1. 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.

Eric’s testimonial convinced me that through digital programs like Earning Freedom, more people would find hope they needed to overcome struggle and prepare for success. My challenge was finding more purchase orders, as I would need a revenue stream to build a sustainable business.

1. Multiple Revenue Streams:

Throughout this book, I’ve tried to share lessons I learned from masterminds. They taught me that I could advance my prospects for success if I lived in the world of reality rather than the world of fantasy. When authorities took me into custody, back in 1987, I had to live with the reality that I had made many bad decisions as a young man. While locked in the Pierce County Jail, prayers led me to the story of Socrates. From that story, I learned to think about the avatars that would influence my prospects in the future.

Instead of dwelling on challenges that my bad decisions created, I had to think about the best possible outcome. With that vision, I could engineer a path that would take me from a jail cell, through multiple decades in prison, and into a life of success upon release.

Certainly, I wish that I had made better decisions as a young man. If I’d made better decisions as a young man, I wouldn’t have been locked in jail. But I couldn’t deal with the world of wishes. No one advanced a station in life by wishing or complaining. Instead, we had to take action, disciplined action.

Reality required that I make new decisions. By thinking about the future, I realized that if I didn’t adjust wisely in prison, I would have a very difficult time finding employment once I concluded my prison sentence. In fact, I accepted that the length of time I expected to serve might make it difficult for me to find any type of meaningful employment.

Throughout the journey, I contemplated what resources I would need to start my life upon release. If I didn’t adjust wisely, I wouldn’t have anything when my term ended. I wouldn’t have clothes to wear, a car to drive, a savings account, or anything. Fortunately, decisions I made inside opened numerous opportunities. Yet when Carole and I began, I anticipated that my prison term and criminal record would always be hanging over my head. If I could create several different streams of income, I anticipated that I would advance our prospects for stability.

Financial Markets:

Those who read Earning Freedom: Conquering a 45-Year Term or any of my earlier books will know that the stock market had an influence on my adjustment through prison. I wanted to speculate on stocks after my release, but I had priorities. Although trading in stocks opened opportunities to build an additional income stream, there were also inherent risks. I wasn’t prepared to take those risks until Carole and I had more stability.

By early 2015, however, our asset base had grown. The San Francisco real estate market was one of the hottest markets in the United States, and soaring prices lifted our equity. The house we purchased for $390,000 was worth more than $525,000 in the fall of 2015. And with the rental income from our tenants, we paid down our mortgage each month. Our equity in that property grew to more than $200,000 since we moved to Orange County.

In addition to the paper equity we had in real estate, by living frugally and saving income that I received from speaking events, consulting, and ghostwriting, we built a high balance in our savings account. When the account balance grew to exceed $200,000, I decided to open a brokerage account. With a net worth of more than $400,000, the time felt right to speculate with stocks.

That turned out to be a bad decision.

I traded aggressively for several months. But after bad trades in Twitter and Alibaba resulted in more than $40,000 vanishing from our stock portfolio, I decided to stop trading in stocks—at least for the time being.

I’m not implying that the stock market doesn’t offer great opportunities. It’s just that I had to focus on the goal that I had set with Carole. Since I’d set a goal of earning my first million by August of 2018, I needed to think prudently about every risk and opportunity. With stock market indices rising and falling by several percentage points each day, I realized that it was too risky for my portfolio. Further, with my commitment to build a digital product strategy, the work I had to complete for clients who retained me, and responsibilities of creating regular podcasts, I couldn’t allow the ups and downs of the stock market to distract me.

After liquidating my stock portfolio, I decided to take a pause. Carole and I purchased a 90-day Certificate of Deposit for $160,000 in the spring of 2015. I would need to look for more opportunities. Although the CD offered us stability, our monthly interest statement from Wells Fargo showed that the CD paid less than $9 per month in interest. Saving, it would seem, was not a prudent strategy to advance the goal we set of earning our first million by August of 2018.

Investment Real Estate:

The 0-0-0 credit score I had when I walked out of prison had changed. By paying our mortgage and credit card bills on time each month, I built the score to the mid 700s. Carole and I decided to use the combination of our credit, our cash savings, and our tax returns to launch a plan of acquiring more real estate.

We considered the pros and cons of investing in real estate. On the plus side, we saw how effectively real estate could advance our net worth. In 2015, we knew that more than half of the equity we had built since my release from prison in 2013 came from our real estate investment. That means we made more money while we were sleeping than we earned while we were working. If we had been able to purchase additional properties from Chis and Seth, each of those properties would’ve appreciated equally in the neighborhood. In other words, if we could have replicated our initial investment five times, we would already have a net worth of more than $1 million.

We wouldn’t have had to work any harder. We simply needed to control more appreciating assets in appreciating markets.

Instead of looking at the past and wishing that we had purchased more, we chose to act. We started looking for where we could replicate the strategy. Wages from earnings alone would not deliver our first $1 million. We’d need to create wealth through prudent investments, and real estate offered a great opportunity.

We contemplated purchasing a house for us to live in. The compensation package that Tim offered when Carole and I moved to Orange County included housing expenses for our first year. When we began looking at houses to buy, we saw that real estate values in the Irvine / Newport Beach / Costa Mesa areas of Southern California had appreciated nearly as much as San Francisco. With prices for single-family residences in Newport starting at $1 million, and in nearby Irvine starting in the $750,000 range, we decided that it would be best for us to continue renting. Rather than buying our own house, we anticipated we could move closer to our goal if we used our savings to purchase additional rental properties outside of Orange County.

