Jimmie James - Author and Golfer - Afterhours Encore
The salient point of this podcast episode revolves around the intricate journey of personal and professional growth, particularly through the lens of golf. Throughout the discourse, we explore the challenging nature of the sport and the lessons it imparts about humility and resilience. Our conversation encompasses the profound impact of mentors and educators, exemplified by the unique experiences shared regarding academic figures who shaped our understanding of science and problem-solving. Furthermore, we delve into the significance of being present in discussions that influence cultural change, illustrating that active participation is vital to effecting progress. Ultimately, this episode serves as a reflective exploration of how perseverance in both golf and life can lead to greater appreciation and understanding of one's capabilities and the world around us.
Links referenced in this episode:
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- Painted Hills Natural Beef
- Prairie View A and M
- Pikewood National
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy
Transcript
Welcome to Grilling at the Green After Hours.
Speaker A:The conversation that took place after the show ended.
Speaker A:Hi, everybody, it's JT and this is a special version of Grilling at the Green.
Speaker A:Grilling at the Green is brought to you in part by Painted Hills Natural Beef.
Speaker A:Beef you can be proud to serve your family and friends.
Speaker A:That's Painted Hill's Natural Beef.
Speaker A:Hey, everybody.
Speaker A:Welcome to After Hours here on Grilling at the Green.
Speaker A:I'm jt.
Speaker A:It's been a great show.
Speaker A:That's all I can say as the regular show.
Speaker A:And I need to explain this to Jimmy.
Speaker A:The part we just did was the radio part only.
Speaker A:This is now the, the podcast web version that continues on ad infinitum.
Speaker A:So we, we just keep going with that.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:I wanted to ask you about Dr.
Speaker A:Doctor and Dr.
Speaker A:Doctor Junior that now this is from Prairie View A and M.
Speaker A:And I think every anybody that went to college and took was involved in science, one of the sciences.
Speaker A:Doesn't matter which one.
Speaker A:We all had a professor like Dr.
Speaker A:Doctor at somewhere along the line, but not too many of us that I know of had Dr.
Speaker A:Dr.
Speaker A:Jr too.
Speaker A:You want to explain that?
Speaker A:It's pretty funny, actually.
Speaker B:I, I, I probably could have been a little bit more specific in and talking about the fact that Dr.
Speaker B:Dr.
Speaker B:Son Dr.
Speaker B:Dr.
Speaker B:Doctor, Doctor Junior got his Ph.D.
Speaker B:and became a doctor doctor junior.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:I never took a class from Dr.
Speaker B:Dr.
Speaker B:Junior only from Dr.
Speaker B:Doctor.
Speaker B:But that was, we had some very colorful professors.
Speaker B:They, they, they, there was Dr.
Speaker B:Doctor, there was Dr.
Speaker B:Freddy Frazier, who would say, I'm going to put my initials on your, your test.
Speaker B:I'm going to flunk you twice.
Speaker B:FF yeah.
Speaker B:But it was all to help us learn to deal with the challenges that we would have going into a world that wasn't really designed for black professional engineers.
Speaker B:So they were hard on us.
Speaker B:And in addition, as I mentioned earlier, in addition to teaching us the basic sciences and how to solve problems, that was another thing they would say is somebody would ask, are these going to be on the, are these the problems that are going to be on the test?
Speaker B:And they say, all these problems have already been solved.
Speaker B:Nobody's going to pay you to solve the problems that are with answers at the back of the book.
Speaker B:The problems you're going to solve haven't even developed yet.
Speaker B:So you need to learn the fundamentals and how to apply the sciences to new problems that have, that don't even exist yet.
Speaker B:But they really prepared us well to be successful as engineers in a world that Wasn't always ready for us.
Speaker A:I also gather you don't have much of a future as an acapella singer.
Speaker B:No, no, I, I don't really have a.
Speaker B:Some of my siblings do.
Speaker B:And when we'd gather on the holidays and sway from side to side and singing, I'd always be off key.
Speaker B:I also don't have the rhythm to dance well, either.
Speaker B:I, I, I, I, I.
