R. Eric Thomas: Seizing Unexpected Creative Opportunities

No Time to be Timid

R. Eric Thomas is a creative powerhouse. First, he’s masterful on stage not only as a storyteller, but also as the long running host of The Moth StorySlams in Philadelphia. Second, he writes for every possible medium — he’s a television writer for shows airing on Apple TV and FX; an award-winning playwright; and the author of several books, including the national bestsellers Here For It, or How to Save Your Soul in America and his latest book, Congratulations, The Best is Over!

Many people first learned about Eric from his daily humor column on Elle.com “Eric Reads the News.” And as of July 1, he’s writing the nationally syndicated advice column “Asking Eric.”

Here's the thing: Eric’s incredible career journey started with a Facebook post that went viral. But he's no overnight success. He was able to capitalize on that opportunity because he’d been preparing for years.

Takeaways

• Opportunities can come unexpectedly, so it's important to be prepared and be ready to seize them — something Eric knows about first hand
• Success usually comes from years of honing your craft.
• Perfection is rarely attainable, so grant yourself some grace.
• Libraries are places of endless discovery, no matter your age.
• And creativity is what brings us hope.

Resources

Learn more about Eric's work including his new advice column "Asking Eric," here.

Check out The Moth and maybe tell a story!

View Eric's Creative Mornings Philadelphia talk (you can see the Facebook post!)