Meet Landon Jones | Devoted husband and father committed to leading his family

We had the good fortune of connecting with Landon Jones and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Landon, what’s the most difficult decision you’ve ever had to make?
After working tirelessly for 17 years for a Fortune 500 company and climbing the corporate ladder, my wife and I made the decision for me to walk away from my senior leadership position and pursue what we claimed mattered most to us – faith and family. We had it all. We were living the “American dream”. We had a beautiful three-story home on acreage here in Colorado. We took incredible vacations multiple times a year. We had a garage and a barn stocked full of toys. But, we couldn’t shake that inner voice that constantly said “there has to be more to life than this”. So, we sold our home and gave most of our belongings away. I put a six-month notice in with my employer and we made the decision to devote our energy and our resources towards growing in our faith and intentionally raising our four young boys. As we started saying “no” to the world and “yes” to things that were either faith or family-related the pieces all started falling into place. We had never felt so free and had never experienced so much peace.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I was very blessed to have been a part of an amazing medical device company, Stryker, for 17 years. I firmly believe my success during my tenure there was due in large part to always doing right by others. Whether it was my customers, my colleagues, my employees – I always took joy in serving them. They came first. I put myself in their shoes and treated them how I’d want to be treated. I got to know them. I learned how they were wired and tailored my leadership to what would yield the best results out of each individual. I learned what their dreams and goals were and I locked arms with them and helped them chase down those dreams. All of this made my work enjoyable and purposeful. And, it led to amazing friendships along the way. That approach resulted in many doors being opened as a result with an army of advocates in my corner.

Walking away from that career and the comforts of a pretty cush lifestyle was scary. However, I’ve learned that every time we step out of our comfort zone we inevitably grow. In order for me to lead my family effectively in this new chapter I needed to be pushed and challenged in new ways so I would grow as a leader. In the midst of that scary foreign place I found myself where I no longer had some impressive job title, and where I was no longer receiving ridiculous monthly pay checks, I was able to take joy in the humbling that took place; and I became completely dependent on the Lord. I quickly became extremely grateful for the things I had and stopped focusing on the things I once was so hyper-focused on chasing. I realized all that I had was more than enough. Then, I started using all that I’d learned from my professional experiences to strategize how I was going to make the most of this new season of life. How was I going to live out faith and family trumping all else in my life? It was going to require my wife and I saying “no” to 9-out-of-10 things that came our way. We live in a culture where we are inundated with opportunities to over-commit. We were once guilty of this and we vowed to never let our schedule own us again. There was so much power in saying “no”. We started turning down almost everything that came our way. If it didn’t help us grow in our faith, or grow closer as a family, we rejected it. This created so much margin in our schedule, which was incredibly freeing. In this moment, we reflected on the blessings in our lives. One of the greatest of those being our four boys. We understood that blessings come with responsibility. How do we do right by the gift of getting to raise these four little boys? We discussed what kind of men we wanted them to become and then backed into how we were going to get there. In that process, we identified three key pillars. 1) We wanted our boys to be high in empathy. We wanted them to be able to meet someone in their place, walk a mile in their shoes, and love on them throughout that journey. 2) We recognized the importance of boys’ hearts yearning for adventure. We wanted to expose them to adventure where they would be required to get uncomfortable and in turn forced to grow, while simultaneously feeding their souls. We wanted that inner fire to burn bright, not be smothered by societal norms. 3) We wanted them to have a personal relationship with their Maker. This meant diving into the Bible daily and breaking it down into layman’s terms so they could each understand and appreciate it at their respective level. They couldn’t make sense of it, let alone apply any of what they were learning, if we didn’t provide context behind the scripture. Once they understood it they would be equipped to go out and share their faith with others, ultimately growing the Kingdom.

