A must read story of Success - The Chris Gardner Story..... About fighting the odds positively and achieving the pursuit of Happiness. (Reference - chrisgardnermedia.com)

Read this article about the life history of Chris Gardner, a stock broker and now a millionaire.....

Chris Gardner with son Chris Gardner Jr.

 Chris was a person who used to sell a medical bone density scanner to earn his living in America. Times became hard for him and he was not able to sell even one scanner at a point of time in his life. He was broke and meeting the daily ends seemed impossible for him. his wife left him and he was left with worst circumstances and a kid to take care of. In the meantime he decided to become a stock broker and applied with Dean Witter Reynolds a brokerage firm in America that carried out a trainee program for six months without salary. Followed by the training the applicants had to give a board exam and then only one out of a batch of twenty was selected as a broker.

Chris joined the program with no earning in hand. This time was the toughest as he had no money and even was thrown out of his house for not paying taxes. He was compelled to stay at a church with his child and prepare for his program. At the end with all his hard work and positive determination as well as the pursuit of happiness he was selected at the program and became a stock broker. He went to found his own firm called the Gardner Rich firm and sold a minor stake in 2006 to become a millionaire.

The story tells us about his grit and determination to fight all the odds. He never gave up and continued to follow his dream. He wrote a book about his life called the "Pursuit of Happyness" and a movie with same name is also released in 2006 starring Will Smith. The movie is on the list of top hollywood movies. If you want an inspiration then kindly watch that movie.

Some line from his own website...

Biography

Chris Gardner is the owner and CEO of Gardner Rich LLC with offices in New York, Chicago, and San Francisco. Conquering grave challenges to become a successful entrepreneur, Gardner is an avid motivational and aspirational speaker, addressing the keys to overcoming obstacles and breaking cycles. Gardner is also a passionate philanthropist whose work has been recognized by many esteemed organizations.

The amazing story of Gardner’s life was published as an autobiography, The Pursuit of Happyness, in May 2006, and became a New York Times and Washington Post #1 bestseller. In paperback, the book spent over twenty weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and has been translated into more than thirty languages. Gardner was also the inspiration for the movie “The Pursuit of Happyness,” released by Columbia Pictures in December 2006. Will Smith starred as Gardner and received Academy Award, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild nominations for his performance. Gardner was an associate producer on the film.

In his second New York Times bestselling book, Start Where You Are: Life Lessons in Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be, published in May 2009, Gardner shared his philosophies on, and the crucial steps behind, creating a fulfilling, successful life. The book provided a much-needed blueprint for navigating tumultuous times with positivity, courage, tenacity, discipline and common sense. The book was released in paperback in May 2010.

In the fall of 2010, Gardner was named the Ambassador of Pursuit and Happyness for AARP, which has nearly 40 million members worldwide. His mission is to share his hard-won wisdom to encourage the 50+ audience to pursue new challenges, search for fulfillment at any stage of life, or craft the legacy they want to leave behind.

The Movie

Born February 9, 1954 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Christopher Paul Gardner’s childhood was marked by poverty, domestic violence, alcoholism, sexual abuse and family illiteracy. Gardner published his autobiography out of a desire to shed light on these universal issues and show they do not have to define you. Gardner never knew his father, and lived with his beloved mother, Bettye Jean Triplett (nee Gardner), when not in foster homes. Gardner is indebted to Bettye Jean for his success as she provided him with strong “spiritual genetics” and taught him that in spite of where he came from, he could chart another path and attain whatever goals he set for himself.

Gardner joined the Navy out of high school and after discharge moved to San Francisco where he worked as a medical research associate and for a scientific supply distributor. In 1981, as a new father to son Christopher Gardner Jr., he was determined to find a career that would be both lucrative and fulfilling. Fascinated by finance, but without connections, an MBA or even a college degree, Gardner applied for training programs at brokerages, willing to live on next to nothing while he learned a new trade. Chris Jr.‘s mother left and Gardner, despite his circumstances, fought to keep his son because, as he says, “I made up my mind as a young kid that when I had children they were going to know who their father is, and that he isn’t going anywhere.”

