Podcasts about tulio cardozo

The United States has seen a 700% increase in our incarcerated population since the 1970s. What is the problem and how can we fix it? The Last Mile is a non-profit working to address these problems and has a proven track record of success. Tulio Cardozo joins Justin and Lance to share his experience as a formerly incarcerated person and how The Last Mile made is possible for him to realize success.tags: politics, prison, government, people, citizens, recidivism, rate, employment, labor, shortage, truechat, the state of us, solutions, inmate, population

Tulio Cardozo went to prison for crimes related to drugs. While incarcerated, he made a commitment to learn and grow. Although he didn't have direct access to computers, he studied computer coding. That commitment led Tulio to become proficient as a computer coder and web-page builder, even though he couldn't access the Internet. Today Tulio is a leading contributor to one of our nation's most successful #prisonreform programs, The Last Mile. In today's episode, Tulio tells us about his experience and how The Last Mile contributes to such companies as Rocket Space, Uber, and AirBnB.   Learn more at https://prisonprofessors.com  

11. Spreading Awareness: Although our growing portfolio of rental properties had become an integral part of our wealth-accumulation strategy, I remained determined to build a digital-products business. With hopes of finding more institutional buyers for the program, I accepted 12 speaking assignments in the fall of 2015, keeping me in different airports every week. I traveled to various cities between Tacoma and Washington DC, striving to create market awareness for Earning Freedom products. Some of those speaking events provided memorable experiences, and opportunities that I hope to leverage in months to come. Earlier I mentioned that the Washington State Department of Corrections was a client of the Straight-A Guide product that I created. When I made my initial sales call in Washington State, I had an opportunity to build a friendship with Michael Colwell, assistant director of Correctional Industries. He introduced me to his colleagues, including Bernie Warner, Dan Pacholke, and Scott Frakes. At the time, Bernie served as Secretary of the state’s prison system. Since then, he retired and went on to lead a private prison system. Dan took over as Secretary in Washington’s prison system, and Scott Frakes advanced to become Secretary of Nebraska’s prison system. Those were powerful allies for me, and I hoped to persuade them to use the Earning Freedom programs in their prisons. Through those relationships I’d built in Washington State, I received an invitation to give a keynote presentation at a regional training conference in Spokane. Representatives from correctional industries in 11 Western states would be in attendance. Business entities that served the corrections industry sponsored the event with vendor booths. Keefe Group and Union Supply were two of the vendors in attendance. I approached the sales representatives and introduced myself. They didn’t know that I’d been incarcerated previously, so I played a hoax. “I was a loyal customer of yours for more than 25 years,” I said. When the sales representatives smiled, I told them that I’d never buy another one of their products again. Keefe Group and Union Supply were two of the most influential vendors to prison industries. They not only supplied commissaries and food services, they also were creating devices to deliver digital content. The devices were designed in such a way that they would not compromise security, and inmates could use them to download music or entertainment. After getting to know representatives from Keefe Group and Union Supply, I suggested that they connect me with decision makers. I wanted to make a case that those companies should make Earning Freedom products available to people in prison. As a consequence of those meetings, I received invitations to visit leaders of Keefe Group at the corporation’s headquarters in St. Louis, and I visited with leaders of Union Supply in Los Angeles. I also received an invitation to visit with leaders from New Mexico Department of Corrections, including Secretary Gregg Mercantel. Through these relationships that I’m developing, I anticipate that I’ll succeed in building interest for digital products I’m creating with Earning Freedom.   Sales Funnels and Webinars: The more I worked to generate purchase orders from giant corporations or government agencies, the more I realized the time commitment necessary. Complaining about the challenges of selling into this market wouldn’t advance my cause. The market existed, but as Andi advised, I would need to invest significant amounts of time to build the business model. By continuing to create content, make sales calls, and bring awareness to the value of Earning Freedom products, I’d sow seeds that would lead to the multi-million dollar business we aspired to create. Meanwhile, by learning more about the digital marketplace, I learned techniques that would allow me to offer products and services directly to consumers. Again, masterminds taught that we could create