I recently attended a global sales conference hosted by and for the company I work for, NCR Corporation.  1,400 people attended from around the world.  It was a huge production, and was very well done.

One of the highlights of the week was the guest keynote speaker, Chris Gardner.  Chris is the subject of Will Smith’s movie, “The Pursuit of Happyness.”  I have not seen the movie, and frankly had not heard of it.  I was completely blown away by Chris’s story.  He was a phenomenal speaker, and more importantly, an incredible human being who overcame odds that many of us would have folded under.  Chris mentioned that the movie followed very closely to his true story, except his son was an infant rather than 5 years old as depicted in the movie.  This makes his experience even more compelling and inspiring.

In short, he found himself homeless and single with an infant, and over the course of a year or so, overcame obstacle after obstacle to pull himself out of in impoverished situation.  He never lost sight of his responsibility to take care of his son and to prove to him that he would never leave him regardless of life’s circumstances.  He was creative, persistent, and found his way through a maze of overwhelming barriers and oppression.  Not only did Chris survive such a stormy season of his life, he has since flourished as a broker and entrepreneur.

Needless to say, I will definitely watch this movie.  Chris made an indelible impression.

Chris Gardner

Chris Gardner

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