“If we can take young people who excel at the highest levels, put them on the same kind of pedestal as the all-state basketball player and the all-state football player, and begin to get the same kind of recognition, it will have a profound effect, and we are finding that it does.”

Our children need to see and hear about more black role models in many fields so they can make better choices.

My favorite subject was recess. Fortunately for me, I had a mother who believed I was smart.

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.

No matter how good you are at planning, the pressure never goes away. So I don’t fight it. I feed off it. I turn pressure into motivation to do my best.

No one is ever better off with dictators but there comes a time you know, when you’re on an airplane, they always say, “in case of an emergency oxygen masks will drop down. Put yours on first and then administer help to your neighbor.” We need oxygen right now.

We create our own destiny by the way we do things. We have to take advantage of opportunities and be responsible for our choices.

Some people say you’re weak because, you know, you’re not loud and you’re not boisterous and you’re not rude. But the fact of the matter is, look and see what I’ve done. And that speaks volumes about strength.

I don’t know why there is this penchant for snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory, they’ll find some way to destroy themselves. And it is just maddening to see it happening.

You have to take a long-term look at something that fundamentally changes the power structure of America.

I detest politics, to be honest with you. It’s a cesspool. And I don’t think I would fare well in that cesspool because I don’t believe in political correctness and I certainly don’t believe in dishonesty.

There is a tendency of people to try to make you believe only a few people are smart. As a brain surgeon, I know better than that.

Through hard work, perseverance and a faith in God, you can live your dreams.

You can read the Constitution all you want, it never says that it is the government’s job and I think where we’ve gotten confused.

The culture in which we live stresses looking out for number one. Without adopting such a self-centered value system, we can demand the best of ourselves while we are extending our hands to help others.

You know, I’m a physician. I like to diagnose things. And, you know, I’ve diagnosed some pretty, pretty significant issues that I think a lot of people resonate with.

Do your best and let God do the rest.