The Straight-A Guide requires each person to live deliberately. We can learn about what it means to live deliberately by studying business leaders. For example, I served my sentence during the era of computer growth. To stay current, I read about business leaders like Andy Grove and Gordon Moore. They founded Intel.
In the mid-1980s, Intel faced a hard truth. Japanese competitors pressured Intel’s memory-chip business with better quality and lower costs. Andy Grove and Gordon Moore did not respond with denial or nostalgia. They studied the signal, not the noise. They recognized a strategic inflection point and made a disciplined pivot toward microprocessors. That awareness—of competitors, margins, and the direction of demand—saved the company and positioned it to lead a new era of computing. They did not “work harder” at the wrong mission. They saw reality early enough to change course and win.
Awareness means you deliberately track every opportunity and constraint that can strengthen your candidacy for the highest level of success, as you define it.
Being aware is super important to anyone in prison. Because prisons can obliterate hope. Programs open and close. Policies shift. Staff rotate. People form opinions based on patterns they observe.
If a person doesn’t focus, the person will miss opportunities. Through our programs, we encourage people to focus on developing. Consider your reading list, your writing goals, your daily routine. Are they advancing you as a candidate for higher levels of success?
If not, perhaps the time has come to change your adjustment.
Awareness turns your accountability log into a strategy tool. Leaders don’t track output for fun. They want to measure outputs against the real-world levers that influence decisions: risk reduction, program completion, verified service, skill development, stable conduct, and credible community ties.
In your life, do the same thing. Stay aware of steps you can take to advance your life, even if you’re living in an environment that obliterates hope. Consider the following questions:
What opportunities exist right now that match my plan?
What decision-makers will review my record, and what do they value?
What can I document this month that will still matter next year?
While I served my sentence, awareness meant treating the prison environment like a landscape with moving parts. I studied how decisions were made. I watched for every opening to build a stronger record: education, writing, service, and relationships. When an obstacle blocked one route, my awareness of the environment could help me find another route. I could always focus on the result that I wanted, as defined in Earning Freedom: Conquering a 45-Year Prison Term.
Many people inside react to whatever happens in the unit—arguments, rumors, conflicts, distractions. Being aware of the environment can help to separate signals from noise. Identify which conversations strengthen your profile and which ones weaken it. Choose proximity to people who respect discipline and distance from people who recruit others into excuses.
Build an “awareness system” you can run weekly. Keep it simple, written, and verifiable.
Track opportunities like an operator.
Maintain a one-page list of programs, work assignments, volunteer roles, education options, and reentry resources available at your facility.
Update it monthly. Record dates, eligibility rules, and who to contact.
Track policy and timeline like a case manager would.
Keep a calendar of deadlines: program application windows, unit team dates, review dates, release planning milestones, and any personal targets tied to your goals.
Write the next action step beside each date.
Track people and proof.
Maintain a contact log: staff you interact with, mentors, volunteers, educators, and family supporters.
For each, record the specific proof they can verify (course completion, service hours, work performance, written projects, mentorship participation).
Track risk and perception.
Identify the predictable situations that could damage your record—conflicts, debt, contraband exposure, toxic associations.
Write a preventive rule you will follow and a response plan you will execute.
Self-Directed Questions
Use these prompts to build measurable documentation of awareness:
What are the three most relevant opportunities available to me right now (program, job, education, service), and what exact eligibility requirements must I meet for each?
What policy, memo, or institutional rule have I reviewed this month that affects my pathway (program access, discipline, housing, work, release planning)? What notes did I write, and where are they stored?
What is my next 30-day “opportunity calendar”? List the dates that matter and the specific action I will take before each date.
What is one relationship I strengthened this month that can be verified (mentor, teacher, volunteer, supervisor)? What documented output will that person be able to confirm?
What did I observe this week that signals risk to my plan (environment, people, conflict patterns), and what preventive decision did I make in response?
What proof did I produce this month that connects directly to release readiness (certificate, work evaluation, service log, written project, reading report, curriculum outline)? Where is it archived?
If a judge, probation officer, or employer reviewed my record today, what would they see that proves I stay alert, adjust intelligently, and keep building?
What will I do next week to convert awareness into action—one application submitted, one request made, one deliverable completed, one support letter requested, or one documented service contribution logged?