At his recent keynote address commemorating African-American heritage at the United States Mission to the United Nations, philanthropist and motivational speaker Chris Gardner recounted the turning point leading to his decision to author the book The Pursuit of Happyness, which reached No. 1 on The New York Times bestseller list for nine weeks and was turned into a blockbuster Hollywood film starring Will Smith. He also recounted how he has used his 15 minutes of fame to share his inspirational story, address stereotypes of the poor and increase awareness on the issue of homelessness. The book chronicles Gardner's life story and his efforts to overcome the adversities of his impoverished childhood, the lack of a college education and a period of being a homeless single parent, to transform himself into a successful Wall Street stockbroker and owner of a brokerage firm.

Introductory remarks made at a National Fatherhood Initiative ceremony elicited a fiery response from the entrepreneur. "That's bulls**t! I saw how my stepfather was and I made a conscious decision to go the other way. I embraced the spirit of life I saw in my mother." The speaker had cited statistics on the situation in Philadelphia and concluded that the house where a person was born - the family upbringing and the neighborhood in which they lived - predetermined the level of success one could achieve in life. Knowing that he and others, including his childhood neighbour Oprah Winfrey, had defied those odds, Gardner, taking the podium to accept an award, protested such stereotypical analyses.

Many attendees later thanked him for his comments, including actor James Earl Jones, who in agreement repeated Gardner's epithet. "If Darth Vader says it's bulls**t, it's bull**t", he emphasized with a wide grin. Agents had previously approached Gardner with a book offer after Barbara Walters featured him on the television show 20/20, but he was not ready to embrace that destiny. However, the passion he felt to speak against stereotyping and the support he received at the awards ceremony inspired him to take action. The book was published and garnered support from writer and poet Maya Angelou, who told him its success was "not about you, but about every father". Gardner cited his faith in Jesus as a source of strength, but stressed that any religion or belief system could do the same for others.

"You gotta have faith. Do the work. Get up and go get it everyday!" In Gardner's world, there is no such thing as "spare time". He is committed to speaking and other engagements through May 2009. His mission is to open up a dialogue on the issue of homelessness to bring about change. According to his statistics, 12 per cent of homeless people in the United States have jobs and go to work everyday, and 23 per cent of the homeless are veterans.

On the topic of racism, he encouraged people to read his book, which describes some instances of racism. However, he emphasized that "place-ism"-a term he relates to the fact that he did not come from a politically connected family, had no money and lacked a college education-had created more barriers in his pursuit of a Wall Street career. For him, racism was a secondary issue. He admitted that "it's nothing new; it's real and depends on how you take it". His determination to make a better life for his two children minimized everything else. He impels all children to "be your own person" and "never let anyone tell you what you can't do".

Another story Gardner shared was how the film's director was selected; Will Smith was entrusted with the final decision. In his interview, Director Gabriel Muccino made a key statement: "Whatever you do, don't let an American direct the movie. Americans don't appreciate the American dream." He got the job. Was it racism or reverse place-ism?