How did a kid in Kansas with a paper route become the head of a national marijuana empire from California to Kansas? Meet Los Dahda who has quite the story of a weed entrepreneur who's case went all the way to the Supreme Court. Los and his twin brother were eventually arrested with 43 other people with over an alleged 8,000 pounds of marijuana funneled through the charged conspiracy. Dahda was sentenced to 17 years in prison. Los become a student of the law, and began fighting his case from prison. Most of the main points he raised had to do with illegal wiretaps. He was able to work his way all the way through the legal system to the Supreme Court of the United States. Los does a great job of walking us through the behind the scenes workings of what it was like to be part of this national organization with his twin brother. Los had a day job as a Union pipefitter. Since Los has gotten released he has been able to go back to his union pipefitting job. Dahda is a smart guy who shares a fascinating story of survival. Can't wait to read the book he is working on.

How does a guy who helped displaced companies after 9-11 end up in Federal Prison. Meet Jason Safford who in only 4 months removed from getting out of Federal Prison. Jason has been a CEO, a real estate investor, author, speaker, and executive coach. He was an early pioneer of green energy, and even taught New York City officials how it could work for the city. Jason was the CEO of Safflyn for 16 years, and led the acquisition of development of more than $200 million in real estate. He helped companies find cost efficient ways to find new office space in Brooklyn using green energy after 9-11. Jason's nightmare began with an ambitious green energy community that went from bad to worse to prison. There are nuggets of wisdom Jason shares of what to look out for in a partnership. This is a story about never giving up on yourself, and sticking to what you know even if you have to survive a nightmare to get there. Jason is fresh out of prison, and it is interesting to hear his perspective of how he is adjusting to reentry. Amazingly, Jason is still passionate about developing the land that sent him to prison. Jason's books are Think Green the Future is Awesome, Sun, Sand, and Salt, and Winning with Exceptionalism.

How does a guy who was released in August 2021 have over 1 million TikTok followers? Well, meet Jesse Crossen. Jesse, says he found cocaine in 2002, combined with alcohol and insecurity he went from a kid graduating high school to strung out and barely hanging on. Just after his 18th birthday he committed a robbery and a crazy argument that ended up with a shooting. He was arrested feeling a sense of relief that someone stopped him because he couldn't stop himself. The upper range of his sentencing was 16 years and the judge doubled that. Jesse was crushed, but he put his life together in prison with love and support from his family. He received a Bachelor's degree, became a journeyman electrician, wrote articles for publication, and found a new way forward. On August 16th 2021 the governor of Virginia granted Jesse a conditional pardon commuting the rest of his sentence, and was released immediately. Since being released he started the Second Chancer Foundation to provide services to people getting out of prison. He has an incredible following on TikTok discussing his life experiences. I think his followers are drawn to his raw honesty of how he has survived.

How does a school guidance counselor go on to generating over $3 billion dollars of sales in the pharmaceutical drug industry? Meet Alec Burlakoff who was the VP of sales at Insys Pharmaceuticals. You may have seen him on 60 minutes, maybe you have read his book "Selling Hard Lessons Learned." Netflix has a movie coming out about in October titled "Pain Hustlers." In the end the founder and 6 company executives were convicted. It was one of the first of its kind taking down executives with prison sentences in the pharmaceutical C-Suite. This is a fascinating story of a man that was told by his Dad he wanted Alec to avoid sales, so Alec got a masters in child psychology and became a guidance counselor and coach at a prestigious private school. One of the parents told Alec that he could get him an interview at Eli Lilly. Alec wanted to make more money and went to the interview and became the Rookie of the Year at Eli Lilly. He made a name for himself then jumped to Johnson and Johnson before he landed at InSys. Alec is a man who is straight forward and honest about what he did and how he did it. He also gives us a behind the scenes look of doing your prison time during COVID. This is an incredible rollercoaster story. You won't want to miss this one.

Can you imagine being swallowed up in the legal hurricane of Russiagate with President Trump and Special Counsel Robert Mueller? My guest, Sam Patten, was and is here to give us front row seats of the nightmare he endured with his conviction. Sam's book, Dangerous Company: Misadventures of a "Foreign Agent" is a memoir that reads like a thriller. Sam has had his hand in historical events without the glare of the spotlight until the Mueller Investigation of President Trump. He worked for Senators William Cohen, Susan Collins, and Olympia Snowe. He ran the Presidential Campaign for George W Bush in Maine. Then he left US politics to spread democracy abroad. He became an advisor to political leaders in Iraq, Ukraine, the Congo, Nigeria, and Mexico. He was also working in Russia during the early years of Vladimir Putin. When Washington went on the hunt for anyone who could have helped the Russians elect Donald Trump as president, Patten was a "usual suspect." He was working with Paul Manafort in Ukraine before Manafort took over Trump's Campaign. Robert Mueller eventually convicted Patten for failing to register as a foreign agent under a seldom used 1938 statute.

It is fascinating to hear the behind the scenes drama of how his nightmare started with the FBI and how it continued as the FBI attempted to squeeze every ounce of information out of him. All the while, the national media are opining daily with the intense real time drama. Sam is getting geared up for a second wind with his book Dangerous Company: Misadventures of a "Foreign Agent" https://a.co/d/3w5mslz. Sam writes a thought provoking column about current events for the Maine Wire.

