I was fortunate enough to attend the annual National Achievers Congress (NAC) organized by Laurus Enterprises last November 4, 2016 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City (VIP seats, baby!).
Chris Gardner Keynote Speaker in the National Achievers Congress 2016
Hundreds of participants filled the venue, all excited to learn from world-renowned speakers – Andrew Matthews, illustrator and author of “Being Happy” and “How Life Works;” Kevin Green, real estate mogul from the UK; Peng Joon, young millionaire and authority in online wealth creation; and Sean Seah, master in value investing. The highlight of the conference is keynote speaker Chris Gardner – entrepreneur, author and motivational speaker. Gardner published his autobiography in 2006 called “The Pursuit of Happyness,” which became popular when it hit the big screen, starring Hollywood celebrity Will Smith.
The movie showed 1 year of Gardner’s life as a homeless, broke single parent. He lost his home, his wife, his money, but gained custody of his young son. He slept on the streets, in train stations and in public toilets, while making ends meet selling bone density scanners and training to become a stockbroker. In the end, his courage, persistence and positivity enabled him to rise above his circumstances, and succeeded to become the man of inspiration that he is today.
So honored to meet and laugh with the man behind The Pursuit of Happyness
In his keynote speech during the NAC, Gardner did not only tell the story of what most people have seen in the film, but also talked about the 27 years prior that weren’t captured in the film (he was 28 in the movie). As a man who grew up not knowing his father, he made a promise as a young kid that he will become the kind of father that will always be there for his children. That is what he called his “plan A,” and made every effort to make it happen. He is indeed a testament of how passion and commitment can break barriers even if everything around us seem hopeless, and I’m pretty sure everyone of us who heard him speak have been inspired and motivated by his story and spirit.
Hearing Chris Gardner’s speech made me look back and think about my own “Plan A.” My journey in the voice acting world was a perfect blend of joys and pains, ups and downs, successes and failures. I have been rejected and hurt by the people in the industry, who told me that I am not good enough to be a voice artist. Those hurtful experiences led me to a personal mission to open the doors of the voice acting industry to all those who aspire to become part of it. And that mission led me to build my own voiceover company, to establish the first and only voice acting school in the country, and to found several advocacies to inspire, motivate and empower other people to realize their dreams.
So here I am, 20 years later, still holding true to my Plan A – to live a life of passion and purpose, and to enable others to do the same.
Our Plan A’s would fall under 2 categories – it’s either you’re living it or you’re dreaming it. Most people allow their fears and excuses to hold them back from living their Plan A, so they busy themselves living a Plan B. Have you ever worked at a job you hate, or stayed in a relationship you’re not happy about, or taken a course of action that someone else has planned for you? Those are Plan B’s, and if you’re in any of those situations, I can bravely assume that you are wishing to be somewhere else doing something else.
With Pursuit of Happyness Star Chris Gardner
Let Chris Gardner’s story inspire you to pursue your own “happyness”. There’s no need for you to hit rock bottom or to become hopeless in order for you to say “enough is enough.” Everyday presents a perfect opportunity for you to rewrite your life story and go back to your Plan A. I agree with Gardner 100% when he said, “Plan B sucks. If it were any good, it would have been your Plan A.”
