the book begins

Update 11/08

jonesdesign — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 01:20:30 +0000

I told everyone I would post a new poll so here it is. I am looking for suggestions on Chef’s that people might think I would be a good fit to work with. Now I only listed five but if there are any other suggestions those please feel free to message me and let me know. The position I am looking for, so everyone knows, is a position that combines my knowledge of restaurant industry and marketing, as well as more desire to work with charitable organizations. It can be with one chef or as a consultant’s position that essentially. I would like to help manage the business side of the restaurant as well as coordinate the requests and events that these chef’s also give their time and knowledge to. Let me know what you all think.

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Update 11/05

jonesdesign — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:21:12 +0000

This past week has been trying in some ways and exciting in others. I have had some more hurdles to jump over and new test that have been set in front of me. I know I promised you that I would put up a new survey and I will. It has just taken me a little extra time putting together the info and researching some of the things I want to put up.

I started full practice again this week as a volunteer coach for wrestling. So far the season is going amazing and getting so much out of the kids and the experience and it is just unbelievable. It really puts into perspective for me what is important and the drive that we should all have to be successful. The rest of the coaching staff is great and there are some really special things that will happen this year if we all keep striving forward.

Alright now on to the experiment. I am still looking for anything that anyone is willing to suggest and pursue. I have gotten great ideas and have moved forward on some things, but I know there are some of you that have not posted yet. I am also still looking for more charitable organizations to volunteer at, so if you know anymore throughout Northern Indiana please let me know.

I also started the process this week and got my cover letter and resume out to Chef Graham Elliot Bowles out of Chicago. Per your suggestions and input I have decided I am looking to use my skills in the food industry and marketing, and hopefully combine them in my desire to work for a charitable organization into one unit. I would really like to either consult or work directly for a chef or groups of chefs organizing there time for charitable events and finding and communicating with the charitable organizations to save them time. I know, a lot of words but if you have a question just ask and I will clear it up hahahaha.

Alright it is time for me to take off. I promise to have the survey up in the next two days, so have your voting fingers ready. Thanks again to everyone reading this and please pass it on to anyone you would like. I would love to talk to you all, and if you email me, even if we haven’t talked before or in a while, I will get back to you quickly. Have a great week.

Update 10/27

jonesdesign — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:44:33 +0000

Hello again to all. It was a pretty interesting weekend and I am really glad to share it with you. I had my first volunteer experience outside of a school setting this weekend. I volunteered Sunday morning at the local NPR member station where I answered phones for the pledge drive. I was fortunate enough to meet some very interesting and fun people that enjoy giving back as well. It was also a great experience for hearing about different people’s struggles and challenges in this hard economy. There were so many people that called in and felt the need to give even though they might not have a job, or things are not going good. One man called and said he wished he could give more but all he could do was $25.00 and was that enough. Of course that is enough; anything anyone could give was extremely appreciated. I also told a few people that I was volunteering with about my blog and they really supported the idea. I believe a couple of them might be commenting soon as well.

So on to what is going on this week so far. I again have had some great feedback and comments that have not only inspired me but have truly meant a lot. I am currently putting together an updated cover letter that I feel really describes who I am and what I would like to do. At this point in time I am trying to combine my passion for the restaurant business, my knowledge of marketing and advertising, and my drive for charity work into a career. I am also of course updating my resume and trying to get it more focused as well. If anyone has knows of or has any other charitable organizations that they know of please let me know. I am looking for any and all suggestions. I also have a friend that works with the AmeriCorps and is looking for quality volunteers in the Chicago area, so if anyone would like to feel inspired, email me and I will get you her info and maybe a list of places from her. Just to clarify things a little as well, this blog is about me and my life’s journey, but it is also about other people and hopefully helping and inspiring people. If any of you have stories to share or events coming up that you want to share you are more than welcome. Let me know and I can even post them as well.

Thank you all again for all of your support and help. Keep it coming, let’s take this journey together and make it great. I will be posting a new poll in the next couple of days as well, and your votes will of course help as well. Talk to you all again really soon.

Quick one

jonesdesign — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 12:52:35 +0000

Here is the phone number to call in and give to WVPE, the local NPR affiliate. It is 1-888-399-9873. Give me a call I will be there between 10:00 am and 1:00 pm today. Call a pledge to help keep the NPR free to listeners.

