In these days of polarized viewpoints, changing someone's mind is less important than understanding their humanity. If we can find our shared humanity, then we can begin to have discussions that matter.

Contact us at [email protected]

If you’d like to support us, you can at www.patreon.com/handcuffedtofreedom

Check out our Youtube where we have more resources at Handcuffed to Freedom

Less two years ago Brandon Anderson and I were in prison. Today, we are both business owners who make a living doing what we love, on our own terms.

If you you’ve ever thought about starting your own business this is the episode for you.

Brandon is founder of Nine Line Media - A digital marketing agency based in Tucson, Arizona that is focused in helping small local businesses grow and scale their business. He shares how he was able to go from being low paid employee to a business owner with the power to shape his own future. 

Brandon shares his journey how after the second time in prison he decided to try things differently and how that led to becoming a business owner.

We talk about the power of YouTube, and the business potential of your phone.

We talk about side hustles, flipping books on amazon, and building up capital in unconventional (yet legal) ways.

We talk about turning old habits into good habits, and what you can do today to get started.

Resources

https://inmatestoentrepreneurs.org/

Getting capital

SBA Loans

Government Grants

Crowdfunding

Kickstarter

Go Fund Me

IndieGoGo

Freelancing

 Guru.com

Upwork.com

Fiver.com

BOOK

$100 Startup

If your day has started off on the wrong foot, here's a quick hack to get it back on track.

Contact us at [email protected]

If you’d like to support us, you can at www.patreon.com/handcuffedtofreedom

Check out our Youtube where we have more resources at Handcuffed to Freedom

This week I talk to Joe Watson who draws on the 10 years he spent in prison to fuel his passion to change a broken system. He works to amplify the voices of directly impacted people so that they can lead that fight. He's also a prison abolitionist. If you hear the words 'prison abolition' and you’re thinking, ‘Get rid of prisons? That’s crazy.’ You’re not alone. I felt that way myself the first time I heard the idea. But we discuss how prison abolition not about destroying the prisons and letting anarchy rule, but rather working toward a world where we don’t need prisons, a world where we invest in treatment rather than incarceration, a world where we bring people in rather than push them away.

We talk about creative writing programs in prison and their power to change lives. Joe talks about the Free Time Writers Workshop that he teaches at the U of A.

https://poetry.arizona.edu/calendar/online-free-time-building-community-incarcerated-writers-1

A link to Nate’s memoir read by Jeffrey Toobin:

The Setting Sun

We talk about the importance of centering directly impacted people in the fight for reform, and why your story matters.

We talk about prison abolition and what a world without prisons could look like (hint: no Molotov cocktails).

We talk about they importance of calling people in.

If your interested in the Free Time Writer's Workshop you can reach Joe at [email protected] 

If your looking to get involved in advocacy and want to use your experience to lead the fight for criminal justice reform check out afscarizona.org

Contact us at [email protected]

If you’d like to support us, you can at www.patreon.com/handcuffedtofreedom

Check out our Youtube where we have more resources at Handcuffed to Freedom

What are you thinking?

As fleeting as our thoughts can be it's easy to forget that they are the foundation of our character. Today I invite you to observe your thoughts. Are they healthy, empowering thoughts? Or are they demotivating, negative thoughts that strip you of your power?

Watch your thoughts, they become your words; watch your words, they become your actions; watch your actions, they become your habits; watch your habits, they become your character; watch your character, it becomes your destiny.

This week we talk to the Emmy Award Winning Danny Howe. No, seriously, he won an Emmy for the story of how his rough childhood led him to prison, and how he turned it around to become an influential and respected voice of our community.

As owner of the Earnest House LLC, we talk about halfway houses and getting your own place to live.

We talk about building credit.

-Youtube video on it: Building your credit after prison

We talk about advocating for yourself.

We talk about how to get your rights restored.

-Danny’s YouTube video on getting your rights restored:

https://youtu.be/Yy3kFToDPBE

----Forms needed----

Links to form you'll need (for Arizona) -- https://www.azcourts.gov/selfservice c...

For forms in another state, look on your court's website.

https://www.ncsc.org/Information-and-...

I ask him, do you need family support to succeed?

We talk about the power of hustle and starting a side business during Covid.

Danny’s Emmy Award winning story:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=89G3BQyW24o

Contact him at [email protected]

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Contact us at: [email protected]

Take Klara’s challenge and support us at: https://www.patreon.com/handcuffedtofreedom

Our YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZfuIRZqYfwX4ZVF-_NR8nA

A short bite-sized nugget of goodness to take into your week.

What can you do when trust is broken? Here's a practical way to repair that relationship.

If you want to check out the StoryBrand podcast and the episode I reference, you can find it here:

https://www.podbean.com/ew/dir-799vh-9648362

Have a great week!

Rafael spent 19 years in prison, starting at age 14, and today he is a business owner, community organizer, youth mentor, criminal justice advocate, founder of Tucson’s IF project, and has even been invited to the White House for his work. The craziest part? He accomplished all this in FIVE years! He got out of prison only five years ago.

As he shares his journey of growing up in prison, trying to find his identity, and “killing himself” to survive, it gets raw. “There’s no way a logical, thinking mind can go into prison and come out sane.” He got out at 24, a grown ‘man’, and without the right help and resources he ended up reoffending. His turning point came during his second prison sentence when he found ‘Raf’ again.

Our talk covers resources that are available to people getting out, advice for family members welcoming home a loved one (throw that Sundae on the floor!), and the importance of staying ‘hungry’ and surrounding yourself with people who inspire you.

Some great quotes from the episode:

“Same way I was fearless for the wrong things is same way I’m fearless for the right things.”

“You have to know who you are.”

It’s not “what can the community give to us.” It’s “what can we add.”

Reach us at: [email protected]

Support our work at: https://www.patreon.com/handcuffedtofreedom

Check out our YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZfuIRZqYfwX4ZVF-_NR8nA