We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful TONY MOORE. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with TONY below.

TONY, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. If you had a defining moment that you feel really changed the trajectory of your career, we’d love to hear the story and details.

At the age of 35, beaten and broken, I was sitting in a prison facing more time than I ever have faced in my entire life. While I was waiting on my new criminal charges to be completed, I prayed and asked God for forgiveness. One day my daughter Nancy and my sister Yvette came to visit me in Racine Correctional Institution. While I was there my daughter asked me a profound question that I sometime use while counseling other men who are incarcerated.
My daughter asked me, “Daddy, how come you cannot take care of me.” For the life of me, I had no answer to give her. I could only muster up a pitiful answer of, “I’m so sorry.”
When the visit was over, I went back to my jail cell, and I prayed to God to give me an answer to my problem. I believe that during my praying that God answered my requests by allowing me to understand that until I learned to take care of myself, I would never be able to take care of anyone else. That prayer made me finally surrendered to the fact that if I didn’t stop this madness, I was going to spend the rest of my life in jail or die without ever reaching my full potential as a man. At the crossroad of my life, I made a decision to let God’s will become the driving force behind the rest of whatever life I had left.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I have cried many nights because of the pain that I know I have caused many young men by influencing them to believe in things that appear to be exciting in this life. What these young men were taught by me—and others of my generation—was pain and a way of self-oppression that we allowed to happen so easily to us—like the drugs, jail, women, and immaturity. Then we in turn blame the social injustice on the white man because he was the originator of the oppression. I call this the invisible oppression of our people. I have found some strength to move forward. I use little sayings that help me to stay focused on this journey. One such saying is, “The greater the sacrifice, the greater the reward.” I have now put a lot of effort into opening businesses that deal with substance abuse; one is called Moore & Associates, Inc., which is a private outpatient clinic that focuses on alcohol and other drug abuse, prevention and reentry services for substance abusing clients for the community, and the Department of Corrections. Moore & Associates, Inc. expects behavior that is characterized by personal responsibility, respect towards self and others, dignity, honesty, and willingness to be actively involved in the treatment process.
The other is a nonprofit community-based outpatient clinic that is a full-service facility that helps others to address their issues. The Mission of Birds of a Feather, Inc. is to contribute to the welfare of both the individual and society as a whole by aiding in the reentry of recovering addicts and ex-offenders into the Kenosha community.
I have also been blessed to start a professional basketball club where the mission is to help create an atmosphere where players and staff get a chance—or a second chance—to build or re-build their opportunities to be a part of a professional basketball organization. This involves teaching the players and the Kenosha Ballers organizational staff the professional skills needed on and off the basketball court to build a successful basketball organization. Kenosha Ballers owner and managing staff will help guide basketball players and staff to build their professional basketball careers by playing basketball at the highest professional levels possible.
I can help young men and women to deal with all the issues of staying positive in the community for the sake of future generations and to learn how to reach their full potential so that they will be able to teach their children this new way of living. Using my education is a great help going back to school at 45 years old to acquire three degrees one Bachelors, in Human services. Two Masters degrees one in Mental health and the other in Management Origination, and Leadership.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I was faced with a serious decision in 1994, while getting high once again and realizing that I couldn’t stop the cycle of failure. I asked God to take me off the streets and place me back in prison so that I could get my life back on track. It‘s sad to know that only prison could keep me from self-destruction. So within a short period of time I was back on my way to prison, facing a new charge for Burglary and a possible 20 years in prison. This would be the 5th time in prison for me. I remember telling myself that if I every got out again that I would have to go back to the basics if I was going to be a successful man again. I needed to re-define success for myself. I needed a plan to get me to the point of being a success in my own eyes. I thought about times when I was successful in my life and the skills I used to reach the intended purpose and results.
So in the year 1995, it happened. I started to plan a way to focus on the issues that had caused me to lose my way in the first place. Going back and re-examining my life was the hardest thing I had to do. If I was going to stop this madness, I had to face the enemy that had ambushed my soul and taken my ability to be a responsible person. Something was broken inside of me and it kept me from reaching my purpose in life. I had allowed it to destroy my life and the people who love me. So as I looked at myself the first thing I found was a hurting child who yearned for some love. I found a child too scared to ask for love and a man to prideful to believe he needed help to save his soul. While sitting in a jail cell it started to happen. I started seeing for the first time in a long time that I was the problem and that the enemy was “me”. So I went to people who knew me and asked the question what I need to do to change the way I live.
From that moment to this moment in my life, it has been one big success. I look back over my life and I see the consistency and the focus I have needed to get my life back on track. The most important thing was to stop the ingestion of drugs and change the environment that I live in to a more positive surrounding. I look at what I’ve been blessed with in the last 12 years since making a choice to be a successful man at something in my life other than failures. My greatest success to date is that I’ve been able to be part of a team that has opened a state certified out-patient clinic (non- profit agency) called Birds of a Feather Inc., in my home town of Kenosha WI. I also own and operate Moore & Associates, a clinic for profit. Where I can help address the issues of chemical dependency and criminal behavior. From the other side of the spectrum as a successful recovering businessman. Counseling and giving back to others is my life now. I want to try to help the next man, woman, boy or girl, avoid the pitfalls that had once had a hold on me. Hopefully the success of the agencies and books will be the next part of a success story. As you reflect on the daily devotional message, use the lines that follow to capture your thoughts for that day. Reflect back on your thinking and personal growth as you move through the days

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

My own writings and workbooks.

Freedom: Finding Peace While I in the Midst of the Storm

Redeemed: Living in the Knowledge of a Second Chance

The Promise

My Designed Purpose: The Four P’s of Success

Each book can be found at Amazon self-help books
www.Mooreand Associates.biz
www.KenoshaBallers.com
www.BirdsofaFeatheragency.com

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.MooreAndAssociates.biz
• Instagram: tonaoda
• Facebook: Moore Tony
• Linkedin: tony (Moore and Associates) Moore
• Youtube: @birdsofafeather5505

Image Credits

Me Tony Moore