Chris Gardner Press
SecondAct.com Prime Time blog
Chris Gardner on Reinventing Yourself
September 29, 2011SecondAct.com summarizes Chris Gardner’s comments at AARP’s 2011 Life@50+ convention in Los Angeles. Gardner sees a wave of small-business startups run by baby boomers pushed out of Corporate America due to ageism or the bad economy. It’s the start of a creator economy “with a whole lot of folks being entrepreneurial.”
AARP.org
Mentoring Minutes
June 10, 2011In his capacity as AARP’s Ambassador of Pursuit and Happyness, Chris Gardner has made a series of videos entitled Mentoring Minutes that are featured on the AARP website. Chris is also partnering with AARP to produce an advice column entitled You Can Do It, which runs in each issue of AARP The Magazine.
Knoxville News Sentinel
Pursuit of Happyness Author Inspires Tears
May 11, 2011On May 10, 2011 Chris Gardner was the keynote speaker at the Volunteer Ministry Center’s “Carry the Torch Knoxville” luncheon at the Knoxville Convention Center. Agency CEO Ginny Weatherstone said her hope was that those who heard Gardner’s talk got “a new understanding that homelessness can happen to anybody and that homeless people have talents, skills and capabilities that sometimes get buried under the hopelessness … but like Chris they can work their way out.”
Houston Chronicle
Mom’s Lesson Helped Put Exec on Road to Success
April 17, 2011Chris Gardner was interviewed by the Houston Chronicle in advance of his April 19 appearance as the keynote speaker at a Child Protective Services luncheon. Topics included the future of the American dream, and the importance of not stigmatizing the working homeless.
Chicago Tribune
Man Behind Story of “The Pursuit of Happyness” Still Inspires
January 26, 2011Chris Gardner, the man who inspired the Will Smith character in the 2006 movie “The Pursuit of Happyness,” recently spoke in Oak Lawn about the questions he thought the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. would want answered if he were alive today: “Why are so many of our children killing each other? Why does a politician have to be shot in order for the gun violence issue to be addressed?”
Chicago Journal
Chris Gardner Speaks at IEF “Suited for Success” Event
January 19, 2011Chris Gardner joined Illinois Education Foundation scholarship winners at the 2011 “Suited for Success” event. He spoke of his own struggles as a poor, black man trying to fit into the world of high-powered finance. “I had two suits that that I had to wear for my first year — a blue one and grey one,” he said. “The joke started, ‘Oh, that’s Gardner, he’s re-enacting the Civil War. Some day’s he’s with the north; some days he’s with the south.’ That wasn’t funny at the time.”
London Glossy
Chris Gardner on Cover of Inaugural London Glossy
November 06, 2010Chris Gardner is featured on the cover of the premiere issue of London Glossy magazine, along with an interview by Deborah Thomas. You may read the interview on the London Glossy website.
The Dallas Morning News
Author to Speak at Dallas Help the Homeless Week Breakfast
October 26, 2010Chris Gardner, motivational speaker and author of the book-turned-movie The Pursuit of Happyness, will be the featured speaker at the Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance’s Help the Homeless Week kick-off breakfast on Nov. 4. Be sure to visit the MDHA website for information regarding contributing to this or future MDHA events.
Financial Mail
Home From Home
October 21, 2010South Africa’s Financial Mail profiles Chris Gardner and shares his thoughts on coping with the financial crisis. “Gardner believes that for things to change, individuals have to recognise their personal responsibility in the crisis: from traders, who were driven by greed, to consumers, who overextended their home loans. ‘People who work on Wall Street have confused what they do with who they are,’ says Gardner.” PDF available here.
BusinessDay
Stability ‘Will Ensure South Africa Turns into the Hong Kong of Africa’
October 14, 2010“I can safely say South Africa will be the Hong Kong of Africa and is the first port of call for every new investor who wants to start from the right base. But the biggest and most important thing is stability,” said Chris Gardner in an October 2010 interview with South Africa’s BusinessDay. PDF available here.
The Ghanaian Journal
Africa on the Verge of Entrepreneurial Boom
October 08, 2010According to Chris Gardner, who is in the country to interact with Ghanaian youth, huge investments are being made on the African continent and and the youth need to position themselves to take full advantage.
ConcreteLoop.com
Entrepreneur Gives Tips on Claiming Ownership of Your Dreams
October 08, 2010Mr. 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.
MyJoyOnline.com
I Am Here to Learn: Chris Gardner
October 06, 2010Stock brokering guru Chris Gardner says his visit to Ghana will lend him a rare opportunity to learn from corporate Ghana and other entrepreneurs whom he is eager to meet.
Mediaplanet / Chicago Tribune
Investing in Yourself
October 01, 2010Mediaplanet’s personal finance supplement to the October 1, 2010 Chicago Tribune featuring Chris Gardner.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“Pursuit of Happyness” Author Gardner Gives Free Financial Seminar
September 30, 2010From homelessness to millionaire entrepreneur, Gardner’s inspiring journey is shocking in its extremes. In an exclusive interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Chicago and New York resident shared the bedrock principles that help define him.
