The thought of going to prison disrupts anyone’s life. For someone unfamiliar with the criminal justice system, it’s akin to preparing for an unexpected voyage into vast, unknown waters without a compass or map. A slight deviation in navigation can lead to safe harbor—or to disaster.
Early in my prison term, I read Homer’s classic epic, The Odyssey. The story of Odysseus, a hero lost at sea struggling to find his way home, made a huge impression on me. I began my journey in solitary confinement, and I could identify with the struggles I ready about in the story of Odysseus’s journey: a long and arduous voyage filled with obstacles, but one that could be overcome through perseverance and determination.
Like Odysseus, we must never surrender to despair.
No one entering prison should allow the experience to define their entire life. Instead, it’s crucial to prepare strategically. By adopting what I call the “CEO mindset,” individuals can craft a detailed plan to grow stronger and wiser, using their time productively to create future opportunities.
Sharing my journey openly through our nonprofit, Prison Professors, allows me to highlight valuable lessons learned during my incarceration and advocate for critical reforms in our prison system. I believe we should reserve prisons for individuals who pose genuine threats to society. We should incentivize those people to work toward earning higher levels of liberty through merit. If people don’t belong behind bars, we should open opportunities for them to work toward home confinement, or work-release programs.
Lessons from Jose’s Experience
Recently, I had the privilege of speaking with Jose Rodriguez, whose story vividly illustrates these points. As a young man, Jose aspired to a career in medicine. After earning his undergraduate degree in biology, he shifted his focus to pharmacology, becoming a successful pharmacist and entrepreneur. Jose eventually operated several pharmacies and, in 2014, sold one location to another pharmacist. Through that transaction, the acquiring pharmacist introduced Jose to the lucrative world of compounding pharmacies.
Compounding pharmacies offer customized medications tailored to individual patient needs. Historically, compounding was central to pharmacy practice, tracing back to ancient civilizations. Modern compounding regained prominence by addressing patient-specific requirements, such as unique dosage strengths, formulations like creams or liquids, or allergen-free ingredients.
Jose’s decision to specialize in compounding proved highly successful, generating substantial revenues, creating jobs, and significantly contributing to his community. Although regulatory oversight existed through agencies like the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and state pharmacy boards, Jose never imagined he might inadvertently run afoul of these complex regulations.
Government Investigations
President Ronald Reagan told us nine words that no American ever wants to hear: “I’m with the government and I’m here to help.” When Jose received an unexpected call from a government regulator asking him to return to his office, he got the full meaning of that message.
Upon arrival, he found numerous government agents onsite. They were seizing files and equipment and questioning employees. Agents escorted Jose to a conference room for questioning, initially discouraging him from contacting legal counsel. Fortunately, Jose insisted on consulting his attorney, who quickly identified the situation as a criminal investigation and halted the questioning to protect Jose’s Fifth Amendment rights.
This event launched a grueling nine-year journey through the judicial system. Initially determined to defend his good name, Jose struggled to accept that he might have unintentionally violated any regulations. His extensive due diligence led him to Jason Davis, an experienced criminal attorney from the boutique law firm Davis and Santos in San Antonio, Texas. Jason provided exceptional counsel, patiently guiding Jose through the complex federal sentencing guidelines, and illustrating potential jury perceptions despite Jose’s lack of malicious intent.
Ultimately, nine years after he learned of the investigation, facing enormous emotional stress, substantial financial costs, and uncertain outcomes at trial, Jose made the difficult but pragmatic decision to accept a plea agreement. This choice resulted in a 60-month prison sentence. When I spoke with him a few weeks before his surrender, Jose was reflecting on his path. He recognized that the journey ahead would come with challenges, but also with opportunities for him to grow.
Jose’s story emphasizes the critical importance of strategic planning and preparation when facing incarceration. Through our conversation, I encouraged Jose—and anyone facing similar circumstances—to define clear goals for their future, document their journey thoroughly, and actively engage in productive pursuits while incarcerated. By doing so, individuals can transform what feels like an odyssey into a purposeful path toward renewal, redemption, and eventual success.
Next Steps:
I admired Jose for taking the initiative to reach out. During our conversation, I recommended he volunteer to work with our nonprofit. He asked how. I recommended that he document his story, write out a plan to show how he would use his time inside to prepare for success outside. He readily agreed, sensing an opportunity to begin a journey of reconciliation.
