In the introduction, you write that prison became your “classroom.” Was there a specific moment when you realized your sentence wasn’t going to define the end of your story, but the beginning of a different one?
There wasn’t one dramatic moment where everything suddenly changed. It was more of a gradual realization that if I kept thinking the same way that got me there, I was going to stay mentally incarcerated long after my sentence ended. Prison stripped away distractions and forced me to sit with myself. Over time, I realized I had two choices: become bitter or become disciplined.
I started reading differently, thinking differently, and paying attention to how decisions shaped outcomes. That’s when prison became a classroom instead of just punishment. I stopped seeing time as something being taken from me and started seeing it as something I could invest into rebuilding myself. That shift in mindset changed everything.
A major theme in the book is becoming the “CEO of your own life.” What made that idea click for you while incarcerated, and how did it change the way you moved both inside prison and after release?
A lot of people spend their lives reacting instead of leading. I realized I had been giving circumstances, emotions, and survival mode too much authority over my decisions. Becoming the “CEO of your own life” means taking ownership even when life has been unfair to you.
In prison, structure and discipline matter. Your habits either strengthen you or destroy you. I started approaching my life the same way a CEO approaches a company: auditing my mindset, my circle, my routines, and my long-term vision. That mentality changed the way I moved while incarcerated and helped prepare me for life after release. Freedom without structure can become another form of chaos, and ownership gave me direction.
You speak openly about anger, betrayal, discipline, and survival. Which chapter was the hardest to write emotionally, and why did you feel it was important to tell that story without softening it?
The hardest part of the book to write emotionally was actually the introduction. Going back into that courtroom mentally forced me to relive a moment I had spent years trying to push away. I can still see it vividly. The sentencing, my mother’s reaction, and the feeling of everything I had lost hitting me all at once. Writing it brought those emotions back in a way I didn’t expect.
I think a lot of people survive painful experiences by burying them deep enough to keep moving forward, but writing this book forced me to confront those memories honestly instead of avoiding them. That was important to me because I didn’t want to create a version of transformation that sounded polished or unrealistic. Real growth is uncomfortable. Healing isn’t clean. Sometimes rebuilding yourself starts with finally being honest about the pain, anger, shame, or grief you’ve been carrying.
A lot of self-development books don’t speak the language of the streets or prison culture. Why was it important for you to write this book in an authentic voice instead of translating your experiences into more polished or traditional self-help language?
A lot of self-development books speak at people instead of speaking with them. I wrote this book for people who come from pressure, survival mode, broken environments, incarceration, and hard realities. I didn’t want to erase where I came from just to sound more polished or traditional.
The streets, prison culture, struggle, and survival shaped part of my perspective, and there are lessons inside those experiences that rarely get discussed honestly. Out the Concrete is about building bridges between those realities and personal growth. I wanted readers to feel seen, not judged. Authenticity reaches people in ways polished language sometimes can’t, and I believed the message would be more powerful if it sounded real instead of filtered.
If someone picks up this book while sitting in a prison cell, struggling on the streets, or feeling trapped mentally, what’s the one lesson you hope stays with them long after they finish the last page?
The biggest lesson I hope stays with people is that your environment does not have to become your identity. A lot of people go through so much pressure, trauma, or survival mode that they eventually stop believing growth is possible. I wanted this book to challenge that mindset.
Out the Concrete is really about learning how to build freedom mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and financially, even if life started in difficult circumstances. Discipline, self-awareness, and ownership can completely change the direction of a person’s life over time. Whether someone reads this book in a prison cell, a halfway house, or during a difficult season mentally, I want them to walk away believing they still have the ability to rebuild themselves from the inside out.
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