amyjones be youEvery week I write a column called BE YOU for one of the local papers (The Times of Acadiana) – Each week someone different answers the questionnaire – the paper often has to edit them,  so here are all the answers, unedited (the whole truth.) This week – Amy Jones

Amy Jones is the Chief Poobah at The Jones Communications Company, and quite a force to be reckoned with. Amy tackles life head-on whether its with her impressive client list (Green Bay Packers, the Louisiana Supreme Court, The NBA Retired Players Association) or her health (she recently lost 140lbs). Amy is one of those powerful women who is surprisingly approachable with a great sense of fun. Her energy and drive are infectious and I come away from every meeting with her thinking slightly differently – and that’s a good thing.

What was your first job?
I worked in the upstairs snack bar at Red’s the summer after my senior year of high school.  I made a brilliant chili dog.

Describe a typical day in your life.
There is nothing typical about a day in my life.  Every day is completely different and that is why it is so much fun.  The one consistent is I do stop for coffee somewhere on my way into the office and always bring a cup in for my business partner, Will Bailey.

What advice would you give the younger you?
You know very little, so listen more than you talk.

What event in your life most shaped who you are now?
My dad dying suddenly and tragically in 2004.  My life was who I was before September 19, 2004 and who I became after that day.

What values do you live by?
Love hard, work intensely, say good morning, be humble.

What do you most appreciate?
The sound of a dog crunching potato chips. It makes me laugh every time.  Fresh cut grass, after a quick squirt of Flonase.

What is your favorite journey?
The ones that take my breath away.

Where is your favorite place to be alone?
In a theater when the house lights dim and the orchestra hits its first note.  This is my happy place.

What living figure most inspires you?
Many people have inspired me, the better question is what am I doing every day to inspire others.
 
What was the best advice you were ever given?
Life is the art of living without an eraser.

What book would you tell everyone to read?
A Farewell to Arms  – Ernest Hemingway

What is the best thing about where you live?
That I am loved unconditionally and for free and that my soul is allowed to rest there.

How do you “let the good times roll” ?
I’m working on this.  I don’t “play” very well.  But I’m getting better at it if I have a muddled cucumber cocktail in hand.  The Pamplona Viceroy, add cucumber, is everything.

What did u want to be when you grew up?
Robin Robert’s co-anchor on Sportscenter.

What is your motto?
Never accept the premise of the question.

How would you like to be remembered?
A wicked wordsmith, a feisty but fair fighter, a life lover, a generous giver, a humble human and a real person (sorry, I couldn’t think of any alliteration for that one)

What do you say to yourself when you doubt yourself?
Put a little lipstick on.

What three things are vital to BEing YOU?
Having a chance to read a book every night.  Laughing wholeheartedly at least once a day.  Hearing “I love you” every day from the people I love fiercely.

Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
Honestly, At the end of the day, Seriously.

What is your favorite word?
Epic.

What do you collect?
Fountain pens.
 
What food could you live on for a month?
Zeus

What would you change about yourself?
I did that on Memorial Day 2011.  I lost half a person in weight, but I also lost the sense of self doubt and insecurity that motivated me for far too long.

What literary, movie or cartoon character do you most identify with?
Jayna of the Wonder Twins.  My business partner, Will, is the Zan.

Describe yourself in five words.
Lip gloss.  Diet Coke.  Hairspray.
 
What is your idea of happiness?
Success at something I absolutely believe in and am passionate about.

What is your favorite movie?
Urban Cowboy.  A skinny John Travolta, Debra Winger’s trashed out Mustang, Charlie Daniels and Boz Scaggs on the soundtrack, the matching license plates with Bud and Sissy written on them –its iconic and I still love it as much today as when I first saw it in the 80’s.

What music defines who you are?
Any Broadway soundtrack.

What do you most regret?
That I haven’t said I’m sorry or I love you enough.

What question do you wish I’d asked?
What is your favorite cereal?

What would the answer be?
Frosted Mini Wheats – its the mullet of cereals.  Party on the top, business on the bottom.