Podcasting:

The more research I did, the more I realized how podcasting could serve as a wonderful tool to build authenticity. After watching a webinar on Podcaster’s Paradise, I pulled out my credit card and paid $1,000 to enroll in the podcasting course. Through that course, I learned everything I needed to launch Earning Freedom, which would become my new podcast. I purchased microphones and software to get started. Then I retained Scott Houston, an audio engineer to set up my podcasting studio. I retained Brent Boates, a graphic designer to create my logos. I retained Zach Swinehart to redesign MichaelSantos.com so it could more easily accommodate podcasts. And on March 15, 2015, I launched the Earning Freedom podcast on iTunes.

When I began Earning Freedom, I envisioned the podcast as part of my overall strategy to create digital products and services. I set a goal of creating new content for an ongoing show that would follow a coherent structure. Each episode would last roughly 30 minutes and adhere to one of three formats:

I would share strategies that I learned from masterminds who taught me how to overcome struggle.

I would interview formerly incarcerated individuals who emerged successfully, and they would discuss how their adjustments inside contributed to their successful transition into society.

I would interview business and community leaders, asking them about strategies they used to build successful organizations—and also asking them to offer guidance for people who lived in struggle. What steps could they take to transition into lives of relevance, meaning, and contribution?

I considered the podcast as another seed that I would plant to grow my garden of resources, and it would become part of the Earning Freedom mastermind course. If I nurtured this seed every day, the investment of time, energy, and resources would add value to society. People would see how they could use the same strategies that empowered people through prison to achieve a higher potential in their lives. Regardless of what struggles or challenges they faced, strategies would always exist to build and grow and create value. Through Earning Freedom, I would strive to inspire people. If I succeeded, a revenue stream would follow. I especially liked that the Earning Freedom podcast would allow me to transmit ideas around the world, providing inspiration and actionable lessons that anyone could use to enhance prospects for success.

I used an Adobe software program to convert each recording into an MP3 format. Then I would write show notes and social media messages to promote the podcast. I subscribed to Libsyn, an easily accessible Internet cloud-based platform to host the podcast. From Libsyn, I created an automated feed that loaded each new episode of Earning Freedom into iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud, and other podcasting hosting services. By creating this production process, I could begin building a library of inspiring content with actionable messages.

After launching, the show rose to reach number two in Apple’s “New and Noteworthy” in the self-help category. As a consequence of the publicity, more people reached out to hire me for ghostwriting services and to assist their preparations for a successful journey through prison.

Although I could supplement my income by providing consulting or writing services, I didn’t want to divert too much attention to one-on-one projects. Creating a business around digital products remained the focus, and I intended to use the Earning Freedom podcast as an integral component of the strategy. By the end of 2015, I recorded more than 200 episodes, featuring guests from every sector of society.

Several guests described their transformation while in prison. They spoke about how their adjustment patterns led to awesome opportunities upon release. Some guests spoke about going into prison with histories of violence and substance abuse. Their transformation inside led to their becoming college graduates. The show featured formerly incarcerated individuals who emerged to become practicing lawyers, authors, and entrepreneurs. The Earning Freedom podcast also featured interviews with high profile community leaders.

Without a staff to assist me, I needed to organize the process. Since every episode was a digital file, stored on an Internet server, I created a system that would make it easier for others to assist me with the production process. Even my mother, who is in her mid-70s, played a role in helping to build the Earning Freedom program. Each day she would log into different web-based programs like Google, Hootsuite, and Twitter to bring more attention to the program. As a consequence of that work, I found more guests who would tell their inspiring stories.

For example, I once sent random Twitter messages to community leaders looking for guests. I received a reply from Lou Cirne, the Chief Executive Officer of New Relic. New Relic is a multi-billion dollar company that trades on the New York Stock Exchange. While interviewing Lou in his office, he told me what he would expect from a formerly incarcerated individual who wanted to transition into the job market. The Earning Freedom podcast also featured interviews with Dan Caldwell, the founder of TapouT, the legendary clothing company catering to the growing market for mixed-martial arts. I interviewed best-selling author Michael Port. And I interviewed Johnny Lee Dumas, host of the top-rated podcast Entrepreneur on Fire.

What do all of those guests have in common? Each of them helped me communicate a message that I learned from other masterminds. Namely: it’s never too early, and it’s never too late to begin sowing seeds for a better life. Their stories show that if we choose to live in the world as it exists, rather than as we wish it would be, we can create pathways that lead us to success. That strategy of deliberateness worked for the many formerly incarcerated people I feature on the Earning Freedom podcast. The strategy worked for formerly incarcerated individuals who emerged successfully. The strategy worked for business and community leaders I interviewed. And the strategy continues to work for me.

I’m convinced a strategy of deliberateness will work for anyone who chooses to lead a values-based, goal-oriented life.

Selling Earning Freedom:

After recording a sufficient number of episodes, and writing a lesson plan that facilitators could use to teach the course, I began to distribute the Earning Freedom program. Mike Tausek worked with his team to introduce the program to men in Maine’s high-security prison. After completing the course, Mike sent me several testimonials from the men inside.

