One of the biggest mistakes I see is when a person says he wants to improve, but never builds a record to show what he has done.
That is a problem.
In prison, good intentions are not enough. Wanting to change is not the same as proving that you are changing. At some point, every person in the system will need to self-advocate. You may want a lower-security placement. You may want more support from your case manager. You may want a better argument for home confinement, supervised release, clemency, or some other form of relief. When that time comes, you will need more than words. You will need a body of work.
That lesson shaped the way I served my sentence. It is also one of the core messages we teach at Prison Professors: memorialize the journey, measure your progress, and build a record that shows why you are worthy of greater liberty. That approach is reflected throughout our materials and mission.
I Had to Learn This the Hard Way
My name is Michael Santos. I was arrested on August 11, 1987. I was charged with operating a continuing criminal enterprise. In plain terms, that meant I sold cocaine and had people working beneath me. Although my case did not involve violence or weapons, and although I had never been incarcerated before, I still faced the possibility of life in prison.
I made many bad decisions.
I went to trial even though I knew I was guilty. I took the witness stand and lied. After the jury convicted me, a federal judge sentenced me to 45 years in prison.
If I had done nothing after that, the record would have been simple. I was a man convicted of a serious crime, sentenced to decades in federal prison. That could have become the full story of my life.
But I decided I would not allow that to be the end of the story.
Once I got to prison, I began building a deliberate plan. I wanted to live as the CEO of my life. That meant I would not drift through the sentence. I would set goals. I would track progress. I would document the decisions I was making. I would create a record that showed how I was preparing for a better future.
That strategy helped me through more than 9,500 days in prison. It also helped me build support from other people who saw the work I was doing. Later, when I needed help persuading the Bureau of Prisons to transfer me to a different institution, that body of work mattered. I could show what I had done. I could show why I was serious. I could show why the move aligned with the plan I had built for success after release.
Why Documentation Matters
Too many people in prison work on themselves in private but fail to create any proof of the effort.
That is a mistake.
If you read books, document what you learned. If you journal, save those entries. If you build a release plan, keep refining it. If you are changing the way you think, write about that change. If you are trying to reconcile with society, create evidence that others can see.
At Prison Professors, we encourage people to build that record through a biography, journal entries, book reports, release plans, and testimonials. Those tools are all designed to help a person show growth in a measurable and transparent way.
I am not suggesting this because it sounds good. I am suggesting it because it worked for me.
A Simple Strategy: Write Book Reports
One of the most practical ways to memorialize growth is by writing book reports.
I became a self-directed, self-motivated learner. Every time I wanted to understand a subject better, I would get a book on that subject. But I did not stop with reading. After I finished each book, I wrote a report.
That report became an asset.
It did not need to be long or academic. I kept it simple. I included the date, the title, the author, and where the book fit into my yearly reading goal. For example, I might write that this was book number 7 out of my goal of 50 books for the year, with 43 remaining. That kind of detail mattered to me because I wanted to show discipline. I wanted a record that reflected methodical progress.
Then I would answer three questions:
Why did I choose to read this book?
What did I learn from reading this book?
How will this book contribute to my success upon release?
That was my formula.
What a Book Report Can Teach You
Let me give an example with Good to Great by Jim Collins.
If I were writing about why I chose to read that book, I would explain that I knew I wanted to build something meaningful after prison. I wanted to create an organization or enterprise that would bring value to society. Jim Collins, a respected business thinker, wrote about what separates good organizations from great ones. I wanted to learn from those lessons because I believed they could help me build the next chapter of my life.
If I were writing about what I learned, I might focus on two ideas.
The first would be the importance of getting the right people on the team. Collins used the metaphor of a bus. You need the right people on the bus and the wrong people off the bus. That lesson mattered to me because prison had made me a solitary worker. I had to learn how to think about building a team, choosing relationships wisely, and creating an organization based on values.
The second would be the flywheel. Collins described how hard it is to get a heavy wheel moving at first. It takes force and persistence. But once it begins to move, momentum builds. That idea stayed with me because it matched what I experienced in prison. Getting started is hard. Staying consistent is hard. But if a person keeps pushing, the process becomes easier and the results begin to compound.
Then I would write about how the book could help me upon release. I would describe how I was trying to sow seeds while still in prison. I knew that if I planted the right seeds and nurtured them over time, they could grow into opportunities that would sustain me for the rest of my life.
That is what a book report does. It shows that you are not just reading. You are thinking. You are applying lessons. You are connecting present action to future success.
Build a Record That Can Speak for You
The system often reduces people to their worst decisions.
You need to build something stronger than that.
When you create a record of discipline, study, reflection, and planning, you show that you are more than the charge in your case. You show that you are taking ownership of your future. You show that you are preparing to live as a law-abiding, contributing citizen.
That kind of record can help you build a coalition of support. People may choose to advocate for you not because you paid them, but because they can see your work. They can see your growth. They can see that you are serious.
That is why I encourage people to publish their biographies, journals, book reports, and release plans on their Prison Professors profile. The profile becomes a living record. It helps measure progress. It demonstrates intrinsic motivation. It gives stakeholders something concrete to review. That purpose is built directly into the Prison Professors Talent platform.
Start Now, Even If You Feel Late
Some people think they should have started earlier.
That may be true. But the next best time is today.
Write your biography. Tell the truth about where you came from and where you want to go.
Write journal entries. Show what you are doing each day to prepare for a better future.
Write book reports. Turn every book into an asset.
Write a release plan. Show how your daily actions connect to your long-term goals.
Keep building.
Small steps matter. Those small steps become patterns. Patterns become records. Records become evidence. Evidence creates opportunities.
That strategy carried me through 26 years in prison. I believe it can help you build a better outcome too.
The question is simple:
What record are you creating today that will speak for you tomorrow?