To get started, I offered ideas to create a structured approach to preparing for prison, focusing on clearly defining success, setting specific goals, and documenting progress. In our nonprofit, we’re striving to change laws. We believe that society would be far better off if we didn’t confine people like Jose. As a trained professional who pleaded guilty to process crimes, he is not a threat to society–as evidenced by the nine years he went through the judicial process. He is a father, a husband, and he has a long record of success. Society would be far better off to reserve prisons for people who threaten others, and offer alternatives to incarceration for people like Jose. The system could monitor him on a home-confinement setting, allowing him to work and support his family. Incarcerating him will cost taxpayers valuable resources, and statistics show that the process will have an adverse effect on his family, including a young son who will be separated from his father.
Jose and I discussed a plan to work toward reforming the system, and using his story as a catalyst for change. To succeed, it’s crucial that we show that we’re making an impact. Jose could become an ambassador for this message of “earning freedom” through merit. We’d develop a series of deliberate steps he could take before surrendering, and continue growing the path while he served his sentence.
Jose agreed to volunteer and pledged to do the work with me.
We discussed the importance of setting a clear vision of post-release success, detailing personal, professional, and family goals.
As Jose considered the best ways to use his time productively in prison, he spoke about creating resources that could benefit others in healthcare. With his extensive experience, he recognized an opportunity to write compliance manuals that clearly outline regulatory guidelines and best practices, specifically targeted toward pharmacy owners and healthcare providers. Clearly documenting processes, potential pitfalls, and effective procedures would help these professionals avoid the type of unintentional violations that led to his own predicament.
Jose envisioned creating detailed workbooks that could serve as comprehensive training tools for pharmacists, technicians, and healthcare administrators. These materials would function as practical guides, structured with actionable checklists, realistic examples drawn from real-world scenarios, and self-assessment exercises to reinforce learning. Jose believed this hands-on approach could significantly reduce errors and oversights, thereby enhancing protection for both practitioners and patients.
Beyond written materials, Jose considered developing structured educational courses or training curricula that healthcare professionals could implement within their organizations. By equipping teams with proactive knowledge and insights, these courses would help healthcare providers adapt effectively to evolving regulations, significantly reducing the risk of costly investigations and compliance failures. Jose saw his challenging personal experience as an opportunity to create educational value for the broader healthcare community.
Additionally, Jose committed to regularly journaling and documenting insights gained during his incarceration. Through candid reflection—capturing lessons learned, examining his missteps, and offering proactive guidance—he hoped to create an authentic, compelling narrative. This narrative could later serve as the foundation for professional seminars, public speaking opportunities, and valuable industry insights.
His goal started to become clear: use the knowledge gained through personal hardship as a platform to educate, guide, and inspire others toward more robust compliance and business practices.
These initiatives would do more than provide Jose with a purposeful daily routine during incarceration. They would also create tangible assets for his future consulting career. He wouldn’t be “serving time.” Instead, the time would serve him. By dedicating himself fully to these efforts, Jose could emerge from prison equipped with credibility, valuable resources, and a clear demonstration of his commitment to making positive contributions to his community and industry.
Prison Professors Talent
As our plan took shape, I emphasized to Jose the importance of consistently documenting his journey. Just as government regulators surprised him by launching an unexpected criminal investigation, he should anticipate additional challenges and obstacles throughout his experience with the criminal justice system. Navigating these turbulent waters required a deliberate, methodical plan—his compass through the uncertainties ahead.
One of the foundational steps we identified was to create a comprehensive profile on Prison Professors Talent, structured around four critical components:
- Biography:
Jose recognized the value of authoring his own biography, rather than allowing the government’s version of events to define him. He planned to openly share what he learned from the experience, the proactive steps he would take to make amends, and his strategic preparation to overcome the significant collateral consequences of his conviction. - Regular Journals:
Jose agreed to regularly maintain journals documenting his daily growth and achievements. Consistently updating these journals would provide compelling evidence of incremental progress and transformation. This record would become a powerful advocacy tool, demonstrating to stakeholders his readiness and worthiness for higher levels of liberty as early as possible. - Book Reports:
Recognizing his avid interest in reading, Jose committed to writing detailed book reports for each book he read in prison. Each report would succinctly address three critical points: why he chose the book, what valuable insights he gained, and how the content would enhance the positive contributions he planned to make upon release. - Release Plan:
Finally, Jose agreed to craft a comprehensive release plan that he would consistently update every six months. Regularly refining this plan would allow him to clearly demonstrate how specific actions and achievements during incarceration directly aligned with—and actively advanced—his post-release objectives and opportunities.
