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Often covering the nervousnessand fear generally felt by those of us who've been released is invigorated confidence & expectations. We come out feeling that we have an edge over others. After all, the time helped us think if better ideas than them, the separation from free life allowed us to attain more focus than them & the experience left us stronger & with more insight than them. But if you believe any of that your're a dumb ass.

We tend to let our relatively limited worldliness & social circles confine our understanding of people. However, we can't judge the quantity of anything as it compares to our friends, our former selves & experiences or especially, the cats that surrounded us in prison. I cannot emphasize enough how many not only equally smart, tough & determined but credentialed, well recommended & criminal record free people there are plans identical to or better than ourd.

Success requires that we do not delude ourselves about both the competition & our abilties. Unfortunnately, we may vary well have to play catch up for some time, which, particularly for us, means we almostdefinitely will have to start at the bottom. Fortunately, however, wehave a lot to gain from this.

So much of success, of fulfilling ambition, comes from who we know, & so many of the greatest relationships start in the most basic, unexciting places, such as menial jobs. But we will surely miss these life-changing unexpected opportunities if we holdthe baseless 7 illogical idea that things ought to be easier or better. Why miss potential diamonnds while waiting for gold?

Just as a fun house mirror affects our vision, prison has a way of distorting what our minds see. We begin to confuse hopes & dreams for some authoritive script describing our future. However, there is no such thing as should be: there is only what was, what is & what will be, and we do nothing more than surrender our chances at what will be when we continue to live in prison dreams instead of reality. (If you don't believe me, ask or read about successful people who didn't grow up provilaged; the willingness & patience to start anywhare & any how-legally, of course - is key.)

Ultimtately, no matter how boring or frustrating, first steps are just that, a temporary bridge to something loftier. So get in whre you can, embrace your secind (or third, or fourth, etc) chance & keep your eyes & mind open for the next step.

Remember: just because we see clearer doessn't mean the path ahead suddenly is as well.