Full Transcript for From Prison to Purpose: Human-Centered Leadership in the Age of AI

right way. You have to first be able to lead yourself. ⁓ And what that means that you understand yourself. that you have a purpose yourself and that you have all the different fundamental principles that make a great leader within you already. So I did the work on myself first for many years and then after that I started to work with other men in prison. All of them were lifers serving life sentences and they were my target audience for this because those were the ones I seemed to get along with the most because it was a You know, a lifer mentality, a prison lifer mentality is different than just a person in prison. A person in prison who may, you know, has this vision of getting out one day and lifers that's in there, they have to come to the resolution, most of them, that they probably may never get out. And so there's a different mindset. So for me, it was like, if I can help these men, then that's... me doing like extraordinary work. So I did and that's where I started my first mentoring and coaching. Didn't even know what mentoring and coaching really was back then. Just started to do it. And then when I got out, I kind of felt like I lost my purpose because I was helping so many men in prison and I was free now and I'm like, well, what do I do now? How do I fulfill my purpose? And how do I, you know, I wasn't even thinking about creating a business yet. And so, but But me doing it in prison eventually, when I started to learn about business and start my own, I realized that there was this big need for coaching and for advising and for mentoring. And so I started ⁓ company and built off of that. And ⁓ it was working in education and then it ended up being ⁓ into corporate. And so, ⁓ I just ⁓ of started in the most unlikely place and then ⁓ it evolved into the work that I'm doing now with people. Developing people is always what I go back to. It's like, we're all people, we all have the same emotions, we all deal with the same things, same struggles, same fears, all these things in our own way. And so... What I do, what we do as an organization can really impact anybody. But we focus in the corporate space and leadership because that's our mission is to reach as many leaders as we can because they'll have the most influence on people. That's our philosophy. Amanda: And when you started mentoring the lifers in prison, was that before or after you had earned your degree in psychology? Carlos Vasquez: It was after, yeah. I started to work on myself when I was in solitary confinement. I did three years in solitary confinement and all I had was books. And I read a book a week ⁓ for three years. And so I read over 150 books and those books, know, and I was always a lot of love for reading. So that was a plus because I really enjoyed it. And then I started to... just really learn so many powerful things and put them into practice. And I started to learn about human behavior and I understood what PTSD was. And then I realized that like a lot of the characteristics of that was something that I was experiencing in my life because of the things that I saw. And then I started to find ways to heal and to work through them and to process things. And that whole journey for three years helped me to then get ⁓ out of solitary back to general population and get my degree in psychology really just because I wanted to learn more about myself and the men that were around me like I really wanted to understand so that's why I ended up pursuing it and in that process I learned I learned a lot that helped me to help them. Amanda: ⁓ you walk us through the ⁓ you had about PTSD and when it really clicked for you? ⁓ Carlos Vasquez: I didn't understand why I had so many, you nightmares and I had ⁓ feelings of guilt and shame because my best friend committed suicide ⁓ in of me when I was 16 years old. ⁓ you I blamed myself a lot for that and I carried that with me, untreated, and it really made me hate myself and hate others and lash out. and become violent. And so when I start to understand that and read about that and some of those same feelings that I had, I was like, wow, okay, I put a title to it. So now what do I do to try to fix it? And unfortunately in prison, their solution ⁓ when was in there, definitely their solution to any type of ⁓ mental health crisis is always, ⁓ you're, you know, you're just depressed and you're stressed out or take these pills and they would give you, these medications that would literally make you unfunctionable and even to the point where some men were wearing diapers because they couldn't even get up out of bed to use the restroom. And I just, for me, I I didn't take any medication the whole time I was in there because of that reason, because I didn't want to become that. Not to say that as a free man, I wouldn't take medication because there's some stuff that could probably truly help me but in that place, you just didn't trust it. So I didn't. So I had to deal with everything and I realized that and you know, there's a lot of studies today about this as well. That like really going on this inward journey and healing through like just recollecting and processing things and understanding them and crying and feeling all these emotions and releasing them. is really powerful and that was like my process to get out of those feelings of guilt, shame and nightmares which I haven't experienced since I left solitary confinement. Amanda: It seems like that self-understanding really became the foundation of the work that you do. And in the work that you do today, you're speaking with leaders across healthcare systems, corporations, and schools. What is the common thread that you see in terms of what most leaders struggle with beneath the surface? Carlos Vasquez: Yeah, that's a great, great question. Because you're right, I've spoken in so many different places, you know, City of Hope, medical places to schools, to prisons, to ⁓ YPO events. It's like, and I asked myself, ⁓ ⁓ when I go

