Recently, I came out with my story. And my past was not pretty. It was not easy to be completely transparent; vulnerable to judgment. But let me tell you, it was the greatest thing I have ever done, both from a spiritual and mental perspective.

7 Life lessons I learned in Jail

Enough chatter. Let me tell you what I learned while I was in Jail

#1 — The only person you can blame is yourself.

In today’s day and age, we are quick to point fingers at everyone else. People can escape the responsibly of their actions by creating an alternate reality, a story if you will, that removes them from fault. This means that someone else is always to blame.

I remember personally, my whole life, I pointed fingers at everyone, but me!

• Not making enough money? I’m under-valued by my Company
• That car accident? He didn’t see me coming!
• Shit, my cellphone broke! Damn you, Sidewalk.
• I am depressed. My family makes my life miserable.
• My relationship sucks. It’s his/her fault.

Over and over again we play the blame game. The worst game one could play. And can you guess who wins this game? Nope, not you.

You in fact are the biggest loser.

That is the first lesson I learned in Jail.

At the end of the day, the only person you can blame for your “situation” is YOU.

Of course, other people may play a role in that situation, but you are the reason you are STILL in that situation.You have the control, and the power, to change it. Only you. And you can not, and will not be able to until you first adopt this notion.

The next time something shitty happens in your life, remember to point that finger at yourself.

#2 — Choose your friends wisely.

This was a HUGE wake up call for me. In fact, I didn’t come to this realization in Jail, but immediately after I got out. I finished reading the book “Think and Grow Rich,” and little did I know it then, that it would forever change the way I looked at life. Looking back in hindsight, it is clear to me now that I would have been better off if I had just kept in good company.

Simply put, you are the product of your environment. Why did I go to Jail?

It’s a no brainier. I hung around people who were similar to me. And the same thing is true in Jail. You can see who gravitates towards each other. The gym rats, doing push ups all day, the gamblers, gambling away their canteen money, the druggies, all whacked out on methadone.

I want you to assess your friends. I am not saying to drop them. But please really think about the quality of your friendships in your life. You are the sum of your 5 best friends.

Today, I’m happy to still be friends with 2-3 of my old-school friends, but the rest I had to cut out. Entirely. Some “friends” will act as energy vampires and suck out all of the positive energy you have in you. This will only bring you down!

#3 — Don’t let time piss away.

Another epic life lesson I learned while I was in Jail was the importance of TIME.

I remember spending 10 hours a day in absolute boredom, stuck in this stupid room called a range. Herding us in like cattle, into a concert cage with no sunlight, one 20-inch TV and the worst channels possible. You were guaranteed a headache, alongside an escalating temper, which built up over the course of days. And there was no where else to blow it off, but at each other.

It was no coincidence that jail fights were a regular occurrence. The combination of alpha males, with raging testosterone, blaming the whole world for their problems, all stuck in one dark room, with the glaring light shining from the old television screen, playing Much Music on repeat. It was enough to drive you mad.

This is where I realized that time is precious. And that my time MUST be used to it’s fullest.

Now, when I hear people say “I am bored”, I want to slap them in the face. As there is no Goddamn reason why you, who has the freedom to walk outside your door at any given moment you please, to do whatever it is that you please, should be bored.

You only have a limited time on this beautiful planet, make it count. Go out there, do something that will put a smile on someone’s faces, go have a coffee with a friend, call your mother, but please don’t tell me you are bored.

If you are bored, then go check into your local bucket (slang for local Jail), to get a reality check.

#4 — Make the best of your situation.

Another important lesson I learned in Jail, was recognizing that there is always a positive to a negative situation. And my positive, turned out to be massive amounts of exercise. I mean c’mon 10 hours of nothing, what was I supposed to do?

Answer equals UN-Godley amounts of pull-ups and push-ups

Thank God, here in Ontario, we had pull-up bars and dip bars. So I hit it hard with some other Jail gym rats, and we CRUSHED it.

