The Stanley Prince story is one where you just say..."wow!" 26 years in prison and what a story he has... He grew up in St. Louis City. He dropped out of school because he was embarrassed of his stutter. That decision led him down a bad path. He loved his mom, idolized his mom...you feel his emotion and sadness when he describes the hurt he caused her. Stanley's descriptions of state and federal prison are gripping and disturbing. His son died and he felt like ending it all. An inmate gave him a helping hand and it transformed his life, teaching him how to read and write. He received his GED and that was just the beginning. He took every programming class available. The Prison officials and teachers for the inmates took notice. A letter was written to the Warden stating that Prince is a model person doing so many good things, pleading that he should be released early. That request was granted and Prince was released 3 years early, but now what? No family connections, nowhere to live, no money after 26 years. Stanley got deeply depressed, but sought help. He finds himself and his purpose. He grabs hold of his inner confidence to start his own landscaping lawn care business. He gets chosen for the Harris Stowe College Entrepreneur Program, and then doubles his business. Stanley's story has a lot of bumps and detours, but it is so meaningful how we see him find his way to happiness, and truly feeling free. Stanley is brutally honest and raw with his story of surviving, and is just such a likeable personality.

Anthony Pierre had made all the right moves. He chose the right path in school, but he ran with a group who had chosen the wrong path. Anthony hit the books and graduated with A's. He dedicated himself to become a D-1 Athlete, and followed a mentor into Real Estate and built a regional company. A wife, kids in great schools, Dad soccer coach, and a beautiful home. One day a life long friend that he wanted to help who had chosen the wrong path came to Anthony for help...just this one time...a simple drop of drugs to someone Anthony did know. Anthony also knew this cash infusion could help his real estate company after the crash of 2008. Little did he know he was walking straight into a drug ring that had been under investigation for months. One bad decision...Anthony is pulled over and surrounded by agents. This Nightmare cost him 6 years in prison. At first Anthony was bitter, but he flipped the switch and began helping others. Anthony used his time to educate the inmates how to invest in the real estate business. The warden took notice and made his teaching an official programming class. His real estate school educated 100's of men while they were in prison...changing their lives as they re-entered the free world. This Pierre class is legendary in the state of Ohio Prison world. Anthony has written a book "Boundless Success" and has a real estate academy, along with being a successful real estate investor and motivational speaker. Pierre is a true gritty Nightmare Success Story! Anthony Pierre | Linktree, www.estatemaster.cc

The question I kept asking myself throughout this interview is, "how did Mikie Bobzin survive?" She recounts being a 5 year-old girl having to grow up quickly with a bi-polar mom who was a severe alcoholic. As a 7 year-old, Mikie knew she wanted her mom to drink beer not gin. That is a lot for a 7 year-old.  They were in and out of public housing and Mikie was always trying to figure out how to fit in. She went down a dark path with her own addictions, hanging with a tough crowd. You really feel her rock bottom moment.  Mikie is so honest and real in telling her story...she really puts you on the edge of your seat, and you can't possibly imagine this having a happy ending. Well, unbelievably it does. Mikie and her 5 kids are doing well together as a family. Mikie has a meaningful job, and just graduated with her Masters degree in Social Work. This is truly a Nightmare Success story, and Mikie is giving back to those who helped save her along the way.

Bill Glaser, tan, white hair, looks like the picture of a successful country club rich man, and he was. He had worked his way to the top of the class with sought after clients with his wealth management company and real estate. Then the nightmare...A bad homebuilder turned into a terrible fraud for Bill's clients. The FBI came knocking on the door, and Bill found himself in a spin cycle of bad to worse. Finally, he pleads guilty and finds himself designated to Federal Medical Prison, Lexington KY. Not a good place to be. This place has all classifications of prisoners. How does a guy like Bill handle being choked out and put in the hole for 8 months? This honest, heartfelt story has it all packed into one episode.

Shawntelle Fisher walked out of prison for the last time on her birthday...November 3, 2011. She had been in and out of prison with multiple felonies mostly pertaining to forgery or bad checks. Fisher had become a mother at 15, a convicted felon at 17...by the time she was 19 she was in prison. Her birthday release was going to be different. This time was the last visit to prison, and she set out on a mission to change her life and other peoples lives by founding Soulfisher Ministries, a nonprofit that helps educate children whose parents are, or have been, incarcerated.  

Fisher is one smart woman. She sought out her education along the way after prison...she holds degrees with full ride scholarships from University of Missouri-St.Louis, graduate degrees from Washington University and Eden Theological Seminary. She became a licensed clinical social worker and drug and alcohol abuse counselor. She now helps hundreds of kids with education and life through her organization.

With all of these accomplishments, she was recently denied and then appealed and then denied again by a judge to be a foster parent. Why? Because of her felony record. Shawntelle says she will become a foster mom, and we have a deep discussion about what are the best solutions for people who return home from prison trying to make their way back in society. The recent setback is a gut punch to Shawntelle, but it is inspiring how she handles a challenge. Everyone can learn something from how Shawntelle handles life. I am a fan!

