The Circle of the Panda Podcast
Circle of the Panda is a podcast about rising, rebuilding, and leading with purpose. Host JD Ross sits down with leaders, entrepreneurs, and everyday fighters to talk faith, business, mindset, and what it really takes to get back up when life knocks you down.
Whether you’re growing your leadership, navigating challenges, or fighting your own battles, these conversations will encourage you forward and point you toward truth.
The Circle of the Panda Podcast
Claudell Carpenter
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JD here. Just click this link to get a message to me. Peace
Claudell Carpenter was incarcerated but came out on a mission!
In this episode, he describes his time "behind bars" and what he is working on now that he is out.
Welcome to another episode of the Soul Mind and Business Podcast. This is part two in a three-part series where I interview men that have been incarcerated. My guest on this one is Claudel Carpenter. Claudell was a police officer prior to being incarcerated, and now he's out, and he gives pretty much six many speeches on this episode. Here's a few highlights the importance of a support system. You can make it in this country. Faith is not passive. What do you do when your faith is challenged? Where do most people get distracted? Advice that have been advice for those that have been incarcerated. Advice for those that have not been incarcerated. And he says this, we're all here for a purpose, and he describes that. And there's also opportunities for people, even in prison, to serve, to listen in and enjoy. Good morning, Claudelle. Thank you so much for being on the podcast.
SPEAKER_03Thank you, JD. Good morning.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so you are in Broken Era, Oklahoma? Yes, I am. Is that right?
SPEAKER_03Yes.
SPEAKER_00So my family's about say an hour and a half from you. What took you to Oklahoma?
SPEAKER_03Well, you know, um, back in 2004, I'd gotten in trouble and um I served out my prison sentence and I got out in uh 2021. And uh my sister had already, actually, my little brother had already came out here and um he called my sister and said, Hey, why don't you move out to Oklahoma? I think he was staying in Sepulpa at the time, and uh so she decided to come out, and I think they've been here about 12 or 13 years, I think they've been here for that long. And then uh, of course, my mother, she was in Rockford, Illinois, and uh she decided to come down as well. And so, whenever it's time for me to uh leave Tennessee and uh start over and find a place and all that, I already had a support system out here, so I thought it was best just to come out here.
SPEAKER_00Oh, that's great. Uh now I wait you found you had a support system out there, much like I do and and in Oklahoma. So when you uh we got out of after being incarcerated, which I want to come ask ask you a question about that, if I may. It's okay. Um you went to where your support system was.
SPEAKER_02Yes.
unknownOkay.
SPEAKER_00Now, is that does that happen? Is that pretty common that when someone comes out of being incarcerated, they go, they go to their support system? And do you recommend that?
SPEAKER_03Yes, I I highly recommend if whatever state you're in, I recommend that you leave that state. Because um, I'm a former law enforcement officer and uh the system is filled with repeat offenders. You know, a lot of those guys that they're stomping and pulling over, and and I guess you could say harassing, I guess. Um they're the ones that they know have just gotten released from prison or that are on parole. So they they kind of profile those guys. And um, whenever a person is released on parole, there's a card that's placed on the bulletin board. So it's basically saying, hey, this guy just got out of um prison, he's on parole. So we'll just kind of keep an eye out for him, you know, in case he, you know, decides to start back his life of crime again. So if they see that person driving, I'm like, wait a minute, I know this guy doesn't have a license, so they'll pull him over, and that just kind of it's just kind of shock talk. Hey man, I caught such and such again, and I got him locked up for driving on revolt. So it's um, I think it's just best to start over somewhere fresh.
SPEAKER_00Okay, I'm gonna ask you a question about that because you were a police officer and you were incarcerated. So you know the system. Yes. Yeah. You also made reference to being, was it profile? Is that the term that you used?
