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PODCAST

Earning Freedom with Michael Santos

Michael Santos is an advocate, author, speaker, and consultant. Through Ear

Earning Freedom offers insight into strategies that empower people through struggle. Michael Santos went to prison as a consequence of bad decisions he made as a young man. While serving a 45-year prison term, he learned lessons that inspired him to prepare for success. Through Earning Freedom, Michael shares those lessons and shows how they led to his success upon release. He also interviews others who successfully overcame struggle.

education

All Episodes

20:44

240: Raising Capital After Prison, Episode 22

Earning Freedom with Michael Santos ·

2016/03/08

8. Raising Capital The wisdom of Socrates has lived for longer than 2,000 years. His teachings influenced my thinking and approach to problems. To figure out next steps in the development of my career, I turned to his question-based approach to learning. The more questions I asked, the more truth I found in his saying, “The one thing I know is that I know nothing.” By the spring of 2014, I’d been free from the Bureau of Prisons for eight months. The experience of creating the Straight-A Guide and

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21:48

239: First Mortgage After Prison, Episode 21

Earning Freedom with Michael Santos ·

2016/03/08

First Mortgage: Carole and I met with a mortgage banker and provided all of the documentation requested. We took the next step of ordering an appraisal of the property. By considering comparable prices in the neighborhood, the appraiser provided documentation valuing our property at $454,000. To avoid additional charges for mortgage insurance, we agreed to accept a mortgage of 80% of our home’s appraised value, or roughly $363,000. We wrote a check for $17,000 to cover the remaining amount we would

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21:21

238: Financial Stability After Prison, Episode 20

Earning Freedom with Michael Santos ·

2016/03/06

Building Financial Stability: When I concluded my obligation to the Bureau of Prisons in August of 2013, I set new goals with Carole. We were 49 years old and making progress, but we would have to cover a lot of ground to prepare for a stable future. Although I felt passionately about working to improve outcomes of our nation’s prison system, I also had a responsibility of preparing for our family’s future. Carole had sacrificed a great deal to marry me while I still had 10 years remaining to serve

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21:01

237: Finding Markets After Prison, Episode 19

Earning Freedom with Michael Santos ·

2016/03/06

7. Finding Markets: Like anyone starting a new venture, Justin and I had to overcome many hurdles as we tried to introduce our products into the marketplace. Philanthropic organizations provided us with funding to get started, but we still needed to create a sustainable business model. That meant we needed to find markets. The markets we identified included jails, prisons, and schools that served people who were at risk of going into jails or prisons. As formerly incarcerated individuals with felony

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22:31

236: Programs For Prisoners, Episode 18

Earning Freedom with Michael Santos ·

2016/03/06

Straight-A Guide Program: During my imprisonment, we developed the literature for this program. It all began under the theory that people in prison would be more receptive to learning from individuals who had transformed their lives while they experienced the prison system. Prisoners sometimes rejected a message when that message came from people who didn’t know the pain of being separated from the people they loved, or from the people who loved them. We wanted to reach prisoners. We wanted to

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21:24

235: Funding After Prison, Episode 17

Earning Freedom with Michael Santos ·

2016/03/04

Teaching at SFSU: I designed the third class to teach students about evolutions that occurred in criminal justice during the 18th century. Scholars referred to that era as The Enlightenment, a time when people had more hope. Two philosophers, Thomas Hobbes and John Locke, presented different theories on human behavior. According to Thomas Hobbes’ view, people were basically beasts by nature. Hobbes’ theory held that people would only refrain from breaking laws if the state maintained a severe penal

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20:43

234: Professor After 26 Years in Prison, Episode 16

Earning Freedom with Michael Santos ·

2016/03/04

6. San Francisco State University In early 2013 I began sending letters to professors who taught criminal justice courses in the San Francisco Bay area. If they thought it would be helpful, I offered to visit and provide their students with a different perspective. Many students who majored in criminal justice wanted to pursue careers in corrections, probation, or other law enforcement professions. I knew the students would’ve read many theoretical textbooks on corrections or different sociological

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21:50

233: Technology After Prison, Episode 15

Earning Freedom with Michael Santos ·

2016/03/04

Positive Connections: Through Justin I met Scott Budnick. Through Scott Budnick, I met Chris Redlitz. And through Chris Redlitz, I met Tulio Cardozo. Tulio was one of the first graduates from The Last Mile. As I had done, Tulio made some bad decisions as a young man, becoming involved with drugs. While incarcerated, however, Tulio chose to reinvent himself. Through textbooks, he trained himself how to code computers. Those efforts brought Tulio to the attention of Chris Redlitz and Chris authorized

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21:37

232: Support Networks After Prison: Episode 14

Earning Freedom with Michael Santos ·

2016/03/01

5. Support Networks Accelerate Growth Opportunities Earlier, I wrote about rules in the halfway house that required me to have a job. So long as I had a job that paid a steady paycheck, my case manager in the halfway house authorized me to leave. My friend Lee was more like a sponsor for me than an employer. He set a schedule for me to work 10—hour shifts, Monday through Saturday. I reported to an office and sat at a desk, but instead of doing work for Lee, I focused on creating a business. First, I

