reallife

In December 1937, during a football match at Stamford Bridge in London between Chelsea FC and Charlton FC, the game was abandoned in the 60th minute due to heavy fog.

Unfortunately, Charlton FC goalkeeper Sam Bartram was unaware that the match had been stopped and continued to guard his goal for another fifteen minutes. He did not hear the referee’s whistle because of the noise from the crowd behind him. Believing that his teammates were attacking the opposing goal, he stood with outstretched arms, fully focused on protecting his goal amidst the dense fog.

It was only fifteen minutes later when the field police approached him and informed him that the match had been abandoned fifteen minutes earlier. Sam Bartram, deeply saddened by this, famously said:

” HOW SAD THAT MY FRIENDS FORGOT ME WHEN I WAS GUARDING THEIR GATE.”

Life’s game is much like this. We diligently and supportively guard the goals of many around us, but when the situation becomes foggy, some may abandon us.

May this remind us especially nowadays when it is easy to abandon people that we become friends with just because we cannot see clearly how we can play the game ahead of us because of the uncertain future we face.
Remember, true friendship and loyalty is tested when we are going thru the foggy moments of our lives.
Don’t let the fog blind you not to reach out to those that have been with you when the game was still good and play a vital role in guarding your gate of victory in the past.

Whoever he maybe, remember your GOALKEEPER no matter how foggy the scene is!

–Shane Mercado

Artur Fischer, a German inventor, is known for inventing the plastic dowel, also known as the “Fischer dowel”, in 1958. This small invention revolutionized the construction industry by providing a simple and effective solution for attaching objects to walls made of concrete, brick or other solid materials.

The Fischer dowel consists of a small plastic cylinder with wings on the outside that expand when inserted into a drilled hole in the wall. This creates a firm and secure anchor for screws, nails or any other type of fastening.

This innovation has changed the home improvement and construction industry forever by making it much easier and safer to attach objects to walls. Fischer also has numerous other inventions and patents that underline his role as one of the most important German inventors of the 20th century.

–Facts That will Blow Your Mind

His real name was Frank “Rocky” Fiegel.

He was born in 1868 in Poland and, as a child, immigrated to the United States with his , who settled down in a small town in Illinois.

As a young man, Rocky went to sea. After a 20-year career as a sailor in the Merchant Marines, Fiegel retired. He was later hired by Wiebusch’s Tavern in the city of Chester, Illinois as a ‘Bouncer’ to maintain order in the rowdy bar.
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Rocky quickly developed a reputation for always being involved in fighting ( and usually winning). As a result, he had a deformed eye (“Pop-eye”).

He also ‘always’ smoked his pipe, so he always spoke out of one side of his mouth. In his spare time as a Bouncer, Rocky would entertain the customers by regaling them with exciting stories of adventures he claimed to have had over his career as a sailor crossing the ‘Seven Seas.’

The creator of Popeye, Elzie Crisler Segar, grew up in Chester and, as a young man, met Rocky at the tavern and would sit for hours listening to the old sailor’s amazing ‘sea’ stories.’

Years later, Segar became a cartoonist and developed a comic strip called ‘Thimble Theater.’ He honored Fiegel by asking if he could model his new comic strip character, ‘Popeye the Sailor Man,’ after him. Naturally, Fiegel was flattered and agreed.

Segar claimed that ‘Olive Oyl,’ along with other characters, was also loosely based on an actual person. She was Dora Paskel, owner of a small grocery store in Chester. She apparently actually looked much like the Olive Oyl character in his comics.

He claimed she even dressed much the same way..

Through the years, Segar kept in touch with Rocky and always helped him with money; giving him a small percentage of what he earned from his ‘Popeye’ illustrations.

WHO didn’t love the cartoons??? We watched them religiously… so funny, so moral… each story had a good ending… Wonder if kids these days even KNOW who Popeye is???
Who knew he was a real man??”

–Samke MamDkt Khumalo-Dludla

At 40, Franz Kafka (1883-1924), who never married and had no children, was walking through a park one day in Berlin when he met a girl who was crying because she had lost her favorite doll. She and Kafka searched for the doll unsuccessfully.

Kafka instructed her to rendezvous with him at that location the following day, promising they would return to search for her.

The next day, when they had not yet found the doll, Kafka gave the girl a letter “written” by the doll saying “please don’t cry. I took a trip to see the world. I will write to you about my adventures.”

Thus began a story which continued until the end of Kafka’s life.