SPEAKER_03Yes, I use profile. I use profile because um I've seen it happen to where I talked to some officers and uh they said that um they knew the guy was uh 1084. 1084 means this person was known to sell illegal drugs or narcotics. So um this one officer, you know, we're all standing out talking shop, and you know, kind of like, I guess our scorecard, hey man, I caught such and such the other day. I caught him with, you know, so many ounces of weed or a bag of meth or whatever, you know, and this guy was talking to the guy and he said he stuck his head in the window, hey man, how you doing? You you know, trying to make him think he's really talking to him, and all he's doing is looking for uh some sort of drug paraphernalia, drug paraphernalia, or anything to give him probable cause to search the vehicle.
SPEAKER_00Oh, okay. Well, I had no idea. I had no idea. Uh I had a uh a friend on here one time that I interviewed, and uh no, this is a little bit of a tricky question for me to ask you. And and he said that he said actually he he was profiled uh because of the color of his skin. Yes, and uh if I could ask that question, because I know it we're everyone's hypersensitive about all that, but um do you feel the same way?
SPEAKER_03Um I I I've never experienced profiling for myself. Okay, but um when you're in that line of work, you know who you're dealing with. You know, um where I was at, it was a small county, it was a small town. We went to school with people, and once we got out of high school, we kind of kept in touch and we knew who were you know your drunks and the people who like to fight, and the people who were um drug users or drug manufacturers and sellers. It's just you know that stuff, and then whenever you come to the job, you kind of have a working knowledge of who you're gonna go after.
SPEAKER_00Okay, okay, and he said the good news about the rest of that story was he said we don't he believed this. He said we don't have an issue necessarily of the color of our skin or our belief system or whatever it is. He said we have an issue of the heart. Yes, and if we all look at one another as we should, which is in God's perfect image, if I may say that, or whatever it is, then you kind of cut through the color and the differences and all that kind of stuff. Yes. Do you feel that same way? Right. We really have an issue of the heart.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, I would say that.
SPEAKER_00Okay, great. So now so now thank you for going there because you just uh this is the second time we've spoken, and you're really inspirational to me. Last conversation, I still remember some of the things we said. Obviously, you're also extremely well read because you have made references in our previous conversations about some things that you have read. So tell me, I'm gonna lead in two questions. Tell me some of the books that have that you read. What kind of books do you read? What do you recommend?
SPEAKER_03Um, I recommend reading uh Thomas Sowell. I like Thomas Sowell. Um, I like Frederick Douglass. I think his um his book was called The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass, and I think another one was called Um Ah, I think it was, I may have him mistaken with somebody, but I think it was called The Souls of Black Folk. I may be mistaken on the author on that, but that was a good read. Um I like Shelby Steele. I read his book. It was called The Content of Our Character, and that really made a big impact on me because he was more about personal responsibility, uh property ownership, and you know, fathers being in the home. You know, there's there's uh you can make it in this country if you basically apply yourself and have good morals, you know. I mean, there's the the the it's unlimited to what you can do in this country because of our freedoms and um that's given us in the Constitution.
SPEAKER_00All right. So what are you working on now? Because you come across immediately like the kind of guy that's gonna have goals and you're gonna go after him. What are you working on now, Claudel? What are your aspirations?
SPEAKER_03Well, my aspirations, I'd like to be a radio host or maybe a guest, you know, maybe a longtime guest, make guest appearances and kind of give an opinion from the side of law enforcement that's gone into the prison system and show you where the uh where the errors are as far as uh corrections and I guess um I guess writing wrong behaviors.
SPEAKER_00Okay, so I want to writing wrong behaviors. Give me an example of what you're referencing. What's the wrong behavior?
SPEAKER_03Okay, let's say you have a guy, he comes into the the prison system and um he doesn't know anybody, he's scared, he um automatically feels that he needs somebody to have his back, feels like he needs to be associated with somebody or just protection in general. So what he'll do, he'll align himself with a um with a gang, which the uh the correctional facilities refer to as security threat groups. So um they align themselves with uh those types of individuals just so they'll have protection, have some form of camaraderie because we're a social creature, and um we want to feel accepted and we want to feel like we belong. So they may get this person in. He may come in and not have a maybe three or four years, but he ends up getting extra time or just doing time in the hole, and he may end up doing 100% of his sentence when he could have got out in maybe 10 months to a year.