value when we trained ourselves to think about issues that were beyond our personal experiences. Every individual in society faced challenges. Those people could overcome challenges if they learned strategies that masterminds taught. In an effort to bring products and services to their attention, I invited Tulio to work with me. Earlier I wrote about Tulio Cardozo, one of the first graduates of Chris Redlitz’s The Last Mile program. I admire formerly incarcerated individuals who successfully transitioned into society. Tulio was especially impressive because he trained himself how to code computers and use technology while he was locked inside of solitary cells. Using the same strategies that empowered me through my journey, Tulio wrote letters to people and requested books. Since he had an interest in computers, he asked for books that would teach him how to code. When he concluded his prison term, he interned with technology companies and honed his skills further. Tulio’s expertise would prove invaluable as I worked to build products and services for consumers. Tulio kept his home base in the San Francisco Bay area and I worked from my office in Irvine. Using screen-sharing services, we devoted dozens of hours mastering the process of creating automated services. Using technology, we could deliver products and services that would bring value to the lives of others. All of those products and services either taught strategies to overcome challenges, or they offered opportunities clients could seize create wealth. All of our work began with the premise that anyone could take advantage of the same strategies and opportunities that allowed me to work toward my first $1 million. If I could do it after 26 years in prison, anyone could follow the pattern and create their success. We also began marketing our services to other entrepreneurs or business owners, creating solutions for them to use technology in ways that would increase revenues.   Alternative Investments: As we close out 2015, I’m particularly enthusiastic about using the expertise I’m developing with webinars and other digital projects to create more value in real estate. With Tulio, I’m creating digital courses to teach strategies Carole and I use to build our real estate portfolio; others can use those strategies to prepare for their financial stability. We’re teaching techniques we use to raise capital to purchase properties, to manage properties, to find tenants for our properties, and to keep our investments operating smoothly. Besides the courses, we’re also creating opportunities. I’m particularly enthusiastic about an agreement I’ve created with a developer who builds master-planned, oceanfront communities in Central America. In exchange for hosting webinars that bring attention to his properties, we’re creating favorable financing terms for those who visit the webinar—and also for Carole and me. We’re seizing the initiative to own appreciating assets in appreciating markets. I’ll write an update to this book later to show how the opportunities mentioned above contribute to my goal of earning my first million by August 12, 2018—five years after completing 26 years as federal prisoner 16377-004.

Spreading Awareness: Although our growing portfolio of rental properties had become an integral part of our wealth-accumulation strategy, I remained determined to build a digital-products business. With hopes of finding more institutional buyers for the program, I accepted 12 speaking assignments in the fall of 2015, keeping me in different airports every week. I traveled to various cities between Tacoma and Washington DC, striving to create market awareness for Earning Freedom products.   Some of those speaking events provided memorable experiences, and opportunities that I hope to leverage in months to come. Earlier I mentioned that the Washington State Department of Corrections was a client of the Straight-A Guide product that I created. When I made my initial sales call in Washington State, I had an opportunity to build a friendship with Michael Colwell, assistant director of Correctional Industries. He introduced me to his colleagues, including Bernie Warner, Dan Pacholke, and Scott Frakes. At the time, Bernie served as Secretary of the state’s prison system. Since then, he retired and went on to lead a private prison system. Dan took over as Secretary in Washington’s prison system, and Scott Frakes advanced to become Secretary of Nebraska’s prison system.   Those were powerful allies for me, and I hoped to persuade them to use the Earning Freedom programs in their prisons. Through those relationships I’d built in Washington State, I received an invitation to give a keynote presentation at a regional training conference in Spokane. Representatives from correctional industries in 11 Western states would be in attendance. Business entities that served the corrections industry sponsored the event with vendor booths.   Keefe Group and Union Supply were two of the vendors in attendance. I approached the sales representatives and introduced myself. They didn’t know that I’d been incarcerated previously, so I played a hoax.   “I was a loyal customer of yours for more than 25 years,” I said. When the sales representatives smiled, I told them that I’d never buy another one of their products again.   Keefe Group and Union Supply were two of the most influential vendors to prison industries. They not only supplied commissaries and food services, they also were creating devices to deliver digital content. The devices were designed in such a way that they would not compromise security, and inmates could use them to download music or entertainment. After getting to know representatives from Keefe Group and Union Supply, I suggested that they connect me with decision makers. I wanted to make a case that those companies should make Earning Freedom products available to people in prison.   As a consequence of those meetings, I received invitations to visit leaders of Keefe Group at the corporation’s headquarters in St. Louis, and I visited with leaders of Union Supply in Los Angeles. I also received an invitation to visit with leaders from New Mexico Department of Corrections, including Secretary Gregg Mercantel. Through these relationships that I’m developing, I anticipate that I’ll succeed in building interest for digital products I’m creating with Earning Freedom.     Sales Funnels and Webinars: The more I worked to generate purchase orders from giant corporations or government agencies, the more I realized the time commitment necessary. Complaining about the challenges of selling into this market wouldn’t advance my cause. The market existed, but as Tim advised, I would need to invest significant amounts of time to build the business model. By continuing to create content, make sales calls, and bring awareness to the value of Earning Freedom products, I’d sow seeds that would lead to the multi-million dollar business we aspired to create.   Meanwhile, by learning more about the digital marketplace, I learned techniques that would allow me to offer products and services directly to consumers. Again, masterminds taught that we could create value when we trained ourselves to think about issues that were beyond our personal experiences. Every individual in society faced challenges. Those people could overcome challenges if they learned strategies that masterminds taught. In an effort to bring products and services to their attention, I invited Tulio to work with me.   Earlier I wrote about Tulio Cardozo, one of the first graduates of Chris Redlitz’s The Last Mile program. I admire formerly incarcerated individuals who successfully transitioned into society. Tulio was especially impressive because he trained himself how to code computers and use technology while he was locked inside of solitary cells. Using the same strategies that empowered me through my journey, Tulio wrote letters to people and requested books. Since he had an interest in computers, he asked for books that would teach him how to code. When he concluded his prison term, he interned with technology companies and honed his skills further. Tulio’s expertise would prove invaluable as I worked to build products and services for consumers.   Tulio kept his home base in the San Francisco Bay area and I worked from my office in Irvine. Using screen-sharing services, we devoted dozens of hours mastering the process of creating automated services. Using technology, we could deliver products and services that would bring value to the lives of others. All of those products and services either taught strategies to overcome challenges, or they offered opportunities clients could seize create wealth. All of our work began with the premise that anyone could take advantage of the same strategies and opportunities that allowed me to work toward my first $1 million. If I could do it after 26 years in prison, anyone could follow the pattern and create their success. We also began marketing our services to other entrepreneurs or business owners, creating solutions for them to use technology in ways that would increase revenues.     Alternative Investments: As we close out 2015, I’m particularly enthusiastic about using the expertise I’m developing with webinars and other digital projects to create more value in real estate. With Tulio, I’m creating digital courses to teach strategies Carole and I use to build our real estate portfolio; others can use those strategies to prepare for their financial stability. We’re teaching techniques we use to raise capital to purchase properties, to manage properties, to find tenants for our properties, and to keep our investments operating smoothly.   Besides the courses, we’re also creating opportunities. I’m particularly enthusiastic about an agreement I’ve created with a developer who builds master-planned, oceanfront communities in Central America. In exchange for hosting webinars that bring attention to his properties, we’re creating favorable financing terms for those who visit the webinar—and also for Carole and me. We’re seizing the initiative to own appreciating assets in appreciating markets.   I’ll write an update to this book later to show how the opportunities mentioned above contribute to my goal of earning my first million by August 12, 2018—five years after completing 26 years as federal prisoner 16377-004.

