Coming from a good suburban family, being an "A" student at Arizona State, falling into drug addiction, depression, abusive relationships, smuggling drugs for a Mexican cartel and finally getting hit with a Federal Prison sentence, Megan Racer is my guest this week. Her story is honest, authentic, humbling, gripping, and truly inspiring of overcoming all her obstacles and using her experience for good to help others at River Source Treatment Center. You don't have to have lived through addiction to feel this story. The way Megan walks us through her journey you feel her desperation of trying to survive, floating above water to make due in life. Megan's story invokes all the emotions you can feel. This story could be made into a movie about living through a nightmare, hitting rock bottom, and finally setting herself free to be the person she is today. She is now the happy mother of 2 kids, in a good relationship, and thriving with her job and life. A true, inspiring Nightmare Success Story!

Are you a product of your environment or can you break the cycle? Randell McKoy grew up with mentors in his life - his stepdad, mom, uncle, and grandma, teaching him how to be a man and knowing right from wrong, but he was still drawn to the adrenaline rush of the hustle of the street life. He says he was living a double life. It costs him. Eventually, he was arrested on drug charges, and his cousin... who just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time with him ended up getting even more time. Randell tells the story of his journey being at 5 different prisons from maximum lockup to the minimum security at Leavenworth.... years of adapting and surviving the prison life. Randell is back home now. He successfully obtained his CDL license and has secured a good job. He has reconnected with his family. I believe Randell is learning how to break the cycle to create positive change.

How does the girl next door, smart, private school end up homeless at the age of 16 addicted to meth and eventually doing prison time in her 20's? My guest this week is Jenn Henry and she has had one heck of a journey to get to where she is today. She grew up not understanding and trying to fit in with a bi-polar Mom, and a dad who could not help her with her struggle of trying to fit in or escape her situation. She wakes up one day in a jail cell and sees an emaciated ghost of herself, and decides at her rock bottom moment...she had to change. Jenn walks us through her hard struggles and strategies of finally breaking free to where she is today. She uses her life experience to help others get better as a lifestyle recovery coach. There are all kinds of nuggets of wisdom for our daily life packed inside this episode.

What if you get a call from work to get home right now…you arrive, and your mom is in the back of the police car because she has murdered your dad – 5 years to that day you are walking through the gates of prison for a crime you didn’t commit to serve a 50-year sentence. Well, meet my guest Ronald Simpson Bey on this week’s podcast Nightmare Success In and Out. Ronald went through a dark 5 years after entering prison being involved in all the ugliness of prison mischief, until he read a book that changed his life. He began reading and studying up on the law and helping other people with their cases. He speaks of the pain of finding out his son, who he was planning to see on a visit, had been murdered that day on Father’s Day. He forgave the 14-year-old boy who killed his son and advocated for him not to be charged as an adult. Ronald never gives up on the injustice of his case and finally gets a federal court to overturn his conviction after 24 years. He describes how it takes him another 3 years to be freed from prison because of our system. Ronald and his story are an inspiration of optimism…kicking unfairness in the face and succeeding regardless. Ronald is now the National Executive Vice President of Just Leadership USA that is doing important work for the incarcerated and those who have been released. Funny quote from Ronald getting released after 27 years in prison…“I felt like Fred Flintstone returning home to the Jetsons!”

What do you think when I say Homeless? Probably not former police officer, detective, global security expert, CEO of a Private Worldwide Security Agency, Media Commentator, CEO of Hollywood TV/Film Production Company, Best Selling Author of Interminable...Well, my guest this week on Nightmare Success In and Out is Michael "Hollywood" Henderson, and he is all of those things rolled up into one man! I attempt to pull back all the layers of Michael's story...from a complicated but loving Mom and Son relationship to all the different mentors that showed up in Michael's life in the moment of need... then not knowing his Dad and then literally bumping into him at a park...this new connection changed his life. His Grandma introduced him at an early age to entrepreneurship. Michael shares the story of his "Milk Shake" moment to fuel him to where he is today. Michael says, "I always run towards things that scare me." Man, has he lived his life this way! He states that is where he continues to find all the great things in his life.  As Michael walks us through his roller coaster journey from St. Louis, around the world and then Hollywood, we start to piece together what fuels Michael's confidence to keep him stepping forward regardless if it scares him. This episode is chalked full of life lessons of breaking down prisons in your own mind.  Book: Interminable: Stories and Steps to Overcoming Life's Obstacles After a Repetitive Cycle of Pain and Loss - How to Maintain Your Win!  Facebook: Michael Henderson Hollywood Instagram: @therealmichaelhenderson

What would you do if you were just sentenced to 25 years in prison, and the same week you are informed your 4 year old son has cancer? Jim Brock is my guest this week, and that is exactly what Jim was faced with. His son survived and Jim refers to him as his hero. Brock was a 1st Team All State Soccer Player at Lindbergh High School. Grades kept him off his senior year team, and the dark slide started. Jim shares how he mentally tackled a life in prison without losing himself in prison. Stray Rescue has a program with the prison for dogs who are not adoptable. Prisoners work and train these dogs. Jim became a champion of this program, eventually training 16 dogs that ended up being adopted with their forever home families. Jim found a lot of commonality with these dogs being neglected, caged, disappointments, and forgotten. Brock describes how incredible mentors showed up unexpectedly at different times in his life and created hope and a focused lifeline. Jim took the reins and became a leader and inspiration for other inmates with Washington University's Associate Program and eventually Bachelor Degree Program. He earned both while incarcerated. Jim is now home. A lot has changed in 20 years, but he has hit the ground running. He shares what he is doing now, and his dream of what he wants to do with his dog training. Jim says it is never TOO LATE! Man has he lived those words!

