What looks like the plot of a made-for-TV movie, is the true story of Dr Benjamin Carson.

In an interview
given to Hewitt, Dr Carson shared some of the insights he gained in making the transition from at-risk
youth to gifted surgeon. Let's meet him and listen to him.

SUCCESS IS A MINDSET

Ben was just eight years old when his mother found out that the man she wed at 13 had another wife
and five more children living across town. Sonja Carson filed for divorce and worked as a domestic to
support Ben and his older brother. She observed her wealthy employers and shared insights with her
sons. "This is how successful people behave," she'd say. "This is how they think. You boys can do it, too,
and you can do it better!"

His mother's refusal to accept excuses for failure enabled Ben to go from being - in his own words - "the
dumbest kid in fifth grade to one of the smartest kids in seventh grade." When he found his studies
overwhelming, she'd say, "You weren't born to be a failure. You can do it."

Soon, the boy with poor grades and low self-esteem began thinking of himself as smart and acting
accordingly. Academic awards and achievements followed. He received a scholarship to Yale and later
went on to study medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School.

After earning his medical degree in 1977, Dr. Carson completed his neurosurgical residency at Johns
Hopkins. In 1984, he was appointed Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery, making him the youngest
physician in history to head a major division at Johns Hopkins.

Today, Dr. Carson performs about 400 surgeries each year, more than double the caseload of the
average neurosurgeon. He's the author of three books and the cofounder, with his wife, Candy, of the
Carson Scholars Fund, a nonprofit organization that recognizes and rewards academic achievement with
college-assistance funds. Excerpts from the
interview:

Yours is an amazing success story. Why did you succeed when others in similar situations fail?

I'm always quick to point out that it's not just me; my brother is also very successful. We had, in our
mother, someone who believed in us and was willing to make sacrifices on our behalf. She encouraged
us to believe in ourselves. Success is a mindset. If you have negative influences coming at you and you
allow them to dictate your course in life, you'll never succeed. When you realize that the person with
the greatest influence over what happens in your life is you, it makes it a huge difference. Look at Walter
Anderson, the CEO and Publisher of Parade magazine. Growing up, his father didn't think reading was a
worthwhile endeavour; he would beat him if he caught him reading. Instead of using that as an excuse
for failure, Walter grew up to be the publisher of the largest-circulation magazine in the world.
You've said, "Successful people don't have fewer problems, just different ways of looking at them." How
so?

It all goes back to mindset. How do you look at the problems you face- are they fences or are they
hurdles? If you view them as fences, you allow them to contain you and they become excuses for
inaction. But if you view problems as hurdles, then you have choices. You can go over them or under
them or around them. It doesn't matter how you get by that hurdle; it just matters that you do. And
each time you get by another hurdle, it strengths you for the next one. In a corporate setting, it's
essential that leaders not allow their employees to make excuses; eventually they will stop constructing
fences and start jumping hurdles. They learn to deal with and overcome their problems, and that leads
to success.

In your most recent book, The Big Picture, you talk about understanding why to succeed. Can you
explain?

People must want success for themselves, not because others demand it of them. Children are the best
example. We say, "You need to study. You need to get A's." Soon they think they're doing it for Mom,
Dad, or their teacher. They need to know they're doing it for themselves. They must understand that
they have 70 to 80 years of life to live, the first 20 of which must be used to prepare. If they prepare,
they'll have 50 years to reap the benefits. If they don't, they'll have 50 years to suffer the consequences.
It is the same in the workplace. Ideally, all employees would be internally driven to success;
unfortunately, some are not. A good leader motivates those employees by helping them understand
how their role positively impacts the company. Knowing that you helped create a positive circumstance
instills pride and satisfaction. It becomes personal, which is exactly what you want it to be.

Since you brought it up, let's talk about leadership. What makes a good leader?

Leading it a rare commodity; being in a leadership position is not. A leader sets a good example and
does not make excuses. I don't think I can say it more succinctly than that. If things are not as they ought
to be, a good leader says, "I have analyzed the situation. I've found the shortcomings, and some are
mine. Now, here's what we're doing to correct it." That's leadership.

How can leaders best develop potential in their employees?

A good leader spends a substantial amount of time thinking about key employees. "What are my goals
for these employees? Where do I want them to be in six months or a year?" Once you know that, you
must challenge them appropriately at the right time. If you challenge people too early, they begin to
doubt themselves. If you wait until they've acquired certain skills and developed some confidence, you'll
get much more out of them and they'll begin to realize their full potential.

Do we use our brains to their full potential?

Not even close. I can do a hemispherectomy on a child - take out half the brain - and the child functions
normally. That proves there's an enormous amount of reserve we don't use. Look at so-called "idiot
savants." They're not capable of doing any more than anyone else; they just haven't developed the
inhibiting influences that say, "I can't do this." They don't know they can't do it, so they do. Their brain
does not stop them from trying like it sometimes does the rest of us. If we take a 9-inch beam and put it
across the floor, we can all walk across it. But if we take that same beam and suspend it a mile in the air,
none of us wants to try. It's the same beam, we have the same ability, but now we're spending a lot
more time thinking about what will happen if we fall. If you want your employees to feel confident
walking across that beam, you need to create a culture where they're encouraged to try, safe to fall, and
rewarded when they cross over to the other side.