Ben Carson
136 quotes
Biography
"Education is a fundamental principle of what made America a success. We can't afford to throw any young people away."
"Success is determined not by whether or not you face obstacles, but by your reaction to them. And if you look at these obstacles as a containing fence, they become your excuse for failure. If you look at them as a hurdle, each one strengthens you for the next."
"Happiness doesn't result from what we get, but from what we give."
"Do your best and let God do the rest."
"Successful people don't have fewer problems. They have determined that nothing will stop them from going forward."
"God has given us more than fourteen billion cells and connections in our brain. Why would God give us such a complex organ system unless he expects us to use it?"
"If you hear how wonderful you are often enough, you begin to believe it, no matter how you try to resist it."
"While wisdom dictates the need for education, education does not necessarily make one wise."
"So after a while, if people won't accept your excuses, you stop looking for them."
"There is no fulfillment in things whatsoever. And I think one of the reasons that depression reigns supreme amongst the rich and famous is some of them thought that maybe those things would bring them happiness. But what, in fact, does is having a cause, having a passion. And that's really what gives life's true meaning."
"I think one of the keys to leadership is recognizing that everybody has gifts and talents. A good leader will learn how to harness those gifts toward the same goal."
"I started reading about people of great accomplishment ... and it dawned on me suddenly that the person who has the most to do with what happens in your life is you."
"There are a group of people who would like to silence everybody and have everyone go along to get along. But that's not going to be very helpful for us in the long run in terms of solving our problems, and someone has to be courageous enough to actually stand up to the bullies."
"I would like people to recognize in looking at my story that the person who has the most to do with what happens to you is you. It's not the environment, it's not the other people who were there trying to help you or trying to stop you. It's what you decide to do and how much effort you put behind it."
"I want people to understand that we, the American people, are not each other's enemies. The real enemies are those people who are trying to divide us into every little possible group."
"I'm probably never going to be politically correct because I'm not a politician. I don't want to be a politician. Because politicians do what is politically expedient — I want to do what's right."
"I want people to see me as an honest person, a person who is actually willing to express what they believe. The way I look at it, if people don't like that, I'd rather not be in office. I don't want to be in office under false pretenses, just saying things people want to hear so I can get elected."
"We need to be thinking about: How do we allow people to ascend the ladder of opportunity, rather than how do we give them everything and keep them dependent."
"We've been conditioned to think that only politicians can solve our problems. But at some point, maybe we will wake up and recognize that it was the politicians who created our problems."
"Maybe that's how I learned to handle my deep hurt—by forgetting."
"Abraham Lincoln once said, "All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my mother." I'm not sure I want to say it quite like that, but my mother, Sonya Carson, was the earliest, strongest, and most impacting force in my life. It would be impossible to tell about my accomplishments without starting with my mother's influence."
"She was not a person who would allow the system to dictate her life."
"Why should I give someone else such power over my life?"
"Jesus Is All the World to Me."
"I have sunshine in my heart regardless of conditions around me."