Today I will share one of my favorite stories of hope and optimism. I am sure there are not many who have heard the name of Chris Gardener. What if I say he is same Chris Gardener of "Pursuit of Happiness" which was played by Will Smith. Now if you haven't watched the movie, don't waste your time here - just close your browser, step out, buy DVD and watch it. But if you are not in a position to watch the movie, allow me to tell you the story of this person who fought against all hardships and ultimately emerged as a winner. Chris had a very humble upbringing but the way he penned down his 'rags to riches' story is truly inspiring. His family life was never stable. He had to face two breakups in his early adulthood. His career never really got its shape as he had to change his profession multiple times from being a research lab assistant to a medical practitioner to a salesman. After his breakup from second wife, he had to bear the complete responsibility of rearing his child as well. Homelessness only added to the hardship. In-spite of all these, he was determined by his ambitions of making big in life. His story started taking good shape when he accidentally met a stock broker getting out of a Ferrari which introduced him to the lucrative field of finance and stock-brokerage. He never have had any kind of professional training in that field but luckily there were companies in the market which used to offer unpaid internship to such candidates. Determined by his desire to make a career in that field, he put everything at stake. He decided that he would stop selling medical devices and give all the time for the internship. He succeeds in getting an internship opportunity at E.F. Hutton. I must say that bagging that internship must have not been easy. The movie depicts the same in a very dramatic manner. Chris Gardener enters the interview room in shady clothes and the interviewer asks him, "What would you say if a guy walks-in without a shirt on and I hired him?". He replies, "He must have had on some really nice pants". The room bursts into laughter and he is hired. Chris accepts the internship and works really hard. He spent most of his day in the office working late-hours. He learns the trick of the business in a month and eventually becomes the master of the trade.
The thing that inspires me the most in this story is the way he struggled through the life and still manages to come out victorious. We all pass through this phase but the way we overcome it truly defines us. What we really need to do is look up and challenge our-self to the limits. The look up campaign of Housing.com (https://housing.com/lookup) shares similar spirit
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