C.E.O. Ashton G. Mendez presents the making of his A.G.M. Publishing Empire, detailing his journey from the streets to becoming a bestselling author and publisher. He wrote numerous books while incarcerated, building his publishing business book by book. With each new release, he rose to another level in the industry. Supported by his family and team, Mendez transformed his life experiences into impactful stories that resonated with readers worldwide.

1. C.E.O. /Writer Ashton G.
Mendez Presents The
Making of The A.G.M
Publishing Empire
Taking the industry to a whole different level
one book at a time.

2. What do you want to
be when you grow up?
I always wanted to become a millionaire
from as far back as I could remember. I
always wanted to be an elite. Someone who
call the shots .Some people call it being high
minded ,I call it just being me. Whatever I do
I want to be the best at it. I live for challenges
I believe there are no problems only
solutions .Every conquest builds and fortify
my belief system. I don’t believe in luck, I
invest in proper preparation ,research
,perseverance and timing .I am the captain of
my ship, my destiny is determined to a large
degree by the choices I make.

3. Stepper the General
You have to start from the bottom and work
your way up. A General must first be a good
soldier .One who takes and obey orders
without asking questions. To ask why is a
sign that you question the competence of
those issuing the orders. This could be
construed as disloyalty or treason. The
penalty is death. A person who is
untrustworthy is a liability, no one can afford.
The streets are always watching for signs of
weakness. The weak are food to be
consumed by the strong. The streets could
be cold and unforgiving. Environment forge
mentality .Mine made me into what I
became. A street general who was prepared
to do whatever was necessary to survive and
thrive.

4. Money Power Respect
In the Streets the most ambitious among us
sacrifice their lives to become wealthy. With
that wealth comes power to move people to
your will. Respect comes from the lives you
make better because of your wealth. Some
prefer to be feared .These are usually the
ones who get betrayed by someone close
who are well aware of the consequences of
failure or betrayal. Individuals who know
enough dirty little secrets to destroy from
within . Power is a balancing act, you have to
know when to be a lion and when to be the
fox. When you are on top everybody wants
to bring you down so that they could wear
your crown. So be careful who you offend.
One day that same person might be your
savior or executioner, depending how you
treated them.

5. Money the root of all
evil?
Some people love money, I don’t .Money has no
power but the power you give it. Money brings
out what we have inside of our hearts and mind.
It reveals our true nature and bring us out from
behind our façade. Tell a person no and you will
see an ugly side of them you may not even be
able to recognize. If you have no principles or
morals you can easily be bought. People who
come with price tag are not to be trusted. They
sell themselves to the highest bidder so there is
no loyalty only greed. A lot of people tried to
buy me but I was never for sale which made my
value and reputation highly valued in the
streets. A reputation can make you or break you
.You have to decide what kind of message you
want to put out there. The message I sent was
when I’m with you its to the end and I will never
betray you as long as you stay loyal to me and
no amount of money, jewelry ,cars, women or
whatever could change that.

6. The more you have
the more you want.
Greed, jealousy, envy, lust are four things
that usually bring those who fly high
crashing down from lofty heights of
accomplishments. Set goals and stick to them
and save your money for a rainy day, because
sometimes when it rains it pours. Don't look
at what another person has because you
don’t know what they had to do to get it.
What may work for them might not for you.
Stay in your lane you will get whatever your
hand call for. But don’t try to compete with
somebody who has deeper pockets. You will
always come up short and find yourself broke
and alone. At some point you have to be
satisfied with your accomplishments or you
will just pursuing an illusion never to be
obtained. Madness!!!!!!

7. Death Before Dishonor
Standing tall when the Feds came for me was
never an option. I fought them in the courts and
lost. I was devastated but I took my long
sentence, put it in my back pocket and did it like
a man. The real always remain real. The paper
gangsters will always make excuses why they
folded under pressure and betrayed those
within their circle. Slaves to material things. The
same things the Feds threaten to take away . I
knew that I would always be me with those
material things or not. They don’t define who I
am .So the fear of losing cars ,jewelry ,money or
women did not phase me. My freedom was
precious to me ,but not at the cost of selling out
someone else. My integrity and reputation is
everything to me .A coward is selfish without
any moral code but to survive. Which makes
him no different from a snake that crawls on its
belly and bites indiscriminately in the name of
survival. Repulsive!

8. Do the time don’t let
the time do you.
When you are doing time the people that love
you are with you no matter the span of distance
or time, constant and loyal. Others fade in and
out during the duration of the sentence. Very
few in number stand firm without wavering
their support. These are in a category all by
themselves. I always treat people how they
treat me ,they deserve nothing less. Then there
are those who do nothing but expect everything
set out for them .Doing time shows you who are
really with you and vice versa .I made sure I
made the time count. Writing was very
therapeutic for the mind and a good investment
for the future. While others were building their
bodies in the gym, I was in the library building
my mind and doing my research on the
publishing industry to help those going down
the same negative path I diverted from.

