Personal development includes activities that improve awareness and identity, develop talents and potential, build human capital and facilitates employability, enhance quality of life and contribute to the realization of dreams and aspirations. The concept is not limited to self-help but includes formal and informal activities for developing others, in roles such as teacher, guide, counsellor, manager, coach, or mentor. Finally, as personal development takes place in the context of institutions, it refers to the methods, programs, tools, techniques, and assessment systems that support human development at the individual level in organizations.^[1]

At the level of the individual, personal development includes the following activities:

• improving self-awareness
• improving self-knowledge
• building or renewing identity
• developing strengths or talents
• improving wealth
• spiritual development
• identifying or improving potential
• building employability or human capital
• enhancing lifestyle or the quality of life
• improving health
• fulfilling aspirations
• initiating a life enterprise or personal autonomy
• defining and executing personal development plans
• improving social abilities

The concept covers a wider field than self-development or self-help: personal development also includes developing other people. This may take place through roles such as those of a teacher or mentor, either through a personal competency (such as the skill of certain managers in developing the potential of employees) or a professional service (such as providing training, assessment or coaching).

Beyond improving oneself and developing others, personal development is a field of practice and research. As a field of practice it includes personal development methods, learning programs, assessment systems, tools and techniques. As a field of research, personal development topics increasingly appear in scientific journals, higher education reviews, management journals and business books.

Any sort of development — whether economic, political, biological, organizational or personal — requires a framework if one wishes to know whether change has actually occurred. In the case of personal development, an individual often functions as the primary judge of improvement, but validation of objective improvement requires assessment using standard criteria. Personal development frameworks may include goals or benchmarks that define the end-points, strategies or plans for reaching goals, measurement and assessment of progress, levels or stages that define milestones along a development path, and a feedback system to provide information on changes.

The personal development industry[link]

Personal development as an industry^[2] has several business relationship formats of operating. The main ways are business-to-consumer and business-to-business, however there are two newer ways increasing in their prevalence. They are consumer-to-business and consumer-to-consumer.

The business-to-consumer market[link]

The business-to-consumer market involves selling books, courses and techniques to individuals, such as:

• newly-invented offerings such as:
  • fitness^{[citation needed]}
  • beauty enhancement^{[citation needed]}
  • weight loss^{[citation needed]}
• traditional^{[citation needed]} practices such as:
  • yoga
  • martial arts
  • meditation

Some programs are delivered^{[by whom?]} online and many include tools sold with a program, such as motivational books for self-help, recipes for weight-loss or technical manuals for yoga and martial-arts programs.

A partial list of personal development offerings on the business-to-individual market might include:

• books
• motivational speaking
• e-Learning programs
• workshops
• individual counseling
• life coaching

The business-to-business market[link]

The business-to-business market also involves programs - in this case ones sold to companies and to governments to assess potential, to improve effectiveness, to manage work-life balance or to prepare some entity for a new role in an organization. The goals of these programs are defined^{[by whom?]} with the institution or by the institution and the results are assessed^{[by whom?][citation needed]}. With the acceptance of personal development as a legitimate field in higher education^{[citation needed]}, universities and business schools also contract programs to external specialist firms or to individuals.^{[citation needed]}

A partial list of business-to-business programs might include:

• courses and assessment systems for higher education organizations for their students
• management services to employees in organizations through:
  • training
  • training and development programs
  • personal-development tools
  • self-assessment
  • feedback
  • coaching
  • mentoring

Some consulting firms specialize in personal development^[3] but as of 2009^[update] generalist firms operating in the fields of human resources, recruitment and organizational strategy have entered what they perceive as a growing market,^[4] not to mention smaller firms and self-employed professionals who provide consulting, training and coaching.

Origins[link]

Major religions, such as the Abrahamic and Indian religions, as well as New Age philosophies, have used practices such as prayer, music, dance, singing, chanting, poetry, writing, sports and martial arts. These practices have various functions, such as health or aesthetic satisfaction, but they may also link^{[citation needed]} to "final goals" of personal development such as discovering the meaning of life or living good life (compare philosophy).

