What inspired you to read the book?
During several years of his incarceration and appeals, Travis Collins was an inmate at the Kankakee County Jail. Upon his release he served as a mentor and an instructor for a class called Resilience for other inmates. Although the class is no longer available his book still circulates around the facility as an inspiration to not give up.
What you learned from reading the book?
This book taught me that our rehabilitation is divided into five stages that one must go through to undergo a transformation. 1. The survival stage is where one must learn the coping skills and mental strength to overcome disappointments. 2. The breakdown stage is the point where you will feel worse than when you started, but you must understand this is the turning point to push your limits to see what you are made of. 3. The reconstruction stage is where the old mentally gets replaced with a new mentality, faith and education become key to developing values and self-worth. 4. The caterpillar stage is where you begin to transform into something new, you leave your caterpillar body and turn into a beautiful butterfly. (This is the stage where most individuals feel pressured by others and relapse or return to old habits.) 5. The beginning stage is where your new life starts upon release, although the temptation will follow you must learn to separate yourself from people, places and things that may bring you back to old habits or put your mind and body in negative situations.
How the book will influence your life and prepare for success upon release? This book has been a guide to me that continues to shows that success is possible. Through his story Travis Collins has given me courage to continue on the path of helping others, continue to grow this website and given me ideas to start a non-profit organization that can further help more individuals achieve success. His story started from the same jail cells where I am sitting today writing this narrative, and that is to me one of the biggest motivators to become a success story myself.
What was the most inspiring quote?
“No one has ever walked on the moon until someone walked on the moon. There’s a first time for everything.”