PowerBall Dreams
/1) Everyone is excited about the possibilities they would have in lifeif they won. And that is good. Because the notion of "a dollar and a dream" allows everyone to take a few minutes of time to fantasize about winning. And, with all the stresses of day-to-day life, many people never return to that kid-like mindset where they cast their cares away for a few minutes and just day-dream. When did you last do that? Be serious when you contemplate that. Spend a few minutes not thinking of anything else, but the fantasy of having a bucket of cash. Let yourself go!
2) If you buy more than one ticket, you are likely wasting your money. The odds of winning with one $2 ticket are 1 in 292,201,338. The odds of winning with 10 $2 tickets ($20 spent) is 10 in 292,201,338, or one in 29 million. Those are still really bad odds, and you are more likely to:
- be struck by lightning this year (1 in 960,000)
- killed by a tornado this year (1 in 5,693,092)
- die in a car crash during your life (1 in 112)
- be murdered by firearm (1 in 6,699)
- be legally executed in your lifetime (1 in 127,717)
Read more here (my sources; I didn't make this up): http://discovertheodds.com and http://www.nsc.org/learn/safety-knowledge/Pages/injury-facts-chart.aspx (they've got a "fun" chart of these things)
And a good story about the financial folly of lottery tickets is here: http://money.cnn.com/2016/01/12/news/powerball-odds/index.html
3) I plan to share my winnings with family, friends, coworkers, and charity. I've always wanted to set up a scholarship fund at my high school. I'd like to work with #MikeRowe to fund vocational training via scholarship - not everyone needs a 4 year degree to get a satisfying, exciting, and well-compensated career started. My undergraduate college would get some too. Charity - I have four in mind already. And, I think life would be fun handing out random acts of kindness to those who never expected a stranger to help them - all random, and my choice.
4) If I can find a way to change the world, I'll try that too - but even people like Bill Gates need a whole team working for his foundation to share his wealth, because truly being a philanthropist is more than just giving handouts - it requires investments in changing the root cause of the problem - and not just applying an annual band-aid financial donation and think the problem will go away. This isn't as easy as it sounds.
Good luck everyone! Remember me and this thoughtful post when you are deciding who can share in your winnings! LOL
PS) Like most of you, I bought more than one ticket. Just because you never know. I'm as guilty of the same irrational fantasy as you are.