as strange as change can be there were
times when it was hard to imagine that
my life would be what it is today
especially the time when my son and I
were living in that bathroom maybe
remember that scene in the movie there
was a highly polished sheet metal piece
over a sink it wasn’t a mirror but it
served as a mirror and I had to wash
myself in that baby every day watch my
baby in this sink and had to ask myself
some very predictable questions what
happened why did this happen why did
that happen but the most difficult
question I had to get through was how
did I get here and the answer was even
more brutal the answer was I drove here
I had something to do with it
you can’t change something until you own
it so if you’re 50 plus and you’re
sitting out there and pointing fingers
at other people you can do that for a
long time but it’s hard to look in the
mirror and say how did I get here and
have the answer be I drove here I had
something to do with it it’s
uncomfortable to admit that well I made
some bad decisions I made some
investments I shouldn’t have made I had
something to do with it well that man
sold me that house with no money down I
should have told him what he could do at
that house huh when I signed that
adjustable-rate mortgage we all know
these things only adjust upwards no
one’s ever gonna call you and say guess
what you go pay less for your money not
your house next year angle happen so the
idea of I drove here is empowering
because the other side of it is if I
drove here that means I can drive out of
here I have to own it and that bathroom
I finally had to understand what my mama
used to say to me where she would say
boy to Calvary is not coming ain’t no
backup
I was 28 years old when that part of my
life happened change was coming fast and
you know what changes everywhere all the
time
social change technical logical change
and the most potent of all personal
change the most urgent question today is
not so much as what are my values and
who are we the urgent question on these
times of constant changes how exactly
are you going to navigate these new
realities put another way what are you
going to do you gotta have a plan
everybody’s got a dream
everybody’s got a goal what’s the plan
and your plan has got to have something
I call the c5 complex your plan has got
to be clear concise compelling
consistent and committed you’ve got to
have a plan and when you’re trying to do
something that you are truly passionate
about there is no plan B okay Plan B
okay so it’s as simple as that you gotta
have a plan I mean think about that for
a second mm three examples Michael
Jordan won six NBA championships with
the Chicago Bulls because he was
committed to playing a not plan B Oprah
Winfrey became the queen of all media
because she was committed to plan a not
Plan B whatever your politics are Barack
Obama is sitting in the White House
because he was committed to plan a not
Plan B okay Plan B sucks I’ll never
forget a recent experience doing my
business on Wall Street getting on the
train to come back to midtown one
o’clock in the afternoon normally
there’s a lull this train should be
empty but on this day the train was full
full of people all in business suits a
guy recognizes me comes over and says
hey are you Chris Gardner
we started talking turns out I’m in a
car with the first wave of the 55,000
people who had just been laid off by
Citibank and I noticed something
everyone’s holding a box you’ve seen the
boxes you’ve seen them on television
they’ve got the houseplant the coffee
mug the pictures of their kids and
they’re all going home they’re all going
home to tell their wife their husband
their children and the landlord they
don’t have a job I began to share with
this young guy that do you know what
yeah you lost your job but you haven’t
lost your skills your talent or your
expertise but we’ve got to do now is
create opportunities where the skilled
talent and expertise can be transferable
creating an opportunity and looking for
a job are two different things this
could be prime time for pushing your
button rather finding your button what
do I mean by that prime time to find
that one thing that you love to do so
much you would get up in the morning and
do it free prime time to find that one
thing that the Sun cannot comes up soon
enough in the morning because you want
to go do your thing this could be that
time in your life well now that we can
see how short life really can be what
are you gonna do with the rest of your
life that’s a trigger that’s the biggest
trigger that I have ever experienced
what are you gonna do the rest of your
life and what I had to do so I had to
start taking some of my own advice I
have been telling people I had written
about it for a very long time that if
you’re doing something that you’re not
totally committed to if you’re doing
something that you’re not totally
passionate about you’re compromising
family comes first
my child always came first if you’ve
managed your relationships properly the
business presentation you’re so
concerned about the big conference call
that cannot happen without you on the
