I’ve put together the 49 best Pursuit of Happyness quotes from the spectacular movie based on a true story. “The Pursuit of Happyness,” portrays Chris Gardner’s life and how he dealt with the struggles that pushed him to who he is today. This film engages your emotions, intentions, ambitions in life, and watching it prompts you to strive hard even if you are at your lowest.
The quotes below are some of the movie’s memorable lines, which teach you valuable lessons and give you more reason to curve your lips up into a smile.
- “That’s smart. Make a list.” – Chris Gardner (Will Smith)
- “It’s an I in happiness, and there’s no Y.” – Chris Gardner (Will Smith)
- “I made up my mind as a young kid that when I had children, my children will going to know who their father was.” – Chris Gardner (Will Smith)
- “This is part of my life story.” – Chris Gardner (Will Smith)
I love that quote! Often times we shy away from events in our life that we don’t like, but the truth is that we are the sum total of everything that happens to us and what we do about it.
Remember that. Not everything will lend to a happy life, we choose. We can’t say oh that made me a strong person, it’s our response that does.
- “You won’t like it, I didn’t like it, but we have to face the truth and then go to work to turn things around and make no mistake about it.” – News Reporter (Jim Finnerty)
You won’t like it, I didn’t like it, but we have to face the truth and then go to work to turn things around and make no mistake about it.
News Reporter / Jim Finnerty
“I got two questions for you, what do you do and how do you do it?” – Chris Gardner (Will Smith)
- “I still remember that moment. They all looked so happy to me. Why couldn’t I look like that?” – Chris Gardner (Will Smith)
When you think of it, happiness does not have a definite reason, and it could come from the smallest victories to your most significant achievements. Happiness starts within you and in how you perceive your circumstances. If you remain hopeful and look at the brighter side of life, you will see that there’s always something to be proud of in everything you do.
Here are some more inspirational quotes from the movie.
- “This part of my life is called “being stupid.” – Chris Gardner (Will Smith)
- “Goodbye and good riddance.” – Linda Gardner (Thandiwe Newton)
- “Don’t expect it to solve it easily.” – News Reporter (Jim Finnerty)
- “It’s written as P-P-Y, but it’s supposed to be an I in “happiness.” – Chris Gardner (Will Smith)
- “That’s not part of the motto. You’re not supposed to learn that. – Chris Gardner (Will Smith)
- “This part of my life, this part here, it’s called “Running.” – Chris Gardner (Will Smith)
- “Every day’s got some damn story.” – Linda Gardner (Thandiwe Newton)
- “We’re going to come out of this. Everything is going to be fine, all right?” – Chris Gardner (Will Smith)
- “You’re almost there.” – Jay Twistle (Brian Howe)
- “I started thinking about Thomas Jefferson, and the Declaration of Independence, and the part about our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And I remember thinking, how did he know to put the “pursuit” part in there? That maybe happiness is something that we can only pursue. And maybe we can never have it, no matter what. How did he know that?” – Chris Gardner (Will Smith)
- “Let me ask you something, are you happy?” – Chris Gardner (Will Smith)
- “If you’re happy and I’m happy, then that’s a good thing, right?” – Chris Gardner (Will Smith)
- “I’m the type of person if you ask me a question, and I don’t know the answer, I’m going to tell you that I don’t know. But I bet you what. I know how to find the answer. And I will find the answer.” – Chris Gardner (Will Smith)
- “I wanted to come up with a story that would demonstrate qualities that I’m sure you all admire here, like earnestness or diligence. And team playing or something.” – Chris Gardner (Will Smith)
- “You are a piece of work.” – Jay Twistle (Brian Howe)
- “You’ll probably be about as good as I was. That’s kind of the way it works, you know.” – Chris Gardner (Will Smith)
- “You’ll excel at a lot of things, just not this.” – Chris Gardner (Will Smith)
- “Don’t ever let somebody tell you, you can’t do something. Not even me. – Chris Gardner (Will Smith)
Don’t ever let somebody tell you, you can’t do something. Not even me.
