Most people think belief is a feeling.
This episode makes a different case.

Your beliefs are visible — not in what you say, but in the results you keep producing.

In this continuation of last week’s conversation, we break down why people can have information, opportunity, and effort — yet still see the same outcomes year after year. The issue isn’t hustle or knowledge. It’s what you truly believe is possible, allowed, or worth fully committing to.

This episode explores how partial belief leads to partial commitment — and how that shows up everywhere: finances, relationships, faith, confidence, leadership, and decision-making.

We talk about:

• Why belief always leaves evidence

• How effort without full belief creates cycles, not progress

• The difference between participating and fully stepping in

• Why your environment reinforces what you believe

• How results quietly reveal where commitment stops

This isn’t motivation.
It’s a mirror.

If you’ve been doing the right things but still seeing the same results, this episode may explain why.

EPISODE CHAPTERS:

Chapters

• 00:00:00 Opening: The Practice Squad Mentality - You Don't Have to Be Perfect
• 00:01:50 Caleb Williams and the Ben Johnson Effect: Learning to See the Field
• 00:02:38 Stop Sleeping With the Enemy: Why Your Circle Is Keeping You Broke
• 00:03:09 It Burns My Heart: The Real Reason We Talk About Money
• 00:04:37 Let It Burn: When Your Credit Score Controls Your Destiny
• 00:07:42 God Said You Should Lend, Not Borrow: The Biblical Case for Wealth
• 00:09:46 Vengeance Is Mine: When People Owe You and God Is Teaching You
• 00:10:51 The Conference Invitation: Why You Need to Be in the Room
• 00:13:43 The Million House Story: How Carl Made It With and Good Credit
• 00:14:47 They Don't Want You in That Neighborhood: The Truth About Real Estate Gatekeeping
• 00:19:02 The Wizard of Oz Revelation: Everything You Need Is Already Inside You
• 00:21:27 Karl's Six-Figure Check Moment: When Belief Became Reality
• 00:23:51 The Dynasty Trust Attorney: When Doors Only Open at Certain Net Worth Levels
• 00:24:24 DeDe Said This Was the Best Christmas: When Communication Transforms Marriage
• 00:29:11 The Briefing to His Daughter: How Money Changed Karl's Family Language
• 00:31:01 Putting Money in Her Account: The Wisdom Jamal Gave Karl About His Wife
• 00:44:21 Just Believe: The Song, The Message, The Breakthrough
• 00:38:13 Every Result Has a Belief Behind It: Karl's Transformation Explained
• 00:49:56 Paycheck to Prosperity: The New System Mall and Karl Are Building
• 00:58:59 Work Your Work in the Morning, Evening Let Not Your Hands Be Idle
• 00:58:05 Turn the Light Switch Off: Carl's Million Dollar Moment
• 00:40:04 April 16-18 in Chicago: The 1% Solutions Gathering Announcement
• 01:06:15 Closing: Focus on This Opportunity With All Your Might

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Everyone’s talking about the Chicago Bears right now (or at least Jemal thinks so), and while a new coach matters, the real shift runs deeper.

This episode breaks down a powerful truth about real turnarounds: the players didn’t change — the perspective did.

Same roster.
Same city.
Same pressure.

What changed was how the game was being seen, understood, and approached. And once that shifted, the results followed.

Using the Bears as a real-world case study, this conversation explores why so many people stay stuck year after year. Not because they lack ability or effort, but because they keep trying to do more instead of learning to see differently.

This isn’t about starting over.
It’s about building on what’s already there.

🎯 In this episode, you’ll hear about:

• Why turnarounds don’t require new talent, just clearer perspective

• How guidance and coaching change what you notice and how you move

• The difference between repeating a year and actually creating a new one

• What happens when you stop chasing more and start maximizing what you already have

Whether it’s your life, your career, your finances, or your faith — this message applies far beyond football.

Chapters

• 00:00:00 Opening: Can You See Me Now? The Chicago Bears Energy
• 00:01:26 Welcome and Team Introductions: The Helmet Comes Out
• 00:05:16 Bears Fever: From Last Place to First in the Division
• 00:08:45 The Ben Johnson Effect: Why Coaching Changes Everything
• 00:20:17 New Year or Another Year? The Choice Is Yours
• 00:26:56 Don't Start Over—Keep Building: The Skyscraper Mentality
• 00:32:00 The Coaching Conversation: Carl's Real Estate Transformation Begins
• 00:33:45 From Crisis to Clarity: Carl's COVID Real Estate Story
• 00:36:34 The Equity Revelation: Money in the Bricks
• 00:43:05 The Six-Figure Check: Carl's First Major Real Estate Win
• 00:46:00 Why We Talk About Money: ET's Passionate Defense
• 00:50:04 Stop Listening to Broke People: Reading the Coverage of Wealth
• 00:51:26 Outro and Call to Action

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Most people don’t fail because they lack talent, intelligence, or opportunity.
They fail because no one around them tells the truth.

In this episode of the Secret to Success, Eric Thomas, CJ, and Karl break down why success becomes dangerous when accountability disappears—and why many people collapse after they start winning.

This conversation hits hard:

• Why discipline alone eventually fails

• How “yes-men” quietly sabotage your future

• The role appetite plays in self-destruction

• Why unchecked power and money expose character

• How to build a circle that protects your purpose, not your ego

This isn’t about cutting people off out of pride.
It’s about protecting your life, your family, and your future.

If no one in your life can correct you, challenge you, or stop you when you’re wrong—you’re not free. You’re exposed.

🎯 Takeaway

You don’t need more motivation.
You need one person who won’t let you lie to yourself.

Chapters

• 00:00:00 Opening: The Power of Accountability and Appetite Control
• 00:02:14 Welcome and Team Introductions
• 00:05:42 Building Legacy Through Systems, Not Just Hard Work
• 00:08:52 The Chick-fil-A Lesson: Identity Over Everything
• 00:12:00 Technology Went Too Far: The Amazon Christmas Story
• 00:16:28 The First Directive: Stop Having Sex
• 00:20:34 Why Most Successful Men Crash and Burn
• 00:24:18 Accountability Is Not Discipline - It's Your Circle
• 00:34:23 The Diddy Documentary and Complicit Silence
• 00:45:49 Second-Hand Smoke: Why Your Circle Determines Your Future
• 00:47:38 Praying for Your Tribe and Leaving to Level Up
• 00:52:44 Be, Do, Have: Getting the Order Right
• 00:53:27 Your 9-to-5 Should Fund Your Exit, Not Trap Your Future
• 00:52:01 Closing: Join Us at the 1% Solution Experience
• 00:55:28 Outro and Subscribe

🔗 Important Links & CTAs

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🧠 Final Reminder

Transformation requires truth.
And truth only works when someone is brave enough to speak it.

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.

Chapters

• 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.

Chapters

• 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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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

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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.

🚨 FREE 8-DAY ENCORE WITH ET — STARTS DECEMBER 8TH

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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Do this next (CTAs)

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.