Through Justin I met Scott Budnick. Through Scott Budnick, I met Chris Redlitz. And through Chris Redlitz, I met Tulio Cardozo. Tulio was one of the first graduates from The Last Mile. As I had done, Tulio made some bad decisions as a young man, becoming involved with drugs. While incarcerated, however, Tulio chose to reinvent himself. Through textbooks, he trained himself how to code computers. Those efforts brought Tulio to the attention of Chris Redlitz and Chris authorized Tulio to participate in The Last Mile training program. When Tulio concluded his prison sentence at San Quentin, Chris offered Tulio an internship so he could learn more about working with technology companies.
As it turns out, Tulio also followed the pattern of masterminds. He lived deliberately, and his deliberate actions led to success.
Although I didn’t know much about technology, Tulio had a wealth of information. He invested hundreds of hours helping me to build MichaelSantos.com. Whenever I had a technology problem, I could turn to Tulio for immediate advice. If he didn’t know how to solve the problem, he used his resources to help me find solutions. The human connections, I learned, were incredibly valuable to accelerate growth.
What type of human connections are you making?
What could you do today to build stronger, more valuable connections tomorrow?
In what ways will the connections you build contribute to your success?
Besides introducing me to Tulio, Chris Redlitz also introduced me to the importance of social media. Chris and Beverly used Quora as a resource for teaching prisoners at San Quentin through The Last Mile program. Historically, prisons isolated people inside from the broader population. Yet Chris recognized that if people were going to overcome the challenges they would face upon release, they would need to build stronger connections. Although prisoners didn’t have direct access to the Internet, through volunteers, they could use Quora to interact indirectly.
Quora was a question-based website. Anyone with access to the Internet could use the Quora website to ask questions. Then, the millions of people who used Quora could answer. Those who responded with subject-matter expertise would receive more attention. When people asked questions about prison on the website, The Last Mile team would print out those questions and bring them into San Quentin. Men who participated in The Last Mile program had subject-matter expertise on such topics, and they handwrote responses to questions that people asked. Then team members from The Last Mile would convert the prisoner responses into a digital file and publish responses on the Quora website.
“You should open a profile on Quora,” Chris advised me during our first meeting. “Start answering questions about prison.”
When I returned to my computer, I logged onto the Quora website and began to explore. In the search field I typed prisons and I saw all types of questions. I started to answer, always being authentic about the perspective from which I was writing. Responses I wrote have generated more than 1.1 million views, broadening my social network.
As a consequence of that exposure to my writing, many opportunities opened that would advance the career I was trying to build. Several editors of other publications contacted me and asked permission to publish more of my writing. Gizmodo, a popular technology website published one of my articles, generating thousands of new connections. An editor from The Daily Dot, another online news service invited me to contribute articles. I received invitations to contribute new articles for many publications. That publicity brought me to the attention of Dr. Alan Ross, a professor at the University of California in Berkeley.
“I’ve got more than 700 students who want you to come speak about your experiences in prison,” he said.
I’m hoping that readers who are in jails or prisons will see the pattern. Many opportunities opened for me when I transitioned from the prison in Atwater to the halfway house in San Francisco. But had I not prepared myself during the decades I served as a prisoner, none of those opportunities would’ve opened. When I went to prison I didn’t have any academic credentials and I didn’t know how to write a coherent sentence. I certainly couldn’t stand in front large audiences and give one-hour lectures, or write for publication. Yet as a consequence of my exposure to Socrates, I learned about Socratic questioning.
Instead of focusing on my own struggles, I focused on what my avatars would expect. By anticipating their expectations, I had reason to avoid the negativity and criminal influences. Instead, I focused on educating myself, on contributing to society, and on building strong support networks. Those decisions led to new relationships and new opportunities. They empowered me through the time I served in prison and they eased my adjustment into society upon my release.
As a consequence of my experience with Quora, my social media profile grew. By posting regularly on Facebook, thousands of people ‘liked’ my public page. On Twitter, my followers grew into the thousands. On LinkedIn, I could build an online resume where anyone could read about my passion for improving outcomes of our nation’s prison system. More than 1,000 people followed my progress through LinkedIn.
By building a larger social network I could claim more authenticity. Instead of hiding from my criminal background, I lived transparently. Every step I took had a relationship to the successful life that I wanted to build. Since I anticipated that others would judge me for the bad decisions I made when I was 20, or the decades I served in prison, I wanted to provide them with more information to influence their judgment. By populating the record with my writing and speeches, I could influence them. And by influencing them, I could open more opportunities. Some of those opportunities brought financial resources, many did not. Either way, every investment of time that I made to spread awareness about the criminal justice system paid enormous dividends. They brought experience that I needed, they brought new relationships, and they brought new opportunities for me to persuade other people that I was worthy of their time.
