WEBVTT - Isaac Wright Jr. Full Interview 0:00:00.160 --> 0:00:03.480 Still living in manually taking notes. There is a better 0:00:03.480 --> 0:00:05.560 way to start the new year with auto dot ai 0:00:05.720 --> 0:00:09.040 automatically get meeting notes. Auto dot ai works for virtual 0:00:09.039 --> 0:00:11.719 meetings like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet. Sign up 0:00:11.720 --> 0:00:13.360 on the web for free or download in the app 0:00:13.360 --> 0:00:15.960 stores auto dot ai. That's O T T e r 0:00:16.120 --> 0:00:20.680 dot Ai. This podcast is sponsored by Better Help Online Therapy. 0:00:20.800 --> 0:00:24.680 I'm Michlene Maloof and I'm Nadiadesi, licensed therapists and hosts 0:00:24.680 --> 0:00:27.200 of Getting Better Stories of Mental Health. Join us for 0:00:27.200 --> 0:00:30.560 discussions with Megan Trainer, Chris Bosh, Rebel Wilson, and more, 0:00:30.680 --> 0:00:34.360 from discussing motherhood to immigrating to general mental health. Our 0:00:34.440 --> 0:00:37.680 guests are awe inspiring. We all struggle with the same things, 0:00:37.840 --> 0:00:40.600 so let's talk about it and de stigmatize them. Find 0:00:40.640 --> 0:00:43.839 our new podcast, Getting Better Stories of Mental Health on 0:00:43.880 --> 0:00:49.960 iHeart Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Sticky notes email alerts a 0:00:50.120 --> 0:00:53.640 string around your finger. They're just not big enough. So 0:00:53.720 --> 0:00:56.280 here's a big reminder from the California Lottery. Tomorrow's Mega 0:00:56.280 --> 0:01:00.120 Millions jack potties over three million play now. Please players. 0:01:00.000 --> 0:01:02.080 It must be eighteen years older to purchase player. Find 0:01:05.440 --> 0:01:08.040 the money making Conversation. I'm your host from Sean McDonald. 0:01:08.200 --> 0:01:12.040 Each Money Making Conversation talk shows about entrepreneurship and entertainment, 0:01:12.200 --> 0:01:17.000 I provide the consumer and business owner access to celebrities, CEOs, entrepreneurs, 0:01:17.040 --> 0:01:20.560 and industry decision makers. It's important to understand that everybody 0:01:20.600 --> 0:01:23.399 travels a different path to success. That is because your 0:01:23.440 --> 0:01:26.040 brand is different. The challenges you face in your life 0:01:26.040 --> 0:01:29.000 are different. So stop reading other people's success stories and 0:01:29.040 --> 0:01:31.920 start writing your own. Now. You can be motivated by 0:01:31.959 --> 0:01:34.880 their success because their stories can offer a direction to 0:01:34.959 --> 0:01:37.800 help you. Help you reach your goals through your planning 0:01:37.800 --> 0:01:41.560 and committed effort. The Money Making Conversation interviews provide relatable 0:01:41.600 --> 0:01:48.240 information to the listener about career and financial planning, entrepreneurship, motivation, leadership, 0:01:48.560 --> 0:01:51.760 overcoming the arts, and how to live a balanced life. 0:01:52.080 --> 0:01:55.160 It's very important as we put these as I these shows. 0:01:55.160 --> 0:01:59.000 As this program has grown, I've learned that a lot 0:01:59.000 --> 0:02:00.520 of people have been touched by the information that we 0:02:00.600 --> 0:02:04.360 give them and considered life changing, and I feel blessed 0:02:04.360 --> 0:02:06.440 to be able to have a presentation like that on 0:02:06.480 --> 0:02:09.480 a regular basis. My next guest is in studio. He's 0:02:09.480 --> 0:02:13.880 ready to go. He's an attorney, entrepreneur, philanthropists. He was 0:02:13.880 --> 0:02:16.520 on top of the world when he was Falster accused 0:02:16.520 --> 0:02:20.160 and convicted of being a drug kingpan in nineteen one. 0:02:20.200 --> 0:02:22.799 He was sentenced to life in prison plus seventy two 0:02:22.880 --> 0:02:26.359 years on other drug convictions. He is now the executive 0:02:26.360 --> 0:02:29.880 producer of the new ABC fictional legal and family drama 0:02:29.919 --> 0:02:33.280 series for Life, Please Work with the Money Making Conversations 0:02:33.520 --> 0:02:36.880 Isaac Wright Jr. Glad to be here. How are you 0:02:37.040 --> 0:02:39.640 pretty good? How do you feel? My man? I feel great. 