Speaker B:I'm serious.
Speaker B:In the book when I say I have no special talents.
Speaker B:The only real talent I have is I never quit.
Speaker B:Perseverance.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:And it's forged from the life of where even the simplest of things were hard.
Speaker A:I think, Jimmy, though, knowing that you don't have specific talents is a talent in a way, so you can kind of maneuver through and not get yourself in trouble.
Speaker A:What's the biggest thing you learned about playing golf on this journey?
Speaker B:Golf is hard.
Speaker A:Golf is hard.
Speaker B:Golf is hard.
Speaker B:When I was there at that place with that picture you have that photograph you have behind you.
Speaker B:When I was at Bandit, I was sitting out at the grill, out on the patio at the grill at Pacific Dunes, and I struck up a conversation with this guy.
Speaker B:He was actually playing the top public courses, every public course that had been on a top 100 list.
Speaker B:It was his goal over his lifetime.
Speaker B:He was an attorney from Washington, D.C.
Speaker B:john.
Speaker B:And John's goal was to play every public course that had been on the top 100 list.
Speaker B:And so he said, he asked me, what do you think it takes to do what you're trying to do?
Speaker B:And I said, it takes at least three things.
Speaker B:Time, resources, and an understanding spouse.
Speaker B:He said, there's a fourth.
Speaker B:There's a fourth thing.
Speaker B:I said, what's that?
Speaker B:He said, humility.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:There are going to be days where no matter how hard you try, you're going to play really, really bad golf.
Speaker B:And you've got to learn to not be embarrassed from playing bad golf.
Speaker B:And I would say that's the thing I got more and more comfortable with because of this feeling of inadequacy when performing poorly.
Speaker B:And that would.
Speaker B:That would bother me.
Speaker B:I start off, make a para birdie, go a few holes, and then have one bad shot.
Speaker B:And that would get in my head and I couldn't recover.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:All right.
Speaker B:I got more and more comfortable with the fact that golf is hard and you're gonna have bad shots, and it doesn't mean that you're inadequate.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Isn't it amazing when you're playing and you.
Speaker A:And you go out like you said, you do par birdie Even a bogey is not too bad, you know, depending on the hole.
Speaker A:And I'll.
Speaker A:And you hit one shot that is just memorable.
Speaker A:I mean, it's just.
Speaker A:It comes off the club face just sweet and perfect, and it flies exactly where you want it to.
Speaker A:Maybe it gets within a few feet or inches of the cup.
Speaker A:You're all that, and you get all kind of puffed up about it.
Speaker A:Maybe not physically, but in your mind.
Speaker A:And then you go out one right into the weed off the next tee or your second shot.
Speaker A:It has a way of.
Speaker A:Like you and John were saying, it's keeping you humble.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:If you play golf at all, I think, in just my opinion, but if you play it with any regularity, you've got to appreciate what the pros can do.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:That I gained so much greater of an appreciation for their ability for 72 holes to focus on every shot on every hole for four rounds in a row.
Speaker B:It's just phenomenal.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:It's not.
Speaker A:Well, if you look at, like, Tiger and Phil and those upper echelons, Jack, through history, they were almost robotic at times.
Speaker A:They weren't.
Speaker A:They were impenetrable, I guess would be the word when they were on the course.
Speaker A:I want to go back to something you said in the book, towards the end of the book, and I don't want to give away all the stories because I.
Speaker A:You know, we want to help people to buy the book and stuff, but I think it was Erica.
Speaker A:Yeah, it was.
Speaker A:Eric had told you, you can't change culture if you're not at the table.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:And that really struck me as.
Speaker A:As really profound because it's so.
Speaker A:It's so subtle, yet so powerful.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:You know, that.
Speaker B:That came up when I was deciding whether I was going to go on a hunting trip to a company facility down in South Texas.
Speaker B:My whole career, I.
Speaker B:I tried to be clear that I didn't want to be a part of, say, the good old boy network.
Speaker B:And feeling like I didn't fit in, like I didn't belong, was a feeling I didn't want anyone else to have.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:And so I didn't want to participate in anything that I.
