Earning Freedom With Michael Santos

4. Real Estate Purchase When I returned to society, in August of 2012, our nation was starting to emerge from the worst recession in our lifetime. In 2008 the stock market and the real estate market began to implode. Credit dried up. Housing prices fell to historic lows. By the fall of 2012, however, the economy looked poised to rebound. Carole and I wanted to participate in the potential upside. To profit from an anticipated market rebound, I knew that Carole and I would need to control a larger asset base. If we could purchase a large asset, like a house, when prices were still relatively low, our equity would increase if housing prices recovered. Both of us wanted to purchase real estate. Our challenge was that we did not have sufficient credit to qualify for a house purchase in the conventional manner. We would need to create an alternative strategy. Fortunately, the seeds we began sowing prior to my release would help. What were those seeds? We began with a vision of what we wanted. We set a plan. And w

Establishing Credit: With a driver’s license, a job, and a paycheck, I had to begin building a banking relationship. After I received my first paycheck, I went to Bank of America and opened an account. Charles had told me that I could not apply for credit until after I completed my obligation to the Bureau of Prisons. So I opened a checking account and a savings account. Just to check, I authorized the banker to run a credit report on me. We learned that I had a 0-0-0 credit score. He asked how a person of my age could proceed through life without accumulating a credit score—good or bad. The banker listened with interest as I told him that I’d just concluded 25 years in custody and that I was living in a halfway house. That conversation opened another opportunity for me to tell the story of my journey, another opportunity for me to influence a potential source of support. Many people emerge from prison and try to hide their past. I don’t make a judgment on how much information an individual should reveal. In

Steve Jobs: Mastermind As Steve Jobs, another mastermind said, “Good artists copy ideas, but great artists steal ideas.” To prepare for success, I copied ideas from the most successful masterminds I could find, whether they lived thousands of years ago or whether they served time alongside me in federal prison. Regardless of where you are today, you have masterminds around you. Question yourself on how your actions and choices influence they way those masterminds perceive you. If they perceive you as being worthy of their time, you will find that they will want to invest in you. I cannot recall how many people invested time, energy, and resources in my success, even though I did not know them prior to my imprisonment. They saw me as being authentic and they wanted to help. I found that I could “will” avatars into my life who would invest in my future. And if I could do that while serving 26 years as a prisoner, then just think what you can do! Some of the people who invested in me along the way include the fo

Prison to Society That initial meeting with my case manager, Charles, went well. Why? The roots for that successful meeting extended way back to the 1980s, when I was still locked inside of the Pierce County Jail. Recap? While in my cell I read about Socrates. From his story, I learned the importance of living for something greater than myself. Instead of dwelling on the challenges that had come from my own decisions, I could empower myself by thinking about others. Through Socratic questioning, I could learn the relationship between my decisions and the ways that others would perceive me. With that insight, I began contemplating people like Charles—case managers and probation officers—before my judge even imposed my 45-year sentence. They were my avatars. By thinking about what they would expect, I could create plans to influence their perceptions. Then, by executing those plans every day of my sentence, I believed that I could influence a better outcome upon release. Some readers may be familiar with the so

Who are your avatars? What would they expect of you? In what ways are the decisions you’re making today leading you closer to earning support tomorrow?   Chapter 3: Transition from Federal Prison to a Halfway House By 3:00 am, on August 12, 2012, I was up and ready to start my exercise inside the federal prison in Atwater, California. It would be my last day locked inside of a prison. I had 9,135 days of imprisonment behind me, just over 25 years. Carole was scheduled to pick me up at 9:00 am. Together we’d drive to a halfway house in the Tenderloin District of downtown San Francisco, where I’d serve the next 365 days—completing my 9,500-day journey as a federal prisoner. I walked through gates that separated the minimum-security camp from the penitentiary so officers could process me out. A staff member handed me a few hundred dollars in cash from my account and indicated that I’d receive a check for the remainder. That was it. I walked outside and met Carole. She wore a yellow dress with a yellow ribbon t

Prison Release to California: As we approached the end of my term, we had to figure out where we wanted to live. When a man served longer than a quarter century, he didn’t really have roots anywhere. We chose California because I’d built a strong support network that would be easier to leverage from a large state. Further, California was a big market and the state had some significant problems with its prison system. Since we wanted to live in a place that offered the best opportunity, California seemed perfect. Besides the opportunity, I liked the weather. I had another reason to choose California as the place where Carole and I would begin our life together. Toward the end of my sentence I met Justin Paperny, a former stockbroker who served a relatively brief sentence for violating securities laws. We became friends. Justin’s conviction meant that he would need to create a new career for himself upon release. At the time, in 2008, the nation’s economy was sinking. I used Socratic questioning to help Justin

