Start Where You Are: Life Lessons in Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be

by Chris Gardner, Mim E Rivas

Overview

“Gardner is encouraging us all to start where we are and dare to make our lives bigger and stronger, more satisfactory, and better. Chris Gardner is a knockout!”

—Maya Angelou

 

 Chris Gardner’s astonishing memoir—the phenomenal New York Times bestseller, The Pursuit of Happyness, which inspired the film of the same name starring Will Smith—served as a shining beacon of hope for countless people. In Start Where You Are, “a book that teaches you how to transform the impossible into the possible” (Sidney Poitier), Gardner offers indispensible life lessons in getting from where you are to where you want to be.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780061537127
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	04/20/2010
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	309
Sales rank:	157,315
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Chris Gardner is the Chief Executive of Gardner Rich & Company, a multimillion-dollar brokerage with offices in New York, Chicago, and San Francisco. An avid philanthropist and motivational speaker, Gardner is committed to many organizations—particularly those related to education—and was recently the recipient of the “Father of the Year Award” from the National Fatherhood Initiative. A Milwaukee native, Gardner has two children and resides in Chicago and New York.

Mim Eichler Rivas is the author of the acclaimed Beautiful Jim Key, as well as the coauthor of more than eighteen books, including The Pursuit of Happyness and Finding Fish with Antwone Fisher.

Table of Contents

Author's Note xiii

Overture-C'mon In 1

1 Start Where You Are 9

Universal Lessons for Pursuit

Lesson #1 Without a Plan, a Dream Is Just a Dream (the C-5 Complex) 14

Lesson #2 We All Have the Power of Choice 24

Lesson #3 The Cavalry Ain't Coming 30

Lesson #4 Start with What You've Got in Your Hand 37

Lesson #5 Baby Steps Count, Too, as Long as You Go Forward 41

Lesson #6 Stop Digging Your Potatoes 46

Lesson #7 What Would the Champ Do? 52

Lesson #8 Say "Peace Be Still" 56

Lesson #9 Even Lewis and Clark Had a Map 62

Lesson #10 Find Your Button 69

2 The Thorny and Golden Past 75

Personal Lessons Drawn from the Past

Lesson #11 Who's Afraid of the Big, Bad Yesterday? 82

Lesson #12 In Your Library of Resources, Value All Experience 88

Lesson #13 Draw the Line of Your Life 95

Lesson #14 Whose Child Are You? 100

Lesson #15 Check Out Your Own Version of Genesis 104

Lesson #16 Who's Who in Your 'Hood? 107

Lesson #17 The Red or the Yellow Bike? 112

Lesson #18 Sometimes You Gotta Give Up Christmas 116

Lesson #19 No Test, No Testimony 120

3 Hitting the Anvil 127

Marketplace Lessons for Success

Lesson #20 The Law of Hard Work Is No Secret 134

Lesson #21 Core Strengths Forged on Your Anvil 142

Lesson #22 Wizards Begin as Blacksmiths 148

Lesson #23 Are You Bold Enough to Go Back to Basics? 155

Lesson #24 Supply and Demand Ain't Rocket Science 164

Lesson #25 Truth Is a Hit 170

Lesson #26 Learn the Ropes First, Then Conquer Rome 175

Lesson #27 Who's Who at the Office and in Your Spheres of Influence? 180

Lesson #28 It Takes as Much Energy to Bag an Elephant as It Does a Mouse 186

Lesson #29 Share the Wealth 190

4 Your Empowerment Zone 195

Life-Changing Lessons for Mastery

Lesson #30 Seek the Farthest Star 201

Lesson #31 Seeing Ghosts, Reading Signs 206

Lesson #32 Opportunities, Like Pancakes, Are Best Served Hot, but Sometimes You Gotta Set the Table Before You Can Eat 212

Lesson #33 Stay Open, but Don't Wing It 216

Lesson #34 Mo' Money, Mo' Options, Mo' Problems 223

Lesson #35 Money Is the Least Significant Component of Wealth 229

Lesson #36 Conscious Capitalism: A Personal and Global Primer 234

Lesson #37 Make Your Dream Bigger Than Yourself 238

5 Spiritual Genetics 243

Spiritual Lessons for Connecting to Your Higher Power

Lesson #38 Embrace the Best of Your Spiritual Genetics 247

Lesson #39 Breaking Generational Cycles 253

Lesson #40 Your Divine Inheritance 259

Lesson #41 God's in the Details 263

Lesson #42 Passing the Torch, Raising the Bar 268

6 The Good Old Everyday 275

Ordinary Lessons for Happyness

Lesson #43 Don't Postpone Joy 277

Lesson #44 Claim Ownership of Your Dreams 282

Finale / Takeaways: Get 'Em and Go 287

Creating Your Own Start Where You Are Notebook 299

Acknowledgments 311

What People are Saying About This

Quincy Jones

“Start Where You Are is a must-have, must-read guide to pursuing happiness in changing times. It’s not just about surviving as an individual or business in the current economic environment, but about thriving — personally, collectively, and globally.”

Sidney Poitier

“A book that teaches you how to transform the impossible into the possible.”

Maya Angelou

“With . . . Start Where You Are, he is encouraging us all to start where we are and dare to make our lives bigger and stronger, more satisfactory, and better. Chris Gardner is a knock out!”

Editorial Reviews

Start Where You Are is a must-have, must-read guide to pursuing happiness in changing times. It’s not just about surviving as an individual or business in the current economic environment, but about thriving — personally, collectively, and globally.

Quincy Jones

A book that teaches you how to transform the impossible into the possible.

Sidney Poitier

Gardner offers practical advice and pragmatic suggestions for tackling life’s problems. . . In 44 ‘tell-it-like-it-is’ chapters. . .Gardner provides a blueprint for navigating tumultuous times.

Ebony

Start Where You Are represents the next phase in Gardner’s career, offering hope and sound advice in this tough economic climate. . . .Transformative and inspirational.

BookPage

With . . . Start Where You Are, he is encouraging us all to start where we are and dare to make our lives bigger and stronger, more satisfactory, and better. Chris Gardner is a knock out!

Maya Angelou

Gardner follows his best-selling memoir, The Pursuit of Happyness, with a collection of 44 lessons that he feels helped make his life successful and that he hopes will help others. Gardner explains that this is the book he originally intended to write, but he first had to deal with his past; he recommends that all his readers do the same. His memoir is the perfect setup for this new self-help book, in which he shares his philosophy and the lessons he learned, which took him from an abusive childhood to homelessness and finally to being the chief executive of his own multimillion-dollar brokerage firm. This smart and well-written guide includes excellent suggestions for both everyday life and work, with the last sentence summing up Gardner's message: "Accepting responsibility is accepting that your dreams really can come true." The result is hopeful and uplifting-not a bad thing to see in these days of economic turmoil.
—Mary E. Jones

Library Journal

Gardner offers practical advice and pragmatic suggestions for tackling life’s problems. . . In 44 ‘tell-it-like-it-is’ chapters. . .Gardner provides a blueprint for navigating tumultuous times.” — Ebony

“This smart and well-written guide includes excellent suggestions for both everyday life and work, with the last sentence summing up Gardner’s message: “Accepting responsibility is accepting that your dreams really can come true.” The result is hopeful and uplifting. — Library Journal

“Start Where You Are represents the next phase in Gardner’s career, offering hope and sound advice in this tough economic climate. . . .Transformative and inspirational.” — BookPage

“A book that teaches you how to transform the impossible into the possible.” — Sidney Poitier

“Start Where You Are is a must-have, must-read guide to pursuing happiness in changing times. It’s not just about surviving as an individual or business in the current economic environment, but about thriving — personally, collectively, and globally.” — Quincy Jones

“With . . . Start Where You Are, he is encouraging us all to start where we are and dare to make our lives bigger and stronger, more satisfactory, and better. Chris Gardner is a knock out!” — Maya Angelou

From the Publisher