Speaker B:Whether it actually did or not, it's a different story.
Speaker B:But whether I thought anything that I thought perhaps was exclusionary.
Speaker B:And so I debated whether I should go on the trip.
Speaker B:I was invited to go.
Speaker B:I debated whether I should go.
Speaker B:And when I talked to my wife, who's in academia, PhD and organizational behavior, she said, you can't make a Change if you're not at the table.
Speaker B:You can't help something progress if you're not at the table.
Speaker B:And that.
Speaker B:That really works with a lot of things.
Speaker B:J.T.
Speaker B:when you think about our country and the challenges that we face and people not willing to listen to other people's point of view is, if you can't change your own mind, how are you going to change somebody else's mind?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:On anything.
Speaker B:And so people that won't listen to a different point of view.
Speaker B:I want to hear all points of view.
Speaker B:I was at a conference for Eco modernists.
Speaker B:They're environmental group.
Speaker B:And this guy says something to me that really, to me was profound.
Speaker B:He said every year he goes back and thinks about how many times during that year did he change his mind on something.
Speaker B:And the more.
Speaker B:The higher the number he can come up with, the better he feels about himself because he says, that means I'm still growing.
Speaker B:So I started that practice.
Speaker A:I remember.
Speaker A:I think that's great, actually.
Speaker A:Very good.
Speaker A:Does Erica play golf?
Speaker B:She's starting.
Speaker B:She had.
Speaker B:If.
Speaker B:She had an epiphany.
Speaker B:She played.
Speaker B:She's been playing off and on, but not really serious about it.
Speaker B:But she had a epiphany this.
Speaker B:A week and a half ago.
Speaker B:We went out and played.
Speaker B:She got a lesson at one of my clubs.
Speaker B:Pikewood National, Morgantown, West Virginia.
Speaker B:Beautiful.
Speaker B:Google Pikewood National.
Speaker B:It's heaven.
Speaker B:And she got a lesson when we were there and loved the lesson.
Speaker B:And we went out and played nine holes a few days later.
Speaker B:And the epiphany she had was.
Speaker B:I get it.
Speaker B:It's been a rough year for academics.
Speaker A:Sure.
Speaker B:Leadership in academics.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker B:And she said, for the first time in nine months, I went an hour and a half without a single thought about work for the first time.
Speaker B:Says I've not gone five minutes.
Speaker B:But during this hour and a half, we were out here on the golf course, I didn't think about work once.
Speaker B:I now understand.
Speaker B:I get it.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:I didn't mean to interrupt you, but.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:I'm married to an academic, too, who recently retired, then got a contract back.
Speaker A:And then it's just tough on them right now, you know, So.
Speaker A:I can appreciate that.
Speaker A:And I can also appreciate.
Speaker A:You might appreciate this, Jimmy.
Speaker A:Over the years, my wife, who does not play golf, has had more sets of clubs than I have.
Speaker B:Well, I have a lot of sets, but my wife, who does not play golf, has three sets of clubs.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:One at our place in Atlanta, one in Philly, and one at our place in Kiawah.
Speaker B:Island, South Carolina.
Speaker B:She has three sets of clubs, three set.
Speaker B:Three pairs of golf shoes, one for each set.
Speaker A:Yeah, I get that.
Speaker A:I get that.
Speaker B:And she has a lot of really cute golf clothing.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:So she's a fashionista, unfortunately.
Speaker B:Jeff, I have a, a live show that's gonna start in about five minutes.
Speaker B:I think they, they, they schedule this with me for it with you for an hour.
Speaker A:And we've gone over that.
Speaker A:Yeah, I think we've gone over that.
Speaker A:We usually do, but it's okay.
Speaker B:So we've got a couple of minutes.
Speaker B:Any.
Speaker B:Anything that you haven't asked?
Speaker B:You know, I used to do this on my work trips when I went to get a.
Speaker B:A thing at Do a.
Speaker B:Have someone present to me.
Speaker B:Stewardship.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Then.
Speaker B:And I'd ask them all these questions and then I go, what question were you most afraid I was going to ask you that I didn't ask?
