{"id":6210,"date":"2018-01-25T20:01:52","date_gmt":"2018-01-26T04:01:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsincerity.wpengine.com\/?p=210"},"modified":"2023-05-18T11:05:12","modified_gmt":"2023-05-18T11:05:12","slug":"from-lock-up-to-start-up-americans-are","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kilde.org\/new-sincerity\/from-lock-up-to-start-up-americans-are\/","title":{"rendered":"Prisoner Serving Life Turns Techie"},"content":{"rendered":"

We’re excited to publish a personal reflection from entrepreneur Kenyatta Leal, who spent nearly two decades in prison. Read on, friends.
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

– – –<\/p>\n

By the age of 25, I was in prison with a life sentence.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Leal (second from right). Photo: CHRISFINO KENYATTA LEAL<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

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\u2019d want to eat and see but HOW I would live my life\u2013\u2013how 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.<\/p>\n

In 2013, my vision became reality as I was released from prison after 19 years of incarceration.<\/p>\n

“I\u2019ve 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.”<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

One of those moments came earlier this month as Duncan Logan and I represented RocketSpace<\/a> and The Last Mile<\/a> 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\u2019t have anticipated.<\/p>\n

Believe in the process, never stop striving to achieve your goals, and know that even more awaits you just beyond the horizon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We’re excited to publish a personal reflection from entrepreneur Kenyatta Leal, who spent nearly two decades in prison. Read on, friends. – – – 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\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6447,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,8],"tags":[940,241,55,95,96],"class_list":["post-6210","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-beasts","category-new-paths","tag-incarceration","tag-prison-pipeline","tag-prison-reform","tag-start-up","tag-tech"],"yoast_head":"\nPrisoner Serving Life Turns Techie - New Sincerity<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kilde.org\/new-sincerity\/from-lock-up-to-start-up-americans-are\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Prisoner Serving Life Turns Techie - New Sincerity\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We're excited to publish a personal reflection from entrepreneur Kenyatta Leal, who spent nearly two decades in prison. 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