Last night’s Powerball jackpot was a whopping $1.8 billion. There were two lottery winners with winning tickets who will split the lottery’s second largest prize, with a total cash payout of more than $826 million.
The media coverage of the jackpot has intensified over the past few days as lottery fever has taken over the country. People who aren’t regular lottery players have jumped on the bandwagon for a shot at a life-changing prize.
The truly brave folks are pooling money with family members, friends, and co-workers in hopes of increasing their odds of winning something. I say the “truly brave” because think about the potential legal nightmare that could arise if your group won.
Conversations are happening everywhere about the pros and cons of taking the cash payout or the annuity (cash payout is the correct answer, by the way). People are discussing if they’d release their name or stay anonymous. And by far, the most fun conversation for everyone is what in the world we’d do with that much money!
I’m not immune to the Powerball fever, though I take a somewhat jaded approach to it all. My friends have come to expect me to ramp up my satirical and sarcastic comments about the lottery on social media as the jackpot grows.
Pursuing Goals Without the Lottery
But I’m also struck with another realization. For some people, the only time they talk about their dreams is when the jackpot is over a billion dollars. The only time people dare to dream is when they think they’re going to be set for life.
It shouldn’t come as any surprise to you that I am a proponent of dreaming big all the time. I believe we should all dream big and then develop a plan to make those goals a reality.
It makes me sad when the only time people talk about what they want their life to look like is when they think it’s going to be handed to them on a golden platter.
Your dreams are worth working toward and pursuing. Nothing is stopping you from working to get out of debt or travel more or spend more time with your family. It may not look the same as if you won the lottery, but those are all good and valuable goals, and you should pursue them!
More than 50% of big lottery winners go broke—some reports put that number a lot higher. This is amazing to me because even $20 million invested to earn 5% annually will pay out $1 million every year.
I believe many winners go bankrupt because they don’t align their spending with their values. They literally throw money at whatever sounds good in the moment rather than the things that bring purpose and meaning to their lives.
In an online community chat I’m a part of, the conversation turned to the lottery. I was pleased to see many people talk about starting a foundation or giving back to causes they believe in. Seeing this tells me there are still smart and intelligent people out there.
So, if you didn’t win last night, I hope you don’t wait until the next super jackpot to start dreaming about what your life could be like. If your dreams are aligned with your vision, it’s worth working towards!