What if you were convicted of murder and it took 20 years in prison to finally prove you were innocent? That is exactly what happened to my guest Marvin Cotton Jr. one day when he was driving to pick up his 2 year old daughter from daycare. It is one heck of a story told in a way no one else can tell it like Marvin. We walk through his nightmare as if we are walking beside him...could have easily been one of us picking up one of our kids from school. His freedom would have never happened without the prosecutors office creating a special division in the office named the Conviction Integrity Unit. It was tasked to look at questionable convictions. Cotton's case was one they chose to investigate. After 2 1/2 years of investigation he was freed and exonerated after 20 years in prison. He did get work in prison. Marvin used his time there to help bring factions and gangs together through his unique leadership as a communicator. His Mom and family never gave up hope. He also kept his relationship alive with his daughter through all of these formative years. Marvin has not wasted any time since he was released. He is the CEO of Better Not Broken, where he is a motivational speaker, mentor, and coach that helps people overcome circumstantial roadblocks and progress to personal life transformation. Marvin Cotton Jr. is running for The House of Representatives 11th District in Michigan. We need men like Marvin in politics. He could so easily be bitter, but this is an optimistic man who is using his experience to effect change for the better. He never gave up hope, stayed determined, and had the courage to keep stepping through the unknown...what a message!

Samantha Lander gives us the Federal Prison experience from a female's perspective, and she has lived through her nightmare and survived. She has a very engaging personality that mixes humor and pain as she relays to us her incredible journey of survival, determination, and success. Sam grew up in St. Louis in an upper middle class suburban neighborhood. Her dad was a doctor.  She went to one of the best high schools in the state and then attended the University of Michigan. She moved to LA and become a successful "A List" DJ in the club scene...just like that her world spun out of control with a SWAT team crashing down her door. How does the girl next door get saddled with spending 2 years in Federal Prison? Sam tells the details of what was going through her mind as if we are walking through the experience with her. She has gotten out and put her life back together. Always a great athlete, she is a sought after personal trainer, who now runs her own business @seefitliving. Sam optimizes your health holistically to get you and your life back! You should check out her Instagram account @seefitliving for healthy ways to live. Sam kept walking right through her nightmare and never gave up!

How about this headline..."I went from being one of the top teen golfers in the World (#4) to Hawaii's most wanted. This is Kyle Quilausing's incredible story of letting arrogance get the best of him...falling from grace as a child Hawaii celebrity... being expelled 6 months before high school graduation...taking one hit off a meth pipe losing it all...becoming a fugitive most wanted, finally being arrested, and then orchestrating one of the biggest escapes from prison to fuel his addiction. The story that is told only the way that Kyle can tell it. It will leave you on the edge of your seat. His prison stories left me speechless. It is emotional, inspiring, and a true story of redemption. Kyle now leads a life talking to kids all over the country of how to keep out of the dark hole he fell into. He explains how one wrong decision can be life altering. You can find Kyle on Instagram with the words he now lives by...stay, humble, pray...with over 30,000 followers (@stayhumblepray). This is truly a story of a man who has lived a nightmare and survived to use his experience for the good of helping others. If you like stories of how to adapt, survive, and create a successful second chance... you will be inspired by Kyle. 

To reach out to Kyle: https://www.instagram.com/stayhumblepray/, https://topyouthspeakers.com/speakers-topics/kyle-quilausing

Russ Faria is my guest this week. He has been on Dateline 6 times, a record. He is the subject of the popular Podcast "The Thing About Pam" that has over 30 million listeners. The 6 Part NBC Mini Series just finished up with the same title as the podcast. Joel Schwartz, Russ's attorney, was my guest last week, and did an excellent job describing the details and characters of the case. Russ gives us his life story. What kind of life he was living before the horrible December night tragedy? How did he and Betsy meet and what was their life and marriage like? Russ does an incredible job of letting us inside his mind as the events unfolded and what he was thinking and feeling. He shares nuggets of wisdom and strategies of how he kept being himself regardless of being locked up for life without parole plus 30 years. He never gave up or lost hope. Russ is a very likable, happy, optimistic man who wants to use his experience to help others and create change. He is using his new found fame to lend his voice to the Midwest Innocence Project. He wants people to know that there are Russ Faria's all over the country that are innocent and locked up in prison. Russ has recently gotten engaged, and his fiancé was actually one of the hunted potential victims of Pam Hupp's before she asked to be let out of Pam's car. You can't make this stuff up! Russ is a good man, doing good things... making a difference!

My guest this week is criminal defense attorney Joel Schwartz. He is the attorney who represented Russ Faria in the case that has become an NBC 6 part series ratings darling titled, "The Thing about Pam" starring Rene Zellweger (as Pam Hupp) and Josh Duhamel (as Joel Schwartz). Joel has written the book Bone Deep that takes readers through the perfect storm of miscalculations and missteps that led to an innocent man’s conviction—and recounts Schwartz’s successful battle to have that conviction overturned. Joel has been speaking to sold out audiences all over the nation that can't get enough of this story. He has appeared on Dateline NBC, 60 Minutes, CBS Morning News, CNN, Fox News and countless local television news affiliates. Joel went to undergraduate and law school at the University of Texas, Austin. He has a bit of an entrepreneur streak in him. While he was an undergraduate at UT, he created the popular "Men of Texas" calendar that landed him on the cover of Newsweek Magazine. After finishing law school, Joel headed to Hollywood to be an actor. He came home to St. Louis for a visit, and never went back to Los Angeles. He said he would give law a try for a year, and now 33 years later he is Principal Partner in the nationally respected Law Firm of Rosenblum, Schwartz, and Fry. On top of all of that, he has his own band, JFB, where he is the lead guitarist and singer. Joel is a family man with a wife and 3 kids who has a passion for making a difference with everything he goes to do. Joel is the criminal defense attorney you would want fighting by your side if you find yourself in a nightmare. In a perfect world, there would be a criminal defense attorney cloning machine making 100's of Joel Schwartz clones. He is definitely one of the good guys!