A notable person is one who creates a positive influence on those around them. Whether it's finding a cure for a deadly disease or spreading awareness of climate change. They must be creative, bold and must persist through their challenging times. A notable person isn't someone who donates millions to a charity, they are the creators of the charity entirely. They do not create something that people think would change the world, but rather something that no one but they, see the potential in. They are the change that the world needs. Ole Kirk Christiansen is no exception. 

 

Ole Kirk Christiansen was born on the 7th of April 1891. As a family of 10 children, Ole's family was impoverished but still managed to receive a basic high school education. He worked at a factory before turning to woodwork and eventually becoming a master carpenter. However, not long after, he had to liquidate his last worker. His company was unsuccessful. His wife and him both had positive mindsets and reminded themselves that at least things couldn't get worse. But they did get worse. Soon his wife passed away. Ole was starting to lose hope. One day, he gathered some spare wood from his carpentry business and made a wooden duck, attached wheels to it, tied a rope to it and then painted it. He showed it to his children who seemed to love it.  

 

Ole failed a carpentry business, lost his wife and still managed to create something that would start the biggest toy company in the world. His creativity and vision for what the world needs was incredible. I chose Ole Kirk Christiansen because he created one of my favorite toys. His inspiring story taught us to persist longer than ever imagined. Ole suffered the loss of his wife, the failure of his first business, the destruction of his hard work and Lego's "great depression". Yet he still strived to create the small plastic brick that changed the world. 

 

After Ole showed his children the new toy, he thought it would be a good idea to create more toys and sell them for money. Business was slow at first but after Ole's son Godtfred, started to help out, they started to get lots of customers. One day, a rich man put in a large order that would help Ole's family manage through Christmas. Ole and his workers worked day and night trying to fill out this order, but disaster struck, the rich man had filed for bankruptcy. Now Ole's family could not even afford food. Ole did not want to starve his children so he went into town and traded his toys for money and food. They did not have many presents for Christmas, but they managed with enough food for a while. 

 

Ole was not a normal man. He couldn't give up. After the worst of times, he still managed to persist. His business was slow at first, then after gaining some momentum, he was rewarded with a man that changed his life. The rich man allowed the production of more toys and even after he filed for bankruptcy, he forced Ole to go into town and sell the toys in exchange for food and money. Most people would have given up after the rich man was bankrupt. Ole did not and because of that, he was rewarded with food for his family. I chose Ole because throughout all his life, not once did he have the idea of giving up. 

 

Business was not running as smoothly as Ole had hoped. He thought of giving his company a name. He wanted it to be short and mean play well. In Danish "Leg Godt" means play well. Ole then found the name Lego and it suited the company very well. What Ole did not know was that Lego also means "to put together" in Latin. 

 

The name Lego was very well taken by the public and the company started to get a lot more customers. Business was looking good but unfortunately, Ole's bad luck streak would not end there. One day, after a hard day's work, Karl and Godtfred, two of Ole's sons were tinkering with some spare wood. Consequently, that night a fire started burning down the factory and all the work inside it. Ole called the fire-brigade but when they arrived, it was too late. The factory had completely burnt down and the only things that remained were some wood, and the blueprints for some toys.  

 

Once again, Ole was in a position where most people would have given up. Ole didn't even after all his hard work was destroyed. Normal people would have given up. Ole saw this as an opportunity to learn from any mistakes he made then strive for the highest. He rebuilt his factory and made sure it was fireproof. Then he went straight back to work making toys.  

 

One day, Ole was looking at a molding machine in Copenhagen. It had just arrived in Denmark and at the time, was producing little plastic bricks. Everyone, including Ole was very fascinated in the machine itself but only Ole was interested in the little plastic bricks themselves. After discussing with Godtfred on the phone for a few minutes, they agreed on getting the machine. They started out by making mini plastic teddy bears and rattles, but Ole still had a sample mini brick from the fair and decided to put them into production. Although no one saw the potential in this simple brick, Ole and Godtfred did and it was when they first released the Grey Ferguson Tractor, did people start to buy the Lego bricks.  

 

Ole took something as small as a plastic brick and turned it into a doorway to endless opportunities. No one saw what the brick could become. Ole had an eye for certain things and this brick was indispensable. It was almost as if a lightning bolt had struck him with the best idea the toy industry had ever seen. This was because he was creative, he knew what he could do. I chose him because he took this big risk and it turned out to be a massive success. 

 

One day on a business trip to England, Godtfred met the head of a big shopping center on the way home. They discussed the toy industry and this conversation would change the course of the Lego company. The head of the center was complaining about the toy industry. He said that the toys were fine and all but they had no system. Once Godtfred got home, he thought about what the man said. He wanted to put a system into Lego. Instead of giving children readymade packages, they would give the children the pieces. Then they would be challenged and their creativity would be tested. They would have to think, "How am I supposed to turn these small bricks into this beautiful model?" By simply putting a system into Lego, many children learnt about road safety. All from mini bricks. 

 

These Lego bricks had a major flaw. This flaw was the fact that the bricks would never stick together and would often fall apart when moved. Ole and Godtfred worked very hard on this issue and soon found out that the top of the bricks would attach to tubes. By adding hollow tubes to the bottom of each brick and putting a small tube at the top. The Lego pieces could fit together perfectly and soon they became much sturdier. Now instead of simple buildings, the possibilities of what could be created were endless. 

 

Ole and the Lego group have had a massive influence on everyone. During my research, I discovered so many new things from them and used their ways to persevere. Ole never gave up because he couldn't afford to. He had to look after his four children. Now I rarely give up and having Ole at the back of my mind keeps me going. Ole liked everything to be perfect and have the best possible quality. Now I try my hardest to make things as good as I can.  

 

Ole, with the help from his son Godtfred, created a brick that was then put into a system that even taught road safety. Then he improved the brick so that it could become whatever a child imagined. A notable person is someone who creates a positive influence among those around them. Ole had lost his wife, his factory and almost everything he had. He got the best out of every situation with his head held high. He never gave up and saw challenges as gifts. He saw life as a gift and more. He saw life as a challenge. He made toys from the highest quality of wood and small plastic bricks that changed the world. He redefined the definition of a good toy. Sadly, he passed away on the 11th of March 1958 and his journey ended. But not Lego's. With Godtfred in charge, he created the first airport to transport Lego to different countries. Billund airport was a massive success. Then he made a land full of Lego and decided to name it Lego Land. That is where Godtfred's story ends. But once again, not Lego's. With Kjeld, Godtfred's son, in charge, Lego now encourages children to explore, experience and express their own worlds. However, to this day one thing remains the same. Lego firmly believes that only the best is good enough. 

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