The Secret To Success with CJ, Karl, Jemal & Eric Thomas

You're getting paid exactly what you're worth. Not what you think you deserve. Not based on your degrees, your loyalty, or how hard you work. You're getting paid exactly what you believe about yourself. And until you deal with that, nothing changes. This week the crew breaks down why most people resist coaching even when they're losing. ET opens up about why he had his kids leave his company to go...

You're doing the work. You're showing up. You're praying. You're trying. But you're still stuck. And the reason why isn't what you think it is. This week the crew breaks down the difference between working hard and working with God. Because here's the truth most people don't want to hear: your faith is in your hands, not in God. You've been doing so much that you've made yourself an idol. And God...

You look at people who made it and you assume they started with something you didn't. A better childhood. More talent. Some edge you never got. ET spent his whole life proving that is a lie, and in this episode he takes the excuse away from you. The fellas get into what ET means when he says "I'm you." Not the polished version on the stage, the same flesh, the same doubts, the same fight. He break...

CJ and David sat down with Jemal King and Wall Street Trapper right after the One Percent stage, and what came out was bigger than money. Jemal spent his early years as a cop, putting on a vest every day. Trap came up on the corner. Two men who once lived on opposite sides of the law, now face to face, breaking down how they ended up with the exact same mindset about risk, discipline, and building...

You can't build the new you without tearing the old one down. That's the truth most people don't want to hear. Because demolition is uncomfortable. It's messy. It's loud. And it doesn't look like progress when you're standing in the middle of it. But here's what you need to understand: demo is the first sign of progress. The crew goes deep on transformation in this episode, and they're not talking...

You're changing. You're growing. You're stepping into who you were always meant to be. And the people closest to you don't recognize you anymore. They look at you funny. They treat you different. They make you feel like you're doing something wrong. But here's the truth: if they don't recognize the new you, you're doing it right. In Episode 544, the crew dives into one of the most uncomfortable tr...

Most people stay stuck for years on something that could be done in weeks. This week the crew breaks down the story of one man who rebuilt what a whole city left broken for 140 years, and finished it in 52 days. The difference was ownership and urgency, not money or talent. JOIN US LIVE ON PATREON New audio every Tuesday, video every Wednesday, plus live recordings with the S2S fam. This is where...

She said no. You got down on one knee, opened the box, asked the question, and she said no. Not "I need time." Not "maybe later." She said no. So now what? In Episode 542, the crew tackles one of the most vulnerable questions a man can face: what do you do when your feelings are telling you one thing, but the data is telling you something completely different? A brother writes in after proposing t...

Most people say they want the truth, but the moment it shows up, they call the messenger a villain. This episode picks up where the Joe Jackson conversation left off and turns the mirror around. The real question isn't whether Joe was too hard on Michael. It's why we keep demonizing every coach, mentor, and visionary with the gift to push us toward what we say we want. DISCLAIMER: Our focus in thi...

Your soft coaching is killing their future. And you think you're being kind. In Episode 540, ET, CJ, Karl, and Jemal pull up to the table after watching the Michael Jackson movie and what follows is one of the most honest, uncomfortable, and necessary conversations this crew has ever had. About Joe Jackson. About tough love. About why we've been Catherine-ing people when we should have been Joe Ja...

Most people spend their whole lives chasing a version of success that looks right on paper and still leaves them empty. That is the conversation at the center of Episode 539, and it is one of the most honest hours this table has produced. Candis Quinney is back and she brings the moment that started everything. She was in her closet, stressed, overwhelmed, burnt out, with everything she had worked...

Most people who feel stuck, angry, or burned out are not dealing with what they think they are dealing with. That is the throughline of Episode 538, a conversation that starts with the aftermath of the 1% Conference in Chicago and goes somewhere much deeper. CJ's wife Candis Quinney walks in fresh off one of the most powerful 1% Conferences the S2S family has ever put together, and her presence im...

This episode was never meant for the public. It was recorded exclusively for our Patreon community — the people who are already in the inner circle. But we're pulling the curtain back and letting you see what S2S really looks like when the pressure is off, the cameras are still rolling, and nobody is performing for anybody. This is the crew unfiltered. No script. No agenda. Just ET, Karl, CJ, and...

Somebody talked you out of your dream before it ever had a chance. Maybe it was a parent. Maybe a friend. Maybe someone you trusted. And the worst part? They didn't even know they were doing it. CJ takes his son Trey to a skateboard store and watches a 6-year-old fall twice in front of a crowd, get back up, and look at his dad like it was nothing — because CJ realized he was about to pass his own...

What if everything you've built so far — your career, your income, your wins — happened without you even really trying? That's exactly what Jemal King discovered in 2006. Four daycare centers. Real estate. A millionaire — completely by mistake. And the question that hit him harder than the money itself: if I could become a millionaire by mistake, what could I become on purpose? Jemal breaks down h...

You can see exactly what you want. You probably always could. So what's actually stopping you? This episode opens with a story CJ wasn't sure he should tell. A 4-hour TSA line. Atlanta airport in complete chaos. And a woman with no badge, no uniform — just the nerve to say: get out of that line. What followed wasn't just a funny airport story. It cracked open one of the most honest conversations t...

You’re not losing because you lack talent. You’re losing because you’re focused on the wrong thing. Most people obsess over results — the money, the body, the relationship, the success. But winners don’t worship outcomes. They build systems. In this episode of the Secret to Success Podcast, we break down why focusing on the result keeps you stuck — and how shifting to solution thinking changes eve...

Your gift already opened the door. The question is: did you get lazy and let it close? In this episode, ET ( The Hip Hop Preacher), and the guys break down the truth about God-given gifts and why most people never reach their potential. They reveal: ✅ How to identify YOUR specific superpower (it's not what you think) ✅ Why people get complacent once their gift produces results ✅ The difference...

What do you REALLY want? Not what society tells you to want. Not what you think you should want. What does YOUR heart actually desire? In this raw conversation, Eric Thomas, CJ Quinney, Karl Phillips and Jemal King get real about goals, dreams, and the difference between chasing material things vs. living with purpose. ET shares a powerful parenting moment that changed how he sees his son, Jamal b...

Being close isn't the same as being there — and ET knows exactly what that feels like. In this episode, CJ and ET get raw about the "almost zone": why being talented, dedicated, and almost at the top might actually be harder than starting from zero. ET shares the real story of having the greatest motivational speech in the world and still not being able to get booked — and what finally changed eve...

The wrong business partner will cost you everything. Here's how to know who to trust. Most businesses fail not because of a bad idea, bad product, or bad timing. They fail because of bad PARTNERS. People who don't share your values. People who steal. People who see you as a paycheck instead of a partner. People who make "doggy bags" to take home instead of building the table with you. In this raw...

💇‍♀️ She cut her hair SHORT without warning. He feels blindsided. Who's wrong? When does a "personal decision" stop being personal in a marriage? A husband writes in after 13 years together: his wife cut her hair really short without mentioning it, and when he brought it up, she said it was a personal decision that didn't require his input. Fair or foul? This question sparked the BIGGEST debate w...

Most people don’t fail because they lack effort. They fail because they follow rules and advice that were never designed for their real life. In this episode of the Secret to Success Podcast, the conversation challenges one of the most common traps in personal growth: living by general advice instead of personal strategy. This episode breaks down why: What works for others often fails for you Gene...

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...

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 re...