to these different places, it's like, what is the common thing that I see in all these different places, different fields, different, you know, people doing different work. It always goes back to like just humanity and that, us in our lives is busy as we are and the things that we're doing in our work, it's always ⁓ a moment when you can kind of just get ⁓ grounded like. who we are as a human being in terms of like what our ⁓ ability to help another person, how to have compassion and empathy for others and yourself, how to, recognize the people around you that are working with you side by side and, creating those really great relationships and how all that thing that can translate into any business or any organizational setting, ⁓ these, ⁓ these humanity principles of leadership, I tie that into my life story because in my life story, there's people that have come into my life that have led me down really dark paths and then there's people who came and led me through and gave me opportunities to become who I am today. And so anybody in these rooms or anybody in these conferences that I'm speaking to. has to take a personal assessment of themselves and ask themselves, what kind of person am I for the person next to me, for the people next to me, for my family? Am I leading them a some way? Maybe even subconsciously, am I leading them ⁓ the wrong way, doing the wrong thing? Am I not leading by example? ⁓ am I leading by example? And am I doing the right thing? And so ⁓ story and my message, it brings that. like an. ⁓ awakening to everybody opens their eyes to this that some people don't even think about they just go through life and don't really process where they are and where they stand as a leader so which i always say anybody can lead so that's really anybody can can can truly resonate with it so yeah that's what i've what i've typically spoke on Amanda: And so it really makes your audience take a look at themselves first and see how they're treating themselves, which is similar to what you've said. You've said you have to lead yourself before you can lead others. What does that look like in practice? And how do you get leaders who've never examined their own psychology to actually do that work? Carlos Vasquez: Yeah, for me, leading myself, it's an ongoing active practice every day. I always try to look for ways to get better, try to practice the things that I'm preaching, try to practice the things that I write about, ⁓ trying to be a spectator to my thoughts as much as I can to understand, to think about my thinking, to understand why am I reacting this way and trying to figure it out. So it's nonstop because ⁓ I aspire to be, a good, a great leader every day, but the aspirational part of it is really key because ⁓ sometimes it's not always like that. Sometimes, I make, mistakes and I do things and, ⁓ that's okay. But I think that is, first of all, the main is that you're not going to ever get it a hundred percent right. It's a, it's a consistent thing you have to work on. ⁓ And I think for me working with other leaders and getting them to like kind of. pause and really look at their life and then make steps toward change is always, ⁓ I always that ⁓ it's typically ⁓ just inspiring in some way, whether I'm speaking to them and then they come up, one or two people come up afterward and say this is exactly what I needed to hear to start my path or to do different. ⁓ Or maybe it's that just kind of observes me from ⁓ wherever social media or my pod, they're observing me on a day to day. And then through that observation, they were like, man, this guy's leading by example. ⁓ You know, he's not just talking. I like that I'm going to do the same thing. And so it's always trying to inspire. And that's why inspiration is one of the principles that I talk about, because being an inspirational leader is actually what's necessary to kind of spark the change, to light the flame that then obviously needs to be built on. But I think that I was personally inspired ⁓ myself. So I understand that there can be that moment, there could be that book, there could be that one thing, that one person that comes into your life to do one thing that just inspires it, inspires something that goes on to change your whole life. So I think the inspirational aspect is really important. Amanda: Was there one moment when you were inspired after release that prompted your success? Carlos Vasquez: Yeah, yeah. Yeah, ⁓ So ⁓ before was ⁓ Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Franko was the book that I read. And that inspired me ⁓ to