5 Lessons I Learned In Prison to Help You With Quarantine

In 2012 I made a choice. I discovered a loophole in the warranty policy of one of the largest technology companies in the world. I made a choice to exploit the loophole for my financial gain.

I knew what I was doing was wrong. I knew it the moment I hit the “Enter” key on my laptop. The voice inside begged to be heard, and I ignored it. I continued this way for just under a year until the FBI knocked on my door.

I was arrested on 10/1/13 and eventually sentenced to 2 years of Federal Prison, 3 years of Supervised Release, and ordered to pay $834,307.00 in restitution.

I lost my wife, my homes, cars, career, and my identity. I was suicidal. I wanted nothing more than to die.

A well-timed visit from my best friend, followed by a visit from my Mom and Aunt, turned it all around.

My TEDx, “How I Learned my Greatest Worth in Federal Prison,” goes deep into the story.

I hit my absolute rock bottom, and I have spent the past several years rebuilding and reinventing myself and loving the process.

These are some of the lessons I learned along the way:

Everything is Temporary:

When I was in prison, it felt like I would be there forever. That my permanent state of being was uncertainty and pain. I felt as though I would be worthless for the remainder of my life. Once I looked beyond the fear and anxiety, I understood there was an expiration date. I didn’t know when, but I knew there was one. That alone gave me the strength to endure. This is the power of impermanence.

Our Perspective Dictates our Reality:

Is this happening to you? Is this happening for you? One is playing the victim, the other is taking responsibility for your life. The moment I dropped the victim role (which I played for a while), I found freedom — inside prison. This is our choice.

Choice is Freedom:

I found “Man’s Search for Meaning” in the prison library. It’s one of the most profound perspective shifting books I have ever read. I reread it once a year. This quote is one of many reasons I make that claim.

“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms — to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”

When we embrace choice, we have agency over our lives. When we have agency over our lives — we can rebuild. We can start over.

Gratitude is a Superpower:

I was sitting in the prison library, with nothing to my name. I lost everything. My amazing wife, my career, my money, my homes, and cars. I lost my identity and self-worth. And yet, one crisp early morning, the sunrise was spectacular. I put pen to paper and wrote, “I’m grateful for this morning’s sunrise.”

I found something to be grateful for in my most challenging time. I cannot express how important that truly is.

Adversity Can Be a Gift:

Our greatest adversities do not have to be the end. In fact, they can be our greatest teachers and our greatest beginnings. The choice is ours.

It begins when we embrace the other 4 lessons.

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My mission is to help people whose lives have fallen apart rebuild and reinvent themselves so they can start over and have the extraordinary life they’ve always wanted.

Are you ready to start over? Are you ready to take the first step?

Contact me to schedule a Free Start Over Strategy Session.

Check out my TEDx, “How I Learned My Greatest Worth In Federal Prison.”