Ben Carson (SD)(2014)

"There is no such thing as an average human being. If you have a normal brain, you are superior. There's almost nothing that you can't do." When Benjamin Carson was in fifth grade, he was considered the "dummy" of his class. His classmates and teachers took it for granted that Ben would take an entire quiz without getting a single question right. He had a temper so violent that he would attack other children, even his mother, at the slightest provocation. "I was most likely to end up in jail, reform school, or the grave," he remembers. But Benjamin Carson turned his life around. He graduated from high school with honors, went on to Yale University and to medical school. At age 32, he became Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, a post he held for 29 years. He is internationally recognized as a pioneer in his field. In his operation on the Binder Siamese twins in 1987, he succeeded where all predecessors had failed, in separating twins joined at the head. Through his books and lectures, Dr. Carson has eagerly shared the story of his success with young people. In his own words: "You do have the possibility of controlling your own destiny if you are willing to put in the appropriate amount of time and effort." Or, as he tells young people everywhere, "Think Big." Since retiring from Johns Hopkins, he has emerged as a major political figure, and in May 2015 he announced his intention to seek the nomination of the Republican Party for President of the United States. In this podcast, recorded at the 2014 International Achievement Summit in San Francisco, he discusses the state of health care in the Untied States and shares his views on the Affordable Care Act.