Story Excerpts

Thomas takes the audience on an exciting adventure with a 16-year-old boy who discovers a lost 17th-century tomb in Scotland. The story ends by revealing it was Thomas himself who made the discovery. Learn the powerful principles of being a people builder, the power of our words and the power of our thoughts.

Hold on to your gut with this side-splitting story! Thomas reenacts the time he entered a professional bareback rodeo competition. Having never ridden a horse before, he is nearly killed when he rides the distance on the horse’s belly. Success is always ‘past the splat.’ Learn how to hang on to your goals and dreams.

This hilarious but poignant story is one you’ll never forget. While taking the SAT, Thomas wrongly flips back to a previous section and is ‘caught cheating.’ Through a bizarre turn of events, he accidentally blew up the family’s favorite cat and nearly killed his neighbor. A constant reminder not to dwell on the previous sections of life — the most powerful thing we possess is the power to choose.

In his attempt to save a beaver that is sentenced to death, Thomas finds himself lassoed to one and needs to be saved himself. In this unbelievable story, Thomas pierces your heart and guides you in how to ‘let go.’

When I was a teenager, my dad directed a team of HAZMAT specialists who control and contain hazardous spills. He had all kinds of neat safety equipment — foam, ropes, respirators and suits. Due to safety regulations, Dad would often retire old equipment. It was one of those occasions that I borrowed one of what I called his ‘space suits.’ The suit was perfect. To wear it — and live — you had to have some breathing apparatus, because once you were zipped in, it was airtight. When I first got the suit, I wasn’t fully aware of this minor yet significant detail, but I can now confirm it with full authority. (Children, do not try this at home.)

Later, in college, I tanned animal hides as a teaching tool for children. I didn’t want to kill the animals, so I used my most bountiful resource: the highways of Clemson, South Carolina. Fresh roadkill was my palette. I collected just about every animal stupid enough to walk in front of a car — but I didn’t have a skunk in my repertoire. So when the door of opportunity opened, I pulled over.

I found my first fresh skunk on the edge of I-85 and wrapped my treasure in plastic bags. It’s a skillful art not to draw attention as you pick up a dead skunk off a major interstate. It was precisely 4.3 miles before I became respectfully amazed at the absolute potency of a dead skunk in a confined space. My drive took two hours. The skunk enjoyed about six minutes of it.

The smell that permeated my skin for days only strengthened my resolve. In a stroke of pure genius, I remembered my dad’s space suit. If nothing can go out, then nothing can come in — making it the perfect skunk suit! I found my next prize, drove to a cozy spot in the woods on a pig farm, painted on some camouflage face paint for good measure, and zipped myself securely in.

Everything started fine, but the suit was getting hot. Condensation formed on the inside of the face shield. Ten minutes in, I got lightheaded and couldn’t concentrate. The only way I could see was by pressing my nose against the shield like a human windshield wiper. I had the oddest sensation that I couldn’t breathe.

I’m not sure where the voice came from. Maybe it was God; maybe it was the rock I hit when I lost consciousness. But I heard a still, small voice say, ‘Uhhh, Thomas? Just want you to know — you’re suffocating.’ In a desperate act of survival I yanked the zipper down and sucked in what I thought would be sweet spring air. For one glorious tenth of a second, it was. And then the liquefied putrid skunk smell flooded my lungs. Everything went black.

When I came to, my face had landed neatly on top of the skunk. I felt skunk, I saw skunk, I smelled skunk, and I tasted skunk. I do not like skunks.

It is that still, small voice we choose to listen to or not in times of decision. Your character is created and shaped by what you do when you think no one is watching. A leader’s focus is grounded on a foundation of character and moral integrity. If you have integrity, nothing else matters; if you don’t have integrity, nothing else matters. Character is not formed in times of adversity, but revealed. If you hold a full glass and you get bumped, what comes out is whatever is inside — and what’s inside you is what comes out when you get bumped.

With only minutes to spare, I ran to my flight to a speaking engagement in Florida. As I slowed my stride near the gate, I noticed strange expressions on people’s faces. ‘Wow, did you see that guy? He looked terrible!’ Another man passed grimacing. ‘I’m glad my kids aren’t here.’

I didn’t understand the commotion until I looked up and saw a man so severely burned I nearly gasped. He had no hair or eyebrows; his ears had melted to holes; his nose was an open cavity. His left arm stopped at the elbow. Honestly, he looked like a monster from a horror movie. But it was the reaction of the crowd that shocked me more. He stood completely alone against the wall while more than 100 people stood 20 feet away, unsuccessfully trying to hide their stares.

