From the moment he was born, Chris Gardner’s childhood was anything but a fairy tale. Also, parts of his adulthood would prove to be even more trying. Chris grew up on the north side of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Chris spent the first few years of his life in a foster home. His mother was in prison twice, once for alleged welfare fraud, another time for allegedly attempting to burn down her husband’s house. It’s safe to say, Chris grew up around chaos. Chris says his stepfather was an abusive alcoholic who terrorized both him and his mother. One Christmas when Chris was sixteen, he says he was taking a bath when his stepfather burst in and pulled him from the tub with a twelve gauge shotgun. Chris says he was then kicked out of the house into the cold Wisconsin night, dripping wet and naked. His mother had been kicked out earlier. Chris says about that experience, Unfortunately, has stayed with me until this very day.
Despite his challenges at home, Chris credits his mother’s spirit for getting him through all the bad times. He says, ” I choose to embrace the spirit of my mother-who despite the fact that she had too many of her own dreams denied, deferred and destroyed-still instilled in me that I could have dreams.” Chris remembers a time when he was watching a basketball game with his mother and he commented to his mother that one of the players would make a million dollars. His mother, who was on the other side of the room, said to Chris, ” If you want to son , one day you could make a million dollars.” Chris recalls that had never entered his mind as being a possibility. But after his mother said that , it was just a matter of finding the right venue.
Lets jump forward, Chris is a single parent, he has been evicted , and he has nowhere for his son to sleep. Chris insisted on raising his son alone, even though he was struggling to make ends meet. A chance meeting on the street with a successful stockbroker inspires Chris, and with the odds stacked against him, Chris talks his way into an unpaid internship with a brokerage firm. Forced to lead a double life, Chris works on Wall Street by day and is homeless by night. Still, Chris dreamed of a better life for his son, and he made it happen. Chris landed his first brokerage job in 1981 and went on to work at several firms. In 1987, he established his own brokerage firm, Gardner Rich & Co. This story is the ultimate rags to riches story. It has now been turned into a movie, The Pursuit of Happiness, starring Will Smith. This is one of the most remarkable stories I have ever heard and I think everyone should go see the movie.
