I used to say, “Live in abundance and die with zero.”
Those words reminded me that life has a deadline. The resources we work hard to accumulate need to be used at the right time: to experience life, spend time with the people we love, and contribute to the people and things that matter while we can still participate.
At 77, I still believe this. But I am asking myself a clearer question: What do I want these resources to make possible?
That question has gradually led me toward “Die with Purpose.”
“Die with Zero” reminds me to stop postponing. “Die with Purpose” asks me to decide where my resources should go now.
1. From “How Much Is Enough?” to “What Comes After Enough?”
After many years in business, I know that accumulating resources takes effort. For many people, saving means security and responsibility toward their families. I understand that.
But if “enough” is always the next number, we may never begin.
I want to preserve freedom in my own life, give my family opportunities to find their own paths, and create the conditions for public causes I care about to continue. All of this requires thoughtful planning.
Some resources will be used during my lifetime. Others may remain in funds with clear purposes and sound governance, continuing to serve their purpose. Whether my account ultimately reaches zero has gradually become less important to me.
What matters more is this: What has what I own made possible?
2. Generosity Enriches My Life, Too
Generosity connects this change in my thinking.
It includes money, but also time, experience, trust, relationships, and the attention we give when we truly listen. Resources I have come to take for granted may, at the right moment, give another person a choice they did not have before.
I do not need to make this sound noble or claim that my motives are entirely selfless.
I feel happy when someone discovers a possibility. I find meaning in seeing worthwhile work continue. This is close to the spirit of being a Daymaker: someone who intentionally brings happiness and a positive influence into another person’s day. One good way to make ourselves happy is to intentionally make someone else happy.
Generosity enriches my life, too. That joy makes me want to continue.
My happiness, however, must not become someone else’s obligation to be grateful, obedient, or to repay me. Offering resources also means respecting another person’s right to choose their own path.
3. The Archangel Initiative: A Commitment Others Can Rely On
The Archangel Initiative—大天使計劃—is one way I put this thinking into practice.
I have participated in launching Archangel initiatives at AAMA and The Reporter. I have also personally supported 公益平台基金會、龍應台基金會、獵人學校教育 and 關懷台灣基金會 as an Archangel. I have invited about ten friends to join AAMA’s Archangel Initiative as well.
For me, the point is to give trusted organizations greater confidence to undertake long-term work.
One commitment I have practiced is NT$100,000 a year for three years. This amount will not suit everyone. For friends with sufficient resources, however, it can be a concrete and manageable starting point.
If fifty people each commit NT$100,000 annually, an organization has NT$5 million a year to plan around during that commitment period. The arithmetic is simple, but the difference is practical: the organization can plan staffing, sustain everyday operations, and undertake work whose results may take years to emerge.
A commitment to give a fixed amount regularly—and to follow through—allows others to plan their future.
I care about stable, predictable resources and promises that are kept. Those providing support also need to understand the organization’s work and respect its professional judgment and independence.
4. GPC: Another Way to Understand Prosperity
We often discuss a place’s prosperity through GDP per capita. I want to add a question: Once we have accumulated wealth, how much are we willing to contribute to making our shared world a little better?
I call this idea GPC—Generosity per Capita. It asks how much, on average, individuals in a society are willing to contribute in resources to other people, public causes, and work worth sustaining over time.
For now, GPC is a proposal about values, not a statistical measure with an established method of calculation. I want it to open a conversation: Are we willing to include generosity in our understanding of prosperity?
Generosity takes many forms. Some people offer money, others time, professional skills, or sustained companionship. Our capacities and responsibilities differ. An amount of money cannot tell the whole story.
We can also understand a place’s wealth by how people use the resources they have.
I hope more people in Taiwan, while caring for themselves and their families, will make a lasting commitment to something worth doing.
5. What We Leave the Next Generation Includes How We Use Our Wealth
When I think about generosity, I also think about my children and grandchildren.
I want to leave them opportunities to learn, explore, try things, and find their direction. I also want them to see how I allocate resources, trust other people, and honor a commitment.
In my own planning, I will first ensure that my living and care needs are covered, then put my family’s long-term arrangements in place with adequate resources, before making substantial, irreversible commitments of assets to charitable purposes. This gives my generosity a foundation I can sustain.
Meanwhile, listening, sharing experience, offering time, and contributing within my means can begin today.
I want my children to inherit opportunities and to see generosity practiced as a way of life.
6. Live Intentionally. Die with Purpose.
For me, Die with Purpose means leaving with the knowledge that I used my time and resources thoughtfully, giving people, places, and worthwhile work a chance to continue.
I will not see every outcome or determine where every ripple travels. But I can choose how I participate today and honor the promises I have made.
Generosity is the bridge from Die with Zero to Die with Purpose. The Archangel Initiative is one way I am crossing that bridge.
Live intentionally. Die with purpose.
Ping Chu
Still waters run deep. Kindness travels far.