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The Pursuit of Happiness: Gardner’s Climb to the Top

Article Overview: “One of the things young people always ask me about is what is the secret to success,” says Gardner. “The secret is there is no secret. It’s the basics. Blocking and tackling.” Gardner has gone from homeless to Hollywood, rising from the depths and despair of poverty to become not only a millionaire stockbroker and successful entrepreneur and author, but also the star of a major motion picture. How did he do it?

The Pursuit of Happiness: Gardner’s Climb to the Top

“One of the things young people always ask me about is what is the secret to success,” says Gardner. “The secret is there is no secret. It’s the basics. Blocking and tackling.” Gardner has gone from homeless to Hollywood, rising from the depths and despair of poverty to become not only a millionaire stockbroker and successful entrepreneur and author, but also the star of a major motion picture. How did he do it?

Passion: “Find something that you love,” says Gardner. “Something that gets you so excited you can't wait to get out of bed in the morning. Forget about money. Be happy.” From the moment Gardner first heard about just what it was to become a stockbroker, he knew it was for him. It was the passion in his pursuit that carried him over the obstacles along the way. “The money thing will come,” he says. “I know so many people who have so much more money than I. They are miserable. It is so important to be happy.”

Commitment: “The cavalry ain’t coming,” says Gardner. “You’ve got to do this yourself.” Once his mother had convinced him that he truly could be anything that he set his heart and mind out to be, Gardner grew bent on becoming the best. After that point, it wasn’t about surviving or making a living; it was about developing his talent and mastering the competition.

Opportunity: “Stay in school,” Gardner now warns. “It's what will give you options. You don't want to try to do this thing the way that I did.” Despite not having much education and despite the numerous obstacles that stood in his way, Gardner pursued success relentlessly and refused to stand down in the way of discrimination and doubt.

Determination: During one of Gardner’s low points, he was forced to give his son a bath by candlelight since they had no electricity. “It was at a point in time, where honestly, I didn't know whether I was going to quit, crack or cry,” recalls Gardner. “Some kind of way this child, this baby, picks up on it, and he stands up in the bathtub, and he says, 'Papa, you know what? You're a good papa.' That was all I needed to go on.” No matter what the situation was or how difficult it appeared to be, Gardner always found the fortitude to stay the course.

Duty: “When I look back at the journey from homelessness to prosperity, I hold one thing dearer than all else – my commitment to my son,” says Gardner. “Doing a movie with the top movie star portraying me, doing a book with an editor who's last book won the Pulitzer Prize – all that stuff is great, but the most important thing that I will have ever done in my life was break the cycle of men who were not there for their children.” From mentoring future leaders to making education more accessible, Gardner always felt a greater obligation to society that went beyond mere moneymaking.

Today, in addition to heading up his brokerage firm, Gardner is busy working on what he considers the biggest deal of his career. He is setting up an investment venture in South Africa, which will not only net him a large profit, but which will create hundreds of jobs and inject foreign currency into the nation. This man who was once homeless now has the choice of living in one of the three homes that he owns. He might not have become the next Miles Davis, but there are surely young people out there now wishing to be the next Chris Gardner.

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Article Tags: bathtub, candlelight, cavalry, crack, despair, discrimination, doubt, electricity, homeless, millionaire, motion picture, obstacles, passion, point in time, poverty, pursuit of happiness, stay in school, stockbroker, successful entrepreneur, topone



Related Forum Posts
Re: The secret to happiness - Happiness comes from within. We choose whether we want to be happy or not. Circumstances can influence our feelings, but in the end, it's up to us how we deal with our circumstances, positively or negatively. I admire anyone who can stay strong and be happy through adversity. There will always be challenges that we face, but I believe that if we face them with our heads held high, the odds of overcoming them are much greater. This reminds me of the movie "The Pursuit of Happyness." Happiness spelled wrong for a reason. One of Will Smith's greatest movies. I encourage you all to watch it as it's very inspiring.
Re: The secret to happiness - Happiness is working on the job you love. I forgot who said this, "give a man the job he loves doing and he will ever work again in his life"
Re: The secret to happiness - [quote="barrysarner":2awy1urv]I agree and happiness is different for every individual.[/quote:2awy1urv] Happiness is something that comes from within each person it not something that we can find externally. Something from outside such as an exciting event or a new car can make us happy, but this is a fleeting emotion. True happiness is within each person if we choose to it over misery. MichelleJ
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: Millionaire or Happyness? - [quote="mphcoach":lgfsn9gb] I recently watched the movie 'In Pursuit of Happyness' and was rather disappointed that the 'happiness' achieved was merely the accumulation of wealth. [/quote:lgfsn9gb] Money definitely can make things easier, but of course the main wealth in life is health. If you do not have your health you do not have anything, as anyone who suffers from a chronic disease can tell you! 1) Health 2) Family (whether it's you and your relatives, or you and your own spouse and rugrats) 3) Enough money to live comfortably First thing a parent should do for their kid is start them with a savings account. Even if you only get 1% interest these days - and how obscene is that! - it gets them accustomed to the idea of saving. Too many people these days spend up to their income, and, thanks to credit cards, beyond. That's one of the main barriers to developing wealth - digging a pit when you're young that you have to spend the rest of your lfe digging out of.


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