TDN Weekend December 2016 Issue 9
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1056824
"I was 38 when I did the show and I think a lot of us at that age might feel like this is who I am already," he said. "This is the mold that I fit into, this is what I am, this is who I am. The whole experience shattered that mold and it showed me a completely different side of who I am and my potential." Since his show ended, Jones has taken a step back and is back to work at Big Lee's. But he knows that being on the show has created an endless list of possibilities so far as where he takes his business. The next logical step, he says, is to open up additional Big Lee's food trucks. But he hardly wants to stop there. He has the fervor of an evangelist and wants you to join his flock, to love Big Lee's barbecue from the depths of your soul. So how do you go from having one food truck to making Big Lee's "the worldwide leader in everything barbecue?" You will it to happen. "You have to realize that every single person is full of potential," he said. "Potential, in my opinion, means what you haven't done yet. How much energy or how much gas is in your tank? I want to exhaust that tank. I'm not trying to get morbid, but I think of things in the long-term perspective. Not just this year or five years. When I'm 85 or 90 I want my tank to be empty. I don't want to die and still be full of ideas and recipes and TV shows. I want to get all of that out. I want to empty myself out. I think that's the way to live life. Life is a container that can be emptied out. Live full, die empty, exhaust the potential, empty the tank." And make one mean barbecued brisket sandwich.