Gardner earned a spot in the Dean Witter Reynolds training program but became homeless when he could not make ends meet on his meager trainee salary. Today, Gardner is involved with homelessness initiatives assisting families to stay intact, and assisting homeless men and women who are employed but still cannot get by. It is estimated that 12% of the homeless population in the United States is employed; in some communities that estimate is as high as 30%.

Gardner worked at Bear Stearns & Co from 1983-1987 where he became a top earner. In 1987 he founded the brokerage firm Gardner Rich in Chicago from his home with just $10,000. Gardner Rich LLC is a FINRA registered broker-dealer specializing in servicing public pension funds and Taft-Hartley plans for some of the nation’s largest institutions and unions. In addition to expanding its core business as an institutional securities broker, Gardner Rich has increased its participation in corporate underwriting and has expanded its brokerage services to include trading in global markets through both ordinary and ADR form.

Dedicated to improving the well-being of children through positive paternal involvement, Gardner is a board member of the National Fatherhood Initiative, and received the group’s Father of the Year Award in 2002. He served on the board of the National Education Foundation and sponsors two annual awards: the National Education Association’s National Educational Support Personnel Award and the American Federation of Teachers’ Paraprofessionals and School-Related Personnel (PSRP) Award. He also serves on the board of the International Rescue Committee, which works to provide access to safety, sanctuary, and sustainable change for millions of people whose lives have been shattered by violence and oppression. Gardner is still very committed to Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco, where he and his son received assistance in the early 1980’s. He has helped fund a project that creates low-income housing and opportunities for employment in the notoriously poor Tenderloin area of the city.

Gardner has also been honored by the NAACP Image Awards with awards for both the book and movie versions of The Pursuit of Happyness; Los Angeles Commission on Assaults Against Women’s (LACAAW) 2006 Humanitarian Award; The Continental Africa Chamber of Commerce’s 2006 Friends of Africa Award; The Glaucoma Foundation’s Kitty Carlisle Hart Lifetime Achievement Award; The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA); Covenant House, Common Ground and other organizations committed to combating violence against women, homelessness, and financial illiteracy – issues of the utmost importance to Gardner.

Chris Gardner’s aim, through his speaking engagements and media projects, is to help others achieve their full potential. His practical guidance and inspirational story have made him a frequent guest on CNN, CNBC and the Fox News Channel. He has been featured on “The CBSEvening News,” “20/20,” “Oprah,” “Today Show,” “The View,” “Entertainment Tonight,” as well as in People, USA Today, Associated Press, New York Times, Fortune, Entrepreneur, Jet, Reader’s Digest, Trader Monthly, Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, The New York Post and theMilwaukee Journal Sentinel, amongst other publications.

Gardner has two children and resides in Chicago and New York.

What does pursuing happiness means.... (Article reference wikipedia and health.howstuffswork.com)

If there's one thing that can be said about happiness, it's that it's wholly and utterly subjective. What makes one person happy -- picking flowers on a sunny day, perhaps -- may make another person decidedly unhappy. John Locke, however, believed that happiness is the natural state of humanity. As Locke wrote on the subject, humans "are drawn by the forces of pleasure and repulsed by pain" [source: McMahon].

Owing a mansion gives happiness then pursue it.

Exactly what gives that pleasure, again, varies widely. Researchers believe that the accumulation of wealth is a major source of pleasure for Americans. For instance, a January 2007 Gallup poll showed that 72 percent of people who made $75,000 a year or more said they were happy [source: WebMD]. Material gain in the forms of money, property and personal possessions isn't the only way Americans pursue happiness, however. In the same poll, people who were married -- no matter what their income level was -- were happier than single people.

Things like new cars, large houses and extensive portfolios, along with having a family and friends make us happy to varying degrees. It's up to the individual, as far as Jefferson was concerned, to determine what makes him or her happy [source: McMahon]. The pursuit part, however, is a different story.

Because happiness was widely considered a natural state for humans in the Jeffersonian era, it was believed to be what God intended and therefore deserved protection. The word's proximity to two other natural rights -- liberty and life -- demonstrates that Jefferson found happiness just as important. The legal and social frameworks provided by the Declaration and the Constitution are meant to create that protection. If a large house makes you happy, for example, then another person shouldn't be able to set it on fire; there are laws against that. What's more, an individual shouldn't legally be kept from pursuing that large house.

