Days since my release from 26 years in prison: 9
Time I woke: 5:00 am
Journal of activities:

I had a busy day in Los Angeles today. I woke at 5:00 am with an intention of exercising in the hotel gym. Unfortunately, I soon found out that I did not have running shoes in my luggage. On top of that, the pool did not open until 10:00 am, by which time I was scheduled to be long gone.

My partner, Justin, picked me up at the hotel at 8:45. We drove to Beverly Hills for a meeting with Bruce Karatz, a successful businessman who has an interest in reforming our nation’s criminal justice system. After visiting in his extraordinary office, Justin and I sat to strategize for our next meeting in another section of town. We drove to South Central Los Angeles for a meeting at a center that handles many high-risk offenders who’ve been released from prison. The purpose of our meeting was to make a presentation the value our program could add to preparing more offenders for law-abiding, contributing lives. We found a true believer in Valerie Ross, a leader of the Los Angeles County efforts to reform offenders into law-abiding citizens. She asked us to provide her with a price list for our products and services so that she could make the request for a purchase. Selling to a government agencies can take a while. Our meeting with Ms. Ross gave us hope that we will succeed in securing a purchase order that could expose our Straight-A Guide reentry product to thousands of offenders. I then gave a spirited presentation to a group of 50 high-risk offenders.

After leaving the county agency, Justin and I drove to the Boys and Girls Club in Venice for a meeting with Armondo Diaz, who serves as a leader of the club. We spoke implementing our program there so that 60 students would have opportunities to learn from the Straight-A Guide. We left with a commitment for our first purchase order. It’s very exciting. As we walked out, Armondo gave us a tour of the facility and we found several students and staff who had already been using our books as a teaching resources.

Today was a great day for the Straight-A Guide program.

Exercise Routine-

• Time: 0
• Lenght of time: 0
• Miles run today: 0
• Weather: Beautiful and sunny in Los Angles today
• Consecutive days: 0
• Cumulative miles since day off: 0
• Pushups today: 0
• Cumulative pushups for month: 0
• Annual marathon tally: 6

Gratitude prayer:

I’m grateful to God for every blessing in my life. Carole and I woke together in Los Angeles this morning, and I moved into the world fully transitioned from prisoner to salesman for our Straight-A Guide program. I felt inspired speaking to different audiences, eager to spread the message of self-empowerment. I’m a big believer that God helps those who help themselves.

Appointments:

Bruce Karatz. Valerie Ross. Armondo Diaz. Justin Paperny. Jesse Bonderman.

Links to publications: