My Father's Death and Legacy - Part 5 of 6

Hi. In case you're a first time visitor to my blog, welcome! My father, Daniel Alagaretnam Devadason, died at 1 am on Friday April 4th 2008; so, to celebrate his life, I've decided to share six enrichment lessons I learnt from him.


The first was 'Pay for High Quality', which you can read more about at:
http://the-cool-time-and-money-blog.blogspot.com/2008/04/my-fathers-death-and-legacy-part-1-of-6.html

The second lesson was 'Focus on Professionalism', which you can read more about at:
http://the-cool-time-and-money-blog.blogspot.com/2008/04/my-fathers-death-and-legacy-part-2-of-6.html

The third lesson was 'Respect Books', which you can read more about at:
http://the-cool-time-and-money-blog.blogspot.com/2008/12/my-fathers-death-and-legacy-part-3-of-6.html

The fourth lesson was 'Give Generously', which you can read more about at:
http://the-cool-time-and-money-blog.blogspot.com/2008/12/my-fathers-death-and-legacy-part-4-of-6.html


My father was often incredibly generous. I learnt from him the importance of being willing to share with others some of the bounty God has blessed me with...


In that vein, here's the fifth of six lessons derived from my observations of his life:

Give Generously.

As I write this, at the tail-end of 2008, it is a foregone conclusion that 2009 is going to be a year fraught with economic challenges. There is a great need to conserve cash and to work harder to try to bring in more money, if possible.

However, I have observed that those who are the wealthiest, in every sense of the word, aren't always those who have the largest bank account balance. There are many forms of wealth: financial, physical, social, spiritual and emotional.

Arguably the best way to live a life that's marked by gratitude, abundance and holistic wealth is to be generous. Some people find it easy to be magnanimous and others not so...

Regardless of which group you fall into, I urge you to heed the example of my late father. You see, he gave to charities without discrimination throughout his long life.

He showered gifts of money and even of useful appliances, like portable fans, to worthy causes. Even in death, one of the key clauses of his will was to give a monetary gift to a church.

Although my father did not die financially wealthy, he left a legacy marked by generosity. Many people will remember him to their own graves for the way he extended himself on their behalf. And that's why, in my own consulting practice, I often teach clients the importance of generosity for its own sake and also as a conduit for opening channels of blessing into their lives.

And as I mentioned just now, some find charitable giving easy, others don’t.

I do, largely because of my father’s compelling lifelong example. Because of that trait, I often have the joy of knowing that an act of exuberant generosity can make someone's day and simultaneously allow me to feel like a million dollars!

You should try it. In doing so, you would be heeding D.A. Devadason's Principle Number 5: Give Generously.

I hope to write on my father's sixth lesson soon, so please return here to The Cool Time and Money Blog ; you might also care to bookmark its URL, http://the-cool-time-and-money-blog.blogspot.com/

Finally, if you live in Malaysia, preferably in or close to Seremban and the Klang Valley, and if you would like to use my services to attain long-term goals, you are warmly welcome to learn about my life planning, financial planning or retirement planning consulting services by reading my bio. Thank you and take care.

Warmest regards,


Rajen

PS. I'm on extended year-end leave, so please use the comment facility, via the 'COMMENTS' link below, should you wish to leave a message for me or even a thought to share with others about what I've written today. Thank you, once again.

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.