phone all those things can be
rescheduled but your son is gonna have
one first baseball game one first dance
recital and you’ve gotta be there in a
tie family wins too many of us for a
long time have confused our net worth
and our self-worth
your net worth is going to fluctuate
it’s going to go up and down that’s what
money does but your self-worth should
not who you are what’s important to you
how you live your values should never be
negotiable compromised and should never
settle again we have gotten to this
point where we’ve got to say to
ourselves my net worth is not my
self-worth made in my mind as a young
guy I wanted to become world-class at
something I just had to find out what
that something was going to be and the
very first time that I walked into a
Wall Street trading room I knew this is
it the ticker tape is rolling
the phones are ringing off the hook
people are screaming and shouting out
orders bodies are flying all over the
place and will look like chaos to
anybody else I could see the natural
rhythm in it it was like I was reading a
sheet of music and I knew this is where
I’m supposed to be I kept coming back I
wore one branch manager down to the
point that he says to me Gardner based
on persistence alone we go give you a
shot man I quit my job that was all I
wanted I went home and I told my ex you
know what you said I couldn’t do it but
guess what I started two weeks baby
steps count to as long as you’re going
forward and one day you had all those
baby steps up in you might be surprised
at where you can get to but more
importantly I remember something my mom
used to see to me every day she would
say son the cavalry ain’t coming you got
to do this yourself ain’t no backup okay
then we put those two things together
man it wasn’t as hard to keep going
and you have to also show them the
opportunity to make more money than
they’ve ever made in their lives all
that combined that’s how you motivate
your key core employees
I was presentable but I wore the same
two suits I had two suits man that I had
to wear every day for a year one blue
one great the joke around the office
started oh that’s Chris Gardner he’s
re-enacting the Civil War some days with
the normal Sunday Z’s with the South are
you looking to instigate a change in
your life there’s no better or worse
time than right now hey I understand
change is scary
with the status quo you know what you’ve
got and you shake things up there’s no
telling what you might end up with but
two of the things that are true about
change one is absolutely necessary for
personal growth and two is gonna happen
either you could pick the time to
instigate the change you want or the
change and the time will pick you so if
you happen to be one of those people
who’s standing on the sidelines of your
dreams waiting for that perfect moment
if you want to make that change but you
just don’t know if you’re ready this
life lesson is for you it’s time to stop
digging your potatoes and jump as
jarring and strangest change can be
there were times when it was hard to
imagine that my life would be what it is
today especially the time when my son
and I were living in that bathroom maybe
remember that scene in the movie there
was a highly polished sheet metal piece
over a sink it wasn’t a mirror but it
served as a mirror and I had to wash
myself in that baby every day watch my
baby in this sink and had to ask myself
some very predictable questions what
happened why did this happen why did
that happen
but the most difficult question I had to
get through was how did I get here and
the answer was even more brutal the
answer was I drove here I had something
to do with it you can’t change something
until you own it so if you’re 50 plus
and you’re sitting out there and
pointing fingers at other people you can
do that for a long time but it’s hard to
look at the mirror and say how did I get
here and have the answer be I drove here
I had something to do with it it’s
uncomfortable to admit that well I made
some bad decisions I made some
investments I shouldn’t have made I had
something to do with it well that man
sold me that house with no money down I
should have told him what he could do at
that house huh
when I signed that adjustable rate
mortgage we all know these things only
adjust upwards no one’s ever gonna call
you and say guess what you go pay less
for your money your house next year
angle happen so the idea of I drove here
is empowering because the other side of
it is if I drove here that means I can
drive out of here I have to own it and
that bathroom I finally had to
understand what my mama used to say to
me where she would say boy to Calvary is
not coming
ain’t no backup I was 28 years old when
that part of my life happened change was
coming fast and you know what changes
everywhere all the time social change
technical logical change and the most
potent of all personal change the most
urgent question today is not so much as
what are my values and who are we the
urgent question on these times of
constant changes how exactly are you
going to navigate these new realities put another way what are you going to do