Trader Daily
The Survivor: Catching Up with Chris Gardner
September 29, 2010After watching Bear Stearns, the investment house that cemented his career, “burn” to the ground, Gardner recently gave Trader Daily his thoughts on the current market, restoring client trust, and building a brokerage career today.
America.gov
Africans Urged to Be Ready for Increased Investment
September 28, 2010Africa is the “last frontier of international investment,” and Africans need to be ready to make choices and take action to take advantage of this situation, according to Christopher Gardner, founder and chief executive of the Chicago-based brokerage company Gardner Rich LLC.
Chattanooga Times Free Press
‘Happyness’ Inspiration Speaking in Chattanooga
September 26, 2010A preview of Chris Gardner’s October 1, 2010 appearance at the Association for the Education of Young Children’s annual early childhood education conference in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Jet magazine
Jet Designer Spotlight: Eyebobs Benefiting Glide Memorial
June 14, 2010The June 14, 2010 issue of Jet magazine features Chris Gardner’s collaboration with Eyebobs on a pair of fashionable reading glasses Gardner dubs the “All Blues”. The glasses will be available in July and may be pre-ordered from Eyebobs. Sales of the glasses will benefit Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco, the venerable institution that assisted Chris Gardner and his son during their struggle with homelessness, among many thousands of other lives Glide has touched over the last five decades. Look for the Jet magazine issue featuring Chris Gardner’s Eyebobs at newsstands now.
United Way of Midland, Michigan
Chris Gardner Photo Gallery
February 03, 2010The United Way of Midland, Michigan has posted a photo gallery of Chris Gardner at his recent speaking appearance there.
The Wall Street Journal Speakeasy Blog
What 2010 Will Be Like: Don’t Bank On It
January 02, 2010Chris Gardner comments on the credit crisis going into 2010. According to Chris, “The mentality at TARP-infected institutions has clearly NOT changed.”
BNet.com Sales Machine blog
Chris Gardner on Professionalism in Sales
December 22, 2009The Sales Machine blog at BNet.com has posted an interview with Chris Gardner conducted by Geoffrey James. Chris discusses the importance of sales as a profession, and why he has chosen to “not participate” in the recession.
Grand Island Independent
Author Says He’s Proudest of Being There for Son
September 30, 2009Chris Gardner recently shared his story in Nebraska as part of the kickoff of the Heartland United Way’s annual fundraising campaign. Gardner expressed that “the most important thing I’ve ever done in my life was to break the cycle of men who are not there for their children.” He also emphasized that many of the country’s homeless are hard-working people with jobs and families who have fallen on difficult times. “If you’re ever going to give something, this is the time,” Gardner said, “because the need has never been greater.”
Vancouver Sun
Pursuit of Happyness is Yours if You Want It
September 29, 2009“At a time when more Canadian families are becoming homeless, the man behind the blockbuster movie Pursuit of Happyness says it’s important for people to find their inner strength to carry on.” An article from the Vancouver Sun regarding Chris Gardner’s appearance in Calgary for a fundraiser for Inn From the Cold, an agency that provides shelter to homeless families.
Black Enterprise
When the Tough Get Going
September 01, 2009The September 2009 issue of Black Enterprise magazine features an article on Chris Gardner entitled “When the Tough Get Going: What you need to learn about conquering economic hardship from a homeless man turned millionaire”. You can read the article online at BlackEnterprise.com.
Realtor Magazine blog
Christopher Gardner Talks About ‘White-Collar Homelessness’
August 26, 2009Realtor Magazine’s Speaking of Real Estate blog has posted an article about Chris Gardner’s recent keynote speech at the National Association of Realtors 2009 Leadership Summit on August 25. The story recaps the real life tale of the period of Chris Gardner’s life portrayed by Will Smith in The Pursuit of Happyness.
COSE Update
Life Lessons
August 01, 2009COSE (Council of Smaller Enterprises) has published an article about Chris Gardner in the August 2009 issue of COSE Update magazine. A digital edition of the article is available to read online. Chris will be a featured speaker at the COSE Small Business Conference, October 21 at the IX Center in Cleveland.
USA Today
Chicago School Helps Inner-city Teens Help Themselves
June 22, 2009USA Today reports on Chris Gardner’s work with Christ the King Catholic High School in Chicago’s West Austin neighborhood, founded last year by Jesuit priest Christopher Devron. The school’s students earn 75% of the cost of their education by working for Chicago-area companies one day a week and signing over their paychecks to the school. Chris Gardner hired five students to work for Gardner Rich & Co., his brokerage firm.
The Daily Californian
Convocation Speaker Talks About the New American Dream
May 26, 2009In a time when college graduates are facing a economic recession, convocation speaker Chris Gardner told UC Berkeley’s class of 2009 Friday that happiness lies not in money but in relationships. “It’s time for us to come home to prayers, family and focus,” he said to a sea of students dressed in black caps and gowns. “Stuff, toys and things exist but they are not necessary for you to be happy.”
