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

Hi. If you're a first time visitor to my blog, welcome! My father, Daniel Alagaretnam Devadason, died at 1 am on Friday April 4th 2008. To celebrate his life, I've decided to share six enrichment lessons I learnt from him. So, on this last day of 2008, which has been an especially tough year for many of us, for various reasons, it gives me great pleasure to write for you the sixth and final lesson of this series honouring my father's memory.

The first lesson 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 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 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 was 'Record Expenses', 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

The fifth 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-5-of-6.html

From my perspective, my father was a balanced workaholic. The very fabric of his being was tied up in his identity as a lawyer. When he died, he was the most senior lawyer in Malacca and by some accounts the most senior throughout Malaysia. He appeared in court well into his 80s, and loved the law, with its nuances and scope for intellectual application. He was professionally successful and believed in hard work, yet he also realised that lifelong abiding success required another element - trust in God.

Therefore, the sixth and last lesson of this series is:

Work hard and then leave the rest to God

Even though we aren't Catholics, my father used to stop at the beautiful St. Peter’s church each Monday morning, on his way to the office from our family home in Bukit Baru, Malacca – it is the house I was born in 44 years ago.

Alighting from his car, my father would then walk toward the church and light a candle. It was his way of attempting to connect with God and to seek the Almighty's blessings upon his children, life and work.

While my own work nowadays involves helping individuals and groups manage money better, my heritage from my father has taught me that money is only a tool; it should never be an end in itself!

So, I hope you will follow my father's example by heeding D.A. Devadason's Principle Number 6: Work Hard and Then Leave the Rest to God.

Also, I do hope you will make the time to read all the lessons in this series and, if appropriate, point your friends to those that are the most use to you.

Even though this posting marks the last of this series, I hope you will stay in touch. You may do so by revisiting this blog from time to time to see what else I've written here. You may also sign up for my free ezine Get Better, or read some of my free articles on financial planning, goal-setting and time management at http://www.freecoolarticles.com/

Take care and don't be a stranger to the those who cross your path. Do take - or, better yet, make - time for the people around you.

In closing, 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 especially welcome to learn about my 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.