Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.
-Mark Twain
I had a conversation recently with an inmate named Jay the other day where I explained to him that I was writing this blog. He responded with a resounding “Why?” Here is how the rest of the conversation went:
Me: It’s a way for me to tell my story, not necessarily what got me here, but how I got through it and to be able to help others.
Jay: That’s non-sense man. We’re here against our will. The man put us here and there is no way I’m giving anything back after dealing with this.
Me: We’re here because of our actions. It’s conscious decisions that we made that landed us here. Now it’s up to you what you want to make of it
Jay: I’m not doing anything for anyone. You know why? Cause ain’t nobody doing anything for me.
The mentality of Jay unfortunately is a common one. It’s called Crabs in the Bucket Syndrome – where the goal is to bring down others rather then lifting them up and out of the bucket. You’ve heard me say it before and I’ll say it again: It’s all about perspective. Every situation can be viewed in one of two ways: an opportunity or a chore. It is up to you on how you want to approach it. Repetition is the master skill. And for you to be able to consciously flip a negative situation into a positive one, you will have to continue to refine your ability to find opportunities in times of despair. Otherwise you risk falling into the trap that Jay is in and taking others along with you.
I will admit, Jay did provoke me a bit into asking why I am writing this blog? Here is my answer to that outlined it four neat bullet points:
1) Help and inspire others
2) Document my journey
3) Sow seeds with society
4) Challenge myself to emerge a smarter and stronger individual
Regardless of how you came across my website, I hope that the time that you are investing in reading this can help you in some way, shape, or form. One thing that I’ve learned is you might not be able to save the world, but you can change one person’s life, and by doing so you are saving that person’s world. And that is why I am writing this blog.