seeds just take longer to harvest.

Shortly after receiving the check and gaining financial support for the program, the Huntsville Times newspaper started reporting on my program on a regular basis. Soon after, the local television networks started doing stories on my G.E.D. program, mainly Channel 48 news. I was on every morning show and whenever there was an incident involving at-risk youth I served as the expert consultant. Channel 48 and David Person even did an hour special on my work in the community. The local support started pouring in left and right. Individual donors started dropping off writing and typing paper, pens and pencils and all sorts of books. The biggest support came by way of a group of professional black men who recently formed a nonprofit organization by the name of 20 Distinguished Men of Huntsville. Their founder Lamar Higgins, who at the time was the personal assistant to the mayor, took a deep interest in the work I was doing and offered the organization’s support. Two months into my relationship with the organization, they offered me a private office space downtown and helped me to secure multiple grants. With their help, the news of my contributions to the atrisk population in the city grew rapidly. As a result, I was able to establish credibility amongst some of the city’s leading businessmen and women. Among them was, Hall of Famer, John Stallworth, the former wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers and a native of Alabama. He graciously absorbed all the cost associated with the G.E.D testing for my students. Another NFL player, Ralph Malone of the Cleveland Browns and also a native of Alabama lent his support. He believed in exposing students to opportunities outside of their neighborhood. He donated funds for field trips to places such as the Space and Rocket Center and other engineer based sites. He also secured tables for the students at elaborate galas and awards shows in order to expose them to a more affluent way of life. As a result of all the support, my students began to thrive. Not only were they now taking the test, many of them were passing with flying colors and moving on to find great jobs!