Why you should be a #mentor - Inspirational #interviews- Episode 17 - Dr. Jerry Zimmerman

Mira naam Jerry hai. Your values will be challenged. Start with the things you know well and build outward from them. You're only at the bottom of the rung until they hire the next person. Your value is more than just your sales figures. Get to know what some people might call the smaller people in your environment. I love cultures in general, and I love Indian culture in particular. Build on the skills you have, the knowledge, the insights, and then put, put more into that framework. I don't know what's happened, but your lectures have gotten a lot better lately. Oh, I thought that was the close.

Hi everyone, welcome to episode 17 of of inspirational interviews. My today's guest is Dr. Jerry Zimmerman. Dr. Jerry is a retired professor of physiology from Indiana University in US. He's also a veteran Toastmaster. He's been my mentor for a few years, and he is also a hobbyist beekeeper. Jerry has a special Indian connection. But that I'm not gonna reveal. Watch this episode to find that out. If you like this video, please click on the like button, comment, share, and subscribe to my channel. So over to the interview. Morning, afternoon, evening, people joining, or rather watching this video from across the world. I am so excited and delighted to have someone whom I have been associated since I joined the Pioneer Club in Toastmasters and who has been a true mentor, guide, and a real help for me. Dr. Jerry Zimmerman, welcome Jerry to my show.

Greetings Haritosh Srivastav, glad to be here.

Thank you so much. So This is a 17th episode of this series, and I have had a lot, lot of learning fun and a lot of learning opportunities, and I'm looking forward to you. I'll give a quick overview of the format. So this is more like a question-answer session. I'll be asking a few questions, hopefully not too tough, and, and you'll, you'll give your answers, and then Once we record this, we'll compile it in a video and put it on YouTube and other channels. So are you game for it?

Oh, I'm game for it. All right, so if this is— you're asking for my permission, yes, you have my permission.

Thank you so much. Okay, uh, so let me start by asking you about your life journey. I know a bit about You, you've been a professor, you've been a Toastmaster, but can you give a summary of your life events? Where did Jerry started and what all things Jerry have done over the years?

Whoa, how much time do you have?

Uh, 2 to 3 minutes. Okay, no, go ahead.

I, I grew up for the most part here in Indianapolis, Indiana. It's where my Family moved when I was about 5 years old. My father was a grade school principal, my mother eventually a grade school teacher. But if I— when I tell people where I grew up, I almost always say that I grew up on a small farm in southeastern Indiana. And from what I gather, it would be— from what I know of Indian culture, it would be somewhat like saying, "I grew up in the village." And it was really a very important formative time of my life. My father's brother, Walter owned the family farm. He was a bachelor until I was about 6, and then he married, but they never had any children. So I went there. I spent all my summers. Any time through the school year there was a week-long vacation, I— at school, from school, I would spend most of my time there. I really valued that experience, and most of all, I valued his mentorship of me. I would not be the same person I am today, I'm confident, were it not for my experience with him. I graduated from high school here. I went to college in Ohio. I had a couple of more mentors as college professors. Went to graduate school at Ohio State, then came back to Indianapolis by a twist of fortune, got my postdoctoral, and then eventually worked at the medical school, and finally for the last several years of my career at the University of Indianapolis in physiology, human biology physiology. How's that?

Amazing, thank you. So now let's talk about your voluntary services. I know you have been a member of Toastmasters. You also have a thing for beekeeping and a lot of love for animals. So do you want to talk about that?

