At Cafemutual’s CIFA 2020, differently abled Rushabh Desai narrated his story. Rushabh used to be an athlete in school. When he was in college, he started noticing unusual patterns in his body. This continued until he could not walk properly.
While his ability to walk only deteriorated over the years, he never gave up and followed his dreams and passion particularly in the field of mutual fund distribution.
Sunil Subramaniam, MD and CEO, Sundaram Mutual Fund moderated this session.
Early Life
To tell you about my different ability, I suffer from a rare muscle disorder called “GNE Myopathy”. It typically affects the exoskeleton muscles of the body which are hands, legs, back and neck. And it is a slow deteriorating disease where at later stages, you are completely wheelchair bound.
I have been suffering from this disease for the past 12 years. It has been very difficult for me and my parents because there is no cure for this particular disease. And it came as a shock to me because I was very healthy and active in sports.
Career choice
I didn’t share anything about my disability with many people initially because of fear or shame. But the moment I accepted myself fully, there was no looking back.
I choose to be an MFD because I come from a business oriented family. Investments and money were always in my blood. Basically, the profession chose me rather than me choosing it.
Interestingly, I started my career right in the middle of the global financial crisis of 2008. That really taught me a lot about the highs and lows of the investment cycle. My interest in finance and the desire to help people achieve financial freedom are some of the factors that motivate me on a daily basis. I cannot walk but it gives me immense satisfaction to see my clients walk on the path of financial freedom.
In terms of approaching clients, I do face a lot of difficulties. Unfortunately, India is not yet well equipped or the infrastructure is not up to the mark where my wheelchair will go easily everywhere. Nevertheless, I am fortunate to be in the age of technology where I can interact with my clients via video calls and attend all training sessions online.
I meet my clients in coffee shops and sometimes I invite them to my father’s office. However, most of my clients are out of Mumbai so video call is the best way to connect with them. In fact, my very first client was from Delhi and everything happened through video calls.
Inspiration
I have been following many distributors on various social media websites. Many of them are present here in this audience. I draw my inspiration from the distributor fraternity. If you guys can make it big, so can I.
My inspirational figure in life is Stephan Hawking.. One of his quotes that has stayed with me, “However difficult life may seem there is always something you can do and succeed at.” Therefore, even though I am on a wheelchair, I strongly believe that I too can do what the rest can do.
