Title–Capital Gains
Author–Chip Gains
Genre–Non-Fiction
Why I Read this Book:
One Saturday morning, I was waiting for my wife to get checked in at the visitor’s station so I passed the time by perusing the Biography section of the Prison Library. I have always enjoyed reading Biography’s because 1) I would rather learn from someone successful and just copy their proven strategies versus inventing my own and 2) Especially Autobiography’s, you hear the voice of the author as if you were sitting together at the dinner table.
This book grabbed my attention for a couple reasons:
1) My wife and I used to watch “Fixer Upper” all the time (for those of you who don’t know, it is a show on HGTV that follows Chip and Joanna Gains with their Magnolia Home Renovation projects) and my wife would say I reminded her of Chip Gains because he is a hard worker and he is very funny in a goofy, childish way. 2) Chip Gains and his wife Joanna have obviously built an Empire from scratch with their television show, now their own Network, home renovation business, Interior Design store, bakery, and restaurant ALL revolving around the Magnolia brand name.
I had no doubt that I could take away SOMETHING from this funny man-child who has built a successful business from scratch. I was then called to visitation so I had to “hide” the book in the library until I could retrieve it after my visit. SHHHHHHH!!!!!
What I Learned From This Book:
“The only thing we have to Fear is Fear itself.” — President Franklin D. Roosevelt
“I have made 2 decisions in my life because of Fear and it cost me everything.” — Beth Dutton from Yellowstone “When you aren’t trying to avoid failure, Fear loses its foothold.” — Chip Gains
Fear is the OTHER four letter word that starts with F. I am in Prison because of Fear. I was afraid of losing something that should have never even been attempted to be saved. Fear literally paralyzes people and Fear of failure keeps people from doing ANYTHING risky or outside their comfort zone.
Chip Gains dedicates an entire chapter to convince you that you need to change your perception of Fear, especially Fear of failure. Failure is one of the best teacher’s and NOT our worst enemy. Learning from failures is how we grow. Being overly cautious can lead to a whole lot of regret. Take it from a guy in Prison–accept there will be failure, learn from it, and be a better person afterwards. Don’t allow fear to have such a foothold on you. The other chapter that fits perfectly well with the above chapter on Fear is titled “The Long Game”. If you look at the 2017 Super Bowl between the Patriots and the Falcons and just judge the game based on the Patriots losing 28-3 in the 3rd Quarter, you would miss out on A LOT!! Sports are filled with crazy comebacks. The point is, do not judge your life’s work by a moment or 1 period of time (or even 3 quarters!!). I will NOT be judged by this time spent in Federal Prison. When others take a few steps back after it is all said and done, the complete body of work will tell a HELL of a story!! Therefore, in conjunction with learning from your mistakes and not living in Fear, focus on the Long Game, visualize your complete body of work, take a few steps back from the canvas and view the whole painting and not just a few brush strokes.
Why This Book Will Help With My Success:
Obviously, it is important if you can apply the lessons you learned from a book you have read. If I read a book about fish tank repair, no matter how good the book is, I am not sure my life would change at all after reading it. Equally important is if you can relate to the author, especially if it is an Autobiography. I feel like I can relate to Chip Gains in some ways. We both love baseball and we both worship our wives. Now that I can see myself in Chip Gains, his advice in “Capital Gains” means more than if it was written by someone I can’t picture relating to. Chip Gains has made some big mistakes.
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Why This Book Will Help With My Success:
Obviously, it is important if you can apply the lessons you learned from a book you have read. If I read a book about fish tank repair, no matter how good the book is, I am not sure my life would change at all after reading it. Equally important is if you can relate to the author, especially if it is an Autobiography. I feel like I can relate to Chip Gains in some ways. We both love baseball and we both worship our wives. Now that I can see myself in Chip Gains, his advice in “Capital Gains” means more than if it was written by someone I can’t picture relating to. Chip Gains has made some big mistakes.
So have I.
Chip Gains believed he met his soulmate from Day 1.
So did I.
Chip Gains can be a total goof-ball.
Oh yeah!! Me Too!!
Now that we have a foundation of relatability established, the lessons about Fear, playing the Long Game, taking chances, and following your gut as well as asking for God’s help sinks in a little bit more. Could I have learned something from this book if it was written by a plastic surgeon who grew up in another country? Probably….But would I have been able to visualize the results if I did not feel like this advice was coming from my big brother or my best friend? Probably not….
About Me:
My name is Jeff Piecka and I was sentenced to 34 months in a Federal Prison Camp in Oxford, WI, after committing and pleading guilty to a white collar crime several years ago. Before self-surrendering on June 6, 2022, I promised my wife and family that I WILL exit prison a better husband, son, brother, Christian, future employee, and overall better member of society because I am going to better myself in 3 ways: 1) Physically–Not just for vanity purposes but a better operating body equals a better operating mind. 2) Mentally–Reading books, stories, newspapers, and magazines that educate and elevate my mind and expand my vocabulary.
3) Spiritually–For ME, this means learning more from the Bible, but it can also mean whatever “Greater Good” you believe in.
Shortly after self-surrendering and reading Michael Santos’s book “earning Freedom–Conquering a 45 Year Prison Term”, it inspired me to want to help just 1 person who is possibly heading to prison so I started emailing my family Posts that my sister uses to post as a Blog on Reddit dot com called “Letters From Federal Prison”. I believe to date it has over 9,100 views and shares plus there are 3 comments from people advising that the Blog has helped them. This has motivated me to keep writing (which i have NEVER done anything like this before) and I REALLY want to help more people when I return to society next year.