0:02:40.440 --> 0:02:42.639 It's a good time. It's a good time in your life. Yes, indeed, 0:02:42.720 --> 0:02:44.000 well you know I was. You know, I get up 0:02:44.000 --> 0:02:46.799 at four o'clock every day and uh we did that. 0:02:46.800 --> 0:02:48.480 That didn't freeze you? How? You know? That throws to 0:02:48.480 --> 0:02:52.200 me a little bit. What time you get up? It 0:02:52.280 --> 0:02:55.919 come on that? Well, sometimes I'm still up at four o'clock. 0:02:56.760 --> 0:03:00.640 It just depends on It just depends on what's on 0:03:00.720 --> 0:03:03.320 my plate for the for the following day of the 0:03:03.360 --> 0:03:06.440 following week. Um. I try to get up as early 0:03:06.440 --> 0:03:08.720 as I possibly can, but I get to bed so 0:03:08.800 --> 0:03:10.919 late trying to trying to catch up. I mean, I've 0:03:10.919 --> 0:03:13.920 been playing catch up lately, especially with the with the show, 0:03:14.000 --> 0:03:17.720 and uh, you know, my my career and my obligations, 0:03:17.840 --> 0:03:21.800 responsibilities to the court, and so I've been juggling, you know, 0:03:21.840 --> 0:03:24.079 all these responsibilities, and so it's it's been a little 0:03:24.080 --> 0:03:26.600 bit more hectic. But I try to get up. I 0:03:26.600 --> 0:03:28.560 mean I could never get up at four o'clock in 0:03:28.560 --> 0:03:30.560 the morning, I mean if if I went to bed 0:03:30.560 --> 0:03:32.520 earlier to that. But I try to get up at 0:03:32.560 --> 0:03:35.480 least between seven thirty and eight o'clock every morning. Now, 0:03:35.520 --> 0:03:38.240 I had a intro was pretty dramatic, you know what 0:03:38.240 --> 0:03:40.280 I'm saying. Uh, you know, in nineteen and one, you 0:03:40.320 --> 0:03:42.960 were sentenced to life in prison plus seventy two years, 0:03:43.000 --> 0:03:45.600 and and other seventy two plus seventy two years. If 0:03:45.640 --> 0:03:47.360 life wasn't enough, we got seven to two years. We 0:03:47.360 --> 0:03:49.680 can just go just for just good measures, just in 0:03:49.760 --> 0:03:53.000 case you confused about the life I got some two years. Wait, no, 0:03:53.120 --> 0:03:56.000 you And now you're sitting here next to me executive 0:03:56.000 --> 0:03:59.960 producing an ABC series with my man fifty cents. How 0:04:00.040 --> 0:04:03.520 does that happen? Brother? Come on? Um, you know fifty 0:04:03.560 --> 0:04:05.240 was a made man when I when I when I 0:04:05.280 --> 0:04:09.160 met him, obviously. Uh. And then in addition to him 0:04:09.160 --> 0:04:13.200 being a made man in the rap world and in business. Um. 0:04:13.240 --> 0:04:17.000 He had already had one of the number one TV 0:04:17.120 --> 0:04:23.040 shows Power you know on the air Stars and so UM. 0:04:23.080 --> 0:04:26.360 I met him through uh a mutual friend. This guy 0:04:27.440 --> 0:04:30.800 UM that I met him through. He owned an illegal 0:04:30.800 --> 0:04:32.760 fight club. He ran an illegal fight club in the 0:04:32.760 --> 0:04:37.320 Bronx and illegal. It was illegal. Yeah. They you know, 0:04:37.400 --> 0:04:39.760 they did the they did the fighting things in the 0:04:39.839 --> 0:04:43.200 in the in the warehouses and the you know the 0:04:43.960 --> 0:04:47.960 Junkyard sanction that nothing was sanction it was. It was 0:04:48.000 --> 0:04:52.280 actually shut down a few times by by law enforcement. UM. 0:04:52.360 --> 0:04:55.719 And so it was it was top of the line illegal. UM. 0:04:55.760 --> 0:04:58.280 But he was successful in getting to three people to 0:04:58.320 --> 0:05:01.279 come out and watch these fights. And as a as 0:05:01.279 --> 0:05:03.839 a popularity in the in the fight group, it became 0:05:03.880 --> 0:05:05.479 tougher to you know, to keep it on the ground. 