Last week Diane said that on the first day of class (because I was mad) I couldn’t get hot water for my coffee. She said I gave an attitude (which I did). I was going to be in trouble. … In the past I would’ve just “F” this class and went back to my room. But I didn’t because I am trying to change. These classes have really helped me grow. I want to say Thank You to Michael Santos Diane and Deputy Warden Tausik for this great opportunity to teach myself and others. It can be done. It’s not about what you did yesterday. It’s about what you’re going to do today and with the rest of your life. I want to thank myself for actually gritting my teeth and just baring it that day. My last self would’ve just quit and wouldn’t have been rewarded through this Mastermind course. It has been a significant part of changing my thoughts. I’d like to say thanks and congratulations to all of my “peers” for giving this group a chance and sticking together through this great process. Again, thanks for the opportunity. It really has influenced me in a way that nothing else has.

Sincerely, Eric

Earning Freedom Mastermind Course:

Mike Tausek came across the Straight-A Guide course that I created for Justin’s nonprofit foundation. We had distributed the course to several jails, schools, and prisons. Mike contacted me to learn more about what it would take to bring the Straight-A Guide to Maine’s prison system.

The Straight-A Guide was a comprehensive course, with ten modules of five lessons each. The course included workbooks, videodisks, and softcover books. Further, facilitators needed to proceed through a full day of training to learn the concepts. I created the course with intentions to sell the Straight-A Guide to institutions across the United States, yet as I described earlier, we lacked capital to fully implement our plan.

Since I had accepted the fulltime position with Tim’s organization, I didn’t have liberty to travel to Maine so easily, I told Mike. I explained to him that I was working to create new, digital products, and suggested that he allow me to create something new that we could test inside of the Maine State Prison. If the idea worked in Maine, I would strive to expand into other markets.

Mike asked what I had in mind.

I suggested that I create the Earning Freedom Mastermind Course. Since he was in Maine, I used a Hockey metaphor. To paraphrase Wayne Gretzky, I said that rather than skating to the puck, we needed to skate to where the puck was going. From my perspective, the educational market would expand its use of digital products. They were less expensive than physical products to both create and distribute. With digital products, I told Mike, I could create new content for prisoners in Maine that would be both timely and relevant. Further, the mastermind course could be interactive, giving the men inside opportunities to ask questions and receive answers from people who emerged from prison successfully.

I anticipated that I could create Earning Freedom courses from my desktop computer. I’d need to research how, but since I had Tim’s support, I’d learn how to create webinars and audiobooks. I told him that I would create a 10-part lesson plan and a series of videos that featured interactions with formerly incarcerated individuals. Since I could use technology to film the recordings, I could produce the course in an efficient manner and distribute it through Internet links. Most importantly, participants could ask questions and I’d film responses to their questions. I believed an Earning Freedom course would help build intrinsic motivation for people who lived without hope.

Mike Tausek saw the value that digital courses could offer. He agreed to purchase a one-year license to use the Earning Freedom course in his prison. We settled on a $1,000 price point for the annual license.

Single orders for a $1,000 were not going to build an empire. But as Tim said, businesses took time to build. I budgeted three years to build products and services that would serve institutions like the state of Maine’s prison system. The same course that I created for Maine would be of value to people across the country, not only for people in prison—for anyone. Rather than limiting the course content for people in prison, I intended to create content that would apply to every citizen who aspired to overcome struggle and reach a higher potential

I’d need to build in stages. Those stages would require the following:

• I’d need to create an abundance of content that was freely available.
• I’d need to create proprietary content that I could sell.
• I’d need to ensure that anyone who had access to the content would find a powerful and actionable message of personal empowerment.

With a plan in place, I started scouring the Internet to learn more about how to create digital products.

Consulting:

Before I describe what I learned from researching digital products, I need to give a bit more background. Since emerging from prison, I worked to build multiple income streams. The work I did while I was incarcerated helped set the stage for such opportunities. Those who read this book from inside of a jail or prison should recognize how decisions they make today will influence prospects or opportunities for success in the weeks, months, and years to come.

Earlier, I wrote about my friend Lee opening a job opportunity for me to work in one of his companies immediately after my release. While on that job, I simultaneously earned revenues from public speaking events. A steadier stream of resources came through personal consulting and writing services I offered for others. Rather than taking time off for relaxation, I took advantage of every opportunity available to build financial resources that Carole and I could use to achieve our goals. Although I had to work seven days each week, the progress we made brought a sense of fulfillment. We both were working toward a better future than anyone would’ve expected after multiple decades in prison.

As a consequence of my writing and publishing from inside, I had a level of authenticity when I returned to society. Remember, I began with a plan, thinking about the avatars I wanted to influence. By executing that plan through every day of my journey, when I returned to society I had a strong support network. Some of the people in my network were defense attorneys. When they had clients facing prison, and those defendants had questions about prison, the attorneys would recommend their clients contact me. I charged those defendants a fee to help them prepare for the journey ahead. Those people became my clients. They looked for guidance on how they could:

Influence the lowest possible sentence.

Influence the Bureau of Prisons to send them to the best possible prison.

Make productive use of their time inside.

Prepare for a successful return to society.

Write books that would describe their life story and position their careers for a rebound upon release.

