The following is just a bit of sage advice from the trials (no pun intended) and tribulations of a long-time convicted felon who has still managed to make a pretty decent life for his family and himself from what would otherwise be classified as a seriously depressing existence.
Yup. And this is not some positive feel-good post about appreciating what you got and developing a good attitude towards taking bullshit either (although that does help quite a bit). Nope, just the opposite – A realistic approach to get better results starting RIGHT NOW from a disappointing setback that one has incurred (can you say felony).
In the years prior to my arrest (and subsequent downfall), I admit that I was a wee bit self-absorbed and naive. Ever the eternal optimist though, I believed I could talk my way out of anything and there was no situation I could not handle or fix. That all seemed to change drastically when I became a convicted felon, as it made me seriously reevaluate all that I’ve ever known of myself when faced with adversity.
I truly underestimated just how difficult the whole way of life would be for someone with a criminal record and would eventually learn the hard way. Yep, I effed up because I thought I knew everything…. and never saw it coming.