My Late Father's Birthday and a Lesson He Taught Me

Hi! How are you? Today, November 20th, 2009, is my late father's birthday. He would have been 87 today, but sadly he passed away in the Malacca General Hospital last year - on April 4th, 2008.

Throughout his life on Earth, all 85 1/2 years of it, D.A. Devadason - widely known in Malacca as 'lawyer Devadason' - left his mark and his legacy. Last year, after he shed the shackles of this physical world, I wrote six blog postings here on specific lessons that I received from him. Today, on his birthday, I want to share something a little bit different.

My father had 10 children. In order of birth, we are: Rabin, Eva, Viji, Rajen, Jaya, Rani, Sarah, Pushpa, Parames and Niza. It's remarkable, but as I think of each of my nine siblings and of myself, I realise that we are all different. Of course, different individuals will always be 'different', but I mean we are each very, very different from each other. And yet our father loved us all deeply.

Countless times when I spoke to him, either in person when I would visit our family home in Bukit Baru, Malacca, or over the phone, he would firmly reassure me that he prayed for each of us, his children, every single day. And he really did!

I also remember when I was very small, he made sure I fully memorised the Shepherd's Psalm by David, Psalm 23. Its famous opening words are: "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads beside still waters, He restoreth my soul..."

None of us is perfect, and we all make mistakes in life. But the lesson of learning to 'rest' in God in the midst of all the trials, troubles, travails and turbulence that mark our earthly life is one that I will always be thankful to my beloved father for.

So, as you read this - especially if you do so on November 20th - I hope you will do something special for those you love, while you are still able to. Specifically, I would suggest you think deeply about a wonderful lesson your own parents have taught you; then proactively choose to share that nugget of wisdom, whatever it may be, with someone younger than you. Never forget that genuine, abiding legacies are built one small act of kindness at a time.

Thank you for joining me here. In closing, I'm going to trust my Heavenly Father to relay a message to my natural father as I say, "Happy 87th birthday, Papa!"


Warmest regards,


Rajen


Rajen Devadason is CEO of RD Book Projects and its sister company RD WealthCreation Sdn Bhd. He lives in sunny, peaceful Malaysia with his gorgeous wife Rachel. He's a Malaysian Securities Commission-licensed financial planner, a life planning consultant, a professional speaker and a serial author.

Overcoming Tough Times

Hi! Thanks for dropping by. I haven't written in this blog since the end of last year, when I completed a 6-part series on the legacy left by my late father, Mr D. A. Devadason. He died more than a year and a half ago, and I still miss him. This coming Friday, November 20th, would have been his 87th birthday...

In case you don't know who I am, please allow me to briefly introduce myself. My name is Rajen Devadason. I'm a Malaysian Securities Commission-licensed financial planner. Today, I'd like to briefly talk about how each of us might get through tough economic times.

As I write this, in the middle of November 2009, there are strong signs of economic recovery from the Great Recession. Only time will tell if the recovery sticks or if the world sinks back into the economic doldrums. For now, however, I am feeling more optimistic than pessimistic. What about you?

Regardless of your answer, I believe the best way for each of us to increase our odds of not merely surviving but thriving in the months ahead is to remember that 'cash is king'. So, even if your job or business is running very well today, do take the time to figure out how best to optimise your cash flow pattern.

That is done by figuring out legal and ethical ways to increase the flow of cash gushing INTO your life and smart ways to decrease the cash flowing OUT of your life. Financial planners use a tool called a cash flow statement to first monitor your cash flow pattern and then to help you make carefully calibrated changes.

Your goal should be to increase your cash flow surplus each month and then to channel that surplus toward funding, first, an emergency buffer fund, and then building up a sound portfolio of investments that generates a flood of passive income into your life!

I suggest you begin tracking your cash outflows by buying yourself a handy little notebook and jotting down every single expense you have over the next two months.

I wish you all the very best!

You are always welcome to read some of my free articles on financial planning, goal-setting and time management at http://www.freecoolarticles.com, or to help yourself to my free learning resources at my site's Gift Centre. Also, if you live in Malaysia, preferably in or close to Seremban and the Klang Valley, AND if you would like to consider using my services to attain long-term goals, you are welcome to learn about my financial planning or retirement planning consulting services by reading my bio. Thank you and take care.

Warmest regards,


Rajen


Rajen Devadason is CEO of RD Book Projects and its sister company RD WealthCreation Sdn Bhd. He lives in sunny, peaceful Malaysia with his gorgeous wife Rachel. He's a Malaysian Securities Commission-licensed financial planner, a life planning consultant, a professional speaker and a serial author... which probably explains why he's so exhausted! Some of his books are available here, and, if you're interested, here are some quotations he reckons are accurate, bold or cool.