decide;how;much;energy;you;want;to
put;behind;it.;You’re;the;one;who;gets;to
decide;if;you;would;rather;just;sit;back
and;let;somebody;else;take;care;of;you
and;maybe;not;set;your;goals;as;high.
But no one can make those decisions
but;you.;Also,;we;need;to;help;them;to
understand;that;the;average;person;lives
to;be;about;eighty;years;old.;The;first
twenty;to;twenty-five;years;you;spend
either;preparing;or;not;preparing.;If;you
prepare,;you;have;sixty;years;to;reap;the
benefits.;If;you;don’t;prepare,;you;have
sixty;years;to;suffer;the;consequences.
But you are the one who makes the
decision.
TOS:
;Many;of;our;readers;will;be;famil-iar;with;your;story.;For;those;who;aren’t,
what were some of the obstacles you
faced;as;you;pursued;your;dreams?
Dr. Carson:
;One;of;the;first;big;obsta-cles;was;the;fact;that;I;thought;I;was;stu-pid.;I;just;didn’t;think;I;had;the;ability;to
understand;math;and;some;of;the;other
things;that;were;going;on,;so;I;really;didn’t
pay;that;much;attention.;That;was;a;huge
obstacle.;I;had;a;horrible;temper;which;got
me;into;trouble;very;frequently.;And;then
there;was;poverty.;I;thought;it;was;a;mis-take;;I;wasn’t;supposed;to;be;born;poor.
That;didn’t;bother;me;nearly;as;much;after
I;started;reading;about;successful;people
and;realized;I;had;the;ability;to;change;my
life;in;any;way;that;I;wanted;to.
TOS:;Many;of;our;readers;are;mothers.
Are;there;any;special;stories;you’d;like;to
share;about;your;mother,;something;that
stands;out;to;you;in;your;memory?
Dr. Carson:;My;mother;was;a;person
who;had;a;very,;very;difficult;life.;My;life
was;a;piece;of;cake;compared;to;hers.;But
she;never;made;excuses,;and;she;never;ac-
cepted;excuses.;She;would;always;quote
a;poem;to;us;when;we;made;an;excuse
called, “Yourself to Blame.” 5 When you
have;that;can-do;attitude,;no;matter;what
is;going;on,;no;matter;what;the;odds;are
that;are;stacked;against;you,;you;fight.;I;re-
member;when;they;tried;to;put;my;older
brother;in;a;vocational;program,;she;said,
“No;you;don’t;;he’s;going;to;college.;He
goes;in;college;prep.”;And;they;said,;“No,
we;think;he;would;better;fit;in;vocational.”
She;not;only;went;down;to;the;school,;she
went;to;the;Board;of;Education.;She;put
up;such;a;ruckus;they;said,;“OK!;He’s;go-
ing;to;college;prep.”;He’s;an;aeronautical
and;mechanical;engineer;now.;So;he;be-
came;the;rocket;scientist;and;I;became;the
brain;surgeon.
TOS:;It’s;been;a;pleasure;to;speak;with
you.
Dr. Carson:;My;pleasure.
TOS:;Thank;you;for;speaking;with;me
today.
If;you’d;like;the;chance;to;hear;Dr.;Ben
Carson;in;person,;he;will;be;speaking
to;homeschoolers;at;Great;Homeschool
Conventions;events;across;the;country.
Visit www.greathomeschoolconventions
.com;for;details.
Bonnie Rose Hudson lives in central Pennsylvania with her mother and sister. She
loves being a part of SchoolhouseTeachers
.com and The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine,
where her love of God, history, and writing
all work together. She invites you to stop by
and meet the star of her children’s historical
fiction series at Exploring;with;Jake.
Dr. Benjamin Carson
Benjamin S. Carson, Sr., M.D., had a
childhood dream of becoming a physician. Young Ben persevered and today
is an emeritus professor of neurosurgery,
oncology, plastic surgery and pediatrics
at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
His four books, Gifted Hands, THINK
BIG,;The;Big;Picture and Take;the;Risk:
Learning;to;Identify,;Choose;and;Live
with Acceptable Risk (January, 2008),
provide inspiration and insight for leading
a successful life; a fifth book, America;The
Beautiful: Rediscovering What Made
This Nation Great, (2012) was a New
York Times bestseller. His next book, One
Nation, is scheduled for release May 2014.
In addition to writing a weekly opinion
column for The;Washington;Times, Dr.
Carson is a FOX News contributor. He has
been married for over 38 years to his wife,
Candy, and is the father of three sons.
Endnotes:
1. Dr. Ben Carson the Cure for 2016? Intervie w with
Greta Van Susteren, Fox News, August 22, 2013.
video.foxnews.com/v/2623644991001/dr-ben
-carson-the-cure-for-2016/.
2. Ibid.
3. Values Voter Summit, October 11-13, 2013,
Omni Shoreham Hotel, Washington, D.C. www
. frcaction.org/get.cfm?i=PG13J03.
4. Ibid.
5. “Yourself to Blame” by Mayme White Miller.
30;January-February;2014;•;Homeschool;Support;www.TheOldSchoolhouse.com
“The person in life
who has the most to
do with what happens
