In Order to Succeed
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit. ~Aristotle.
I love this quote. It reminds me how important my habits are.
I have made a commitment to update this blog once a week. I’m going to make it a habit, because I learned this secret about myself: when I actively work to change one habit, every aspect of my life improves.
Everybody knows that prison doesn't prepare people to succeed when they return to society. In order to succeed a person has to figure it out themselves. For me, the changes in my behavior came from reading self help books, often ones that were considered contraband by the prison.
Let me share with you an example of how I prepared myself for success despite the keen eye of the prison overlords. I knew from all the bad habits I had developed in my life, that my habits are my destiny. I knew my destiny didn't look too bright. I had to a lot of bad habits to change.
One habit I knew I needed to work on was my financial habits. I was the worst with money. As soon as I got it a little bit into my possession it burst into flame and started burning a hole in my pocket. Growing up, I don't know if I had ever saved money for anything. I was more of a live-in-the-moment kind of guy. Not that there isn't a time and a place for that thinking, but after reading a book called Rich Dad Poor Dad, I realized that I needed to make some big changes in the way I handled money. I don't want to live hand to mouth for the rest of my life.
I visualized the life I could have if I changed my spending habits. If I learned to save then I could invest. If I invested then my money could make money, and I could generate a passive income. With a passive income I could take a year off work and travel the world, or fund my own movies, or donate to something I believe in. I could help people. I could take care of the people I love. I could do all this and more. After imagining my future life I didn’t just want to change my habits, I needed to.
At this time I had 8 months left to I was released, and I knew I’d need money when I got out. I only had 100 on my retention fund. Even If I saved every penny from my prison job (25 cents hour), I would only have like $200. Besides, the $12 every two weeks from my state pay job is how I bought my soap, toothpaste and other hygiene.
I wanted to have $1,000 saved up before I got out. Was that aiming a little high for the time I had left? Maybe. But I’ve always set lofty goals. The question was, how was I going to make that kind of money in prison (without selling drugs)? Easy. Prison, like the real world, has an economy. I decided to start a business selling shots of coffee. I would buy a bag of coffee for $3.00 and make 15 shots out of it. I would sell each of the shots for a Ramen soup(60 cents). When people would run out of their coffee (because they, like me, were bad at saving) they would come to me to buy a shot. I would make $9.00 off a $3.00 bag of coffee.
Instead of spending/eating my profit, I reinvested it into my business. I did this because I had a goal ($1,000), and I had something at stake (my future). On top of that, I had an observable way to measure my progress (the growing box of store under my bunk). Watching my progress, I gained a new respect for my self. I can do this. I have the power to shape my habits. This only motivated me more in a self perpetuating cycle of growth and awesomeness. I expanded my business. I started selling cigarettes (a pouch costs $3, roll 60 cigarettes, sell 3 per soup, make $12), I made brownies from cocoa, gram crackers, and peanut butter. I used the PB lid as a mold and made 20 brownies out of the kit (kit costs $4.00 and you make $12.00) and I made suckers (Jolly Rancher melted down with a starburst in the middle). Soon I had a regular corner store. (Of course you got to do it low-key, because if you get an asshole C.O. then you might get written up for it.) Then arose the problem, what was I going to do with boxes full of commissary food? How would that help me when I got out? I needed convert that food into money. That’s when I started selling food boxes. When people are on Loss of Privileges they can’t order commissary, so instead they would just send money to my books and I would give them food. I charged 20% for the service. They would send me $50 and I would give them $40 in store. I would then use half that money to buy more supplies and do it all over again. From Feb to August I made $900. With my retention fund, I walked out of prison with over $1,000.
But what was more valuable than the money was the confidence I gained in myself to change a habit. Not only did it raise my self esteem but it changed my self-talk. I began to believe in myself. For so long I had told myself that I was bad with money, and I didn’t change because I thought, “that’s just who I am.” But this taught me that we are who we choose to be.
And let me be clear about something: prison did not encourage this change. As a matter of fact, it's is against the rules to "trade and barter" in prison. These changes in behavior did not happen because of prison. They happened despite it. These are the lengths to which we must go if we want to make it when we get out.
Those habits have stayed with me. Every month I save $220 into an account that is dedicated only to investing. For where I am at in my life right now, starting over from nothing, that's significant. I know that saving $220 a month wont makes me wealthy, but I believe the true value is in the habit.
Check with me in 5 years and I'll let you know how it has worked out for me.
