There are many stories of single mothers struggling to raise their kids against incredible odds, and with little help. But rarely do you hear of single fathers going through the same struggle. Chris Gardner is one of those fathers.
Gardner fought to raise his young son while homeless and living on the streets of San Francisco. Gardner, who served a brief stint in the Navy and had no education beyond high school, would eventually get back on his feet to become a millionaire stockbroker and business owner.
Gardner relates his rags-to-riches story -- and his concept of "conscious capitalism" -- in his memoir The Pursuit of Happyness. Gardner's saga is now the subject of a new film starring Will Smith, scheduled to be released later this year.
The misspelled "Happyness" of the book's title comes from when Gardner was looking for daycare for his son so Gardner could pursue his career. He rejected one facility because it misspelled "Happiness" in its name, but gained insight into what happiness meant to him personally when he explained the literal meaning of the word to his curious son.
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