For years I was a monster.

I’ve always had a peculiar and alarming relationship with drugs and alcohol, and at age 21 I became hooked on heroin. My journey took me to the depths of despair, and no one with whom I came into contact was safe from me. I lied and stole from everyone in the service of my addiction. I was profoundly strung-out and high on drugs the first time I watched The Secret.

It wasn’t until I ended up in prison that I began to take the law of attraction seriously. From a place of utter personal loss and total confusion I started reading everything I could about world religions and spirituality. Everything I learned seemed to be circling in on the same basic principle: I had the power to shape the direction of my own life.

While incarcerated, I decided one day that I wanted to build a library of spiritual and religious books for the benefit of all the thousands of men who would come after me. I wrote a form letter describing my vision and convinced the facility administration to mail out over a hundred letters to book publishers all over the country. By the time I left that facility the library had received nearly five hundred books, and was receiving dozens of new books per week. It was a small example perhaps, but my belief in the process of attraction was absolute.

Today, I’ve been completely free of intoxicants for four and a half years, having been back in society for just over two years. I have a dream job working from home as an independent contractor and am making twice as much money as I’ve ever made in my life. I’ll be moving into a beautiful four-bedroom house next week. My parole officer has half-jokingly expressed jealousy of my circumstances. It’s as though the ten years I spent living in total insanity never happened.

I’m a six-time felon. My girlfriend said the other day, “You’re such a wonderful man. It makes me sad and angry to see you being judged all the time based on your criminal record.” I replied, “I am not my criminal record. My past doesn’t determine my future; what I do right this instant determines my future. I MAKE my future, and I get to make it the way I want it.”

I’ve learned that I am the only limit to my own success. I know what I want out of life, and I enjoy seeing it take shape before my eyes.