As Gardner laid out his vision for a new American dream, he built to one of the speech's most powerful lines. Having lived on the streets with his toddler son while working as an unpaid intern at a brokerage firm, Gardner knew firsthand the difference between having nothing and being nothing. He told the UC Berkeley graduates that for too long, people had been living in exile in a place called 'things,' and it was time to come home to what really mattered. Stuff, toys, and possessions exist, he said, but they are not necessary for happiness. The measure of a person has nothing to do with what's in their bank account.