SPEAKER_00So that part you actually will see on TV. I know some of what I see on TV about incarceration, I know some of it's not true, but that part right there seems that it is true. So, what what would you rec what would you tell him to do? So he goes in, he's looking for somebody to watch his back. How how does he solve that?
SPEAKER_03Well, what I would tell him to do is I would ask him what was his upbringing. I would find out, hey, did you have a mother and father at home? Did you go to church? You know, is this your first time in trouble? I mean, how much time do you have? And I'm just gonna let them know, hey, look, you got guys in here that are never going home, and they don't mind sending you out and watching you be stuck in there with them for the rest of your life, or getting more time, you know, for violation of state law or introduction of contraband into a correctional facility or you know, solicitation of staff or something, you know, things that can make your time harder and make it longer.
SPEAKER_00So he would associate himself with somebody that's gonna uh that that's like a positive group, like it's gonna um make him a better person instead of just watching his back. How would he how what kind of association would he form? Or would he form one?
SPEAKER_03Um I'm I haven't seen now. You have a few guys that are loners, but those guys are more they're medicated, they have mental problems, so they're really not aware of the surroundings, I would say, or they're just so you know, in their drugged out state, they're just they just don't care. They're they're indifferent, you know. And then a lot of times those guys have done such heinous crimes that people are afraid of them and they know they're on medication and they don't want them to go off because, like they said, if this guy goes off, we ain't gonna be able to stop him, and he may hurt or kill some of us. So those guys are pretty much left alone. But I would suggest uh getting in a good church group. Um, that's what I did. And um, I'm not saying that those guys in the church are just, you know, um, what do you want to call it, pacifists by any means. They know that at some point they may have to engage in unarmed combat if they have to, but they don't go out starting trouble, they just defend themselves if necessary.
SPEAKER_00I never would have thought of it that way, but there are but what you're talking about is a truth inside a uh prison or outside of prison. Associate with the right kind of people.
SPEAKER_04Right?
SPEAKER_00That's what I'm hearing. So anybody that's watching this, my uh teenagers, kids, anybody else, adults that are watching this, what he just shared is a truth. Associate yourself with the right kind of people. And then two, you referenced a faith issue that I want to ask you more about. Because I think I think that's almost a misunderstanding. So if you're strong in their faith, there is a point in time where you stand up for yourself. Help me help me draw that out. So help help me explain that. So you b you believe that hey, you know, faith is not just a passive No.
SPEAKER_03Okay, by no means, and um, you're gonna get tried. Your faith is gonna be tried, whether on the outside or on the inside. And I had a situation where it happened to me where a guy told me I was scared and you got behind that Bible because you scared and all this other stuff. I said, Yeah, you know what? I am scared. I said, because I know everybody is in here that in here is in here for doing bad things. You know, you have robbers, you have murderers, you have rapists, and you just got bad people uh a hundred percent, you know, and you know that anything bad can happen to you at any time. So it's just um I I I just own that yes, I am afraid. And I there's nothing wrong with acknowledging a situation and saying, hey, you know what? This is a bad situation. I need to be aware of my surroundings at all times. It's a state of of vigilance. You know, the scripture tells us to be sober and be vigilant, for the devil lurks about like a roaring lion seeking who he may devour. And that's the same thing in a prison. There's a bunch of lions in there seeking whom they may devour in any given time. And I think you need to be prepared, you need to be grounded in your faith. Uh, you're gonna have Muslims, you're gonna have atheists, you're gonna have uh mediocre Christians, they're gonna challenge your beliefs, they're gonna test your metal to see if you got what they say is uh almost quotes heart. Oh, you know. I mean, are you gonna fight, you know, at the drop of a hat if you need to, you know, and my uh prayer to God was you can say whatever you want, but just don't put your hands on me. That's when I'll you know protect myself and defend myself.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. You just did a sermon. You just did one of the you did a terrific sermon in about three minutes. That was terrific. Thank you. Uh so it is it's lean into your faith, right in, and when challenged, lean more into it.
