Flowers for My Father

Father’s Day is coming up, and I’d like to celebrate my late papa. He was my chief supporter, advisor and champion, and I miss him dearly. Always generous with his time, knowledge and experience, he taught me so much not only about finances, but about life in general. So, I figured, I’d immortalize his words, and share some of his sage wisdom.

He gave me three major pieces of advice that have stayed with me after all these years, these are:

  1. Life’s a marathon, not a sprint. When I got my first proper job, I was in a hurry to live life on my own terms, to be independent and stand on my own. I proudly announced to my parents that I would be moving out. I had saved up enough for rent, and aside from some odds and ends, I had a radio, a rocking chair, and a sleeping bag, that would be enough. After he had recovered from side-splitting laughter, my father told me told me to pace myself – that I didn’t have to rush at life, and that I needed to reassess my priorities. But, knowing that he had a stubborn and willful daughter, he bought me a mattress, and wished me all the best. It wasn’t until I was struggling to feed myself, had to walk to work, and was actively dodging my landlord come rent time, that I understood what my father had been trying to tell me. It was a case of, “you live, you learn”.

  2. Every step forward, no matter how small, is a victory. In my wild and crazy youth, my father also helped me open my very first investment account. Even though my meagre investment earned me small dividends – it was “free money”. Every shilling however small, went towards my savings or building other investments. He gave me the building blocks for my dream of financial freedom, and taught me that every small win creates a ripple effect that has the capacity to make a big impact.

  3. Stay in your lane, there’s always something to be grateful for. You’d think that peer pressure ends in high school, but it often gets worse in adulthood, especially with the advent of social media. When you pore over your friends’ profiles, and see the highlight reels and curated feeds of their amazing lives; green with envy, you feel like failure and that you’re behind in life. Truly, comparison is the thief of joy.

    I’d often complain to my father that I didn’t have enough money, time, patience or what-have-you, he’d tell me to focus on my own plate (personal journey) instead of comparing my portion to everyone else’s. He’d also remind me to appreciate the blessings in each day, instead of stressing about things beyond my control. It’s because of this advice that I am grateful and appreciative of everything in my life – the fact that I have food to eat, friends and loved ones, a place to rest my head at night, and even the spare change that I may have on any given day – each day is a giftbox filled with presents that I’m heartily thankful for.

With age, insight and perspective, I see that these three lessons were actually connected: Life is a climb, there’s no need to rush – pace yourself, take it one step at a time and each day as it comes, stay focused your own journey, and be grateful for everything along the way – this is what makes life worth living.

Thank you for everything papa 🌻🌻


Feel free to share your Father's day messages in the comments.

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Let's build your future, together.

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