times when it was hard to imagine that
my life would be what it is today
especially the time when my son and I
were living in that bathroom maybe
remember that scene in the movie there
was a highly polished sheet metal piece
over a sink it wasn’t a mirror but it
served as a mirror and I had to wash
myself in that baby every day watch my
baby in this sink and had to ask myself
some very predictable questions what
happened why did this happen why did
that happen but the most difficult
question I had to get through was how
did I get here and the answer was even
more brutal the answer was I drove here
I had something to do with it
you can’t change something until you own
it so if you’re 50 plus and you’re
sitting out there and pointing fingers
at other people you can do that for a
long time but it’s hard to look in the
mirror and say how did I get here and
have the answer be I drove here I had
something to do with it it’s
uncomfortable to admit that well I made
some bad decisions I made some
investments I shouldn’t have made I had
something to do with it well that man
sold me that house with no money down I
should have told him what he could do at
that house huh when I signed that
adjustable-rate mortgage we all know
these things only adjust upwards no
one’s ever gonna call you and say guess
what you go pay less for your money not
your house next year angle happen so the
idea of I drove here is empowering
because the other side of it is if I
drove here that means I can drive out of
here I have to own it and that bathroom
I finally had to understand what my mama
used to say to me where she would say
boy to Calvary is not coming ain’t no
backup
I was 28 years old when that part of my
life happened change was coming fast and
you know what changes everywhere all the
time
social change technical logical change
and the most potent of all personal
change the most urgent question today is
not so much as what are my values and
who are we the urgent question on these
times of constant changes how exactly
are you going to navigate these new
realities put another way what are you
going to do you gotta have a plan
everybody’s got a dream
everybody’s got a goal what’s the plan
and your plan has got to have something
I call the c5 complex your plan has got
to be clear concise compelling
consistent and committed you’ve got to
have a plan and when you’re trying to do
something that you are truly passionate
about there is no plan B okay Plan B
okay so it’s as simple as that you gotta
have a plan I mean think about that for
a second mm three examples Michael
Jordan won six NBA championships with
the Chicago Bulls because he was
committed to playing a not plan B Oprah
Winfrey became the queen of all media
because she was committed to plan a not
Plan B whatever your politics are Barack
Obama is sitting in the White House
because he was committed to plan a not
Plan B okay Plan B sucks I’ll never
forget a recent experience doing my
business on Wall Street getting on the
train to come back to midtown one
o’clock in the afternoon normally
there’s a lull this train should be
empty but on this day the train was full
full of people all in business suits a
guy recognizes me comes over and says
hey are you Chris Gardner
we started talking turns out I’m in a
car with the first wave of the 55,000
people who had just been laid off by
Citibank and I noticed something
everyone’s holding a box you’ve seen the
boxes you’ve seen them on television
they’ve got the houseplant the coffee
mug the pictures of their kids and
they’re all going home they’re all going
home to tell their wife their husband
their children and the landlord they
don’t have a job I began to share with
this young guy that do you know what
yeah you lost your job but you haven’t
lost your skills your talent or your
expertise but we’ve got to do now is
create opportunities where the skilled
talent and expertise can be transferable
creating an opportunity and looking for
a job are two different things this
could be prime time for pushing your
button rather finding your button what
do I mean by that prime time to find
that one thing that you love to do so
much you would get up in the morning and
do it free prime time to find that one
thing that the Sun cannot comes up soon
enough in the morning because you want
to go do your thing this could be that
time in your life well now that we can
see how short life really can be what
are you gonna do with the rest of your
life that’s a trigger that’s the biggest
trigger that I have ever experienced
what are you gonna do the rest of your
life and what I had to do so I had to
start taking some of my own advice I
have been telling people I had written
about it for a very long time that if
you’re doing something that you’re not
totally committed to if you’re doing
something that you’re not totally
passionate about you’re compromising
family comes first
my child always came first if you’ve
managed your relationships properly the
business presentation you’re so
concerned about the big conference call
that cannot happen without you on the
phone all those things can be