0:05:05.880 --> 0:05:08.160 He even had rappers to come out, Fat Joe, Remy Mall. 0:05:08.240 --> 0:05:11.160 They came out, they would perform during intermission and he 0:05:11.279 --> 0:05:16.040 was trying to at illegal fight club. Yeah. They got 0:05:16.040 --> 0:05:18.600 there rapping, yeah. Yeah. And in the ring there was 0:05:18.640 --> 0:05:20.960 a big ring. They build a ring. You know, they listened. 0:05:20.960 --> 0:05:23.800 It was so sophisticated. They had drones that was up 0:05:23.800 --> 0:05:27.440 in the in the in the guy beating the camera 0:05:27.480 --> 0:05:30.640 down from the top angle and streaming that, you know, 0:05:31.000 --> 0:05:33.599 the cell phones and everything. I mean, the guy, he 0:05:33.720 --> 0:05:37.640 really had it put together. The problem was it was illegal. 0:05:39.440 --> 0:05:41.800 So you know when you went to the the fifties, like 0:05:41.839 --> 0:05:44.279 you know, fifty men, you know, you take us really 0:05:44.279 --> 0:05:45.920 really over the top. If you come out and perform 0:05:45.960 --> 0:05:48.559 and in fift I listen, I gotta promote promotors license 0:05:48.560 --> 0:05:51.520 in Nevada, Nevada. If I come to your fight club, 0:05:51.520 --> 0:05:53.400 I'm gonna lose that. I'm not as I'm not gonna 0:05:53.400 --> 0:05:56.440 do that. He says. When you get legal, uh, you know, 0:05:56.480 --> 0:05:58.680 I'll come out and perform. And so you know, they 0:05:58.680 --> 0:06:00.880 spent tens of thousands of dollar as an attorneys trying 0:06:00.880 --> 0:06:03.279 to get legal. Fifty even passed him a couple and 0:06:03.400 --> 0:06:07.360 fifties attorneys basically told him up front, listen, you're out 0:06:07.400 --> 0:06:13.160 of your mind. It's never gonna happen. It's impossible, uh, 0:06:13.600 --> 0:06:16.320 to just move through through the regulatory issues to get 0:06:16.360 --> 0:06:19.080 something like this legal. This just can't be done. And 0:06:19.120 --> 0:06:23.320 so another individual who's the owner of Rough Riders, Darren Dean, 0:06:23.520 --> 0:06:27.440 is a friend of mine. Uh he heard this guy. 0:06:27.760 --> 0:06:30.120 His name is Hove. He heard him complaining, you know, 0:06:30.160 --> 0:06:31.920 about not being able to get legal and all the 0:06:31.960 --> 0:06:35.159 money that he spent. So so Darren says, listen, where 0:06:35.160 --> 0:06:36.880 all these lawyers failed you. I think I got the 0:06:36.920 --> 0:06:39.160 guy that may be able to help you out. So 0:06:39.200 --> 0:06:43.800 he introduced me to Hope, and Hope told me his issues, 0:06:43.880 --> 0:06:46.360 and I actually went to one of the legal flight cover. 