Chris Gardner

Chris Gardner

Chris Gardner is not exactly a household name. He is most likely known as the owner and CEO of the brokerage firm Christopher Gardner International Holdings. Chris’s heroism isn’t in his job, but the journey he went through to get there. His is a story of sacrifice for his son, and of never giving up.

Chris was born on February 19, 1954, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He grew up never knowing his father. After serving in the Navy, he became a medical supplies salesman in San Francisco. After an encounter with a stockbroker, he decided to find a training program, and follow his new dream of becoming a stockbroker. He was eventually offered a spot on a training program. He took the offer, and quit his career selling medical supplies. But the man who offered him the spot was then fired, leaving Chris without a job. On top of that, he was put into jail due to unpaid parking tickets. His wife also left him. But instead of letting his wife take away his toddler son, he fought to keep him, saying, “I made up my mind as a young kid, that when I had children, they were going to know who their father is, and he isn’t going anywhere.”

Chris found another training program, but couldn’t make ends meet. He and his son spent nights sleeping in a subway bathroom, until they found a homeless shelter where they could stay. At the end of the training program, he was selected as the one trainee for them to employ. With this first job, he was able to afford an apartment for himself and his son. He quickly became a top businessman, and started his own brokerage firm. He is currently involved in many programs to help the homeless, and is a board member of the National Fatherhood Initiative, which tries to increase the population of children growing up with involved, responsible fathers.

Chris Gardner

Chris constantly made choices that affected his quality of living in a negative way, but had an end result that was good for his son. He was faced with many challenges, such as finding places to live and sleep at night. In spite of this, he never gave up, and never put his child in a foster home where he would not have his own father. In my opinion, this is the greatest quality of a hero: never giving up.

Chris's mother once told him, "If you want to, one day you could make a million dollars.” He made this statement come true in two ways; not only did he fulfill it literally, by actually making a million dollars, he also fulfilled it in the figurative sense as well, by never giving up.

As he was going through these challenges, not once did he blame somebody else. He just kept on going, making his life better. Not only has this taught me that, in the way of the old saying, "You can be anything you want to be," but it has also taught me that my life is decided by the choices I make. With these lessons, I plan to live my life just as I think we all should. As Chris Gardner once said, “You know, money is the least significant aspect of wealth.” The most significant aspect of wealth is how rich you are as a person.