SPEAKER_03Got to, you got to. I mean, you have to be that uh bulwark that refuses to be moved, you know. Take your shield of faith and your armor of God and then put on your helmet of salvation and use the sword of truth, you know, and you just gotta stand on it and be willing to defend it, you know, and and um you got to do some Bible study too, because Muslims are very um, the ones in there, they're very um well read and studied, and they read scripture and they'll throw something at you um to trip you up in your faith and make you doubt the um that Jesus is who he says he is, um, that the Bible has mistakes in it. I mean, they'll throw all types of stuff at you, and if you're not grounded, I've seen people leave and go their way, and they've said, well, you know, I I my mother was in a good was in the church and my grandmother was, and my grandfather was a pastor, my uncle was a deacon, and they've had all the Christian upbringing, but they never got grounded. They just in this little Christian bubble, and then once their faith was challenged, they didn't they didn't have any foundation to stand on. It was all sand.
SPEAKER_00You referenced about four different scripture and what you just said again. You just again you did a wonderful message, and that was probably about a minute and a half. That was that was outstanding. So their faith, this is another truth, inside or outside of prison. Their faith was never challenged. Yes, which is so many, so many of us.
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_00So you kind of go through the motions, your faith never gets challenged, and when it's challenged, it's built on sand.
SPEAKER_03Yes, and that comes from being raised, I would say, let's say a person is homeschooled, they only socialize with Christians, they only watch Christian programming, and everything is just this Christian bubble. And then when they get into a let's say they find themselves in a system like that, their bubble's gonna get burst, you know, and they're gonna challenge everything that you stand upon. And the only thing that that kept me grounded is that I stayed in the word and I read it. And I think David said he hid his word, he hid God's word in his heart. So when somebody challenged me, I said, No, that's that's not that's not true. Like I remember one guy said, Well, cleanliness is next to godliness, and I said, That's not in the Bible anywhere, man. You know, so they'll throw things out there, you know, that are not scriptural, and they'll throw what grandma believes, and you know, and I said, Well, grandma may be sincere in her beliefs, but she's sincerely wrong, you know, because that's not what thus saith the Lord. And I think there's a lot of church doctrine and a lot of teachings that are going on that are not Bible-based, they're just based on either somebody's opinion or I guess you could say folklore or some sort of wives' tales that were passed down from generation to generation, and nobody ever, you know, well, let me go check that out and make sure what you're saying is true. Like the Bereans did in Acts, you know, they gotta they went and checked it out. They said, Well, we want to see if these things are real, so they search the scriptures daily, you know, and that's what you have to do to get grounded so you're not, you know, um swayed and turned by every wind of doctrine.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, these days, I actually had a conversation, these days it's so easy to do that. I actually had a conversation with somebody that was taking me down that path. I said, No, where is that in the scripture? It's all in it. It's all I said, no, I you gotta tell me exactly where that is in the scripture.
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_00All right, so you want to you want to be like a radio host or a or a talk show host or go in and you know there's several different things, and obviously your faith is standing out. Yes. What kind of steps are you taking, Claudelle, to get you in that place?
SPEAKER_03Well, what I do is I um I do a lot of research as far as podcasting and what equipment I may need and um what um subjects I may want to study, you know, preparation and notes, and uh I watch a lot of um I like Larry Elder. He's a big inspiration. I like him. Um I like Brandon Tatum, and I like their um that they're well studied and they're read and they they know their stuff. You know, they don't just come in and like, okay, uh let's somebody call in and we just wing it for 30 minutes, you know. They're actually well read, they have quotes, they have sources, you know, and I think that's the best way to do it because if somebody comes back and challenges what you're saying, you're like, wait a minute, go back to this book or go back to this website or go to this newspaper. This is my source. This isn't just coming from me off the top of my head, you know, and that's just the same thing with the you like the Bible, the Bible's your source. So, I mean, if you have any questions, go back to the source.
SPEAKER_00So if you created a podcast, uh-huh, which I think you should consider doing it, by the way. So if you created a podcast, it would what would the topic be? What would what would it be on?