Michel Foucault describes in Care of the Self^[5] the techniques of epimelia used in ancient Greece and Rome, which included dieting, exercise, sexual abstinence, contemplation, prayer and confession — some of which also became important practices within different branches of Christianity. In yoga, a discipline originating in India, possibly over 3000 years ago, personal-development techniques include meditation, rhythmic breathing, stretching and postures. Wushu and T'ai chi ch'uan utilise traditional Chinese techniques, including breathing and energy exercises, meditation, martial arts, as well as practices linked to traditional Chinese medicine, such as dieting, massage and acupuncture. In Islam, which arose almost 1500 years ago in the Middle East, personal development techniques include ritual prayer, recitation of the Qur'an, pilgrimage, fasting and tazkiyah (purification of the soul)^{[citation needed]}.

Two individual ancient philosophers stand out as major sources^{[citation needed]} of what has become personal development in the 21st century, representing a Western tradition and an East Asian tradition. Elsewhere anonymous founders of schools of self-development appear endemic - note the traditions of the Indian sub-continent in this regard.

South Asian traditions[link]

This section requires expansion.

Some ancient Indians aspired to "beingness, wisdom and happiness".^[6]

Aristotle and the Western tradition[link]

The Greek philosopher Aristotle (384 BC – 322 BC) influenced theories^[which?] of personal development in the West. In his Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle defined personal development as a category of phronesis or practical wisdom, where the practice of virtues (arête) leads to eudaimonia,^[7] commonly translated as "happiness" but more accurately understood as “human flourishing” or “living well".^[8] Aristotle continues to influence the Western concept of personal development to this day^[update], particularly in the economics of human development^[9] and in positive psychology.^[10]

Confucius and the East Asian tradition[link]

In Chinese tradition, Confucius (around 551 BC – 479 BC) founded an ongoing philosophy. His ideas continue to influence family values, education and management in China and East Asia. In his Great Learning Confucius wrote:

The ancients who wished to illustrate illustrious virtue throughout the kingdom, first ordered well their own states. Wishing to order well their states, they first regulated their families. Wishing to regulate their families, they first cultivated their persons. Wishing to cultivate their persons, they first rectified their hearts. Wishing to rectify their hearts, they first sought to be sincere in their thoughts. Wishing to be sincere in their thoughts, they first extended to the utmost their knowledge. Such extension of knowledge lay in the investigation of things.^[11]

Contexts[link]

Personal development in psychology[link]

Psychology became linked to personal development, not with the psychoanalysis of Freud (1856–1939) but starting^[when?] with his contemporaries Alfred Adler (1870–1937) and Carl Jung (1875–1961).

Adler refused to limit psychology to analysis, making the important point that aspirations look forward and do not limit themselves to unconscious drives or to childhood experiences.^[12] He also originated the concepts of lifestyle (1929 — he defined "lifestyle" as an individual's characteristic approach to life, in facing problems) and of self image^{[citation needed]}, a concept that influenced management under the heading of work-life balance^{[clarification needed]}.

Carl Gustav Jung made contributions to personal development with his concept of individuation, which he saw as the drive of the individual to achieve the wholeness and balance of the Self.^[13]

Daniel Levinson (1920–1994) developed Jung’s early concept of "life stages" and included a sociological perspective. Levinson proposed that personal development come under the influence — throughout life — of aspirations, which he called "the Dream":

Whatever the nature of his Dream, a young man has the developmental task of giving it greater definition and finding ways to live it out. It makes a great difference in his growth whether his initial life structure is consonant with and infused by the Dream, or opposed to it. If the Dream remains unconnected to his life it may simply die, and with it his sense of aliveness and purpose.^[14]

Levinson’s model of seven life-stages has been considerably modified^{[by whom?]} due to sociological changes^[which?] in the lifecycle.^[15]

Research on success in reaching goals, as undertaken by Albert Bandura (born 1925), suggested that self-efficacy^[16] best explains why people with the same level of knowledge and skills get very different results. According to Bandura self-confidence functions as a powerful predictor of success because:^[17]

