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10 Success lessons from Chris Gardner – “From

Homeless To Millionaire” for entrepreneurs -
KnowStartup

Biplab Ghosh

The life of Chris Gardner is one made for the big screen. From single father without resources, living on
the streets of San Francisco with his small son, he achieved through force and perseverance to get around
obstacles and found a successful company. If this story doesn’t sound familiar, maybe it will if you have in
mind the movie The Pursuit of Happyness that was based on the his inspirational and true story.

Author of the biography The Pursuit of Happyness and Start Where You Are: Life Lessons in Getting from
Where You Are to Where You Want to Be, Gardner has shared through these publications his incredible
life story and the philosophies and steps to create a successful life.

Here are 10 success lessons from Chris Gardner – “From Homeless To Millionaire” for entrepreneurs,

1. Assess yourself

Your skills may not be anything out of the ordinary, but you can do miraculous things with what you’ve
got. Maybe it’s your parenting skills, or your compassion. It may be your curiosity, your imagination or
unique style of fashion. Even if it seems to be no big deal, the lesson here is we all have unique abilities
and talents.

2. Look to someone you admire

If you’re having a hard time recognizing your gifts, look to someone else you know who’s been
resourceful. You may be surprised by how your own strengths rise to the surface by watching someone
else.

3. Where there’s a will, there’s a way

Keep in mind those things that allowed you to attain earlier goals. Believe in yourself and in the infinite
abundance of resources already at your disposal.

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4. Be passionate, calm and constantly learn

Here are three things Chris Gardner would tell any business owner or entrepreneur. The first lesson is
that you have to be passionate about what you are doing. If you aren’t passionate, you’re compromising
yourself every day. Secondly, you have to remain steady, calm and focused on your dream. You’re going to
be faced with many obstacles, but you have to stay the course. Baby steps count, too, as long as you’re
moving forward. Finally, you have to be willing to constantly learn and adapt. You’re never too told to do
something new.

5. Get excited about something

You have to love what you do. You have to have such a strong passion for it that you’ll break through any
barrier, jump over any hurdle to see your vision through. Gardner is the first to admit that in the early
days of his career, his major motivating force for finding work was money. He needed to pay the rent, he
needed to be able to afford food and clothing, and he needed to look after not only himself, but also his
young son.

Nevertheless, it was only by choosing to focus on a career that truly got him excited, that Gardner was
able to rise to the top of his field. Gardner had finally found something that he could get excited about
and he wasn’t about to let his chance of happiness pass him by.

6. Be the best you can be

Gardner attributes his rise to the top to his mother and her “spiritual genetics”, which encouraged
Gardner to dream big dreams for himself and strive to become the best. Gardner’s mother was a natural
born teacher. She loved doing it and she did it well. But, after being abandoned by her husband, she
found herself in the position of having to care for 12 children all on her own. She sacrificed her dream of
teaching to take numerous part-time jobs that could better support the family.

However, she pushed Gardner to be the best at everything he did. This commitment to be the best was
something he never forgot and continues to be the best at everything he can be.

7. Remember your roots

As far as Gardner has come and as much money as he has made, what has perhaps most distinguished
him professionally has been his contribution he has made back into communities. Gardner has kept his
promise and has striven hard to remain available and accessible.

According to Gardner, “As busy as I am wherever I am, I try to get out and walk the streets, to remember
how far I’ve come and appreciate every baby step of the way. The coolest thing in the world is walking up
the street in Chicago, New York or San Francisco and having someone say ‘Hey, you might not remember
me, but thank you for helping me get into the business. I can’t think of a better way to honor my mom and
lift her up than helping educators. The biggest part of her soul was to teach.”

8. Protect your dream

During the hard-times, Chris could have quit and blamed it on circumstance, situation, other people, his
wife, the colour of his skin. What matters is that he DIDN’T. If you want something it comes to doing
what it takes to get it.

9. Be agile
When Gardner started, there were many challenges he had to face. But because he was agile, he could
handle them all. Gardner mentions “I started my business in my house with $10,000. I did not know you
couldn’t do it, so I did it. I was the head of marketing, the head of sales, the head of trading, the chief
compliance officer and I had to clean the place up at the end of the day.”

10. Have a plan

If you’re starting a business, hope isn’t enough. You need a plan that’s clear, concise, compelling and
consistent. On top of that, you need to be committed to what you’re doing, he says.

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