When he wrote the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson avoided defining happiness, choosing to leave it to the individual to determine his or her own meaning of the word. He also may have realized that it's not enough to want to be happy: The path to happiness must be unobstructed, as long as it doesn't interfere with another's happiness, of course.

The Great Indian Lokpal Tamasha comes to an end….

A novel movement started by Mr. Anna Hazare which got turned into a much more hyped socio-politico tamasha finally came to an end. During this four day fast I got lot of mails, messages, etc. Some saying to join the fast, other saying sign some poster or support campaign, some saying to join for a candle march. These are the people out of which I think 50% of them where not exactly aware about the Lokpal Bill and its happenings but still they were supporting it. This is what we call the “stand in a queue India” people. It is like this “hey I don’t know why you are standing in a queue but it doesn’t matters I will also stand”.

Everybody had their share of publicity all around these four days. The actors, politicians and their parties, the most important common people. Media had big bytes of TRP’s. During these four day tamasha, there were common scenes of news channels holding debate sessions, group discussions, etc. where in the common man shouted on top of his voice, “Hame Bhrastachaar se azaadi do”. Where was this common man, especially my young generation friends who held candle marches and support campaigns now, all these 48 years? Today we have so much information everywhere especially on the internet still we were unaware about the Lokpal bill, till these last four days and all of a sudden now in four days people have thesis on it to be told. That shows no one is concerned about the issue it is just the breeze blows and we go along.

There are so many such bills that deal with some social issues which are still pending but no one will ever notice them until someone comes and hypes the issue. I am sure if Anna had not started this movement at Delhi in Jantar-Mantar amidst all the media hush-bush carrying out a rally, no one would even notice it (Specially the common people). Of course don’t worry the government would still have taken steps and would have accepted Anna’s all demands as they cannot take the blame for starved death of a great social worker. It is nowhere the case that the government gave in due to people’s pressure. So there was no need of such a big publicity drama. Medha Patkar has done so many satyagrahas and fasting but silently. Of course Anna did it with genuine interest for people but it got projected by others in a very bad way like a Bollywood blockbuster drama.

One more important angle that is still remaining to be discussed here is about the after events now. The discussion over the bill will definitely go under the pipeline as it was all these 48 years. It will definitely pass the deliberation rounds coming monsoon session of parliament but will it get passed or get few steps closer to passing is a big question to be asked? Or will it still require another blockbuster sequel of the tamasha movement to go ahead? The people of India are definitely going to forget about the whole story within in a week, then what next???????????? So the whole thing comes back to square one.

Sometimes I feel that we should act carefully and stop creating dramas over any national issue especially by doing some support and signing campaigns, candle marches, sms campaigns, etc. Such hyped campaigns and all actually shift the FOCUS of the issue to somewhere else and even may prove hurting or to some extent damaging the national sentiment in some way. We have done it all earlier as well but what happens next? This always remains as an issue undiscussed.

We need to get mature enough to deal with such issues in a more natural way and not in dramatized way. Our media should also start behaving responsibly by showing some true concern instead of only worrying about the TRP’s. The Credibility issue of the Lokpal Commission will always remain hanging. Can anyone guarantee that the proceedinds and officials of the Lokpal commission will be corruption free? Hopefully we will have some better movements fought in a better way ahead in future.

Modern day Gandhi having the Lokpal way

About  Jan  Lokpal  Bill

The Jan Lokpal Bill (Citizen's ombudsman Bill) is a draft anti-corruption bill that would pave the way for a Jan Lokpal, an independent body like the Election Commission, which would have the power to prosecute politicians and bureaucrats without government permission.

The bill has been drafted by Shanti Bhushan, former IPS Kiran Bedi, Justice N. Santosh Hegde, renowned advocate Prashant Bhushan, former chief election commissioner J. M. Lyngdohin consultation with the leaders of the India Against Corruption movement and the civil society. The bill proposes institution of the office of Lokpal (Ombudsman) at center and Lok Ayuktaat state level. Jan Lokpal Bill is designed to create an effective anti-corruption and grievance redressal systems at centre and to assure that effective deterrent is created against corruption and to provide effective protection to whistleblowers.

