As shown in the 2006 movie The Pursuit of Happyness—based on the life of Chris Gardner—the central character had a chance encounter with a man stepping out of a red Ferrari on Wall Street.

Whether true or exaggerated for dramatic effect, Gardner (played by Will Smith) eyed the car in awe. He wasn’t in the best financial situation, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t pull himself out of it with the right direction. 

He asked two questions: 

“What do you do and how do you do it?”  It was the second question that ended up being the key to Gardner’s success, and asking such a question is a step many of us miss.

The first answer: Stockbroker….but it is the next answer which eventually made Chris Gardner a millionaire.

“You have to be good with numbers and good with people.”

My takeaway is that Chris Gardner didn’t just listen to the first part of the answer and disregard the second. He was a mathematical wizard and great with people, which thereby influenced his decision to become one.

In a world of influencers and social media—where “advertising” is based on the volume of followers and clicks—people get caught up in the appearance or by-product of wealth and immediately want to work in that occupation and don’t ask the important questions: 

Do I have the ability to become successful doing this? What skills does it take to begin with?

It’s like wanting to become a singer….you either have the chops or you don’t. Can you become one by taking lessons? Of course. But the most successful ones are the ones with the G-d given talent . 

Getting caught up in the trappings of by-products creates a false sense of hope.

Hope that lasts is not built on by-products.

It’s built from a foundation of truths.

And where there’s a true foundation, there’s hope... and where there’s hope, there’s a way.