0:06:47.640 --> 0:06:52.240 This was in two thousand and so I went to 0:06:52.520 --> 0:06:55.840 I went to one of the the fights just to 0:06:55.839 --> 0:06:59.039 get a feel on what was happening. And I said, okay, 0:06:59.040 --> 0:07:01.000 you know what, I'll help you, and I got them 0:07:01.080 --> 0:07:04.520 legal in two weeks, and fifty went out and performed, 0:07:05.200 --> 0:07:07.600 and ut fifty went out and performed. He was like, 0:07:08.279 --> 0:07:10.880 he was blown away. How to how in the world 0:07:11.560 --> 0:07:13.520 were you able to do this? Who did this? Because 0:07:13.840 --> 0:07:16.680 when he got there there was police on both sides 0:07:16.720 --> 0:07:18.800 of the street. There was hundreds of people outside. There 0:07:18.840 --> 0:07:20.640 was a police on both sides of the street. So 0:07:20.680 --> 0:07:23.720 he thought fifty thought when he got there that they 0:07:23.720 --> 0:07:26.080 were getting ready to shut it down. The actually just 0:07:26.160 --> 0:07:27.880 driver to act the police, you know, what was up? 0:07:27.920 --> 0:07:30.920 What's going on? So the police says a crowd control 0:07:31.000 --> 0:07:34.200 when when you see where out here doing crowd control. 0:07:34.600 --> 0:07:41.560 So so so like as you know, everybody going, cops, 0:07:41.560 --> 0:07:43.960 oh go have go have fun. We're gonna make We're 0:07:43.960 --> 0:07:47.720 just out here to make sure everybody's say, traffic flow. 0:07:47.760 --> 0:07:50.520 So he wouldn't have performed, and you know, he was like, 0:07:51.440 --> 0:07:53.600 how the hell did this happen? The guy explained to 0:07:53.760 --> 0:07:57.840 fifty you know about me, about my story and that 0:07:57.960 --> 0:08:00.960 I got them legal, and fifties like, listen, have him 0:08:01.000 --> 0:08:02.800 in my office and next tomorrow, man, I want to 0:08:02.800 --> 0:08:06.240 talk to this guy. So I sat down with Yes, 0:08:06.360 --> 0:08:08.920 that gotta be me. So I sat down with him 0:08:08.960 --> 0:08:12.720 and we talked, and you know, he was like, would 0:08:12.720 --> 0:08:14.720 you let me run with this as a TV show? 0:08:15.560 --> 0:08:17.600 You know, there was there was some talking to hear 0:08:17.640 --> 0:08:20.000 about a movie, but the fifty was like, nah, his 0:08:20.120 --> 0:08:22.240 vision was way out there. He was like, na, but 0:08:22.320 --> 0:08:24.360 people want to want to hear this. Let me back 0:08:24.400 --> 0:08:26.320 up a little bit, Isaac. When you say run with this, 0:08:26.440 --> 0:08:31.000 what was this you were talking about? What the concept 0:08:31.120 --> 0:08:34.040 was was was around a movie. And when he heard 0:08:34.040 --> 0:08:36.880 the story, he immediately I mean I can see his 0:08:36.920 --> 0:08:39.840 mind turning, you know, he immediately he said to me, 0:08:39.880 --> 0:08:41.760 he says, he kind of stopped me and he said, listen, 0:08:41.800 --> 0:08:44.000 this is not this is a movie. Can it can 0:08:44.040 --> 0:08:46.320 be later on, but this is this is a TV show. 0:08:46.320 --> 0:08:49.400 This is something that people want to be inspired over 0:08:49.679 --> 0:08:53.000 every single week. Uh. And I want to be able 0:08:53.000 --> 0:08:56.160 to be comfortable in telling this story in ways where 0:08:56.280 --> 0:08:59.199 where we can continue to enlighten and continue to inspire 0:08:59.240 --> 0:09:01.480 and continue to prove i'd hope to people. And so 0:09:02.200 --> 0:09:05.800 I said, you know, it's it's cool. Whatever you want 0:09:05.840 --> 0:09:07.680 to do. I said, okay, and he and he made 0:09:07.679 --> 0:09:11.080 it happen. And one of the things that that um 0:09:11.320 --> 0:09:14.600 was very very significant to me and in dealing with 0:09:14.640 --> 0:09:18.319 that decision that he made, is that the guy that 0:09:18.360 --> 0:09:23.000 brought me to him, now, remember this is just an idea. 0:09:23.240 --> 0:09:27.040 There's no contracts, there's no agreements, there's nothing. He goes 0:09:27.080 --> 0:09:29.560 to the guy. He says, listen, I'm gonna pay you 0:09:29.600 --> 0:09:32.440 for a year. Tomorrow. Come by my office tomorrow. I'll 0:09:32.480 --> 0:09:34.640 have the cash you're waiting for you. That's how confident 0:09:34.679 --> 