The stronger my social network became, the more opportunities opened. During the time that I served in the halfway house, NBC Bay Area Proud profiled my work, PBS NewsHour featured me on a segment, and organizers of a TEDx conference in Silicon Valley invited me to present. With that exposure, I built more credibility. I could then leverage the credibility to further my quest to improve outcomes of our nation’s criminal justice system, while simultaneously working to build a career.
Earlier, I wrote about rules in the halfway house that required me to have a job. So long as I had a job that paid a steady paycheck, my case manager in the halfway house authorized me to leave. My friend Lee was more like a sponsor for me than an employer. He set a schedule for me to work 10—hour shifts, Monday through Saturday. I reported to an office and sat at a desk, but instead of doing work for Lee, I focused on creating a business. First, I needed Lee to see the vision.
I persuaded Lee that our nation’s commitment to mass incarceration was one of the greatest social injustices of our time. Although it would take time, I convinced him that a need existed for programs and services to help people emerge from prison successfully. He encouraged me to develop a plan that would lead to a sustainable business providing products and services that would improve outcomes of our nation’s prison system.
My first challenge was learning how to use technology effectively. The world had changed during the decades that I served. I went to prison at a time when Bill Gates was talking about a time when there would be a computer in every home and on every desk. When I returned to society his vision had become a reality. We didn’t only have computers in every home and on every desk, but also in everyone’s pockets. Since I’d been away during the hyper-growth era of technology, I had to learn how to use computers and the Internet effectively.
Although most people used personal computers powered by Microsoft operating systems, I’d read that Apple products were easier to learn. On the Saturday after I transitioned to the halfway house, Carole and I visited the Apple store. I purchased a MacBook Pro and a 27” iMac desktop computer. Knowing that technology could help me reach a wider audience, I spent my first weeks on the job learning how to use these fascinating products.
While I was in prison I didn’t have much access to computers. I read many books about the development of the Internet, search engines, social media, and software applications. Yet when I began working with my computers, I realized that I would need to invest hundreds of hours to become proficient. Fortunately, I had Carole to tutor me. When she wasn’t at the hospital, she would sit at desk beside me to work on her studies. I liked having her close by and she was always willing to assist when I had questions about technology.
I began learning about WordPress, the powerful platform for building websites. When Carole first came into my life, we purchased the domain name MichaelSantos.net because the dot-com domain wasn’t available. Carole retained a web developer to build our new website. I published thousands of articles to document progress I made through my final decade in prison. Toward the end of my journey, we were able to purchase the domain name MichaelSantos.com for $1,000 and we began making the transition from MichaelSantos.net to MichaelSantos.com. I wanted to have a central location that would demonstrate my authenticity. Since Carole was busy with her career and school work, I needed to educate myself quickly on how to use WordPress so that I could manage my own websites.
I made some critical errors in the beginning. By switching hosting companies and redesigning MichaelSantos.com, I lost thousands of articles and journal entries that I’d made over the years. For decades, I wrote a daily journal entry and sent my journals home. Carole published each entry as my “daily log” on the website. I wanted people to see the path, that through hard work, an individual could triumph over prison. Unfortunately, I lost all of those records with my decision to switch from one web-hosting company to another. We pay a price for inexperience. In time, I became more fluent with WordPress and with social media.
Although I didn’t understand much about using technology or computer networks, my adjustment through prison gave me other skills. One prong of my adjustment strategy was building support networks. If I could build strong support networks, I believed that more opportunities would open in prison and upon release. The goal of building strong support networks influenced my Socratic questioning: What steps could I take today to influence people to believe in me tomorrow?
Those types of questions influenced my adjustment. The accomplishments I made while inside persuaded other people to believe in me. I could leverage those relationships to open new relationships. For example, earlier I wrote about my friendship with Justin Paperny. Justin was a graduate from USC and he had built a career as a stockbroker. Although he made some bad decisions that resulted in his being convicted of securities fraud, Justin’s crime didn’t characterize his entire life. He’d been successful in society once and as we built our friendship, I sensed that he would be successful again.
When Justin concluded his obligation he launched the Michael G. Santos Foundation and he invested time to build that nonprofit. He attended schools, workshops, and conferences that exposed him to problems people in underserved communities faced. By relaying those findings to me, I had information I could use in ways that would help us contribute solutions. Through our work, Justin met new people and he introduced those people to me.
Scott Budnick was one of the people Justin brought into my support network. Scott is famous for his role as a Hollywood producer of many blockbuster films, including The Hangover series, Starsky and Hutch, and other big-budget films. Scott’s passion, however, is juvenile justice. Scott founded The Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC), a nonprofit that strives to reduce recidivism. When I returned to society, Scott invited me to visit him in Hollywood. Rules of the halfway house, however, precluded me from being able travel. Until I concluded my obligation to the Bureau of Prisons, I could only go from the halfway house to my place of employment.
