Rock bottom for me, was twenty-three hours of every day by myself in a prison cell alone, slowly gaining clarity and facing a life sentence. And this wouldn’t be the last time I faced a life sentence in prison. By the grace of God, I was lucky that I only spent seven years incarcerated in some of the most violent environments you can imagine. I walked out at the age of thirty-five and went from a frightened convict with no college degree to a highly sought-after Executive in a $2B company. The wife, family, and Silicon Valley salary didn’t start the day I walked out, it started in confinement, with hope, life visioning, and a bullet-proof belief that this too shall pass.
As with most addicts, guilt and shame plagued my mind and it didn’t end when I walked out. What I was able to do successfully that many people seem to ignore, is turn my negative emotions into superpowers. I was driven by the guilt of my past, I was driven by the fear that I would be found out and therefore let go from my executive positions and I was driven by the shame of how I let so many people down in my past. It was these unrelenting emotions that made it impossible to fail. What I discovered was that upward mobility doesn’t require you have your head screwed on straight, it requires desire and action. And my desire came from a place that turned the disappointment of my past into an unstoppable force of nature that was never going to quit.
I am a man who has battled PTSD, survived stage four cancer and lived through the suicidal mindset. I have lost a child to adoption, let go of loved ones while in prison and dealt with all the baggage that accompanies so many lives plagued with addiction. But through all the insecurity, I found a way to not only survive but take control of my life and orchestrate an amazing comeback story at a late stage in life. What I can offer your audience is not only living proof that you should never count yourself out but more importantly the anecdotal steps of how I rose above seemingly insurmountable odds.
Some of the points I will make are eye-opening and speak to deeper truths. They are also potentially relevant to the uncertainty of the modern-day COVID-19 lockdown.
• In the Rock, Paper, Scissors of life, it is the human will that beats statistical probability every time.
• True uncertainty can be the teacher that finally allows you to release your baggage and co-create in a way you’ve never dreamed possible.
• Status, cars, clothes and the house on the hill mean absolutely nothing when you face life in prison. What you want most of all is your chance to contribute, to hold your children, to be loved by another human being, and to connect with the world in a way you’ve never allowed yourself to do before. This is what you want in your darkest hour.
• Success starts in the here and now, no matter what the circumstance. Not tomorrow, not when you get an opportunity, not once you earn a certain position and not even when you get out of incarceration. It starts with what you are doing now.
• The true realization that nothing in life lasts forever, is the biggest blessing I have ever received.
I am also the author of Patchwork Junkie, my memoir that is just being announced for pre-sale. Our launch date is August 7th of this year and I’m confident that the insights of my book are going to speak volumes to your audience.
