Dr. Benjamin Carson has become a household name when talking of frontrunners for the Republican party in the presidential election, but most people forget his original claim to fame. The award-winning pediatric neurosurgeon was the first to successfully perform a hemispherectomy (a surgical procedure where half of the brain is either removed or disabled) on conjoined twins. As a connoisseur of the human brain, first and foremost, Dr. Carson is a thinker. He is a thinker that looks to inspire and protect the future of the new generation of fellow thinkers. More times than not, Carson's name is synonymous with his signature phrase: "Think Big". He goes deeper than the superficial definition in his acronym for the phrase.
TALENT
Dr. Carson suggests that talent is innate, and that every individual has a choice of whether or not they wish to activate their given talent. Carson insists that one must hone their skill for a lifetime in order to stay educated flexible in this ever so fastly changing world.
HONESTY
In an interview in February of 2015, Carson goes on record saying, "If you lead a clean and honest life, and you don't have a bunch of skeletons in your closet, it's really hard for them to come out if you don't put them in there. It really uncomplicates your life quite substantially." Honesty is the best policy, right?
INSIGHT
This dives into what Carson believes to be a key component of the acronym. He says to looks to the wiser, more experienced people in your life in order to hopefully avoid their mistakes, and succeed on a much higher scale than your predecessors.
NICE
Perhaps the most simple concept to grasp is to just be nice. Life flows a lot more smoothly when everyone is happy and getting along. We live in a society that promotes the Jordan Belfort persona, when, in all actuality, niceness is the key to a more united people and, ultimately, a return to being the United States of America.
KNOWLEDGE
A most important structure in appears to have made one of the greatest minds of the last 200 years is knowledge. Making the effort to increase your value through learning is something that Carson suggests is one of the sole things in life that is between you and you.
BOOKS
I strongly fear for today's society, because they they have come to depend on Google and YouTube as their main sources of knowledge. In a society that is becoming more and more dependent on technology, reading is becoming obsolete. Books are the key to exercising your brain, and becoming the big thinker you are meant to be.
IN DEPTH LEARNING
Most college students study their vivid notes, read the required text, and pass the test, but they're missing the point of it all. Superficial learning is all they are doing, and that will ultimately lead to failure to reach full potential. Learning is done when the absolute thirst for knowledge outweighs the need to stop at "knowing the requirements."
GOD
Regardless of your religious beliefs, you have to respect a person who stands strong in what they believe, and is unshakeable when it comes to the obstacles that come their way. At the same time, a person who is open to understanding of people with different backgrounds allows himself or herself the ability to grow both mentally and in character.
Do you have what it takes to "Think Big?" Only you can find the answer to that. Dr. Carson believes that everyone has the potential to change the world on a colossal scale, and that we just have to work at it. Next time you see him on CNN being interview aboit his view on today's issues, just think, "That could be me if I just 'Think Big'."
