A new book by Greg Lindberg provides lessons on triumphing over adversity, based on his incarceration of nearly two years for a wrongful conviction. The book, 633 Days Inside: Lessons on Life and Leadership, tells how Lindberg resolved to embrace his experiences from his first day of confinement, improving himself mentally, physically, and spiritually. 633 Days Inside provides readers with valuable lessons and insights into using difficult circumstances to realize their full potential.
The key to this process is called hormesis, which is the concept that things that are harmful in large doses can make us stronger in smaller quantities. While Lindberg doesn’t aim to offer medical advice, he does share details about his experience. “The single most powerful lesson I learned in prison is the stunning power of hormesis. If you stress your body with fasting, cold temperatures, hard mental exertion, and extraordinary physical exertion — you will see extraordinary improvements in your mind and body driven by mitochondrial biogenesis.”
Greg Lindberg — Turning Difficulties Into Greatness
Lindberg says that he wants 633 DaysInside to empower readers to take ownership of their lives and well-being, which is a particularly challenging process in prison. He adds, “I hope my story will prove to readers that there are no circumstances too grave to prevent them from turning the most difficult of circumstances into opportunities to achieve greatness.” Lindberg continually refers to ways in which he changed his habits and mindset behind bars, allowing him to channel his incarceration into a hormetic experience.
This transformation resulted in mental and physical improvements. He wrote, “I turned around my health and regained some of my youth through the study of mitochondrial biogenesis. My gray hair literally turned red again, my memory improved, and my body now looks like I’m 10 years younger.”
Lindberg reveals he now has a better appreciation for the positive aspects of his life. The combination of these benefits helped him eliminate negative thoughts that had previously distracted him, giving him a sharper focus that has made him more productive and ultimately more successful. The memoir is a powerful commentary on turning disadvantages into personal, professional, and spiritual gain. Readers who have faced adversity will find value in Lindberg’s story and wisdom.
Greg Lindberg’s Backstory
Lindberg is an entrepreneur, life coach, and passionate advocate for criminal justice. His parents were an airline pilot and a family therapist, and he grew up in San Mateo, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 1989, he graduated from high school at Crystal Springs Uplands School in Hillsborough, California. He studied economics at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, where he received his degree in 1993.
Lindberg launched a business in his sophomore year at Yale under the name Home Care Week. The purpose of this business was to help medical professionals gain a better understanding of medical regulations, which it did by distributing newsletters focused on compliance and reimbursement issues within the insurance industry. He continued to run his highly successful business after he graduated.
Home Care Week became a multimillion-dollar publishing company within a few years, and Lindberg concentrated on the acquisition and improvement of underperforming businesses during the early 2000s. He became particularly interested in insurance by 2012, when he rebranded Home Care Week as Eli Global. He had acquired over 100 companies by 2019, when he rebranded Eli Global as Global Growth.
Wrongful Conviction and Incarceration
Lindberg was wrongfully convicted of bribery of a public official in 2020. He was sent to Federal Prison Camp (FPC) in Montgomery, Alabama, where he lived in a bunk room and shared a bathroom with 21 other men. Lindberg looked forward to getting work assignments so he could stay busy. He held jobs as a janitor and librarian before settling into teaching classes in business, career planning, and entrepreneurship to his fellow inmates, many of whom are still his friends.
In fact, 633 Days Inside is dedicated: “To my fellow prisoners at FPC Montgomery, I thank you every day for your generosity, humility, friendship, and perseverance. I am lucky to have met you.”
He also learned a great deal from them, especially his cellmates and staffers. They provided a variety of lessons on teamwork and active listening that Lindberg found to be life-changing. He writes in the acknowledgments section of 633 DaysInside, “I am grateful to those members of the staff at FPC Montgomery who have a kind heart and a true mission to improve the lives of the inmates at the camp.”
After witnessing its shortcomings firsthand, Lindberg is dedicating his life to fighting for change in the criminal justice system. In 2020, he founded Interrogating Justice, a nonprofit organization committed to holding corrupt government officials accountable for their actions. It also works to ensure fairness in sentencing, help released inmates reenter society, and provide equal access to justice.
‘I Would Not Trade My Prison Experience for Anything’
Lindberg appealed his conviction, primarily on the basis that the trial violated his Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights. The Fourth Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals overturned his conviction on June 29, 2022, and Lindberg was released from prison on July 15. His retrial is currently scheduled to begin in March 2023.
“I would not trade my prison experience for anything,” Lindberg writes. “Yes, I sorely missed my family and friends. But the experience was a necessary part of my character development and a necessary part of my life plan.”