through that solitary and to really just, be in control of the way that I respond to my situation. And then when I got out, ⁓ I had all tools and I had all of the the makeup to ⁓ get and not go back, to get out and be a productive citizen. I had all that, but I didn't have anything else. I didn't have any money. I didn't have anything at all. didn't own anything. I had $200 ⁓ starting nothing, knowing one person and ⁓ having build my whole network, everything. ⁓ one that inspired me I got out was I had an opportunity to speak, well, pitch my business at Google for funding, kind of like a Shark Tank style pitch. And I remember like just preparing for it because the business school program I was doing, it's kind of like a benefit. You have a profitable business before you graduate, then you can pitch to Google for funding for your business. So that was my one goal in life. And I knew I'd get there and I did. And so When I got there, I was like, okay, I gotta prepare, because I don't know, they're gonna ask me all these questions, and they're gonna wanna know what's my plan and all these things. And I was so nervous, ⁓ because I knew I really needed this. And I went in there, I pitched it, and I got the funding. But not only did I get that, each and every one of the people on the panel committed to being my personal mentor. And these were like incredible people that. I had accomplished so many

amazing things. So it just opened up so many doors for me. I got personal mentors and coaches that helped me that I didn't have to pay for at the time because I didn't have the money. ⁓ So that was the point that I knew that was that that moment, that inspirational moment that knew like, OK, that I could do this because I didn't have to do it alone. And that was that was really important. Amanda: Right. That is important. think that a lot of leaders need to take that into their own weight too to be that for somebody else as well. It's always important to bring people up with you. Let's talk about the book, The Price Framework, Purpose, Recognition, Inspiration, Compassion, Education. What's the insight that holds all five of those together? Carlos Vasquez: Yeah. Exactly. Sure. Yeah. Yeah, it's, you know, it's a, I just so many things that I learned throughout my life, ⁓ particularly when I was in solitary reading all the books. And I realized that, you know, the things that helped me most was always like having a framework. It was always a system, ⁓ tell me what I to do, right? Type of thing. And I'll follow the steps and ⁓ Some worked, some didn't. And for me, when I was creating my own, I looked at everything that I had learned and everything that helped me. And I came up with the price method, the price principles, which is an acronym that represents each of them. purpose, it's like having a why every day in prison. you you get up in, you know, solitary, even just regular GP prison, you get up every day and do the same thing over and over and over. And some days you don't want to even get out of bed and it's just really difficult. So the one thing that kind of always helped me was just, you know, my why every day, my why every day at the time was to get home so that I can take care of my mom. who was homeless at the time. And I remember it was like, didn't love myself enough to do it for me. I didn't like myself to do it for me. I didn't even feel worthy of it. But my mom and that idea of me helping her was my everyday why. So I got up in the morning and I did what I had to do. ⁓ And I just always referenced that why, right? And so it's important to have purpose as a leader for yourself, a personal purpose and mission, and then also helping others. to attach to whatever purpose or mission that you're doing at your organization and as well as their own personal purpose and missions. I do that with my own team members that not only they know our mission, but I help them to figure out what their personal mission is as well and make it happen. So that's one. The second one is recognition. it's pretty straightforward. mean, it's so important to recognize people ⁓ for what they what they're contributing. ⁓ things that they do on a day to day. Like if you have a child and you see your child do something kind, you're gonna go recognize that. Like good job, that was really nice. You get to do that with people, recognize them. And I think that's really

powerful. And for me, that was like transformative. When people recognized my growth and start to see the change and tell me that was motivating. And then the third one is inspiration. Like I mentioned earlier, just being an inspirational leader. And what that means to me is leading by example. Amanda: Mm-hmm. Carlos Vasquez: ⁓ You know, doing what you say you're gonna do, keeping your word, those things inspire people. ⁓ Practicing what you preach and then compassion obviously is important. You know, having empathy and with empathy, you know, with that is also action. So doing something about it. is what compassion is and ⁓ really understanding, like not just being there for a person when they're broken, having that compassion, and instead of seeing that maybe they made a mistake on the job, that maybe there's something deeper there that created that, that's like a level of compassion. And to go find out what