1. it makes you expect to succeed
2. it allows you take risks and set challenging goals
3. it helps you keep trying if at first you don’t succeed
4. it helps you control emotions and fears when the going gets rough

In 1998 Martin Seligman won election to a one-year term as President of the American Psychological Association and proposed a new focus: on healthy individuals^{[citation needed]} rather than on pathology:

We have discovered that there is a set of human strengths that are the most likely buffers against mental illness: courage, optimism, interpersonal skill, work ethic, hope, honesty and perseverance. Much of the task of prevention will be to create a science of human strength whose mission will be to foster these virtues in young people.^[18]

Personal development in higher education[link]

Personal development has been at the heart of education in the West^{[citation needed]} in the form of the Greek philosophers^[which?]; and in the East^{[citation needed]} with Confucius. Some people^[which?] emphasize personal development as a part of higher education. Wilhelm von Humboldt, who founded the University of Berlin (since 1949: Humboldt University of Berlin) in 1810, made a statement interpretable^{[by whom?]} as referring to personal development: … if there is one thing more than another which absolutely requires free activity on the part of the individual, it is precisely education, whose object it is to develop the individual.^[19]

During the 1960s a large increase in the number of students on American campuses^[20] led to research on the personal development needs of undergraduate students. Arthur Chickering defined seven vectors of personal development^[21] for young adults during their undergraduate years:

1. developing competence
2. managing emotions
3. achieving autonomy and interdependence
4. developing mature interpersonal relationships
5. establishing identity
6. developing purpose
7. developing integrity

In the UK, personal development took a central place in university policy^{[citation needed]} in 1997 when the Dearing Report^[22] declared that universities should go beyond academic teaching to provide students with personal development.^{[citation needed]} In 2001 a Quality Assessment Agency for UK universities produced guidelines^[23] for universities to enhance personal development as:

* a structured and supported process undertaken by an individual to reflect upon their own learning, performance and / or achievement and to plan for their personal, educational and career development;
* objectives related explicitly to student development; to improve the capacity of students to understand what and how they are learning, and to review, plan and take responsibility for their own learning

In the 1990s, business schools began to set up specific personal-development programs for leadership and career orientation and in 1998 the European Foundation for Management Development set up the Equis accreditation system^{[24][dead link]} which specified that personal development must form part of the learning process through internships, working on team projects and going abroad for work or exchange programs.^{[citation needed]}

The first personal development certification required for business school graduation originated in 2002 as a partnership between Metizo,^[25] a personal-development consulting firm, and the Euromed Management School^[26] in Marseilles: students must not only complete assignments but also demonstrate self-awareness and achievement of personal-development competencies.

As an academic department personal development has become^[when?] a specific discipline, usually associated with business schools.^[27] As an area of research, personal development draws on links to other academic disciplines:

• education for questions of learning and assessment
• psychology for motivation and personality
• sociology for identity and social networks
• economics for human capital and economic value
• philosophy for ethics and self-reflection

Personal development in the workplace[link]

Abraham Maslow (1908–1970), proposed a hierarchy of needs with self actualization at the top, defined as:^[28]

… the desire to become more and more what one is, to become everything that one is capable of becoming.

Since Maslow himself believed that only a small minority of people self-actualize — he estimated one percent^[29] — his hierarchy of needs had the consequence that organizations came to regard self-actualization or personal development as occurring at the top of the organizational pyramid, while job security and good working conditions would fulfill the needs of the mass of employees.^{[citation needed]}

As organizations and labor markets became more global, responsibility for development shifted from the company to the individual.^{[clarification needed]} In 1999 management thinker Peter Drucker wrote in the Harvard Business Review:

We live in an age of unprecedented opportunity: if you’ve got ambition and smarts, you can rise to the top of your chosen profession, regardless of where you started out. But with opportunity comes responsibility. Companies today aren’t managing their employees’ careers; knowledge workers must, effectively, be their own chief executive officers. It’s up to you to carve out your place, to know when to change course, and to keep yourself engaged and productive during a work life that may span some 50 years.^[30]

Management professors Sumantra Ghoshal of the London Business School and Christopher Bartlett of the Harvard Business School wrote in 1997 that companies must manage people individually and establish a new work contract.^[31] On the one hand the company must allegedly recognize that personal development creates economic value: "market performance flows not from the omnipotent wisdom of top managers but from the initiative, creativity and skills of all employees".