UCBerkeleyNews
Sights and Speeches from Berkeley Commencement 2009
May 22, 2009An upbeat keynote speaker Chris Gardner recalled his days as a homeless man sleeping on the Berkeley campus as he encouraged graduating seniors to keep pursuing happiness. Gardner, now an entrepreneur and philanthropist, said dire predictions that “the sky is falling” just don’t recognize that it’s really “pennies from heaven.”
BlackVoices.com
A Conversation with Chris Gardner: START WHERE YOU ARE
May 20, 2009An interview with Chris Gardner regarding his best selling second book Start Where You Are, the successor to The Pursuit of Happyness. “Just like this market went down, it’s going to go up. The question is: when this economy does turn, who are you going to turn out to be? Are you going to be the same person you were before the music stopped or the bubble burst? Or will you take this time to grow, assess, and empower yourself?”
Nasdaq.com
Chris Gardner Rings the NASDAQ Stock Market Closing Bell
May 13, 2009Chris Gardner presided over the NASDAQ closing bell on May 13 to celebrate his new book. Start Where You Are: Life Lessons in Getting From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be provides a blueprint for navigating this tumultuous time with positivity, courage, tenacity, discipline and common sense. Distilling his beliefs into 44 profound yet accessible chapters, Gardner offers practical advice for tackling life’s problems and seizing its opportunities, all with his trademark humor and “tell it like it is” attitude.
Marin Independent Journal
“Happyness” Author Gardner Hopes We’re Each Our Own Champ
May 13, 2009“Gardner’s just-released book was written, he said, ‘because I’m determined to show people they can be totally broke and still, through the lessons in the book, not only recover but eventually thrive if they are willing to do what it takes. But if people are looking for how to get rich quick, this isn’t the right book for them.’” Marin Independent Journal
BookPage
START WHERE YOU ARE Interview
April 16, 2009An interview regarding Chris Gardner’s new book Start Where You Are from the May 2009 issue of BookPage. It will be available on BookPage.com during May 2009.
UCBerkeleyNews
“Pursuit of Happyness” Hero to Address 2009 Graduates
April 08, 2009Chris Gardner, the self-made entrepreneur and philanthropist whose homelessness-to-riches story inspired the 2006 autobiography and feature film, “The Pursuit of Happyness,” will deliver the keynote address this spring at the University of California, Berkeley’s Commencement Convocation.
Awearness
Inspiring Stories About How to Make a Difference
Chris Gardner recently contributed a short essay entitled “On Giving and Getting Second Chances” to fashion designer and philanthropist Kenneth Cole’s book, AWEARNESS: Inspiring Stories About How to Make a Difference. Among the many luminaries who have also contributed essays to the book are Bill Clinton, Magic Johnson, Robert Kennedy, Jr., Jane Fonda, Ludacris, Robert Redford, and Martin Luther King III. Proceeds from the book support Kenneth’s not-for-profit AWEARNESS Fund.
Psychology Today, December 2008
Confessions of a Late Bloomer
December 01, 2008Author Scott Barry Kaufman explores the characteristics of the late bloomer, referring to Chris Gardner as an example.
CIO
5 Things I’ve Learned
November 15, 2008Chris Gardner relates five key things he’s learned in his business career.
Metro
Film’s Inspiration Seeing History Repeat
November 10, 2008WCVB TV, ABC Boston
Man Shares Rags-To-Riches Story in Boston
September 23, 2008“We’re about to see a whole new class of homeless people in America,” Chris Gardner said. “Going forward, whose responsibility is it to take care of me and my family? It’s not the corporation that you work for, clearly, they don’t care anything about you. It’s not the government. It’s your responsibility, and I think a lot of people are finally getting it. This is the last wake-up call.”
Questions For Living
Questions for The Pursuit of Happyness
QuestionsForLiving.com recently asked Chris to articulate the questions he routinely asks himself which have contributed to his long term success. The brief interview is posted at their website. This is a tip-of-the-iceberg view of the type of ideas Chris is developing in much greater detail in his upcoming book Start Where You Are, scheduled for release in May 2009
The New York Times
The Basketball Scene
June 15, 2008Chris Gardner recounts a story about the making of the famous basketball scene from “The Pursuit of Happyness”, in an excerpt from his 2008 Hampton University commencement address. Video footage of this is on YouTube.
Newsweek
Letter to the Editor from Chris Gardner
June 02, 2008Equities
Chris Gardner Rises to the Occasion
May 01, 2008Reuters
Father absence “decimates” black community in U.S.
June 14, 2007The Stock Market Game
Chris Gardner tribute dinners
From a brochure promoting The Stock Market Game.
Associated Press
Gardner translates ‘Pursuit of Happyness’ fame into advocacy
March 14, 2007Memphis Commercial Appeal
Teens’ essays strike chord with author
March 15, 2007To deliver his ‘Happyness’ message at Memphis church
by JAMES DOWD
Associated Press
Once homeless, millionaire broker’s story hitting book stores, big screen
May 25, 2006by DON BABWIN