Could a guy that was a hockey player, banker, real estate investor, voice over artist, and radio show co-host lose it all and spiral into his own nightmare? Meet Carl Moose. What a great name to have on any prison yard. Carl was cut from his hockey team when he was 11 years old, and it changed his life. He made a commitment he was never getting cut from any team or job again. He excelled in hockey and then in the job world. He was the leading salesman at two different companies before he decided to go out on his own as a business owner/entrepreneur. His world got all tangled up with a green energy company and investors, and how their money was applied for stock. When you take a great fall do you stay down, or get back up? Carl used his time in prison to gear up and use his life experience to create the 11x Focus Mastery Method - Mindset Success Program - he is now known as "Your focus guy." His program has evolved from the legendary "Think and Grow Rich Principles." It was not easy to get back up, and Carl shares how and what he went through to keep using that 11yr old kid grit in his memory bank to never give up. Carl is a born coach, and a man not afraid to take action. [email protected], www.yourfocusguy.com,

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Do you ever wonder what prison life is like from the female perspective? Elizabeth Mikotowicz shares all the details of her journey through the Federal Prison system. Elizabeth lived through a hard knock life of picking the wrong guys to be with that almost killed her. She shares shocking tales of inside the prison. Prison is also the place where she found her passion for her artwork. The Warden noticed her talent and began having her paint the walls in the hallways to give a more upbeat vibe to the drab prison world. Since Elizabeth's reentry to society she has been able to successfully sell her artwork, and has created her own clothing line. She is also an advocate for changing laws for women, especially those who are pregnant behind the walls. Elizabeth is very passionate about her story and her goals in life. She finally has her clothing line, EPM Clothing, in a National chain store.

Could you build a new empire off your worst life decision? Meet Justin Paperny who is the founder of White Collar advice, who has become an expert at helping 1000's of people facing challenges with the criminal justice system.

Justin’s story has been featured on many national news stations, including ⁠The Washington Post⁠, ⁠CNN⁠, ⁠Fox⁠, ⁠Dr. Phil⁠ and others. Lastly, NBC Universal aired “⁠My Deal With the Devil⁠“, a 60-minute television show about Justin’s story.

Justin has become a nationally recognized public speaker for corporate America. He did work with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, including lecturing at ⁠The FBI Academy⁠ in Quantico, VA.

Justin grew up in an upscale suburb of Encino, California. He was a D-1 athlete that played baseball for USC. He was trained at Merrill Lynch, moved to Bear Stearns, and finally joined UBS in its Century City, L.A. office. Serving 400 days in federal prison wasn't what Justin had in mind when he became a stockbroker fresh out of the University of California. But a "focus of short-term rewards led to the rotting of the inner core," Paperny writes in his book, Ethics In Motion. He was in the seven figure signing bonus race of produce however you produce or you are out the door. He worked mostly with professional athletes and hedge funds. He knew what his client was doing and turned a blind eye to keep commissions coming, When the corporate attorney asked about it, Justin lied. When the FBI asked about it, Justin wasn't truthful again. Things went from bad to worse to prison. In prison, Justin befriended a mentor, Michael Santos (sentenced to 30+ years, who helped Justin with his comeback story of how to prepare for his second chance. You will come out of listening to this episode saying, "Wow!"

What would you do to help your spouse out of a business jam? And you are an expert in what she needs help with...Bill Livolsi, an accountant by trade, had lived the American dream life. He had climbed the corporate ladder at a New York Advertising firm. He had moved to Vegas and fell in love and got married to an investment banker. They moved to Oklahoma to assist the wife's aging dad. Then things started to unravel with her investment business. Bill, being an accountant, offered to help her out to get out of her jam. Things spiraled to where his wife gets indicted. They had two young kids while this nightmare continued to spiral out of control. The other shoe fell and Bill also got indicted. The judge allowed Bill's wife to go first to prison, so the kids would have a parent. Bill had to wait over 4 years, with each prison visit knowing he was next. Bill tells a fascinating story how things can seem great, and then it goes from worse to a living nightmare. Bill is putting his experience to good use. He is now the deputy director of the National organization Progressive Prison Ministries, along with, being a successful certified life coach.

How do you become the reinvention architect and mindset coach after hitting rock bottom in prison? Craig Stanland had it all and lost it all, and then found his new passion. He is a TEDX and Keynote speaker, and best selling author of the book "Blank Canvas", along with, being an effective mindset coach helping people cultivate the courage to pursue their calling. If you want a podcast episode to get you up and motivated to take action in your life, Craig Stanland is your guy. Listening to him talk makes you want to get up and do something for yourself. In 2012, Craig made a choice that would cost him everything. After exploiting the warranty policy of one of the largest tech companies in the world for almost a year, the FBI finally came knocking on his door. Craig walks us through his gripping moments of hitting rock bottom. A well timed prison visit from his friend of over 30 years turned his life around. Craig has rebuilt and reinvented his life from rock bottom to a life of meaning and fulfillment. This story has it all for a comeback feel good story! Follow Craig on Instagram @craig_stanland and LinkedIN - Craig Stanland - Reinvention Architect. His book Blank Canvas can be purchased on Amazon.