A man describes cycling through prison, homelessness, and drug trafficking before his third sentence became a turning point. He worked from a junkyard to managing a car dealership, using the Chinese bamboo tree as proof that invisible effort eventually explodes into growth.
Chapters
It's an opportunity to be able to talk to you. If you have a few questions you want to ask me, I think I have about 7 or 8 minutes or so. You can ask if you have any questions or comments from—
for me.
How have you been homeless and how will you finally leave the homeless? How have you been and how will you leave?
Say that one more time.
You said when you were alive you've been homeless, right?
Yes.
So how have you been? And then how we live it. They stop going and then go out.
I'm having a hard time because somebody— how would you say how'd you become non-homeless?
How'd you get away from homelessness?
Through prison. I got away from homelessness through prison. Yeah, I was incarcerated 19 different times as a teenager and sent to prison 3 times for trafficking drugs. I got away from homelessness through being incarcerated, through prison. When I came out of prison, I came out the third time, I promised myself I'm never going back again, and I began working in a junkyard laying sod. And eventually from there to working in the construction field, from there to working for a construction company doing surveying. From there to selling cars and being a manager in a car dealership, and I just continued to climb my way up. Very good question. Next question.
Okay.
All right.
Did anybody get anything out of my talking today?
Yeah.
All right.
Let me get three people to share what you got out of. My talking to you today?
I got motivation out of you talking to me today. You got a high spirit. It's contagious energy. It's good stuff.
Great.
Keep it up.
Keep it up.
You're doing great.
Thank you. I'm glad to hear that.
Next person.
I was gonna say the same thing. I mean, it was sometimes, like you said, life gets hard. You know, you don't get to hold on to that energy to keep going. And the whole talk today was very motivating in that way.
Great. Great.
Next person.
Uh, basically what I got is being selfless is fine, but being selfish is also okay. So be selfish sometimes.
That's right, because you got to put you first, right? Yeah, because you're no good for no one else if you're no good for yourself, right? Great, very good point, very good point, very good point.
Anyone else?
Yes, sir.
It's the way you say, like, never giving up. Always got to keep trying hard and work for it.
It's gonna—
it's gonna get tough life on the road, but you just never gotta give up and keep going. Have a sharp mind.
That's great.
I like the way you did it.
Great.
There's this tree that grows in China. It's called the Chinese bamboo tree. You have to plant the seed and water the ground 5 years before you see any manifestation. It does not grow above the surface for the first 5 years, but after being consistent with it and diligent And sticking to the process, within 5 weeks that tree grows to be 90 feet tall.
Wow.
That's how life is. Sometimes you will labor and try and labor and try, fall and get up, fall and get up. You'll sweat, you'll struggle, you'll cry, you'll feel hurt, you'll feel broken, but you keep going at it. You never quit, you never give up, and before you realize it, your dream will grow. Could be 90 feet tall. Thank you. God bless each and every one of you.
