“Unless you’re dead, everything is a choice,” Glenn Brandon Burke told nearly 50 inmates at the Larimer County Detention Center on Thursday. “It’s your life. No one can tell you what to do.”

in sixth grade and becoming a drug dealer in high school to convey his messages.

photo by: Hardy Wilson/The Coloradoan

Miguel Gamez is about a month away from finishing a year-long sentence for drunk driving and said that although he always knew in someway it was his choice to drink and drive, it’s very valuable to be reminded that life is full of choices.

“Before, I always thought it was bad luck that I got caught,” he said. “Now I’m conscious of my choices.”Beyond making good choices, Burke stressed the importance of education and knowledge and encouraged inmates to get the education they need to do what they want to do with their lives.

Burke said he began attending community college at 28 and now, at 44, is only months away from getting his master’s degree.

“Success is not about dollars and cents,” he said. “Success is being happy with what you do.”