“Whether it goes one round or three rounds or ten rounds, it will be a fight and a fight all the way”
- James J Braddock, the Boxer who represented hopes and aspirations of the Americans struggling during Great Depression
Photo bySkitterphotofromPexels
The 2005 movie, Cinderella Man, is a real-life story that depicts the struggle during the Great Depression of boxer James J. Braddock. He was called the Cinderella Man as his life resembled the fairy tale character Cinderella who gets a second chance and succeeds with it.
"During the Great Depression in early 1930’s, James J. Braddock- the ex-prizefighter was a broken man, beaten-up and is forced to give up boxing after breaking his right hand in the ring. Without boxing, they would not have enough income. Braddock does manual labor jobs to support his family.
After a long time, Braddock's longtime manager and friend, Joe Gould, offers him a chance to fill in for just one night and earn cash. Braddock stuns the boxing experts and fans with a third-round knockout of his number 2 contender in the world Corn Griffin a formidable opponent. Braddock believes that while his right hand was broken, he became more proficient with his left hand, improving his in-ring ability.
Though his manager Gould lived in a rich neighbourhood, he was also devastated by the hard times. The Great Depression found both these men at their lowest phase; but Gould & Braddock had faith in each other.In 1935, With a shot at the heavyweight championship held by Max Baer, he demonstrates no fear even after Braddock is an underdog 10 -to-1. He defeats the invincible Baer to become the heavyweight champion of the world.
We may not have hit the ‘The Great Depression’, but we as a community, family unit or an individual have not never seen the kind of volatility and uncertainty like Covid-19. Most financial analysts have declared that its recession already and the markets have another 30% to go down further. Many of us I reckon are restless, unsure, some of us may even have our backs to the wall with jobs in jeopardy, scarcity of resources, broken savings and volatility of the future staring at us. At lowest phase, as Braddock was.
And just as Braddock did, I believe we will find our power in our untrained, unexpected hand and talents.
One arm of ours might have been hurt, broken, let us choose to exercise our weaker arm! Market downturns & global healthcare crisis usually brings about a shift in business models. Such seemingly catastrophic economic situations have historically given rise to new categories of businesses. There will definitely be acceleration in innovation. I now see a few of my friends exploring the digital medium to pivot their current careers once we are over this pandemic. And that is just one domain, we could end up finding new blue oceans. Let skillsets be the arm we train to thrive as we navigate through new waters!
As James says “Guess I'm lucky, Some of us don't get a second chance… but I aint blowing this one...I feel like I can do anything now “
Our Cinderella stories will lift us from obscurity on our Onward journeys! Bear says in the movie “It's no joke, pal. People die in fairy tales all the time” But this ain’t no fairy tale, this is life, we will punch harder!
Whether this goes on for a few more weeks or a few more months, it will be a fight and a fight all the way!
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