SPEAKER_03Well, mostly I would call it. I want I had a name pop up in my mind years ago, and it was called warrior awareness. And um, I'm a former soldier and I understand warriors have to be you have to be prepared, you know, and you can't, if you're on guard duty, you can't get distracted by a noise when you're supposed to hold this particular post. You're like, hey man, I hear something over here. Well, I'm gonna leave this post and go over here, and then when you leave your post, the enemy slips in. So there has to be somebody that stands in the gate to be willing to, you know, either confront the enemy or warn the others that the enemy is approaching. And I think uh, like scripture says, it says, My people were destroyed for lack of knowledge. And a lot of people are looking at the mainstream media and just going by what they say, and it's usually based on uh talking points and not fact. And people get what's that?
SPEAKER_00No, no, go ahead, Claudio. I'm sorry.
SPEAKER_03And people get caught up in their feelings, and it has nothing to do with reality or truth or um anything that's uh, I guess you could say you can go and search out, you know, and go find and find the source where it came from. It's just, I guess you could say, conjecture, and it's just it's just frustrating to see it. And I'm like, you know, they they put on there that, well, the president is racist or President Trump is racist, and it wasn't that long ago. And I'm like, wait a minute, didn't you remember he actually funded Jesse Jackson's uh campaign? I said it's it's it's documented, it's not something that people made up, you know, people forget, people have short memories, you know, and and that's the and that's sad, and people won't do their homework. They'd rather they'd rather plug in the TV and rather the news tell them rather than go in and go do the research.
SPEAKER_00So yours would be faith-based. The viewers and listeners are going, but he's really asking Claudel about podcasting. What I'm actually asking Claudelle about is um your message. My message and the best platform to express your message. So your message would be faith-based. Just like anything you talk about is going to have faith in it.
SPEAKER_03Yes, basically. And um that you can't let your past or anything that you've done in the past be an excuse for failure or uh failure to thrive, you know, because we live in a um, you know, we live in a free world, you know, a free society, and um you can make yourself anything you want. If you apply yourself and take advantage of the opportunities that are set before you, and they're like, oh man, well, you don't understand, I don't have the money. Well, I mean, if you meet certain income brackets, you can go to school for free. At least get an associate's degree, you know, and uh or maybe get a trade school and they'll pay for it, they'll find you a job, and you won't know what dime. Yeah, you know, and um it's it's just If you want to make it, you can. You know, a minor mistake, a minor setback, you know, you can um you can overcome that if you have the work ethic and the perseverance and the discipline, you know, to do it. And just set your mind to it and don't be denied because you're gonna get you're gonna um run into some hurdles. And Shelby Steele had said that one of his quotes, I maybe um misinterpreted, I maybe quoted wrong, but he said life is riddled with difficulties and setbacks. It's to be expected. So when something hard gets in your way, you shouldn't just give up. You just push through it because you know it'll pass. You gotta keep going, you gotta keep fighting, you got to keep punching that clock and keep showing up for work until you get what you want.
SPEAKER_00So those that are out here listening to this going, but in my past, I made this mistake and I I just can't recover from it. I know there's a lot of people that feel the same way. I made this mistake, but I can't recover from it. Your answer would be what?