Straight-A Guide Program: During my imprisonment, we developed the literature for this program. It all began under the theory that people in prison would be more receptive to learning from individuals who had transformed their lives while they experienced the prison system. Prisoners sometimes rejected a message when that message came from people who didn’t know the pain of being separated from the people they loved, or from the people who loved them. We wanted to reach prisoners. We wanted to convince those people that it was never too early, and it was never too late to begin preparing for a better life. I wrote three books to share lessons that empowered me through the multiple decades that I served. They weren’t my lessons, but lessons I learned from people I called masterminds. In truth, we all faced struggle during the course of our life. Many people overcame struggles that were far more significant than a lengthy prison sentence. I learned from those people and I convinced that other people can learn from those lessons as well. With continued funding from The California Wellness Foundation, The Sierra Health Foundation, The Cornerstone Project, and other philanthropic groups, we were able to create a comprehensive series of lesson plans and accompanying videos. Our 10 separate learning modules included five lessons in each module, for a total of 50 lessons. Funding allowed us to retain the team at Landini Media, SRV Studios, and Open Advance. Together we created more than 12 hours of high-quality video footage to complete our Straight-A Guide training program. Tulio Cardozo assisted me in designing the lesson-plan layouts. Through the Straight-A Guide, we aspired to teach actionable strategies for self-empowerment. People in prison or in at-risk populations could use those strategies to transform their lives in the same way that others have done. The program worked as follows:   Values: Transformation begins when we identify and articulate values by which we profess to live. In the Straight-A Guide, I taught that message through the context of my own journey. First, I needed to accept responsibility and let the world know that I wanted to become something more than what I was at present. Rather than allowing my past bad decisions to define me, I thought about my avatars. By asking Socratic questions about what they would expect of me, I could define the values by which I professed to live. My avatars would expect me to educate myself, to contribute to society, and to build a support network. Those three principles became the values by which I professed to live. Through the lessons plans I created in Module 1, I encouraged participants to identify values by which they professed to live.   Goals: Once I identified my values, I needed to create a definition of success for each value category. My own definition of success didn’t matter. Instead, I needed to resume my question-approach to learning. How would my avatars define whether I succeeded in my pursuit of education? I anticipated that they would measure an education by a college degree. How would my avatars define whether I succeeded with regard to my contributions to society? I anticipated that if I were to publish, they would consider that I had worked to make a quantifiable contribution. How would my avatars define whether I had built a support network? I anticipated that if I persuaded 10 people to believe in me, and vouch for me, my avatars would find it easier to accept me. Accordingly, I set goals of earning a university degree, of publishing, and of finding 10 people to believe in me within my first decade of confinement. In Module 2, the lessons encouraged participants to articulate their goals, and to make them consistent with their values.   Attitude: Identifying values and goals was the prerequisite to embarking upon the Straight-A Guide. The next Module encouraged participants to move forward with the “right” attitude. What was the right attitude? In the Straight-A Guide we identified the right attitude as a 100% commitment to success—as the individual’s values and goals defined success.   Aspiration: Individuals who moved forward with the right attitude could articulate their aspiration. In Module 4, we taught participants how to see themselves as something more than their past bad decisions or their current circumstances. Instead, we wanted them to project into the future, to see themselves as the success they wanted to build. In essence, we taught them to become the CEOs of their own lives. If they knew what they wanted to become, then they could craft more effective plans that would help them reach the end result.   Action: To become something more, or to reach their highest potential, participants learned that they needed to take incremental action steps. In Module 5, we showed that every person who achieved a high level of success followed this path. People had to execute their plans in order to reach a higher potential. Regardless of where an individual was at a given time, that person could begin taking action steps that would lead to a new and better reality.   Accountability: In Module 6, we showed participants the importance of creating their own accountability metrics. They would need to figure out ways to measure their incremental progress. Even if they anticipated having to pass through decades before their release, or if they didn’t have a release date, this module taught participants ways to hold themselves accountable, making adjustments as necessary.   Awareness: With Module 7, participants learned the cumulative influences of living a deliberated, values-based, goal-oriented adjustment. By living in accordance with the Straight-A Guide, participants would become aware of opportunities. Those opportunities were available to everyone else, but only those who committed to the deliberate path would find them and seize such opportunities. Simultaneously, others would become aware of their commitment to success. Accordingly, they would find people who would have a vested interest in their success—people who would invest in them to advance their success with new opportunities.   Achievement: Module 8 taught about the importance of celebrating incremental achievements. By celebrating each achievement, no matter how small, participants could sustain their growth patterns as months turned into years. They would know and understand how success in one area of life would lead to further successes.   Appreciation: The penultimate module taught participants that they could increase their successes by expressing appreciation for the blessings that came their way. It’s a version of a theory known as “The Law of Attraction,” showing that we could will more success and abundance into our life so long as we reciprocated, bringing more success and abundance to others.   Actualization: Finally, the Straight-A Guide taught participants that by living in accordance with this values-based, goal-oriented strategy, they could empower themselves. They would rely on authorities or others to tell them they were free. Instead, they could create higher levels of liberty in their life by embarking upon their own path, living their own visions. Once we filmed all of the lessons and finalized all of the lesson plans, Justin and I reached into the marketplace so we could start spreading our work.

