By Ian Smith

Note to some: The letter is written by Ian Smith (one founder of this website as you’ll learn later) by I am just typing it here. All of this content’s letter is his, not mine. We all love him very much.

Dear Pualifestyle Members,

Greetings men! This is my second letter to the forum, I had wanted to write sooner but my life has been absolutely wild the last few months. In the future I will remain in touch more often, I assure you of that. For those of who of you don’t know me, my name is Ian Smith, I am one of the founders of this website, and I am currently serving a five year prison sentence in the state of New Jersey. A few months before I created this website along with Sean S. and Daniel Becerra, I was involved in a motor vehicle accident in which a person was killed. That is the short version for those of you who do not know me; I believe I gave other information in the first letter I wrote to the forum. If you would like to know more about me, the senior members will be happy to tell you about me or you can learn plenty of who I am through one of my many posts throughout the forum. If you are new her, I hope you are enjoying your time and that you are finding some of the information you need to progress not only as a man, but as a human being. To all those members who do know me, I hope that you are all doing well, as I expect you are!

As I said, my life has been exceptionally wild since my last letter. At the time of that contact I was at a different facility and got into some unavoidable trouble, which resulted in me spending two weeks in solitary confinement, after which I was transferred to the facility where I now reside. The past few months have been incredibly testing and have truly taught me some amazing lessons. This facility is much different, and bigger that last. Gangs make up for most of the population, and it’s a very unpredictable place. The first day I got here, someone was stabbed in the yard! As for me however, I have finally begun to get situated in this new environment. I work as a Teacher’s Aide, educating students and helping them with their work. My day consists of a very rigid schedule in which I awake every morning at 6 a.m to catch my door (less than one minute window of being unlocked) around 6:15 a.m., by about 6:45 a.m. I wash my dishes and do whatever laundry I have in my sink so that it dries during daytime. By about 7:30 a.m. I must be fully dressed and ready to catch my door again (another less than one minute window of being unlocked) to go to work until 11 a.m., at which point I return for lunch. Lunch is similar to breakfast, all meals are eaten in the room, because this place has became far too violent, all prisoners must spend all their time in the cells unless they have work, school, medical appointments, or yard-time. After lunch I go back to work at 12:30 p.m. until 3:00 p.m. at which point I return again until dinner is served at 5:00 p.m. At approximately 5:30 p.m. we are given an hour to an hour and a half of yard time, inside a small caged cement circle – no bigger than 50×50 feet – with over 75 prisoners. I return for a quick shower, and maybe a phone call. We lock in for the night around 7:30 p.m. at which point I hit the books to do some individual studies and college school work. I finish off the night by writing some thoughts or an article about personal development, philosophy, and life, read my newspaper, watch BBC World News, then go to sleep. Aside from the movements I have to work, school, and yard, my life is entirely contained inside my tiny 6×9 cell, with my cell-mate (who is an exceptionally cool guy, we both really got lucky). That is my day, every day, my Monday, my Tuesday, my Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. It will remain that way for many years to come. But this is the price I pay for mistake, so be it.

Surprisingly, I am very happy. I have nothing, so nobody can take anything from me. In my 6×9 cell, with my few possessions, I am completely and utterly happy. My tiny window shows a view of the cow-farm that gives us our supply of milk, and behind it is a highway that leads directly to my house, I stare out at it frequently. In here, you never know what is going to happen next, life is unpredictable, sometimes dangerous, often frustrating, and almost always beyond your control. I’ve learned to love it, to embrace it, and WORK AROUND IT. Like I said in my first letter, I am still writing several books, learning three languages, writing for this forum and two blogs, taking college classes, taking great care of my body and mind, and furthering my education on my own time through individual studies. 99% of the other inmates do nothing constructive with their time; they have given up on life, because “life is hard”, so they sit around all day long becoming worse each moment.

Why am I telling you this? Because no matter what life throws at you, no matter how hard it gets, no matter what happens, it is always worth trekking forward. Nobody ever said life was going to be easy, but excellence is worth the price. And the price for excellence is dedication, self-discipline, hard work, and an eye for the future. What will knowing how to speak Mandarin-Chinese or Italian do for me in prison? Well, not much, but it will be of great assistance for me in the future. You don’t always see the whole picture and the path isn’t always clear, but the minute you cease desiring to grow as a person, you die. If you aren’t growing, you aren’t going anywhere, you aren’t living. And yeah, it’s going to be hard, but I promise, that hard work will pay off.

Find happiness in simple things. Find happiness in the fact that you are a miraculous human being that is capable of unleashing a seemingly infinite potential if he chooses to do so. Happiness is not getting the girl, getting the car, or getting the money – happiness is in your hands and in your heart, right now. Live it, be it. If I am happy here and now, in prison, then you better damn be out there!

Love life, and strive to be the best you can be. You might not become the man you want to be overnight and you might not have the perfect body right now, or be the brightest in the batch. But personal development is a day-by-day deal, before you know it; you’ll be right where you want to be. But even then, don’t cease to develop yourself more, because there is always something else to be doing.

I must leave you for now your friends; I will be in touch soon. If you would like to contact me, feel free. You can either mail me directly, or ask Daniel to include a letter question in his contacts with me. Much love to you all. Be well my brothers.

P.S. My adress is

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Afterword by Daniel: If you wish to send Ian a letter, a hand written “Thank You” note, please do so. You can either mail it to him directly or send me an email with your letter and make sure he receives it.

Every time I read his letters, I get full of joy. Don’t you?