0:09:37.720 he was and what he had and what he knew 0:09:37.720 --> 0:09:39.840 what he could do with it. He started committing himself 0:09:40.200 --> 0:09:44.320 before the financially, before there was any agreement. Well, no, 0:09:44.559 --> 0:09:46.360 he didn't do it to me. He did it to 0:09:46.400 --> 0:09:50.000 the guy that that brought me there. In other words, 0:09:50.000 --> 0:09:52.440 he said, listen, I'm not leaving you out. You're gonna 0:09:52.440 --> 0:09:54.520 be a part of this too. But what I'm gonna 0:09:54.520 --> 0:09:57.200 do is I'm gonna pay you in advance for an 0:09:57.360 --> 0:09:59.679 entire year for every episode that I believe that's going 0:09:59.760 --> 0:10:01.280 that I'm I'll be able to get out the first year. 0:10:01.440 --> 0:10:04.160 I'm gonna pay you for that now. And he didn't 0:10:04.160 --> 0:10:06.280 even speak to He had spoken to nobody, no writers. 0:10:06.520 --> 0:10:08.439 Sony was nowhere to be found at that time. Maybec 0:10:08.559 --> 0:10:11.200 was nowhere to be found. He but he knew he 0:10:11.280 --> 0:10:16.000 saw the road and and and he committed himself on 0:10:16.080 --> 0:10:19.000 that road that he saw and it materialized. I mean, 0:10:19.040 --> 0:10:20.920 he's he was a visionary. And when I saw that 0:10:21.559 --> 0:10:24.920 because I see those things, you know, I the experience 0:10:24.920 --> 0:10:26.960 that I have in trying to survive in prison, in 0:10:27.000 --> 0:10:29.880 a maximum security prison, and it was the only one 0:10:30.280 --> 0:10:31.800 for seven and a half years. It was the only 0:10:31.800 --> 0:10:34.160 one in the state. So that meant that that that 0:10:34.840 --> 0:10:39.480 every undesirable that was there was put in the same 0:10:39.480 --> 0:10:42.880 place with everybody else. And in order to survive in 0:10:42.920 --> 0:10:45.000 that environment, you have to learn how to size a 0:10:45.000 --> 0:10:48.080 person up in zero point three seconds, I could size 0:10:48.080 --> 0:10:50.560 you up even if you don't open your mouth. When 0:10:50.559 --> 0:10:53.600 he did that, I knew because I was there, I 0:10:53.640 --> 0:10:55.520 was talking to him, I was studying him to longer 0:10:55.559 --> 0:10:57.760 he was studying me. I was studying him. I knew 0:10:57.760 --> 0:11:00.120 I could roll the dice and turn my back. And 0:11:00.160 --> 0:11:02.080 that's what I did. I rolled the dice, walked out 0:11:02.160 --> 0:11:07.240 his office, and here I am. Are you happy? Emulated 0:11:09.600 --> 0:11:13.080 so seven in prison? Yes, when I read your story, 0:11:13.120 --> 0:11:18.400 it was started. You represented yourself? Yes? Why? Um? In 0:11:18.520 --> 0:11:22.040 trial the first time, I represented myself from the outset, 0:11:22.760 --> 0:11:24.920 but no legal training, no legal training, and all I 0:11:24.920 --> 0:11:27.600 had was a high school diploma. Most of most of 0:11:27.640 --> 0:11:29.480 the most of the grounds that I made, and most 0:11:29.480 --> 0:11:31.360 of the law that I created, I created with the 0:11:31.440 --> 0:11:34.840 high school diploma. While I was in prison, most of 0:11:34.840 --> 0:11:37.319 the people that I that I got out, I got 0:11:37.320 --> 0:11:41.280 out with a high school diploma. Um. And and and 0:11:41.320 --> 0:11:43.600 that's one of the reasons why I can I'm still 0:11:43.640 --> 0:11:47.839 saying that today is because I haven't been licensed that long, 0:11:48.000 --> 0:11:54.000 because because of the challenges that they that is, when 0:11:54.000 --> 0:11:56.240 I actually got licensed, they investigated me. I passed the 0:11:56.240 --> 0:11:58.960 bar actually in two thousand and eight. If if I 0:11:59.000 --> 0:12:02.080 had