During my imprisonment, we developed the literature for this program. It all began under the theory that people in prison would be more receptive to learning from individuals who had transformed their lives while they experienced the prison system. Prisoners sometimes rejected a message when that message came from people who didn’t know the pain of being separated from the people they loved, or from the people who loved them. We wanted to reach prisoners. We wanted to convince those people that it was never too early, and it was never too late to begin preparing for a better life.   I wrote three books to share lessons that empowered me through the multiple decades that I served. They weren’t my lessons, but lessons I learned from people I called masterminds. In truth, we all faced struggle during the course of our life. Many people overcame struggles that were far more significant than a lengthy prison sentence. I learned from those people and I convinced that other people can learn from those lessons as well.   With continued funding from The California Wellness Foundation, The Sierra Health Foundation, The Cornerstone Project, and other philanthropic groups, we were able to create a comprehensive series of lesson plans and accompanying videos. Our 10 separate learning modules included five lessons in each module, for a total of 50 lessons. Funding allowed us to retain the team at Landini Media, SRV Studios, and Open Advance. Together we created more than 12 hours of high-quality video footage to complete our Straight-A Guide training program. Tulio Cardozo assisted me in designing the lesson-plan layouts.   Through the Straight-A Guide, we aspired to teach actionable strategies for self-empowerment. People in prison or in at-risk populations could use those strategies to transform their lives in the same way that others have done. The program worked as follows:   Vaues: Transformation begins when we identify and articulate values by which we profess to live. In the Straight-A Guide, I taught that message through the context of my own journey. First, I needed to accept responsibility and let the world know that I wanted to become something more than what I was at present. Rather than allowing my past bad decisions to define me, I thought about my avatars. By asking Socratic questions about what they would expect of me, I could define the values by which I professed to live. My avatars would expect me to educate myself, to contribute to society, and to build a support network. Those three principles became the values by which I professed to live. Through the lessons plans I created in Module 1, I encouraged participants to identify values by which they professed to live.   Goals: Once I identified my values, I needed to create a definition of success for each value category. My own definition of success didn’t matter. Instead, I needed to resume my question-approach to learning. How would my avatars define whether I succeeded in my pursuit of education? I anticipated that they would measure an education by a college degree. How would my avatars define whether I succeeded with regard to my contributions to society? I anticipated that if I were to publish, they would consider that I had worked to make a quantifiable contribution. How would my avatars define whether I had built a support network? I anticipated that if I persuaded 10 people to believe in me, and vouch for me, my avatars would find it easier to accept me. Accordingly, I set goals of earning a university degree, of publishing, and of finding 10 people to believe in me within my first decade of confinement. In Module 2, the lessons encouraged participants to articulate their goals, and to make them consistent with their values.   Attitude: Identifying values and goals was the prerequisite to embarking upon the Straight-A Guide. The next Module encouraged participants to move forward with the “right” attitude. What was the right attitude? In the Straight-A Guide we identified the right attitude as a 100% commitment to success—as the individual’s values and goals defined success.   Aspiration: Individuals who moved forward with the right attitude could articulate their aspiration. In Module 4, we taught participants how to see themselves as something more than their past bad decisions or their current circumstances. Instead, we wanted them to project into the future, to see themselves as the success they wanted to build. In essence, we taught them to become the CEOs of their own lives. If they knew what they wanted to become, then they could craft more effective plans that would help them reach the end result.   