Transitioning your life back into society can be overwhelming and really difficult, especially for those of us with limited resources. I’m here to tell you that it is possible and I have created a path, a mind-set that can propel you forward in reaching your dreams and achieving your best life. You can resist temptations, overcome obstacles and break the chains of incarceration, living a happy, successful, and fulfilling life.
Let’s begin with a few simple questions. What do you really want to do with your life? Do you have a dream or something you enjoy doing that could potentially lead you towards your best life? Because let's be honest, if you love what it is you're doing and you're getting paid for it, that’s not just an amazing career, you will be living an extraordinary life.
Ask yourself; what do you want to do with your life? What does your best life look like? Now let's dig a little deeper and discover why. Why is this what you want for yourself? Understanding why will create the motivation to fuel what you're trying to achieve. Now it’s just a matter of how. Write it out and let it become real.
This is your road map. This is your plan. These are your goals. This is how you shape your destiny. As a life coach, I often ask my clients what their goals are. What I’m looking for are the goals that are actually steps to you getting closer to your best life and that's what I mean by how! You have an opportunity to become your greatest self, so figure out who you want to be, find out why and just how you’re going to do it.
Now here comes the reality check: Unless you catch a break or have a trade, you are definitely going to have trouble finding a job. This is when you have to accept what you can find and be committed to bringing value to whoever hires you. Places to look for employment would be construction, lawn care, tree services, stocking shelves. When you land the job, be grateful, hustle, grind, and work your ass off. It might not be your dream job, but it's a step towards your dream life. Save your money and work on achieving your dream, because like everyone else you have the ability to achieve whatever life you can envision for yourself.
You're going to have to put in the work and you’re going to have to believe in what you are doing. Whether it be studying, watching instructional videos, or practicing whatever it is your attempting to do, whoever it is you want to become, get a clear vision and then take action
We all have the same amount of time each day. From the homeless guy standing on the corner holding up a sign, to the guy who built a fortune and owns a business with over 100 employees. It's just what you’re doing with that time that makes the difference in who you are going to become. You must be willing to work your ass off and know without any doubt that you can and will succeed. It’s going to be a lot of hours working full time and working on your dream. You’re going to be tested and it's going to be up to you to overcome, persevere and pass those tests.
You have to be creative and be willing to handle failure, maybe over and over but it's just growing and learning. It’s part of the process, as long as you keep at it, I swear you will succeed. If you're doing things one way and it's not working, switch your approach, be adaptable. After all, what matters the most is that you get to the finish line. The way you get there is subject to change, it's important not to give up.
Most people do give up and that's why over 80% of new businesses fail. They didn't just stick it out. They got uncomfortable and quit.
I’m here to tell you to get uncomfortable and grow. Be broke, be hungry, you will figure it out, you will make it. Your best life is right there for you to live. Take a few minutes right now to picture that life, feel what it's like to live in that moment. Keep this feeling in your memory, now come back to your present situation and study your environment. Can you do better? Raise your standards and create a new way to live. Be willing to pay the price for who you want to become, then do and believe in the things that point you towards it. If you can turn the things you really want into the things you really need, you're going to get them.
Let's talk about change. What people fail l to realize is change can happen in the blink of an eye (it’s a decision). If you decide to change you can do it right here, right now. It's really that simple. You are truly yourself when you’re all alone and nobody is watching or listening. What are those thoughts you're thinking? What is your focus? Because what you focus on will play a key role in who you actually become. Pay close attention to what you're thinking and be sure to keep it positive. Learning to control your thoughts is critical to your freedom. Overcoming negative thoughts takes practice and discipline but it is possible. Try this; whenever a negative thought enters your mind just recognize it and immediately shoot it out, replacing it with something more positive: A memory, an inspirational word, your favorite movie. I don’t care as long as you realize you have the final say in what it is you choose to think about. If you practice this, it will improve your state of mind, which will allow you to process the world around you in a better light. This will completely shift your attitude and perspective. You can begin to better enjoy life's moments. Your personality will shine and you will thrive.
Next I would like to leave you with a pre-release challenge. In one of my previous incarcerations, I took 11 words and used them daily to overcome negativity. You could say I armed myself with one of these words to get through my day without being affected by whatever was going on around me. No matter what happened I felt something positive happening inside of me. My challenge to you is to pick one word every day for eleven straight days. Look up the word if possible, write it down, meditate on it, carry it with you throughout the entire day. No matter what happens, think about your word and retake the moment remaining in a positive state. Go to sleep with the word in your memory and wake up to a new word. At the end of the eleven days just be grateful and move forward with confidence. Here are your words: Acceptance, appreciation, ambition, compassion, confidence, courage, consideration, patience, kindness, resilience and understanding. Enjoy this experience, it's just a bit of momentum for you to get ahead and begin your transition with a sense of certainty.
Although change happens instantly creating lasting change will be the result of continuous growth. Take control of your thinking and begin to do things that line up with who you want to become. This is your opportunity and you have arrived just in time.
About the Creator
Kevin Charlton
I started writing fiction this past summer and I wanted to share my short stories.
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More stories from Kevin Charlton and writers in Motivation and other communities.