During their meetings, Kafka read the letters of the doll carefully written with adventures and conversations that the girl found adorable.

Finally, Kafka brought back the doll (he bought one) that had returned to Berlin.

“It doesn’t look like my doll at all,” said the girl.

Kafka handed her another letter in which the doll wrote: “my travels have changed me.” The little girl hugged the new doll and brought the doll with her to her happy home.

A year later Kafka died.

Many years later, the now-adult girl found a letter inside the doll. In the tiny letter signed by Kafka it was written:

“Everything you love will probably be lost, but in the end, love will return in another way.”

Embrace change. It’s inevitable for growth. Together we can shift pain into wonder and love, but it is up to us to consciously and intentionally create that connection.

Credits goes to the respective owner

–Na Ma Sa

Failure is not the opposite of success; it’s part of the journey. Many famous and successful individuals have faced failures before they achieved their goals. Think of Thomas Edison, who failed thousands of times before inventing the light bulb, or Oprah Winfrey, who faced numerous setbacks before becoming a media mogul.

These stories teach us a valuable lesson: building resilience and grit is essential for achieving success. When we fail, we learn, adapt, and grow stronger. Each setback is an opportunity to refine our strategies, strengthen our resolve, and move forward with greater determination.

As leaders and professionals, it’s crucial to embrace failure as a natural part of our growth. By building resilience, we equip ourselves to handle challenges, persevere through difficulties, and ultimately achieve our goals.

So, the next time you face a setback, remember that you are not alone. Countless successful people have walked this path before you. Build that grit, keep moving forward, and never give up on your dreams.

Picture Credit: Unknown

–RK Leadership

Three stories to boot:

1. Nokia refused Android
2. yahoo rejected google
3. Kodak refused digital cameras

Lessons:
1. Take chances
2. Embrace the Change
3. If you refuse to change with time, you’ll become outdated

Two more stories:
1. Facebook takes over whatsapp and instagram
2. Grab takes over Uber in Southeast Asia
Lessons:
1. Become so powerful that your competitors become your allies
2. Reach the top and eliminate the competition.
3. Keep on innovating

Two more stories:
1. Colonel Sanders founded KFC at 65
2. Jack Ma, who couldn’t get a job at KFC, founded Alibaba and retired at the age of 55.

Lessons:
1. Age is merely a number
2. Only those who keep trying will succeed

Last but not least:
Lamborghini was founded as a result of revenge from a tractor manufacturer who was insulted by Ferrari founder Enzo Ferrari.

Lessons:
Never underestimate anyone, Ever!
 Just keep working hard
 Invest your time wisely
 Don’t be afraid to fail

–IELTS TOEFL & English Teacher

John D. Rockfeller was once the richest man in the world. The first billionaire in the world. By age 25, he controlled one of the largest oil refineries in the US. By age 31, he had become the world’s largest oil refiner. By age 38, he commanded 90% of the oil refined in the U.S.

By 50, he was the richest man in the country. As a young man, every decision, attitude, and relationship was tailored to create his personal power and wealth.

But at the age of 53, he became ill. His entire body became racked with pain and he lost all of his hair. In complete agony, the world’s only billionaire could buy anything he wanted, but he could only digest soup and crackers. An associate wrote, He could not sleep, would not smile and nothing in life meant anything to him. His personal, highly skilled physicians predicted he would die within a year. That year passed agonizingly slowly.

As he approached death he awoke one morning with the vague realisation of not being able to take any of his wealth with him into the next world. The man who could control the business world suddenly realized he was not in control of his own life. He was left with a choice.

He called his attorneys, accountants, and managers and announced that he wanted to channel his Assets to Hospitals, Research, and Charity work. John D. Rockefeller established his Foundation.

This new direction eventually led to the discovery of Penicillin, cures for Malaria, Tuberculosis and Diphtheria.

But perhaps the most amazing part of Rockefeller’s story is that the moment he began to give back a portion of all that he had earned, his body’s chemistry was altered so significantly that he got better. It looked as if he would die at 53 but he lived to be 98.

Rockefeller learned gratitude and gave back the vast majority of his wealth. Doing so made him whole. It is one thing to be healed. It is another to be made whole.

Before his death, he wrote this in his diary…

“God taught me, that everything belongs to Him, and I am only a channel to comply his wishes. My life has been one long, happy holiday thereafter; Full of work and full of play, I dropped the worry, on the way, and God was good to me every day.”

–FOF – HF