From homeless to rich, the story of Chris Gardner

After being homeless and sleep in public toilets, Chris Gardner is today is a billionaire businessman. His life is the example of the American Dream, and his story has inspired thousands of people. From Poverty to success.

Chris Gardner suffered the ravages of poverty and lived on the streets of New York. In 1982, when the unemployment rate in the US was 10.9% was one of the many Americans who lost his job. At 28 he had to sleep in public toilets and care for her five.

Today, 34 years later, he owns the securities brokerage house call Gardner Rich & Company. It is a philanthropist and successful speaker who try to inspire people to overcome the obstacles of life, which has earned him the nickname CEO of happiness, and whose life story was brought to the big screen in 2006 in the film The Pursuit of Happiness starring Will Smith.

Gardner had a difficult childhood. His mother was in jail twice and he spent much time in the homes of relatives, and was raped by a stranger. His stepfather was a violent man who mistreated both Chris and his mother. To overcome this situation, he joined the Navy and served as a medical assistant at a naval clinic.

When he left the service he went to work as a medical representative. His salary was very low, with the aggravating circumstance that his girlfriend was pregnant. They lived very humbly and strictly necessary. One day, as he left the supermarket, he saw a man stationing an incredible Ferrari. He came over and asked what he was doing. The man replied that he was a stockbroker. At that time, the life goals of Chris changed and went looking for an apprenticeship in a brokerage firm.

He went to an interview in a good company, but a week before he was arrested for failing to pay $ 1,200 in fines from his car and spent 10 days in jail. When he emerged, he found that his girlfriend had left with his son and all their belongings, including their clothes. The next day, instead of canceling his interview, he decided to go and confront the company with the truth.

Despite having lived through the worst moments of his life, he never ceased to have a priority for his child.

The tactic was effective and got a job as an apprentice for $1,000 a month. He went to live in a boarding house and everything seemed to be working well, until his girlfriend showed up with his one year old son at the door. She told him that she could no longer take care of him anymore, regardless of the pension that no children were allowed. So Chris and his son were left homeless.

Such was the commitment with Chris Gardner Jr., who decided to make do the best possible for the little did not lack anything. All his salary went on diapers, daycare and food. He wore two dresses, one gray and one blue, he always was carrying it in his bag. At first they slept in cheap motels, but could not afford it throughout the month. They ended up spending many nights in homeless shelters in the city, and many others in a bath station. But the Rev. Cecil Williams, who saw Gardner’s dedication to his son, let them stay for a few months in the shelter of homeless mothers.

For a year he had to live on the streets, until, thanks to his efforts, he began to climb positions in the company and had enough money to rent an apartment. Only six years later, in 1987, he founded his own brokerage company with a capital of $ 10,000 starting in Chicago, Illinois. Then he sold his small stake in Gardner Rich and Co. in a multimillion-dollar deal in 2006. So he founded Christopher Gardner International Holdings, with offices in New York, Detroit, Chicago and San Francisco.

After knowing his history, his life certainly provides the message always seek happiness although everything seems to indicate that it is an unattainable goal.