Clients would pay a premium to learn lessons that empowered me through the decades that I served. Others retained me to ghostwrite books for them. And fees I earned from providing one-on-one consultation or writing services helped to build financial resources that I could leverage.

While researching information on how to create digital products, I stumbled upon information that would contribute to the business I was striving to build with Tim. The bonus was that it would also contribute to consulting work I did on the side. My research led me to podcasts—a concept that I had been familiar with before.

The podcast I found was called LawPreneurRadio with Miranda McCroskey. It profiled attorneys. By listening to LawPreneurRadio, I had a new idea. On the episode I heard, Miranda was interviewing Diane Bass, one of the premier defense attorneys in Orange County. I listened to the entire interview and felt inspired. A podcast could be a great “digital product” to create. After all, podcasts were accessible to anyone who had access to the Internet. If I were to create an Earning Freedom podcast, more people would learn of value that I could provide. A podcast could potentially lead to more consulting business, while it would simultaneously lead to a library of digital content that I could use to inspire others.

After listening to Miranda’s interview of Diane, I reached out to both women.

I liked the idea of using podcasts to profile experts, just as Miranda had profiled Diane.

As I found throughout my journey, we strengthen ourselves when we bring more mentors into our life. When we can show that we’re 100% authentic, always committed to leading lives of relevance, meaning, and contribution, people are more willing to help.

Despite my background of serving decades in prison, both Diane Bass and Miranda McCroskey agreed to meet with me. They each played a role in influencing my pursuit of a successful career. Diane introduced me to scores of influential criminal defense attorneys. When the attorneys had clients facing time in federal prison, they would refer those people to me. Like Diane, Miranda took the time to meet with me. She mentored me on what it would take to build a successful podcast and she introduced me to Podcaster’s Paradise, the online teaching service that would help me become a podcaster.

1. Orange County

After teaching my final class at SFSU in May of 2014, Carole and I loaded our Chevy Aveo to make the seven-hour drive south to Newport Beach. Earnings from books I wrote while in prison provided resources Carole needed to live while she advanced through nursing school. Those earnings also allowed her to purchase the small, four-cylinder Aveo. The car brought a lot of memories for both Carole and me through our journey. From prison yards, I used to wait for her to drive in on visiting days.

When I got out of prison Lee asked what type of car I was going to buy, because Carole would need to drive hers.

The tone of Lee’s question told me a great deal. Although I wanted to buy a nice car, and I had savings in the bank, I knew that wasting money on an impressive car wouldn’t be prudent. For one thing, blowing resources on a high-end car would not have endeared me to Lee. In fact, I’m sure that if I would’ve purchased an expensive car, he would’ve lost all respect for my judgment. Successful people like Lee or Tim were always calculating. Our daily decisions determined whether people like them would want to invest their time, energy, or resources in helping us grow.

We learn many lessons from the ways that successful people think.

Carole and I kept her Chevy Aveo. As soon I got my driver’s license, I purchased a used Ford for $4,000 in cash so we wouldn’t incur any wasted debt like a car payment. That decision, I think, met Lee’s approval. And I suspect that it had a lot to do with Chris and Seth agreeing to finance the first house we purchased.

We left the Ford with a friend to sell on consignment and we drove our little Chevy Aveo south on Interstate 5. The car wasn’t made for long trips, and it wouldn’t blend in too well in the upscale communities of Orange County. Fortunately, Carole shared a vision with me. We both were after long-term stability and we both worked toward those goals each day. In the pages to follow, I’ll describe some of the ways that I supplemented my income and contributed to our stability. When we left the San Francisco Bay area, we had about $100,000 equity in our house and another $100,000 in savings. It wasn’t a bad position to be in, considering that my prison term had ended only 10 months previously. Rather than splurging on luxuries, we chose to focus together on the million-dollar net worth we intended to build by August of 2018.

Digital Businesses:

Tim tasked me to work in the communications division of his well-staffed organization. He owned a number of businesses that cumulatively generated annual revenues in excess of $50 million. Overall, he employed more than 100 people. Initially, I would strive to add value by assisting with marketing and communications. True to his word, Tim gave me considerable liberty to develop new business ideas that we could grow together. When not working with his team, I thought of different markets or businesses we could launch.

His corporate headquarters occupied a full floor of a 10-story office building in the high-rent district of Irvine, California. While visiting one day, Tim asked what I felt passionate about creating.

“I’d like to inspire people, to help them grow and overcome obstacles.”

“You’re certainly the guy who can do it.”

As we spent more time together, I convinced Tim that a market existed. Potentially, the market could even be big enough to attract an investor like him. In truth, if a business didn’t offer the potential to generate revenues in excess of $10 million a year, Tim wouldn’t waste time discussing it. Yet I believed a massive market existed for products I could create.

“If we taught strategies to break limiting beliefs, we’d have a product that would serve every human being on the planet.”

Although prison provided the context of my story, I told Tim, my message wasn’t only about prison. It was about overcoming struggles and that message had much broader implications. At some point during the journey of life, every individual experienced struggle. Too frequently, those struggles derailed an individual’s confidence. People who experienced challenges that included financial reversals, divorce, obesity, business or career complications, lived with misery. If we could create products and services to reach that market, we could bring enormous value that millions of people would appreciate. By creating the products in a digital format, we could build something that truly scaled.

