The Pursuit of Happyness

The Pursuit of Happyness

Nope, I didn't spell happiness wrongly. For this month's book report, I'm doing a review on The Pursuit of Happyness by Chris Gardner. This novel is based on the movie "The Pursuit of Happyness" which features Will Smith and his own son, Jaden Smith.

Here are the lessons I've learnt from the novel:

The road to happiness is always full of setbacks. In the book, one of the things that stuck out for me was the various setbacks Chris went through before he finally made it. He lost his car, his wife left him, he became homeless, he was broke, his business didn't really work out, he had to look after his son himself, I mean the setbacks were endless.

Believe in yourself even if no one else does. Chris had lost everything, was broke and could hardly sell his bone density scanners. Thinking that he was not serious and was a dreamer, his wife left but he chased his dreams anyway even when it seemed that his dream chasing would get him nowhere. He also motivated his son by saying that "don't let anybody tell you that you can't do something, even me." Sometimes when people who have themselves failed at something will discourage you but holding on to your dreams will pay off in the end.

Positive Mental Attitude is essential. The quote above from Gardner’s mother is one to remember. When Chris’ mother spoke these words, he was just a teenager. But they stayed with him his whole life, and the words kept flashing through his mind on his journey to success. What we tell ourselves we are IS who we are, so words of affirmation and inspiration must be embedded in our minds if we want to succeed.

In conclusion, in order to succeed in life, we should never give up on the things we do. We should also enjoy every moment of life to strive for happiness. Don't let pride and the opinions of people stop you, if that's what you need to do to make progress and have a better future then do it.

Choong Kee Sam

4 Cergas

30th April 2014