been licensed after I passed the bar, I would 0:12:02.080 --> 0:12:05.240 have probably quadrupled what I had accomplished when I was 0:12:05.280 --> 0:12:08.800 in prison by now. And Uh. But what they did 0:12:08.920 --> 0:12:12.719 was they investigated me for another nine years, something that 0:12:12.760 --> 0:12:16.199 should have taken a couple of weeks. Uh. They investigating 0:12:16.240 --> 0:12:19.319 me for nine years before giving me my license, and 0:12:19.840 --> 0:12:23.040 what I literally had to do. UM, after nine years 0:12:23.080 --> 0:12:26.480 had passed, there was a Supreme Court justice, her name 0:12:26.520 --> 0:12:30.480 was Virginia Long out of New Jersey. She was one 0:12:30.520 --> 0:12:34.760 of the justices that that made a landmark ruling in 0:12:34.800 --> 0:12:38.360 my civil case. UM that for the first time in 0:12:38.400 --> 0:12:42.480 the history of that state. It made the state viable 0:12:43.080 --> 0:12:47.760 for conduct of prosecutors. And before it was counties counties 0:12:47.760 --> 0:12:49.319 that would have been live and there was there was 0:12:49.360 --> 0:12:52.400 all these immunities that went with it, but my case 0:12:52.520 --> 0:12:55.439 changed that, and she was one of the judges. She retired. 0:12:56.440 --> 0:13:02.240 UM around two thousand, fifteen sixteen. She retired, And when 0:13:02.280 --> 0:13:04.840 I found she retired, I wentn't looking for her, and 0:13:04.880 --> 0:13:08.800 I located her in a law firm, very huge law 0:13:08.840 --> 0:13:12.800 from international law from called Fox Rachaw. I called her 0:13:12.880 --> 0:13:15.600 up and she remembered who I was, and she offered 0:13:15.640 --> 0:13:18.840 me to come in for a consultation. I sat down 0:13:18.840 --> 0:13:21.600 with her and when she found out what was going on, 0:13:21.679 --> 0:13:23.400 she was really appalled about it. She was it was 0:13:23.440 --> 0:13:26.040 it was just incredible to her as a Supreme Court 0:13:26.400 --> 0:13:28.640 retired Supreme Court justice, because you know, the Supreme Court 0:13:28.640 --> 0:13:31.560 controls all of that. They're the top dogs when it 0:13:31.600 --> 0:13:34.440 comes down to not only the judicial system in the state, 0:13:34.640 --> 0:13:38.320 but also who practices and who doesn't. If there's disciplinary actions, 0:13:38.320 --> 0:13:41.120 they're the ones who suspends you or disciplinary disciplines you, 0:13:41.240 --> 0:13:43.520 or or revoke your license. They control all of that. 0:13:43.600 --> 0:13:47.840 So she basically let me know and no, no, no 0:13:47.960 --> 0:13:51.600 small terms that uh she felt for my situation, she 0:13:51.920 --> 0:13:56.199 uh was going to she couldn't actually represent me because 0:13:56.200 --> 0:13:58.480 it was a conflict of interest and being that she 0:13:58.559 --> 0:14:02.960 was on the bench during my civil case. But fortunately 0:14:03.320 --> 0:14:07.120 her husband was also a partner at the firm, and 0:14:07.160 --> 0:14:09.719 so she says, what I'm going to do is I'm 0:14:09.720 --> 0:14:12.720 going to let my husband represent you. That's me. My 0:14:12.800 --> 0:14:16.480 husband represents me and I represent him. Um, and being 0:14:16.520 --> 0:14:18.520 that I was on the bench, they understand what that means. 0:14:19.120 --> 0:14:23.280 So he came in and within six months I had 0:14:23.280 --> 0:14:26.960 a license. Within after nine years when he came in 0:14:28.000 --> 0:14:29.840 within six months, I had a license. And there's a 0:14:29.880 --> 0:14:31.440 picture of me. You can see it on the internet. 