9. Sick and tired of being
sick and tired
Comes a time when you realize that the life
you are living is insane .Jail, death or
paralysis. are the three options the streets
offer us yet most of us feel we can win.
That’s insane .Insanity is playing a game we
can’t possibly win. I was one of the lucky
ones who came into realization , that if I
wanted to live I would have to change every
aspect of my death style. Food ,friends ,bad
habits, negative beliefs. Everything! It was
not easy to purge myself but I knew mind
over everything else. I wanted to live for the
first time in a long time and it felt good.
When I was in the street I lived day to day,
knowing my life could be taken by an enemy
at anytime. In my mind I was already dead.

10. A promise is a promise
My mother was my rock and my salvation.
She was my ride or die .She helped me to
maintain my sanity during all those year of
zombie prison life .After I lost trial to the
Feds she came to visit me and she cried a
river of tears. As though she had lost her only
child to death. It was there behind the flexi-
glass that I realized it was me who was
causing this queen I loved more than life
itself so much pain. Time was wearing her
down ,just as it had stolen much of my youth
It was at this point that I made the conscious
choice to change my life from negative to
positive. I had been selfish for too long in my
actions. I had always believed it was only me
doing the time. When it was actually we.

11. Ashley
My daughter was born four months before
the Feds came to take me away from society.
When they had me boxed in outmanned and
out gunned. They asked me basically one
question. ”Are we going to do this the easy
way or the hard way” .I chose life ,not out of
fear because death was my constant
companion ,but out of a sense of paternal
duty to her, because she was an innocent
who did not ask to come to this world.
Because of the wrong choices I made before
she was even born ,I was forced to leave her
unprotected and venerable to the evils of
this world. One of life’s irony. I had been a
protector and enforcer for many years for
people who were nothing to me biologically.

12. When life gives you
lemons make
lemonade
Urban Bible was my first step into the
publishing industry. I wrote numerous books
during my incarceration which I knew would
benefit me and those within my inner circle
in the future. Other titles include, In me I
trust ,Aggravated, Phya and Ice, Let sleeping
dogs lay, Two of a Kind, Once Upon A time In
Brooklyn, Ice, Don Dadda, The family, The
Untouchables ,Should a Would a Could a,
Twisted, Black Heart.

13. Book by book
Breaking The Cycle is my second book which
was distributed not only by Amazon.com but
by most of the major book channels around
the world.10,000 downloads in less than 16
hours. A major stripe in the literary world.
Made me a world class writer. My stories are
based on the reality taking place in most
urban cities today .Therefore the masses can
identify with the storylines. My goal is not to
follow in any other writer who came before
me footsteps .Instead I would like to make
my own impact in the Gritty Urban Book
Genre .Like the legends Donald Goines and
Iceberg slim who’s graphic books inspired my
writing style. With each book that is
published I will rise to another level in the
industry, until I reach the top. Respect to all
the other writers, but this is something that I
must do.

14. Breaking The Cycle
This was my intro to the publishing world.
My first promo video.

15. A.G.M. Casa Blanca
Hard work pays off

16. Foundation
My dad and Step mother always taught me
discipline and moral values. They always
believed that I was capable of great things if I
believed and worked hard pursuing my goals.
The same principles I applied in the streets is
my secret weapon I will utilize for the
publishing industry. Mind over everything.
Excellence have been programmed into my
psyche. It’s the fuel I will use on my journey
making history .I want to be an example that
it could be done, giving hope to the hopeless.
At the same time bringing honor and glory to
the family name instead of notoriety and
infamy.

17. No man is an island
Every man needs a good woman he can
depend on ,that is 100 % for his progression
and success. One who will assist him to reach
his maximum potential. Beside every
successful man is a good and strong woman
who will remind him to stay the course.
Knowing that they are in the struggle
together. People think you go out and look
for good women. They are wrong. She will
find you but you must be able to recognize
her quality and worth or she will elude you
and slip through your fingers. When you are
traveling on a positive path, good people will
come into your life who can assist you with
your goals. For those who believe you don’t
need anyone but self, I'm here to tell you
that you are wrong.

18. No going back!!!
Before After

19. Team A.G.M

20. Team A.G.M

21. Team A.G.M.

22. Team A.G.M

23. My agent/Lenny
Augustine
When you come across someone who
believes in you and your vision and is willing
to invest time, knowledge and finance. You
ask him to become your agent or
representative because he is fully aware of
your potential without a doubt. Anyone who
invests in you means to see that investment
flourish which amounts to a win win business
relationship.

24. A.G.M. Publishing Empire Reality Manifested