About 2 weeks ago, Michael Santos of Earning Freedom emailed me and advised that a new Prison Brother would be arriving at Thomson Federal Prison Camp on Sept. 12 and he was told by Michael Santos to look out for me.
Last night around 7pm, I was informed by one of my closer Brothers that “One of the new guys (I think 4 arrived yesterday) is asking for you….” It just so happens this new Brother was placed in the same wing as me (and eventually the bunk NEXT to me!!) and I introduced myself and volunteered to show him around.
We chatted a bit during the “tour” and he told me his preparation for this new chapter in his life (often times he had the exact same “What the hell have I done?” look that I have seen so many times before) started by watching the interview I did with Justin Papperny of White Collar Advice (Also under the umbrella of Earning Freedom and Michael Santos). I chuckled and told him he was around the 8th person I have met IN FEDERAL PRISON that told me they have watched that interview!! He also said that he and members of his family had read my Blog and I believe he said his daughter told him “You need to find that guy!!” I very much appreciated that he had seen the interview and read the Blog and it reminds me of the #1 reason WHY I started this—to help just 1 person or family be better prepared for this very potentially scary life transition. What a PHENOMENAL piece of luck to have a friendly CONTACT already at the Federal Prison you are going to!! I am very Blessed to have been in a position to help someone who is in the EXACT same position I was in 15 months ago.
And just like I have mentioned before, our new visitor was immediately greeted with basic necessities (toothbrush, toothpaste, coffee, mug, shoes, shorts, etc.) that do not require payback. It is just how we welcome new arrivals.
I was also able to hopefully help with a couple of tips:
- He has a 24 month sentence and I showed him how he SHOULD be here no later than Next September or October and he absolutely should be home for next Thanksgiving. Maybe even sooner but I prefer to give the most realistic outlook. That is still around 12 months served on a 24 month sentence**
- It does not seem like it right now but your time here will FLY by once you establish your routine and this will be a small blip when compared to the life you will still enjoy when you leave.
- The most important thing, in my opinion, in starting your journey in Federal Prison is establishing a routine ASAP:
- Activities that can be repeated 7 days/week.
- Each activity needs to take up a chunk of time (1-3 hours).
- Establish goals you plan on obtaining for your activities.
I finished by explaining that by coming here, you have 2 choices at this point–You can leave Federal Prison the SAME person as you came in or you can focus every day to become a BETTER person when you leave here. And this does NOT mean you were a bad person when you got here. It simply means we can change our perspective of “Why am I here?” to “This is why I am here this is who I want to be when I leave…”
The journey starts today..It’s up to you where it takes you…
Thanks For Reading!! Love you All!!
I am Fine and I am Safe,
Jeff Piecka
