See Also:
Beginning of a FAMOUS Hero: The General Colin Powell Story.
Life Lesson #81 – Design Your Luck.
Benjamin Solomon Carson was born on September 18th, 1951 in Detroit, Michigan. At first, life was not so bad for young Ben and his family, but when he was in the third grade, things became really difficult. His father left the family, and they became very poor. The boys had a very hard time in school because they lost nearly a whole year of learning during all the family upset. But their mother knew how important education is and that learning to read well is an absolute key to future success. She greatly limited their television watching and required them to read two library books every week and write reports on them. She taught them to listen carefully in class, to take education seriously, and to see themselves as being on a path to a successful future. Soon, their grades started to improve…a lot!
By the time Ben was in high school, his grades were good enough to get him a scholarship to Yale University! After graduating from Yale, he attended medical school. Later, he became a neurosurgeon, and eventually became the Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Maryland.
As an older man, he retired from medicine and was appointed by the President of the United States to be the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. So, now, Dr. Carson HELPS people in yet another special way.
But there’s more! In 1994, Dr. Carson and his wife started the Carson Scholars Fund, which awards scholarships to students in grades 4–11 for “academic excellence and humanitarian qualities.” And, remembering how his mother had HELPED him realize the importance of reading, he created reading rooms through the Ben Carson Reading Project. Today these special rooms in elementary school libraries all over the country HELP students realize that learning to enjoy reading is a powerful part of the foundation for a successful future.
Yes, young Benjamin grew up in difficult circumstances, but he made choices even as a child to become a person who would be ABLE to HELP others in BIG ways by first putting HIMSELF on a path to a very successful future!
– Jim Lord