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After making millions on the trading floor, Jason McElhone is following his heart in a brand new direction. Tech stocks and fast money have given way to voice blogs and divine inspiration. For the better part of 14 years, Jason was buried in charts and graphs scheming of ways to make money. Always an eater of his own cooking, it was a devastating blow in 2005 that led to his ultimate demise in the business of wealth creation.
Before we share the saga of a small town boy turned Wall Street Broker, allow us to back track to a rural hideaway in upstate New York. Jason was the oldest of 5 kids and a 3-sport athlete in high school. When he wasn't chasing girls, he used his passion for football to help secure a Division III academic scholarship to St. Lawrence University.
Home to such legends as Hollywood actor Kurt Douglas, Jason credits his Senior Year Captainship and All-East Award as a linebacker for helping to instill the confidence he needed to build a powerful career. Commenting on his youth, "Being crowned a leader of young men on the football field forces one out of his comfort zone. You begin to get comfortable taking risks and learning to think outside of the box. Those lessons served me well when it came time to spread my corporate wings and fly."
Like a racing thoroughbred, Jason found himself making boatloads of money right out of the gate. By the age of 27, he was already making over $250,000 a year as a broker and was proud owner of a thriving business. Looking back on those days, Jason chuckles "When you're young making that kind of money it's easy to get a feeling of invincibility. Women and wine become the social norm as you work your way up the corporate ladder. In hindsight, you often wonder what the hell you were thinking."
Fast-forward to 2000 and with six strong years under his belt, Jason made a down payment of $150,000 to build his first home. Delray Beach, Florida would become a virtual sanctuary for his family whenever they could visit. Along with his now 8 yr old chow Amber, he began to accumulate all the trappings of material success. The 3-car garage, expensive jewelry, exotic vacations and a boat he never even used.
Then came the Market Crash of the Century. Over the next few years tech stocks tumbled by more than 70% as Wall Street was rocked to the core. On top of that, the industry began to change. Upstarts like E-trade were now charging $7 to trade over the internet. Gone were the 5% commissions, which had become the norm for brokers like Jason for more than 75 years.
In order to make up for a massive shortfall in earnings, Jason turned to index options. These highly leveraged instruments can make you a fortune for very little down. They can also expire worthless in just a few months so if you're wrong, you run the risk of losing it all. And that's exactly what Jason did.
After setting the options world on fire for more than a year, one huge bet in the fall of 2005 would change his life forever. Convinced the market was headed for a correction, Jason bought 1000s of "put contracts" for he and his clients. Totally convinced of his prediction, he continued to load the boat well into the holiday season. A White Christmas would soon give way to a Black New Year that he will never forget.
Now January 2006 and Jason is about to witness the beginning of the end of his 14 yr career on Wall Street. Instead of going down, the stock market advanced 16% in the 4th quart of 2005 and his put contracts were suddenly worthless. Commenting on his demise, "It was a Friday afternoon I'll never forget. I had everything I owned in those puts and dozens of clients who depended on me. A cold sweat broke out all over my body and deep down, I knew this was a mouse trap I would never be able to escape."
Over the course of the next few months almost 75% of Jason's clients left him. What took 14 years to build was gone in the blink of an eye. Retirement accounts were liquated and cars had to be sold just to survive. The boat he never used, the jewelry he had grown so accustomed to, and even his adorable fiance' of 2 years was out the door. Demoralized as the result of his actions, "I spent over a year feeling sorry for myself and in the grips of devastating despair. Despite the best of intentions, I failed some very important people in my life and at the time, I thought it was the end of the world."
Little did Jason know it was the beginning of something very special. It's now 2007 and the world has a new found fascination known as "social networking." In an attempt to rebuild his now defunct brokerage career, Jason turned to MySpace. He quickly began sending out friend requests to accredited investors who were looking to make money in the stock market.
Yet by the summer of 2007 he had a gnawing in the pit of his stomach that would not go away. An inner voice was calling him back to a place he had long since forgotten. An inner journey into the soul of a somewhat conscious mad man had come down to this very awkward moment. Jason was told to leave the brokerage business and start a social network. One that would take a more spiritual approach to success. One that would encourage people to celebrate their strengths and work together in the spirit of cooperation. One that would be called www.jasonsnetwork.com.
"Victor Hugo once said that nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come. I firmly believe that I never came up with the idea. It got a hold of me and simply would not let go. Whether it's in the form of bankruptcy, divorce or a death in the family, loss forces you to look within for answers. This crazy journey began as an intuition and has blossomed into a colossal awakening. What was my greatest challenge has now become my greatest victory."
Now June 2008, Jason is a business development consultant by day and social networking pioneer by night. Despite having the enormous responsibility of building its member base, Jason still finds the time to answer all his personal email and comment frequently throughout the site. As an added bonus, he's introduced a series of voice blogs that seem to be setting the social networking scene on fire.
"We are the only network on the planet that promotes its members 24/7/365 for free. The voice blogs give me a chance to entertain, enlighten and inspire others along the way. At last count, we have almost a dozen media outlets that either want us on the radio or in print. Forever grateful, I respectfully decline the offer until the time is right. Unlike most, we have chosen to build a powerful base before we set out to make money. While mistakes have certainly been made and there are many more to come, we have a degree of ethics and a caliber of membership that is second to none."
Contrary to popular opinion, Jason has absolutely no aspirations of becoming the next MySpace. He foresees a social networking trend on the horizon that caters to niche markets and those who desire exclusivity. With his thinking cap on, Jason muses "I'm much more intrigued with the idea of bringing the 10,000 World's Most Beautiful People together as One than I am with hiring a litany of lawyers to fight millions of faceless phonies in what has become a hackers paradise. For me, the real kick comes from knowing our members on a personal level. There is nothing like being able to feel the joy of knowing you played a small part in helping someone's dream come true."
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