The first day of the year has always filled me with hope. As we begin 2025, I feel more optimistic than ever.
Why? Because my wife, Carole, and I are accelerating a transition we envisioned at the end of 2023. Around that time, we were preparing to celebrate my 60th birthday and talking about how we wanted to devote the rest of our lives to making an impact.
To accomplish that goal, I restructured the businesses I’d been building since getting out of prison. This shift meant stepping away from any consumer-facing, transactional work. Fortunately, my partner, Justin Paperny, could take the reins of a website I started when I was released. Free from those responsibilities, I focused on growing the Prison Professors Charitable Corporation and creating a new website to expand our mission.
Through collaborations with other nonprofits—like the Edovo Foundation—we already reach more than a million people in jails and prisons. Our content highlights the link between decisions people make while incarcerated and their future prospects upon reentering society. Yet our work doesn’t stop there. The people in prison already recognize the need for reform. We also want to inform citizens, stakeholders, and influential leaders about the power of incentivizing excellence and fostering hope for people behind bars. Such policies make our country a better place for everyone.
Lack of Hope in Prison
All too often, the prison environment obliterates hope. Many incarcerated individuals hear a constant refrain:
- Nothing matters but the time they’re serving.
- No one cares about life after release.
- If they can’t do the time, they shouldn’t commit the crime.
Despite occasional platitudes about changing one’s life, policies often discourage growth, obstruct family relationships, and thwart self-directed release plans. While serving my sentence, I drew inspiration from leaders like Nelson Mandela, Viktor Frankl, Mahatma Gandhi, and Frederick Douglass—people who learned to see beyond their immediate struggles and work toward goals bigger than themselves.
By investing in personal-development projects, I learned to think differently. The prison system would do what it does; I had to do what I did.
Changing the Way I Thought
That mindset shift changed my life. Upon release, I was prepared to build successful businesses and recalibrate when inevitable challenges arose. Now, I’m committed to showing others that they can do the same.
Unfortunately, many people in prison have never learned how personal development ties directly to success upon release. They need to see evidence that better decisions can lead to better outcomes. It’s never too early—or too late—to begin thinking like the CEO of one’s own life. That process starts with following a path the great leaders taught me:
- Define success.
- Set clear goals that align with that definition of success.
- Come up with a plan.
- Establish priorities.
- Develop tools, tactics, and resources that move the plan forward.
- Create accountability metrics to measure progress.
- Make adjustments as necessary.
- Execute the plan every day.
Renewing My Pledge
In 2025, I renew a personal pledge to this community:
- I’ll never ask anyone to do anything I’m not doing myself.
- I’ll always be truthful.
- I’ll never charge anyone a penny.
The website I’m creating—and the comprehensive strategy I’m building—will be tools to make a global impact, to build a great life with Carole, and to prove worthy of the love and support I’ve received from so many.
SMART Goals for 2025
This year, I’m setting three specific, measurable, action-oriented, realistic, and time-sensitive goals:
- Lose 25 pounds to reach my weight of 172—the same as when I left prison.
- Build our Bitcoin portfolio to at least 25 coins.
- Run a 25-mile distance (or better) at least once during the year.
- Write 25 book reviews to share what I learned from reading.
- Endurance: Run 2,500 miles in 2025.
These goals inspire me to keep pushing myself, both mentally and physically.
Your Turn
What goals will accelerate your path to success, as you define it?
I encourage you to set and pursue your own SMART goals, preparing yourself for a life of meaning, contribution, and fulfillment—even if you face obstacles along the way.