On the other hand, employees should recognize that their work includes personal development and "... embrace the invigorating force of continuous learning and personal development".

The 1997 publication of Ghoshal's and Bartlett's Individualized Corporation corresponded to a change in career development from a system of predefined paths defined by companies, to a strategy defined by the individual and matched to the needs of organizations in an open landscape of possibilities.^{[citation needed]} Another contribution to the study of career development came with the recognition that women’s careers show specific personal needs and different development paths from men. The 2007 study of women's careers by Sylvia Ann Hewlett Off-Ramps and On-Ramps^[32] had a major impact on the way companies view careers.^{[citation needed]} Further work on the career as a personal development process came from study by Herminia Ibarra in her Working Identity on the relationship with career change and identity change,^[33] indicating that priorities of work and lifestyle continually develop through life.

Personal development programs in companies fall into two categories: the provision of employee benefits and the fostering of development strategies.

Employee benefits have the purpose of improving satisfaction, motivation and loyalty.^{[citation needed]} Employee surveys may help organizations find out personal-development needs, preferences and problems, and they use the results to design benefits programs.^{[citation needed]} Typical programs in this category include:

• work-life balance
• time management
• stress management
• health programs
• counseling

Many such programs resemble programs that some employees might conceivably pay for themselves outside work: yoga, sports, martial arts, money-management, positive psychology, NLP, etc.^{[citation needed]}

As an investment, personal development programs have the goal of increasing human capital or improving productivity, innovation or quality. Proponents actually see such programs not as a cost but as an investment with results linked to an organization’s strategic development goals. Employees gain access to these investment-oriented programs by selection according to the value and future potential of the employee, usually defined in a talent management architecture including populations such as new hires, perceived high-potential employees, perceived key employees, sales staff, research staff and perceived future leaders.^{[citation needed]} Organizations may also offer other (non-investment-oriented) programs to many or even all employees. Typical programs^[which?] focus on career-development, personal effectiveness, teamwork, and competency-development. Personal development also forms an element in management tools such as personal development planning, assessing one's level of ability using a competency grid, or getting feedback from a 360 questionnaire filled in by colleagues at different levels in the organization.

See also[link]

• Coaching
• Holland Codes
• Know thyself
• Life planning
• Self-actualization
• Self-help
• Training and development
• Human Potential Movement
• Micropsychoanalysis

References[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Personal development

This section relies on references to primary sources or sources affiliated with the subject, rather than references from independent authors and third-party publications. Please add citations from reliable sources. (September 2010)

Jim Rohn (September 17, 1930 - December 5, 2009) was an American entrepreneur, author and motivational speaker. His rags to riches story played a large part in his work, which influenced others in the personal development industry.

Early life[link]

Emanuel James "Jim" Rohn was born in Yakima, Washington to Emanuel and Clara Rohn. The Rohns owned and worked a farm in Caldwell, Idaho where Jim grew up, as an only child.

Career[link]

Jim graduated from high school 3rd out of a class of 140. He went to college for a year and a half before dropping out and joining the work force. At age 25, according to his accounts, he was working as a stock clerk for Sears collecting a weekly $57 paycheck. He wasn't broke but struggling financially, unable to see a way that would lead to his personal ambitions.^{[citation needed]} Around this time, a friend invited him to a lecture given by John Earl Shoaff, an entrepreneur who impressed Rohn with his wealth, business accomplishments, charisma, and life philosophy. At that time, Shoaff was VP of Sales in a nutritional supplement company called AbundaVita. In October 1955, Rohn joined AbundaVita and began a process of personal development that culminated in his becoming a millionaire by age 31. Shoaff, who had challenged Rohn at age 25 to reach for this goal, died one year before Rohn achieved it at age 31.