rescheduled but your son is gonna have
one first baseball game one first dance
recital and you’ve gotta be there in a
tie family wins too many of us for a
long time have confused our net worth
and our self-worth
your net worth is going to fluctuate
it’s going to go up and down that’s what
money does but your self-worth should
not who you are what’s important to you
how you live your values should never be
negotiable compromised and should never
settle again we have gotten to this
point where we’ve got to say to
ourselves my net worth is not my
self-worth made in my mind as a young
guy I wanted to become world-class at
something I just had to find out what
that something was going to be and the
very first time that I walked into a
Wall Street trading room I knew this is
it the ticker tape is rolling
the phones are ringing off the hook
people are screaming and shouting out
orders bodies are flying all over the
place and will look like chaos to
anybody else I could see the natural
rhythm in it it was like I was reading a
sheet of music and I knew this is where
I’m supposed to be I kept coming back I
wore one branch manager down to the
point that he says to me Gardner based
on persistence alone we go give you a
shot man I quit my job that was all I
wanted I went home and I told my ex you
know what you said I couldn’t do it but
guess what I started two weeks baby
steps count to as long as you’re going
forward and one day you had all those
baby steps up in you might be surprised
at where you can get to but more
importantly I remember something my mom
used to see to me every day she would
say son the cavalry ain’t coming you got
to do this yourself ain’t no backup okay
then we put those two things together
man it wasn’t as hard to keep going
and you have to also show them the
opportunity to make more money than
they’ve ever made in their lives all
that combined that’s how you motivate
your key core employees
I was presentable but I wore the same
two suits I had two suits man that I had
to wear every day for a year one blue
one great the joke around the office
started oh that’s Chris Gardner he’s
re-enacting the Civil War some days with
the normal Sunday Z’s with the South are
you looking to instigate a change in
your life there’s no better or worse
time than right now hey I understand
change is scary
with the status quo you know what you’ve
got and you shake things up there’s no
telling what you might end up with but
two of the things that are true about
change one is absolutely necessary for
personal growth and two is gonna happen
either you could pick the time to
instigate the change you want or the
change and the time will pick you so if
you happen to be one of those people
who’s standing on the sidelines of your
dreams waiting for that perfect moment
if you want to make that change but you
just don’t know if you’re ready this
life lesson is for you it’s time to stop
digging your potatoes and jump as
jarring and strangest change can be
there were times when it was hard to
imagine that my life would be what it is
today especially the time when my son
and I were living in that bathroom maybe
remember that scene in the movie there
was a highly polished sheet metal piece
over a sink it wasn’t a mirror but it
served as a mirror and I had to wash
myself in that baby every day watch my
baby in this sink and had to ask myself
some very predictable questions what
happened why did this happen why did
that happen
but the most difficult question I had to
get through was how did I get here and
the answer was even more brutal the
answer was I drove here I had something
to do with it you can’t change something
until you own it so if you’re 50 plus
and you’re sitting out there and
pointing fingers at other people you can
do that for a long time but it’s hard to
look at the mirror and say how did I get
here and have the answer be I drove here
I had something to do with it it’s
uncomfortable to admit that well I made
some bad decisions I made some
investments I shouldn’t have made I had
something to do with it well that man
sold me that house with no money down I
should have told him what he could do at
that house huh
when I signed that adjustable rate
mortgage we all know these things only
adjust upwards no one’s ever gonna call
you and say guess what you go pay less
for your money your house next year
angle happen so the idea of I drove here
is empowering because the other side of
it is if I drove here that means I can
drive out of here I have to own it and
that bathroom I finally had to
understand what my mama used to say to
me where she would say boy to Calvary is
not coming
ain’t no backup I was 28 years old when
that part of my life happened change was
coming fast and you know what changes
everywhere all the time social change
technical logical change and the most
potent of all personal change the most
urgent question today is not so much as
what are my values and who are we the
urgent question on these times of
constant changes how exactly are you
going to navigate these new realities put another way what are you going to do
Please follow and like us: