That was the message delivered Tuesday to a group of high school kids attending a conference on youth issues sponsored by Durham Regional Police.

Keynote speaker Spider Jones, an accomplished boxer, author and broadcaster, told the audience at the Milestone Christian Centre in Ajax Tuesday that everyone has in them the potential for success.

"Find out what you're good at," the energetic Mr. Jones said as he stalked the stage in the sprawling church.

"You have to believe to achieve; you've got to believe in yourself."

Mr. Jones, a well-known motivational speaker and Toronto radio host, draws on his own experiences, including his hardscrabble childhood in Detroit, his life of gang involvement and crime that resulted in almost seven years spent in prison, and his rise as a boxer -- he became a three-time Gold Gloves champion -- to illustrate how disadvantaged beginnings can be surmounted.

"It's not where you're coming from, it's where you're going that counts," he said.

But it was the achievement of his lifelong dream to become a radio broadcaster, first realized as a child in Detroit and shelved for some 30 years as his life took its rambling path, that carried the most resonance. Mr. Jones said a lack of self-esteem prevented him from pursuing his goal until, in his 30s, he resumed the schooling he'd abandoned in his teens, eventually earning a degree in journalism.

He urged the young people gathered in Ajax Tuesday not to sell themselves short, even when circumstances -- and other people, projecting negativity -- get in the way.

Mr. Jones's message meshed with the theme of the conference, conducted by the Durham police service's summer placement students. Groups discussed issues such as racism, gang activity and economic disparity that lead to conflict, and presented suggestions to address them. Prominent among the proposed solutions were the need for young people to think for themselves and to take action against injustice.

Organizer Katie Zeppieri encouraged the young people to practise what they'd discussed during the conference, titled "Ripple Effect."

"You can do whatever you put your mind to," she said.

"One person really can make a difference."