Think Big, A Book Review

Dr. Ben Carson is an extremely well accomplished neurosurgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. He grew up in Detroit with his brother, the two of them sons of a single, working mom. As his story begins, Dr. Carson acknowledges that in his youth he did poorly in school, but through the help of his mother and other kind souls in his path, he was able to become the man and professional he is today. Think Big is more than an autobiography, it's a book about achievement. If you don't know how to succeed or know if you're headed in the right direction, Think Big helps put any doubts you may have to rest.

Most striking and infectious is Dr. Carson's regard for books. He believes, as experience has shown him, that through books, one's imagination sparks and one's ability to relate others soars. The book is like a catalyst for change.

In my own reading, I was inspired to re-evaluate my interests through Dr. Carson's writings about the significance of in-depth learning. As a professional, I understand the significance of keeping up with trends or a hobbiest keeping up with new toys. Yet something different happens when we make the decision to immerse ourselves in a subject. Whether it be in accounting, literature, stamp collecting, or volleyball, your mind and attitude are different when you approach them with more than just a cursory reading, more than a "just enough to do my job" or "take this test" sort of attitude.

Think Big is part biography, part advice, part medicine, and it is excellent preparatory reading for college-bound seniors and undergraduate pre-meds. Yet, it is also part drama and entirely true, which makes it fair reading for any person young or older who wishes to learn about passion, learning, and determination from someone who has experienced it all.

Finding the Time

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How do people find time to do all the things they want to do? I just signed up for Twitter. Can anything be shorter and faster to do than that? It's not blogging, it's not e-mail. It's even shorter than facebook. (To follow, my name is donnaledbetter.) Yet with each new technology, each new social media, each new way to get connected, there is less time for everything else.

Especially with regard to my challenge about learning more about my world, I find that I am spending less time doing the things that move me toward that goal and more time doing other things. That is not to say that I am not moving forward. Only, somehow, I'd thought my journey would be faster than this. Perhaps it's all a matter of perspective.

I am doing more now with my time than I'd ever thought possible. So, perhaps, I should consider my strides as remarkable ones. I am reading a book called Think Big: Unleashing Your Potential for Excellence by Dr. Ben Carson (to be reviewed here soon) and he talks about how he has been able to accomplish so much, even coming from the humblist of backgrounds. "If he can do it," I say, "then I can do it, too."