Throughout his personal life and his professional career, Ray Charles believed that there were no challenges too great to overcome. Despite his personal physical tragedy at such a young age, and despite the extreme financial adversity that he had experienced during his childhood, Ray Charles did not allow his blindness to dictate the direction his life would take as an adult. Ray Charles always believed that the three simple words “practice, practice, practice” were the instrumental words for achieving success. He believed that by empowering the disadvantaged youth with opportunity and education, every person could explore and find the talent inherent in each of them.