Yes, I'd be glad to. Just yesterday, in fact, I was asked to tell someone how I got started in Toastmasters. So while I was a junior faculty member at the medical school, there was a demonstration Toastmasters meeting. I must say, I just went out of curiosity. I joined because it looked like it was going to be fun, but after about 6 weeks I realized it was more than that because coming out of a lecture one day, one of my more senior colleagues said, "Jerry, I don't know what's happened, but your lectures have gotten a lot better lately." And, you know, that really made me start taking Toastmasters a lot more seriously. I stay because it's still fun. I stay because of the marvelous people I meet. I stay for the constant intellectual stimulation and, and I could go on. Yes, I participate a lot in beekeeping activities. I've been a beekeeper for about 20 years. When my children were younger, I volunteered a lot, being a softball coach for several years. I At one time was a member of what here in the United States is an organization called the League of Women Voters. It's an organization that's been around for many years. It played an instrumental part in helping women gain the right to vote here in the United States. And then by the time I came along, it mostly a voter education organization. I think I was the first or second person, male, man, in Indiana to join. And I became quite involved in that for quite a few years. Withdrew only because at some point I, it was necessary for me to become a single parent. Volunteering and getting involved in various activities is, I guess, one of my strengths, but it's also a weakness. A lot with church activities as well, not so much recently, but in the past. Again, you don't want me to keep talking too much, I'm sure.

No, that's fine. I love hearing from you, and I've learned so much from you over the years. I still remember the time that And while I was there in Indiana and I was preparing for my speech contest, and every time I reach out to you, you had some really, really valuable suggestions. And I've learned so much from you. Thank you so much.

You're welcome. Well, and that was a payback in a way, not that I felt about it that way, but about my third year in Toastmasters, I was in the International Speech Contest. I was fortunate to go all the way to the finals of our district and came in second, but it was the mentoring of 2 or 3 persons who made it possible for me to get that far. So I appreciate your efforts, and I have fun seeing people like yourself succeed and move on and do other— do great things.

Thank you. I wish you— I hope that you didn't see it as satire, that people like you— I'm just having fun. Okay, and I totally agree that mentoring is a very crucial part, whether it's professional life, whether it's an organization like Toastmasters, or in our personal life. I think that plays a huge role in our development, in our growth. Okay, so let me get to a little bit more serious part of it where I ask people— so my philosophy is that a lot of people talk about success, or rather boast about their successes, but in this interview I ask people about their one or two failures that they had in life and what were their learnings. I know you must be having— finding it hard, but if you have, please share with us.

Oh boy, there, there have been more than one, as I'm sure most people. I suppose the, the one that comes first to mind is when my, when my children were— my oldest was about 13 and my youngest was I became a single parent, and I became a single parent because my marriage broke down. And as I look back on that, I don't know, I guess that's a failure. It would be a failure, I think, anytime a relationship breaks down. It led though to a success in that I Raised, I think, well, I know, uh, 4 very remarkable children. I think they probably— the youngest is now 38 and the oldest is 48, so I believe they sort of bracket right in about where you are. You're probably closer to the youngest one. Yeah. And, um, so that I've had Some financial issues that have come up, and that was largely due to just poor practices on my part. I hope it— I learned from that. I don't know. And I guess in a way, I don't count this— I don't count any of them as true failures as I look back. But also, my first position professionally was at the IU School of Medicine, as I mentioned earlier. And that's, that's a position where you're expected to go on and develop a research program and so forth. And You, if all goes well, you receive what is called tenure and the— an assurance that you will continue in your position. I love the teaching and I think I'm very good at it, but I was not very good at the research part of it or the management aspect of it, and I suppose That's a failure. And if there's a lesson I learned there, it was try to find— work for positions where your weaknesses are not so crucial. Work for positions where you can emphasize your strengths.

Right.

I used to tell students that when I'd have a student coming in and they were trying to study for a big exam or maybe a professional exam like the Graduate Record Exam or the Medical School Aptitude Test, and they would be trying to tackle the things which they just did not understand. And my position was always work from your strengths, start with the things you know well and build outward from them. Those are the areas in which you will most efficiently develop new schools and skills and develop new knowledge. And I've largely found that to be the case for myself. Start from things you know, start from strengths, and then build outward such that you can build on what you know, build on the skills you have, the knowledge, the insights. And then put, put more into that frame.

Sure, that's— I think, I think this is really profound. I love the fact that you said any failures is not a true failure because it's all a journey. We all are learning. We all are—

it feels like it at the time.

Yeah, it does feel devastating.

