Gifted Hands by Ben Carson, MD

On my plane ride back to DC I decided to pick up a book at Borders... only because it was the first time I had seen a Borders at an airport... unbelievably there were two! The mini-Borders had an African American section and I decided to browse it knowing there was a book over there that I had not read that I absolutely need to read. I came across the title GIFTED HANDS and I knew it sounded familiar and I picked it up realizing it was the autobiography of Dr. Benjamin Carson.. an absolute must read for a black people.

On this blog I am striving to stay away from my own personal convictions and experiences but you may gather what you will from what I essential share on this page.

This book was an excellent read. It took me one day to read and I absolutely had to read every detail of the book. I read a lot (for a college student)... translation, I read for pleasure when I have the time. This story was one of the most inspirational that I have ever come across. For blacks, it is inspiring to read and understand what struggles can be overcome with persistence and hard work. For Christians, its a great testimony of what a strong faith in the Lord will do for an individual. A friend of mine told me today that she noticed those pepole who do put their trust in God never worry about anything, things always work out in the end This book is going on my must read list.

Inspiration -
This man understands wholly is God given talents and what others are able to see through him. That man has the ability of presenting humble inspiration. For those individuals that are blessed with extreme talents they often are inspiring for others because they want to imitate them. However, there are a select few who are able to take those talents and inspire more than just imitation. They inspire a work ethic, a creed, a belief in others to achieve.... not just what has already been but whatever that individual has the potential to achieve on their own level.

My favorite concept is THINK BIG... taken directly from the book
Talent: Our Creator has endowed all of us not just with the ability to sing, dance or throw a ball, but with intellectual talent. Start getting in touch with that part of you that is intellectual and develop that, and think of careers that will allow you to use that.

Honesty: If you lead a clean and honest life, you don't put skeletons in the closet. If you put skeletons in the closet, they definitely will come back just when you don't want to see them and ruin your life.

Insight: It comes from people who have already gone where you're trying to go. Learn from their triumphs and their mistakes.

Nice: If you're nice to people, then once they get over the suspicion of why you're being nice, they will be nice to you.

Knowledge: It makes you into a more valuable person. The more knowledge you have, the more people need you. It's an interesting phenomenon, but when people need you, they pay you, so you'll be okay in life.

Books: They are the mechanism for obtaining knowledge, as opposed to television.

In-Depth Learning: Learn for the sake of knowledge and understanding, rather than for the sake of impressing people or taking a test.

God: Never get too big for Him.

This concept is not too over the top for kindergarten students and is not too elementary for PhD candidates. It's simple and IT IS TRUE.

This theory needs to be applied to our public school systems across this nation. This type of refocus on personal achievement would be extremely beneficial for students and communities as a whole.

Achievement -
taken from THIS AWESOME SITE

In 1987, Carson made medical history with an operation to separate a pair of Siamese twins. The Binder twins were born joined at the back of the head. Operations to separate twins joined in this way had always failed, resulting in the death of one or both of the infants. Carson agreed to undertake the operation. A 70-member surgical team, led by Dr. Carson, worked for 22 hours. At the end, the twins were successfully separated and can now survive independently.

Carson's other surgical innovations have included the first intra-uterine procedure to relieve pressure on the brain of a hydrocephalic fetal twin, and a hemispherectomy, in which an infant suffering from uncontrollable seizures has half of its brain removed. This stops the seizures, and the remaining half of the brain actually compensates for the missing hemisphere.

All I could say was wow. This type of personal achievement is almost unheard of. By reading the book you can see exactly why Dr. Carson was able to achieve all of these things. He took pride in himself, what he did, and what he represented. Personal pride. REAL GENUINE personal pride in not only what we are but in what what we do as well. Realizing this pride and realizing its potential ensures ACHIEVEMENT especially PERSONAL ACHIEVEMENT. Dr. Carson reinforces the fact that personal achievement was so much more important than impressing others. It is what you do for YOU.

GOD IS NUMBER ONE

Dr. Carson, at least through his book, constantly gave thanks, praise, and glory to God for his crowning achievements. The title in of itself was a homage to what God graciously blessed him with. Dr. Carson was a neurosurgeon who participated (not performed) miraculous surgeries numerous times. He could have easily taken the credit, but because he realized that he was merely the hands that God chose to work through he represented a well respected sense of humility and self actualization.


So... concluding thoughts tomorrow...