I've often thought what it would be like to wake up one day and be a millionaire. It happens to a few folks every now and then. How would MY life be changed if it were me? Where would I go? What would I do? What would I become? It is not out of the realm of "possibility" that maybe someday I could wake up a millionaire. My parents gamble literally EVERY WEEK. For the last 25 years or so, my dad has bought lottery tickets. He finds it fun. Now him and Gloria spend a ton each week on tickets now that they are in their late 60s. Why? Good question. Something to do I guess. But maybe the chance that their twilight years can be happy ones and they can help out the rest of us with a surprise win. My in laws play as well. So BOTH sides of my family play.
Me? I don't. I've joined lottery pools maybe a total of five times at work pools in the past. But never won a dime. When my parents would visit, they would want to go to the local casino here in Michigan. I'd go, spend maybe $5-10 in a slot machine but then go to the Arcade and play the games there and win a fuzzy troll pencil topper. Gambling, is just not in my blood. (Good thing too. I got enough vices!) I have no desire to go to Vegas for anything, outside of seeing a live UFC fight or if that Star Trek the Experience re-opens. So no Vegas, no Atlantic City. Don't need it. But still, the idea remains. What if tomorrow I woke up and was a millionaire? And maybe its not from the lottery win from my parents. What if I made a property and some movie studio wanted to buy it? What would I do? "Sell out?" ABSOLUTELY! But what then? Here's what I'd do...
1. Pay off ALL debt - Student loans? Bye! All credit cards, car payment, rent, all gone. First thing.
2. Take my parents and family on Vacation - I'd likely give my parents and my in-laws some money if they wanted it. Things would be okay from this point on. I'd go somewhere great. I couldn't get my dad on a plane though. So it would have to be something special. I'd love to rent an ocean-side condo and spend a week looking out over the ocean in quiet. That would be wonderful. Spend one whole day of my life on a beach chair watching the sun rise to sunset. Never moving. Just hearing the waves. Taking in the air. One whole day. No phone, no computer. Just me and nature.
3. Buy a SENSIBLE home and car - Nah, no mansion. I'd never be able to keep it dusted and cleaned. But I would buy a sensible around 4 bedroom home with a nice finished basement. And car, SENSIBLE. Nothing sporty. I don't want a Lambo or a Porsche. I've never been a "car guy" anyway. Although I do like Ford Mustangs. But I can never own one while my dad is still alive. I'd never hear the end of it.
4. Pick some to help - I have close friends who are in need. I know who they are. And privately, I would help them out and expect nothing in return. Because I want them to get a great chance at getting and staying out of debt forever and living a good life. I wouldn't tell many people about my millions I have earned or won. Cause money does change people. Friends long gone or relatives you never see come out and start being nice only when they want something. So I would be very, very guarded when it comes to this. But I have people in mind that if I had the chance, I would help them.
5. Set up college fund for kids - And they only get the money if they choose to go to college. Its so important. Not to get a degree to get a job, but for the life experience. The people they will meet, the way their lives will be changed. The rest, is up to them. No silver platters. They gotta earn their place on their own.
And finally with these steps, my ducks are all in a row. So what is left? Do I just take trips to Europe all my life and live on a yacht? Do I build my own private Xanadu and never come out till I die a bitter old man? No, I got one more step in my million dollar process.
6. I would invest money into my company. Build a studio and get other artists to set up residence there. I would go to every comic show and buy space to sell our works together under my banner. I would continue to create and make comics till the day I die.
And that right there proves my dedication to who and what I am. If you were to win millions, what you would do with the rest of your life is what you should pursue. And pursue it without the desire of success or the fear of failure. Just go for it. Keep your ducks in a row, sure. You might have to work a day job and take care of your family. But after that, do what you love. Life is soooo short. Its not worth it to not pursue what you want to do in it. And don't let anyone tell you not to pursue your dream, whatever it is. Don't let nothing stop you. And quit saying "I never have time!" Well, MAKE THE TIME. I do. I get certain windows of time here and there to do what I want to do. If something is important enough to you, you will make the time to do it. Cause one day, without warning, you will have NO TIME LEFT AT ALL. Forget the desire of winning. Forget the fear of failure. Just do what you want to do. Dance with it and yourself. Pursue the whimsies. Surround yourself with "Yes you cans" and "why the hell not, lets do it" people. Forget the cynics, the critics, the haters, the whiners. Forget the drama, the past failures, the odds and the logic. Pursue what you want and WHO YOU WANT TO BE. Find the one thing in life that makes you happy and go do it. Right now. And anything that makes you unhappy, you can change it. Today. Right now.
Millions have done this before and millions will after you, now its your turn. It is no gamble to pursue happiness, folks. Its a sure thing. No dice to roll, no cards to count. Just get in the game and play.
"Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish."
T
4 comments:
Many of your "what to do if you won millions" ideas are what a majority of millionaires actually do. Read "The Millionaire Next Door" or "The Millionaire Mind" to see what happens in the real world (versus what the news/media try to tell us about the "rich").
I dig that. I just think that my beer tastes wouldn't change if I got wine money. I wouldn't care for designer clothes or bottles of vintage wine just cause I could get them, or would be expected to get it cause I live in that world. I don't think I would change that much. I'd still debate on whether to buy a thing or not. I'd hope so anyway.
BTW, I wasn't intending on disparaging what others do with their money. I was simply saying what I would do. Its not my place to tell others what to do with their cash.
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