Update 10/21

jonesdesign — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 02:25:28 +0000

Hello again everyone. Well it is update time again. I know, I know I should have done this a little sooner, so I apologize. I have so far gotten some great feedback from a lot of people and keep hearing almost every day from someone new. I also know that there are some comments that are going to be coming in that should be really good, and that I would like your opinion on. So, if you have five minutes and could read through them and let me know what you think that would be highly appreciated. I have also set up a private email account for My Life’s Book in case you would like to email me and not leave a comment. Just a little more private for everyone if that’s what you need. The email address is mylifesbookblog@gmail.com I will create a link to it on the side as well.

So here is the plan as of now. I am volunteering this Sunday for the local NPR affiliate. I will be taking phone calls and donations from 10:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. I will post the phone number later if anyone wants to call and give. I am also currently in the process of putting a list of Chef’s together in the Chicago land area as well as New York and Los Angeles to possibly work with and start some relationships with on an advertising and pr/charity level. I am pulling some names from the Common Threads charity that is out of Chicago. It is a great organization that teaches low-income children cook wholesome and affordable meals. I am also going to see about finding a position at Common threads as well. The last thing that I have planned for this week is putting together a new cover letter. I have been told multiple times and through many source’s the correct way to write a cover letter and the ins and outs of a good cover letter. Well so far none of it has helped me. So, here is what I am going to do from here on. My cover letter will consist of my skills and attributes that I can offer an organization, however I will also be adding my story to it as well. I will of course leave some things out, such as old relationship info, and possibly my family things. I am willing to try anything and this seems to be a good attention getter to me.

Well thank you all again for the continued support and feedback. It means the world to me. But, also keep it coming, I need new ideas and paths every week to keep this experiment going. I am truly hoping for an amazing adventure and want everyone that reads this to be involved.

Update 10/13

jonesdesign — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 18:02:53 +0000

So it has taken me a couple of days to formulate this post in my head the last few days. I have had some amazing feedback and suggestions. Now I do enjoy talking to all of you and getting your opinions. The only thing that I ask is that if you haven’t please take a couple of seconds to post what you have said to me, or what you want to say. Remember, I am doing this so everyone knows and can give opinions.

Well, so far I have made a couple of decision off of suggestions. I am going to be volunteering at the NPR affiliate in the Elkhart are. The station is 88.8 WVPE. I will be taking phone calls for their pledge drive on Oct. 25^th from 10:00 to 1:00. Please give me a call at the station if you are able to give. It is a great organization that needs our help to stay on the air and keep providing great content for the Michiana area. I would also like to ask if anyone knows of any other organizations in the Elkhart/Goshen/South Bend area that is currently looking for volunteers, please let me know.

Alright now onto the first big step that I am taking. As a lot of you know I was a chef about 5 years ago before I decided to go back to school and get my degree. I was rather successful and moved up the latter in my restaurant rather quickly. I was first runner-up at a professional competition in Indy that had great chefs from all over the state. I actually went back to school to get marketing experience so I could stay in the food service industry doing sales. Well after talking to a few of you and putting a couple of peoples suggestions together into one here is what I decided. I am going to write to some chefs around the country, most in Chicago, and try to find a position in there restaurant. I am not going to be looking for a traditional kitchen of front of house position. I would really like to work for them as in an advertising and promotional role. Work with them to help reach their goals and continue their paths of success. I would also like to try and find a way to connect chefs throughout the country to help give back to the communities they are involved in. This will hopefully combine two of my real passions which are culinary and volunteering.

So here is what I need from you, if you would. Any suggestions on chefs that you would think I would fit in with well. Opinions on the idea itself. Any help that anyone could give on knowing any of the chefs or organizations that I could be a part of.

Thank you again for all of your help and suggestions. Please don’t forget to vote on the cities which were in my previous post. The book has started and so far we are off to a great first chapter.

Update 10/07

jonesdesign — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:41:29 +0000

Thank you for everyone that has read my blog. I have gotten a few really good ideas to start with and I really appreciate the help. I have decided that I really like the volunteering idea as well and will try it out either, later this week or the beginning of next week and let you all know how that goes. I have also looked into Columbia in the past and will continue that as well. I have decided to list a number of places that I would be interested in being and would like some feedback and opinions if anyone has them. I would still appreciate any opinions anyone has on this idea or anything else.

