Here’s Why Turning Down 350K After Prison Was The Best Choice I Ever Made

Here’s the moment I earned the freedom I was chasing before prison.

After prison, I landed a job working the front desk at a gym in the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

It was a great job to land after prison; I found my voice behind that desk.

One of the members offered me a job back in the corporate world; the combined pay (salary & commission) was around 350K.

Here I am, making twelve an hour plus a small commission, struggling to keep my head above water in NYC, with 350K dangling in front of me.

I thought about all the meals I had to skip because I couldn’t afford them.

I thought about the ever-present fear that this might be the month I didn’t have enough.

I was working on Blank Canvas then, attending Toastmasters meetings and competing in speech content to navigate my once-crushing fear of public speaking.

I was working on creating the life I said I had always wanted but previously had lacked the courage to pursue.

It was hard; every day was filled with fear, shame, self-doubt, and feeling like an impostor. And it was made even harder because there was no clear payout; all of it was a risk.