it is and to see how you can coach them through it is compassion. And then lastly is education. And it's just having a lifelong learning mentality, like knowing that you're never done learning, especially now. with all the things happening with AI, I'm a continuous learner. know I have to be. And so that's a principle that I feel every leader should have. ⁓ And also model for others to have that same mindset because ⁓ as know, ⁓ you it's like every week it seems like there's something new to learn. Like, ⁓ so are my principles. I break them down more extensively in my book and in my talks I do as well. ⁓ Amanda: I'm Carlos Vasquez: But yeah, and it helps and it works for me. So I felt like I needed to share it. Amanda: And in your latest book, it's specifically framed around leading in the age of AI. You use some AI in your own business. You even built an app for foster youth using it. What is your honest take about where AI helps and where it can undermine leadership? Carlos Vasquez: Mm-hmm. Yeah. I've been using AI. ⁓ I I got out of prison Chat GPT a thing just starting to ⁓ hit the scene ⁓ I remember doing resume on there and it just like was like, wow, like this is because I couldn't figure out how to do a resume and I was like this. didn't have many skills or I didn't have a lot to really put on the resume. But what it did was ⁓ I just wrote and then it created something that really like, wow, like I feel like I didn't have to go hire somebody to do this or I didn't have to find somebody and take their time just showing me how to do this. I can take control and do it myself and it really empowered me. So that was my introduction and then I kept using it throughout. And then, we just recently built ⁓ an app for the foster youth to do to help them discover their passion. So it's like all my work put into ⁓ one space that we've trained so that they can have their own personal coach for me. Yeah, I, you know, with AI, I'm an optimist, I feel that it's going to help a lot of people, it's going to create some great opportunities. And it's disruptive. So obviously, it's going to create the opposite of good, it's going to be some bad actors, there's going to be people who probably try to use it to hurt people, there's probably going to be companies who, you know, are looking to just, you know, replace people and with AI without, properly trying to help them to evolve in their role or even just find another role outside of the organization. I work with companies right now that actually do, you know, the people that they have to let go, they actually give them like an extensive training on like preparing to find their next job. Like upskilling them, because some of these people have been at this job for let's say 10, 20 years. And then now they got to leave. haven't went and applied for a new job in a while. They don't know where to look. They don't have LinkedIn profile. So these companies are investing in that. I mean, that's great. and so I think that it just depends on who's steering the wheel and what's going to happen. But ⁓ in of undermining leadership, ⁓ I that maybe a lot of leaders. ⁓ This one of my messages to is like during these all these changes is like ⁓ leaders just try to like cut corners using AI. ⁓ Being a leader is really so much of the human aspect of it. You know, in this era of like high tech, this is more important time to be, when I say high touch as far as in leadership. So, yeah, you should double down on actually being more present, being more in person, being more hands on, you know, having these video calls and being communicative, not just generating emails from AI to your team, but like, Amanda: Mm. Carlos Vasquez: be your authentic self. This is even a better time to do that because you'll really stand out and people will appreciate that. Amanda: Yeah, I think the human connection matters even more so now in the new world of AI and it's valued more. You mentioned when you were first starting AI and even in your resume discussion, it gave you little bit of confidence, kind of consistent guidance that you could access, which is a profound framing for AI. What do you think that says about the people and what they're looking for from technology? Carlos Vasquez: Yeah. I think people ⁓ just fair opportunities. ⁓ think people ⁓ want to ⁓ be to ⁓ have some the advantages that others have. ⁓ And I think AI can help with that to an extent. ⁓ And so for example, ⁓ not can afford to have a coach, ⁓ a coach or an executive coach. Obviously, and not many people can afford to do health and wellness things and, ⁓ you know, take the time out to really understand themselves because they're just working multiple jobs and taking care of families and stuff. So I think AI can possibly help with that because, you can create something like I did for the youth where each of them have access basically to like a personal mentor in their pocket that they can access when they have questions or they don't ⁓ know to do. that technology can help them in some way. And we're doing

