As I walked along the Edgware Road, I felt as though the world was closing in on me. All the sounds I take for granted, had gone. I had entered a world of silence. This unsettling experience occurred a few weeks ago when I agreed to go deaf for the day to support the work of the charity Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, for which I am an ambassador.

    When I managed to take a cab to the office of my manager, Gavin, I couldn't hear what the taxi driver was saying to me. Conversation was impossible. Then, when I reached the office, I had to ring the intercom five times as I couldn't hear a response.

    Everybody said I was shouting at them—I simply wasn't aware of how loudly I was speaking as I couldn't hear my own voice. Gavin kept telling me my phone was ringing, but I didn't realize. I was too busy trying to concentrate on reading his lips. And when he tried to tell me a code to put into my phone, I had to keep asking him to repeat it, more slowly. Eventually he lost his patience and snapped at me: “Just give me the phone!” I was shocked.

    People couldn't be bothered to repeat themselves, so they kept trying to do things for me that I was perfectly capable of doing myself. I felt I'd lost control.

    Being deaf for the day was extraordinarily tiring. I had to work so hard to “listen” with my eyes, get people's attention and use my other senses to make up for my lack of hearing. It was a huge, exhausting effort.

    Until that experience I didn't realize how much I took my own hearing for granted, or the sorts of emotions and experiences deaf people go through. If a deaf person asks you to repeat something, never think: “It doesn't matter.” It does matter.

    When we think of leadership, we often think of strength and power. But what are these really, and how do they operate?

    Leadership today is not about forcing others to do things. If this is even possible, it is short-term. If you order someone to do something against their will, they may do it because they feel they must, but the anger they feel will do more harm in the long-term. They will also experience fear.

    Fear causes the thinking brain to shut down, making the person unable to function at his or her best. If they connect you with this emotion of fear, they will become less functional around you, and you will have succeeded in not only shooting yourself in the foot, but possibly making a very good employee or partner unable to perform effectively. Fear has no place in leadership.

    The way we affect people in a lasting way is by our own character, and our understanding and use of emotion. We can order someone to do something, which may be part of the work day, or we can employ them at the emotional level, so they become fully devoted to the projects and provide some of their own motivation (积极性). Today's work place is all about relationships.

    Anyone works harder in a positive environment in which they're recognized and valued as a human being as well as a worker. Everyone produces just a bit more for someone they like Leaders understand the way things work. They know money is not the only most motivating factor in the work life of most people.

    The true strength of leadership is an inner strength that comes from the confidence of Emotional Intelligence—knowing your own emotions, and how to deal with them and those of others. Developing your emotional intelligence is the best thing you can do if you want to develop your relationships with people around you, which is the key to the leadership skills.

    You can't always predict a heavy rain or remember your umbrella. But designer Mikhail Belyaev doesn't think that forgetting to check the weather forecast before heading out should result in you getting wet. That's why he created Lampbrella, a lamp post with its own rain-sensing umbrella.

    The designer says he came up with the idea after watching people get wet on streets in Russia. “Once, I was driving on a central Saint Petersburg street and saw the street lamps lighting up people trying to hide from the rain. I thought it would be appropriate to have a canopy(伞蓬) built into a street lamp,” he said.

    The Lampbrella is a standard-looking street lamp fitted with an umbrella canopy. It has a built-in electric motor which can open or close the umbrella on demand Sensors(传感器) then ensure that the umbrella offers pedestrians shelter whenever it starts raining.

    In addition to the rain sensor, there's also a 360°motion sensor on the fiberglass street lamp which detects whether anyone is using the Lampbrella. After three minutes of not being used the canopy is closed.

    According to the designer, the Lampbrella would move at a relatively low speed, so as not to cause harm to the pedestrians. Besides, it would be grounded to protect from possible lightning strike. Each Lampbrella would offer enough shelter for several people. Being installed(安装) at 2 metres off the ground, it would only be a danger for the tallest of pedestrians.

    While there are no plans to take the Lampbrella into production, Belyaev says he recently introduced his creation to one Moscow Department, and insists his creation could be installed on any street where a lot of people walk but there are no canopies to provide shelter.

