Failure He stuttered. He stammered. He endured sympathetic and scornful looks of fellow students. He endured laughing. But he did it. He faced fear and forced himself to speak. Day after day. Week after week. He hung onto encouragement of teacher who believed in him. And it worked. His stuttering became less. He learned to control his voice.

Responsibility His victories made him look for more challenges. James Earl began to take acting lessons. His early lessons in perseverance gave him courage to push beyond prejudices against black actors. He chose to take as many different types of roles as he could – stretching his limitations and refusing to be pigeon-holed with any stereotypes.

Beyond Fear James Earl Jones is now known for his deep authoritative voice. Perhaps you know him as voice of Star War’s Darth Vader or as Mufasa in Lion King. You see him almost daily on commercials. He has starred on Broadway and been in many movies. He has been laden with Tony, Emmy and Obie Awards.

People look at him today and see a confident actor with a deep, resonant voice. The next time you see him, look deeper. . .

James Earl Jones’ great secret to success is that he chose to push beyond his fears. He chose to change reality of a young boy who had lived in silence for eight years. He chose to face ridicule and scorn in order to be free. I can only imagine how many years passed before he could open his mouth without being afraid of what would come out.

So many of us let our fears stop us. We’re afraid of how we will appear. We’re afraid of what people will think. We’re afraid we’ll fail. And so.

. . we do nothing. We exchange fear for regret.

Fear will pass. Fear can be conquered. Fear will fade away in face of determined action.

Regret – well, you’ll live with that for rest of your life.

What are you afraid of? Name fear. Choose to face it. And take action to conquer it today! You, too, can live a life of success by feeling fear and moving beyond it.

It is very important to be aware of our belief system at every moment, because it manifests whatever is in our lives. The mind, and beliefs in mind, are powerful! A person says to himself, "Oh I could never do that!" And life reacts... "Oh, he doesn't think he can do that," and life never presents it to him. And another person says, "Oh I can do this!" And it is easily presented to them. The words that we say and our actions are effects of our belief system. This is thinking that keeps us in a constant rut, and gives us feeling that we are going no where in life. When we begin to let go of what no longer serves us we make room for love, peace and joy that we have longed for .

One does not have to be taught or learn another form or technique. It is about choosing joy over fear, peace over turmoil, spirit over ego, and realize that when we do, we create an effortless and prosperous life.