Same WHY, different WHAT

Malcolm X went to prison and devoted his newfound idle time to books. He left enlightened and unshakably committed to the fight for dignity and justice.

Charles Manson also went to prison. He emerged more manipulative, using his charisma to build a cult that would go on to commit horrific murders under his influence.

Oprah Winfrey was sexually abused at 9 by people close to her. She turned the unimaginable trauma into fuel, creating a platform that helped millions process their own pain.

Aileen Wuornos was raped, trafficked, and abused throughout her childhood. Bent on payback, she murdered seven men while working as a sex worker in the late ’80s.

Nelson Mandela converted 27 years of prison into a lifelong mission of reconciliation, while Adolf Hitler, after early-life rejection and prison time, wrote Mein Kampf and pursued one of history’s darkest visions.

Same kind of deep pain. Different paths to deeply motivated action.

The why—that core wound or fire inside—can be powerful. It gives us strength we didn’t know we had. But it doesn’t choose the direction we take. That part’s on us.