Should Have Known Better
The pipeline was slippery. I was crawling across it, trying to get to the middle so I could leap into the canal. They grease it with tar to prevent us from days like this. The boats were ignoring the no wake signs, speeding without regard for the manatees. It made things more exciting when I stood up and cannon-balled into the water, my feet landing safely on the bottom missing any broken glass or sharp rocks usually trapped there. I pushed upward, swimming against the strong current; splashing through the surface, I was staring at the front of a speeding boat. I quickly duck-dived – a trick I learned when surfing in choppy water only it's much easier when you don’t have a board. After dropping low in the water, I swam to the shore and jumped on my Dino bike. I was already running late for our game of Hunt.
By Kevin Charlton5 years ago in Criminal
Lost but Trying
There are moments in life when everything feels lost—not dramatically, not loudly, but quietly. The kind of loss that settles into your bones and makes even simple breathing feel heavy. For Adam, that moment came on an ordinary Tuesday morning when he realized he had nowhere left to go. At twenty-seven, Adam wasn’t supposed to feel this tired. He wasn’t supposed to feel like life had already passed him by. Yet there he was, sitting on the edge of a narrow bed in a rented room, staring at peeling paint on the wall, wondering how everything had gone so wrong. He had once been full of plans. Big ones. Dreams of building something meaningful, of becoming someone his younger self would be proud of. But life, as it often does, had other ideas. Adam grew up in a small town where hope was common but opportunities were rare. His father worked long hours, his mother carried silent strength, and everyone believed that education would be the escape route. Adam believed it too. He studied hard, stayed out of trouble, and dreamed even harder. But dreams don’t always come with instructions. After college, rejection letters became his daily routine. Job interviews led to polite smiles and empty promises. “We’ll get back to you,” they said. Most never did. Slowly, confidence turned into doubt. Doubt turned into fear. And fear became a constant companion. When his father fell ill, Adam returned home. Medical bills piled up. Savings vanished. Dreams were postponed, then quietly buried. After his father’s death, the house felt too empty, too loud in its silence. Adam left again, this time not chasing dreams, but running from memories. The city welcomed him with indifference. He worked temporary jobs—delivery rider, warehouse helper, night security guard. None lasted long. Each job paid just enough to survive, never enough to grow. Failure followed him like a shadow, whispering reminders of what he hadn’t become. One night, after being laid off yet again, Adam walked aimlessly through the city streets. Neon lights blurred into streaks of color. Laughter spilled out of cafés he couldn’t afford. He felt invisible, like a background character in everyone else’s success story. That night, he considered giving up. Not dramatically. Not with a note or tears. Just a quiet decision to stop trying. To accept that some people were meant to struggle forever. He sat on a bench near a bus stop, head in his hands, when an old man sat beside him. “You look like someone who’s lost,” the man said gently. Adam didn’t reply. The old man continued, “Being lost isn’t the problem. Staying lost is.” Adam finally looked up. The man’s face was lined with age, but his eyes carried a calm confidence, the kind earned through survival. “I’ve tried,” Adam said bitterly. “Nothing works.” The man smiled softly. “Trying doesn’t guarantee success. It guarantees growth.” Adam wanted to argue, but something in the man’s voice stopped him. “I failed more times than I can count,” the old man added. “But each failure taught me something. Most people quit right before life changes.” The bus arrived. The old man stood up. “Don’t stop trying,” he said. “Even slow steps are steps forward.” Then he was gone. Adam sat there long after the bus left. For the first time in months, something shifted inside him—not hope exactly, but curiosity. What if stopping wasn’t the answer? What if trying, even imperfectly, still mattered? The next day, Adam did something small. He updated his resume. It wasn’t impressive, but it was honest. He applied for jobs he felt un for. He watched free online courses at night. He started writing—short thoughts, reflections, anything that helped him release the weight inside. Days turned into weeks. Rejections continued, but so did effort. One evening, Adam posted a short piece of writing online. He didn’t expect much. But comments came in. Strangers resonated with his words. Someone said, “This feels like my life.” Another wrote, “Thank you for putting my feelings into words.” For the first time, Adam felt seen. He kept writing. Months later, he landed a small content job—not glamorous, not permanent—but real. It paid little, but it paid consistently. More importantly, it gave him purpose. Life didn’t magically improve overnight. Problems didn’t disappear. Some days were still heavy. But Adam noticed something new: he no longer felt stuck. Trying had changed him. He learned that progress isn’t loud. It doesn’t announce itself. It arrives quietly, disguised as persistence. He learned that being lost doesn’t mean being broken. Sometimes it simply means you’re between versions of yourself. Years later, Adam would look back on that bench, that night, and that stranger. He would realize that the turning point wasn’t a job or success—it was a decision. A decision to keep trying, even when trying hurt. Because sometimes, the bravest thing you can do isn’t winning. It’s not quitting.
By Inayat khana day ago in Motivation
Smart phones, Humans and Aliens.
WARNING. I will be tapping into one of your favorite creative tensions: The absurdity of humans worshipping their glowing rectangles as if they were tiny oracles. There’s something deliciously poetic about that contradiction, and it lends itself beautifully to an instructive proviso.
By Novel Allen4 days ago in Poets
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