Christopher Paul Gardner free essay sample

Christopher Paul Gardner (born February 9, 1954 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is a entrepreneur, stockbroker, motivational speaker and philanthropist who, during the early 1980s, struggled with homelessness while raising his toddler son, Christopher, Jr. [1] Gardners book of memoirs, The Pursuit of Happyness, was published in May 2006. [2] As of 2006, he is CEO of his own stockbrokerage firm, Gardner Rich ; Co, based in Chicago, Illinois, where he resides when he is not living in Toronto.Gardner credits his tenacity and success to the spiritual genetics handed down to him by his mother, Bettye Jean Triplett, born Gardner,[2][3][4] and to the high expectations placed on him by his children, son Chris Jr. (born 1981) and daughter Jacintha (born 1985). [1] Gardners personal struggle of establishing himself as a stockbroker while managing fatherhood and homelessness is portrayed in the 2006 motion picture The Pursuit of Happyness, starring Will Smith. [4][5] Early years Gardner was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Thomas Turner and Bettye Jean Gardner. We will write a custom essay sample on Christopher Paul Gardner or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page He was the second child born to Bettye Jean, his older half-sister is Ophelia from a previous union; and younger siblings are Sharon and Kimberly, children from his mothers marriage to Freddie Triplett. Gardner did not have many positive male role models as a child, as his father was living in Louisiana during his birth, and his stepfather was physically abusive to his wife and children. Tripletts rages made Gardner and his sisters constantly afraid. [3] In one incident, Bettye Jean was falsely imprisoned when Triplett reported her to the authorities for welfare fraud; the children were placed in foster care.Inspired by his Uncle Henrys worldwide adventures in the U. S. Navy, Gardner decided to enlist when he finished secondary schooling. He was stationed at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina for four years, where he was assigned as a corpsman. He became acquainted with a decorated San Francisco cardiac surgeon, Dr. Robert Ellis, who offered Gardner a position assisting him with innovative clinical research at the University of California Medical Center and Veterans Administration Hospital in San Francisco, California. Gardner accepted the position, and moved to San Francisco upon his discharge from the Navy in 1974.Over the course of two years, he learned how to manage a laboratory and to perform various surgical techniques. By 1976, he had been given full responsibility for a laboratory and had co-authored several articles with Dr. Ellis that were published in medical journals. [2] [edit] Marriage and troubles On June 18, 1977, Chris Gardner married Sherry Dyson, a Virginia native and an educational expert in mathematics. With his knowledge, experience and contacts within the medical field, it appeared Gardner had his medical career plans laid out before him.However, with ten years of medical training ahead of him and with the changes in health care just on the horizon, he realized that the medical profession would be vastly different by the time he could practice medicine. Gardner was advised to consider more lucrative career options; a few days before his 26th birthday, he informed his wife, Sherry, of his plans to abandon his dreams of becoming a doctor. [2] His relationship with Sherry was detached, in part because of his decision to abandon a medical career and also due to differences in their behavior.While still living with Sherry, he began an affair with a dental student named Jackie Medina, and she be came pregnant with his child only a few months into the affair. After three years of marriage to Sherry, he left her to move in with Jackie and to prepare for fatherhood. Nine years elapsed before he and Sherry were legally divorced in 1986. [2] Their son, Christopher Medina Gardner, was born on January 28, 1981. Gardner worked as a research lab assistant at UCSF and at the Veterans Hospital after leaving the service.His position as a research lab assistant paid only about $8,000 a year which was not enough for him to support a live-in girlfriend and a child. After four years, he quit these jobs and doubled his salary by taking a job as a medical equipment salesman. [8] Prompted by his sons inquiries about his own father, Gardner had previously been able to track down his biological father via telephone. With a higher income from his new job, Gardner was able to save enough money to travel to Monroe, Louisiana, where he and his son met Turner for the first time. 2] Gardner returned to San Francisco determined to succeed at business. A pivotal moment in his life occurred, after a sales call to a San Francisco General Hospital, when he encountered an impeccably-dressed man in a red Ferrari. Curious, Gardner asked the man about his career. The man told him he was a stock broker and, from that moment on, Gardners career path was decided. [7] Eventually, Gardner bought a Ferrari of his own from the famous basketball player, Michael Jordan. [3] The Illinois license plate of Gardners black Ferrari reads NOT MJ. The stockbroker in the red Ferrari was a man named Bob Bridges. He met with Gardner and gave him an introduction to the world of finance. Bridges organized meetings between Gardner and branch managers at the major stock brokerage firms that offered training programs—such as Merrill Lynch, Paine Webber, E. F. Hutton, Dean Witter Reynolds and Smith Barney. For the following two months, Gardner cancelled or postponed his sales appointments and his car amassed parking tickets while he met with managers. [2] It appeared that Gardner got his break when he was accepted into a training program at E. F. Hutton. He subsequently quit his sales job so that he could dedicate his time exclusively to training as a stock broker. Then he appeared at the office ready to work, only to discover that his hiring manager had been fired the week before. To make matters worse, Gardners relationship with Jackie was falling apart. She accused him of beating her—an accusation that Gardner denies to this day—and left him, taking their son with her to the East Coast. He was taken to jail and a judge ordered that he stay there, for ten days, as punishment for being unable to pay $1,200 in parking tickets. 4] Gardner returned home from jail to find his apartment empty. His girlfriend and his son, along with all of his possessions (including his suits, shoes and business apparel), had disappeared. With no experience, no college education, virtually no connections, and with the same casual outfit he had been wearing on the day he was taken into custody, Gardner gained a position in Dean Witter Reynolds’ stock brokerage training program. However, with a monthly stipend of $1,000 (which is equal to $2204 in present day value), and no savings, he was unable to meet his living expenses. [7] [edit] Fatherhood amidst homelessnessGardner worked to become a top trainee at Dean Witter Reynolds. He arrived at the office early and stayed late each day, persistently making calls to prospective clients with his goal being 200 calls/day. His perseverance paid off when, in 1982, Gardner passed his licensing exam on the first try and became a full employee of the firm. Eventually, Gardner was recruited by Bear Stearns Company in San Francisco. About four months after Jackie disappeared with their son, she returned and left him with Gardner. By then, he was able to afford a small rent and was rooming in a flophouse.