Chris Gardner is a self-made millionaire, entrepreneur, motivational speaker, and philanthropist who, during the early 1980s, struggled with homelessness while raising his toddler son. His story was shared with millions when his first book, The Pursuit of Happyness was made into a blockbuster feature film starring Will Smith.
Mr. Gardner, who recently released his second book, Start Where You Are: Life Lessons in Getting From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be, sat down with Concrete Loop to share his beliefs and tips on how to claim ownership of your dreams and achieve your full potential.
In your book you speak about “Finding Your Button” could you elaborate on that?
· Gardner: You have to ask yourself, what is it that ignites that part of yourself that makes you love what you’re doing so much, you’d do it for free? That’s what you should be doing with your life — that’s where you will find success and fulfillment. Do what you love and love what you do. Harness the power of your passion. My honest to God feelings are that if your button isn’t engaged on the job, a paycheck isn’t enough. It may not be enough that you’re good at something or you make a terrific living at it. You deserve to love what you’re doing so much that you lose sleep because the sun can’t come up early enough in the morning for you to do your thing, whatever it is. And this is why I came up with the The C-5 Complex.
THE C-5 COMPLEX
· You have to be ‘Clear, Concise, Compelling, Committed and Consistent’ when trying to reach your goals.
You also speak about The Empowerment Zone in your book. What are some steps we can take to find the power within?
· Gardner: Back to what I was speaking about when I said you have to be inspired within. You have to ask yourself the following questions:
“What is it that you hope to accomplish?”
Sounds simple, sure, but you must be able to articulate this to yourself and others CLEARLY. Vagueness or ambivalence can be the kiss of defeat, if not death, in some pursuits and are often why some folks get lost in their efforts. Being clear allows you to see your plan unfolding in your own mind, and then communicate it so that others can see it too.“How did I get here?”
Now this is kind of a trick question. Because it requires you to come to terms with the fact that even if you didn’t set your GPS for this destination and would rather be anywhere else than here, you’ll be moving into a higher gear if you can admit that for the most part, “Well, okay, yes, I drove myself here.” And if you can’t admit that yet, you are not ready yet to take ownership of your choices — and that’s key for getting ahead. Stop blaming others. We have to choose to own the actions we take. This includes not only the joys and victories, but the mistakes, failures, disappointment, hurt, and insult that we encounter as well.“Are you bold enough to go back to basics?”
This is how I test if I should really take a chance — if it’s worth it to me. If you’re bold enough and resilient enough to go back to basics, you’re probably ready to venture out where you’ve never gone before. If you are considering veering off on that road less traveled know that your energy, passion, joy, dreams, and desires will be on the line. Are you ready to take the long view, understanding that success will come and go, that you’ll be down and up, flush and strapped? With the ebbing and flowing, are you prepared to be constant with your own persistence? If so, go for it.
You were recently in New York speaking at the Master Card Financial seminar and you made a statement that stood out to me; ‘Net worth does not equal self worth.’ What motivated that?
· Gardner: When I was pursuing my passion, money of course wasn’t my main objective. However, wealth was a byproduct because I was so tenacious in my pursuit of my passion. It was never solely about the money. You have to realize and come to know that money does not equal happiness. When you are doing something you love to you, you should be willing to do it for free.
Motivational quotes by Mr. Gardner:
“It is okay to fail, it is not okay to quit.”
“The cavalry ain’t coming you’ve got to do it yourself.”
“Marching to the sound of your own drum is one thing, but I’m talking about having your own band.”
For more information on Chris Gardner make sure to visit his official website and also pick up his latest book
FREEMASON HAND SIGN !!!!!!!!!
I know that hand sign.
Are YOU in the know?? lol.
Great read! I love the 5 c’s! Inspirational !
—-He’s showing the viewer how to “claim ownership on their dreams” without saying
—-one word lol. Anyone with insight knew what this dude was about when Will “The
—-Alchemist” Smith played him in that film, “Pursuit of Happiness”. Even in the
—-promotional poster for the film, Will and his son Jaden are positioned to where the
—-sun is illuminating them at the point where their hands are joined, to imply that
—-Jaden Smith would “carry on the torch” from his father.
Ok but someone please tell me why this man have on two watches? lol
And posts like this are what makes ConcreteLoop different from any other blog. Thanks! This post was excellent and inspirational.
@ 5. I asked him and he said so he is always on time.
Way to go Ms. Angel! I enjoy positive light. And I agree you must be consistent in what you want in life.
Cool post CL. We can definitely learn a thing or three from this man.
The reason he has two watches is because one time he was Kate for a meeting and it cost (I think about 30,000 -40,000usd) deal
So now he wears two watches with different time zones
I meant to say he lost that 30,000-40,000 usd becuase he was late to a meeting with a client
Awesome words he spoke!
I loved this post! I would LOVE to have the opportunity to have a one on one talk with him……I will be supporting his book!
This is a very positive and uplifting post. I love it CL!
keep doing you thing Angel. I can definitley appreciate your positive insight on keeping us intuned and enlightened to successful people who look like us. i Love Conloop!!!
His son needs to follow his tips, all he does is TWEET his life away!
MONEY DOESN’T EQUAL HAPPINESS..UMM YEAH THAT’S TRUE BUT I’M SURE AS HELL NOT HAPPY WHEN I’M BROKE.
HAVING SAID THAT MR. GARDNER HOW ABOUT YOU WRITE ME A CHECK FOR A COOL $5 MILLION? THEN I CAN AFFORD TO TAKE YOUR ADVICE & DO WHAT I LOVE FOR FREE. (BECAUSE IN THE MEANTIME THE MORTGAGE, UTILITIES, STUDENT LOANS, ETC. HAVE TO BE PAID & THE BILL COLLECTORS DON’T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT MY C-5 COMPLEX).
