You Owe You summary

Long before becoming a regular guest inside NBA locker rooms, Eric Thomas was a troubled young man who’d left home to escape family trauma. Growing up, opportunities were rare. Segregation, preceded by slavery, had locked Black people into particular neighborhoods and jobs.

The most people in his community could hope for was a job on the car assembly lines in Detroit. But, Thomas’s story changed when he became the boss of his own life. 

Based on his own story, Thomas advises the following to take control of your own life.

The first step is to shed your victim mentality.

Nobody owes you anything. Playing victim undermines your ability to act. Be courageous enough to take responsibility for your shortcomings. In many ways, you can be your own strongest adversary.

Here are some practical tips which build on this idea and help you shed victimhood.

To begin, own your decisions, including your mistakes, and be accountable for them. Once you’ve decided you’re the author of your own fate, set goals and standards to give you direction.

Next, don’t be a loose cannon. Clarity and direction will help you decide what series of activities you need to complete each task. Build a structure, a regime, and follow it strictly.

Third, once you have standards, you should have no excuse for not sticking to them.

Finally, before deciding you’re in it alone, take a look around. Find the people who want to see you succeed and reach out to them for help, advice, and leads. Learn to accept help and lean on the experience and knowledge of kind people. Don’t be too quick to assume people want to see you fail.

Shedding victimhood is the crowning act that makes you the CEO of your life. When you get here, you’re ready to wear your cape and discover your superpower!