Chris Gardner / Will Smith
- “You got a dream. You got to protect it.” – Chris Gardner (Will Smith)
- “ People can’t do something themselves. They want to tell you. You can’t do it. If you want something, get it. Period.” – Chris Gardner (Will Smith)
- “One day, a man was drowning in the water. And a boat came by and said, “do you need help?” He said, “no, thank you. God will save me.” Then another boat came by and said, “do you need any help?” And he said, “no, thank you. God will save me.” Then he drowned, and he went to heaven. And he said, “God, why didn’t you save me?” And God said, “I sent you two big boats, you dummy.” – Chris Gardner Jr. (Jaden Smith)
- “This part of my life is called “internship.” – Chris Gardner (Will Smith)
- “Some of you guys are here because you know somebody. Some of you are here because you think you’re somebody. But there’s one guy in here who’s going to be somebody.” – Alan Frakesh (Dan Castellaneta)
- “I had to do in six hours what they do in nine.” – Chris Gardner (Will Smith)
- “ You know what “possibly” means? Possibly means we might, we might now.” – Chris Gardner (Will Smith)
- “Thomas Jefferson mentions happiness a couple of times in the Declaration of Independence. It may seem like a strange word to be in that document, but he was an artist. He called the English “the disturbers of harmony.” – Chris Gardner (Will Smith)
- “And I remember standing there that day thinking about the disturbers of mine, questions I had whether all this was good. Whether I’d make it.” – Chris Gardner (Will Smith)
- “It seemed like we were making it. It seemed we were doing good.” – Chris Gardner (Will Smith)
- “This part of my life is called “paying taxes.” If you didn’t pay them, the government could stick their hands in your bank account and take your money.” – Chris Gardner (Will Smith)
- “He said it was a time machine. All we have to do is push this black button. We’ll push it together. Close your eyes.” – Chris Gardner (Will Smith)
- “What’s your favorite color? Green. What do you like that’s green? Trees. What else? Holly, the Christmas stuff.” – Chris Gardner (Will Smith)
- “You have to trust me, okay?” – Chris Gardner (Will Smith)
- “I learned to finish my work quickly. I had to finish quickly.” – Chris Gardner (Will Smith)
- “Sometimes, when we’re moving at night, we pass houses with lights and people. Sometimes you can hear them laugh.” – TV Character
- “Some things are fun the first time you do them, and then not so much the next.” – Chris Gardner (Will Smith)
- “Didn’t you ever want to have a home of your own like other people?” – TV Character
- “ The next day after work, we just went to the beach. Far away from anything. Everything. Far away from buses and noise and constant disappointment in my 10-gallon head. And myself.” – Chris Gardner (Will Smith)
- “The important thing about that freedom train is it’s got to climb mountains. We all have to deal with mountains. Mountains that go way up high and mountains that go deep and low.” – Reverend Williams (Cecil Williams)
- “Because when I was young, and I’d get an A on a history test or whatever, I’d get this good feeling about all the things that I could be. And then I never became any of them.” – Chris Gardner (Will Smith)
- “Listen, whatever happens, you’ve done a fantastic job.” – Jay Twistle (Brian Howe)
- “This part of my life, this little part is called “happiness.” – Chris Gardner (Will Smith)
- “You’re a good papa.” – Chris Gardner Jr. (Jaden Smith)
- “ I am now what happened to me. I am what I choose to become.” – Chris Gardner (Will Smith)
It is not always a bad thing when your plans do not go the way you like them to be, and when some situations unexpectedly come, that change your path in life. One of the most important lessons you get in this film is choosing who you become and not listening to anyone saying you cannot do it because they are probably wrong. Trust yourself, accept your mistakes, and have conviction in yourself because if one door closes, it is only a matter of time for another to open.