How to Earn Freedom Individuals who aspire to succeed always follow that pattern. Those who reach their highest potential follow the pattern in sports, in business, in politics, in marriage, and in any area of life where they want to excel. They always know where they are and they know where they’re going. They create plans, strategies, and make decisions in accordance with those plans and strategies. In order to build a career around my journey, I needed to craft my own products and services that would communicate that message. With that end in mind, I began writing specific books. I wrote Earning Freedom: Conquering a 45-Year Prison Term to show people who were going through the criminal justice system the exact path that empowered me through the decades I served in every security level. That book provides the many details that I left out in this synopsis of my journey. Earning Freedom would show readers the day of my arrest, on August 11, 1987, until the day that I transitioned to a halfway house, on Augus

Reviewing Books   Date I read the book: Why did I choose to read this book? What did I learn from reading this book? How will this book contribute to my prospects for success upon release? By adhering to that strategy, I read with a deliberate purpose. Every decision had a direct connection to the success that I was determined to become. There were opportunity costs and risks associated with every decision. Since I knew that many people placed a high value on where they positioned their seat in the movie room, or whether they had the authority to change a channel, I avoided television rooms. In fact, every decision I made in prison began with a question. If I choose to watch television, will that decision advance or hinder my prospects for success upon release? If I play organized sports, will that decision advance or hinder my prospects for success upon release? If I play table games, will that decision advance or hinder my prospects for success upon release? If I associate with one person or another, wil

Publishing From Prison The first step would be to write a book proposal. Then I would need to write sample chapters. Next, I would need to write a cover letter and begin sending self-addressed-stamped envelopes to literary agents. My research showed that if I could persuade a literary agent to represent me, the literary agent would connect with publishing houses. If editors who worked at the publishing house liked my book, the editor would issue a contract to bring my book to market. It wouldn’t be easy. But prison had conditioned me to deal with rejection. The book proposal itself required about 30 pages of writing. Sample chapters added another 30 pages. Postage and copy costs would be too high if I were to send the entire package to scores of publishers. I needed a more economical way. Instead of sending the full book-proposal package, I leveraged off of my earlier work. First, I identified 100 literary agents. Then I wrote a query letter that described my background, my educational credentials, my publi

Sentenced to 45-Years: Now I have a question for readers. If you could influence someone, who would you want to influence? What do you know about that person? In what ways would influencing that person change your life? What steps could you take today to influence that person? My judge chose not to impose a life sentence. Instead, he sentenced me to 45 years. I was sentenced under a different set of laws than the sentencing laws that exist today. Under the laws that existed for crimes committed in 1987, I could earn 19-years worth of good-time credits. For readers who don’t know about good time, they’re rewards for avoiding disciplinary infractions. A prisoner didn’t need to do anything particularly good to earn good time. He simply needed to avoid being convicted of violating disciplinary infractions. So long as I didn’t lose any good time during my journey through prison, I would satisfy my sentence after 26 years of imprisonment. Since I was 23-years-old when authorities took me into custody, I didn’t quit

Success After PrisonI’m Michael Santos and I’m typing this manuscript on an awesome Mac Pro computer. When I served my sentence, I had to write all of my manuscripts by hand. Now I’m addicted to Apple products and word processors. These tools allow me to write much more efficiently, but I no longer have the time that was available to me while I was in prison. Again, that’s why I won’t devote hundreds of hours to editing this manuscript. At least for this draft, what you see is what you get. I started typing this manuscript on Saturday morning, December 4, 2015. I don’t know how long it will take for me to finish, but I’m going to do my best to finish a solid draft before the end of this year. Why? Well, it may seem strange, but I’m scheduled to visit the United States Penitentiary in Atwater on January 8, 2016. After speaking at a judicial conference in Sacramento that I wrote about in the introduction, I had a conversation with Warden Andre Matevousian. He extended an open invitation for me to return to Atwa