The Lokpal Bill drafted by the government is pending to be passed in the Rajya Sabha since 42 years. The first Lokpal Bill was passed in the 4th Lok Sabha in 1969 but could not get through in Rajya Sabha, subsequently, Lokpal bills were introduced in 1971, 1977, 1985, 1989, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2005 and in 2008, yet they were never passed and its pending.

TIMEINE-

December 2010

The bill is drafted and sent to government.

March 13, 2011

A group of Delhi residents dressed in white shirts and t-shirts took a four-hour drive around the city to drum up campaign against corruption and support the Jan Lokpal Bill.

April 4, 2011

Anna Hazare, the anti-corruption activist leader announces fast unto death till Jan Lokpal Bill enacted.

April 5, 2011

Around 6,000 Mumbai residents joined Anna Hazare for a one-day fast to support the demand for implementation of the Jan Lokpal Bill.

April 12, 2011

Hazare have announced to begin Jail Bharo Andolan on April 12, 2011 if Bill is not passed.

PROMINENT SUPPORTERS-

§  Sri Sri RaviShankar - Spritual leader & Founder of The Art Of Living movment

§  Kiran Bedi - social activist and a retired Indian Police Service (IPS) officer

§  Yog Guru Ramdev - Popular yoga guru and social activist

§  Anna Hazare - Eminent social activist

§  Arvind Kejriwal - Magsaysay award winner

§  Kapil Dev - former Indian cricketer and captain

§  Maneka Gandhi

§  Sharad Yadav - Janata Dal (United)

§  Raj Thakare - Leader in Maharashtra

Anna Hazare states that they have received six crore (60 million) SMSes in its support.

(Reference source: Wikipedia)

About  Anna  Hazare

Dr.Kisan Baburao Hazare, popularly known as Anna Hazare (b. June 15, 1938), is an Indian social activist who is especially recognized for his contribution to the development of Ralegan Siddhi, a village in Ahmednagar district, Maharashtra, India and his efforts for establishing it as a model village, for which he was awarded the Padma Bhushan by Govt. of India, in 1992. On April 5, 2011, he has started a fast unto death to make a pressure on union government to enact a law on Lokpal that deals with corruption in public offices.

(Reference source: Wikipedia)

What we feel

                 The whole movement is going on to introduce the Lokpal bill which is believed to solve the problems of corruption. Ass it is said, the bill calls for introducing an independent body like the election commission to have a check on corruption, but don’t you have this question mind that whether the election commission itself is completely corruption free or not?. In country like India where today also elections are won by manipulating the EVM’s in certain parts of course. Even today we come across certain cases of fake voting, etc. In such conditions how can we guarantee an institution or an independent body to take care of corruption? Corruption is intermingled in our system like a virus, it is now like the infected blood in our body and to clean it is the most difficult process.

           Anna Hazare is doing great by standing by this question. Many of the Indians are actually supporting Anna. He will definitely win his battle soon but the most important question is will this bill solve our corruption and will it be corruption free itself. The people who are supporting the movement (specially the politicians) are themselves corrupt. These Hippocrates are out to fight against corruption this doesn’t justifies it at all. Anna might be fighting genuinely but others who are joining the movement are now there to have their publicity share. Media as usual is now turning this movement stuff into a sensational story to get hyped TRP’s. Everyone is now bullying their eye on Anna and his movement. Let’s see what happens next?

Give yours comments what you feel about it.

THERE IS NO HOPE OF DOING PERFECT RESEARCH (GRIFFITH, 1998, P97). DO YOU AGREE?

If  research  were  to  be  perfect, the  word  research  would  have  been  extinct  by  now. After  discovering  Abacus  had  we  believed  that  our  research  was  perfect  do  you  think  the  Computer  would  have  been  invented? Had  we  stopped  with  the  Candle  we  would  not  have  the  Electricity. Try  applying  this  rule  to  everything  that  you  see  and  feel. Don’t  you  think  that  if  research  were  to  be  perfect  then  there  wouldn’t  be  any  ongoing  research?

