Please wait while we prepare your experience
Last week, I had the privilege of sitting in a regional office of the Bureau of Prisons with five other formerly incarcerated men. The Deputy Director of the agency invited us, asking us to participate in a meeting with the wardens of every high-security federal prison in the nation.
We were not there as representatives of the agency. Instead, he asked that we share our stories and offer insights into our experiences. He thought the other wardens may want to use our stories and message to contribute to the agency’s mission of improving the culture of confinement.
Few people will understand the significance of that innovative leadership. From where I stood, it represented a meaningful step forward. While I served my term, the agency did not put any emphasis in listening to people who had once served time.
Under the new administration, which I admire, each warden acknowledged the value of hearing directly from people who had served long sentences. That is a function of leadership. Since that meeting, I’ve remained in contact with many of the wardens. They’ve extended warm invitations for the other men and me to visit their institutions.
For that progress, I am grateful. I thank God for opening doors that I never could have opened on my own. When I was in a cell decades ago, I could not have imagined sitting at a table with leaders of the very system that once confined me. Yet here we are.
The most encouraging development I want to share is that we’re making it possible for anyone to participate in our free programs at any time. No one has to wait for me to make a visit to a prison to participate in the Prison Professors programming.
Several wardens have already offered to introduce Prison Professors’ resources inside their facilities before I visit. That head start will make future presentations more engaging. It will also give people an opportunity to begin documenting their growth immediately.
Change begins with leadership, and I’m grateful for the leadership I saw while on my tour to prisons last week.
While on the East Coast, I visited prisons to make two presentations in Virginia and five in New Jersey. Between those institutions, I estimate I spoke with approximately 1,000 people serving time in federal prison.
I told them what I always say:
Define success.
Set clear goals.
Create a plan.
Execute daily.
Document progress.
Our nonprofit will continue to distribute free, self-directed resources people can use to work toward better outcomes. I invite each participant to become an ambassador for the message, showing his commitment to preparing for success upon release. It’s a pathway to improving the culture of confinement. The harder we work on ourselves, the more likely others will notice.
After my presentation at FCI Fairton, I had the opportunity to speak one-on-one with Acting Warden Martinez. In my experience, people who serve in acting roles often go on to become permanent wardens. Leadership shows in how a person listens and responds.
I appreciated Warden Martinez’s openness and his support for programs that encourage self-improvement. During our conversation, he asked if I was familiar with Earl Nightingale.
I was not.
He seemed surprised. He told me about a message Nightingale delivered in 1956 known as The Strangest Secret. The following morning, he sent me a link to the recording. Anyone can find the link on YouTube.
What I heard in Mr. Nightingale’s 30-minute audio clip astonished me.
In 1956, Earl Nightingale recorded a talk for sales agents at the Combined Insurance Company of America. The message later became the first spoken-word recording to earn a Gold Record.
His central thesis was simple:
We become what we think about.
He explained that most people drift through life without defining what they want. They measure time by circumstance rather than intention. But those who succeed do something different:
They define their destination.
They fix their minds on that destination.
They take consistent action aligned with that vision.
When I listened to that recording, I felt inspired. I also felt gratitude. More than 50 years before I wrote the Straight-A Guide in prison, Nightingale was teaching the same foundational lesson: define success and set clear goals.
The first two modules of the Straight-A Guide suggested that people:
Define success.
Set clear goals that align with that definition.
Those who read or listen to Nightingale’s message will find identical instructions. I did not know his work when I began writing in my cell. I did not have access to YouTube, podcasts, or business seminars while I served my sentence. I had books to read, a yellow pad, a pen, and time.
I have always said that I cannot take credit for what I produce. I learned from many masters. I learned from leaders. And I believe that God guided my thoughts during those 9,500 days. When I began writing about defining success and setting goals, I was simply trying to survive with dignity. I was asking:
“What must I do today to prepare for a better tomorrow?”
Listening to Nightingale reminded me that timeless truths surface in different generations, through different voices.
I am grateful to Warden Martinez for introducing me to this literature. His leadership extends beyond policy. It reaches into the realm of ideas, encouraging people in prison to think differently about their future.
No one can change the past.
But any of us can begin sowing seeds today for a better future.
That was true in 1956 when Nightingale delivered his message.
It was true during my decades in prison.
It was true during Biblical times.
It is true for the 1,000 people I spoke with last week.
And it is true for every person who wakes up this morning inside a federal prison.
If you are serving time, do not wait for calendar pages to turn. Start by creating strategic plans:
Define success.
Set goals.
Act deliberately.
Document your progress.
God willing, doors will open. Progress begins the moment you decide to think intentionally about the life you want to build.
Last week’s meeting with the Bureau of Prisons did not happen by accident. It happened because thousands of people inside are documenting their growth, building profiles, writing journals, and proving through measurable effort that they are preparing for higher levels of liberty. That is the culture shift we are working toward.
I am grateful to Warden Martinez and others for opening opportunities for me to contribute, even in a small way by sharing lessons that I learned.
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