Former Bank Robber, Author of From Desperation to Dedication: An Ex-Con’s Lessons on Turning Failure into Success
On November 12, 1992, Troy Evans was sentenced to 13 years in Federal Prison. He was convicted of five armed bank robberies, in three states, over a six-month crime spree, and was sent to the Federal Correctional Complex in Florence, Colorado. His neighbors included such notorious criminals as Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols. Troy was released on December 13, 1999, over seven and one-half years later.
Life in Prison
Despite the obstacles that only prison can produce, Troy was determined that his time behind bars would not be wasted time. Education would be his saving grace. After six months of filling out applications, writing essays, begging, pleading, and selling, Troy landed his first scholarship for one class. That was a beginning, and when Troy walked out the doors of prison he carried with him two degrees, both obtained with a 4.0 GPA and designation on the Dean’s and President’s list.
Sharing his Life Lessons
Troy is now a motivational speaker who shares his story and lessons learned with audiences of all ages. Since his release, Evans has taken the Corporate, Association and Education platforms by storm with his motivational keynote speeches. Audiences are stunned by his endurance, accomplishments and remarkable personal transformation. With straightforward, real life examples, Evans shows how the keys to his success in prison are the keys to his success today, and how these lessons can be applied to escaping the “prisons within ourselves.” He renews an appreciation for what is really important in all of our lives and motivates each and every person to overcome adversity, adapt to change, and to realize their full potential. His latest book, From Desperation to Dedication: An Ex-Con’s Lessons on Turning Failure into Success, was released early 2007.
With young people, Evans speaks openly on the dangers of drug use, peer pressure and the power of responsible decision-making. His student motivational speaking grabs the attention of today’s youth by sharing what he witnessed within the harsh environment of a Federal Prison and illustrates how his years of incarceration can be linked to the decisions he made as a teenager. Teen audiences are left with a wide-eyed understanding of “consequence” and a realization that the decisions they make today have the potential to alter their entire life.
From Desperation to Dedication: The Strength to Believe
This program rejuvenates audience members and revives their vision and purpose. Troy shares his stories of failure and success to demonstrate the power that we all have within, when we have the strength to believe and the vision to see the potential in ourselves and our personal and professional relationships. In today’s ever-changing world, the emotional drain can be intense and disillusionment can lurk around every corner. Troy Evans’ story serves as an example of what happens when your professionals have the strength to believe. Audience members will walk away with real insight into overcoming adversity, adapting to change, and pushing themselves to realize their full potential.
Internal Prisons: The Thief of Productivity and Quality in our Workforce
It is Troy’s belief that prison does not necessarily mean steel bars and razor wire. That we all have “prisons within ourselves,” prisons that are just as confining as the one that held him for 7.5 years. Prisoners to fears, addictions, depression, overeating, overworking, bad relationships- the list could go on and on. What does this have to do with management? Only when we ourselves, as well as those we bring into our companies are “whole” personally can we all become better professionally. It is also Troy’s belief that these internal prisons are the number one cause of lost productivity within our workforce. If people are worried about their relationships, their addictions, their fears, are they going to give you the best eight hours they possibly can? No, they’re going to be on the phone mending relationships, feeding addictions and being preoccupied with their fears. His program encourages managers and employees to be proactive in their work, not reactive. Reactive people let the environment dictate what they do and in a sense protect them. He shows business professionals how they can become better people, and what is truly important in their lives. Only then can they become the most they can be on the job. He also touches on diversity in the workforce- relating the importance of employing ex-convicts. No flip charts and statistics. Just a real life explanation on how they and those they employee can escape their internal prisons using the same tools and methods he used to escape his prison.
From Desperation to Dedication: The Success of an Educated Ex-Con
Every day, teachers and school administrators hold our children’s futures in their hands as educators, surrogate parents, wardens, and counselors. The emotional drain can be intense and disillusionment can lurk around every corner. Troy’s story serves as an example of what happens when your educators have the strength to believe. Faced with the ever-increasing role of educators and the fear and discouragement of recent headlines, this program rejuvenates teachers and administrators and revives their vision and purpose. Troy Evans shares his stories of failure and success with members of these noble professions to demonstrate the power they wield when they have the strength to believe and the vision to see potential and value in every student.
From Desperation to Dedication: Lessons You Can Bank On
Troy Evans didn’t go to bank robbing school. He didn’t read a manual or serve an apprenticeship. Like many of his peers, he was simply a natural at finding the path of least resistance. Troy takes us beyond the profile reports of the common criminal and offers first-hand accounts so tangible that his audiences will be talking about his stories for years. He answers question such as: What goes through the mind of an armed drug addict as he cases a bank branch? How does desperation spark inventive solutions? And, what can banks do to deter a desperate criminal? Weaving the similarities between his motives for choosing a bank, the mistakes he made in his young life, and the tendency of human nature to choose the easy path, Troy’s parable-like delivery provides a real look at how we can secure our banks as we would our own lives. Rehabilitated and committed to helping those he once hurt, Evans is now a speaker who can take bankers beyond the profile sheets and provide them with a look inside the mind of a real-life bank robber.
From Desperation to Dedication: The Success of a Convict and his Caseworkers
Every day, healing professionals have to pick up the pieces when our society fails. The emotional drain can be intense and disillusionment can lurk around every corner. Troy Evans’ story serves as an example of what happens when your professionals have the strength to believe. This program rejuvenates those who help others and revives their vision and purpose. Troy Evans shares his stories of failure and success to demonstrate the power that caseworkers and counselors wield when they have the strength to believe and the vision to see the potential in the clients that they serve.
Internal Prisons: The Theft of Productivity
Prison does not necessarily mean steel bars and razor wire. We all have "prisons within ourselves," prisons that are just as confining as the one that held Troy for 7.5 years. We are prisoners to fears, addictions, depression, overeating, overworking, bad relationships- the list goes go on and on. What does this have to do with HR Management? Only when we ourselves, as well as those we bring into our companies, are "whole" personally can we all become better professionally. Troy believes that internal prisons are the number one cause of lost productivity within our workforce. If people are preoccupied and held back by their troubled relationships, their addictions or fears, they are not going to give employers the best eight hours they possibly can. This program encourages HR managers to be proactive in work, and focus on what is truly important in their lives. Troy also touches on diversity in the workforce- relating the realities of employing ex-convicts. No flip charts and statistics. Just a real life explanation on how they and those they employee can escape their internal prisons using the same tools and methods Troy used to escape his prison.
All Troy Evans Books
From Desperation to Dedication: An Ex-Con’s Lessons on Turning Failure into Success
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