Saving this for my inspiration board.
Some of the comments above are so ignorant. Anyway, Chris is a complete inspiration and it’s amazing that Angel got to meet him. You’re both great models for young entrepreneurs like myself.
I TRULY AGREE IF YOU HATE WHAT YOU ARE DOING IN LIFE EVEN IF U MAKING GOOD MONEY….YOU WILL NEVER BE HAPPY AND WILL CONSTANTLY ASK YOURSELF WHY AM I DOING THIS.
MUCH BETTER TO BE DOING SUMTHING YOU WOULD DO FOR FREE/PASSIONATE ABOUT AND TRUST IF YOU WORK HARD THE MONEY WILL FOLLOW TOO
kudos to u, Concreetloop!
This is what makes Concreteloop stand out above the rest. This is why Concreteloop will still be around for years to come. Thank you for sharing this. I have never heard of him. Then again, the media overlooks successful black men unless they are rappers.
great post & interview. especially about taking ownership of your choices and the many risks that one must take when “pursuing their passions” . As they say no risk no reward.
However, for anyone with a family to support and especially single parents the risks are heightened. My dad was also an entreprenuer and an artist with much get up and go and follow through who up & quit his steady job to follow his dreams. Long story short he never saw financial success and much turmoil and havoc was created at home due to my mom having to pick up the financial slack & burden of his ever increasing debt. Meanwhile while moms was stressin and dad was dream chasin my siblings and I were out running the streets without much guidance.
Nothing is promised & i know for every 1 success story there are a million let downs. I’m all for trying BUT i am not trying to risks having my 10 and 12 yr old boys being homeless on the off chance i might get my dream job.
Now if i was not a parent that would be a different story.
II still think Chris Gardner has some good advice and obviously he keepin the money rollin in with these self help books but like someone said earlier (hahaha?) even if your passion is engaged but you cant feed your family or barely keep the lights on you are still gonna feel like sh!t…comprimise is key unless you have a real strong support system. imo
This is where I am right now, balancing the life I love… That’s why I started my blog …thanks for the post! Check me sometime allvalb.wordpress.com
Thank you for sharing this author’s new book, it seems very interesting.
I wish I knew something I would do for free…I have too many money problems to really even think about that right now. At this time, I dont think there’s anything I would do for free because I need to keep a roof over my head. I realize I’ve gotten myself in this situation that I’m in, but there is also a lot to be said about people who had less than healthy childhoods and start their adult lives behind the learning curve and have to play catch up on things that other people didnt have to struggle so much with.
Anyway, we’re all just trying to live the best lives we can. Mr. Gardner has helped a lot of people get on the track to do that…but some of us just need a little more time or even some help to get to the point where we can get started. It’s nothing to be ashamed of…its just how life is. I do think it’s worth the fight though, which is why I’m still plugging along.
Bravo! Love the coverage Angel. Good energy on this one. -BEBE
interesting ….
Great read, very inspiring! Kudo’s to concreteloop for feeding the kids something positive.
This is some great advice. You can tell who is owning their power and who is still making excuses. You too will be enlightened one day.
Great article!! Love the message he’s putting out there. The comment level is very low when it comes to something positive.
Well its great to pursue your passion, but I still could have whipped his behind when he didnt let his son go with his mother while he sorted things out. I know, a man that did not abandon his son, yeah yeah. I especially could have whipped his behind when he kept trying to sell those bone-density scanners. I know, I know, he overcame all the adversity he brought into his life and Will Smith played him well in that movie. But he is fortunate it worked out with all the foolishness. Yeah, we all make mistakes and what not. Determination and perserverance is the key lessons. Anywho, get your dream on, wisely, please.
Exactly # 26 what I was talking about earlier, because alot folk cant just do it the way he did because it may not go that way. There may not be anything for free, but you never know. Visit or call the unemployment office and ask about what they have that can help you learn a new skill, even if its a side job. There are some reasonable online courses from a college that cost less than $175 to learn how to start a business and other programs of interest that may last 6 to 8 weeks. Some skills, even though no certificate, may be found on you tube. The library can help with info or books on what you want to do for free, well check out a book. You may be able to get a student loan or grant to take a short program either online or in classroom for a year or less while you work. Might as well be in debt getting better. Your job may even offer tuition reimbursement or will cross train you if you express interest in another function or role. I think what set him apart from the rest in his early years in the Pursuit of Happiness, was his tenacity and drive that helped him improve his performance and made his supervisors give him favor because they could not help but take notice, that was the real key. I know because I work in a performance based job and developed methods like he did that improved my bottom line that pushed me to the front of the line and has brought me favor, bonuses,salary increase etc. Just take a program or add skills that will help you where you are now and beyond. Anyway, Best Wishes.
I don’t think he’s saying give up your day job people. simply image something you love so much you’d it for free, writing, painting, etc. now move in that direction. that’s all. where your passion is, is also your wealth.
Just rented this book from my library.
FIFIFJ123>Well its great to pursue your passion, but I still could have whipped his behind when he didnt let his son go with his mother while he sorted things out.
FIFIFJ123, you got the story wrong, although it’s more clear in the book than the movie. The mother abandoned the child to Chris’ care. There was also no option of the child being cared for by any other relatives. Enough of the storyline was fictionalized in the film that that may have not been clear to you.
FIFIFJ123>I especially could have whipped his behind when he kept trying to sell those bone-density scanners.
That part is entirely fictionalized, although Chris was working for a medical supply company at one point. Read the book for the whole story.
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i love chris he is my sole model
Don’t you just love the jerk above who asked for a loan of $55 million from Chris Gardner so he could make his dreams come true. If he read the book or saw the movie “The Pursuit of HappYness,” he certainly didn’t understand one single thing about it.