The Story of John Chapman the modern day Johnny Appleseed
Yesterday I had the opportunity to meet a great man with an incredible story. Please don't stop reading! This is appropriate for LinkedIn as it is definitely a story about business. It is also a story about perseverance, redemption, criminal justice reform, entrepreneurship, and why you should give someone a break.
John Chapman A.K.A "Johnny Appleseed" was a successful technology sales rep. He was laid off. Nine years ago he had planned to take his kids to Disney World, but after being laid off he needed to sell his tickets. When he tried to sell his tickets on Craigslist he was arrested and charged with six felony counts of obtaining money under false pretenses.
John went to jail. He lost his kids. He was naked in solitary confinement. He was homeless. His van was taken and sold. As a felon, he could not get a job. He had and still has PTSD. Like so many who have been in prison, his life could have ended in tragedy.
His turn around started when one of the other inmates introduced John to his lawyer. This lawyer helped him pro-bono. A homeless shelter gave him bus tickets to Detroit in order to fight to get his kids back. John went to the law library and built the case to get his kids back. After getting his kids back he needed to get a job.
In a job interview, the owner of a pest control company asked him he bad he wanted a job. John told his story and the man offered him a job. John told the owner he was homeless and did not have money for gas to get to work on Monday. The owner made him a manager, bought him a truck, gave him a company gas card. Not only did the owner of the pest control company give him a job with a company truck, but he cosigned on his apartment because John was unable to get an apartment because of his background. John succeeded in the job over the next two years.
There is a lot more to John's story and I encourage you to watch the video. You must learn more about what John does now. He runs an accredited trade school to train electricians, orthodontics assistants, and plumbers. In five weeks he can take people from hopeless to working a job with benefits and a future. Programs exist where the training can be completed at no cost to the students. John is a hero to me and so many others.