Is the “Pursuit of Happyness” the Napoleon Hill story?

In the movie Pursuit of Happyness, Will Smith plays the role of Chris Gardner a down and out fellow whose life has not gone the way he expected. Its based on the true story of Chris Garner’s life. The movie is enjoyable and I recommend it to all. For people who are sensitive to foul language and sex scenes, there is no sex and the one occurrence of foul language provides a very useful approach to handling it. I would definitely classify the movie as family movie.

This film provides a moving and graphic experience of applying Napoleon Hill's experiences.

A word of warning, I am going to speak about specific details of the movie, so if you haven’t seen it, reading this entry may enhance or detract from the movie’s emotional impact.

Let me definitely demonstrate that Chris Gardner follows the philosophy of Napoleon Hill.

I don’t know if the real Chris Gardner actually read Napoleon Hill - but as Napoleon Hill says - successful people all do it the same way.

Using The Law Of Success as the way to measure it.

The Master Mind - Chris fails on this measure pretty badly. He clearly does not have a mastermind relationship with his wife. He has a little one with his five year old child. But, how much advice can a five year old give him? But, on the other hand, by speaking with the five year old and explaining the situation to him, Chris is able to clarify his thoughts.

A Definite Chief Aim - On this one Chris scores perfectly. His Definite Chief Aim is to be a great dad. He looks for different ways to meet that goal, and no matter what is thrown in his face. He doesn’t lose site of that. And in the same vain, he clearly had a Burning Desire since he used all the money the bone scanners on a single chance with Dean Witter.

Self-Confidence - Chris appears on the surface to have some problems with this one. He talks about his mistakes, but he also talks about his a 10 gallon head and is able to speak about his accomplishments. I think he has self confidence, but his mistakes makes him doubt his abilities. Overall, he is has inner self confidence. I think getting rid of the wife also rid him of any nagging doubts he had about himself. Napoleon Hill in The Wisdom of Andrew Carnegie as Told to Napoleon Hill speaks about the importance of creating a mastermind with ones wife and how only with a supportive spouse can one be successful.

The Habit Of Saving - Chris did well on this one. He kept saving whatever money he had to move his goals forward. He didn’t spend it frivolously.

Initiative and Leadership - Chris has this in spades. He took initiative jumping the queue to the CEO of Pac-Bell. He didn’t follow the path laid out for him - since he did not believe it would him his Chief Aim.

Imagination - This is an easy one to judge. Chris had an excellent imagination that worked in many different ways. When he is sitting in the subway with no place to go, he created the cave story for his son. When he missed his meeting with the CEO, he was able to imagine a plan that would take his son to the football game.

Enthusiasm - No matter what was happening, Chris faced it with a Positive Mental Attitude.

Self Control - When Chris and his son got booted from his home, his child is upset, Chris is angry. But Chris didn’t strike out at others. When the guy asked him to move the car and then he got the ticket. He just handled and never complained about the way the teacher was treating him. When the homeless guy took his place in line, he didn’t strike out, but explained what had happened and demanded he be treated fairly.

The Habit Of Doing More Than Paid For - Chris was able to do in 6 hours what others were doing in 10 hours. He landed 31 accounts in Pac Bell. He ran errands for the boss. He never said no.

A Pleasing Personality - Napoleon Hill speaks of 18 traits. Chris had them all. Chris demonstrated Frankness and Honesty when he had to explain his appearance. His success at the football game made it clear he was somebody people liked. The relationship with the CEO was excellent, since the CEO was able to speak with him directly about why he wouldn’t move his account to Chris.

Accurate Thinking - Chris did well on this measure. When deciding if he could take a chance at the Dean Witter opportunity, he looked at his situation and identified what assets he had and what he could do with them. When fixing the Bone Scanner he was able to figure out what part was broken. He did this accurate thinking under very trying emotional and physical circumstances.

Concentration - This is a great one. Chris was able to study and learn for his exams in the most trying circumstances. That takes amazing concentration and focus.

Profiting From Failure - Chris didn’t learn from his failures. He went to jail for not paying a bill and then he lost his money for not paying another bill.

Tolerance - I am not so sure about this. There is little proof of his tolerance. The way he acted in the line up to the fellow who butted in line, the way he spoke to a) the fellow cleaning in front of Mrs. Chu’s, b) the Time Traveller, c) the hippie, d) to his wife, and e) to Mrs. Chu. I understand why he spoke to those people in the way he did, but, I an not sure he was that tolerant of other people.

Practicing the Golden Rule - When Chris had no money. He gave the Boss the five dollars. That was just one example. The other was the fourteen dollars that was owed to him.

Universal Law - This one was easy. Chris found the two missing bone scanners just by "fluke". Nope - that was no fluke- that was the Universal Law.

I think we can conclude - that Chris Gardner followed the philosophy of Napoleon Hill!

Written by Zale Tabakman
For more incredibly valuable information, make sure you visit www.ZaleTabakman.ca