"Your own need to-be shines out of any dream or creation you can imagine." - James Earl Jones.
James Earl Jones was known for playing strong and commanding characters on the silver screen and - perhaps most famously - for providing the voice for the sinister Star Wars villain, Darth Vadar. As a child, however, Jones suffered from a debilitating stutter that made him so self-conscious he was virtually mute for eight years. It was a caring high school English teacher who eventually empowered him to break his silence and overcome his vocal challenge to become one of the most iconic speakers in the world.
Instead of letting his speech impediment limit his success in life, James Earl Jones took control and turned his greatest weakness into his greatest strength. Firm in his belief that "literacy is ... the key to freedom," Jones strives to educate young people on the important role reading plays in their ability to become self-reliant adults.
James Earl Jones gave credit to his teacher for helping him become self-reliant, saying, "His influence on me was so basic that it extended to all areas of my life." What does being self-reliant mean to you? What has helped you learn to be more self reliant?