It was a beautiful Spring day in 1983 when for reasons I cannot fully explain even now, I strolled into a newsstand in a Discount Mall in Research Triangle Park, a commercial community just a stone’s throw from the Durham City limits. I selected a couple of my favorite magazines, and then I saw a publication distributed by the Continuing Education Department at Duke University.

You know Duke University, one of the world’s most prestigious universities, an institution that helps put Durham, North Carolina on the map. Duke University sports a worldwide reputation from one end of the institution to the other–faculty, researchers, even students. It’s a beautiful place, with east and west campuses, that cover a large quadrant in Durham. That’s enough! You know Duke University.

A headline on the front page of the Continuing Education Department’s publication caught my eye–Writers Wanted! Outside the store in the “food court,” I turned to page three and read the following ad: “Wanted: writers to teach writing courses to adults who want to become professional writers. Apply to The Continuing Education Department. Contact Marilyn Hartmann.

My mind twirled with ideas. I wanted to become a teacher, and had asked God for open door opportunities. I had endured the ridicule of neighbors as I stood in an upstairs bedroom in my aunt’s house practicing lecturing and public speaking. Was this the open door? I reviewed the facts.

I was 40-years-old, and had been out of prison for 15 years. For almost all of those 15 years, I had been a professional writer, beginning with three African American weekly newspapers, one in Durham, another in Greensboro and a short stint in Raleigh. I had spent two years with The Morning Star in Wilmington and five years with The Charlotte Observer. I had been a fulltime freelance writer since 1980, with work published in local newspapers, as well as regional and national magazines. Currently, I worked as an Editorial Consultant for The Carolina Times, and its new publisher, Mrs. Vivian Edmonds, who had taken over the weekly newspaper when her father, Louis Austin, the paper’s founder had died. Those observations came from Milton, the positive. But ,on the other hand, chimed in Milton, the negative, I had never been to college. I had a GED (General Education Development) certificate I had earned between prison sentences. Why would I even waste my time trying to teach at Duke University?

This was not a new clash. I had fought this battle many times during the past 15 years. The first time was during my first job at the Jack Tar hotel when my supervisor sent me to a women’s bathroom on the motel side of the complex where someone had puked all over the place. Milton, the positive, a mere babe of an entity,, then said, “Clean it up. It’s your job.” “Is that all you’ve got,” screamed Milton, the negative, that had been the driving force behind all of my struggles, the quick temple, the stealing addiction, etc. “They sent you over here ’cause they know you can’t refuse to do this on account of your record and so forth.” “But it’s your job,” whined little Milton, the positive. I had to lock myself in a motel room for about 30 minutes, but the “little one” won.

For a decade and a half now, I had fought these battles with the two forces in me–the positive me, the one who wanted to become a contributing community citizen, and the negative me, who wanted things to remain as they had always been. So here was the battle again. This time, though, Milton, the positive, was larger, louder and more commanding, with often impeccable reasoning. Why should I apply to teach at Duke University? Because, this new me explained, as the Apostle Paul had written about Abraham in the letter to the Romans that Abraham, though he faced the fact that his body was dead did not waver in his faith because he knew that God is able to do what He promised. God had promised in writing that He would give me the desires of my heart. One of those desires was to become a successful and effective teacher. God had promised to set open doors of opportunity before me, and all I had to do was to enter them boldly, in faith.

I drove back to my office at The Carolina Times, and after work that day I wrote a proposal to teach a course called Writing for Profit. Afterall, that’s what I knew how to do. I knew how to get paid to write. I had been doing that for 15 consecutive years. In the course outline, crude as it was by professional standards, I proposed to teach students how to apply the principles I used daily to pitch story ideas to a wide variety of editors, to research and write those stories, sometimes marketing variations of the same idea to several publications. My acceptance rate was almost 70%. My average check was $250 and I usually received three to four freelance checks per month. I knew how to write for profit. I would learn how to teach it.

Marilyn Hartmann called the following week. We met. She bought the idea, and a week later I walked into a college classroom for the first time in my life, as an instructor. The lack of a college degree was not an issue for Ms. Hartmann, who said: “Our favorite teachers are people who have done it and who do it. They bring a reality to their courses that academicians lack.”

After two years teaching at Duke University, I taught several sessions of the Write for Profit course at the community colleges in Raleigh and Durham respectively. Then in 1987, I became an adjunct instructor in Professional Writing at Campbell University, a premier institution in Buies Creek, NC. I taught there for 10 years. During the same period, 1989-1999, I also taught at North Carolina Central University in Durham. So for most of that 10 year stint, I was a full time college professor. I taught two or three classes a semester at Campbell, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and taught one or two classes per semester at NCCU on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

So when I hear ex-offenders claiming that they continue in crime because they cannot find employment, I know from personal experience that their individual negative entity won the battle, and the positive entity continues struggling for preeminence. I know that when I hear them complaining about how the deck is stacked against them, and no one will give them a chance, these individuals continue to allow their lives to be controlled by the past, rather than moving through the present, with a clear vision for the future.

So how can you do it? The fact that I have done it does not, by itself, mean you can. But here are the 21 principles I’ve used over the past 39 years that have taken me from crime to contribution: I have trusted God’s favor, and walked in His faith. I have been willing to be held accountable for my decisions and actions. I have learned methods of performance that produce profitable outcomes. I have adopted an enthusiastic persona, no matter the prevailing circumstances. I have listened and responded to the directions of the Holy Spirit. Don’t get me wrong. I am not touting religion, but alignment with spiritual laws that work for anyone who aligns with them. These laws are just as powerful and immutable as the laws of gravity and inertia. For example, I have set and prepared myself to accomplished goals. I have adopted a wellness lifestyle, developed drive and resourcefulness, along with perseverance. I have based all that I do on the foundation of powerful spiritual principles. Finally, I get started, develop a power “why” for all I do. I become and remain teachable and coach-able. I learn to master systems and process thinking, as well as learning how to work S.M.A.R.T. (Specific, Measurable, Aggressive, Relevant and Time-bound). I learn how to work hard. I refuse to quit.

For anyone who applies those 21 principles, success is guaranteed. Failure is not an option. So yes, an ex-con can become a college professor, or anything else he or she wants to become. Stop complaining. Get to work!

See you at success!

I have spent almost 40 years mastering the principles of how to stay out of crime and prison. I am now an expert and I want to share this expertise with others. For more information, please visit
http://www.miltoncjordansr.com