“What would it be like if you were known for the worst thing that you ever did in your life?”
This is the question that Catherine Rohr asked herself and others when she founded Defy Ventures, a nonprofit organization that seeks to break the cycle of incarceration in the US by equipping men with criminal histories with the power to leverage their innate entrepreneurial skills to create profitable, sustainable, legal enterprises.
During a prison visit with a Christian outreach program, Catherine observed that former inmates who ran powerful gangs or profitable drug rings have similar skills to those of successful business people. They tragically channelled their skills toward illegal activities, but fortunately, they were caught and paid their time, and Catherine recognized that they could put these same skills to productive use, create profitable businesses, and become contributing members to society.
In my business, I often look for the outliers who don’t fit the traditional definition of a real estate partner. My first big partner was the guy who I bought pizza from a couple of times a week. Catherine has taken this concept to a whole new level and has found promise, potential, hope, and success in a group of human beings that would most likely not have been given much of a chance beyond menial minimum wage jobs.
Catherine has taught me that there is always a bright side to every situation, and we need to search for it and nurture it no matter how hard it may seem.
Check out defyventures.org to learn more about this fascinating initiative.
Have you given someone a second change today?
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