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A number of people in the pre-sentencing stage delay. They know they should be preparing, but they don’t. I think about a man who texted me a few months ago while I was at the driving range with my son. His message said, “you were right.” Later that night he told me we had spoken months earlier when he was the target of an investigation. I told him to prepare, to treat it like insurance. He admitted he was guilty, but he decided to wait because his lawyer said get through discovery first. Months later the government moved forward, others had already cooperated, and now his only choices were trial or a plea. He told me he wanted a do-over.

That same mistake happens after sentencing. People wait for designation, or they wait until they get to the camp. They tell themselves they’ll figure it out later. Meanwhile, others are moving. Delay leads to fewer options, more stress, and longer prison terms.

Last week my friend Matthew Bowyer was sentenced in front of Judge Holcomb. If you asked him what he’s doing now, he’d say he’s preparing for prison. Married, five kids, and already laying out an agenda with our help. No waiting, no delay. He’s focusing on the next right thing. That mindset is what separates him from people who freeze while the government keeps moving.

We talk about this often in our webinars. Robert Greene calls it blitzkrieg. Time is against you. The longer you wait, the stronger your opponent becomes. And while you wait, case managers, probation officers, and prosecutors form their impressions of you. They’re not neutral. They already have the probation report, the plea agreement, the victim statements. If you don’t counter with action, you’re defined by theirs.

That’s why segmentation matters. Break the process into the next right step. One physician told us, I want to keep my license, I have restitution to pay, my wife is angry but standing by me, my kids love me, and I need a plan. He wasn’t asking what to do next year. He was asking what to do this week. To answer that week, we had to answer that day, that hour.

So if you’ve just been sentenced, ask the questions now. Did your lawyer ask for the right prison? The right program? Did you get the recommendation on the record? If designation misses, are you ready with a redesignation request? Have you written a plan to share with your family? Are you exercising before you go in so you don’t get injured? Have you reviewed medications so you aren’t surprised by what the BOP won’t provide?

Matthew’s lesson is clear. Focus on the next right thing. Segmentation makes the process manageable. Delay only leaves you frozen while the other side keeps moving.

Justin Paperny