Release Plan Excellence

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Build an Iterative Release Plan

When authorities arrested me in 1987, the only thing I wanted was to get out. But my wishes didn’t matter. The system was set to put me through its process, and my lack of preparation didn’t help. I spent the first year in solitary confinement, without knowledge or a plan to guide me.

Instead of creating a release plan, I allowed my defense attorney to carve out the path. A good release plan would have considered my strengths, my weaknesses, my opportunities, and the threats against me.

Without knowing anything about a release plan, or how to develop a release plan, I made one bad decision after another. Despite knowing that I had committed the crime of cocaine trafficking, I proceeded through trial. A jury convicted me, and a federal judge sentenced me to serve a 45-year sentence.

Those are the kinds of bad outcomes we get when we don't know how to make an effective release plan, or to develop the first release plan we build. The release plan should be iterative, growing and evolving over time.

When building a release plan, think about the result that you're striving to achieve. The plan itself is only part of the process. From leaders, I've learned that we all can be far more successful when we become the master of the plan, adjusting as necessary, always with a focus on the result that we want to achieve.

If you’re facing challenges from the criminal justice system, or trying to recover from some other type of setback, build a plan. Make that plan strategic, with an aim of getting the result that you're after. Below I'll offer some suggestions on how to create and develop an effective plan.

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What Is a Release Plan?

Your release plan should advance you along the path that you're determined to build, one that will lead you through the crisis and on to the other side of the journey.  Think of all the challenges that you're going to face along the way, and then think about the strategies you must use to conquer those challenges.

I began building my release plan while I was in solitary confinement. A jury had convicted me, but a judge hadn't yet sentenced me. I had already passed more than eight or nine months in solitary, and I had a lot of time to read. One book I read was by the ancient author, Homer, called the Odyssey.  In this epic poem, the main character, Odysseus, faces incredible challenges on his journey home after the Trojan War. Despite facing obstacles such as sea monsters, gods and goddesses, and temptations from beautiful women, Odysseus remains focused on returning to his homeland.

As I read about Odysseus's struggles and triumphs, I realized that my own journey was not so different. Just like him, I was going through a long and difficult journey that tested my resilience and determination. And just like Odysseus, I needed a plan to guide me through the challenges ahead.

So I began crafting my own "Odyssey," mapping out each step that, I believed, would lead to the highest level of liberty, at the soonest possible time. From Socrates, a philosopher who lived more than 2,500 years ago, I learned how to question my plan. Instead of thinking how it would serve my interests, I thought about the people who would have influence over my life.

• What would the judge consider when sentencing me?
• What would prison administrators consider once I got to prison?
• What would I have in common with every other person in prison?
• What could I do to differentiate myself from every other person in prison?
• Who could influence my prospects for a higher level of liberty, at the soonest possible time?
• What would my life be like once I got out?
• How would I earn a living with the reality of my conviction and lengthy prison term?

Those were just some of the questions I asked when I began engineering my plan. The plan would have to help me overcome all the objections that I expected to find. At some point, I would want to show the progress I made, and persuade people to see and judge me for the way I responded to the problems I created rather than for the bad decisions that led me to prison. I had gone to trial, a jury convicted me, and a judge would sentence me. I could not change those facts. But I could change how I responded, and that would influence prospects for a brighter future.

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Why You Need an Iterative Plan

Success requires intentional decisions and actions. The plan you create will become integral to the results you experience:

• It provides direction: Helps you define what success looks like at various stages of the journey.
• It provides proof of work: It shows the work you put in to develop your life story and overcome the challenges that put you in crisis.
• It builds credibility: Documenting your progress shows others, including potential employers or decision-makers, that you’re capable of confronting a problem, and engineering a solution that gets the result you want.
• It puts you in control: Instead of passively waiting for your circumstances to change, you take actionable steps to improve your future.

When I wrote my release plan, I focused on three objectives that I intended to advance during my first 10 years that I spent in prison:

1. Earning academic credentials to educate myself.
2. Contributing meaningfully to society.
3. Building a robust support network to prepare for life after confinement.

That plan became my compass to guide me through the first decade. With the plan, I could measure progress and exceed expectations. As I developed the plan, more people began to believe in me. They began to advocate for me, opening more opportunities to accelerate progress and move me closer to the result I wanted. I couldn't control when I got out of prison, but I could control how hard I worked. By committing to the plan, making adjustments as necessary, and creating new plans, in time, I got the outcome I wanted. As Mick Jagger sang, we can't always get what we want, but if we try sometimes, we just might find, we get what we need.