Rohn was invited by a friend to come and tell his "rags-to-riches" story to his rotary club. He accepted and titled his talk "Idaho farm boy makes it to Beverly Hills." The talk went so well that soon others began asking him to speak at various luncheons and other events. In 1963, at the Beverly Hills Hotel, he gave his first public seminar. He then began presenting seminars all over the country, telling his story and teaching the personal development philosophy he felt had led to his accomplishments.

Throughout the '70s, Rohn conducted a number of seminars for the management and employees of the Marketing Dept. of Standard Oil (California) which now does business as Chevron Corporation. At the same time, he conducted a personal development business called "Adventures in Achievement" which featured both live seminars as well as personal development workshops. Ultimately, he presented seminars worldwide for more than 40 years.

Tony Robbins who worked for Rohn in the late '70s, was mentored by Rohn during the early years of his career. Others who credit Rohn for his influence on their careers include authors Mark Victor Hansen and Jack Canfield (Chicken Soup book series), author/lecturer Brian Tracy, T. Harv Eker, author/teacher Vincent's Genesius Evans, from Indonesia. Rohn's last protege was leadership/motivational speaker Chris Widener, who continues Rohn's legacy teaching Twelve Pillars Seminars based on Widener and Rohn's book (Rohn's last), the Twelve Pillars of Success. Widener and Rohn worked together from 2002 until Mr. Rohn's death.

Rohn was the recipient of the 1985 National Speakers Association CPAE Award for excellence in speaking. He is also the author of 17 different books, audio and video programs.

Death[link]

Jim Rohn died of pulmonary fibrosis after an 18-month battle on December 5, 2009 in West Hills, California.^[1]

[edit] Five Major Pieces To the Life Puzzle

Rohn's book Five Major Pieces to the Life Puzzle, published in 1991,^[2] was built around what he considered the five components of success:

• Philosophy - how you think
• Attitude - how you feel
• Action - what you do
• Results - measure often to see if you are making progress
• Lifestyle - the kind of life you can make for yourself out of the first four pieces

See also[link]

• Personal development
• Motivational speaking

References[link]

External links[link]

• Jim Rohn official website
• Jim Rohn official FaceBook page
• Jim Rohn's biography at Woopidoo biographies
• 70 Jim Rohn Quotations at BrainyQuote.com

Will Smith
Smith in 2011
Born	Willard Christopher Smith, Jr. (1968-09-25) September 25, 1968 (age 43) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Other names	The Fresh Prince
Occupation	Actor, producer, rapper
Years active	1985–1993, 1997–2005 (rapping), 1990–present (acting)
Spouse	Sheree Zampino (m. 1992–1995) «start: (1992)–end+1: (1996)»"Marriage: Sheree Zampino to Will Smith" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Will_Smith) Jada Pinkett Smith (m. 1997) «start: (1997)»"Marriage: Jada Pinkett Smith to Will Smith" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Will_Smith)
Children	Trey Smith Jaden Smith Willow Smith
Website
www.willsmith.com

Willard Christopher "Will" Smith, Jr. (born September 25, 1968),^[1] also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor, producer, and rapper. He has enjoyed success in television, film and music. In April 2007, Newsweek called him the most powerful actor in Hollywood.^[2] Smith has been nominated for four Golden Globe Awards, two Academy Awards, and has won multiple Grammy Awards.

In the late 1980s, Smith achieved modest fame as a rapper under the name The Fresh Prince. In 1990, his popularity increased dramatically when he starred in the popular television series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The show ran for nearly six years (1990–1996) on NBC and has been syndicated consistently on various networks since then. In the mid-1990s, Smith moved from television to film, and ultimately starred in numerous blockbuster films. He is the only actor to have eight consecutive films gross over $100 million in the domestic box office and the only one to have eight consecutive films in which he starred open at #1 spot in the domestic box office tally.^[3]

Fourteen of the nineteen fiction films he has acted in have accumulated worldwide gross earnings of over $100 million, and four took in over $500 million in global box office receipts. As of 2011, his films have grossed $5.7 billion in global box office.^[4] His most financially successful films have been Bad Boys, Bad Boys II, Independence Day, Men in Black, Men in Black II, I, Robot, I Am Legend, Hancock, Wild Wild West, Enemy of the State, Shark Tale, Hitch and Seven Pounds. He also earned critical praise for his performances in Six Degrees of Separation, Ali and The Pursuit of Happyness, receiving Best Actor Oscar nominations for the latter two.