    Many years later, when people recall the 2018 Russia World Cup, they will remember many things. With the tragic ending of the defending champion Germany, Mexico has triumphantly and suddenly lost three goals in the face of Sweden. But people will never forget the back of a lonely person. That is Lionel Messi.

    31-year-old Messi took off the green armband of his left arm and suddenly fell out. In the recent match, he and his team lost the game against France. The 19-year-old striker Mbappé relentlessly ripped apart the Argentine defense line and scored twice, which made a great contribution to the victory of France.

    On this planet, anyone who knows a little about football knows the name Lionel Messi and his golden years from 2007 to 2017.

    In 2007, 19-year-old Messi tied Real Madrid three times with a hat-trick, and began his legendary career.

    In the past ten years, Mr. Football, the Golden Globe Award and the Golden Boot Award have been taken over by him.

    He led Argentina and Barcelona to make a name for themselves in the world, and has a brilliant record in the Champions League, America's Cup and World Cup.

    Eleven years later, Messi stood on the Kazan Stadium. After four World Cups, he knew that this might be the last time he led Argentina to the World Cup.

    Since 1986, Argentina has never won a championship again. As a captain, he has a great responsibility, even stating that he would withdraw from the national team if he did not win the championship this year.

    This is a prophecy.

    Messi, who eventually failed to save the game, did not receive any interview after standing up on the lawn; leave behind only a legendary image for the world.

    Why do people lie? Many psychologists agree that it can start from childhood? There are various reasons why children make false statements. They usually tell untruthful stories to cover up the mistakes that they have done in the past. Lying is also a way to avoid receiving punishments from parents. If parents fail to reprimand their children for making up false stories, then there is a possibility that they will continue to lie during their teenage years.

    Teenagers lie because they want to be accepted by their friends. This is the main reason why they create stories that are not true just to become presentable and acceptable to other people. In some instances, teenagers tell untruthful statements to avoid criticisms from their families and friends.

    As teenagers grow, lying becomes one of your habits. Their knowledge on making up untruthful stories becomes more developed. People lie in workplaces if they fail to meet the deadlines and if they fail to accomplish and do their tasks efficiently. Some of the common lies made in workplaces are getting sick and having emergencies at home. The danger involved in frequent lying is when it, becomes a character. Frequent lying causes the development of the condition known to doctors as pathological（病态的）lying.

    Pathological lying is a mental health condition, which is associated with individuals who have the urge to tell untruthful statements. Patients suffering from it make up stories about everything and anything. These individuals lie to meet the standards of other people who they want to please. These patients deceive other people because it gives them an unexplained pleasure. One of the best ways of treating pathological liar is to help them tell true statements and stories at all times. This may be hard for them, but as they are accustomed to it, they will start to realize that they will be more accepted by their families and other people if they stop themselves from making up for stories

    My First Marathon

    Three weeks before my first marathon, one of my ankles was injured and this meant not running for two weeks, leaving me only one week to train. Yet, I was determined to go ahead.

    I remember back to my 7th year in school. In my first P.E. class, the teacher required us to run laps and then hit a softball. My performance was really terrible. He later informed me that I was "not athletic".

    The idea that I was "not athletic" stuck with me for years. When I started running in my 30s, I realized running was a battle against myself, not about competition or whether or not I was athletic. It was all about the battle against my own body and mind. A test of wills!

    The night before my marathon, I dreamt that I couldn't even find the finish line. I woke up sweating and nervous, but I was ready to prove something to myself.

Shortly after crossing the start line, my shoe laces became untied. So I stopped to readjust. Not the start I wanted!

    At mile 3, I passed a sign: "GO FOR IT, RUNNERS!"

    By mile 17, I became out of breath and the once injured ankle hurt badly. Despite the pain, I stayed the course walking a bit and then running again.

    By mile 21, I was starving!

    As I approached mile 23, I could see my wife waving a sign. She is my biggest fan. She never minded the alarm clock sounding at 4 a.m. or questioned my expenses on running.

    I was one of the final runners to finish. But I finished! And I got a medal. In fact, I got the same medal as the one that the guy who came in first place had.

Determined to be myself and move forward, free of shame and worldly labels(世俗标签), I can now call myself a "marathon winner".