SPEAKER_03My answer would be is like, is there anything that you're not willing to do to succeed? Wow. That's all it is. You just got to make a decision. What is it you're not willing to do? When um when I was in uh Memphis, there was a work release program down there, and I'd already had a job making minimum wage, in which a minimum wage in a prison is a is a pretty good, you know, pretty good money. And I left that job and went to work release making 34 cents an hour. And I had to deal with that for like a year to get to where I could actually get outside the fence to work in the city to where I could actually make a real wage to where I could save some money so I could buy a vehicle or pay deposits. And you just got to make sacrifices and you got to make good choices. That's all it is. And when opportunity presents itself, you um you do it. You don't you don't pass that up. And I knew a lot of guys that did it and they got out and they had nothing. They were a burden. They had to excuse me, they had to um live with their parents, you know, and you know, and probably couldn't find a job for a while. And you know, and that's one thing about being in church. The church is a network of brethren. And if you're in there and they say, hey, look, I fell on some hard times, I need a job, there'd probably be somebody in there could put in a good word for you. So it's just all what you want to, you know, what are you willing to do to succeed? And you might have to take a job at McDonald's until something better comes along. And um, I was just blessed and fortunate, you know, that I met somebody at church. He was a former law enforcement officer, and he thought I was a good guy. And he knew my sister because she was going there and knew her my brother-in-law, and um he decided to put in a good word for me. And um, I've got the job, and I've been working there ever since. And I'm able, I've I've bought a house in less than a year and a half of being out of prison. So, you know, it's paid off. I just had to, I ain't gonna say the job was all um, you know, the best thing I've ever had, but it pays the bills. I've got my credit right and is able to purchase a home.
SPEAKER_00So I mean Hey, congratulations.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, thank you.
SPEAKER_00That's terrific. We're gonna have a conversation after this recording. For people listening and watching, I I try to keep it to 20, 30 minutes because that's usually what but you I've got a list of questions I'm gonna ask you, Claudio, after afterwards.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_00Kind of personal advice, actually. You go so deep into so many wonderful topics, and I'm I'm gonna ask you some details later. Okay. Who inspires you? Who are the people that inspire you?
SPEAKER_03Uh I would say let me see. I've always liked Frederick Douglass. I've always liked the abol abolitionists. Um I think his name was was it William Lloyd Garrison? Um, I think he was uh he was a white abolitionist, he was a Christian, and uh he was dead set against it, and he was I think he was friends with um Frederick Douglass. So that you know sparked a movement, you know, between you know, uh because Christian people had convictions that slavery was bad. And those people stood on the word of God, and um they went against the status quo, and that takes heart and faith. You know, you have to have something inside of you that is willing to say, hey, you know what, I'm gonna stand on this because this is the side I believe God is on. And I've got I've got the word of God to back it because this is what he says about this institution. And um, those are probably two of my older ones, and I guess you could say more of my later ones, but one would be Shelby Steele and the other one would be Thomas Sowell, just because they're brilliant minds and they put the rest the concept that we're that we as uh black or African-American are oppressed and that we can't do anything. Matter of fact, I'd I've heard this quote before.
unknownDr.
SPEAKER_03Mark Duncan King said in his time that um the way the civil rights things were going, uh, that we could um have a president in 40 years. And it was almost 40 years to the day when he said that when Barack Obama became the first uh president of African descent.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_03So he didn't say we're gonna have the first black football coach of a professional team or the first black dean of a university or the first black billionaire. He said president. So what he said was once we've achieved the office of president of the United States, race relations is no longer an issue. We've we've broke the glass ceiling, and um that's just how I see it. The world is you know without limit. That's all I can say.
SPEAKER_00Okay, I'm gonna ask you another question, but I I really want to put out the statement that you made. Okay, two more questions.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_00But I'm gonna see if I have this right, Claudelle. Okay. I on this podcast, typically we don't go into a whole lot of political who's Republican, who's Democrat, all that kind of stuff. And no, no, it's okay if you do. Okay. It's okay if you do, and I don't mind telling people I'm an independent because I want to make a choice based on what I see is the truth. But but you can say anything you want to say.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_00But here's what I want to pull out of what you said. You mentioned two presidents.
SPEAKER_04Uh-huh.
SPEAKER_00And you pointed out the truth in both presidents. So if I were to if I were to say I can't tell what um political party he's a part of, which you removed the ability to apply a label by saying Barack Obama was the first president, uh African American president. Am I saying that correctly?
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_00Okay. And then you also reference Trump because they were saying something about him that wasn't the truth. Yes. What you're cutting through is you're cutting through all the noise and you're saying here's the truth.
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_00And you're doing that. How are you staying out of all the noise that's trying to convince us of an alternate truth? How are you cutting through that?
SPEAKER_03Oh, I cut through that. I cut through that by looking at where we were. And, you know, and I sit back and I look at it, and I said, you have a people that was brought over here against their will. They were oppressed, made to work, and just marginalized throughout the centuries, but somehow we managed to attain our freedom, um, attain public office, attain the highest public office, become the most decorated military officers in the military, um, fly airplanes in like, was it World War II? I mean, served in every probably, you know, court or court system when mayors, governors, I mean, instead of saying, look what happened to us, saying, like, look what we accomplished, look what we did in spite of all that. And just saying, hey, look, we persevered in spite of our consequences. We still managed to become to reach the highest office in the in the land. And I don't think there's other any other racial demographic can say that, except those of African descent.
SPEAKER_00Thanks. You've like give these little mini, many sermons that are so powerful. We've had about five of them on here.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, thank you.
SPEAKER_00So tell me, you have people on here that uh tell me what you would say to someone that's has not been incarcerated. We have two groups listening. We have a group that's not incarcerated, and there's they probably don't understand what it's like. And then you have a group that has been incarcerated, they're listening to this for hope and encouragement. Let's speak to the speak to both groups if you can.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_00Tell me what message are do you want to give people that have not been incarcerated, that have not had your experiences?
SPEAKER_03Well, one thing, um it starts in the home. I believe uh a home with a father and mother, I believe that's a uh that's a start, and it has to be grounded in truth, it has to be grounded in the word of God, and I believe that comes through the Bible and uh faith in Jesus Christ. It comes through that, and then once you get grounded in truth, then you start surrounding yourself with people who also believe that truth. Because I believe God has has a remnant everywhere, and he has people in high places, he has people in low places, and he's gonna place them in your path. And only thing you have to do is you know, pray, and God will direct your path to the right people to get you where you need to be, because I believe we're all here for a purpose, and it may not be necessarily to be the richest man in the world or to create some invention, you know, that will help humanity. It may be just to help somebody who's in need, or somebody who just needs a kind word, or somebody who's in um distress, you know, just looks for just look for opportunities to serve. And um, I think that's where we're where we're lacking. We've we've lost our humanity. And um people would rather see people fail rather than see people succeed. And you and that's the thing, even in even in an institution, there's still opportunities to serve. And um just just help somebody, you know, and you may not you may not be the richest man or the or the sought-after guy or smartest man in the room, but you can serve in any aspect. It might be just opening the door for somebody or giving somebody a kind word. Hey man, good morning. How you doing? And it may change your day. I mean, it's just service, you know, and and I think that's what we what we were called to do is to is to serve one another. I think Jesus even said that. He didn't come to be served, but to be a servant. Yeah, you know, and and he's he's our example, and we should follow him.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, you kind of spoke to both groups, but I want to make sure you hadn't left anything out for the the group that's incarcerated.
SPEAKER_03The group that's incarcerated.
SPEAKER_00Um because there's a lot of what we hope and I heard there's a way that we could get this into some people. So there may be some people that are actually incarcerated now that are gonna hear this message.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00So you have that group and you have the group that are now out. And for what I understand, if you're not careful, it's easy to slip back in a position to where you go back in.
SPEAKER_03It is, it is.
