While the majority of business people look to other motivational speakers as their main sources of inspiration, American businessman Chris Gardner uses his son as his inspiration to get higher in life.”I experienced pain as a youngster to save my children that pain,”
Gardner stated in a BBC News interview. Gardner was able to realize his goal of not letting his son make the same mistakes he did. Being homeless at one point in life, Chris and his son’s journey to this point was not an easy one.
Together Despite Everything
Chris Gardner And His Son (Source Instagram)
“I always had my son to lean on while everything else was falling apart. Chris Gardner served as both my inspiration and my pillar of support.”The devoted father wrote on his Instagram account to express his love for his son.
On January 28, 1981, he had a son named Christopher Jr. with Jackie Medina. Though he was married to his ex-wife Sherry Dyson at the time, his relationship with Medina was adulterous.
Gardner and his kid lived on the streets for a year at the beginning of the 1980s because he was unable to secure the required security deposit. He was forced to put his then-toddler son and himself to sleep in parks, under his desk at work, and on the floor of a public restroom at a train station.
When Christopher eventually questioned a stranger driving a red Ferrari on the street: “What do you do?” it changed his life for the rest of time. The moment the man sat down with Chris for lunch and explained the fundamentals of Wall Street, the now business tycoon’s eyes were opened.
Chris landed a job where the man would assist him in setting up meetings with branch managers at significant brokerage firms, enabling him to make an $80,000 monthly compensation.
Unfortunately, this moment of joy was brief because Chris’s terrible existence resumed after the hiring manager of the company was sacked. His troubles got worse over time, and one day his ex-wife Jackie tried to flee with their son Chris Jr. Chris Sr. and shoved Jackie into the garden bushes during the argument.
Chris Gardner was charged and taken into custody. Gardner spent around 10 days in jail, and the day after his release, he had an interview. Chris showed up for the interview unprepared, and when he was questioned about his appearance, he was honest. Well, if you’re a fan of Hollywood, you’ve probably heard of this before.
The 67-year-old decided to write a book on his challenges due to the accumulation of his past and present struggles. The book was later so well-known that it was turned into a movie back in 2006.
Will Smith portrayed Christopher, while Jaden Smith, Will Smith’s son, portrayed Christopher’s kid. Despite facing obstacles along the way, Christopher was hired after the interview and has since turned his life around. He had made more than a million dollars in one year by 1988.
Another source of happiness entered Chris’s life at this time when he briefly rekindled his relationship with his ex-wife, Jackie, and the two became parents of another child. In 1985, he gave birth to Jacintha Gardner, his daughter.
After that, the two-parent family’s financial success continued unabated. Gardner was able to give his son everything he wanted, and he still cherishes being there for him during the difficult moments of life.
According to the BBC, he is now a multimillionaire with a net worth of $60 million. Gardner’s wife’s death from medical difficulties did, however, have an impact on him.
How did Chris Gardner’s wife fare?
Holly Ann Norwick, Gardner’s then-wife, passed away in 2012 at the age of 55 from brain cancer, six years after the film’s debut. She was only 55. The catastrophe in his life caused him to reassess his priorities. Then, Christopher decided that he wanted to live a different kind of life.
“Now that we can see how brief life may be, what will you do with the rest of your life?” was one of the final conversations [my wife and I] had. The 67-year-old explains how he changed his job as a result of his last discussion with his wife.
After three prosperous decades in the finance sector, he is now actively involved as a motivational speaker, supports underserved areas, and travels for 200 days a year to more than 50 different countries.
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