By Samantha Joseph
Chris Gardner has been described as a magnificent speaker with a joyful baritone and an engaging personality. Many know him as a motivational speaker and multimillionaire – and as the man whose autobiography formed the basis of the Will Smith movie, The Pursuit of Happyness.
Gardner’s rise from homeless single father to successful broker and entrepreneur has been well documented, and he has used this tale of difficulties and desperation to point others down the path to achieving their full potential.
Starting out in an unpaid trainee programme at stock brokerage firm Dean Witter Reynolds, Gardner worked hard and juggled his young son and the start of a career, became a licensed stockbroker and was eventually headhunted to Bear Stearns. His rise did not end there though, as he later founded his own stockbroking firm, Gardner Rich & Co.
Chris Gardner
Pointing to passion as the foundation of his success, Gardner advocates it as the one thing that people must discover before they can be truly successful and truly fulfilled. “Be bold enough to find the one thing that you are passionate about. It might not be what you were trained to do. But be bold enough to do the one thing. Nobody needs to dig it but you,” he was quoted as saying in a Bloomberg interview.
Gardner’s passion was ultimately his children, and when he became successful, this trickled down to his philanthropic work, much of it involving children, education and the homeless.
To see the man himself in action, drop by the Wealth Expo 2013. Gardner will be the keynote speaker at the event that brings together personalities in business and financing to impart their advice in achieving monetary success.
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