The stories of people who decide to pursue their dreams on their own terms are told in the new series.
Myron Rolle had not played football in a month. Mr. Rolle was just 25 years old when he was released from the TennesseeTitans after three unremarkable seasons and failed in his attempt to join the PittsburghSteelers. He didn't have the structure or rigor of a football career to make sense of what was to come.
Mr. Rolle had a Plan B after his brother gave him a book.
Mr. Rolle stopped beating up classmates who called him racist slurs or made fun of his parents after he read it.
He was selected to be a Rhodes Scholar in 2009. Mr. Rolle studied medical anthropology at Oxford as part of his degree. He was selected by theTitans in the N.F.L. draft.
Mr. Rolle wanted to play football. He never played in a regular-season game for the N.F.L. and his contract ended after the season. He was cut before the 2012 season after trying to make the team. He returned home to New Jersey, where he was depressed until his mother shook him out of his misery.
She looked at the first goal and pointed it out to him. She said it was done. She said, "Now, we need to do this."
He is currently in the sixth year of his neuroscience residency at Harvard Medical School. He said that the words of encouragement, her belief in him, and her disposition during that moment were what he needed.
How much did it take you to give up your dream?
They told me that my talent was there when I was released from the PittsburghSteelers. I wanted to know why you were about to let me go. There is a guy that is not as good as you, but this is all he has. A person declined to speak. He needs to play a sport. I don't think I'm concerned about you. If you want to be a doctor, you can be president one day. I would be in a better position if I didn't have anything else.
That was really hard to take. I can't explain how difficult it was to reconcile those comments and then reconcile what you're seeing and how you're performing around these players that are getting opportunities that you're not. It was the most depressed I have ever been in my life. It was the time when I let people down.
What has created this path changed you?
The 2 percent philosophy was taught to me by my football coach at F.S.U. Is it possible that you can be better than yesterday? It's possible if you take small steps every day. It makes me more aware of the responsibilities that I have.
I wanted to learn how to open a craniotomy, how to put a diaper on a newborn child, and how to be a better husband. Short or long term goals don't feel daunting. It feels manageable. I thank myself for the small gains, the small wins that I get every day. There is a rush of dopamine in my brain. It's a reward for doing well.
What is the biggest problem you face?
Finding the time to be attentive is the biggest challenge right now. The patient has been seizing when I operate on a brain tumors. They expect me to be a great neurosurgeon because of my skills and dexterity.
I am supposed to be the best mentor to the 12 or 13 young black men who are interested in neurosurgery when I finish with that. The honor rolle is what we call it. I want to be the best father I can be for my four kids, Zanzi, Zafar, and Zora. The best husband I could ever have. I want to commit my life to them and myself because they deserve that. They all deserve the same amount of money.
How do you propel yourself forward?
I believe that God put me in this position to be a beacon of hope, a light, a mentor and an advocate. When Covid spoke about the disparity in health care, I was on the line. I was put here to be a father to my children and a husband to my wife.
I also have an idea that motivates me. There are a lot of people that sacrificed for me that I don't know. They gave up their lives for me to be able to vote, to have an education, to attend certain schools, to have certain jobs. We need to repay that debt with being the best we can be. I'm very serious about that.
There are intense career and life interests. How do you find balance and how do you get back into shape?
Family is what it is. My children and I sing the theme song from a cartoon. I enjoy working out. My wife and I are traveling together. A core group of friends and a close knit group of people make me laugh. They want me to be happy and doing well. Life can be poured into me by them.
What would you say to people who are stuck in their lives and still want to do something?
It's always late. There are two things you are needed to do. In this life, you are needed. It is for you that your lane can be yours. God has something for you. It was perfect It's over. To be a master of it, you need to be. It's something that I love. It's okay to do it well. You should impact people when you do it.
What are we going to do next?
I have to do another year of the neurosciences fellowship in order to stay in year six. My long-term goal is to practice neurosurgery in America for the majority of the year and then spend a portion of the year back home in the Caribbean developing neuro surgical services.
Lessons can be learned from your experience.
If you look at my story from the outside, you'll see it's not real. I played in the Rhodes Scholar program. I felt doubts and uncertainty all the time. A person feels like an outsider. Dealing with violence. There are work life balance issues in your workplace. The 2 percent process was used to find ways to overcome or mitigate these challenges.
Success doesn't look like any particular person. I believe that every person on this planet has something brilliant in them and that they have a purpose that they were placed here on this planet for.
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