A 10 Year Prison Sentence Helped Ruben Switch From A Burnt Out Mindset to Being A Entrepreneur.

An enlightening interview with Aaron Smith.

Anyone who has spent time in prison has heard the words "burnt out" at some point in their bid and there is NO one who wants to be associate with these words. Burnt out is a word inmates use to label someone whose stuck in their ways, gets upset easily, and is content with their situation in life. In short being burnt out is having a negative fixed mindset.

This tendency of only looking to what you have in front of you or what you have done in the past can lead to this burnt out condition. It will hinder you from seeing a new path forward or the new options that can change everything for the better. This “burnt out” condition is due to four psychological tendencies of our minds.

The tendency to define our choices to narrowly, the tendency to seek out information that bolsters our beliefs, the tendency to look only at the now, and the tendency of putting too much faith in our predictions of the future. Each tendency creates a condition that holds us back from what we can accomplish in life.

Ruben Gaona, the CEO and co-founder of "the way out", a re-entry app that helps people transition back into society and also helps lower their recidivism risk, knows all to well about this burnt out mindset that leads to a life of crime and disappointment. Rubin is from the streets of El Paseo, TX where its common for people to sell drugs and commit crimes. This played big time on the mind of Rubin. He allowed these influences to fix his mindset into those modes of behavior. So when Rubin's military career was cut short due to injury. He went back to what we knew. His myopic views on life's options lead to a 10 year prison sentence in the feds.

But as Rubin did his time, he started to change his outlook on life and his place in the world. He started to think about how he could give back and make up for the wrong he had done in the past. As he looked around he noticed that most of the people doing time wanted to change but didn't have the right mindset to bring about that change. This stuck with Rubin as he was being released from prison and started his life over again. Rubin knew prisoners wanted a way out but didn't have the resources to get there.

So he started THE WAY OUT app. Its a recidivism reducing application that provides supportive services for people coming home from prison. Think of it as a personal mentor for people coming home. Its shows that there is a new way. It helps fight those four tendencies I talked about. THE WAY OUT is a helper for those who may be “burnt out “and don't know it, find a new path forward after their fall.

Ruben didn't allow the situations from his past to effect his plans for the future. He found the bright spots by investigating what he really desired in life. He started the change by breaking down his goals. This created small immediate payoffs that motivated him to crave bigger changes. Ruben tweaked his environment by associating with people who shared similar mindsets.

If you work hard to change your mindset and Switch Hustles, You will find yourself at the beginning of a path to greatness. Rubin's THE WAY OUT app helps with just that.

Edited by:

Joseph C. Boyden ( currently incarcerated writer)

"create success"

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