Meet Dr. Reggie Thomas

We were lucky to catch up with Dr. Reggie Thomas recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Dr. Reggie, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?

I grew up in a small town in West Tennessee. We lived in a rural area and had what I called a “mini” farm where we grew crops and raised animals for food. My family had some relational and historical dysfunctions, so that was a disadvantage. There were only white and black people, so since I grew up in the 60s and 70s, I experienced racism. Needless to say, growing up in a small town, family dysfunction and racism all shaped me. Because of those things, I missed some opportunities. I had to work hard to achieve because I was an above average student and athlete. My resilience was developed because nothing came naturally to me – I had to work at it. I am a resilient person today because of my mindset. I did not allow my circumstances to give me a “victim” mentality. I decided to rise above my circumstances. One thing that I have learned resilience is not a natural ability, nor are you born with it. It is forged through going through and overcoming challenging circumstances.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I spent 30 years in faith based/non profit service. Back in 2020, I went through burnout and took a 10 week leave of absence to recover from burnout. At the end of the leave of absence, I was terminated for no reason. That prompted me to start my own business, which is called PeakePotential, Inc. In the first four years, I did consulting, coaching and speaking. Today, it is strictly a speaking business. Speaking is my sweet spot. I come alive when I get on stage because it aligns with my life purpose. My life purpose is “To inspire, encourage and empower people to reaching their full potential in life.” It’s that simple. When I speak, my goal is to help people find transformation for their lives. Since I went through burnout, I understand what it’s like to be emotionally exhausted and depleted. Since I recovered from it, I can share a message of hope and help people to heal from burnout through some proven and practical strategies. I speak on burnout prevention & recovery, workplace wellness and resilience. I give keynote talks at conferences, conventions and summits and I also facilitate training workshops around these topics. I am also a published author. I am a two-time Amazon Best Selling Author. My two books are “People Pains: Fixing The Drama In Your Business” and Burnout Pains: A Guide To prevent Burnout, Rediscover Your Purpose, And Renew Your Energy.”

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

1. People Skills/Emotional Intelligence
2. Integrity
3. Decision Making Skills

My advice is to focus on emotional intelligence. Emotional regulation is so important in successfully navigating relationships. Daniel Goleman, the author of many EQ resources says, “25% of our success in life is due to our IQ; 75% of our success is due to our EQ, or ability to manage relationships. Your knowledge gets you in the door, but your people skills keep you in the room. Here’s the good news – people skills can be developed, so if you are deficient in that area, my suggestion is to hire a professional coach to help you refine your EQ and people skills.

Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?

I have been an avid reader for most of my life. I’ve read many leadership and personal development books. The one that was most impactful was read at a critical transition point in my life. Around the age of 40, I started questioning where I was in life. I am very ambitious and goal oriented. As I looked back over my life, my perception and evaluation was I wasn’t as successful as I had hoped. I wasn’t as successful as some of my classmates and there were dreams and goals that I had not attained, so I felt like a failure. I also wondered, “Is there more to life than this”. I had a good life – a happy marriage, two beautiful daughters, a solid career, financial security, a homeowner – you know – living the American dream, but I was bored with the routine. During that time I read the book, “Half Time” by Bob Buford. I realized that I wasn’t going through a mid-life crisis. I was at half-time. It was a time of evaluation. The big question was, what do I want the rest of my life to look like? The first 40 years of my life was about preparing for life and chasing success. After reading Half Time, I wanted the next half of my life to be about chasing impact and influence and living to build a lasting legacy.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.peakepotential.com
• Instagram: peakepotential
• Facebook: Reggie Thomas
• Linkedin: Dr. Reggie Thomas