On January 19th, 1999 I did some cocaine and overdosed. From what they tell me, I was dead and everything. As a direct result of that incident, I was sentenced to 2 years in a maximum security prison in Texas. Everything is fun and games, until you realize you’re losing the one thing you can never get back. TIME
Prison was nothing like what I expected it to be. Nothing like they portray it in the movies. I’ve had the unfortunate experience of seeing the inside of over a dozen different maximum security prisons. I guess it’s like anything else, the experience is what you make of it.
In 1999 I was a scrawny white boy who weighed 140 pounds soaking wet. I was about to experience hate and racism on a level most people living in today’s times will never face. I knew that I had to create some habits that would keep me alive during the stint.
Coincidentally, since I’ve been released from prison, some of the habits I created have served me really well in the business world. Some of them have just created more haters and enemies for me. I’m not scared of haters or enemies though. I’ve been locked in the same cage with over 1000 people who wanted to kill me, (read my book) I’m not really scared of anything.
Sometimes people ask me a question on what motivates me or how I stay focused and they freak out when I tell them I learned from going to prison. If you can motivate yourself in the darkest hour, you can motivate yourself anytime you need it. When there’s nothing around to distract you, you learn to focus.
Here’s a list of 5 habits I formed from going to prison that have helped me crush it in business
1: Assuming Everyone Is Out To Get Me
The first day I was in prison I learned a tough lesson. I got my ass kicked really bad. I didn’t know the rules and no one tells you what to expect because no one on the outside admits to going, and if they did go, they don’t talk about it. Until this experience, I always assumed everyone was cool until they aren’t. Prison taught me to assume the opposite.
Assuming that everyone is out to get me has served me well in business. It’s allowed me to look at each person on a worst case scenario. “What if they steal my idea? What if they do deals behind my back? How would I handle that?” Using questions like these to rationalize what could go bad. This way, I’m ready if it happens and if it never does, no big deal.
2: Creating A Schedule and Sticking To It
When you’re locked up, you learn to do the same things at the same time each day. It’s the best way to pass your time. The old school convicts will tell you to set a schedule and do your time task by task, day by day. When you focus on a schedule and a task, time passes. My schedule included reading, exercising and working in the field.
After two years of sticking to a strict schedule, I learned how to transfer this over in the real world. These days I rarely do anything off schedule. Every morning when I wake up, I look at my calendar on my phone. I continue to do so all day, checking off task by task, until the end of the day. I look at my calendar before I go to sleep to double check that all my tasks are complete. I live my life by a tight schedule thanks to prison.
3: Waking Up Early
When I was locked up, I was always hungry. First chow came at :430am and first bell was at 4am. Seven days a week. Until prison, I hated waking up early. If I was going to eat, I had to get up. I was starving, so I was going to eat. After I wake up, I can’t just go back to bed. I’m up. It’s too late at that point. After two years of waking up at four AM like clockwork, it just stuck with me.
Waking up at 4am allows me to get work done while others are asleep. From 5am to 7am is my quiet time. It’s when I write my books, blog posts and do my most creative work. No one is up to distract me and get my attention. I can get all my tasks done with focus and before the sun comes up.
4: Being Transparent
In prison you wear the same clothes, eat the same food and take a dump right next to each other. It is what it is. You learn to become one of two people. The type that’s a fast talking weasel or you become transparent. I choose to be real. To be up front about what I felt and to face my confrontations. If you do something dumb or tell a lie in prison, there’s no where to run. I found it easier to just be honest.
Being honest is a rare quality in today’s time. Most people respect me for being so open about everything. Much like being on the inside, I have nowhere or nothing to hide. It’s just easier for me to tell it like it is and face the consequences than it is to try and BS my way through something. I’d rather just get the hard conversations out of the way up front.
5: Abstinence
Going without sex for two years is no joke. My right forearm was def getting worked out more than my left. You don’t realize how important sex and touching the opposite sex are to your happiness. You’ll dream about it night and day. Going without sex and denying a basic human need is horrible. It’s the worst thing I’ve had to cope with.
Once you’ve learned to go without sex for long periods of time, you hold power. Not only over yourself but over others too. You see, they need something you don’t. Even though the business you may be doing with them has nothing to do with sex, they still don’t know what it is to go without. I’ve gone without sex for two years, I can go without someone’s business or new account.
I could probably list 20 more habits but you need to get back to work now, there’s no need to spend an hour reading about my habits from going to prison. In all seriousness, if you’d like to develop habits, you can start by developing the daily habit of listening to an audio each day from my www.showupandclose.com program. “An audio a day keeps a Closer collecting pay”.
Lastly, if you’d like to have a serious sales conversation with my team about how my expertise can help you exponentially grow your business with advertising, marketing and a sales system, simply scroll down and fill out the form below. Be specific and be ready to make an investment in yourself.