Action: To become something more, or to reach their highest potential, participants learned that they needed to take incremental action steps. In Module 5, we showed that every person who achieved a high level of success followed this path. People had to execute their plans in order to reach a higher potential. Regardless of where an individual was at a given time, that person could begin taking action steps that would lead to a new and better reality.   Accountability: In Module 6, we showed participants the importance of creating their own accountability metrics. They would need to figure out ways to measure their incremental progress. Even if they anticipated having to pass through decades before their release, or if they didn’t have a release date, this module taught participants ways to hold themselves accountable, making adjustments as necessary.   Awareness: With Module 7, participants learned the cumulative influences of living a deliberated, values-based, goal-oriented adjustment. By living in accordance with the Straight-A Guide, participants would become aware of opportunities. Those opportunities were available to everyone else, but only those who committed to the deliberate path would find them and seize such opportunities. Simultaneously, others would become aware of their commitment to success. Accordingly, they would find people who would have a vested interest in their success—people who would invest in them to advance their success with new opportunities.   Achievement: Module 8 taught about the importance of celebrating incremental achievements. By celebrating each achievement, no matter how small, participants could sustain their growth patterns as months turned into years. They would know and understand how success in one area of life would lead to further successes.   Appreciation: The penultimate module taught participants that they could increase their successes by expressing appreciation for the blessings that came their way. It’s a version of a theory known as “The Law of Attraction,” showing that we could will more success and abundance into our life so long as we reciprocated, bringing more success and abundance to others.   Actualization: Finally, the Straight-A Guide taught participants that by living in accordance with this values-based, goal-oriented strategy, they could empower themselves. They would rely on authorities or others to tell them they were free. Instead, they could create higher levels of liberty in their life by embarking upon their own path, living their own visions.   Once we filmed all of the lessons and finalized all of the lesson plans, Justin and I reached into the marketplace so we could start spreading our work.

Positive Connections: Through Justin I met Scott Budnick. Through Scott Budnick, I met Chris Redlitz. And through Chris Redlitz, I met Tulio Cardozo. Tulio was one of the first graduates from The Last Mile. As I had done, Tulio made some bad decisions as a young man, becoming involved with drugs. While incarcerated, however, Tulio chose to reinvent himself. Through textbooks, he trained himself how to code computers. Those efforts brought Tulio to the attention of Chris Redlitz and Chris authorized Tulio to participate in The Last Mile training program. When Tulio concluded his prison sentence at San Quentin, Chris offered Tulio an internship so he could learn more about working with technology companies. As it turns out, Tulio also followed the pattern of masterminds. He lived deliberately, and his deliberate actions led to success. Although I didn’t know much about technology, Tulio had a wealth of information. He invested hundreds of hours helping me to build MichaelSantos.com. Whenever I had a technology problem, I could turn to Tulio for immediate advice. If he didn’t know how to solve the problem, he used his resources to help me find solutions. The human connections, I learned, were incredibly valuable to accelerate growth. What type of human connections are you making?What could you do today to build stronger, more valuable connections tomorrow?In what ways will the connections you build contribute to your success?   