Chris Gardner
Chris Gardner
Christopher Paul "Chris" Gardneris an American entrepreneur, investor, stockbroker, motivational speaker, author, and philanthropist who, during the early 1980s, struggled with homelessness while raising his toddler son, Christopher Gardner, Jr. Gardner's book of memoirs, The Pursuit of Happyness, was published in May 2006. As of 2012, he is CEO of his own stockbrokerage firm, Gardner Rich & Co, based in Chicago, Illinois, where he resides when he is not living in Toronto. Gardner credits his tenacity and success to the...
ProfessionEntrepreneur
Date of Birth9 February 1954
CityMilwaukee, WI
If you have a dream, you've got to protect it.
Though my mom had too many of her own dreams denied, deferred and destroyed, she instilled in me that I could have dreams. And not just have dreams but had a responsibility to make them reality. My mom taught me from a very early age that I could do anything I wanted to do.
The balance in your life is more important than the balance in your checking account.
It's ok to FAIL it's not ok to Quit
You can only depend on yourself. The cavalry aint coming,
Well, I really don't want to be a high-powered corporate lawyer. I'm really passionate about painting.
Strong people stand up for themselves. Stronger people stand up for others. The irony is that while sleep sometimes brings nightmares, it's the reality of my waking hours that can cause me the greater fear.
We all understand genetics. You get your eyes from your dad, your mom's nose, there's nothing you can do about that. But your spiritual genetics you can choose, pick, embrace and commit to. That's what I did.
It was right then that I started thinking about Thomas Jefferson on the Declaration of Independence and the part about our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And I remember thinking how did he know to put the pursuit part in there? That maybe happiness is something that we can only pursue and maybe we can actually never have it. No matter what. How did he know that?
But if you don’t take the necessary steps to make them happen, dreams are just mirages that mess with your head!
As busy as I am wherever I am, I...
People can't do something themselves, they want to tell you that you can't do it. You want something? Go get it.
I hold one thing dearer than all else: my commitment to my son.
We have plans to build 873 single-family units.