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21:04

231: Creative Financing After Prison, Episode 13

Earning Freedom with Michael Santos ·

2016/03/01

Creative Financing I visited Chris and Seth. They were partners of Advanced Building Solutions, a premier real estate development company with more than $100 million worth of properties under development. Although I’d never met Chris prior to my release from prison, my friend Lee could introduce me. Without a doubt, Chris and Seth were the type of people I had in mind when I thought about avatars. If leaders like Chris and Seth were going to believe in me, they would want to see a record showing

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22:36

230: Buying Real Estate After Prison: Episode 12

Earning Freedom with Michael Santos ·

2016/02/27

4. Real Estate Purchase When I returned to society, in August of 2012, our nation was starting to emerge from the worst recession in our lifetime. In 2008 the stock market and the real estate market began to implode. Credit dried up. Housing prices fell to historic lows. By the fall of 2012, however, the economy looked poised to rebound. Carole and I wanted to participate in the potential upside. To profit from an anticipated market rebound, I knew that Carole and I would need to control a larger

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22:07

229: Building Credit After Prison, Episode 11

Earning Freedom with Michael Santos ·

2016/02/26

Establishing Credit: With a driver’s license, a job, and a paycheck, I had to begin building a banking relationship. After I received my first paycheck, I went to Bank of America and opened an account. Charles had told me that I could not apply for credit until after I completed my obligation to the Bureau of Prisons. So I opened a checking account and a savings account. Just to check, I authorized the banker to run a credit report on me. We learned that I had a 0-0-0 credit score. He asked how a

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20:30

228: Steve Jobs Mentors Me In Prison: Episode 10

Earning Freedom with Michael Santos ·

2016/02/25

Steve Jobs: Mastermind As Steve Jobs, another mastermind said, “Good artists copy ideas, but great artists steal ideas.” To prepare for success, I copied ideas from the most successful masterminds I could find, whether they lived thousands of years ago or whether they served time alongside me in federal prison. Regardless of where you are today, you have masterminds around you. Question yourself on how your actions and choices influence they way those masterminds perceive you. If they perceive you

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21:12

227: Prison to Society, Episode 9

Earning Freedom with Michael Santos ·

2016/02/24

Prison to Society That initial meeting with my case manager, Charles, went well. Why? The roots for that successful meeting extended way back to the 1980s, when I was still locked inside of the Pierce County Jail. Recap? While in my cell I read about Socrates. From his story, I learned the importance of living for something greater than myself. Instead of dwelling on the challenges that had come from my own decisions, I could empower myself by thinking about others. Through Socratic questioning, I

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22:11

226: Prison to Halfway House, Episode 8

Earning Freedom with Michael Santos ·

2016/02/23

Who are your avatars? What would they expect of you? In what ways are the decisions you’re making today leading you closer to earning support tomorrow? Chapter 3: Transition from Federal Prison to a Halfway House By 3:00 am, on August 12, 2012, I was up and ready to start my exercise inside the federal prison in Atwater, California. It would be my last day locked inside of a prison. I had 9,135 days of imprisonment behind me, just over 25 years. Carole was scheduled to pick me up at 9:00 am

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21:25

225: Releasing to California From Prison, Episode 7

Earning Freedom with Michael Santos ·

2016/02/22

Prison Release to California: As we approached the end of my term, we had to figure out where we wanted to live. When a man served longer than a quarter century, he didn’t really have roots anywhere. We chose California because I’d built a strong support network that would be easier to leverage from a large state. Further, California was a big market and the state had some significant problems with its prison system. Since we wanted to live in a place that offered the best opportunity, California

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20:38

224: Earning Freedom From Prison, Episode 6

Earning Freedom with Michael Santos ·

2016/02/22

How to Earn Freedom Individuals who aspire to succeed always follow that pattern. Those who reach their highest potential follow the pattern in sports, in business, in politics, in marriage, and in any area of life where they want to excel. They always know where they are and they know where they’re going. They create plans, strategies, and make decisions in accordance with those plans and strategies. In order to build a career around my journey, I needed to craft my own products and services that

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21:30

223: Reviewing Books to Prepare for Success From...

Earning Freedom with Michael Santos ·

2016/02/22

Reviewing Books Date I read the book: Why did I choose to read this book? What did I learn from reading this book? How will this book contribute to my prospects for success upon release? By adhering to that strategy, I read with a deliberate purpose. Every decision had a direct connection to the success that I was determined to become. There were opportunity costs and risks associated with every decision. Since I knew that many people placed a high value on where they positioned their seat in

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21:20

222: Publishing From Prison: Episode 4

Earning Freedom with Michael Santos ·

2016/02/22

Publishing From Prison The first step would be to write a book proposal. Then I would need to write sample chapters. Next, I would need to write a cover letter and begin sending self-addressed-stamped envelopes to literary agents. My research showed that if I could persuade a literary agent to represent me, the literary agent would connect with publishing houses. If editors who worked at the publishing house liked my book, the editor would issue a contract to bring my book to market. It wouldn’t

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21:29

221: 45-Year Prison Sentence, Episode 3

Earning Freedom with Michael Santos ·

2016/02/22

Sentenced to 45-Years: Now I have a question for readers. If you could influence someone, who would you want to influence? What do you know about that person? In what ways would influencing that person change your life? What steps could you take today to influence that person? My judge chose not to impose a life sentence. Instead, he sentenced me to 45 years. I was sentenced under a different set of laws than the sentencing laws that exist today. Under the laws that existed for crimes committed in

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300 results

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