other work as well ⁓ with other organizations. And basically my mindset is like, how can I create something to where like the people who ⁓ don't have the advantages can benefit from it in terms of using AI? So I think people would like that. I think even people who are really successful would like that. Like we can ⁓ create that help people. ⁓ Amanda: Mm-hmm. Carlos Vasquez: that don't have as much ⁓ privileges like we do to be able to even take time to learn it, right? Because they don't even have proper food in the house. And I think my life growing up around that and then now the work that I do, I see it still a lot. So it's hard to unsee it and to go home and be like, have an amazing life, but I know that they don't. It's like... Amanda: All right. Carlos Vasquez: But it's my moral obligation, I feel, to create something to help them because ⁓ I would want that. So I think if we can do stuff like that, think all people would like that, if it could be helping people. Amanda: Right. And I think AI does give us all that ability to level the playing field or give more access to more people, even in terms of knowledge. If you were talking to a CEO or a health care founder right now, someone who's running hard, has a team depending on them, and hasn't stopped to examine what's really driving them, what's the first thing you would tell them to do? Carlos Vasquez: Mm-hmm. Yeah, well, it's probably a loaded answer in a way because it requires more work, but I would say to ask themselves like why haven't they had the opportunity to really pause and assess where they're at? You know, what is driving that? ⁓ Is it because they're busy? Is it because they have something to prove? Is it because they're in fear of something? ⁓ Is it because Is there something else there that's creating that? Because I truly feel that, you know, a leader, the leaders that I've learned from and what I aspire to be is ⁓ also a person who understands that, like, you have to ⁓ consistently be working on yourself and make sure that you're the best version of you if you want to truly help people. I think that, so then I would look at it like, well, first to understand, like, you know, why you haven't why you haven't done this assessment of yourself. And then to, I would say, take some time to really figure out what you ultimately want to accomplish in life. I think that the sooner you know what you want to ultimately accomplish in life, ⁓ the more likely you are to achieve it. But not only that, the more you will be beneficial to others. Because if you're doing something that you hate, and you're just doing it because you have to, it's not really beneficial for you or others. So, you know, if you figure out what you ultimately want to accomplish, then you can start to take steps toward that, even if it's in a completely different field. I know a woman who was a nurse at Cedar Sinai and RN and just figured she didn't want to do that anymore. And she actively took steps to become an

entrepreneur and start her own business. And she developed this amazing product. And it was like, that's an example where like she has an amazing job, she has a career, all these things, family, but she realized this is not what I want to do, this is not what I want to come and I'm going to make the pivot and change and then now she's like just her in her essence is just a better person so and she'll say that so it's the same thing it's just like really understanding yourself. I would tell them to work on themselves really trying to understand with themselves what they want, who they want to be. Amanda: Mm-hmm. Carlos Vasquez: ⁓ That's always like, it always starts with them. Amanda: And what is that first step really look like in practice? Is it sitting down with yourself, writing, journaling? How does that work? Carlos Vasquez: Hmm. Yeah, I think that everybody has their processes and what works best for them. I know for me, ⁓ it was really just every day ⁓ trying to become better than I was yesterday. That was like my main objective. So every day I would like map out and write out what my goals were the day. what my goals of the day are. And then I would look at that and look at my goals of yesterday and say like, I doing a little bit more today? Am I improving? I that way I could measure it and be able to see the growth because in the beginning when you're, you know, you're starting something new, it's very difficult because you don't see the results that quick. It's like, so you have to keep doing it, you know? So I would say to them people, it's like actionable step would be just like, really, first of all, be ready to give yourself some time but map out like a 90 day plan of what you're going to do every day for 90 days. Maybe you're going to read specifically about a certain type of ⁓ subject matter for a whole 90 days, as many books as you can, podcast, whatever, learn as much as you can, and develop a new skill and give it time. so when you do that, you're able to in 90 days, look back and see the growth. And then that's also motivating because then you know you can do more. And ⁓ that was my process when I got out and I had to start from basically like how you mentioned at that point of like, where do I start? I just started to set goals and accomplish them and then look back and see how long it took me, what I learned along the way. And then that, you know, over time it compounds because you start to know what it takes to accomplish something. And then you start to become familiar with challenge and and adapting and adapting is a big part of it too. ⁓ it's