6 Things I Wish I Knew BEFORE I Went To PRISON. #lessonsfromprison #prisontiktok #lifelessons #peoplepleaser #whitecollarcrime #capcut #federalprison

Here are some things I learned in prison. I wish I knew before I went in one. Some relationships in life just end. And that's okay. When I was a defendant, people ostracized me. They forgot about me. I'd continue to reach out. They would ignore me and I lost dignity in the process. Some relationships just end. When I was an executive, I was obsessed with the end. And I didn't pay attention how I got to that end. What's a consequence? My dumbass was sitting in prison. A lesson I learned in prison is the means where the process, how you get to that end, is just as important as the end result. Another lesson I learned. I neglected my family while I was a defendant. I was so focused on myself, all that I was losing, my licenses, my reputation, my career, how my own life was imploding. I didn't recognize that pain I was bringing to my family. And I didn't appreciate until I went to prison. All that I had left my youth and my family was standing by me, some friends and ability at some point to try to get it together. I wish I knew before I went to prison that prison would be the easiest part of the process. I presumed based on what we see sensationalized on television, that it was going to be awful. The reality is prisons easier because it's clearly defined. The hardest part was the three and a half years I spent fighting my case. In prison, I finally learned to forgive myself. When I was a defendant, I ate poorly. I put on weight. I would stay up all night chewing tobacco, playing online chess, like living in a cave because I was so embarrassed. And I just never imagined I could have any future because of what I had done. And while in prison, I recognized there is a path forward, not with happy talk, but with actions and with making amends and focused again on all that remains in my life rather than obsessing about all that I had lost. And perhaps the last of the many lessons I learned in prison. In prison, I learned the value of saying no. Of no longer feeling as if I'm a people pleaser. When I was an executive, I was afraid to speak up. I felt victim to that group think. I knew things were wrong, but I didn't want to say for fear of how other people would judge me. So I went with the flow and that led to trouble. So in prison, I learned my tendencies as a pleaser. I learned the value of saying no. And I had to practice saying no because I knew when I came home from prison, I would be tested. The easiest part of my sanction was prison. The time before I went in, the three and a half years, the loading, the embarrassment, the shame was difficult. And in retrospect, I would do it differently. These are some lessons I learned in prison. I hope they help any of you if you're going to do any sort of struggle as I did. [BLANK_AUDIO]