Family and early life[link]

Born and raised in the Wynnefield section of West Philadelphia, Smith also lived in Germantown in Northwest Philadelphia. His mother, Caroline (née Bright), was a school administrator who worked for the Philadelphia school board, and his father, Willard Christopher Smith, Sr., was a refrigeration engineer.^[5][6] He was raised Baptist.^[7] His parents separated when he was thirteen,^[8] and did not actually divorce until around 2000.^[9]

It is untrue, though widely reported, that Smith turned down a scholarship to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); he never applied to the school,^[10] although he was admitted to a "pre-engineering program" there.^[9] According to Smith, "My mother, who worked for the School Board of Philadelphia, had a friend who was the admissions officer at MIT. I had pretty high SAT scores and they needed black kids, so I probably could have gotten in. But I had no intention of going to college."^[11]

Recording and acting career[link]

Smith at the Emmy Awards in 1993

Early work (1985–1995)[link]

Smith started as the MC of the hip-hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, with his childhood friend Jeffrey "DJ Jazzy Jeff" Townes as turntablist and producer,^[12] as well as Ready Rock C (Clarence Holmes) as the human beat box. The trio was known for performing humorous, radio-friendly songs, most notably "Parents Just Don't Understand" and "Summertime".^[12] They gained critical acclaim and won the first Grammy awarded in the Rap category (1988).^[12]

Smith had a line in "Voices That Care", a 1991 Persian Gulf War song by a celebrity group. Smith spent money freely during his early career and underpaid his income taxes.^[12] The Internal Revenue Service eventually assessed a $2.8 million tax debt against Smith, took many of his possessions, and garnished his income.^[13] Smith was nearly bankrupt in 1990, when the NBC television network signed him to a contract and built a sitcom, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, around him.^[12]

The show was successful and began his acting career. Smith set for himself the goal of becoming "the biggest movie star in the world," studying box office successes' common characteristics.^[8] His first major roles were in the drama Six Degrees of Separation (1993) and the action film Bad Boys (1995) which he starred opposite of Martin Lawrence.

Breakthrough (1996–2000)[link]

In 1996, Smith starred as part of an ensemble cast in Roland Emmerich's Independence Day. The film was a massive blockbuster, becoming the second highest grossing film in history at the time and establishing Smith as a prime box office draw.^[14] He later struck gold again in the summer of 1997 alongside Tommy Lee Jones in the summer hit Men in Black playing Agent J. In 1998, Smith starred with Gene Hackman in Enemy of the State.^[12]

He turned down the role of Neo in The Matrix in favor of Wild Wild West (1999). Despite the disappointment of Wild Wild West, Smith has said that he harbors no regrets about his decision, asserting that Keanu Reeves's performance as Neo was superior to what Smith himself would have achieved.^[15] Though in interviews subsequent to the release of Wild Wild West he stated that he "made a mistake on Wild Wild West. That could have been better."^[16]

2001–present[link]

Smith in September 2009

In 2005, Smith was entered into the Guinness Book of World Records for attending a record breaking three premieres in a 24-hour time span.^[17]

He has planned to star in a feature film remake of the television series It Takes a Thief.^[18]

On December 10, 2007, Smith was recognized at Grauman's Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard. Smith left an imprint of his hands and feet outside the world renowned theater in front of many fans.^[19] Later that month, Smith starred in the film I Am Legend, released December 14, 2007. Despite marginally positive reviews,^[20] its opening was the largest ever for a film released in the United States during December. Smith himself has said that he considers the film to be "aggressively unique".^[21] A reviewer said that the film's commercial success "cemented [Smith's] standing as the number one box office draw in Hollywood."^[22] On December 1, 2008, TV Guide reported that Smith has been selected as one of America’s top ten most fascinating people of 2008 for a Barbara Walters ABC special that aired on December 4, 2008.^[23]

Smith is currently developing a film entitled The Last Pharaoh, in which he will star as Taharqa.^[24]

President Barack Obama has stated that if a film were to ever be made about his life, he would have Smith play his part, because "he has the ears". Obama stated that the two have discussed a possibility of a film based on the 2008 election, but this may not happen until the end of the Obama presidency.^[25]

Men in Black III opened on May 25, 2012. In it, Smith will play Agent J for the third time, being one of his more popular earlier roles coincides with the fact that it will be his first major starring role in four years.

