Week 11

Week in Review

Monday September 18, 2017

Today was another Monday in the Prison Entrepreneurship Program, and it feels like so many others. Some of us had computer lab and, of course, we all had speeches to do in Toastmasters. Between Hurricane Harvey and the unfortunate lockdown we had recently, some of us haven’t been able to participate in Toastmasters as much as others. Thankfully, we are able to do speeches in the dorms now, so we can get caught up on our studies.

In addition, there’s quite a few of our brothers who are a part of another class called Health & Wellness. A lot of us consider it like being in Athletics class back in high school. It’s definitely an out-of-the-ordinary class, especiall, in prison. The program teaches us how to live healthy and balanced lives. Big kudos to all of our brothers out there!

Look out: Legends of the Fall ’17, stand up! We’ve all been doing well and staying motivated. The finish line is in sight and we are well on our way to graduation. Let’s continue doing what we’re doing, while keeping our heads high!

Ezell J. (a.k.a. “Princess Fiona”)

Tuesday September 19, 2017

The Legends of the Fall ’17 woke up pretty early this morning. We saw the new class off for their first day of class. Most of the new guys were up and excited, but a few were still a little groggy.

This afternoon my class and the former graduates completed a character assessment. The new format for the character assessment is much better than previous versions. In the new format, we check each other to see how everyone’s behavior matches up with our 10 Driving Values.

To finish off the day, a lot of our brothers participated in a voluntary Toastmasters session to catch up with the rest of the class. In addition, we have Bert S.’s business test tomorrow on Chapter 11, so some last minute studying is definitely a must. All in all, it’s been another wonderful day for the Legends. Stand firm, brothers!

Joseph J. (a.k.a. “Yellow M&M”)

Wednesday September 20, 2017

It’s the middle of August and we are definitely back on track full-throttle. The Legends of the Fall have been absorbing the ins and outs of all things having to do with marketing, and now we are getting into some new, exciting material. Our fearless leader, Bert S., has a way of transforming even the dreariest information into intriguing material with his unique insight. However, marketing is a subject we all sunk our teeth into happily.

We were, nonetheless, glad to be finished with the test over marketing today, and we dove headfirst into learning how we will establish operations of our prospective businesses. We now understand the benefits a critical path chart gives the small-business owners, and we are now less likely to spin our wheels wasting time when we open our own businesses. We were also briefed on how we can attain legitimacy in the world of business, and we know exactly what it takes to build a genuine business.

We had a lot of fun forming strategic alliances with each other, and we informally accepted our business alliance with PEP! We discovered that in business, it is quite beneficial to join together to form long-term symbiotic relationships. That is what we are here at PEP, for we are a band of brothers united in strategic alliances of positive change while we become business-savvy.

Ali I. (a.k.a. “Holy Mollie”)

Thursday September 21, 2017

Today was a good day, for we did wake up! And on that note, today was the day where our class the Legends of Fall ’17 – Woot! Woot! – recovered from our weekly test in Bert S.’s class. Thursday is when we gather our marbles and start the process of studying for next Wednesday.

A quick shout out to the classmates who have decided to take it to the next level and participate with the new Spring ’18 class: thank you from all of us in PEP. In today’s Leadership Academy we watched Joe A. and Morgan P. facilitate the class, and they did a good job. Of course it’s not the same without Michael G. there; those are not easy shoes to fill, but the class is definitely fun.

Spring ’18, just starting their journey, is a reminder of how far the Legends have come and how close we are to graduating. It is bittersweet to see the transformation spring ’18 is already beginning. We wish them all the luck, but rest assured, we’re here to pick them up if they fall – that is the mentality this program has instilled in us all. A huge “thank you” to the Servant-Leaders who paved the way for us!

Tolbert G. (a.k.a. “Leprechaun”)

Friday September 22, 2017

It’s the end of the week, and with that came our Living in the Village test. We’ve been on hold for two weeks waiting to take this test, so we had to refresh our memories in a hurry. With all of the information in our memory bank, we are still capable of performing at peak performance. Legends of Fall ’17, everybody needs to pat themselves on the back. Look where we came from to where we are now – and now the countdown to graduation: in 77 days, we’ll be walking across that stage. Through every test, homework assignment, Toastmasters speech and computer lab we persevered through it all. It’s amazing what you can accomplish once you put your all into it.

Today is our free day, we have the rest of the day to just relax for a day. Some of us worked on business pitches, while others knocked off a Toastmasters speech. The pods are alive; you can feel the positive energy everywhere. You see people doing different constructive tasks everywhere you look, whether it’s physical training or mental training and, on certain days, spiritual training.

We’ve all met some good men being a part of Fall ’17. We hope these relationships continue on the other side of the fence so we can bask in our accomplishments together. We can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Legends of Fall ’17, keep pushing forward. We are 998 hits down, only two more hits and we’ll hit the jackpot!

Ricky D. (a.k.a. “Peanut Butter”)

Expressions

 “We fall so we can learn to pick ourselves up.”

~Alfred (from Batman)

The past few years I’ve been preparing myself for the world. The best thing I can do is to read books, take educational classes and go to church. I’m constantly looking for the success stories to learn how to be a successful person myself. I figure how it’s done right and how they got to be successful, so hopefully I can follow those steps to be a success too. But I’ve recently come to find out that it’s not all the success stories that teach one how to be successful. It’s learning about all the failures and mistakes others have made so we can avoid reliving those mistakes. Just as much as we can be motivated by the success of others, we can also be thankful for the mistakes we’ve made, which have taught us lessons and make us more grateful and understanding, because in life success is never as easy as it looks.

Alexius T. (a.k.a. “Cherry Dr. Pepper”)