Tim asked what I had in mind.

More than my employer, I considered Tim a friend and mentor. As we spoke, I wanted him to partner with me in building a new business—one that didn’t relate to the reasons he brought me down from San Francisco to work with him.

My idea was to expand upon the entire “Earning Freedom” concept. Since few could imagine serving decades in prison, and few would expect anyone to emerge from a lengthy stint in prison successfully, I wanted to use my story to inspire others. I could create products and services that would teach others the strategies I learned from masterminds. As I did with the Straight-A Guide, I’d create curriculums under the Earning Freedom brand. Instead of focusing only on the prison system, however, we’d create digital products for both end users and institutions.

“As I told you before, I’ve always invested in people,” Tim said. “Focus on the business you want to build. Just know that ideas take time to develop. Nothing happens overnight.”

With Tim’s support, I started. Before I could create a revenue stream, I needed to create a resource that would encourage more people to believe in me. Although the written word was great, I learned many lessons about society since my release from prison. For one thing, attention spans were shorter. Rather than reading lengthy books, many people preferred to gather information through audiobooks and videos. I was exploring digital platforms like audiobooks and videos when I received a call from Mike Tausek, a deputy warden from the state of Maine’s prison system.

Transferring Jurisdictions:

Since I was still on Supervised Release, making a move to Newport Beach would not be so easy. I reported to a probation officer in a different judicial district. As a resident of the San Francisco Bay area, authorities required that I report to a probation officer in the Northern Judicial District of California.

Tim’s employment offer required that I relocate to the Central Judicial District of California. Besides convincing my probation officer to support my move, I’d have to persuade a probation officer from the Central District to authorize my transfer. If I could overcome those challenges, I’d have a few additional complications to resolve.

Fortunately, the seeds I began sowing from the start of my journey positioned me well to seize opportunities like the one Tim offered. I felt confidant Carole and I would be able to transition from Northern California to Orange County. But I needed to see what she thought. After Tim made his offer, I called Carole to ask what she would like me to do.

“Take the job.” She didn’t hesitate.

As an experienced registered nurse who was pursuing a graduate degree, Carole expressed confidence that she would find new employment. Carole always supported efforts to build a career around my journey, but she liked the idea of me transitioning away from the prison industry and into other ventures. Tim’s compelling job offer opened a world of opportunity.

With Carole’s support, I consulted with two of my closest friends, Justin and Lee. Both of them were like brothers to me. I’d been working with Justin and the nonprofit foundation he created. We used that foundation as a resource to both fund and distribute products that spread our message of personal growth, accountability, and developing critical thinking skills. If I accepted Tim’s offer, I’d have less time available to work with him. Yet when I told him of the opportunity, Justin saw the value.

“If you become more successful, your story will inspire more people that the lessons we offer really work. Your success could lead to more orders, and it sounds like you’ll still be able to devote time to work on our projects. Take the job. We’ll both have to work harder, but we’ll figure it out along the way.”

Lee and I had spoken about Tim before. Since Tim was an entrepreneur and visionary who built businesses that grew to billions in revenues, he would impress any businessman. Lee liked hearing stories about others who built successful businesses from nothing more than ideas. When I told him that Tim invited me to join his team, Lee encouraged me to accept. “Sounds like an opportunity to learn, contribute, and grow. Take it.”

With encouragement from Justin and Lee, I took the next step of contacting my probation officer. Once I had support from probation, I contacted Jeff at SFSU and told him that I would not return to teach in the fall of 2014. Instead, Carole and I would be moving to Southern California.

Return on Investment:

We had only recently finalized the mortgage to finance our house. The housing market in the San Francisco Bay area was on fire and we likely could’ve sold our house easily for a substantial profit. Yet I felt strongly that housing prices would continue to rise. Carole agreed. Rather than selling our property, we agreed that we would make our first real estate purchase a part of our retirement plan. Instead of selling, we’d find suitable tenants who would rent from us. The rental income we received would allow us to pay the mortgage.

Carole led that initiative to find suitable tenants by running an ad on Craig’s list. More than a dozen applications came to us within days. During the year that we lived in the property, Carole wanted to decorate to make the house more “homey.” Yet I considered the investment as a stepping-stone, something we would eventually rent. Instead of decorating, we kept the house stark, looking new. It was part of a longer-term strategy to eventually attract stable tenants who would want to make the house their home.

Chris and Seth equipped our house with upgrades like granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, and a whirlpool bath. Carole and I were going to miss the house, but we found a wonderful family with impeccable references who pledged to take good care of our property. They loved the neighborhood and signed a long-term lease, expressing interest to remain until their children graduated from high school. Carole’s due diligence contributed to us finding the right family. The $2,800 monthly rent would cover our $2,500 mortgage payment, leaving us with a reserve to pay our annual property taxes.

Since we financed our property with a 15-year mortgage, a significant portion of each payment would apply to principle reduction. Our debt on the property would drop by $1,500 each month, allowing us to build equity quickly. After 15 years, Carole and I would own the property free and clear. We considered the investment as an awesome resource to advance our plans for a stable retirement. Owning real estate, it would seem, could become an integral component of our plan to build a million-dollar net worth within five years. Carole and I made a commitment to work together in ways that would position us to acquire more.

