Wise book - Start Where You Are by Chris Gardner

You may recognize the name Chris Gardner if you saw the movie, “The Pursuit of Happyness”. Will Smith starred as Chris Gardner, a man who literally lived homeless on the street for over a year, along with his young son, while he tried to make his life better and to fulfill the promise that he would never abandon his son. Gardner later went on to become a highly successful stock broker.

The REAL Chris Gardner is even more inspiring than the movie. A while ago, I heard him speak in person and was riveted by his story. Now Gardner has published his second book, called “Start Where You Are”. It is chock full of wisdom. Gardner doesn’t pull any punches. His book encourages, cajoles, inspires and motivates and sometimes gives you a swift kick in the ass.

There are so many books these days that tell people that success is easy, that they don’t have to work for it, or that life is always positive if you just think it is so. Gardner dismisses that type of “magical” thinking in favor of good old-fashioned reality. He urges the reader to “start where you are”. There is no situation that cannot be turned around, says Gardner. You need to find where your passion is, and go in pursuit of making it a reality.

I love Gardner’s idea of “pursuit”–the actual path of taking action toward what you truly want in your life. Gardner’s wise counsel can lead you to finding your “hot button”–what you would do in your life even if you couldn’t get paid for it. He talks a lot about self-responsibility and making promises to oneself. He speaks about courage, determination, hope, compassion, and enlightened decision-making. Gardner is a wise man, and his book is a wise book. I highly recommend it, no matter what stage of life you are in or what you’re going through. Gardner teaches you how to become the hero of your own life, and how to inspire others to do the same.

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