The Pursuit of Happyness is a true story about Chris Gardner, a homeless salesman with dreams of being a Stockbroker. 

In the movie Gardner, played by Will Smith, has every obstacle thrown in his path and endures great hardship before he ultimately triumphs.

The idea that anyone can do it if they try hard enough might be appealing but it never gets us very far. If it did we’d all achieve everything we ever wanted. But we don’t.

That might be because real life has no stirring background music or it might be because we realise afterwards that we’re not as handsome and cool as Will Smith.

Another possible reason is people who never give up have a reason to never give up and it goes beyond wanting to have a better life or a better job or a bigger house. Chris Gardner had to hit absolute rock bottom before he found out what he was capable of. 

We can’t borrow that experience without blowing up our lives but there’s a lot more going on here than one man’s refusal to quit, most notably in terms of Chris’s other traits and characteristics, things we CAN borrow and learn from.

We're going to look at what they are.

You coming?