Success After Prison!How I Built Assets Worth $1 million Within Two Years of Release from 26 Years Inside (And How You Can Succeed, Too)My name is Michael Santos and I’m writing this book in a conversational style, wanting to share the story of my return to society after 26 years as a prisoner. This book isn’t about prison. It’s about overcoming struggle, or more precisely, about strategies I used to overcome challenges associated with long-term confinement. I’m convinced that we all face struggles or challenges at some point. Anyone can use the same strategies that empowered me to conquer struggle in their life. I’m sure of it. Before I get into the strategies, let me explain why I’m writing this book so soon after finishing my prison sentence. Judge Charles Pyle, a federal judge from Arizona reached out to me in early 2015. I didn’t know Judge Pyle, but he had heard about my journey and my work to improve outcomes for people who’ve been to prison. The judge and his team were coordinating the Ninth Circuit J

John Odermatt is the host of Felony Fridays, a podcast that appears each Friday on the Lion's of Liberty Show. I'm happy to feature an interview that John did with me yesterday on his show. Also, I urge people to visit Lions of Liberty and Felony Friday. They work together to bring more awareness to injustices within our justice system.

Andrew Crowe started getting in trouble with the criminal justice system when he was a child. He served longer than a year in custody when he was 14. Then he made a series of bad decisions that brought him through various jails and prisons on more than 15 separate occasions. After serving a four-year term, he managed to stay free for 20 years--but not because he wasn't violating crimes. Andrew just avoided getting caught. Recently, he was released after serving a lengthy period of time in prison. Andrew discusses how his adjustment in prison is contributing to his prospects for success upon release.   Help spread the word on why we should reform our prison system by subscribing, rating, and reviewing the Earning Freedom podcast on iTunes. Click this link to subscribe, rate, and review.  

I received a message from Ambassador Mounouni Dieguimde. Somehow, he had found the Earning Freedom podcast. Stories of other people who overcame challenges with the criminal justice system inspired him. He told me how authorities once targeted him for a bribery offense and charged him in federal court. Despite those charges, he has risen to become a successful leader. He is now an ambassador representing multiple West African countries. Listen to his story on Earning Freedom.

Christina McDowell led a charmed life before authorities arrested her father, a prominent securities lawyer. As a consequence of her father's misdeeds, Christina found her life in total disarray. She was a freshman in college. Yet her father had taken out credit in her name, leaving her with more than $100k in debt. She had to drop out of school and join the workforce. In today's podcast, she discusses her strategy for overcoming. She authored a best selling book: After Perfect Now Christina works toward the building of a better society. Contact her at the following locations: ChristinaMcDowell.com Christina.McDowell1016@yahoo.com  

Jimmy Hamilton served 30 years in federal prison. While incarcerated, he made a decision to live a life of meaning and relevance. He educated himself, earning a university degree. Jimmy's successful adjustment resulted in his being transferred to lower-security prisons. While confined at a federal medical center in Lexington, Jimmy provided hospice care to dying prisoners. His life shows that regardless of what bad decisions an individual has made in the past, it's never too early and it's never too late to begin preparing for success.

Life in Prison, Episode 2 Authorities convicted Jimmy Hamilton of a serious crime when he was 20. As a consequence of a conviction for murder, a judge sentenced Jimmy to life in prison. He began serving his sentence in high security penitentiaries. While serving a life sentence, Jimmy transformed his thoughts and adjustment. Those decisions he made while serving his life sentence resulted in his being transferred to lower-security prisons. He talks about how opportunities opened as he moved into a better environment.

Life in Prison, Episode 1 Jimmy Hamilton went to prison with a life sentence when he was 20 years old. Initially, he adjusted to the ways of the high security penitentiary. He engaged in misbehavior, used drugs, participated in violence. Then, an encounter with his grandmother resulted in his change. Jimmy tells his story on episode 1 of a multi-episode series about returning to society after a life sentence.

Marisa Feil is an immigration attorney in Montreal. She has a specialty practice that serves people with felony backgrounds in the United States. If those individuals want to travel to Canada, they need to coordinate permission from Canadian authorities. Marisa and her team have built a practice to help. In today's podcast, Marisa talks about challenges individuals with felony backgrounds must overcome if they want to obtain permission to travel to Canada. Ideally, those people will have completed their prison and probation sentence. They also will have achieved a number of accomplishments that will reflect the individual's commitment to live as a law-abiding life. Listen to Marisa's episode on Earning Freedom if you have a felony background and you want to learn how to position yourself for permission to travel to Canada. You may contact Marisa at the following locations: Info@FWCanada.com duicanadaentry.com Canadianimmigration.net FWCanada.com Twitter: @fwcanada