I am writing to thank each person who has begun working to further the mission of our nonprofit. I am going to begin a newsletter with three promises: 1) I will never lie to you; 2) I will never ask you to do anything that I did not do to advance prospects for success upon release; and 3) I will never ask you for anything.
With that out of the way, I will also assure you that I will work as hard as I’m asking you to work. Each of you must remember that it’s your responsibility to prepare for success. The system has an interest in perpetuating itself–in continuing to grow. It does have an interest in making you successful upon release.
No one should invest more in your future than you’re willing to invest. The problem, of course, is that while a person serves time in prison, the system blocks the person from access to resources they can use to improve their prospects for success upon release.
I formed the Prison Professors nonprofit with a mission of improving outcomes for people inside. And I will work hard to continue those efforts. To succeed, I need to build a database showing that we’re making a massive impact across the United States. If I can achieve that goal, I will become more successful at influencing legislation that will lead to 1) fewer people entering the criminal justice system; 2) more mechanisms that lead to earlier release through merit; 3) more prospects for success when people come home.
Yesterday, June 5, I received a message from Jay. He is a former Marine who spent some time in Lompoc federal prison. While there, he said, he had a good experience. I am grateful to Jay and all his friends for furthering the mission of our nonprofit, including providing a warm welcome to a friend of mine. To the extent that our nonprofit is able, I will do my best to show appreciation to all those who helped.
When I heard from Jay, I made arrangements to go see him in Los Angeles. He told me that he did not have anything–that he was starting from ground zero and eager to get his life together. I was happy to provide Jay with some resources that I had available, and then I treated him to lunch at a fancy restaurant in Hollywood. He looked at the menu and I told him to order anything he wanted. He ordered sashimi tacos as an appetizer and a filet mignon steak for lunch. I then ordered a pizza for him so that he could take it back to the halfway house. I wanted him to have the best experience possible. He got his driver’s license and he said that he hoped to secure a job as a sous chef. He expected to be in the halfway house until November, and he was very worried about how he would begin to rebuild his life. I took pictures and videos with Jay, and shared them with others.
I write this description because it always makes me sad when I meet people returning to society without a solid plan. I’ve sent many books to people in prison that describe the strategy I used to make it through. It helped me immensely. Even though I served 25 years before transitioning to a halfway house for my final year, I had many opportunities to build an income stream.
Too many people live in prison with the wrong idea. They believe that it’s best to forget about the world outside and focus on their time in prison until they got out. In my view, it’s a recipe for pain and struggle upon release.
My journey back home differed from other people who served lengthy sentences because I prepared. I began preparing at the start of my incarceration. I was held in high-security prisons, then medium-security, then low-security, and then camps and halfway houses during the 9,500 days I served as a prisoner. All prisons are similar.
I could always count on the system to present obstacles to the efforts I was making to prepare for success. That’s part of prison. I had to prepare for those obstacles, and to focus every day.
In the books that I’ve sent you, you may learn how my preparations led to opportunities. But the bigger question for each recipient of this newsletter is to contemplate how you can prepare.
I will conclude each of these newsletters with a question. Your task will be to respond to that question. If you choose, you may memorialize your journey by sending your response to our team and we will build a profile for you. I provide instructions below:
Step 1: Send an invite to Interns@PrisonProfessorsTalent.com
Step 2: When our team accepts, send an email with the following information:
- Your name
- Your number
- Your location
- Your sentence length
Step 3: Each time I send a question, send a response.
Our team will then begin to publish your responses on the open web, at a website called Prison Professors Talent dot com. It will be one way that you can show you’re using time inside to prepare for success outside. The more you prepare, the more I can advocate for change change and improvements.
Remember, no one should work as hard as you to prepare for success. If you prepare well, and we build a record showing your preparation, I may succeed in generating more resources that we can use to help people get started. Each person will need to show that they’re working to invest in themselves. As I build a record, I will approach businesses outside and try to generate resources. I will establish a fund for scholarships / micro loans / startup capital to the people who build the best story.
Count on the newsletters to serve as prompts. But start by responding to the question:
Today’s Question:
- In what ways are you using time inside to prepare for success outside?
All Questions:
- In what ways are you using time inside to prepare for success outside?
- What book most influenced you to begin building a pathway to prepare for success?
- What makes you an outstanding candidate for a job, a partnership, a loan, or venture capital to start a business?
- How do the educational credentials you’ve earned influence your prospects for success upon release?
- How do the educational credentials you’ve earned influence your prospects for success upon release?
- How much capital will you need to launch your life when you transition from prison to society?
- What changes in America’s prison system would you like to implement?
- How are you serving your community?
- In what ways are the skills that you’re developing now going to influence your future?
- How will your actions over the past week contribute to your positive path?
- In what ways are the preparations you’re making today going to help you earn a living during times when you’re not able to work on a job that leads to a paycheck?
- How can you transform your mindset to see every task as a meaningful step toward your larger goals–like building your cathedral?
- Analyze your current mindset: How can shifting your focus from merely serving time to actively preparing for the future change your life?
- In what ways will the most recent book you’ve read advance prospects for your future success?
- In what ways can you work today to position yourself for passive income in your future?
- What are the characteristics of a leader who is inspiring your adjustment?
- What influence could a Personal Mission Statement have on your future?
- In what ways can you find coaching strategies from the books you read?
- What plan can you begin working on today that will accelerate your pathway to financial stability, as you define it?
- How can you embrace change and build resilience to prepare for a successful reentry into society?
- In what ways would memorializing your story influence your earning potential upon release?
- What personal experience or lesson in your life could inspire others if shared in a book?
- What decision can you make today to influence more opportunities in your future?
- How do your adjustment decisions relate to your prospects for success upon release?
- How would you advise me to advocate more effectively for reforming systems so that people would have opportunities to earn freedom?