So, my wife and I took these three pillars and started building our day-to-day around them. We bought a Super Class C motorhome and spent the next 18 months touring the United States focusing on these three pillars everywhere we went. From there, we decided to get even more uncomfortable. We sold our motorhome and began traveling the world, spending substantial time on four different continents over 18 months. Today, our hearts are so full of gratitude for the lessons we’ve learned as a family, the perspective we’ve gained, the experiences we’ve shared, and the insane bond that’s been formed between the six of us.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
We absolutely love Colorado! There is an abundance of places to go and things to experience. As we traveled abroad we found ourselves appreciating this place more and more. One of our favorite experiences as a family was four-wheeling from Silverton to Telluride in our Jeep Wrangler. The rocky terrain is wide enough for only one vehicle. As you take in all of the amazing scenery you find yourself having a hard time catching your breath – partially due to the landscape that resembles something from Switzerland and partially due to the sheer drop-offs that plummet thousands of feet below just inches from the oversized tires. There’s nothing like rock-crawling over Ophir Pass at 12,000 feet elevation and then descending down into the picturesque mountain town of Telluride while jamming out to Dierks Bentley. Once in town, we’d have to take our friends to grab pizza at the infamous Brown Dog Pizza on the main street, Colorado Avenue. After fueling up on insanely delicious grub we’d go burn it off with a hike worth writing home about – Bridal Veil Creek Trail. You can see this majestic waterfall from the main street in town. It’s something from a movie scene. It’s truly spectacular! And, that’s just Day 1 🙂

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Throughout life I’ve had many mentors who have selflessly poured into me and my development. I was a student at Columbine High School when the horrific events of April 20th, 1999 unfolded. That day, and the weeks to follow, forever shaped me as a person. Thankfully, I had amazing people in my life to help me navigate through that trauma and come out the other side a better version of myself. One of those individuals was a coach and teacher of mine at Columbine, Tom Tonelli. Tom picked me up three days following the shootings and drove me up through the foothills. We talked about life, the many emotions we were both experiencing, and then he shared his testimony with me. He was unapologetic about his faith and what Jesus meant to him. He planted a seed that would eventually take root and sprout two years later when I found myself away at college on a full-ride athletic scholarship for football. Surface level, I appeared to have it all. I was playing Division I football, named an Academic All-American, and had an amazing support system between family and friends. Yet, there was still this void in my life. Something was missing. I found myself re-playing that conversation with Tom over and over in my head. That’s when I decided to crack open a Bible and just start reading. When I wasn’t reading scripture I was praying. And, before long I found myself giving my life to Christ. My life changed that very day and has never been the same since. My faith affects everything I do and undoubtedly played a vital role in the success I experienced in my leadership role in corporate America.

Thankfully, as I became a Christian God placed the right people in my life. Former Denver Broncos Team Chaplain, Reza Zadeh, happened to be at Colorado State University as a graduate assistant coach at that time. He discipled me all throughout college. To this day, he still mentors me and is someone I love dearly.

And, the one constant I’ve always had in my corner is my parents. They’ve been my biggest fans ever since I can remember. They’ve always had a way of making me feel I’m capable of anything I set my mind to. They’ve helped me identify my strengths and then they’ve encouraged me to lean into those gifts and put them to work. They’ve loved me unconditionally and I couldn’t possibly love them and respect them any more than I do. I constantly strive to make them proud.

Lastly, there’s my wife. While some women dream of large custom homes with walk-in closets stocked full of designer handbags and clothing my wife fights to have less of the material things and more time together as a family. Without her constant nudging to leave behind the socioeconomic status we’d worked so hard to get to I would’ve never walked away from my lucrative career and we never would’ve experienced all that we have the past three years. She’s always valued time above money and her actions support that. I’m beyond grateful to have a wife who wants to be around her husband and her children all the time – a wife who would take time together over any lifestyle money can buy.

Bottom line is I’m not who I am today without some incredible mentors in my life. All of my success is a byproduct of many others pouring into me and my development. It’s my mission to do the same for others whenever possible.

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