What kind of person goes to prison on a wrongful conviction and finds it to be the single most positive transformational experience of his life?
Such a person is Greg Lindberg, a Yale graduate whose billion-dollar business was left to others when he was convicted of bribery in No. Carolina in 2020. Given a seven-year sentence that was overturned by the Fourth Circuit of Appeals almost two years later, he never knew, day to day, how long he would have to serve, so he applied everything he knew and could learn toward coming out of prison highly improved personally.
When Lindberg reported to FPC Montgomery in Alabama, he left the “free world” (a prison term) and went “inside” determined to make the best of what might be a horrific situation for anyone. His incarceration story of survival and triumph is shared in the new book, 633 Days Inside: Lessons on Life and Leadership.
Now, in an effort to help anyone concerned with overcoming the soul-wrenching struggles of prison life, Lindberg is offering a series of videos on YouTube. These testimonies explain the concepts and methods that gave him such an advantage as a prisoner.
Lindberg left behind small children when he went into custody. While at Montgomery, he had to miss his father’s funeral. There were other great disappointments, but he soon discovered that the principles he shared in his first book, Failing Early & Failing Often: How To Turn Your Adversity Into Advantage, were directly applicable to his new situation. Fellow inmates were eager to hear any wisdom he shared. He discovered that most of them, unlike himself, had copped plea deals because they could not afford to fight their accusers in court.
Lindberg vowed to, when released, give as many people as possible an education that would turn losers into leaders and help anyone achieve better health and confidence. Though he cleaned toilets his first day inside, as well as the last day, Lindbergh followed the rules and walked back into the free world determined to tell everyone how he used the science of hormesis to achieve a stunning physical and mental evolution.
“Hormesis is a fancy word for that which makes you stronger,” he says on his first video. “We all know the concept of what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. But a lot of things, if done in excess, will kill you. Done in a moderate level, they will make you stronger. This is a key element of why my time inside was the single most positive, transformational experience of my life.”
A federal prisoner coming up with revelations that greatly benefit others is not a new thing. Robert Stroud, made famous in the 1962 film The Birdman of Alcatraz, was allowed to keep a collection of birds and cages in his solitary cell, where he conducted experiments with sick birds and discovered a cure. Stroud became an expert on bird diseases and published a book on the subject. Unlike Lindberg, Stroud was guilty, but the man did illustrate that focus and determination can transform anyone when insight and determination is steadily applied.
In FPC Montgomery, Lindberg’s diligence with any assignment led to him receiving a work assignment promotion of teaching goal setting and career planning to fellow inmates. On a more personal level, he learned all about intermittent fasting and hard workouts. Freed from the constant buzzing distractions of the instruments of our electronic world, his mind became much clearer, and his focus was honed to a razor-sharp intensity.
While his legal team was working to prove Lindberg’s Fifth Amendment and Sixth Amendment rights had been violated during his initial trial, he engaged in a self-care regimen that astonishingly caused the grey hair on his temples and forearms to turn red again. He walked out of prison in the best shape of his life, looking at least ten years younger.
He described the process of how prison gave him the discipline to do intermittent fasting: “I turned 52 this year and I feel like I’m 25 years old. I have never felt better, slept better, and never had better memory and physical strength. Most think that the whole prison experience is terrible. But the truth is, it has made me stronger. I would have never had the discipline to do this fasting routine had I not come to prison. Numerous recent medical journal articles show that when you fast for more than 48 hours, your body repairs age-related damage (via autophagy) and generates new tissue for your brain, skin, and muscles (via mitochondrial biogenesis). Also, after 48 hours of fasting your body produces 20 times the level of Brain-Derived Neurotropic Factor (BDNF), which creates new brain cells and synaptic connections via neurogenesis. I can now remember the names of employees from 20 years ago. My flexibility has improved to the point where I can now touch my toes, which I was never able to do. I am also putting on muscle mass for the first time in my life.”
Lindberg was inspired and supported by his cellmates, who served up regular doses of street wisdom. Now he says: “If you help an inmate get through a bad day, they will be there for you when your bad day comes.”
With his new YouTube videos, Greg Lindberg wants to help “cellies” everywhere, and people in general, to have better health and a better life. Customers can find the print and ebook of 633 Days Inside on Amazon and other major outlets. Through his website www.greglindberg.com. Lindberg also plans to make digital copies available to any currently incarcerated inmate or their family member. And his company, Global Growth, has a stated policy of not turning away potential employees because of a criminal conviction.