Corporate Sponsorship:

To succeed in building the Straight-A Guide program, I would need to find a different source of support. My Socratic questioning convinced me that I didn’t have sufficient experience to accept responsibility for $3 million worth of investor money. But that didn’t mean I would have to abandon the idea altogether. Instead of raising money necessary to hire a staff, lease office space, fund travel, marketing, and advertising expenses, I decided to venture into the market and get more experience.

To validate the concept and build the business, I knew that I’d need to continue efforts I’d been making since I concluded my prison term eight months previously. Yet those efforts required me to spend money on airfare, on rental cars, on hotels. I had to travel frequently. Further, I needed more resources to pay for services like web development and marketing. I wanted to attend trade shows, purchase display booths, and interact with administrators who would consider purchasing my products. I didn’t have enough funding to launch those plans.

Since I felt passionately about inspiring people who lived in struggle to work toward reaching their highest potential, and I believed that a market existed, I made a decision. Instead of asking for investors, I’d go out into the corporate sector and ask for sponsorship.

During my time in prison I became acquainted with many men who ran successful business ventures. For one reason or another, authorities charged them with crimes, juries or judges convicted them, and those business leaders went to prison. When I was confined in Lompoc, I built a friendship with leaders like Lee, founder of a company that employed several hundred people. When I was confined in Taft, I built a friendship with Greg, leader of a publicly traded technology company worth billions. When I was in Atwater, I built a friendship with Tim, founder of several companies that generated hundreds of millions in revenue.

When we were together, those men had an opportunity to assess my work ethic and character. I didn’t only consider them as some of my closest friends, but they were also business mentors for me. Whereas I lacked experience in running businesses, they had built track records of extraordinary success. I decided to reach out and ask them for guidance.

I hoped to find 10 different corporate sponsors that would pledge $10,000 per year for three years. Those resources would provide me with $100,000 per year that I could use to fund expenses. If I succeeded in raising the capital, I would be able to work fulltime toward building a business while not being stressed out about paying travel costs and marketing expenses. By working on this venture fulltime for three years, I anticipated that I would gain traction in the marketplace. More purchase orders would come through, leading more people to use the program. The program would then grow organically, through word of mouth and referrals. In time, I’d have a self-sustaining business.

Newport Beach:

In the spring of 2013, I began my search for corporate sponsorship. My first call was to Tim, an entrepreneur with a successful track record of building business that exceeded $10 million in annual revenues. I have incredible admiration for him as a person and as a business visionary. During his senior year in college, he launched a venture that saved money for customers and generated substantial profits for his firm. Tim leveraged those profits to launch numerous other ventures that proved equally successful while he simultaneously helped his family and friends. His combination of vision, ability to plan, and capability of building teams that could execute brought results of a modern-day Midas. He didn’t begin a venture that didn’t have the potential of generating massive revenues. And if the venture didn’t stick, he abandoned the idea and moved on to the next one. His approach to business and life inspired others to want to work harder, smarter.

Tim met with me in his boardroom and he introduced me to several leaders on his team. As I told him about ambitions I had about creating products and services that I could sell to the billion-dollar industry of “corrections,” he questioned me.

“Why would people who operated prisons care whether the people inside came out successfully?”

“What makes you think they would buy products that you created?”

“How long do you think it would take before you started generating purchase orders?”

“Can you really build a business around these ideas?”

His questions prompted a lengthy discussion that we carried over as we

went to lunch at Houston’s, a trendy restaurant in nearby Irvine. The parking lot was filled with Mercedes Benzes, Porsches, Bentleys, and Teslas, like Tim’s. Toward the end of our meal, Tim made his point by suggesting that I look at the others in the restaurant.

“What do you see here?”

Houston’s catered to a crowd that dressed well, drove high-end cars, and didn’t flinch at lunch tabs that easily topped $100 for a table of two.

“The thing is,” he said, “you and I know the prison system is messed up. It’s great that you want to improve it. But the reality is, no one in places like this really cares about either the prison system or the people serving time inside.”

“It’s my job to change those perceptions.” I wanted more people to realize that our nation’s commitment to mass incarceration influenced every American citizen.

He shrugged. “I guess you need to ask yourself a question. Do you want to change the world or do you want to make money?”

My response was that I thought I could succeed on both fronts, earning a good living while simultaneously working to empower and inspire others.

“Maybe you can, maybe you can’t” he said. “But you’ve got a lot of passion for this stuff that no one really cares about. If you could translate some of that energy into business, you could come work with me, start making some money right now, and build products to change the prison system on the side.”

I asked what he had in mind. Tim suggested that I join his team as a fulltime employee and contribute as needed. He was offering an opportunity of a lifetime.

“The thing is, I invest in people. I know you work hard. Keep at this thing, you might build something. If you do, we’ll carve it up in a fair way. If not, we’ll build something else together.” Showing that he wasn’t a guy who made empty promises, Tim offered to cover my housing expense for the first year and pay a $100,000 salary while we figured out what I’d do.

What’s the lesson here? Was I lucky? Without a doubt! But if I hadn’t sown seeds early on during my prison term, Tim would not have believed in me. As he said, he invested in people. He wouldn’t invest in a person unless that person made a massive investment in “self” first. What investment are you making in yourself today? What types of investment can you make in yourself right now that will influence other people to want to invest in your future?