How do you not lose hope when you are sentenced to 30 years with no possibility for parole? Dion Soubasis never gave up. At the time of Dion’s nightmare, he had been in and out of prison selling drugs and was also charged with some burglaries. Life had not been easy up to this point in his life. His dad had died of a heart attack the night he was bailing his youngest son out of jail. That son blamed himself for his dad’s death. The younger son committed suicide, and Dion’s mom also goes to prison. Dion drops out of school in the 10th grade, and he starts hanging with the wrong crowd. One day in his prison cell Dion hits rock bottom and realizes he could die in prison as a man he doesn’t like. He told himself, “This place offers every opportunity to change myself, and even if I die in here, at least I have done something to better myself.” He made good on his resolutions. He reconnected with his daughter. Graduated college with a degree in theology, spent years as a prison barber, and amassed hours of rehabilitation and leadership programs.  Dion unexpectedly was given clemency by Governor Parsons because of some helpful people who met with the governor accompanied with the good work Dion had done with his time in prison. He is now enjoying his life after 17 years in prison. He has great friends and family that have been there to help. He has a job where he is top of the board in sales month in month out. He is a connected grandfather, and even does some speaking to help others get to the next step by telling his inspiring story. Dion came to the interview with his notes loaded with nuggets of wisdom from his life experiences. Optimism, hope, and action are what this story is about.

Wow! What an emotional inspiring story of a man using his struggles, and life experiences to create good and help others. Robert Riley's dad went to prison when he was 2 years old. He only knew him from visiting prison. Robert's dad was an addict, and Robert fell into that life at an early age. He was in and out of trouble with juvenile courts and state prisons. He finally found himself serving time in a Medium Security Federal Prison, and received an emotional letter from his 10 year old son. This hit him deep and changed his mindset and life direction. When he was released, he followed the 12 step recovery plan, and just kept stepping making a difference in peoples' lives for the better. In the last 14 years since Robert has been released...he changed the laws, breaking down barriers for the use of Narcan that can save the life of an opioid user, he created transitional housing for people in recovery, he co-founded a 30 day recovery center with outpatient follow up, and he now employs and trains people in recovery as bakers and baristas with the companies he owns...The Coffee Culture Food Truck and The Cookie Hustle. This is a true man of action. He has a passion for helping others through his own life experiences, and stepping into the unknown opportunity each time has only made him more confident to keep stepping forward following his passions. Robert is so open and honest about his own struggles in life that it makes him a natural leader in an arena that needs leaders for real change.

Randy Terrell grew up living a normal life until it wasn't. Hardworking supportive married mom and Dad, and Randy was the youngest of 6 kids. Randy played running back and outside linebacker all the way through college. He was going to the NFL. There was no plan B. He didn't make it and some of his friends did. He became depressed, embarrassed, and felt like he had let his family down. HIs life approached a fork in the road making some bad decisions by trying to keep up with some of his friends who were living the "life." He began hanging with the wrong crowd. He started with gambling, selling some drugs, and getting into a stolen car conspiracy ring. Just when his life was getting right with a real job, the knock came on the door that began his nightmare. Randy is very open about his feelings and some of his emotions are still very raw as he describes the story he, his kids, and family experienced. HIs prison cellphone story will make you question yourself "What would I have done if I was caught in the same situation of desperation?" Randy is a good guy and a very present Dad to his kids, and he makes a point of saying he will never be in a situation like that again...leaving them for prison. Randy has a good job and has so much gratitude for where he is now in his life.  I think you will appreciate the open raw honesty Randy gives us about his life story.

You know how you watch a movie or listen to a story, and you walk away and think wow that just makes me feel good! That is the Darryl Woods Sr. story. Wrongly convicted of murder at 18 years old...already a father to a son and daughter. Sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. He dropped out of school in 8th grade, and became a child of the streets with all the bad things that had to offer. Darryl's story is one of complete transformation after hitting rock bottom. His underlying theme is never lose HOPE! In prison he became a model citizen being of service helping others with their cases and teaching GED classes. He became a very involved father in his son and daughter's lives. His kids love and admire him for the man he is. In prison, Darryl earned his GED, and Chaired the NAACP Detroit Branch Prison Program, and led 1,000's of youth and prisoners to transformation as the founder of RESTART Youth Deterrent Program. His case was overturned by the original trial judge who said, "Darryl was wrongfully convicted." It took him another 16 years of appeals to finally be released from prison. Darryl was locked up for 29 years. He was released in 2019. Since then he has launched SAY Detroit's "Better Together" initiative. This extraordinary program allows the community police officers and gang members to "break bread" together and find common ground. He has been appointed to the State Appellate Defenders Commission by Governor Whitmor. Darryl could have stayed bitter, but he turned the bitter to better. His life story is inspiring for so many things it teaches us about life and the way we should think. This is a Nightmare Success story you won't forget!