I love this quote. It reminds me how important my habits are.
I have made a commitment to update this blog once a week. I’m going to make it a habit, because I learned this secret about myself: when I actively work to change one habit, every aspect of my life improves.
Everybody knows that prison doesn't prepare people to succeed when they return to society. In order to succeed a person has to figure it out themselves. For me, the changes in my behavior came from reading self help books, often ones that were considered contraband by the prison.
Let me share with you an example of how I prepared myself for success despite the keen eye of the prison overlords. I knew from all the bad habits I had developed in my life, that my habits are my destiny. I knew my destiny didn't look too bright. I had to a lot of bad habits to change.
One habit I knew I needed to work on was my financial habits. I was the worst with money. As soon as I got it a little bit into my possession it burst into flame and started burning a hole in my pocket. Growing up, I don't know if I had ever saved money for anything. I was more of a live-in-the-moment kind of guy. Not that there isn't a time and a place for that thinking, but after reading a book called Rich Dad Poor Dad, I realized that I needed to make some big changes in the way I handled money. I don't want to live hand to mouth for the rest of my life.
I visualized the life I could have if I changed my spending habits. If I learned to save then I could invest. If I invested then my money could make money, and I could generate a passive income. With a passive income I could take a year off work and travel the world, or fund my own movies, or donate to something I believe in. I could help people. I could take care of the people I love. I could do all this and more. After imagining my future life I didn’t just want to change my habits, I needed to.
At this time I had 8 months left to I was released, and I knew I’d need money when I got out. I only had 100 on my retention fund. Even If I saved every penny from my prison job (25 cents hour), I would only have like $200. Besides, the $12 every two weeks from my state pay job is how I bought my soap, toothpaste and other hygiene.
I wanted to have $1,000 saved up before I got out. Was that aiming a little high for the time I had left? Maybe. But I’ve always set lofty goals. The question was, how was I going to make that kind of money in prison (without selling drugs)? Easy. Prison, like the real world, has an economy. I decided to start a business selling shots of coffee. I would buy a bag of coffee for $3.00 and make 15 shots out of it. I would sell each of the shots for a Ramen soup(60 cents). When people would run out of their coffee (because they, like me, were bad at saving) they would come to me to buy a shot. I would make $9.00 off a $3.00 bag of coffee.
Instead of spending/eating my profit, I reinvested it into my business. I did this because I had a goal ($1,000), and I had something at stake (my future). On top of that, I had an observable way to measure my progress (the growing box of store under my bunk). Watching my progress, I gained a new respect for my self. I can do this. I have the power to shape my habits. This only motivated me more in a self perpetuating cycle of growth and awesomeness. I expanded my business. I started selling cigarettes (a pouch costs $3, roll 60 cigarettes, sell 3 per soup, make $12), I made brownies from cocoa, gram crackers, and peanut butter. I used the PB lid as a mold and made 20 brownies out of the kit (kit costs $4.00 and you make $12.00) and I made suckers (Jolly Rancher melted down with a starburst in the middle). Soon I had a regular corner store. (Of course you got to do it low-key, because if you get an asshole C.O. then you might get written up for it.) Then arose the problem, what was I going to do with boxes full of commissary food? How would that help me when I got out? I needed convert that food into money. That’s when I started selling food boxes. When people are on Loss of Privileges they can’t order commissary, so instead they would just send money to my books and I would give them food. I charged 20% for the service. They would send me $50 and I would give them $40 in store. I would then use half that money to buy more supplies and do it all over again. From Feb to August I made $900. With my retention fund, I walked out of prison with over $1,000.
But what was more valuable than the money was the confidence I gained in myself to change a habit. Not only did it raise my self esteem but it changed my self-talk. I began to believe in myself. For so long I had told myself that I was bad with money, and I didn’t change because I thought, “that’s just who I am.” But this taught me that we are who we choose to be.
And let me be clear about something: prison did not encourage this change. As a matter of fact, it's is against the rules to "trade and barter" in prison. These changes in behavior did not happen because of prison. They happened despite it. These are the lengths to which we must go if we want to make it when we get out.
Those habits have stayed with me. Every month I save $220 into an account that is dedicated only to investing. For where I am at in my life right now, starting over from nothing, that's significant. I know that saving $220 a month wont makes me wealthy, but I believe the true value is in the habit.
Check with me in 5 years and I'll let you know how it has worked out for me.
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