 Now  if  we  go  with  the  first  definition  that  we  are  searching  for  something  that  has  been  lost, two  situations  can  arise. Are  you  sure  that  something  has  been  lost  and  you  are  trying  to  find  it  or  by  researching  you  would  lose  what  you  already  have. For  example  Pager  has  been  lost  to  the  research  of  Mobile.

Coming  to  the  second  definition  that  you  are  going  to  discover  something  new, are  you  sure  that  this  has  not  been  discovered  before  and  forfeited  by  our  ancestors? For  instance  you  may  discover  that  a  certain  plant  has  specific  medicinal  properties. It  might  happen  that  our  ancestors  have  seen  the  side  effects  of  the  medicine  in  the  long  run  and  hence  stopped  using  it. If  we  start  using  it  as  a  medicine  our  next  generation  might  see  the  side  effects  and  defy  the  medicinal  values  of  that  plant.

Research  as  the  name  suggests, means  that  re-searching. It  denotes  the  process  of  searching  for  something  whose  search  has  already  been  completed  in  the  past. That “something” might  either  be  an  idea, a  concept, a  theorem  or  a  technology  and  much  more. “There  is  no  hope  of  doing  perfect  research” says  Griffiths. In  fact, the  saying  holds  good  for  each  and  every  research  work  done  on  earth. I  do  agree  with  the  saying  and  would  like  to  add  some  supporting  evidences  with  reference  my  experiences  in  the  past.

“No  two  gardens  are  the  same. No  two  days  are  the  same  in  one  garden”- is  a  famous  quote  by  the  writer  Hugh  Johnson [Thomas, 1985, p115]. This  quote  is  applicable  for  human  beings  too. No  two  individuals  express  the  same  opinion  and  thought. As  their  thoughts  vary, their  idea  on  perceiving  things  vary. A  person  looking  at  a  half-filled  glass  also  has  a  perception  to  see  that  glass  half empty. A  research  work  eventually  results  in  an  inference  by  a  person  on  a  particular  concept. Obviously, no  two  researchers  conclude  the  same  thing.

Based  on  the  already  present  facts  we  investigate  further. And  there  comes  the  question  about  research. Can  there  be  a  perfect  research  keeping  in  mind  that  it  is  based  on  already  present  facts  which  may  or  may  not  be  perfect  and  we  are  after  all  human  beings  and  facts  and  perception  change  with  person  to  person. So  can  there  be  a  perfect  research? There  is  no  guarantee  whether  a  research  will  yield  perfect  results  or  the  processes  used  for  the  purpose  are  perfect. Difference  of  perception  in  individuals  may  result  in  biases. Errors  sometimes  are  inevitable, whether  it  is  related  to  measurements  or  misunderstandings  or  our  biased  mind.

All  of  us  would  be  aware  of  the  Big  Bang  Theory. I  am  also  not  an  exception  to  it. I  am  also  one  of  the  poor  victims  who  were  made  to  sit  in  a  class  room  with  boring  lectures  and  lessons. Big  Bang  theory  was  the  one  that  I  studied  in  my  higher  secondary  Physics  class  in  a  chapter  by  name, “Universe”. The  Big  Bang  theory  as  all  of  us  know  is  one  of  the  widely  accepted  theories  that  explain  about  the  origin  of  our  universe. According  to  Big  Bang  theory, the  universe  has  emerged  out  of  nothing [Karen C. Fox, 2002]. The  Big  Bang  theory  has  proven  that  there  is  an  origin  for  this  universe  and, before  that  origin, there  existed  nothing. Many  astronomers, after  making  exhaustive  research  work  have  concluded  the  same. All  of  us  believe  in  this  concept, till  date. However, in  the  recent  years, many  researches  are  formulating  hypothesis  that  stand  against  this  widely  accepted  Big  Bang  Theory. According  to  Big  Bang, the  universe  has  originated  13.7  million  years  ago. The  recent  researches  by  scientists  have  identified  stars  in  the  universe  whose  ages  have  been  approximated  to  be  older  than  13.7  million  years [NOAO, Website]. Another  research  work  made  by  the  scientist  Roger  A  Rydin, claims  that  the  general  relativity  based  model  proposed  by  Einstein, which  Big  Bang  took  as  a  base  for  predicting  the  history  of  universe  itself  was  wrong [Roger A, 2007]. This  shows  t that  the  prediction  made  by  Big  Bang  theory  does  not  hold  true. The  controversies  on  Big Bang  theory  are  still  continuing  and  will  continue  forever.  However, that  is  another  different  story  and  is  out  of  scope  of  our  topic  as  well  as  my  knowledge.