0:14:31.480 --> 0:14:34.040 It's all over the internet, and it's on my Instagram 0:14:34.080 --> 0:14:37.480 of me being sworn in. There's a lady with with 0:14:37.600 --> 0:14:40.760 blonde hair, light light whitish blonde hair, an older lady 0:14:40.960 --> 0:14:44.560 swearing me in. That sir, that's a retired chief not 0:14:44.640 --> 0:14:47.280 Chief Justice, but Justice of the Supreme Court of the Congratulations. 0:14:47.480 --> 0:14:52.000 This problem is nationwide and and people are in their effects, 0:14:52.400 --> 0:14:55.920 predominantly people of color. And so when you hear me 0:14:55.960 --> 0:14:59.320 say something like that, does it get you mad, motivates 0:14:59.320 --> 0:15:02.440 you for change? It doesn't. It doesn't get me mad 0:15:02.480 --> 0:15:05.560 at all. Uh, it motivates, It motivates me for change 0:15:05.680 --> 0:15:10.360 and and and to be honest with you. Um, And 0:15:10.400 --> 0:15:12.440 this is a controversial statement that I'm gonna make, but 0:15:12.480 --> 0:15:15.040 I really believe in it. I think as as minorities, 0:15:15.160 --> 0:15:19.640 as as blacks, um, we've been we've been mad for 0:15:19.680 --> 0:15:23.800 a long time. And I think I think we should 0:15:23.920 --> 0:15:27.840 because being mad takes a lot of energy. And I 0:15:27.880 --> 0:15:31.800 think if we refocused as a people, refocused that energy 0:15:32.640 --> 0:15:36.080 on making changes, because we're a powerful people, well we really, 0:15:36.160 --> 0:15:39.560 we really really are and a lot of times anger 0:15:39.640 --> 0:15:43.000 has a has a way of distorting the way you 0:15:43.080 --> 0:15:46.760 think and the decisions that you make. Um. But if 0:15:46.800 --> 0:15:51.440 if we can if we can uh refocus a lot 0:15:51.440 --> 0:15:54.560 of anger into action. Uh. You know, I think we 0:15:54.600 --> 0:15:58.480 can move mountains as a people. Uh. And and you know, 0:15:58.560 --> 0:16:02.080 even for me being in the situation that I was in, 0:16:03.080 --> 0:16:06.360 there was room for for a lot of anger, for 0:16:06.360 --> 0:16:10.200 for for being enraged, and and just to just to 0:16:10.200 --> 0:16:11.960 give you an example of what I'm saying, there was 0:16:12.000 --> 0:16:15.920 a there was a time early on when I had 0:16:15.960 --> 0:16:18.760 a decided that I was going to represent myself. And 0:16:19.280 --> 0:16:20.840 you know that was a you talk about when you 0:16:21.000 --> 0:16:24.200 represent yourself in court, in court, yes, in my during 0:16:24.240 --> 0:16:28.200 my my my trials. Um. You know, I had made 0:16:28.200 --> 0:16:30.880 a decision early on that I was going to represent myself. 0:16:30.920 --> 0:16:34.240 And I remember I was in my cell working on 0:16:34.320 --> 0:16:40.480 a on an emotion, and um, I was I was 0:16:40.520 --> 0:16:42.640 working almost all night, and I fell asleep in the 0:16:42.640 --> 0:16:46.040 middle of writing the motion, and maybe an hour or 0:16:46.040 --> 0:16:49.280 two I woke back up and I decided that I 0:16:49.320 --> 0:16:51.480 was going to pick up where I left off, and 0:16:51.560 --> 0:16:54.960 I began to read what I had written just to 0:16:55.080 --> 0:16:57.400 kind of get myself acquainted with it again and started 0:16:57.600 --> 0:16:59.800 where I left off. And and when I started reading, 0:17:00.640 --> 0:17:03.880 I began to look around because it seemed to me 0:17:03.920 --> 0:17:05.840 that there was something wrong. That was I was beginning 0:17:05.840 --> 0:17:08.119 to look around to see where those papers were that 0:17:08.200 --> 0:17:09.879 I was working on, where that emotion was that I 0:17:09.920 --> 0:17:14.040 was working on, because I didn't even recognize what I 0:17:14.080 --> 0:17:16.640 was reading it was it was so it was so 0:17:17.160 --> 0:17:22.480 overwhelmed with emotion and anger that I didn't recognize myself. 