Jackpot!

Jackpot!

©Allen Merritt (2016)

Here’s a question you may or may not have heard in a while.

What would you do if you really did have a million dollars?

I think this is always a good question to think about and ponder. It sheds light on personal desires, character and integrity, don’t you think?

Flash the possibility of extra money around and suddenly something very interesting happens. It’s sort of a metamorphosis. We become another persona, a different person; and, that can be either good, bad or ugly. 

Either we’re dreaming or scheming.

Consider gambling. Win a little and keep playing. Win more and bet it all even though the price of ‘losing it all’ has you lingering on the edge of your seat. I guess we get an adrenaline high from the prospects of winning. Unfortunately, more often than not, that feeling is only a flash in the pan; a sugar high that cannot be sustained but for so long.

Earlier last month the nationwide lottery was listed in the millions. I was commuting to work the day of that drawing. Interestingly, I drove out of town at 4 a.m. and noticed a line wrapped around the lottery store near the state line. I was amazed. People were hungry for that chance to win several million dollars. I guess it was worth it to so many people to spend quite a few dollars of their hard earned money in hopes of picking the right numbers and winning the big jackpot.

Later on, when I was returning from my day trip I passed that same lottery store around 4 p.m. The cars were still stacked up and that line around the block was completely around the store and then some. Mind you this was 12 hours later. It was like a traffic jam.

You could almost hear everyone singing, “We’re in the money! We’re in the money!”

I found this entertaining and kept right on going. There was no way I was going to get in that line. I seldom buy into the lottery anyway. But I understand how the lottery impacts people’s perceptions toward inviting good fortune into their lives. It seems only natural to want to prosper, to find that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and latch onto the winning jackpot and fulfill all their wishes and desires.

Remember the Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes? They made a marketing campaign out of showing up to a winning house with a larger than life check and a camera. People got emotional, excited and jumped up and down with excitement. They unexpectedly hit the jackpot!

This reminds me of a cartoon about a man asking God why he hadn’t won the lottery only to hear God say something about how the man needed to buy a lotto ticket first. 

To some degree I can see the fun in it and how the dreaming helps add a positive infusion into life. However, it seems to me that we have to balance the reality with the dream and with every dollar given away we must be prepared not to see it again; it becomes disposable income NOT a jackpot.

I have heard reports that many of these lottery winners or instant millionaires become bankrupt a few years later. Makes me wonder what they did with their million dollars?

And that is the question of the day.

Maybe as an exercise we should consider what we ought to do with a million smack-a-roonies should we be lucky enough to stumble upon it.

Give a little back?

Pay off debt?

Start a savings and/or retirement account?

Continue our education?

Responsibly invest and multiply millions into more millions?

Not many are awarded such an opportunity to actually have a million dollars. The purpose of discussing this question today is to remind ourselves of what is truly most important in life. That is the real question. And for me, I think answering the ‘real question’ leads us to a better state of mind and fills us with more positive energy than dreaming of more money than we have ever seen before. The real Jackpot is in living a better life despite it all. Find the things you enjoy doing and do them. Scale down as necessary. If you have the chance to upgrade, then go for it. Winning the lottery, a sweepstakes or anything else comes with a whole laundry list of things that have to be taken care of on top of what you already have to take care of.

Asking the question, “What would I do with a million dollars?” gives us a chance to re-evaluate our lives and put them into proper perspective so that we always see ourselves as having already won the jackpot.

Each and every day we live is a gift.

We are all winners.

Have a good week and enjoy living life On a Positive Note!

Cheers!