Another  famous  controversy  that  is  still  in  existence  is  between  Newton’s  third  law  of  motion  and  Bernoulli’s  principle  of  conservation  of  energy [Anderson D, 2009]. Both  scientists  through  their  research  have  found  out  a  theory  that  justifies  the  reason  for  an  airplane  to  fly  in  the  air. Newton’s  third  law  of  motion  as  we  all  know  states  that, “for  every  action  there  is  an  equal  and  opposite  reaction” [Dole C, 2000, p143]. On  the  other  hand, Bernoulli’s  principle  of  conservation  of  energy  says  that, “Faster  moving  air  has  a  lower  pressure  and  that  the  converse  is  true” [McCormick B, 2003, p46], which  is  controversial  to  Newton’s  third  law  of  motion. Researchers  in  aeronautical  engineering  have  confusions  about  which  one  to  rely  on,  in  making  airplanes.

Research  is  thus  a  never-ending  process. It  is  also  a  continuous  process. Research  evolves  in  such  a  way  that  one  person  makes  a  conclusion  on  some  concept  and  the  other  person  uses  the  conclusion  made  by  this  person  to  conclude  some  other  new   concept. There  are  evidences  of  happenings  in  the  past  that  has  proven  many  research  results  to  be  wrong. Had  a  research  work  been  incomplete  and  perfect, there  would  not  have  been  a  necessity  to  rework  on  the  same. In  fact, a  research  always  uses  an  existing  conclusion  as  a  base.

Perfection  is  something  which  is  devoid  of  any  faults, any  errors. So  when  there  is  some  room  for  error, there  cannot  be  a  perfect  research. There  is  constant  changing  and  updating  of  scientific  knowledge  that  we  are  made  to  think  that  there  is  no  hope  for  perfect  research. The  work  done  or  knowledge  which  is  true  today  may  not  hold  its  validity  or  may  be  proved  inaccurate  10  years  down  the  line  when  another  outstanding  work  may  reveal  new  information  or  facts  contrary  to  what  has  been  proved  earlier. New  processes  and  approaches  keep  developing  with  time  that  challenges  the  already  established  works, and  possible  effect  changes  in  the  status  quo.  

             Perfect  research  would  be  possible  only  if  we  presume  all  humans  are  perfect  which  is  not  possible. The  word  perfect  doesn’t  fit  research  because  the  very  basis, the  essence  of  a  research  process  is  imperfection  as  it  is  done  by  us  humans. Quality  and  quantity  of  a  research  can  be  improved  but  perfection  can’t  be  achieved. Theories  are  developed, then  rejected, and  then  developed  again  in  a  new  way, rejected  again  and  so  on, and  because  we  keep  developing  new, old  are  rejected. If  there  is  a  perfect  research  then  no  new  finding  will  take  place, no  matter  how  the  research  is  done, which  processes  are  used, the  result  invariably  will  be  same. That’s  a  perfect  research  which  never  happens.

It  is  implied  and  evident  from  the  above  research  findings  that  there  cannot  be  any  research  that  could  be  termed “Perfect”, in  this  world. It  is  my  opinion  about  research. It  is  obvious  that  my  opinion  stands  for  the  quote  by  Griffiths. However, opinions  and  perceptions  differ   from  person  to  person. Certain  things  could  be  understood  better  by  experimenting  rather  than  seeking  an  explanation. If  you  are  not  satisfied  with  what  Griffiths  has  concluded, then  experience  and  experiment  it  yourselves, today!