Rob: It's the story of a man reborn.
Victor Woods, once fascinated by street life and quick money, began a
life of crime after running away from home at the tender age of fifteen.
But it took a trip to federal prison for Woods to realize his true
purpose in life, traveling all across the country as a motivational speaker.
And that has led Woods to Oklahoma's largest female prison.
Our Jessica Betts met him at Mabel Bassett Correctional Center where
she continues our story.
Jessica: He's a man with nine felonies, and has something to say.
Victor Woods: I remember I called my mother on the phone.
I said, Mom, mom, I know what I want to do finally in life.
I want to be a motivational speaker and an author.
And she called to my dad in the next room, and she said, Hey Irving, your
son, the thief, wants to be a speaker.
Jessica: A memory Victor Woods recalls, after accomplishing both goals,
a vivid story he's sharing with staff.
Woods: I was one of those guys.
At 16 years old, you couldn't say anything to me.
I just wanted to do the wrong thing.
Jessica: And inmates at Mabel Bassett Correctional Center in McLoud.
Woods: I grew up in the bosom of a pretty stable, African American family,
but ran away from home at 15, and at the time that I ran away from home, that
pretty much put me in the element that a lot of people who come from
underprivileged backgrounds, or come from the inner city are having
to deal with.
I couldn't clothe myself, feed myself.
So, in leaving home, that led me into, you know, foster care, and led me
into trying to figure out how I was going to make money, and that led me
into a life of crime, and then from there, I was pretty good at it.
Jessica: So good, he came up with 40 million dollars in credit card fraud, got
busted, and spent six-and-a-half years in federal prison.
Woods: And going through that journey was when I basically came to the
understanding within myself that I no longer wanted to live like this.
And there's an old saying that if you want to keep getting what you're
getting, then keep doing what you're doing, and I didn't want to keep
repeating my prison experiences.
Woods: When we become sick and tired with being sick and tired, that is when
you will change the condition of your life.
Jessica: That point of being sick and tired, how can that promote a change
and what can one do to then change?
Woods: Well, when we become sick and tired, that's when someone
finally says they're fed up.
You know you often see people complaining about a particular situation in
life, but when you truly become sick and tired of being sick and tired,
change doesn't come overnight.
You know, first, you have to see it in your mind, as I often say.
Then, you have to believe it in your heart.
And then, you have to have the guts and courage to go
out and physically make it happen.
Jessica: Now you know Oklahoma is number one
in the number of women it incarcerates.
Why would you specifically want to visit Mabel Bassett Correctional
Center and to influence this great number of women here?
Woods: To say, look at me.
Look at my life.
Look at what I've been through.
Look at what I did after I made some mistakes.
Look what I'm doing now, and impart on them a roadmap to success.
By this being the biggest facility that's housing women in the country, this
is a wonderful opportunity to do that.
Woods: It doesn't cost a thing to tell anybody, inmate, your wife, your
husband, your child, an employee; hey, I believe in you.
Jessica: And because he thought he could, Woods is an author of the book, A
BREED APART, JOURNEY TO REDEMPTION, and talking to all who will listen.
This is Woods' second time in Oklahoma, and he plans to stop through the
heartland more in the future.
Woods: There seems to be a collective cooperation here in Oklahoma, in terms
of people coming together and being on the same page, and wanting to get
things done, now, and understanding the urgency of some of the problems
that people in Oklahoma are facing, from all walks of life.
Jessica: Providing a recipe for success for anyone, willing to change.