Yeah, it, it take— it can sometimes take 2 or 3 years before So one gets past that sense of gut-wrenching failure, staying with it.

Thank you so much. That was really, really profound and really interesting. So next, I want to ask you about the elephant over the world. If I say now, it's not in the room, so what the word, the COVID-19, Corona. So how has Corona impacted your life and what are the things that you're doing now?

Well, in many ways it hasn't affected me that much. Of course, in other ways it's had a big impact. Let's start with the biggest impact. Impacts, and that is I am a very social person. I like to get out and be around people and do things. That's one of the things that I enjoy about Toastmasters is that I participate at any one time. I'm participating in at least 3 clubs, sometimes as many as 5, and I enjoy the people I encounter in each one. And there's something that just cannot be replaced by Zoom, right, or online. And I— and along with that, obviously, family and children. That has been difficult, but I've learned new skills. Just before I contacted you, I completed a family reunion here online. There were people from all over the Midwest here in the United States, and I think that at the end we agree that in many ways it was better than when we met in person, but we still want to meet in person.

Right.

But there were people in attendance, particularly some second and third generation younger people that who just would not come, make the drive to a physical location. We had more time to talk and chat. The table around which we were sitting metaphorically had 16 chairs. And we— by that I mean there were 16 of us present. Participants, yeah. And as we chatted, everyone was involved. Whereas in a physical presence, you, you're usually around a table of 4, 6, 8 individuals, and what's going on at that other table, you don't know. You don't know. So that has been probably the biggest impact. Now, in other ways, there's not been as much of an impact. And that is back to my beekeeping. I very much enjoy mentoring new beekeepers. And the nice thing about mentoring beekeepers is I can still go out and do that. I'm retired. I can fit my schedule to meet theirs, which I always did. But when we get together, it's always outdoors. No problem there. At the most, there will be 2 people present beyond myself, so 3, usually only 1 other person. And so to a great extent, it's— that hasn't changed much. I could go through other things that have changed, but for me personally, and I think my— the nature of my interests and the fact that I'm retired retired, it has not affected me nearly as much as it has some of my other friends and some of my younger friends and certainly my children. I really worry about them. I worry about the long-term implications on their lives, and I worry about the long-term implications on my country, United States. As I do for how things will evolve in other nations around the world. It's going to be different.

It's going to be truly, it's going to be different, and probably there's going to be a new normal. There would be some positives coming out of it, and of course we all know about the other thing. So thank you so much, Jerry. I know you do have an Indian connection. I remember the first time when we met in Piney Club and you say namaste, I was actually taken aback. Namaste? Okay. So you want to talk about your Indian connection? A lot of our audience is going to be from India, so I think they'll appreciate that.

Jiha, mera naam Jerry hai. I've always had a fascination with Southeast Asian culture, but when my second daughter went to college, I had been divorced for over 10 years, and she met a young lady on her floor at the dorm at Vanderbilt whose mother was widowed. Had been widowed for about as long as I was divorced. And she was Indian from Punjab. And classical story, the girls set us up. You know, my daughter and Suchata decided that the two of us needed to get together. And we hit it off very quickly. We very close— I'm still close friends. I'm still friends with Santosh, and I'm still close friends with her 3 brothers and her sister. All 3— 2 of the brothers came to the United States while we were together. Unfortunately, it didn't didn't work out in the long run. We were together for more than 10 years. I taught the brothers and their wives how to drive. I taught their daughters how to drive. I'll be going to an engagement ceremony for one of the daughters later this summer. I was fortunate to be able to travel to Chandigarh, Panchkula, with Santosh on one occasion. I guess my interest in Indian culture, somehow when we at the university had students from India, they somehow were attracted to me. Maybe it was the Indian flag I had on my door, I don't know. I was fortunate enough to be able to go to Pune one year and be a participant in two different weddings. I just, I love cultures in general and I love Indian culture in particular. And in so saying, I realized that you can't just say Indian culture. It's like America. It's different in every part, and probably even more so in India than it is here in the United States. That's so true. Wonderful country, strengths and challenges. But yes, I'm very pleased that's part of my life.

