While in jail, instead of working on making meaningful lifestyle changes, many individuals focus on ways to avoid getting caught. This, we know, generally doesn’t work out so well. Conversely, when these same individuals redirect their attention to their Driving Force -their personal motivator for change- they significantly increase their chances of achieving positive outcomes in the short and long term.

Each person’s Driving Force is unique, and there’s no definitive right or wrong answer as long as it steers clear of criminal behavior. For some, it’s the aspiration to live without constantly looking over their shoulder. For others, it’s the desire to bring pride to themselves and their families through positive actions. In both cases, when faced with temptations or challenges requiring perseverance, focusing on their Driving Force empowers individuals to make the right choices.

In this lesson, Jose is doing well for himself by selling drugs, so he is angry and frustrated when he lands in jail again. Despite briefly considering a lifestyle change, he succumbs to peer pressure from friends urging him to continue their drug operation behind bars and shift his focus to wholesale selling upon release. But upon release the police didn’t forget about him and soon enough, Jose ends up right back where he started….

Like Jose, Michael is looking at ways to pick up his old hustle after landing back in jail. But after receiving the unsettling news of his grandma’s passing, he reflects on everything that could have been and, more importantly, could still be. Honoring his grandma and making his mother proud become Michael’s Driving Force. As a result, he dismisses his girlfriend’s offer to smuggle in drugs, flushes what he has left down the toilet, and takes advantage of all programs and services  the jail has to offer.

In short, the purpose of this chapter is the following: