"I'm the kind of person who is embarrassed to lie," says "Freeway" Rick Ross. Not the words you would expect to come from a convicted felon.

Rick built an empire, a drug empire that is, the notorious Los Angeles crack-cocaine empire.

But the man who built this empire is not an evil man as you might suspect. He is charitable, a teacher, and an ideal leader. "I always knew I was going to jail," he tells me.

So why did I interview him?

First off, his story is the kind that creates curiosity. It is so foreign to me – a good, Jewish boy. It's thrilling.

Second, our stories have a common theme: How do you pick yourself up when you're at rock bottom?

His rock bottom was finding out he was sentenced to life in prison. How do you stay motivated after discovering your entire future will be in a cage? How do you not run away? Can you "choose yourself" here?

Yes.

Before bottom, Rick was illiterate. He picked himself up by improving every day. He read 300 books, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and more all before he was granted bail.

He was given a sentence, but he changed his destiny. You can, too.

Rick also has expert advice on how to resolve conflicts. In his business, he had power and guns but chose peace over force time and time again. His story is a good example of how to build loyalty. You can use his experience to create loyal teams and partnerships in your life and work, too.

The moral of the story here is not how you find success. It's what you do with it that matters. During his rise to the top, Rick gave back to his community. He gives back today by advocating literacy and speaking in schools.

After listening, you could write a "10 ideas" list on how you can give back to your community today. If nothing else, I hope this interview inspires you to improve your destiny and others.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• •How to resolve conflicts

• •How to build loyal relationships

• •Examples of strong work ethic

• •Why literacy is important

• •How to gain clientele and use word-of-mouth marketing

• •Plus much more...

Links and Resources Mentioned in the Show:

• •Read "Freeway" Rick Ross' inspiring book, Freeway Rick Ross: The Untold Autobiography.

• •Follow "Freeway" Rick Ross on Twitter.

• •Check out Jayson Gaignard's conference, MastermindTalks, which is where I interviewed Rick Ross.

• •My article, "What I learned about leadership when I interviewed the biggest drug dealer in history."

Thanks so much for listening!

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