Episode 049: Jay Grossman

Have you ever been told that you are not good enough? That you don’t have what it takes? This experience can lead you down a road of doubt and leave you with a false sense of your identity. There will always be people that will try to bring you down, but all it takes one person who truly believes in you to turn all of that around.

It was in grade 10 that Dr. Jay Grossman’s English teacher told him that he would never amount to anything. “I felt like I got punched in the face without even knowing I was in a fight,” he recalled. It was an extreme emotional event that stayed with him to this day. The next year however, Jay went on to become the first person enrolled in his school’s externship program, all thanks to his social studies teacher who believed that he had immense potential, and took him under his wing. 

At the age of 19, Jay was accepted to NYU College of Dentistry. After completing a residency in Advanced Education in General Dentistry at NYU, he joined the Navy and completed a tour of duty as a Lieutenant in the Dental Corp where he received the National Defense Service Medal. Jay was also featured in major magazines as the poster boy for recruitment due to his nonprofit: Homeless Not Toothless, which has provided free dental care to over 60,000 veterans and children. He has also mentored more than 1,000 people so far during his career.

Jay has received letters of commendation from President Obama, the Secretary of the Navy. and numerous members of Congress. Today, Jay is a business owner, entrepreneur, founder of the nonprofit – Homeless Not Toothless, and a selfless contributor.

On this episode of the #IAmMovement podcast, Jay and I discuss how the smallest moment can impact your life in a huge way, why living in poverty is a choice, and some of his powerful reasons behind joining the Navy.

Topics Discussed

00:00 – Intro to Jay

02:07 – An extreme emotional event

05:00 – When someone believes in you

10:25 – Mentorship

11:58 – From mentee to mentor 

16:25 – “If you make money, there will be no fighting”

21:12 – Looking to the future

23:20 – Commitment and contribution

Key Takeaways:

“Commitment is very simple. It’s making a statement that is empowering. That benefits myself and society, and being my word, doing what I say, when I say I’m going to do it.” – Jay Grossman

“This coronavirus will end, and we will be back to whatever the new norm is. The question is, what can we tell people we accomplished during those times.” – Jay Grossman

“I was always moved by what I thought it would be like to serve, to be of service, and to give back to an extraordinary country.” – Jay Grossman

“Contribution is ultimately why we’re all on this planet” – Jay Grossman