Copyright 2005 - 2012
David J. Koch
All Rights Reserved
Life is full of challenges. Every person faces their own individual and unique problems depending on their specific circumstances and where they are situated. Every challenge has a unique
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and specific solution, however the process of resolving our individual problems is fundamentally and substantially similar.
Every day, we are faced with choices that can either cause us to move forward, regress backward, or remain stagnant. Slaying the Dragon - The Journey from the Dungeon to the Ivory Tower is an absolutely factual recount of a remarkable journey and astonishing success. During his many journeys, the author, Dave Koch conquered innumerous challenges, beat the odds and achieved the extraordinary.
His journey began at 24 years old, after having been released on parole from both state and federal prison sentences. Regardless of an individuals challenges in life, Slaying the Dragon is an informative and inspirational book for all who want more, or the most out of life, and the direction to achieve your greatest dreams.
Among the countless challenges faced by author Dave Koch was reinventing himself after having served time in both state and federal prisons. Given the societal stigma associated with having several felony convictions, and having served time in prison, Koch’s recovery and his journey from the dungeon to the ivory tower is extraordinary.
Is achieving a successful life in mainstream
society after a felony conviction or after being incarcerated any more challenging than achieving success for anyone else? According to Dave Koch, “Not really!”
One of the biggest challenges that many people have with reentry is simply believing that achieving a normal lifestyle in mainstream society is possible with a felony conviction. Without that fundamental belief, many people are unwilling to even put forth the genuine effort necessary.
With nearly 30 years of proven success in a variety of careers that include Airline Transport Pilot and President & CEO of a two-time Inc 500 corporation, Dave Koch is the de facto authority on making a successful reentry into mainstream society after having served sentences in both federal and state prison.
Adopted as the foundation for youthful offender rehabilitation programs at such facilities as The Anthony Correctional Center in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, this expanded and revised second edition of Slaying the Dragon - The Journey from the Dungeon to the Ivory Tower is a factual delineation of Koch’s thirty-year post incarceration career.
This book provides the concrete evidence that a normal and legitimate life is attainable after a felony conviction. Koch’s compelling journey outlines the step-by-step path to achieving substantially similar results, while simultaneously providing a motivating and inspirational discussion of the challenges incorporated in any journey that leads to life's rich rewards.
Slaying the Dragon is clearly not a book that deals with Dungeons and Dragons. Rather, Koch’s journey is wrapped in a metaphor where the Dragon is life itself, and any person wishing to achieve success must face life as a warrior.
This book is geared toward offenders who want to break the cycle, reinvent them-self, and pursue a path that leads to life’s rich rewards. However it provides guidance and inspiration to anyone who is dealing with the many challenges of life. Slaying the Dragon is a must read for any staff who deals with community reentry, offender rehabilitation and pre-release. Many letters were received from the first edition of this book.
This second revised and expanded edition of Slaying the Dragon is 545 pages - nearly 100 pages more than the first edition.
Slaying the Dragon provides its reader with an authoritative guide to self-reinvention, and in particular, it provides both staff and ex-offenders with an inspirational nuts-and-bolts path to success.
Slaying the Dragon is notably not just a book - it’s a path to self-reinvention!
Goals are achieved through a series of small steps. The concept of “One-day-at-a-time” works. We all want that instant gratification. The gratification will come – just be a little patient.
If you “sort-of” try to reinvent yourself or reenter mainstream society, you’re probably not going to be very successful. Conversely, if you genuinely make the commitment, your likelihood of success is just about guaranteed. I am absolute proof that if a person makes the genuine commitment to legitimacy, they can have a healthy life of normalcy, and the rewards will be representative of the effort they put forth.
People in general rationalize why they have not achieved more than they have. It seems to be a natural defense mechanism to place blame for our lot in life on everyone and everything, except ourselves. We blame our parents, the government, our teachers, the system and a variety of other influences. Our shortcomings are because we are of a particular race, because we were raised in a particular neighborhood, because we look different, because of our age, and on and on.
Life definitely does dish out its challenges. We all suffer various injustices. But, we either find and embrace the silver lining in each injustice and conquer those challenges, or we lie down and accept the consequences of injustice, and those challenges conquer us. When you face the Dragon, someone is going to win, and someone is going to lose. I choose to be victorious. When facing your challenges, that choice is yours.
Resolving Life Baggage requires that you first separate your issues into individual problems. Many people carry an enormous number of individual problems that homogenize into a single overwhelming and devastating anchor.
Logically, the only reason a person develops an accumulation of problems is because they do not address and solve their problems as they surface. Ignoring problems is the cause of Life Baggage. If a person has two or more problems, it is because they have not solved the first, second, third and so on.
The process of self-reinvention and participating successfully in mainstream society and pursuing a rewarding future is not a leisurely stroll – it is a marathon. It is not possible to run a marathon if you’re carrying a bag full of bricks.
Don’t let the new pain of self-reinvention influence your ultimate decision to stay on the path that you have chosen.
Who is this book for ?
This book is written by an individual, Dave Koch, who experienced and recovered
from a multitude of challenges including, felony convictions, incarceration, bankruptcy, being unjustifiably fired, being unjustifiably sued and a host of other challenges.
500 List of America’s Fastest Growing Companies, Entrepreneur of the Year finalist, Best in Business and a myriad of other accolades.
Why did I write this book?
This book is written for YOU ! And it is written to show you that yes, you can recover from whatever challenges you may have faced in the past, or that you may be facing this very minute.
“I wrote this book so other people could realize that the future does not equal the past,” said Koch. I had a couple of college professors tell me that I should
consider hiring a ghostwriter or at least an editor to correct any grammatical errors. I certainly could have done either, and the end result would have been a book that had perfect grammar and English. However, the end result would not have been my book. It could have had perfect English and grammar, but then it would not reflect the fact that I do not have perfect English and grammar. And having perfect English and grammar is not prerequisite to achieving any level of success you want, and it is certainly not a requirement from digging yourself out of whatever hole you find yourself in. It’s simple, you don’t need to be perfect in anything to recover from your challenges, or to achieve a very comfortable level of success. Use what you have and simply build from there”
What I also believe is that many people sit around and wait until someone else makes their
success for them. If that is you, I promise, you will die waiting. But, if you are at a point in your life where you are ready and willing to put forth some genuine effort, then recovery from any challenge and success can be yours.
This book is somewhat of a nut-and-bolts, how-to succeed book. It is however written in a manner that is somewhat entertaining. That was necessary
not only for the reader, but it was also necessary for the author. Writing a vanilla and boring how-to-succeed book or memoir just seemed to be a very laborious and dreary task. Conquering your challenges does not need to be a painful drudgery. It can indeed be exciting, fun, fulfilling and exhilarating.
Dave, after having conquered each of the aforementioned challenges went on to earn his Airline Transport Pilot Certificate, and was Founder, CEO and President of a company that was twice distinguished on the Inc
