Course
Playbook: Become the CEO of Your Life
The Playbook course provides a practical framework for individuals facing the criminal justice system to think strategically, act deliberately, and prepare for better outcomes. It teaches participants how to become the CEO of their own lives by taking responsibility for the parts of life they still control, even while living through uncertainty, confinement, or transition.
Through guided lessons, reflection questions, and written exercises, participants learn how to define success, set goals, build structure, document progress, and create a record of accountability. The course is self-directed, free, and designed to help people at every stage of the journey, from the beginning of a case through release preparation.
For families, attorneys, and correctional staff, Playbook offers a clear way to understand how an individual is using time, developing discipline, and working toward measurable personal growth. The course can support mitigation, adjustment, programming, and reentry preparation by encouraging consistent effort and documented follow-through.
What Participants Do
- •Learn how to think strategically about their future
- •Define success for the stage of life they are in now
- •Build structure through goals, writing, and accountability
- •Create a written record of growth, discipline, and preparation
- •Develop a body of work that supports self-advocacy and reentry readiness
What Staff Gain
- •A practical framework for encouraging self-directed learning
- •Documentation that shows participation, consistency, and follow-through
- •A resource that complements programming, education, and reentry preparation
- •Written materials that may help stakeholders observe growth over time
- •A course participants can use independently or alongside other programs
Course Details
Learn how the Playbook course works, who it serves, and how participants, staff, families, and attorneys can use the framework.
How Participants Use the Playbook
We designed the Playbook course to help participants think more deliberately about the future they want to build...
How the Course Supports Self-Advocacy
The Playbook course teaches that preparation becomes more persuasive when it is documented...
How Staff, Families, and Attorneys Can Use the Course
The Playbook course gives supporters and stakeholders a common framework for discussing accountability, discipline, and preparation...
Why the Course Begins with 'The CEO of Your Life'
The course begins with the idea that every person, regardless of present circumstances, still has a responsibility to govern his own thinking...
How Writing Strengthens the Course
Writing is central to the Playbook course because writing helps people think more clearly, plan more deliberately...
Who This Course Is For
The Playbook course is designed for people facing criminal charges, people preparing for sentencing, people preparing to surrender...
Purpose of the Framework
The Playbook framework exists to help participants move from reaction to direction...
Self-Paced Learning
Course Modules
The Playbook course is self-paced. Participants may begin with any module and revisit the lessons as needed. Each module includes written guidance and, where available, short video or audio explanations and downloadable PDFs.
Introduction to the Playbook
This module explains the purpose of the Playbook course and introduces the core idea of becoming the CEO of your own life. Participants learn why strategic thinking, disciplined preparation, and documented effort matter at every stage of the journey.
The CEO of Your Life
This module teaches participants what it means to become the CEO of their own lives. It focuses on accepting responsibility for the decisions, habits, and preparation that remain within each person's control, regardless of circumstances.
Why Planning Must Begin Now
This module explains why waiting for ideal conditions delays progress. Participants learn how to begin planning immediately, using the time and resources available to them now to prepare for better outcomes.
Why You Must Memorialize Your Journey
This module teaches participants why documenting their journey matters. Written records of effort, growth, and preparation strengthen credibility and create evidence of accountability that can support better outcomes over time.
Build Your Profile from the Start
This module shows participants how to begin building a profile that documents their goals, learning activities, and personal development. Starting early creates a stronger, more credible record of preparation.
The First Lessons I Learned in Solitary
This module shares the foundational lessons Michael Santos learned during solitary confinement. Participants explore how adversity can become the starting point for disciplined thinking, structured effort, and long-term preparation.
The Leaders Who Changed My Thinking
This module introduces the leaders and thinkers whose ideas shaped the Playbook framework. Participants learn how studying leadership, strategy, and personal development can change the way they approach their own lives.
Define Success
This module helps participants define what success means for their current stage of life. By clarifying what they are working toward, participants can align their daily actions with meaningful, achievable goals.
Coming SoonSet Goals That Create Structure
This module teaches participants how to set goals that bring order and direction to their time. Structured goals help participants stay focused, measure progress, and build a disciplined daily routine.
Coming SoonDevelop the Right Attitude
This module focuses on developing the mindset needed to sustain effort over time. Participants learn how attitude shapes decisions, influences relationships, and determines the quality of preparation.
Coming SoonAspire to Become Something More
This module encourages participants to raise their aspirations beyond survival. By envisioning a future worth working toward, participants build motivation and direction that sustain long-term effort.
Coming SoonTake Action
This module teaches participants that planning without action leads nowhere. Participants learn how to translate goals and intentions into consistent, documented effort that builds credibility over time.
Coming SoonMeasure Progress with Accountability
This module introduces accountability as a tool for measuring progress. Participants learn how to track their own growth, document results, and use written records to demonstrate follow-through.
Coming SoonBuild Awareness
This module helps participants develop awareness of how their choices, behavior, and communication affect outcomes. Greater awareness leads to better decisions, stronger relationships, and more effective preparation.
Coming SoonLive Authentically
This module teaches participants the importance of living in alignment with their values and stated goals. Authenticity strengthens credibility and builds trust with stakeholders, supporters, and decision-makers.
Coming SoonEarn Incremental Achievements
This module shows participants how small, consistent achievements build momentum and credibility over time. Each documented step forward strengthens the overall record of preparation and growth.
Coming SoonLive with Appreciation
This module encourages participants to recognize and appreciate the opportunities, support, and progress they experience along the way. Appreciation reinforces positive habits and sustains motivation.
Coming SoonBuild a Body of Work
This module teaches participants how to assemble their written records, documented achievements, and preparation materials into a cohesive body of work that demonstrates sustained effort and self-directed growth.
Coming SoonUsing the Modules Together
We designed the Playbook course to support incremental progress. Participants may begin with one lesson and advance through the framework over time, returning to earlier modules whenever they need to strengthen the foundation. The lessons work best when participants read, reflect, write, and apply what they are learning. They should use the course to define success, clarify goals, build better habits, document progress, and prepare for the next stage of life. The course becomes more powerful when it leads to a visible body of work. Participants should update their biographies, journals, book reports, release plans, and other written materials as they move through the lessons. Supporters and staff may reference the modules as needed to encourage writing, accountability, and reentry preparation.
Downloadable Materials
Resources and Downloads
This section provides downloadable materials that support participation in the Playbook course. Resources may be used by individuals working independently or by staff facilitating programming, writing exercises, or reentry preparation.
Questions or Comments?
We welcome feedback and questions about the Playbook course. Whether you want to use the lessons in a facility, share them with a loved one, or incorporate them into preparation and reentry planning, we would be glad to hear from you.
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