Quora Besides introducing me to Tulio, Chris Redlitz also introduced me to the importance of social media. Chris and Beverly used Quora as a resource for teaching prisoners at San Quentin through The Last Mile program. Historically, prisons isolated people inside from the broader population. Yet Chris recognized that if people were going to overcome the challenges they would face upon release, they would need to build stronger connections. Although prisoners didn’t have direct access to the Internet, through volunteers, they could use Quora to interact indirectly. Quora was a question-based website. Anyone with access to the Internet could use the Quora website to ask questions. Then, the millions of people who used Quora could answer. Those who responded with subject-matter expertise would receive more attention. When people asked questions about prison on the website, The Last Mile team would print out those questions and bring them into San Quentin. Men who participated in The Last Mile program had subject-matter expertise on such topics, and they handwrote responses to questions that people asked. Then team members from The Last Mile would convert the prisoner responses into a digital file and publish responses on the Quora website. “You should open a profile on Quora,” Chris advised me during our first meeting. “Start answering questions about prison.” When I returned to my computer, I logged onto the Quora website and began to explore. In the search field I typed prisons and I saw all types of questions. I started to answer, always being authentic about the perspective from which I was writing. Responses I wrote have generated more than 1.1 million views, broadening my social network. As a consequence of that exposure to my writing, many opportunities opened that would advance the career I was trying to build. Several editors of other publications contacted me and asked permission to publish more of my writing. Gizmodo, a popular technology website published one of my articles, generating thousands of new connections. An editor from The Daily Dot, another online news service invited me to contribute articles. I received invitations to contribute new articles for many publications. That publicity brought me to the attention of Dr. Alan Ross, a professor at the University of California in Berkeley. “I’ve got more than 700 students who want you to come speak about your experiences in prison,” he said. I’m hoping that readers who are in jails or prisons will see the pattern. Many opportunities opened for me when I transitioned from the prison in Atwater to the halfway house in San Francisco. But had I not prepared myself during the decades I served as a prisoner, none of those opportunities would’ve opened. When I went to prison I didn’t have any academic credentials and I didn’t know how to write a coherent sentence. I certainly couldn’t stand in front large audiences and give one-hour lectures, or write for publication. Yet as a consequence of my exposure to Socrates, I learned about Socratic questioning. Instead of focusing on my own struggles, I focused on what my avatars would expect. By anticipating their expectations, I had reason to avoid the negativity and criminal influences. Instead, I focused on educating myself, on contributing to society, and on building strong support networks. Those decisions led to new relationships and new opportunities. They empowered me through the time I served in prison and they eased my adjustment into society upon my release.   Social Networks: As a consequence of my experience with Quora, my social media profile grew. By posting regularly on Facebook, thousands of people ‘liked’ my public page. On Twitter, my followers grew into the thousands. On LinkedIn, I could build an online resume where anyone could read about my passion for improving outcomes of our nation’s prison system. More than 1,000 people followed my progress through LinkedIn. By building a larger social network I could claim more authenticity. Instead of hiding from my criminal background, I lived transparently. Every step I took had a relationship to the successful life that I wanted to build. Since I anticipated that others would judge me for the bad decisions I made when I was 20, or the decades I served in prison, I wanted to provide them with more information to influence their judgment. By populating the record with my writing and speeches, I could influence them. And by influencing them, I could open more opportunities. Some of those opportunities brought financial resources, many did not. Either way, every investment of time that I made to spread awareness about the criminal justice system paid enormous dividends. They brought experience that I needed, they brought new relationships, and they brought new opportunities for me to persuade other people that I was worthy of their time. The stronger my social network became, the more opportunities opened. During the time that I served in the halfway house, NBC Bay Area Proud profiled my work, PBS NewsHour featured me on a segment, and organizers of a TEDx conference in Silicon Valley invited me to present. With that exposure, I built more credibility. I could then leverage the credibility to further my quest to improve outcomes of our nation’s criminal justice system, while simultaneously working to build a career.

