It is my honor to now say the great Chris Gardner joins us now, Wall Street veteran, bestselling author of The Pursuit of Happiness, the one and only.
Chris, it's really nice to see you here today.
Thank you for coming by.
Thank you for having me.
It's an honor to be here.
So for people who are seeing this, they're familiar with you, they may know your story.
What actually brings you down here to the NYSE community today.
First of all, I love the business.
I've been in the business for over 40 years, but I have a group of young people today joining me from Milan, Italy.
Their first trip to America, first trip to New York, and you cannot come to New York City without a visit to the New York Stock Exchange.
So that's why we're here.
A trip to the big board does make the New York City experience complete for sure.
Your story has inspired millions of people.
What are some of the biggest lessons you think in terms of resilience and overall resiliency that you want people to carry on?
The Biggest lesson shared is that if I can do this, you can do that.
That's been the universal message that I've gotten from people around the world.
You made me believe that I could do this.
Talk to us a bit more about your journey, specifically here on Wall Street.
Some of those things that kept you moving when you felt insurmountably the odds were stacked against you.
The one thing that kept me moving for.
From the very beginning was my commitment to Plan A and Plan A was, I was going to become world class at whatever I did with my life.
Not good at it, not pretty good at it, but world class at it and everybody on this floor feels the same way.
That's why they're here.
It is almost 20 years, believe it or not, since the film Pursuit of Happiness was released.
Not many people could say Will Smith played them in the film, by the way.
I mean, that's incredible.
Um, what is it like watching your life, not only on the big screen back then, but the way it's resonated nearly two decades later?
Oh man, Bob Seger put it best, 20 years, where did they go?
20 years, I don't know.
But the important thing is what's getting ready to happen next.
That's the question you need to be asking.
Well, that's my next question, sir.
Sir, let's go right there.
What happened?
What happened?
Jay Z?
Stay tuned.
We'll be right back.
Uh, if you could go back in time and give your younger self one piece of advice, something you wish you had been told when the, uh, when you were a younger man, what would that be?
I know this.
What I would say to that younger guy.
I told you so.
Uh, you spent, you spent, of course, as we said, many years here on Wall Street.
What are some of the most important money lessons that you wish more people learned early in life?
First of all, invest your time before you invest your money.
That was the first thing I learned from Ace Greenberg.
Number 2, get smart quick.
I learned that from another powerhouse, Sandy Weil.
But, most importantly, I learned from Jamie Dimon.
Relationships are the most important asset.
Relationships can do things that money cannot.
That's why I'm standing here today.
Oh wow, I love that.
Um, while I still have you, what is one habit that to this day, you never skip?
Pray.
I never skip a day of praying, and I pray often, all day, every day.
I pray more than you guys trade.
Well, thank you for those prayers, of course, without a doubt.
I, I have a sense I might know what this answer is.
What is one book every young professional should read?
Oh man, I gotta tell you, I just finished a fabulous book, Theo of Golden.
OK.
A fabulous reading, that's all I can say.
Theo of Golden, you'll thank me later.
What does the word happiness mean to you today?
We spell happiness with a Y in the book and the film for a reason.
The Y is there to make sure that we all know it's you and your responsibility, you and your opportunity to create the life that you want for you and your family.
That's why we spell happiness with a Y.
I've been really.
Grateful for your time.
It's really an honor to meet you.
It's an honor to have you on the show.
Where can people go if they want to find more about the work you continue to do and the things you continue to write, Chris?
I'm not hard to find, baby.
Chris Gardner, Wall Street veteran, bestselling author of, among other things, The Pursuit of Happiness.
It's really great to have you on the show today.
Thanks for taking the time.
Thank you.
Take good care.
