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Chris Gardner Story

Article Overview: When you first hear the Chris Gardner story, you might think you were hearing the storyline of a Hollywood movie. In fact, the Chris Gardner story was so real that it was turned into a movie, the recently released “The Pursuit of Happyness” starring Will Smith and his real-life son Jaden Smith. But, before becoming the subject of a major motion picture, the Chris Gardner story was one of uncertainty and insecurity.

Chris Gardner Story

When you first hear the Chris Gardner story, you might think you were hearing the storyline of a Hollywood movie. In fact, the Chris Gardner story was so real that it was turned into a movie, the recently released “The Pursuit of Happyness” starring Will Smith and his real-life son Jaden Smith. But, before becoming the subject of a major motion picture, the Chris Gardner story was one of uncertainty and insecurity.

It was in a Milwaukee neighbourhood in the 1950s that it all first began; his early years were a sign of what was to come. Although she had a beautiful smile and loved her children very much, Gardner’s mother would sometimes go missing for periods of time. “No one explained to me, well, why I am living with this relative, or what I am living with that relative,” he recalls. “And it was one of those things that no one ever talked about.”

During those times, his mother was in fact in jail – once, for receiving welfare while she was working, and once, for trying to burn down the house of her abusive husband. That was how his life all began – in a house filled with violence towards himself and his beloved mother. “My last Christmas at home, I was put out of the house, buck naked, at gun point,” he says. “I made a decision that I was going to be everything that this guy was not.”

With that, the Chris Gardner story would soon become one of faith and determination in overcoming the odds – and the odds were many. As a young boy, Chris Gardner was raped by a member of a local gang. As an adult, he found himself living on the streets with his young son, and forced to subsist on an intern’s salary while he went through a training program at a stock brokerage firm.

Here, this life tale could have easily turned into one of despair, depression and, ultimately, that of a man who had cashed out and given up on himself. However, Gardner was no such man, which is why his story has today become the stuff of Hollywood movies. He rose to the occasion and relentlessly pursued his career as a stock broker, until he could finally afford to rent his very own apartment. After that, there was no looking back.

Despite his amazing determination, this tale is not of just one man alone and his accomplishments. Indeed, it is a story that tells of the help one can get from often the most unexpected sources. One such source included local Oakland prostitutes, who would start their shifts around the same time Gardner and his son returned home at night to their shelter. Night after night, these women noticed the man and his baby, with no woman in tow, and began giving him $5 bills. “If it were not for those ladies of the evening giving that child $5, there would be times I could not have fed him,” he recalls.

To believe in the possibilities in each and every person’s life is to understand the Chris Gardner story.

Related Articles
  Chris Gardner Book
  Chris Gardner Pursuit of Happiness
  Chris Gardner Bio
  From Rags to Riches: Gardner Lives the American Dream
  Chris Gardner Stock Broker

Article Tags: 1950s, abusive husband, beautiful smile, beloved mother, chris gardner, christmas at home, despair, gun point, insecurity, interns, last christmas, living on the streets, motion picture, neighbourhood, odds, salary, stock brokerage firm, uncertainty, welfare, will smith



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Re: Millionaire or Happyness? - [quote="mphcoach":2xpspnai]I recently watched the movie 'In Pursuit of Happyness' and was rather disappointed that the 'happiness' achieved was merely the accumulation of wealth.[/quote:2xpspnai] Hi Martin, I actually loved the movie, and interpret the "pursuit of happyness" as Chris Gardner setting a goal in life and then reaching it through the process of hard work and a fighting spirit. In fact, I once heard that people who work harder are actually happier than those who are talented. The logic behind this mindset is that people tend to enjoy their success more when they feel they've struggled to earn it. However, I still think a person is better off being rich and unhappy, rather than being poor and unhappy.
Re: Who to profile next? - Hi Evan, Because I'm an online marketer, My recommendations will be online marketers. I think Rosalind Gardner can be the best for adding to you site. She is making more than 1.000.000$ a year and is one of the best affiliates in the world and very successful woman. Also her picute is beautiful too. (her picture looks like the same Kim Castle which is one every page of the site). Also M. FIlsaeme and R. Brunson can be my recommendations. They are making 4.500.000$ in sales a year as a marketer.
Favorite Christmas Movie - Hands down- for me it's the original (black & white) version of "Miricle on 34th Street" and I have seen the colorized version, but still prefer to watch the B & W version. Coming in second is "A Christmas Story" which is set in the 1940's where the little boy wants nothing more than a BB gun for Christmas. And last, I would say it's a wonderful Life (with Jimmy Stewart).
Business lesssons from movies and TV - There's a new book out on doing business the Sopranos way... that's a TV show I never watched and I'm not interested in the book But sounds like a fun idea... Movies and TV do teach us things, even if only subliminally ... Toy Story is a good example of leadership styles between the "old way" Woody the wooden puppet and the "new way" Buzz the charismatic space ranger...(and one of my favorite movies...) Mission Impossible the tv series (not the abominable movies) would be great for plannng intricate operations and being prepared for anything...
Book: The System - [quote:3e8ncw28]What was the name of that book -- the high finance murder mystery?[/quote:3e8ncw28] Sorry for the delay in answering this question. The book is: The System: A Story of Intrigue and Market Domination Terry Waghorn Perseus Piblishing 2002 Jacket description: In a world where competitive advantage is temporary at best - and illusory at worst - there is nothing more important to the business enterprise than creating a robust strategy and executing it with Steve. In The System, Terry WAghorn illustrates this universal theme through an action-packed adventure.


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