These combined efforts would position Jose powerfully for his intended consulting career, offering tangible evidence to potential clients of his commitment, diligence, and resilience. Moreover, this comprehensive record would serve as a testament to his integrity and credibility, bolstering his future advocacy and volunteer work with our nonprofit and demonstrating how deliberate planning can transform adversity into measurable success.
As Jose progressed through his journey, he would continue to develop his profile, building a tangible record that he could use for self-advocacy during incarceration. Eventually, Jose would have to transition to home confinement. The comprehensive record he created would strengthen his position as a candidate for leniency within the Bureau of Prisons. Upon transitioning to home confinement, this same documentation could serve as a powerful asset in securing higher levels of liberty. Later, he could leverage this body of work when petitioning for early termination of supervised release or seeking a commutation of his sentence. We could publish his detailed record to illustrate clearly how he utilized time inside prison to meticulously prepare for success after his release. Furthermore, Jose could continue volunteering with our nonprofit, guiding others to follow the same constructive path.
By consistently memorializing his experiences, Jose would become a compelling ambassador for personal development and reform. He could educate and mentor fellow prisoners, guiding them through the principled, goal-oriented journey he was undertaking. His authentic narrative would serve as a powerful and relatable example, helping others understand that they could still realize their highest potential despite past setbacks. As he shared his lessons and influenced others, we would document the positive impact he was making—reinforcing the message of hope, preparation, and redemption.
To support this process, I encouraged Jose to engage thoroughly with the structured lessons provided by our Straight-A Guide. His thoughtful responses would not only enhance his personal profile, but also become central components of the curriculum he would later teach.
Specifically, Jose agreed to begin by addressing the following reflective prompts from the Straight-A Guide:
Define Success:
- How can you meaningfully define success at this critical stage in your life?
- What small yet intentional steps can you implement today to ensure steady progress toward your envisioned future?
Set Clear Goals:
- Identify specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound goals you can pursue immediately to move closer to the life you want, despite current challenges.
- How are you actively cultivating and maintaining a positive and productive attitude?
- Describe how your current efforts build momentum toward a long-term, inspiring goal aligned with your core values.
- How will your consistent actions propel you toward your highest potential?
Aspire Toward Something Bigger Than Yourself:
- What meaningful aspirations do you have for your future?
- How can clearly defining these aspirations guide you in creating a practical, step-by-step plan to overcome present obstacles?
- In what ways will your dedicated efforts enable you to achieve greater potential?
Act in Harmony with Your Definition of Success:
- Describe proactive steps you are currently taking that align closely with your values and long-term goals.
Create Accountability Tools:
- Clearly outline the strategies you’re using to measure your ongoing progress.
- How will others help hold you accountable to your commitments?
Stay Aware of Opportunities and Communicate Progress:
- Explain how conducting a thoughtful analysis of your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats can sharpen your awareness of opportunities to seize or create.
- In what ways will consistently documenting your journey positively influence stakeholders who have control over your liberty?
Demonstrate Authenticity:
- Describe the concrete ways you plan to “show your work” daily, transparently demonstrating genuine progress toward redemption.
Celebrate Incremental Achievements:
- Identify specific incremental achievements you aim to accomplish over the next year.
- How will these incremental successes shape future opportunities?
Live with Gratitude:
- In what tangible ways are you demonstrating gratitude and appreciation for the blessings you currently have?
- How will cultivating and exhibiting gratitude influence how others perceive you and the opportunities presented to you in the future?
Connect Your Record to Your Future Consulting Practice:
- How will the comprehensive record of personal growth and achievement you build now contribute positively to your future healthcare consulting practice?
- How will the comprehensive record of personal growth and achievement you build now positively contribute to your future healthcare consulting practice?
Working through these reflective lessons would be an essential starting point for Jose’s profile. His ongoing goal would be to construct a powerful narrative that compels others to evaluate him beyond his criminal conviction, focusing instead on his meaningful efforts to recalibrate and prepare for future success.
Through active mentorship and authentic teaching, Jose’s actions would tangibly demonstrate his commitment to redemption. These deliberate steps would not only support our broader reform objectives, but also represent a meaningful community service, helping Jose’s own recalibration after enduring the substantial challenges of the past nine years.