Through Justin I met Scott Budnick. Through Scott Budnick, I met Chris Redlitz. And through Chris Redlitz, I met Tulio Cardozo. Tulio was one of the first graduates from The Last Mile. As I had done, Tulio made some bad decisions as a young man, becoming involved with drugs. While incarcerated, however, Tulio chose to reinvent himself. Through textbooks, he trained himself how to code computers. Those efforts brought Tulio to the attention of Chris Redlitz and Chris authorized Tulio to participate in The Last Mile training program. When Tulio concluded his prison sentence at San Quentin, Chris offered Tulio an internship so he could learn more about working with technology companies.   As it turns out, Tulio also followed the pattern of masterminds. He lived deliberately, and his deliberate actions led to success.   Although I didn’t know much about technology, Tulio had a wealth of information. He invested hundreds of hours helping me to build MichaelSantos.com. Whenever I had a technology problem, I could turn to Tulio for immediate advice. If he didn’t know how to solve the problem, he used his resources to help me find solutions. The human connections, I learned, were incredibly valuable to accelerate growth.   What type of human connections are you making? What could you do today to build stronger, more valuable connections tomorrow? In what ways will the connections you build contribute to your success?     Quora Besides introducing me to Tulio, Chris Redlitz also introduced me to the importance of social media. Chris and Beverly used Quora as a resource for teaching prisoners at San Quentin through The Last Mile program. Historically, prisons isolated people inside from the broader population. Yet Chris recognized that if people were going to overcome the challenges they would face upon release, they would need to build stronger connections. Although prisoners didn’t have direct access to the Internet, through volunteers, they could use Quora to interact indirectly.   Quora was a question-based website. Anyone with access to the Internet could use the Quora website to ask questions. Then, the millions of people who used Quora could answer. Those who responded with subject-matter expertise would receive more attention. When people asked questions about prison on the website, The Last Mile team would print out those questions and bring them into San Quentin. Men who participated in The Last Mile program had subject-matter expertise on such topics, and they handwrote responses to questions that people asked. Then team members from The Last Mile would convert the prisoner responses into a digital file and publish responses on the Quora website.   “You should open a profile on Quora,” Chris advised me during our first meeting. “Start answering questions about prison.”   When I returned to my computer, I logged onto the Quora website and began to explore. In the search field I typed prisons and I saw all types of questions. I started to answer, always being authentic about the perspective from which I was writing. Responses I wrote have generated more than 1.1 million views, broadening my social network.   As a consequence of that exposure to my writing, many opportunities opened that would advance the career I was trying to build. Several editors of other publications contacted me and asked permission to publish more of my writing. Gizmodo, a popular technology website published one of my articles, generating thousands of new connections. An editor from The Daily Dot, another online news service invited me to contribute articles. I received invitations to contribute new articles for many publications. That publicity brought me to the attention of Dr. Alan Ross, a professor at the University of California in Berkeley.   “I’ve got more than 700 students who want you to come speak about your experiences in prison,” he said.   I’m hoping that readers who are in jails or prisons will see the pattern. Many opportunities opened for me when I transitioned from the prison in Atwater to the halfway house in San Francisco. But had I not prepared myself during the decades I served as a prisoner, none of those opportunities would’ve opened. When I went to prison I didn’t have any academic credentials and I didn’t know how to write a coherent sentence. I certainly couldn’t stand in front large audiences and give one-hour lectures, or write for publication. Yet as a consequence of my exposure to Socrates, I learned about Socratic questioning.   Instead of focusing on my own struggles, I focused on what my avatars would expect. By anticipating their expectations, I had reason to avoid the negativity and criminal influences. Instead, I focused on educating myself, on contributing to society, and on building strong support networks. Those decisions led to new relationships and new opportunities. They empowered me through the time I served in prison and they eased my adjustment into society upon my release.     Social Networks: As a consequence of my experience with Quora, my social media profile grew. By posting regularly on Facebook, thousands of people ‘liked’ my public page. On Twitter, my followers grew into the thousands. On LinkedIn, I could build an online resume where anyone could read about my passion for improving outcomes of our nation’s prison system. More than 1,000 people followed my progress through LinkedIn.   By building a larger social network I could claim more authenticity. Instead of hiding from my criminal background, I lived transparently. Every step I took had a relationship to the successful life that I wanted to build. Since I anticipated that others would judge me for the bad decisions I made when I was 20, or the decades I served in prison, I wanted to provide them with more information to influence their judgment. By populating the record with my writing and speeches, I could influence them. And by influencing them, I could open more opportunities. Some of those opportunities brought financial resources, many did not. Either way, every investment of time that I made to spread awareness about the criminal justice system paid enormous dividends. They brought experience that I needed, they brought new relationships, and they brought new opportunities for me to persuade other people that I was worthy of their time.   The stronger my social network became, the more opportunities opened. During the time that I served in the halfway house, NBC Bay Area Proud profiled my work, PBS NewsHour featured me on a segment, and organizers of a TEDx conference in Silicon Valley invited me to present. With that exposure, I built more credibility. I could then leverage the credibility to further my quest to improve outcomes of our nation’s criminal justice system, while simultaneously working to build a career.