Total Available Market:

First and foremost, I anticipated that investors would want to know the total available market for products that I could create. As I wrote above, I envisioned a multi-billion-dollar annual market. I arrived at that number after reviewing published reports showing that state and federal governments spent in excess of $80 billion per year on corrections. Although I didn’t have any data, I estimated that at minimum, 5% of those budgets funded programs designed to reduce recidivism and to prepare offenders for successful lives upon release. Using those metrics, the total available market exceeded $4 billion each year.

Obviously, if I could put an organization together, we’d only receive a fraction of those resources. But if we implemented the program successfully, and we became an evidence-based program after three years, it would seem that the The Straight-A Guide could secure an average of at least 20 clients in each state, for a projected, estimated total of 1,000 clients. If each client placed an average order of $10,000 per year, we’d have a business that generated $10 million in annual revenues.

Again, I could only “project” into the future, or visualize prospects for success. I’d need to convince others that a market existed and that the potential for upside validated the risk associated with the investment. After all, anyone who put money into such a venture would have to wait three years before they would see a return on investment.

Would a return on investment warrant the risk? I continued to run the numbers.

Since we’d be creating digital products, gross profit margins would likely exceed 70%. After all, once I produced a product, the costs of production would drop significantly. Based on estimates of $10 million in revenues, the company should generate north of $7 million in annual profits after year three. With those numbers, it would seem that investors might be willing to provide $3 million in funding in exchange for 50% of a company we’d create. Such an equity split would return all investment capital within five years; the investors would still own 50% of a growing company.

Despite the promise that I saw, I suspected that investors would view the opportunity from a different perspective. An infinite number of opportunities competed for their attention and their capital. Although the Straight-A Guide offered a “social good” in that it would influence people in prison to begin preparing for success, and the business venture had the potential for generating lasting profits in a growing market that was poised to grow, investors would perceive risks. I anticipated their objections:

If you’re asking us to invest $3 million for a 50% stake in your company, you’re implying that your idea is worth $6 million. What experience do you have in overseeing ventures with this level of complexity?

If prison administrators resist buying from a convicted felon now, what makes you think that they’ll be more inclined to purchase products you create three years from now?

What track record do you have for returning capital to investors?

The more questions I asked, the more I realized that I wasn’t yet ready to seek venture capital from investors to fund my idea. I’d never run a business before, I’d never managed a group of professionals, and I didn’t have a track record for returning capital. Although I believed a growing market existed, and we’d validated the concept to some extent by receiving more than $100,000 worth of purchase orders from several government agencies, the realities were that I needed to learn more about the market before I could raise capital necessary to build a team.

Until then, I needed to approach the challenge differently—creatively.

1. Raising Capital

The wisdom of Socrates has lived for longer than 2,000 years. His teachings influenced my thinking and approach to problems. To figure out next steps in the development of my career, I turned to his question-based approach to learning. The more questions I asked, the more truth I found in his saying, “The one thing I know is that I know nothing.”

By the spring of 2014, I’d been free from the Bureau of Prisons for eight months. The experience of creating the Straight-A Guide and striving to bring the product to market taught many lessons. More than anything, I learned that I needed help. In order to build a truly sustainable business, I’d need to inspire a team of qualified professionals who could accelerate sustainable growth.

I did some simple back-of-the-envelope math. Attracting candidates who could execute a plan would require sufficient capital. To start, the organization I envisioned would have to pay livable wages. We’d need at least $300,000 per year to build a team of five people with appropriate skills. In addition to those resources, we’d need resources to pay for office space and equipment, travel, marketing, advertising, and web development. Then, we’d need resources to fund an independent research project to evaluate the effectiveness of the Straight-A Guide. All in, I anticipated that we would need between $600,000 and $1 million per year to fund a sustainable operation. Further, we likely would need three years worth of funding before we would become a fully validated, evidenced-based program. Simply put, to bring this dream to life, I anticipated that we would need between $2.5 and $3 million of venture funding.

As a convicted felon who had only recently been released from 26 years in prison, I anticipated significant challenges in raising $3 million. Yet raising funding of some sort would be necessary if I were going to succeed in building a business. I couldn’t work for free and I couldn’t expect anyone to join the team I envisioned if I couldn’t offer livable wages. Working to change the world would be great, but people needed to eat, too.

Before picking up the phone and trying to raise money, I used the same strategy that I taught through the Straight-A Guide. That strategy of identifying values, setting goals, and articulating a message helped me conquer 26 years in prison and I was convinced it would help me chart the next course of my journey in society.

To start, I thought of my avatars—the prospective investors. What questions would they want me to answer? If I could understand their motivations for investing, I would advance my prospects for success.

First Mortgage:

Carole and I met with a mortgage banker and provided all of the documentation requested. We took the next step of ordering an appraisal of the property. By considering comparable prices in the neighborhood, the appraiser provided documentation valuing our property at $454,000.

To avoid additional charges for mortgage insurance, we agreed to accept a mortgage of 80% of our home’s appraised value, or roughly $363,000. We wrote a check for $17,000 to cover the remaining amount we would owe to pay off the note to ABS Development. With the $12,000 we had put as a down payment when we initially signed the purchase agreement, and the $17,000 in additional funding we had to pay at the time of the close, our total out-of-pocket investment in the property was $29,000. But in less than 18 months of ownership, our total equity in the property surpassed $90,000—or more than three times what we put into the property.