0:17:22.800 --> 0:17:25.680 I didn't recognize the person that had written it. And 0:17:26.440 --> 0:17:31.240 that was That was a divine moment for me because 0:17:31.280 --> 0:17:34.239 it it took me somewhere mentally and emotionally that I 0:17:34.280 --> 0:17:37.159 needed to go in the sense that that I was 0:17:37.320 --> 0:17:40.040 never going to have the kind of focus that I 0:17:40.080 --> 0:17:42.680 needed to have in order to get myself out of 0:17:42.720 --> 0:17:48.600 this situation being burdened down with negative emotions um and 0:17:48.720 --> 0:17:51.359 anger is a very negative emotion. Sometimes it's well placed, 0:17:51.359 --> 0:17:54.640 but most of the time, anger is a very very 0:17:54.680 --> 0:17:59.000 misplaced emotion. The moment I decided that I was going 0:17:59.040 --> 0:18:01.920 to manage and control all that I had to learn 0:18:01.920 --> 0:18:06.359 to separate myself from my that emotional state, and the 0:18:06.400 --> 0:18:10.600 moment I did that, uh, I moved into a moment 0:18:10.600 --> 0:18:16.719 of such clarity, uh that it was a snowball right my, my, 0:18:16.960 --> 0:18:20.439 the gift that God had given me for the law. 0:18:20.480 --> 0:18:22.239 The first time I picked up the law book, it 0:18:22.280 --> 0:18:25.040 was like I'd dide in all my life. It's finally here, 0:18:25.320 --> 0:18:28.760 the season of celebration. 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You can 0:20:04.880 --> 0:20:08.720 capture action items, remember meeting details, and keep everyone informed. 0:20:08.920 --> 0:20:11.960 Auto dot ai works for in person or virtual meetings 0:20:11.960 --> 0:20:14.879 like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet. Sign up for 0:20:14.920 --> 0:20:17.439 free at auto dit ai or download the app for 0:20:17.480 --> 0:20:20.159 free auto dot ai. That's O T T E R 0:20:20.320 --> 0:20:23.320 dot ai And that's just amazing, because that wasn't the 0:20:23.359 --> 0:20:26.719 direction you used pursuing your life. Until this happened, had 0:20:26.760 --> 0:20:30.959 absolutely no interest in the law at all, um and 0:20:30.960 --> 0:20:32.960 and and never picked up a law book before in 0:20:33.000 --> 0:20:34.399 my life. And the first time I did it was 0:20:34.480 --> 0:20:36.800 like I was doing it all my life. And in 0:20:36.880 --> 0:20:40.399 that moment of clarity, Uh took a gift and turned 0:20:40.440 --> 0:20:43.560 it into a snowball rolling down a hill. So that 0:20:43.880 --> 0:20:45.719 seven and a half years later, by the time I 0:20:45.760 --> 0:20:49.119 got back in court, I was so good that I 0:20:49.160 --> 0:20:51.720 got a veteran police officer to confess on the stand. 0:20:51.720 --> 0:20:53.399 And that that's how I actually how I how I 0:20:53.520 --> 0:20:57.440 ultimately got out a veteran cop Uh seven and a 0:20:57.440 --> 0:20:59.439 half years before that, he was a detective in the 0:20:59.440 --> 0:21:02.240 prosecutors office. Seven and a half years later, when I 0:21:02.280 --> 0:21:05.080 got him back on that stand, he was the chief 0:21:06.119 --> 0:21:09.600 of the police academy. That's how much he had risen. 0:21:10.520 --> 0:21:14.680 And and obviously he's a more sophisticated individual, and I 0:21:14.720 --> 0:21:19.119 was able to get him to literally not only confess, 0:21:20.080 --> 0:21:22.320 but to put himself in jail. I mean, you know, 0:21:22.359 --> 0:21:26.719 when you confess the misconduct like that, perjured testimony, falsifying 0:21:26.720 --> 0:21:30.879 police reports, you know you're you're going to jail. And 0:21:30.960 --> 0:21:35.960 so you know, I was just that good seven and 0:21:36.000 --> 0:21:39.200