I prayed, ‘God, if only I’d been here a few minutes earlier, I could have stood beside him.’ Watch out what you pray for. When I found my seat, the man was sitting beside me — not for a few minutes, but for two hours. His name was Paul, 36 years old, burned over 90 percent of his body in a car accident at age two. We laughed and had one of the deepest, most heartfelt conversations of my life.

As we descended, I asked Paul for one piece of wisdom. In almost a whisper he said, ‘Every day I hear that I am a monster. But if you look past our earth suits, we’re all the same. Everyone wants the very thing I crave so badly. I want people to look at me — not what they see. Look me in the eye and smile at me. If people only knew how powerful a simple smile was.’

Never underestimate the power of a heartfelt smile. Give every living soul you meet the best smile you’ve ever smiled. Smile to strangers, coworkers, your spouse and your children. Watch how quickly relationships are built or mended and barriers are broken. Smiling is a key component of a leader’s focus.

When I was a young man I wanted a Rolex watch. I worked hard, saved my money, and had enough to one day buy one. Years later, standing on the sidewalk of Times Square, a man in a long bulky jacket leaned in and whispered, ‘Hey, you want to buy a watch?’ He flashed his jacket open to reveal an assortment of hanging watches and pulled off a beautiful silver Rolex.

‘This watch normally costs about $35,000,’ he confided, ‘but you look like a nice guy, so today only — 20 bucks.’ I couldn’t believe it! Now, I may be a Southern redneck, but I’m no dummy — I haggled him down. Can you believe I bought a $35,000 watch for $15! I must have broken the poor man’s spirit, because he quickly zipped up shop and hurried away.

It looked like a Rolex, sounded like a Rolex, kept time like a Rolex, even said it was a Rolex. But was it a Rolex? Of course not — it was so fake I called it a Folex! It looked like the real deal, but inside it was cheap, plastic junk.

It’s a poignant reminder of what not to be. Many people look good, talk the talk and ‘have everything,’ but on the inside they’re falling apart. People want to be around people who are the real deal, so just be yourself. As my Grandma would say, ‘Be who you is, and not who you ain’t, ’cause if you is who you ain’t, you ain’t who you is.’

If you want a leader’s focus, remember: it doesn’t matter what other people think about you — what matters is what you truly think about yourself. Focus on what you can do. Comparing yourself to others is a bottomless pit. Improve who you are rather than try to be someone you’re not.

He was the meanest kid I ever worked with. By the end of the first day, I wanted him gone. During college I worked for the Clemson University Outdoor Laboratory, which hosted camps for children with specific needs. Camp Sertoma was for kids who are underprivileged or have a speech or hearing impairment. Within an hour of his arrival, Matthew had intentionally started four fights, broken toys and seemed to intentionally tick me off.

Three days in, our cabin of 10-year-old boys was in total chaos because of Matthew — and we were scheduled to camp out that night. As everyone settled into sleeping bags, Matthew would walk up and kick or punch another camper, then in a sincere, tender voice ask, ‘Hey, can I sleep beside you?’ In the darkness all you could hear was ‘Ouch!’ … ‘Can I sleep beside you?’ … ‘NO!’ Exhausted, I finally said, ‘Come here, Matthew. Lay beside me.’

Just after midnight, the meanest kid I had ever known taught me a lesson I’ve never forgotten. I heard him unzip his bag and slowly extend his hand toward me. I thought he must have smuggled a knife and was about to stab me. Instead, he gently placed his little hand on my chest, then touched each side of my face, then withdrew. He repeated the ritual several times over an hour.

Finally I asked, ‘Matthew, what are you doing? Why do you keep touching me?’ In just above a whisper, this mean little kid simply said, ‘I wanted to make sure you were still there. Every time I fell asleep, I had a nightmare that I was home. So I woke up and touched you, to make sure you were real.’ I lay there as tears poured down my face. How bad is life when ‘home’ is a nightmare?

I later learned Matthew had been physically and sexually abused, shuffled from foster care to a delinquency center and back to the home where the abuse started. For 10 years people had intentionally hurt him; the only love language he knew was a punch in the face. From that point forward I, too, would be intentional with Matthew — only I would intentionally love, praise, listen, encourage and spend time with him.

The Be Intentional principle rolled over into life outside of camp. I learned to be intentional with friends, family, coworkers and customers. Rather than wait for others to fix problems, I find a need and fill it. If you want to be the greatest, serve others. If you want to be first, put yourself last. I decided to be intentional — and that has made all the difference. By the end of the week, the one kid who originally fought to leave… cried to stay.