Anywhere from 75 to 90% of a project manager’s time is spent communicating – Project Management by Stephen Hartley I couldn’t agree more after working with a brilliant team to start up the first Shell Eco-marathon Asia, a regional sustainable mobility challenge for university students in Kuala Lumpur in 2010. Besides working on staging the physical event, […]
Author: Mark Devan
I am a father, writer and cyclist on a journey of self-discovery. I love learning new things and I am fascinated with ideas that empower us with choice and allow us to determine our future in spite of circumstances.
Rejection feels like running into a brick wall. Defeated. The door slams shut in your face as you were trying to get your foot in, yet again. Disappointed. You try to get up, only to have the wind knocked out of you. Rejected. You have done nothing to deserve this yet you feel like you […]
#IAVE2014 one of the most inspirational speeches on #volunteering by @HonMichaelKirby see http://t.co/qYQkP6DZNi — Mark Devan (@markdevan) September 24, 2014
To live fully, we must learn to use things and love people, and not love things and use people. ― John Powell Are you are in a constant rush, one activity to another? Multitasking trying hard to juggle competing priorities? Feel you don’t have the time to stop and take a break? This “superman complex” is […]
Driving in Canberra has its own challenges. Ok so you don’t have to wait hours in traffic jams and its pretty much smooth sailing anywhere. But beware, don’t let your guard down. Keep your eyes open for wildlife that may just decide to cross the road while you are driving at 100 km/hour. This […]
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It’s a tough job
One of the toughest roles that I have taken on is being a father. It’s one that you start with no experience and learn as you go along. I remember feeling on top of the world when Joshua, my eldest son was born 12 years ago. It was the most awesome feeling to witness his […]
Fear paralyses but love sets you free. What’s your biggest failure? That’s a tough question to answer. Nobody likes to talk about failure. It’s much more comfortable to talk about success. But you learn a lot more when you fail. The last six months have been trying times job hunting for me with no results. The […]
Is death the end? We spend our lives trying hard to avoid the one thing that will eventually overtake all of us. How we see death will determine how we use the present moment. Is there meaning in suffering? The pain that surrounds human existence does not discriminate What have I done to deserve this? […]
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A journey of a thousand miles
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Over the last four months we have made an incredible journey from Doha to Kuala Lumpur and then to Canberra. That’s about 12,000km from one corner of the world to another. We are happy to share that we are settling into life down under […]
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Hard to say goodbye
Doha, Qatar has been our home for almost two years and it’s now time to say goodbye. We head back to Kuala Lumpur this weekend after completing a very interesting stay in a country and region unlike any other we have experienced. This will be our fourth move in the last seven years but it […]
Exodus 