Hello friends! Over the last 9 weeks, we have witnessed Jimmy’s transformation from a being a broken man to a newly baptised Christian. Today, let’s witness how he managed to keep all his promises to his beloved son, Shaun, and continued to strive to make a meaningful future.

Way before Shaun’s death, Jimmy had failed to quit smoking on many occasions. But as Shaun loved his father so much, he wanted Jimmy to stop smoking. This became a very strong motivation for Jimmy. He became very committed and eventually succeeded! Starting a running regime also helped as it made Jimmy feel good and stopped his nicotine cravings. He realized that he had to keep on moving.

Next, Jimmy’s parents gave him the greatest gift anyone could ever give another person: their constant support. As people become busy making ends meet, too many forget that their parents are also growing old. Every weekend, Jimmy kept his second promise to Shaun of showing love to his parents by spending some quality time with them over a family meal.

Jimmy’s father passed away in April 2014. His mother was 79-years-old. Jimmy had invited her to move in with him and Tricia, but she was not ready – she wished to ‘spend’ more time with his father, next to his altar. Losing a loved one is truly painful and in Jimmy’s view, if not for his promises to Shaun, perhaps he would never have woken up. He might have gone on living a selfish and meaningless life.

Finally, in 2010, Jimmy completed his third promise to Shaun. Together, Jimmy and Tricia bought their own home. It was a very great achievement.

Thanks to my chart, I fulfilled my three promises to Shaun. Instead of listening to the negative voices in my head, I went with my heart which believed that I could do it against all odds. Fear is a habit; so are self-pity, defeat, anxiety, despair, hopelessness and resignation. You can eliminate all of these negative habits with two simple resolutions: I can and I will!

Because of Shaun, Jimmy found a purpose in life and the motivation to become a better person. By focusing on keeping his three promises to him, one thing led to another. He became healthier, created a happy family and built a stable future for himself. Life took a better turn as Jimmy took to heart the lessons his son had come to teach him.

In a way, Shaun’s death straightened Jimmy out. It was the three promises to Shaun that helped Jimmy develop his attitude of leaving ‘white marks’. Jimmy was truly thankful to Shaun as Shaun made him become a more loving son and a better husband and father. In fact, Jimmy was even thankful for his lack of formal education because it made him try so much harder and put in that extra effort to stand out.

Jimmy transformed his life from inside out. Over the years, he had come across wealthy people who seem to be rich on the surface. Yet when he talked to them, Jimmy found out that they are not happy inside due to their problems or dissatisfaction in their lives. However, life is a journey of about 80 years. It may look very long, but the years actually fly past very quickly. There will be obstacles coming up and detours for sure, but always keep in mind: it’s okay, it’s not the end yet.

From his experiences, Jimmy would like to share with us some suggestions we could apply to our life.

Firstly, have a focus and vision of what we would like to leave behind as our legacy. How far we want to go in this life and what we would like to leave behind is all in our own hands. Jimmy wishes to tell us that one way of planning our life is to break it up into parts as we all have a lifespan of around 80 years.

Dear friends, please take a minute to think about where you are at this point in your life. Maybe you can write down what you have already achieved so far, and start planning for the rest of the years. If you are 50 years old now and plan to work till you are 60, you can split up the 10 years of work and then, focus on leaving as many ‘white marks’ as you can for the first five years. The remaining five years will take care of themselves—it may be delayed gratification, but this is Jimmy’s methodology and it works. Think of it like planting seeds. When the time is ripe, you can enjoy the fruits of your labour. Do not forget to reap what you have sown, especially when it is ripe.

On the other hand, some of us may have already reached our golden years and have enough ’fruit’ to retire on. Yet we keep on working. It’s probably time to ask: are you working because you enjoy the fulfillment it gives or because you need the security of a monthly cash input? If it’s the former, why not retire and pass on your experience and wisdom to others

Secondly, research has shown that in ranking order, 67 percent of people believe that family is of utmost importance. Health was prioritised by 23 percent, religion by 3 per cent and career by only 1 percent. Yet, too many people spend all their time working and letting their jobs rule their lives. What a pity that many of us still neglect such a fact! Jimmy agrees that family is the most important thing in our lives and that we should always spend undivided quality time with them. But at the same time, we also need to be successful at work to be able to provide happiness and security for our families. That is why, from his experience, Jimmy would like to suggest for us to maintain a work-life balance. Furthermore, never think that the status quo will last forever. Both family and career could be gone instant! Hence, since Shaun’s death, Jimmy has not taken any of his family members for granted and he treasures every minute that he has with them.

Jimmy has one experience he would like to share with us to help us better understand this. During one of Jimmy’s motivational and coaching sessions, someone told Jimmy that he was unhappy with his father – he has never received any support from him whenever he had failed in the past. Jimmy then asked him to reflect on his younger days and think clearly of what his father had done for him. The guy finally realised that his father had looked after him from the day he was born until his adulthood. That is the unconditional love that simply cannot be repaid.

When Jimmy asked if he was superstitious, the man said no. So, Jimmy asked him to imagine what he would do if he had just received a call from Penang, telling him that his father had just passed away. The man replied that he would straightaway take a leave and get on a plane to Penang to settle the funeral. After that, Jimmy asked him what he would do or say if this had occurred in either a hundred days, a year or three years from now. After being reminded that his father was still alive and that he should not take him for granted, the guy took a one week leave and went back to Penang; he spent a long period of quality time with his father.

Lastly - Dear friends, perhaps you want to draw close to your children, even during their adulthood. Then, it’s imperative to know when to let go. Let your children stand on their own feet and make their own decisions. It may not be easy, but the more you want to control their lives, the more you may draw them away from you. One of a parent’s greatest achievements is to see their children become independent in this world. You have a big part to play to help them get there.

We live in a fast-changing world, and we are all trying our best to keep up. Strive to have a balance; as much as we need to achieve things, we also need to enjoy ourselves along the way. Once in a while, try to do something that makes you feel good. Learn to laugh at yourself more freely; don’t take circumstances too seriously. For example, listen to songs you like or enjoy a movie alone. Our protagonist, Jimmy, used to spend nights listening to songs on a tiny transistor radio. It was truly amazing how some songs could transport him back to a certain memory deeply etched in his mind. Do cultivate a sense of humour and do not take everything so seriously. Put your life in God’s hands with great faith and enjoy the peace from Him.

And that, my friends, was Jimmy’s breakthrough journey from being broken man to having a new life. We truly hope that his story inspired you, gave you hope and empowered you in your life.

Thank you for being with us over the past 10 weeks.  Do look forward to our next life testimony series next Thursday. Thank you and good bye!