Jacques Demers says when you're illiterate, you have got to be able to prove people wrong.
Demers, a former head coach in the NHL who led the Montreal Canadiens to the Stanley Cup championship in 1993, proved everyone wrong throughout his career.
Demers was the guest speaker at a dinner attended by about 350 people Monday night.
The dinner was organized by the United Way and the Learning Disabilities Association of Sudbury (LDAS).
Demers gained national attention when admitted he was functionally illiterate in Nov. 2005.
He felt his inability to read and write at an adult level was something he felt he had to hide while working as a coach in the world's best hockey league.
Despite his inability to read or write more than a few words and being raised in an abusive home, Demers says his life is proof anything is possible if you work hard enough.
"Hockey is a form of discipline, it's a form of hard work. You will succeed if you work hard, you will not succeed if you find excuses," Demers said after his speech, for which he was given a standing ovation.
"You will be successful if you believe in yourself and you will not be successful if you blame everyone else around you. That's the important thing. The message is loud and clear, soft people don't do anything. It's hard to get out of certain situations, but in the end the reward is immense. I'm not talking about monetary rewards. The reward is the satisfaction."
After his speech, Demers was swarmed by people looking for a signature, a photograph or even to bend his ear a little bit.
Demers was more than happy to give members of the audience what they wanted and took the time to connect with everyone who wanted to meet him.
Demers said by talking to people, especially young people, it helps reinforce his message.
People will make fun of those who are illiterate and try to put them down, but you've got to be able to rise above their insults and believe in yourself to succeed, said Demers.
"It's easy to make fun of a little girl that's overweight, it's easy to make fun of a boy who looks nerdy . . . but instead of making fun of other people, maybe they should look at themselves and maybe they're not as happy as they think they are or maybe they aren't as smart as they think they are," he said.
Since he's admitted his illiteracy, Demers said he's become somewhat of a poster child for the cause, speaking across the country - a role he wasn't prepared for, but feels he must live up to.
"I'm embracing it more, but I find it difficult because I feel so responsible and I get so many demands and I can't do them all," Demers said. "I just want to help the kids, but there's so many more people that have the problem that I've even thought to myself that it's beyond me."
Demers also speaks candidly about growing up in a poor Montreal neighbourhood with an abusive, alcoholic father. Demers believes seeing his father beat up his mother, whom he describes as a wonderful woman, is the reason his ability to read and write was impaired.
"I think when you do have a parent like that, you can't blame him or her for your failures, I think you have to overcome it. It's easy to say 'I overcame it'. Other people have and you just have to be strong enough to battle through."
Today, Demers can read at a higher rate than ever before and says with daily practice, he's getting better.
"I get by, which means I'll pick up the paper tomorrow on the plane and it takes me a long time to read a page, longer than the average person, but I do get by and that's important just to get by and keep working at it."
For more information on learning disabilities, contact the LDAS at 522-0100 or visit www.ldasudbury.ca.
