Today we’d like to introduce you to Mar Butler.
Mar, please share your story with us. How did you get you where you are today?
This incredible journey all began with a formula I first used for myself called TREE (Truth, Restore, Empower, Evolve). Now for over ten years, I’ve contributed my services and products in support of Leadership Development and Community Activism everywhere.
Born and raised in the West Side of Dallas, Texas, to teenage parents, I soon became heavily influenced into a life of Drugs, Gangs, and eventually imprisonment. After years of hard work and intense studies, I gained redemption by providing services (learning curriculum, speeches, mentoring, leadership development, books, podcast, talk shows, etc.) that offer alternative lifestyle choices for anyone needing to take affirmative action whenever, wherever, and however necessary. I went from being a known hardened criminal to serving on the City Council’s Advisory Board, Volunteering for the Judicial Court Mentoring Program, and currently working on a youth voting campaign with the Texas Civil Rights Project and Dallas Independent School District.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It’s quite ironic when I look back and reflect on my journey to get here. As a young teen, I was approached by older people who tried to give me some words of wisdom but didn’t listen. Now I’m the former wise head who’s giving advice. During my speaking sessions, I tell my young people that there are two types of grownups in this world: those who know better, and those who LEARN Better. Don’t be one of the many who had to learn their lesson later on in life because they didn’t listen in the beginning.
After years of starting from the bottom with no help, no financial investments, no idea of where to go or where to start in my business, the most challenging part of it all was the FIGHT. Fighting to gain the trust of everyone I hurt in the process of being in prison for ten years (my parents, my children, and siblings). Fighting to become more than the statistics showed that a person of my caliber should be. Fighting to keep the image of the man I am today at the forefront of my dreams while riding the bus from Dallas to Ft.Worth every morning for a minimum wage-paying demolition job.
The feeling of triumph didn’t come to greet me every day. There were moments when I recall walking in the cold rainy weather at 4:30 am for a half-mile to the nearest bus stop feeling like the odds are against me. Wondering if things would ever get better for me! This was a time when phrases like ”Prison Reform and Offender Assistance” were unheard of, and opportunities in support of entrepreneurial education were scarce for a convicted felon. Most employers offered just enough financial compensation to survive with little or no chance for advancement within the company. But as I look back on it all today, I’m glad I took the hard road because those struggles made me stronger. I developed a mindset of total determination and approached every given opportunity as though success and failure equated with life or death. Doing ”just enough” was never an option.
Because of the disadvantage, I had to be more than good; I had to be better. And even still to this day, I have the resolve that whatever I’m a part of, I perform at such a high level that the thought of criminal history no longer comes into the equation. I do this not only for myself but for those who also share the same struggle for redemption.
Please tell us more about your work, what are you currently working on and most proud of?
I am the owner of the company Mar Butler Speaks and its educational subsidiary, TREE Leadership. It started as a formula geared towards Training, Speaking, and Mentoring young men ages 12 – 25 who are considered “at-risk” while residing in underserved neighborhoods.
I was taught that you’re only able to teach a subject once you can explain it well enough for a third-grade student to understand. I pride myself on not just teaching them to remember what they’ve learned but understood why and how it pertains to their lives. I’m most known for the many messages I’ve built around my signature statement called “Without Rules – You LOSE,” which surprisingly has transcended from young to the adult audience in the areas of corporate, business, politics, and prison reform workshops.
For October 2020, I’m launching the new e-book entitled: Greater (Become the Leader you’ve Always wanted to Be), which includes a workbook and 4-part virtual workshop. I’ll also be working with the Texas Civil Rights Project (TCRP) to promote voting awareness amongst our youth, encouraging eligible teens to exercise their constitutional right to be heard.
But what I am most grateful for is hearing my mother tell me on our weekly Sunday phone calls just how ”proud” she is of me. To listen to my daughter tell me how proud she was to hear her friends rave about participating in one of my lectures at their school. It’s moments like these that make it all worthwhile.
Any shout outs? Who else deserves credit in this story– who else has played a meaningful role?
If it weren’t for the fervent prayers of my mother, Marilyn Turknett Butler, this interview wouldn’t be possible. She’s the true definition of perseverance in my eyes. As always, I give credit to my childhood mentor,
Pastor Shaun Rabb, for continually giving me an example of what a Strong Successful Black Man looks like. And to My childhood mentor Aaron Michaels, for infusing the passion for community activism within me.
To Tony Dougherty and Charles Williams. Men who took a chance to not only give me my first decent job but showed me how to create additional financial opportunities for myself in the process.
Finally, I’m grateful for the teaching philosophies Dr. Myles Munroe, Dr. Ernest Holmes, Bob Proctor, James Baldwin, Huey P. Newton, Minister Louis Farrakhan, Stokely Carmichael, John C. Maxwell, Bishop T.D.Jakes, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Mahatma Gandhi and, most of all, Jesus Christ.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://MarButler.com
- Phone: 4692904243
- Email: Speak@MarButler.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/MarButlerSpeaks
- Facebook: Facebook.com/MarButlerSpeaks
- Twitter: Twitter.com/
MarButlerSpeaks - YouTube: Youtube.com/MarButlerSpeaks
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