SPEAKER_00So let's go into that group.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, you're gonna be tempted, you know. The guys that are in and the guys that are out. You know, you have to stay focused. You have to write the stuff down. That's what I did. If you have goals, write them down. Don't just talk about them, don't just um think about them, write them down, look at them, cross them off as you accomplish it. Set short-term realistic goals. Don't sit and say, Well, I want to be a millionaire in five years. Of course, you know, I hear that, I've heard that many a times. They want to go out, they want to start these business businesses, and they want to be millionaires in five years, which I think is far-fetched. Set a realistic goal. Okay, the first thing I'm gonna do, me, I wanted to get out of prison with no write-ups. So I didn't get any write-ups. That was my goal. I said, Okay, I'm gonna leave here with no write-ups. So nobody can ever say, Well, you know, he stole that stuff from the kitchen because I didn't, I wanted my my character meant a lot to me. And people take you seriously whenever you know your yay means yay and your name means nay. People trust you, and uh, you get a little more um, they'll listen to you, they'll give you audience instead of just treating you like everybody else. Ah man, I don't hear nothing you gotta say. But when you talk to them with respect and you present yourself in a manner that, you know, like this man knows what he's talking about, they're more eager to listen. So I would say make short-term goals, realistic goals. You know, you might let's say you're in there and they have they have trade schools in prison, you know, get you a trade and knock that out. And once you knock that out, maybe work in that trade for a year, you know, and then go to something else and try to get maybe get your GED. Um, and then once you figure out where what something else is, maybe move to another location, you know, and take advantage of those opportunities there. Get counseling, you know, go speak with the chaplain. You know, there they're there's opportunities there. And if you don't take advantage of it, I mean that's that's your own fault. And um, I I told guys at uh um graduation, it's not the state's responsibility to rehabilitate you, that's on you. And many choose not to. You can go in there, lay around, lift weights, eat a bunch of cakes and cookies, and never you know, self-examine or um do anything productive for yourself and walk out of there with no money, a bad attitude, and probably a myriad of health problems.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Yeah. Uh Claudell? Again, I'm repeating this, where now I have about six many sermons that are so to the truth. Reminds me of the so to the truth. You get very quick, you get you have the ability to get very quickly to the truth. And you state it very well. Thank you. Is there anything in this conversation that you think uh has been left out that you would like to share before we close?
SPEAKER_03Just realize that uh there's a God in heaven that loves you. And he gave his son. And um you have to determine who he is. He's either Lord, liar, or lunatic. And he can't be all three. And I think C.S. Lewis had put it that way. He didn't leave that open for discussion. And um, I said, if he's Lord, follow him. Um, if he's a liar or lunatic, you can't trust him. But who you determine who Jesus is, it determines, I think it also determines your quality of life, I would say, your outlook on life, and it also determines where you will spend eternity. And the consequences are too severe to be wrong because the scriptures say what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul? You might make that million dollars in five years, but when your soul is demanded of you and you have to check out of this world into eternity, that money's not going to buy you out of that uh that judgment if you're not right with God. So start with start with God and end with God. That's the only thing I could say. And um, that's the simplest way I could put it because if it weren't for him, there's no I wouldn't be where I am today. And I can't attribute that to anything but his goodness and his grace. That's it. It has nothing to do with me. I just uh he he laid opportunity out there. I asked him to direct my pass, and he did. Was it easy? By no means. It was not easy, and I think anything worth having is worth uh working for because when you get it, you'll appreciate it.
SPEAKER_00And this is the end of this podcast episode. That was beautiful, Claudelle. Terrific. What's the best way for people to get in touch with you?
SPEAKER_03Well, I'm on uh Gmail at ClaudellCarpenter6 at gmail.com. Um, and if somebody does I should have, should I give my phone number? I mean, if they want to text or call or anything like that.
SPEAKER_00No, well, that's up to you. If I didn't know if you gave your Gmail address, are you comfortable with people with your? I would I would recommend just giving your email, your Gmail address.
SPEAKER_03Gmail is fine. Gmail, I'm on uh Facebook at Tank C Tank C-E-E. That's on Facebook, and I'm on Instagram as uh Mr. Tank 101st Airborne Vet.
SPEAKER_00Thank you. That will be in the show notes for people that are listening. Uh this we made reference to the video here. The audio goes on the podcast outlets, and then the video is gonna be broken up in pieces and sent out on the SoulMina Business Podcast. Um is the website, but it's gonna go out on those social media outlets, and Claudelle will be tagging you as they go out, so you'll see it as well. Claudel, thank you so much. This has been uh a terrific experience, and I know it's gonna have a great impact on the listeners, so thank you.
SPEAKER_03Thank you, JD. My pleasure.
SPEAKER_00You can see video clips of this recording on our social media outlets on Instagram and Facebook at SoulMind A Business Podcast, or you can find everything on our website at SoulMont Business Podcast.com. Wish you all the best and peace.