Eric Thomas

Eric Thomas was born on 3 September 1970 in Chicago, Illinois, to a single teenage mother, and grew up in Detroit, Michigan. He has described a childhood shaped by family conflict and a lack of direction.

He struggled at school and eventually dropped out of high school after conflicts at home. These early struggles later became the foundation of his message about desire, discipline and self-belief.

After leaving school, Thomas was homeless on the streets of Detroit for about two years. He has described sleeping in abandoned buildings and struggling to meet his basic needs during this period.

The turning point came when a friend took him to church. There, a pastor and evangelist team encouraged him to earn his GED and pursue a college degree, advice that set him on the path back to education.

Thomas earned his GED and enrolled at Oakwood University, a historically Black Seventh-day Adventist university in Huntsville, Alabama. He spent twelve years working toward his undergraduate degree and graduated in 2001.

The long road through college shaped his later emphasis on persistence and personal responsibility.

Thomas met his wife, De-De Thomas (née Mosley), at the Detroit Center Seventh-day Adventist Church, and they married while both were students. He began preaching and speaking to young people in churches, schools and community settings.

In 2003 he joined Michigan State University as an academic advisor for students with unrealised potential. He earned an M.A. from MSU in 2005 and a Ph.D. in Education Administration in 2015.

At MSU he helped develop The Advantage, an undergraduate retention programme for academically at-risk students. He also served as senior pastor of A Place of Change Ministries in Lansing, Michigan.

Thomas’s sermons and speeches found a large audience on YouTube from the late 2000s. His “Secrets to Success” message, built around the idea that you must want success as badly as you want to breathe, became one of the most widely shared motivational speeches online.

His weekly TGIM (Thank God It’s Monday) videos built a regular following. Portions of his sermons were sampled on Disclosure’s 2013 album Settle and Meek Mill’s 2017 album Wins & Losses, carrying his voice into popular music.

Thomas is CEO of Eric Thomas & Associates (ETA LLC), a speaking and consulting firm. According to his official site, its clients include companies such as Nike, Under Armour, AT&T and UPS, as well as professional sports franchises.

His books include The Secret to Success (2011), Greatness Is Upon You (2014) and You Owe You (Rodale, 2022). He co-hosts The Secret to Success podcast and offers coaching, certification and mastermind programmes.

Education remains central to Thomas’s work. Building on his experience as an MSU advisor, he supports schools through the School Days Foundation, which offers curriculum, school-wide consulting and exposure trips for young people.

He also runs youth summer programming and continues to speak at schools and universities. His ministry work through A Place of Change Ministries in Lansing reflects the faith that has shaped his message since his years on the street.

Thomas has spoken for more than two decades to students, athletes and business audiences in the United States and abroad. He has addressed college teams such as NC State football and Michigan State athletes, as well as professional teams.

His story, from homelessness to a doctorate, gives his message credibility with audiences facing their own obstacles. His books, videos and podcast continue to promote his core ideas of desire, discipline and accountability.