Travel limitations and halfway house restrictions were a problem. Human support networks were a solution. Scott said that since I lived in San Francisco, I had to meet Chris Redlitz. Scott then wrote an introductory email to Chris and I followed up by writing Chris about my background, telling him about my vision of building a business around my journey. I wanted to teach other people how to emerge from prison successfully. Chris responded within hours and he invited me to meet him.
Turns out that Chris Redlitz is an influential figure from the San Francisco Bay area. As a professional, he was a successful venture capitalist. Through his firm Transmedia Capital, Chris and his partners matched investors with technology entrepreneurs who wanted to build compelling businesses that changed the world. But in addition to providing funding, Chris also ran a series of business incubators, providing resources for technology startups.
Besides his business career as a venture capitalist, Chris also had a passion for improving outcomes of our nation’s prison system. When not putting multi-million dollar investments together, he and his wife volunteered at the San Quentin state prison. Initially, he went in to give a speech about entrepreneurialism. The prisoners inspired him. Chris then went home and convinced his wife and business partner, Beverly Parenti, to join him. Together they launched The Last Mile, an organization that would invest in human beings. They created a comprehensive curriculum that would teach business principles to people in prison. Later, participants in The Last Mile could learn how to write computer code from inside of the prison system.
I visited Chris and Seth. They were partners of Advanced Building Solutions, a premier real estate development company with more than $100 million worth of properties under development. Although I’d never met Chris prior to my release from prison, my friend Lee could introduce me. Without a doubt, Chris and Seth were the type of people I had in mind when I thought about avatars. If leaders like Chris and Seth were going to believe in me, they would want to see a record showing that I was different from the foolish young man who began selling drugs when he was 20. I always believed that my adjustment through prison would have a direct influence on my ability to overcome challenges upon release.
When I met with the Chris and Seth, I showed them the record I’d worked hard to build. I was a published author, I had academic credentials, and I could show that I’d been married for ten years. Further, I had support from Lee, and he vouched for me. Any business person in the San Francisco Bay area had enormous respect for Lee.
Since Lee vouched for me, Chris and Seth found it easier to believe in me.
We spoke about a new real estate project they were developing in Petaluma, a quaint city about 40 miles north of San Francisco. Although Chris and Seth hadn’t broken ground on the properties when I met with them, they told me that when they finished the development, each house in the development would list for about $400,000. I wanted to buy one of those houses for Carole and me. Yet since we didn’t have the financial wherewithal to step up to the plate, I needed their help.
Although an initial assessment of our credit score would suggest that we weren’t credit worthy at the time, I asked Chris and Seth to consider us for the growth we would make in the years to come. Besides not qualifying for a mortgage, we couldn’t afford to set aside 20% of the purchase price as a down payment on the property. Despite those weaknesses, I persuaded the developers that we would be a good credit risk for them if they would agree to finance us on a purchase.
To make my case, I encouraged them to consider what we had accomplished under difficult circumstances. Then I showed the plans we had made to grow. If they would extend us financing for a few years, a lot would change that would allow us to qualify for a traditional mortgage. For example, Carole would graduate and increase her earning power. I would finish with my obligation to the Bureau of Prisons and be able to apply for credit. And the business I intended to develop would provide me with more earnings. Despite the perceived weakness of our credit score in the fall of 2012, I made a persuasive case that we would be stronger financially in years to come and qualify for a mortgage.
The developers agreed to finance us on the purchase of our first house. Since a real estate agent wouldn’t be involved and they wouldn’t have to pay a commission, they even agreed to drop $10,000 off of the purchase price. We bought our property for $390,000 in the fall of 2012. As a consequence of the developers’ trust, they only required us to write a check for $12,000. Since the Bureau of Prisons wouldn’t authorize me to purchase anything on credit, we initially put the house in Carole’s name. Both of us felt pleased that before I concluded my obligation to the Bureau of Prisons, we’d planted our stake in the ground. We were homeowners.
Masterminds have frequently said “The harder I work, the luckier I become.”
Without a doubt, Carole and I were fortunate. Support from people like Chris and Seth, or Lee, allowed us to purchase our first piece of real estate in the fall of 2012. By signing that agreement, we controlled an appreciating asset in an appreciating market. As I’ll describe in chapters to follow, real estate values increased in the San Francisco Bay area in 2013, 2014, and 2015. When those values increased, our equity increased, bringing us more financial stability.
If we didn’t have support, we would not have been able to purchase that first piece of property. The salient point, however, is that we began sowing seeds for that support long before we purchased the property. Indeed, the decisions we began making decades earlier, before we ever thought about owning real estate, gave us the track record we needed. With that track record, we could persuade others to see us for what we would become.
If you’re inside of a jail, a prison, or in some other type of struggle, I urge you to recognize the importance of each decision you make. The decisions you’re making today will influence the opportunities that open for you in the future. Consider this lesson with every decision that you make, including the friends you choose, the activities you pursue, and the books you read. Every decision comes with opportunity costs. So choose wisely.