Gifted Hands
Page 22
I tell a lot of the students that I talk to about Fred Wilson and other Black high achievers who just don’t get media attention or have a high profile. When you’re in a field like mine at a place like Johns Hopkins and you’re putting out your best, it’s hard to hide. Whenever any of us here do anything outstanding, the media finds out and the word spreads. I know a lot of people in other, less-glamorous fields, who have done significant things, but hardly anyone knows about them.
One of my goals is to make sure that teenagers learn about these highly talented individuals so they can have a variety of role models. When young people have good role models, they can change and set their sights toward higher achievements.
Another goal is to encourage teenagers to look at themselves and their God-given talents. We all have these abilities. Success in life revolves around recognizing and using our “raw material.”
“I’m a good neurosurgeon. That’s not a boast but a way of acknowledging the innate ability God has given to me. Beginning with determination and using my gifted hands, I went on for training and sharpening of my skills.
To THINK BIG and to use our talents doesn’t mean we won’t have difficulties along the way. We will—we all do. How we view those problems determines how we end up. If we choose to see the obstacles in our path as barriers, we stop trying. “We can’t win,” we moan. “They won’t let us win.”
However, if we choose to see the obstacles as hurdles, we can leap over them. Successful people don’t have fewer problems. They have determined that nothing will stop them from going forward.
Whatever direction we choose, if we can realize that every hurdle we jump strengthens and prepares us for the next one, we’re already on the way to success.
About the Author
Dr. Benjamin Carson is a professor of neurosurgery, plastic surgery, oncology, and pediatrics, and the director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. He is also the author of three bestselling books–Gifted Hands, Think Big, and The Big Picture. He serves on the corporate boards of the Kellogg Company, Costco Wholesale Corp., and American’s Promise, among others, and is an Emeritus Fellow of the Yale Corporation. He and his wife, Candy, are the parents of three grown sons and live in Baltimore County, Maryland.
Also by Ben Carson
Gifted Hands
The Big Picture
Think Big
Take the Risk
ZONDERVAN
Gifted Hands
Copyright © 1990 by Review and Herald® Publishing Association
“A Letter from Sonya Carson” copyright © 2011 by Sonya Carson
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The Library of Congress has cataloged the original edition as:
Carson, Benjamin S.
Gifted Hands / Ben Carson, with Cecil Murphey
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-310-54650-4 (hardcover)
1. Carson, Benjamin S. 2. Neurosurgeons — United States — Biography.
I. Murphey, Cecil B. II. Title.
RD592.9.C37A3 1990b
617.4’8092–dc20 90-8326
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First Zondervan hardcover printing: 1990
First Zondervan trade paper edition: 1991
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