You can find our culture's obsession with avoiding risk everywhere, from multiple insurance policies to crash-tested vehicles.

But is ducking risk the most productive way for us to live?

Surgeon and author Dr. Ben Carson, who faces risk on a daily basis, offers an inspiring message on how accepting risk can lead us to a higher purpose.

In our risk-avoidance culture, we place a high premium on safety. We insure our vacations. We check crash tests on cars. We extend the warranties on our appliances. But by insulating ourselves from the unknown - the risks of life - we miss the great adventure of living our lives to their full potential. Ben Carson spent his childhood as an at-risk child on the streets of Detroit, and today he takes daily risks in performing complex surgeries on the brain and the spinal cord.

Now, offering inspiring personal examples, Dr. Carson invites us to embrace risk in our own lives. From a man whose life dramatically portrays the connection between great risks and greater successes, here are insights that will help you dispel your fear of risk so you can dream big, aim high, move with confidence, and reap rewards you've never imagined.