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Again if anyone wants to add to the list or has any ideas of even places abroad I would be interested. Thanks for all the help again.

My Book Begin’s

jonesdesign — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 03:51:39 +0000

Hello and welcome to my little piece of this big world. My name, for those of you that are new or don’t know is Jon. As I sit here and contemplate how to explain what this space is for I can only figure out that I should start out at the beginning of my story. I am a 29 year old guy that lives in the middle of somewhere and nowhere Indiana. I have lived, for the most part a pretty good life. However the last couple of years have been extremely difficult. My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2002. She fought it and was successful for a time. I decided to go back to college in Chicago in 2005 and graduated in 2007 with a degree in advertising. My mom told one of her friends that she wanted to see me walk and get my diploma before she passed away and she did. My mother passed away of cancer on Sept. 12, 2007. Only 4 months after I graduated. After her death I got a job at a youth advertising company in November. I lasted about 8 months. It wasn’t a very good fit for either of us, and to be honest I didn’t live up to my on hype and probably didn’t produce the way I am capable of at all. I worked hard at finding a new job but it was at the time when the economy was just starting to go bad and people started not hiring. I was at a crossroads in my life and not sure what path to take. I was in a bad relationship; on both parties (she will tell you I was no saint either). My lease was up and I needed to decide if I was going to stay in Chicago or move back to Indiana and try to start over, and maybe save a little money. I decided to move back to Indiana. Well needless to say by the time I got settled and made this decision the recession was in full affect and living in the middle of the hardest county hit by unemployment didn’t help at all. Trying to find a job and figure out where I wanted to live were taking up most of my time. However it was a very difficult time and I needed to fill my time with something else as well. I called up my friend and asked if I could volunteer and help out with the wrestling team at the school where he taught. He said yes, and that really helped me in a time that I needed it. I got a great joy out of helping the kids and watching them become successful as individuals and a team. I was still looking for work but had not found anything, and decided that I needed to at least make a little money. So I started to substitute teach at the same school I coached at. Wrestling season came and went, and then school came and went, so when the summer started I was pretty much left in the same spot I started in. I was lucky enough however to have some people that had started day trading and they wanted to teach me. So I learned the in’s and out’s of the market the best I could over the summer and was lucky enough to have a generous backer help me out and get started this past August.

That all leads me up to where I am now. Do I enjoy day trading right now? Yes a great deal. Am I able to make a living currently? No exactly. I am working everyday and am learning a great deal, and making some money. However, as anyone will tell you right now it is very difficult to make money in the way the market is acting, and we are not in any normality in the market at all. The benefit and the down fall of all of this is that I have the freedom to do what I want and essentially work for myself; the downfall is it is really hard right now. So after figuring out what I was going to do and how I was going to make this work I decided to come up with a little experiment. I have seen people go online and been told how to live their lives, and have bought a house by starting with a paper clip and trading there way all the way up. I have also been told so many times that the best way of getting a job is through who you know and networking. Well I have decided to try and do a little bit of both. This is has been the hardest time in my life and I have grown and learned a lot from it all. So I have decided to hopefully change the direction of my life with a little help from everyone hopefully.

Alright, enough of fooling around, here is the experiment. For the next 52 weeks I will ask for help and suggestions about what I should do and where I should take my career from you. I am single, am not tied down anywhere and the only things that I really own are my computer, my clothes, my car, and a good amount of school loans. I will take your suggestions and pick at least one to do every week. I will update you on the one I chose and what the outcome was good or bad every week. Essentially you will help me write “my book” for the next year of my life. Who knows, maybe I will even write a book after this is all said and done. Now, this is legit. I have no one backing me helping me or following me around. I don’t have any hidden agenda. All I want is to turn my fortunes around and live a happy fulfilled life. There are some rules here however. I am not just going to do anything. Every suggestion will have to be within reason and I will pick the ones I am willing to do. I will also periodically give suggestions or options about where I would like to go or do. Now this just isn’t about my career either. If there is something about me that you feel strong enough to be changed you are more than welcomed to let me know and I will take constructive criticism as best I can. Well here goes, let the next 52 weeks of my life be fun and filled with adventure…….