What result will your plan deliver?

The result that my plan will deliver is success. By setting specific goals, creating a plan and consistently working towards it with determination and perseverance, I could achieve the results that I set out to achieve. Since I could show the iterative plans that guided me from a solitary cell to prosperity, I built credibility. The iterative plans showed that hard work pays off and can lead to positive results. We'll always find more opportunities in the future than in the past, but only if we architect good plans, and continue to develop those plans.

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Steps to Develop Your Release Plan

Define Success:

What does success look like to you? Is it financial stability, meaningful work, strong relationships, or contributing to your community? Be specific. Instead of vague goals like “become a better person,” articulate measurable objectives such as earning a degree, learning a trade, or rebuilding relationships with your family.

Example: While serving my sentence, I set clear goals around education and writing. I promised myself I’d complete a college degree and get published—and I did both. Those plans opened many more opportunities, only because the release plans helped others to see me as something different from the criminal charge and conviction. They saw me as someone who could navigate crisis and emerge successfully, unscathed by the complications of a 45-year prison term.

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Assess Your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT)

Take a hard look at where you’re starting. Ask yourself:

• Strengths – What skills, resources, or experiences can you leverage?
• Weaknesses – What gaps in knowledge or behavior do you need to address?
• Opportunities – Where can you grow or stand out?
• Threats – What obstacles could hold you back, and how will you overcome them?

Your SWOT analysis will serve as a reality check, helping you identify the tools and strategies you’ll need to move forward. Don't think of how you see yourself. Think about the people who will have influence over your future. What will they want to see in your plan?

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Build Your Strategic Blueprint

Being the CEO of your life means thinking strategically. Break your goal into actionable steps:

• If you want to find work post-release, you might start by laying out your plan.
• Describe how your plan will change in the weeks, months, and years ahead..
• If you want to mend relationships, commit to honest communication and consistent effort.

Define specific milestones and deadlines. For example:

• “By Month 6, I’ll complete an online course in financial literacy.”
• “By Month 12, I’ll save $5,000 and attend three networking events.”

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Execute With Daily Action

The grandest plan means nothing without daily effort. Identify habits or small steps you can incorporate into your routine to move closer to your goals.

Here’s how I applied this:

• Education: I spent hours studying each day, ultimately earning a bachelor’s and master’s degree while incarcerated. And I consistently memorialized the journey, showing how I was working to Earn Freedom.
• Contribution: I began writing books and mentoring others, which helped me build both credibility and confidence. It showed people that I could engineer a pathway to success, and the books made the progress undeniable that I stuck to the plan I laid out while in solitary confinement.
• Networking: Even from a prison cell, I reached out to potential mentors through letters, eventually secure connections that would influence my future. The plan led to my bringing many influential leaders into my life, as evidenced by the board of directors in our nonprofit, and the people who partnered with me.

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Hold Yourself Accountable

If you don’t track your progress, you won’t know what’s working and what needs adjustment. Create a system for accountability:

• Keep a journal documenting your daily actions and milestones.
• Publish your journal by building a profile on Prison Professors Talent.
• Start your profile by publishing your initial release plan, then show how you work toward developing the plan with daily or weekly journal entries.
• Regularly review your progress against your goals.
• Invite others to review your profile, and to leave testimonials on your profile so that others can see the growth you're making.

By documenting my progress, I persuaded people of influence to believe in me. The written plans  helped me build massive support, which led to the highest level of liberty at the soonest possible time, and helped me become financially independent, despite the decades I served in prison.

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A Release Plan in Action

My release plan didn’t  end with my release from incarceration. As shown on our various websites, I continued to document my work since getting out of prison. The record shows how I co-founded businesses, wrote books, and worked to influence others, by showing the strategies that I learned from leaders. Success doesn't happen by accident. We've got to plan for it, and we have to execute our plans every day.

It’s worth noting that a release plan isn’t a magic pill. It requires work—daily, consistent effort. Expect others to dismiss your plan. They likely do not recognize the pathway to success. Live as the CEO of your life, making a commitment, building the bridge that will take you from crisis to prosperity.

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Self-Directed Questions:

• What’s your plan? Take time today to answer this question. Write it out, reflect on your goals, and get started. If you don't know how to write a good release plan or how to develop, then simply review my plan and use it as an example. Review the daily blogs. Review the founder page. Look at my profile on Prison Professors Talent. The lessons we offer will prompt you to work toward your highest potential. And you can use those plans to get the result you want.

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