We were lucky to catch up with Shane Sims recently and have shared our conversation below.
Shane, so great to have you on the platform and excited to have you share your wisdom with our community today. Communication skills often play a powerful role in our ability to be effective and so we’d love to hear about how you developed your communication skills.
Prior to the onset of their battle with the disease of addiction, my parents displayed very different, but complimentary characteristics ; my father was very principled and straightforward while my mother was one of the most compassionate, empathetic, and forgiving people that I have ever known. Both sets of characteristics were poured into my younger brother and I. Our father taught us to listen so that we can understand exactly what it is that is being said to us, while our mother taught us to listen with our heart so that we could feel the things that were not spoken. Not only did they preach this, but they also practiced it! For instance, one of my mother’s best friends when I was about 6 or 7 years old was a Caucasian male who was gay and bipolar. He represented the very things that were most stigmatized in the mid to late ’80s. I can remember him having what I now know were bipolar episodes. He would sit in her car and cry profusely, and she would just give him a comforting hand on the knee, sympathetic eyes, and the gentle reassurance that everything would be okay. All while I sat in the back seat and watched and listened. Those moments made a great impression on me and gave me the depth of passion, compassion, empathy, and sympathy that I have for people who have some physical, mental, or social disadvantages.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
In many ways, my path through life was a product of the crack cocaine epidemic of the ’80s and ’90s. My parents battle the disease of addiction, which, in turn, created some challenging circumstances for me in my early childhood. Although I was an intelligent, outgoing, and lovable child, my parents addiction eventually created within me anger, despondency, and hurt. School was my refuge until other kids started learning of my parents’ addiction. I was able to remain in school until my senior year only because it was easy for me and I always had great relationships with my teachers. In hindsight, they probably had sympathy for me because of my family life. However, during my senior year of high school, I was torn between two torlds and had since begun smoking marijuana, drinking, and hanging with other teens most of whom parent or parents were also drug addicts. During my senior year, a terrible mix of circumstances led me to agree to go along with a group of my peers to rob a store to get money that I desperately needed after having lost my job. At the time that robbery was first suggested as a possible way of getting money that I needed by some of my peers (who had long been immersed in the life of criminality), I was repulsed by the suggestion. However, it is true that association breeds assimilation – then add desperation to the mix, and the consequence was fatal. After weeks of coercion, I finally decided to go along with the robbery – after being assured that everything would go smoothly and no one would get hurt. By the end of the night, a store clerk was dead, I found myself in a Twilight Zone. I would eventually turn myself in and accept responsibility for my accessory role in the robbery. I would be sentenced to life plus 15 years in prison at the age of 18. I would serve 20 years before three different prison wardens would petition the parole board (at different times) for my release. I returned home to my family on February 3rd 2016, and within a month, I had been contacted by the mayor of my city, Athens Georgia, and invited to sit on her Youth Gang Task Force Committee. She had heard about the work that I had done while in prison, including program creation and facilitation and mentoring, and said that they could use my experience and expertise on the task force to help them understand youth gang involvement. Soon thereafter, I was invited by an adjunct professor for the University of Georgia to co-facilitate a Police/Community relationship class within our Police Department. After co-facilitating the second class, the professor informed me that I was very well equipped to continue the class on my own. The class was highly successful and I was eventually offered a position of chaplain with the Clarke County Police Department. From there, I would go on to become a Certified Addiction Recovery Empowerment Specialist, and begin working in the field of addiction recovery as a Recovery Coach for a non-profit Recovery Community Organization (RCO) called People Living in Recovery. Within 6 months of working for this organization, I was offered the position of Executive Director. I have served as the executive director since 2019. I also co-founded and co-directed a 12-month inpatient treatment program for men seeking long-term recovery called Modern Pathways to Recovery. We are in our fourth year of operation. I have also started a consultancy called “Principles Over Passion”. Through the consultancy, I do motivational speaking, make keynote addresses, provide trauma informed care to individual with criminal justice involvement as well as those who face substance use and mental health challenges. I provide consultancy for institutions and organizations that are a touch points for criminal justice involved individuals.. For instance, I have performed two consultancies for Shaw Industries to help the company, which is one of the largest carpet companies in the world, develop an HR infrastructure to support their second chance employees. I am a certified Forensic Peer Mentor, and provide re-entry support to criminal justice involved individuals. All three of my business interests focus on providing trauma informed care and giving hope to those who have been overcome by the vicissitudes of life.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Faith, Integrity, Hope.
It is so important that we believe in a Power that is bigger than ourselves, set goals that are far greater than our current circumstances, and do the next right thing for the right reason!
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
I am always looking for individuals, organizations, and institutions to collaborate with. I truly believe that my lived experiences, and, now, my education and training are not mine to keep. Rather, I feel that a part of my purpose in life is to share the message of hope, faith, and the power of redemption. It is a part of my purpose to advocate in spaces where those who have faced life challenges don’t usually have access to. I believe that there is encouragement, hope, motivation, and, in essence, life to be gained from the story of my journey. Anyone looking to collaborate can contact me through my consultantcy at
shane@principlesoverpassions.com
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.principlesoverpassions.org
- Facebook: Shane Sims
- Linkedin: Shane Sims
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
