We’re excited to publish a personal reflection from entrepreneur Kenyatta Leal, who spent nearly two decades in prison. Read on, friends.
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By the age of 25, I was in prison with a life sentence.
There is no manual on how to maintain hope while serving a life sentence but if there were one it would be the practice of visualization.
Every day of my incarceration I thought about getting out of prison and how I wanted to live my life once I got out. This daily exercise would serve me well over the years and eventually help me develop a mindset that transcended not only the prison walls but the walls that I had created in my own mind.
To the degree that I could, I stayed up to date on politics, current issues, and with people on the outside. I also prepared myself for the outside by visualizing not only what I’d want to eat and see but HOW I would live my life––how I would spend my time, how I would interact with others, how I would convince people through my actions that I was just like them.
In 2013, my vision became reality as I was released from prison after 19 years of incarceration.
“I’ve had a few moments that take me aback, make me catch my breath, and realize the significance of where I came from and where I am now.”
One of those moments came earlier this month as Duncan Logan and I represented RocketSpace and The Last Mile before the United Kingdom Ministry of Justice. Unlike many of my daily experiences at home, flying across the ocean to share my story with people who saw me as a symbol of hope for their own system was something that even I couldn’t have anticipated.
Believe in the process, never stop striving to achieve your goals, and know that even more awaits you just beyond the horizon.