really just like treating yourself like you're like in your own case study and understanding yourself ⁓ would be the process. Amanda: Hehehe. I think a lot of leaders are so inundated with things to do that they don't often take that time to look back. They're always looking forward. And that's a great point that you make that if you stop and look back, you can then see what has been accomplished and what you may need to do in the next 90 days or next quarter. You're ⁓ you're closing in on book five. Very impressive. You've you've got a non for profit consulting firm and a podcast. What's the next chapter for you? What are you building toward? Carlos Vasquez: Well, ⁓ it's definitely, know, speaking more is always something that I've wanted to do. So I'll be speaking a lot more, ⁓ but more intentional speaking. feel like I'll speak at places where I can really reach as many people as I can. speaking, I... I know that ⁓ I've been talking to a friend of mine who we're thinking about partnering, know, a company he has a company that utilizes AI to create, you know, content for social media. And he's been running it for a while and ⁓ we had a meeting. So we're in the process of talking about collaborating on that to grow that, which is great because I want to get in deeper into the AI space and be a part of that, we're in this era and be a part of it in some way. And ⁓ although using it ⁓ in consulting firm, ⁓ I want to like actually create a company that's built off of it. ⁓ so something that I'm looking into right now that I would say within the next few years, ⁓ we're fully involved in some type of industry, ⁓ well, some type of tech ⁓ company. So, yeah, that's where I'm at. But I'm open. I'm always open to like Amanda: you Carlos Vasquez: following, my heart always. So I think that's the freest you can be is when you can follow your heart. And I know it's hard to get to that point for a lot of people because you have to, work every day and do what you have to do. But sometimes you got to sacrifice and struggle for a while like I did to get to a point where then you can follow your heart and fully live free life. ⁓ So that's another out there is like Amanda: Mm-hmm. Carlos Vasquez: You can have it, you gotta be willing to give up some things to get there on the path. And that's what I think a lot of people are afraid to do, whether it's their lifestyle or whatever it is, they don't wanna sacrifice that to really find their purpose and follow their heart. Whereas with me, I just never was afraid to fail because I was at the bottom already. I know what that's like. And so I'm not afraid of it. And I think that. Amanda: Right. Carlos Vasquez: That ability has helped me to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Amanda: What is the legacy that you're thinking about now? Carlos Vasquez: Yeah, not too long ago, I used to have a vision board and my vision board was nothing but, you know, materialistic things, cars, houses, businesses, doing all these things, vacations, all these things were on my vision board. And I changed that less, you know, less than a year. I changed that and everything on my vision board now is a feeling, love and just enthusiasm for life and friendship and gratitude. And that's what I want. So for me, the legacy would be that I was just that. I was a good friend. I was a good partner, and I was a good son. I was a good father. And I did everything I can to help the people around me become better and to be happy. And so that's really what matters most to me. All the other stuff really doesn't matter anymore. It will come. You know, I think that when you live like that, you know, the money comes and all of the opportunities come, they literally come like, you know, you did come knocking on the door sometimes when they say, when you live like that. And it's happened for me so many times where things will just happen and people will pop into my life or I'll meet somebody. And it's just, I I trust it. I trust, you know, where I'm at and I trust that everything will work out the way it should. But my main goal is to make sure that I'm really experiencing life the best I can. And that's through my feelings. And as we all know, money doesn't buy happiness. We know that. It's proven. ⁓ happiness is really the thing that everybody should, one of the things that people should really be trying to pursue instead of money. then money ends up coming because you're doing what you love. So I think that it's like where most people think the opposite. ⁓ Amanda: Mm-hmm. Carlos Vasquez: but I learned that it's not that, so. Amanda: Yeah. I think that's a great. Sentiment to leave on and and really believing and loving what you do. This has been Thank you for joining us in the podcast. This has been one of the most honest conversations we've had to date and what you've built not just the company and the books and the nonprofit but the framework about leadership purpose and Transformation is something that I think will resonate deeply with our audience Your new book the leaders price human centered leadership in the age of a publishes in May. We'll make sure to have a link in our show notes into our listeners. If this conversation resonated with you, make sure to subscribe and thank you for joining us on the Madison Advisory AI podcast.