Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Dr. Ben Carson is an Inspiration!

I recently heard Dr. Ben Carson speak at the Turner auditorium in Baltimore, MD.  I had been wanting to hear him for years and felt so fortunate to hear him speak.  Here are my notes from that visit.

Ben Carson’s Big Ideas!  John Hopkins Turner Auditorium May 20th, 2013

Author of Gifted Hands, Think Big and many other books


The first 25 years of your life is preparing yourself for your career, and then the next 60 years you will reap the benefits of your efforts. Are you willing to work for it?


Make Good Decisions!
1.    Strive for good grades
2.    Work towards good test scores
3.    Have a heart! Acquire humanitarian qualities.
Caring about people is a MUST!!!
4.    Be well rounded – Get involved in extra-curricular activities
5.    Develop LEADERSHIP QUALITES!
6.    Build CONFIDENCE IN YOURSELF - Confidence is a MUST!
7.    HAVE A POSITIVE APPROACH WITH PEOPLE – having a positive optimistic approach. For the same problem there are different approaches

Medical Field offers steady but hard work

Fields in or related to the medical field
Inventions i.e. Imaging

Think and Think deeply.  The brain is much more complex than any device.  It is fast processing, you can’t overload it and you can learn a new fact every second.

Money does not make you happy.  What can really make us happy is making a difference in the lives of everyday people & using your life in a positive way.

Dr. Carson learned after operating on a young girl for 19 hours in which the patient died is that we may not be successful in every case, but the key to real success is to learn from everything.  He wrote about this case so it could be researched.  Learning from experience and our mistakes is called WISDOM.  For example if you are always late – learn from it, leave 15 minutes earlier and you won’t be late! Stupid is not learning from your mistakes!  Wisdom is to learn from your mistakes and to move forward!

Everything builds on something else in science.  If you don’t understand a concept go back until it is easy for you and then go forward.  Take initiative!

The brain has no color and the brain is what makes you who you are.  Race is superficial BE A DEEP THINKER!  Think about others, don’t shun people who are different.  They may very well make good friends!

Make no excuses and take responsibility for yourself.  Although Ben was a late bloomer, he noticed that the good students were doing things he wasn’t. 

He asked an important question:  How does a SMART person conduct himself or herself? 
1.    They listen
2.    They ask, “Why is this important?
3.    They go way beyond what the teacher is teaching!
Ben was able to change the perception of who he was by observing what good students did and then by applying what he observed.

Good students do not watch too much TV.  His mom limited the TV.  He encouraged students to Turn off the TV and ask what are you doing?  He learned from his mom to do a lot of reading and to learn to enjoy reading! Ben learned to manage himself from the 5th grade and in one and a half years he went from the bottom to the top of the class.

He read books on topics that he was interested in, books on science and biographies. He learned to ask important questions from the life of Booker T. Washington, Why was it illegal for slaves to read?
Because an educated mind is a liberated mind!
He concluded it is important to be well informed and well educated!
Ben urges us to be an informed citizen because the direction of our life is the direction of our country!

People of achievement have the following qualities

THINK BIG is Dr. Ben Carson’s philosophy which promotes outstanding academic achievement and dedication to helping others. Children, students, and adults have all found that when they THINK BIG, they are on their way to achieving their goals.

T is for Talent/time: Recognize them as gifts. Develop your intellectual talent!
H Hope for good things and be honest

I Insight from people and good books. Learn from other’s mistakes!

N Be nice to all people.
K Knowledge: Recognize it as the key to living. Knowledge, Wisdom & Understanding – Work at your mind and your mind will work for you!


B Books: Read them actively.
I In-depth learning skills: Develop them.
G Dr. Carson’s "G" is for God. Everyone has their own beliefs. When you THINK BIG, what does the "G" stand for in your life?

Dr. Carson explains, “The ‘Think Big’ expression is another way of restating one of my mother's favorite sayings, when I was struggling in school and teased by classmates." She would tell me, “You can do anything they can do, only you must try to do it better.”
THINK BIG became Dr. Carson's formula for personal success. In his book with the same name, he sets forth his philosophy of living by drawing upon his youth experiences, and present profession as Chief of Pediatric Neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center.
Take the niceness Pledge for 24 hours be nice to everyone you meet!

Girls don’t get pregnant!  /  Guys respect women

We are so lucky to live in this country! Thank God for the opportunities you have to do anything you want to.  We can and must do better as a country!
The responsibility for your education is your responsibility!!!

DR. BEN CARSON NPR