On August 19, 2011, it was announced^[26] that Smith had returned to the studio with producer La Mar Edwards to make a new album. Edwards has worked with artists such as T.I., Chris Brown, and Game.

Smith and his son, Jaden, are currently filming After Earth, which is set for a 2013 release.

Personal life[link]

Nobel Peace Prize Concert December 11, 2009, in Oslo, Norway: Smith with wife Jada and children Jaden and Willow

Smith was raised by his parents in West Philadelphia. Smith credits his father's dedication when discussing his involvement in the lives of his own children: "I look at my father and how he was able to keep four kids fed and clothed and still managed to find time to spend with us."^[27] Smith married Sheree Zampino in 1992. They had a son, Willard Christopher Smith III, also known as "Trey", but divorced in 1995. Trey appeared in his father's music video for the 1998 single "Just the Two of Us".

Smith married actress Jada Pinkett in 1997. Together they have had two children: Jaden Christopher Syre (born 1998), his co-star in The Pursuit of Happyness, and Willow Camille Reign (born 2000), who appeared as his daughter in I Am Legend. Along with his brother, Harry Smith, he owns Treyball Development Inc.,^[28] a Beverly Hills-based company named after his first son. Smith and his family reside on Star Island in Miami Beach, Florida and in Los Angeles, Stockholm, Sweden^[29] and Philadelphia.

Smith was consistently listed in Fortune Magazine's "Richest 40" list of the forty wealthiest Americans under the age of 40. He donated $4,600 to the presidential campaign of Democrat Barack Obama.^[30] On December 11, 2009, Smith and his wife hosted the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, Norway, when Obama had won the prize.^[31]

Smith has said he has studied multiple religions, including Scientology, and he has said many complimentary things about Scientology and other faiths. Despite his praise of Scientology, Smith said "I just think a lot of the ideas in Scientology are brilliant and revolutionary and non-religious"^[32][33] and "Ninety-eight percent of the principles in Scientology are identical to the principles of the Bible.... I don't think that because the word someone uses for spirit is 'thetan' that the definition becomes any different."^[34] He has denied having joined the Church of Scientology, saying "I am a Christian. I am a student of all religions, and I respect all people and all paths."^[35]

Smith gave $1.3 million to charities in 2007, of which $450,000 went to two Christian ministries, and $122,500 went to three Scientology organizations; the remaining beneficiaries included "a Los Angeles mosque, other Christian-based schools and churches, and [...] the Yitzhak Rabin Memorial Center in Israel".^[36] Smith and his wife have also founded a private elementary school in Calabasas, California, the New Village Leadership Academy, which uses Study Technology, a teaching methodology developed by L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology.^[37] Federal tax filing showed that Will Smith donated $1.2 million to the school in 2010.^[38]

In 2012 he expressed support for the legalizing of same-sex marriage, in an endorsement of president Barack Obama's declaration to adopt this stance on the issue.^[39]

Discography[link]

With DJ Jazzy Jeff[link]

• Rock the House (1987)
• He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper (1988)
• And in This Corner... (1989)
• Homebase (1991)
• Code Red (1993)

Solo[link]

• Big Willie Style (1997)
• Willennium (1999)
• Born to Reign (2002)
• Lost and Found (2005)

Filmography[link]

Television[link]

Film[link]

Box office grosses[link]

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Iannucci, Lisa (2009). Will Smith: A Biography. Greenwood. ISBN 0-313-37610-7. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Will Smith

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Will Smith

• Official website
• Will Smith at the Internet Movie Database
• Will Smith at Yahoo! Movies
• Will Smith on Charlie Rose in 2002
• Will Smith at People.com
• Will Smith discography at MusicBrainz