Fall down seven times, get up eight

It’s one Japanese maxim I will always carry around in my suitcase of inspiration. Fall down seven times, get up eight.

Nana korobi ya oki.

I am not a tattoo enthusiast but if I ever ink myself like my friend Buddha, it will have to be sichi ten hatsu ki in Japanese characters. Same phrase. Fall down seven times, get up eight.

Dwayne Wade used that phrase for his ad with his previous sneaker endorsement.

It’s simply about getting up after a fall. And in my case, failing after a single try is not the end of the world. It is not something to be ashamed either. True, it pains when we fail. But come to think of it, failing only makes us stronger. The scars of battle are our badges of courage.

At the end of the day, I don’t regret a bit having tried and failed. At least I did measure myself how far have I gone in a new quest, in a new journey.

Having gone through this, I must be happy to discover who my real friends really are and I was reminded of an age-old saying that goes: “Real friends drop out on your way up. Opportunists drop out on your way down.”

The dropping out part on the way up does not mean abandoning. It is seeing you walk alone on your feet on your way up. At some point, they stop to see you go up and stay there to applaud you when you reach the summit if your journey. At some point, they stop too to stay there and be ready with their arms in case you fall or miscalculate a step.

By contrast, the opportunists easily drop out on your way down. Worse, they mock you and celebrate your failure. They are the real beasty leeches of this world. They praise you when they use you. They thought paying you for what you do for them is the only air you breathe. They gave you food and they think they have fed you forever. They gave you a pill and they think they have given you life.

In humiliation, I cling on to my faith and embrace self-respect. You can mock me wherever you want to post your ill will and wicked thoughts. But you cannot destroy me. Yes, shallow waters are noisy. They shout even at condominium lobbies while introducing themselves as honorable CEOs. Yes, you can buy nobilities but you cannot teach character. Character is bred, not bought.

William Arnot once said “if honor be your clothing, the suit will last a lifetime, but if clothing be your honor, it will soon be worn threadbare.”

A fool celebrates at another man’s misery. The wise celebrates failure with hope.

Red is the color of my movie and golf dates

I love the red letter days.

There are days for work, and then there are days for going to the movies with your child and for playing golf with friends.

Red letter days come once in a red moon. But I will always look forward to that. Especially in March.

I rebounded with that kind of two days after one very stressful week after another. I kind of tell me that the experience was anatomically, functionally, perceptually and existentially refreshing. And like the wolf in the fairytale story, I huffed and puffed and I was blown away.

Yes, blown away practically by a red storm. Red for the Red Riding Hood movie. And red for Coca Cola.

It was not the most spectacular of movies. Red Riding Hood was not the kind of story I expected from the story told to me in Kindergarten. But sending it with your child makes it worth watching every strip of film. We have not done this for a while. The last movie we had together was Harry Potter 7 which was on November last year.

After Red Riding Hood came another red letter event. The following day, I played golf with friends on the invitation of the Beverage Industry Association of the Philippines (BIAP) at the Apo Golf and Country Club. The friendly tournament was a treat by Coca Cola to its Davao friends and media partners.

I had as flightmates the guys from UMBN Bong Gonzaga, Roy Geonzon and John Servillon and young protégé Billy Tapucar. Bong and Roy went on to be among the winners in the tournament. And as luck would smile for the second straight year, Bong won the raffle’s major prize—a Sony Bravia 59-inch flat tv. Billy also got his wish—an Apple ipad.

Another media friend Alan Basong of Gold Star, though a non-playing guest, won the other Sony Bravia in the raffle. Alan said his wife could not be happier as she was celebrating her birthday on that same day.

The other media friends who played were Jon Develos of Mindanao Times, SCOOP Davao President Lito delos Reyes and hotog Tommy Inigo. Also on hand were Sunstar sports ed and DSA prexy Charles Maxey and ace photog Roland Jumawan who’s Canon 5D camera fitted with 70-200mm lens made me drool.

It was also fun to see former PBA cagers swing golf clubs and sink the dimpled ball. Kenneth Duremdes, Dale Singson, Rodney Santos, Gerard Francisco, and Cesar Catli were among the former cagers under the Coca Cola franchise seen in the fairways of Apo.

BIAP President JB Baylon personally made sure everyone gets to have fun at the links and at the raffles. With two Bravias, two ipads and two itouch as major raffle prizes, this is surely one tournament where winning the raffle is more than winning the tournament itself. The food was great and the Coca Cola products overflowed. We even had to carry home some canned loot to boot.

With friends like this and a golfing day like that, who needs to win anyway?

I did not play all too well, but there is much to enjoy in golf. Like trying to tame a wicked drive all day long and trying to hit between branches after branches. Brandishing a new driver courtesy of Cho Leonor, I found out the Srixon driver is an untamed beast.

And like the wolf’s victims in Red Riding Hood, a man bitten is a man cursed.

If at all a bad day in the fairways is a curse, I’ll look forward to the next red moon.

I love the red letter days.

Birth of a winner

WINNING FORMULA TO YOUR NEED-FOR-SPEED GOALS

The Firm

At F1 Event Solutions we believe in blending business acumen with sporting savvy to create a winning formula for all your corporate goals. We call that formula the F1 Solution. Whether you are looking for event management & organisation, sport sponsorship & activation, strategic development or event supplies, publicity, creative and printing, we are in pole position to help! Our first team has a wealth of experience spanning years across all aspects of the sporting world from sports development, public relations, publicity and events organising. Our network and contacts in sports environment are competitive in this industry and our end game is to steer your events not only to the pole position in the market but eventually to a podium finish in your company targets.

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