I had the good fortune to dialogue with Chris Gardner, the multimillionaire, public speaker, socially concerned American who these days, speaks to young people with the hope that he can give them the simple but profound tools that they can use to be successful in whatever they try to do. He's the subject of the feature film The Pursuit of Happiness starring Will Smith, and the author of that book and his newest book, Permission To Dream.

He was homeless, with a young son that he had to take care of. He started with nothing and gut himself into a bit of trouble (spending a few days in jail), got helped by folks like Cecil Williams of the Glide Church in San Francisco, and became very successful, never forgetting his roots, what had happened to him and who had helped him. He met with Nelson Mandela and Oprah among others. He founded national programs like CARA and is a leader in the National Fatherhood Initiative.

As those of you who are my subscribers, my members, or my patrons, you know that I do these interviews from time to time with hope that the dialogue between me and the subject of my interview is of help to you in some way or other. If you are a parent of a child or the grandparent, or if you are a young person searching for how to become successful in life, I believe that what Chris Gardner is advising, what he calls the 3R's – not reading writing and arithmetic but Reputation, Rap and Rolodex, is brilliant advice.

When you've got the time to watch, Chris Gardner has advice that will help you and, has also helped me.