The Pursuit of Happyness

Today I’d like to tell you about one of the most inspirational films I have ever seen. It’s called the “Pursuit of Happyness”. Many of you have probably already seen the film. However, if you haven’t, I would strongly encourage you to do so.

The movie tells the story of how Chris Gardner goes from homeless to self-made millionaire, entrepreneur, motivational speaker and philanthropist.

From the moment he was born, Chris Gardneer’s life was far from a fairy tale. He spent the first few years of his life in a foster home while his mother was in prison. And at other times he lived with an abusive stepfather who terrorized the family.

Despite his challenges, Chris credits his mother for enabling him to make it through. Once while watching a basketball game with his mom, Chris commented that one of the players would make a million dollars. His mom replied, “Son, you know what? If you want to, one day you can make a million dollars.” From that day forward, Chris knew it was just a matter of time before he found a way to turn his new-found possibility into a reality.

His life started to take a turn when he met a man in a parking lot one day who drove a red Ferrari. Chris asked him two questions. “What do you do and how do you do it?” The gentleman turned out to be a stockbroker who was making $80,000 per month.

That was all the motivation Gardner needed to start making his way towards a career on Wall Street. Without any connections or even a college degree, he earned a highly competitive internship at Dean Witter. He began studying for a broker’s license on virtually no income, living in a boardinghouse or sometimes in public restrooms, bathing his son in the sink.

“I was giving my son a bath by candlelight. We had no electricity, and it was at a point in time, where honestly, I didn’t know whether I was going to quit, crack or cry. 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. And to this day I have yet to hear words that meant as much to me.”

And for his persistence, he did indeed arrive at his destination, becoming a highly successful stockbroker and eventually opening his own institutional brokerage firm in Chicago.

Watch the trailer below to see a glimpse of one man’s journey of persistence.