Quotes from Chris Gardner

One time, I was going to be in L.A. for 10 days for a business conference, and I took eight different pairs of sandals.

Passion is the thing that won't let you sleep at night because you want to get up in the morning and go do your thing.

If you're lucky enough to have a permanent position, don't feel entitled. Companies value longtime employees' institutional memory, but to be irreplaceable, you must stay invested. Take the initiative and assume new responsibilities.

Don't wait for the perfect time to start making changes to your life; the time is now.

I've never been big on sports coats and pants. I'm a suit guy. It makes it clear who's in charge.

Everything that I learned in the Navy, I took it with me into the next phase of my life.

Find something that you love. Something that gets you so excited you can't wait to get out of bed in the morning. Forget about money. Be happy.

No one ever laid out the sequence of events that led to my mother being prosecuted and imprisoned for alleged welfare fraud.

Don't ever let someone tell you you can't do something.

Walk that walk and go forward all the time. Don't just talk that talk, walk it and go forward. Also, the walk didn't have to be long strides; baby steps counted too. Go forward.

Always, always pursue happiness.

The world is your oyster. It's up to you to find the pearls.

I am very, very conscious of time. I always wear two watches. People ask me, 'Why do you do that?' Because I was late once,and it cost me a huge opportunity.

If you're having a hard time recognizing your gifts, look to someone else you know who's been resourceful. You may be surprised by how your own strengths rise to the surface by watching someone else.

Everybody got a dream. What's the plan?

When I was a kid, we played a jump rope game called double Dutch - where you had to jump over two ropes swinging in opposite directions. Picking just the right moment to jump in was a practiced art form.

I had never gone to college. I was not from a politically connected family. I had no money of my own. Who is going to do business with you?

I've created the life I wanted.

I've been talking to a lot of young people, especially here in America. I let them know that the people who they're competing with for opportunities live all over the place. They're probably not in your city, state, or country; they are hungry, and they are grinding! Some of the things that a lot of us take for granted, these people don't.

Sometimes we are so busy helping others that we forget about ourselves. Remember, it's okay to say no and to ask others to carry their own weight.

The balance in your life is more important than the balance in your checking account.

When you tell your kids they can be anything, you've got to be careful. I told my kids that, and I ended up with a music producer and an interior designer. But they're doing it.

I've never considered selling anything other than profession, but it's more than that. It's one of the highest callings that you can aspire to. Not everyone can do it.

My mom had to be resourceful. She grew up dirt poor in rural Louisiana.