Chris Gardner is best known as the author of the New York Times bestselling memoir The Pursuit of Happyness, which became a popular 2006 film starring Will Smith. Both tell Gardner’s rags-to-riches story as he and his young son struggled with homelessness while he vied to become the single trainee out of 20 to be offered a full-time position with the stock brokerage firm Dean Witter Reynolds. After a year on the streets, Gardner—who grew up with an abusive stepfather never went to college—landed the stockbroker spot. He eventually founded his own brokerage firm, became a millionaire several times over, and often shares his story as a sought-after inspirational speaker.

In conversation with Brad Smith, CEO of Intuit and co-founder of The Wing 2 Wing Foundation, Gardner lays out his blueprint for building a dream-come-true life—even during uncertainty. He discusses the strategies he learned along the way to achieving a prosperous career, from a method for identifying your ultimate dream to a playbook for becoming world-class at it.

Gardner’s business career provided the basis for his philanthropic work and an important personal philosophy: No matter how much wealth you achieve, true success comes from enriching the lives of others—so all can still have access to the American Dream. Join Gardner as he discusses how he hopes to inspire the next generation of problem solvers and change makers to claim their version of that dream.

Copies of Permission to Dream (Amistad Press) are available for purchase.

Book Sale Information

• Purchase your copy of Permission to Dream by Chris Gardner here.
• SPECIAL NOTE: Politics and Prose is offering a 10% discount to Smithsonian Associates ticket-holders. To claim your discount, enter the code SPECIAL10 (no space between letters and numbers) in the “Coupon discount” section on Politics and Prose's check-out page.

Patron Information

• If you register multiple individuals, you will be asked to supply individual names and email addresses so they can receive a Zoom link email. Please note that if there is a change in program schedule or a cancellation, we will notify you via email, and it will be your responsibility to notify other registrants in your group.
• Unless otherwise noted, registration for streaming programs typically closes two hours prior to the start time on the date of the program.
• Once registered, patrons should receive an automatic email confirmation from CustomerService@SmithsonianAssociates.org.
• Separate Zoom link information will be emailed closer to the date of the program. If you do not receive your Zoom link information 24 hours prior to the start of the program, please email Customer Service for assistance.
• View Common FAQs about our Streaming Programs on Zoom.