February 14, 2026: Saturday

A Calling

As I sit on this airplane flying back to the West Coast from my East Coast trip, I feel grateful.

• Grateful for the privilege.
• Grateful for the calling.
• Grateful for the opportunity to contribute to building better outcomes for people going through federal prison experiences.

Advancing our ministry requires commitment. It requires time, energy, financial contributions, and emotional endurance. But it also brings meaning that I cannot describe any other way.

The vision for this work began during the first year of my imprisonment, when I was confined to a solitary cell.

I had not been religious, but during that year in isolation, the only book I was allowed to have was the Bible. I read it from beginning to end, and then began again.

Parable of the Talents

I always looked forward to reading the Parable of the Talents.

That parable taught me something that reshaped my thinking. We are all given gifts. If we develop those gifts, we are entrusted with more. If we neglect them, we lose what we have.

At the time, I was facing the possibility of life in prison. The Parable of the Talents helped me accept that I had squandered opportunities by breaking the law. I had to accept responsibility for the problems I created.

But the parable showed me that even inside a prison cell, I could work to develop talents. If I used my time wisely, I began to believe that I could make amends. I could learn, and by writing, I could share the lessons with others. This strategy helped me develop discipline, commitment, and self-confidence.

Today, through Prison Professors, I have the opportunity to expand the reach. I hope that people who are facing hardship—whether they are under investigation, preparing for sentencing, incarcerated, or rebuilding after release—will use these lessons to improve their outcomes.

Building hope requires work and commitment. My schedule over this past week gives a good example of what commitment looks like in practice.

On Saturday, I left our home in Orange County at 3:30 a.m. to make an early morning flight to Baltimore. While on the flight, I wrote a new course that will soon appear on our website. After arriving, I met with a collaborator for dinner. Then, I drove three hours to stay near the prison in Petersburg.

On Monday, I spent the day at FCI Petersburg, delivering presentations from early morning until mid-afternoon. That evening, I drove to Washington, D.C., preparing for a morning meeting at the Bureau of Prisons headquarters.

On Tuesday, I met with the Deputy Director and his team. I shared lessons learned from visiting more than 30 federal prisons and demonstrated how our platform works. That afternoon, I drove to Annapolis in preparation for the next day’s engagement.

On Wednesday, I met with Damond West and later participated in the Warden’s Conference, speaking with leadership from across the Bureau. Afterward, I drove several hours to New Jersey.

Thursday and Friday were full days of presentations at Fort Dix and Fairton. Each day began before sunrise and ended well into the evening. Between presentations, I met with staff and even spoke with a potential corporate partner who may support expanding our work.

On Saturday morning, I left my hotel at 3:30 a.m. to return the rental car and catch my flight home. During the flight, I continued working—developing new materials and refining courses to strengthen our ministry.

Advancing this ministry requires consistent effort. It requires investing resources into travel, technology, content creation, and relationship-building. It requires time away from family, and, on average, expenditures of more than $10,000 per week.

Yet I am grateful that I get to walk into federal prisons and speak with people who are hungry for direction. I get to sit across from leaders who can influence policy. I get to build tools that may help someone avoid a disciplinary infraction, strengthen a mitigation strategy, or prepare for success upon release.

Most of all, I get to bring hope.

Hope that if a person sows seeds today—through discipline, reflection, and preparation—those seeds can grow into better outcomes tomorrow. People in prison sometimes feel abandoned, I get to bring them hope and offer direction. For that blessing, I’m grateful.