In applying for the mortgage, Carole and I considered the term of the loan. Traditionally, most people finance their properties over a 30-year term. The longer amortization brings the advantage of lower monthly payments. With the longer term, however, payments during the first half of the loan went primarily to satisfy interest. Since we wanted to build equity in the property at an accelerated rate, we chose to finance our property over a 15-year term. The monthly payments on such a loan would be around $2,500, but each payment would reduce our principle balance by more than $1,500.

The advantage of owning real estate that we financed over a 15-year term became readily apparent to us. As long as the housing market continued to heat up, our property’s higher valuation would increase our equity. If we looked at a five-year plan, and property values increased by 20% over that term, our $454,000 property would be worth $544,000. In addition, by making our mortgage payments on time over a five-year term, we would reduce the amount of mortgage debt we owed on the property by at least $100,000. If those plans worked out, we could project an equity in the property of more than $280,000 after five years—a 10x return on the money we invested to purchase the property.

As I made these projections, it became clear that real estate ownership could and should play a significant role in my plan to build credibility. If I could replicate the strategy a few more times, it would seem that I could reach the goal I had set of building a $1,000,000 net worth by August of 2018, five years after I concluded my obligation to the Bureau of Prisons. I would only need to make my mortgage payments on time, and build my career.

To build my career, however, I would still need to persuade more institutions to purchase The Straight-A Guide. Without independent research to validate the program as being evidence-based, however, I would continue to meet resistance in the marketplace. Administrators would object, saying that although I used the course to become successful, there was no guarantee that others could do the same.

To overcome administrative objections that I anticipated, I would need to build more credibility. One strategy to build that credibility would be to write more, to speak more, and to create opportunities that would put me in front of more prospective buyers. Each one of those strategies required financial resources. Accordingly, I needed to figure out ways to obtain more working capital that would allow me to reach a broader market. As the old saying goes, it takes money to make money.

Building Financial Stability:

When I concluded my obligation to the Bureau of Prisons in August of 2013, I set new goals with Carole. We were 49 years old and making progress, but we would have to cover a lot of ground to prepare for a stable future. Although I felt passionately about working to improve outcomes of our nation’s prison system, I also had a responsibility of preparing for our family’s future. Carole had sacrificed a great deal to marry me while I still had 10 years remaining to serve in prison. I wanted to provide her with the comfort of knowing that we were stable. I promised to work toward a goal of providing stability for our family.

While Carole advanced toward her Master’s degree in nursing, I had to figure out a way to build my own career. With limited resources, it would seem that I would need to think creatively in order to generate more orders for the Straight-A Guide. I needed to build more credibility, showing that the program didn’t only lead to success through prison, but also success in society. If I could achieve “success” in society, I anticipated that administrators might be more willing to purchase our program, even before researchers validated its effectiveness.

One principal of the Straight-A Guide is that we never ask anyone to do or say anything that we’re not willing to do or say ourselves. Accordingly, I began asking a series of questions. What approach could I take to define success? That type of question led to other questions. My definition of success wouldn’t matter nearly as much as what my avatars would expect. I considered avatars as being all law-abiding, tax-paying Americans. How would they define success after prison? Better yet, how would they define success in society?

In addition to those avatars, I also considered the people in prison that I aspired to teach. If I were asking for their time and attention, what would they expect of me? How could I earn their trust as being someone who could teach them?

Answering those questions led me to a conclusion. If I could build a financial statement showing a net worth of $1,000,000, others would deem me successful. I set a goal with Carole, claiming that I would work to build a $1,000,000 net worth within my first five years of liberty. To achieve that goal, I had until August of 2018. By succeeding, I would find it easier to inspire more people to see the value of The Straight-A Guide—with or without a validated research instrument.

When I set that goal with Carole, I still had a 0-0-0 credit score. Yet since I had completed my obligation to the Bureau of Prisons, rules no longer blocked me from applying for credit. I submitted an application for a credit card to Bank of America. The banker who had opened my account when I first transferred to the halfway house no longer worked there, so I was starting from ground zero. Soon after I submitted my application, I received a phone call from Bank of America.

The lady who spoke with me told me she was reviewing my application for credit and said that she had some questions. By living frugally, and saving resources that our work generated, the combined balances in our bank account exceeded $100,000. We didn’t waste money on alcohol or splurges after my release. Other than purchasing the Apple computers that I would need to launch my career, we didn’t buy much of anything. I purchased a used vehicle for $4,000 and we saved as much money as possible. The banker who assessed my application reviewed the assets I listed, but asked why her records showed that I didn’t exist in the credit system.

After I told her my story, she agreed to issue my first credit card. Once I received the credit card, I felt a bit more like a citizen. Soon my credit score rose to the high 600s. The next step would be for us to apply for permanent financing on the house we purchased.

I had promised Chris and Seth of ABS Development that I would pay off the balance that we owed on the property just as soon as I could qualify for a mortgage. We signed an agreement with them to purchase the property for $390,000 in the fall of 2012, while I was still in the halfway house. In an effort to help us get established, they accepted a down payment of $12,000 and agreed to accept interest-only payments on the outstanding balance until we could pay off the note. We were ready.