The pursuit of happiness is a journey that we are all striving for. Sadly, however, many people never reach this journeys ultimate destination. One case of a person that has truly lived the pursuit of happiness and reached that destination is that of Christopher Gardner. In fact, his journey has been so remarkable that it has been made into a Hollywood movie. You might be familiar with it. It’s called The Pursuit of Happyness starring Will Smith. Gardner was determined to “make it”, both for his young son and himself.
Though bitter at first, the journey eventually became sweeter as things started looking up and Gardner could pursue his dream of one day becoming a Wall Street broker. After a chance encounter with an individual, he learned of his profession and set out to get the proper training so that he could succeed in the business world.
Life on the streets is a harsh reality and Chris Gardner dealt with it the best way he could. There were times when he wasn’t sure where the money needed for food would come from and where he and his son would sleep for the night. Things got so bad for him that he had to spend some time in jail because he did not have the money to pay for the outstanding parking violations that he acquired. Even if all of this wasn’t bad enough, his wife left him and their young child when they needed her most. I can only imagine how he must have felt dealing with this kind of uncertainty. Through it all he persevered and kept his head held high.
As life would have it for Christopher Gardner, the same place where he and his son would sleep some nights, he would wind up overseeing the numerous bond offerings for them through his company Gardner Rich & Co. No longer homeless, Gardner now enjoys the finer things in life while still where he came from and appreciative for the position that he is in now. Hearing stories like this about urban professionals never gets tiring for me because it provides constant inspiration so that I can attain what I aspire to achieve.
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