I empowered men in prison to work, on them, believe in them, and never give up on them, regardless.

Okay, here I am coming out of the prison. I just went in and poured my heart out, and these men— wow, wow, wow, what a time, what a time, what a time we had in this prison. I talked to these men from my heart. They laughed, they cried, they clapped, they stood up. I came to give them hope. I came to resuscitate their dignity and resuscitate their self-esteem and resuscitate their morals and resuscitate their faith and their hope and their confidence in themselves that they can turn their lives around, that they can change, that they can be reformed, that they can be rehabilitated and renewed. We had a time, they didn't want to let me go. I didn't want to leave. They hugged me, they cried with me, I cried with them. They told me their stories. I learned some things about them. And man, I'm telling you, I gave them a message called Never Give Up on You. And I told them how that society would give up on them. The judicial system would give up on them. Some of them have been divorced since they've been in here. Their wives have given up on them. Some of them haven't heard from their sons and daughters in years and grandchildren in years. Their grandchildren, family members have given up on them. Family members have died. I told them how that society has given up on them and threw them away and, and, and, um, just locked them up and threw away the key. And I told them how that, you know, sometimes people you trust and believe in and thought would always be a part of your life will give up on you. But no matter who gives up on you, do not give up on you. Never duplicate other people's opinions and actions of you and give up on yourself. You can see I'm here. I'm still here on the campus. I'm still here. I'm still here at this prison. And I remember what it's like to be in this place. I know what it's like because I was in prison 3 different times. I've done years of my life in prison. I know what it's like to come in this place and to feel like you got nothing left to live for. One of the guys inside, he told me he has no one to go home to. And he said, Rico, you spoke to my life today. You gave me hope. He said, I was at the point of giving up. I didn't know what to do. He said, I have no one left on the outside that loves me. And I know when people talk like that, they're suicidal. But I also know that there is hope. Even in a dark place, there is hope. Whoever thought that inside of a prison that somebody could come in and tell them, you got something to live for, you got something to hold on for, you got something to work toward. So keep holding on, keep hope alive, and do not quit. Do not give up. And I say this to those of you out there, you're not in prison. In a physical prison, but maybe you're in a mental prison. Maybe you're in an emotional prison. Maybe you're in a financial prison. Maybe you're in a spiritual prison. Maybe you're in the type of prison that doesn't have physical bars, but you're constrained and you're confined in your mind, and you're trying to figure out, man, what am I going to do with my life? Maybe you feel like quitting. Maybe you feel like breaking down. Maybe you feel like this is it. You can't go any further. Maybe you feel like the world has turned its back on you. And although you're free to go to Walmart and you're free to go to the store, you're free to go to work, and you're free to go and eat where you want to eat and put on the clothing you want to put on and drive in your car, but yet you're locked up inside. You're locked up in your mind. You're locked up emotionally. You're locked up psychologically. You're constrained. You're confined in your mind. You don't have peace. You don't have joy. You don't have happiness. You don't feel like you're liberated. And you got this burden on your life and you got these boulders on your shoulders and you got this yoke around your neck and you got these cuffs on your hands and you got these shackles on your feet, and even though you're able to express your liberty in different ways, your freedom has been confiscated. And I want to tell you that you can get it back. Just like everyone else, you can get it back. You have to believe in you. You have to begin to focus internally and deal with your internal truth. Deal with your truth. Deal with your weaknesses and your susceptibility. Deal with your vulnerabilities. Deal with the things that's holding you down, that's holding you back. Deal with the things that's suppressing in your life and depressing in your life and the things that are repressive in your life. Deal with those things that are confiscating your ability to be happy and enjoy yourself. Deal with your true issues. I'm on scene right now at a prison and I'm talking to you live. My time with them is over, but I'm telling you right now that you gotta break free from this prison that you're in and you gotta begin to live your life. Take your life back. Take your willpower back. Engage your willpower and take your happiness back and your joy back. Take your dignity, your self-worth, your self-value back. Take the things back that matters the most to you. And allow for yourself to realize that my life is not over. Maybe I've had some hardship and difficulties that has lasted longer than I wanted to, but I still got time, right? I still got a chance, right? I can still turn this thing around. Remember, life is what you make it. And no matter who gives up on you, don't you give up on you, because you have the power to turn your life around. I have— if I had more time, I'd go into more of an encouragement for you. But I got a long drive ahead of me, and I got some more things planned for my day. But this is what I do. My name is Rico Sharp. I'm out to touch lives all over the world in every institution. On Monday and Thursday of this week, August the 12th and the 15th, I was speaking to FBI agents, HUD agents, federal intelligence agents, the Department of Homeland Security agents. I was speaking to people even in the Department of the Oval Office of the President of the United States, telling them how to bring out the best in them, how not to give up, how not to let life pass them by, but to take their lives back. And I got a standing ovation from them, which means they received everything I had to say. But now I'm walking out of a prison talking to inmates, convicts, criminals, talking to people who's been convicted of murder, convicted of rape, convicted of child molestation, convicted of robbing banks. I'm talking to people My, my motivational platform and my ministry is from one platform to the other. There is no such thing as I can't speak here and I can't speak there. I, I'll be at a school on Wednesday, in a college, speaking to college students. I'll be in a church tomorrow speaking to people in the church. If you have an event going on and you need somebody that's going to rock the place and wake people up and bring the best out of them and have them to give it all they got, I'm your guy, Rico Sharp. Go to ricosharp.org and remember, life is what you make it. When the opportunity comes, you take it. You be sharp now and maximize the moment and make yourself a great life. And think sharp, plan sharp, walk sharp, talk sharp, live sharp, and you'll be sharp. My name is Rico Sharp.