Speaker B:What question were you.
Speaker B:Are you most interested in asking that you haven't asked yet?
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:If this is what we call after hours is called lightning round, so I'll ask you a couple of quick ones.
Speaker A:If you could play golf with a historical figure, who would it be?
Speaker A:And they don't have to be just historical in the world of golf.
Speaker A:Could be anybody.
Speaker A:And we'll make them magically be able to play the game.
Speaker A:But who would it be?
Speaker B:I'd love to play a round of Golf with Dr.
Speaker B:Martin Luther King.
Speaker B:I don't know if he ever played golf, but there are just so many questions I'd ask because I think he is, of course, one of the most significant figures in history.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:And so unfortunately my call is coming in, but I think he's one of the most.
Speaker B:Can we pause for a second?
Speaker A:Yeah, sure.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:Hello, this is Jimmy.
Speaker B:Do we have, like, one minute or do we have to go now because it's a lie.
Speaker B:You want to what?
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:And, and how many minutes do I have before I have to be there?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:And the email address is J I M E.
Speaker B:J A Y M E S.
Speaker B:Okay, thank you very much.
Speaker B:Appreciate it.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:Sorry about that.
Speaker B:So we got, we got, we got some minutes, Dr.
Speaker B:King.
Speaker B:I mean, I think our country.
Speaker B:There's an inflection point for our country created by the life of Dr.
Speaker B:King.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:What?
Speaker A:You'll like this one.
Speaker A:I hope.
Speaker A:What is something your spouse was right about, but you still think she was wrong?
Speaker B:I'm going to tell you, she's not wrong about many things at all.
Speaker B:Okay?
Speaker B:She's, she's, she's she's pretty, right?
Speaker B:Especially when it comes to people.
Speaker B:So I don't.
Speaker B:I don't know that I have an answer to that one.
Speaker A:It's a tough one.
Speaker A:You have to kind of tough one.
Speaker A:You have to strain a little bit.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Who in your life, in this case, besides your mother and Erica has had the biggest influence on you?
Speaker B:Mr.
Speaker B:Calvin had a really big influence on me.
Speaker B:Mr.
Speaker B:Calvin was my sixth grade math teacher.
Speaker B:In Mr.
Speaker B:Calvin's class, I really learned how useful and practical math was.
Speaker B:My love for math really blossomed in his class.
Speaker B:I lived a dream life sort of vicariously through math by creating math problems and solving them with everyday practical things.
Speaker B:And that's basically what engineering is.
Speaker B:It's being.
Speaker B:Being able to solve complex issues in a very practical manner.
Speaker A:Like toilet problems.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:You have to read the book to figure that one out, folks.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:Last thing.
Speaker A:If you could instantly master a musical instrument, what would it be?
Speaker B:Violin.
Speaker A:I've got one.
Speaker A:You want to borrow it?
Speaker B:The people who make that thing single just so impressed me.
Speaker A:Oh, absolutely.
Speaker A:Have we got time for one more?
Speaker B:Just one more and then jump off.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Jimmy, if you were declared Supreme Leader of Golf for one day, just one day, what would you decree as supreme leader?
Speaker B:I decree that if you're 50 yards out from the hole and you hit the pin, if you're 50 yards or more out from the hole and you hit the pin, the pin is a continuation of the hole and you're considered holdout.
Speaker B:That's too big of a penalty.
Speaker B:You hit a great shot from 175 yards.
Speaker B:It hits the pin and bounces off the pin into the water.
Speaker B:That's a big penalty for such a great shot, that is.
Speaker A:Jimmy, do me a favor.
Speaker A:Hold up your book to the camera.
Speaker A:There you go.
Speaker A:It's playing from the rough, folks.
Speaker A:Jimmy James, he's going to be out here in the Northwest in a little over a week.
Speaker A:And Jimmy, thank you.
Speaker B:Thank you, Jeff.
Speaker B:Look forward to seeing you next week.
Speaker A:You got it.
Speaker A:We'll be back next week and everybody go out, play golf.
Speaker A:Be kind and take care.
Speaker A:See you later.