Yeah, that's so true. There are a lot of mini Indias inside India. And every state, even every district has their own culture, their own uniqueness. You can't say something positive or negative, but yeah, it's a great place. And we would love to have you at our place, which is near Varanasi, a place called Jaipur. So whenever you are visiting India, do let me know.

I will certainly. I have every intention of being able to return at least once. At some point in the future. So yes, I may take you up on that.

Awesome, thank you so much for that. So now we are coming towards the last question, and that's, I think, is one of the very important questions that I ask my all my guests is what are 2 or 3 tips or any, anything that you want to tell to all young professionals who are starting studying or who are about to start their career journey, what would be your tips for them, uh, that they can actually apply and get more success?

Wow.

Yeah, and then people who are watching, I wish they show that we did not set up the question.

How to limit myself here? I'm going to start with simple things. Something I've told my students is wherever you work, be sure you get to know the— we used to call them secretaries— the clerical staff, get to know the custodians, get to know what what some people might call the smaller people in your environment, because they are the people that really make things run. When I was a graduate student, I wasn't faculty or anything, because I, because I was friends. You can't just know them, you have to be friends. I could get into places in the building where I worked where some of the department chairmen could not go because I knew who had the keys and they trusted me. And if I needed something, I could get it. So get to know not just the important people, But get to know the people that really count, the people that make things happen on a day-to-day basis. The next thing I would say is, in a very similar manner, get to know your colleagues. Be a part of what's going on. Be— Be true to yourself. I've had mentors and experienced people tell me that this, and I have learned it to be true, integrity is extremely important. And that's not— I mean, it's easy to say, yes, I have values and I will do them, but your values will be challenged, right? And There will be times when it will be very difficult, if not impossible, for you to be true to your personal values. Consider those times very carefully. If you decide to stick with your values, realize that there may be a Consequence: keep in mind that as life moves on, you will have options. You've learned. If you decide to compromise your values, which as I said, sometimes— I don't like saying it, but sometimes we just have to, to some extent— be very much aware of how how that is affecting you personally. So that is true. Be a mentor. Be helpful to everyone around you. Even if you are an entry-level person, you're only at the bottom of the rung until they hire the next person. And to the extent that you can start to help them, do it. And as you move up in your position, continue to mentor and help. Your value to your institution, your, in my case, university, or your corporate is more than the classes you teach or your sales figures or whatever. Your value, and it will be recognized, is how you help develop the others on your team. And if you're in a good, successful corporation they will see that. They will see that your value is more than just your sales figures or your output in a particular— it's how are you expanding that, how are you multiplying that value by being a mentor to others. I could go on, but those are things that Those are the things that strike me. Be friends with, get to know, value the people in the group that are not normally recognized. Be very aware of your own personal values and think carefully about them as you move along. Be a mentor and help others because that's your true value to the corporation or the institution to which you belong.

Thank you so much. These are really interesting and insightful ideas for any— I mean, we all know that be a mentee, reach out to people, but I've rarely heard people that you need to be a mentor when even when you start. So thank you so much for that. Thank you.

You're welcome.

So this actually leads us towards the closure of the episode.

And, uh, oh, I thought that was the closure.

Yeah, this is closer. This is my closing remarks.

That's part of my— that's part of my nature. I like to—

I know, that's fine. I love it. So I was just gonna give my closing remarks. Probably this part might be edited in video. Alright, so I would like to end the episode by saying let's all help each other. And when I say help, it's not always about money. It's also about talking to someone for a few minutes. It's also about feeding a friend sometimes. Let's help each other and we'll be out of this situation pretty soon. So thank you so much for watching this, for having Jerry in this show. I love every bit of it. So until next time, let's all keep learning, keep growing, and keep going out of our comfort zone. This is Haritosh Srivastav, and this was episode 17 with Dr. Jerry Zimmerman. Thank you so much, Jerry.