I kid you not, when I say for 6 hours straight all day, we did pull-ups and dips, it was very common and normal to have done more than 1,000 pull-ups and dips each day.

Moral of the story: for every negative in your life, there is a positive. You just have to keep your eyes open

#5 — Family always comes first.

One of my drawbacks in life was being a jackass to my Mom. And truthfully, I had a horrible relationship with my Dad, but that’s a whole different story. God, when I look back now on what I put my Mom through it was a Miracle of God she did not personally send me to Jail, lol.

Nonetheless, when I ended up in Jail, my family was there for me. Forget the financial situation, that doesn’t matter. Money was never my problem, what my family provided me, no dollar amount could. The mental and spiritual support from my family is something that I am forever grateful for, to this day.

After that, I truly embraced “the family first” motto. Never, ever turn your back on family.

Because when shit hits the fucking fan, whom are you going to turn to? That’s right, your family! THANKS MOM

#6 — Use your anger to fuel your success.

Something interesting happened to me in Jail, and that was a deep anger fell over me. Not anger I grew up with that fueled my love for fighting. But a different anger, an anger that I like to call Transmutagenic Anger.

I was angry at society and angry at the system we have. After being in Jail and looking back at my life, I realized that our society is really messed up!

What do I mean?

I mean, look at our educational systems. They are a failure. The only thing the education system does well is create robots for the work force.

One of the many reasons I dropped out of high school was that I never vibed with anyone, nor did I receive any support from anyone. All I heard was “you’re an Idiot”…Word! No joke, go walk by any high school today and ask any kid what they think of it. You are probably going to hate me for this.

But I think for the most part, 4 years of high school is a waste of time and one can do MUCH better things in his or her life from business, trades work, working in the family business, or becoming an athlete.

And you may say that you need a high school diploma to go to college.

Bullshit. All you need to be is a mature student to go to college or university, just as I did after Jail.

Back to my Anger… this new Anger I had. I used it as rocket fuel to push me to make a change in this world and still to this day it is my driving force to make a global impact and help millions discover their true selves. Moral of the story: use your pains and emotions to power your destiny.

#7 — Always take care of yourself.

A very important life lesson I learned in Jail was the power of nutrition. How did I learn this?

Simple, jail food is the worst food you could possibly imagine. Picture a microwave ready meal that looks like it just came from the oil factory with the worst chemicals and industrial oils possible.

I swear to God I think I fried all my brain cells from eating that crap. And once I came out, I had a HUGE appreciation for real food…not whole foods, my friend, but the regular S.A.D. diet was better than the crap I ate.

So when I discovered the holistic way of living, my appreciation and respect for clean eating was automatically Numero Uno!

You must respect your body with healthy food. It is the only true thing you own in this world. Forget money and success — it is your health that needs to be a top priority. What is the point of having all the money in the world if you can’t even get out of your bed.

When you start investing in your health today, not only will you have a better life, but your actions of eating healthy will also help everyone immediately around you.

People always ask me “Ameer, why are you so passionate about health?”

Answer — because a whole foods, Paleo diet saved my life.

Honestly, when I got out of Jail and started eating this way, I was reborn. Sounds a bit weird doesn’t it? But it’s the truth. My depression, my skin, my hair, my outlook, my strength, my mindset all shifted in a positive way. So when I say a whole foods diet is mandatory, I mean it! If it can do this to me, then imagine what it can do for you.

And there you have it, my 7 life lessons I learned in Jail.

I hope that you find some knowledge in here and use it. God only knows if I had listened to my Mother when I was younger, lots would have been different, but then again I would not be me.

Many ask me “Ameer, do you have any regrets?” and I say NO. I am proud of my past, and it made me who I am today. Because of my experiences, I can now pay it forward in hopes that my message can change the lives of others.

Thanks for reading and have a great day.

Ameer