Live Your Life Like You've Won the Lottery

What would you do if you won the lottery? Would you quit your job? Would you travel the world? Would you invest? Would you want to do something for others? Think hard about this. Make a list right now of what you should do. Go ahead, I’ll wait.

Did you do it? If you did, great. If you didn’t, keep reading and do it later!

Now, if your list is to go on vacation, pay off the house, hire a private chef, good for you. But what will you do with all your free time? Think long-term. What happens when you don’t have a house to clean, a job to go to and you’ve grown tired of traveling the world? What will you do to occupy your mind? Maybe you want to make a change or do something that will leave a legacy. Whatever it is, this should be your top goal right now. Like, today. I mean it. You want to put this at the top of your bucket list. Make it your 5-year plan, 10-year plan, or lifetime achievement.

I know you’re thinking, that’s crazy. The chances of you winning the lottery are pretty slim. You’re right. It’s unlikely that you will win the lottery. Chances are somewhere around 1 in 300 million, but that doesn’t mean you can’t accomplish your goal of what you wanted to do. Whatever it is that you choose to keep yourself occupied should be your career. This is something you would do if you didn’t need a dime to pay your bills. And whatever your idea was, I promise, there’s a way to make a career out of it.

There were probably a lot of things on your list that made your life easier, like paying off your debt and doing those home improvements that you’ve been wanting to do. These are attainable as well and you should add these to your goals. They’re probably a lot more achievable than you think. And hey, if you get that business off the ground and start making some money at it, you can throw that extra cash towards getting that dream home.

The more immediate stuff that you would want to do, like book that vacation, buy a sports car, eat at fancy restaurants; they all have a place on your goal list as well. Life isn’t just about working and finances. You should enjoy it. These need to go on your list as well. I bet that these are the easiest to attain with a little creativity.

Let’s look at an example:

Emily thinks that if she won the lottery she would do the following immediately:

1.      Quit her job. Her boss is a jerk, and her job is something that she finds routine and monotonous.

2.      Hire a financial advisor, an attorney, and an accountant. After all, she wants to be sure that she has the financial stability to get through retirement and leave something for her family.

3.      Pay off her debts. She has a couple of credit cards, some student loans and her mortgage.

4.      Go on a shopping spree! Buy some new clothes, eat out at a fancy restaurant, and replace that car with the dent in the fender.

5.      Start making phone calls to the housekeeper, the landscaper, the interior decorator, the travel agent…you get the picture. If it’s something that she doesn’t want to do, there’s someone who will do it for her.

Now that the money has been secured, she’s freed up her time, and she’s had a little bit of fun it’s time to move on to the next stage.

1.      Take up some hobbies. Join the gym and take any classes she wants (even those classes in the middle of the day, no more 5am workouts in the basement for her)!

2.      Take that vacation.

3.      Volunteer at the animal shelter.

4.      Help out family and friends.

5.      Make some charitable contributions to people and places that helped her in some way or are near and dear to her heart.

Great! She’s got something going now. What about her legacy? What kind of mark does she want to leave for the world. Here is the final stage.

Volunteering at the animal shelter is nice and she can contribute monetarily so that they can purchase supplies and help more animals, but there are so many shelters who could use her help. She’s beginning to come up with ways that she could help more animals and decides to start a foundation that can be run by her rules (obviously obeying federal, state and local guidelines). She decides to create a business model that can quickly rescue and relocate animals that are lost or abandoned in areas that were hard hit by natural disasters. She decides to implement a way to reunite animals with their owners and takes in anything cats to horses.

Since she didn’t actually win the lottery, she might be a little bummed out right now, because how will she ever meet these lofty goals? Time to take a step back to the beginning and get back to you.

What are your goals/ What could you start doing right now in your own life to accomplish these goals? Start extremely small.

Can’t quit your job yet? Volunteer at a shelter. I guarantee you they need volunteers. Can’t make it to the shelter during business hours due to work/family obligations? See if there are special events that you can help fundraise for and if there are some clerical duties they need to be done on the side that you could do from home.

Not only will this make you feel good (after all you’re helping), but this is a great way to get started by networking. You’ll be gaining experience in the field that you are interested in and working with  like-minded individuals which could lead to a different career opportunity. What a great place to start!

Now that you’re on the right path for your career, what about the other things you wanted to cross off your list: taking up that hobby, starting a budget to begin paying off your bills, and splurging once in a while on something that you really want but don’t need. You might not be able to do and get everything that you want right away so get creative. Do you want to start a new hobby? Start watching YouTube tutorials. Do you want to pay off your bills and not worry about splurging once in a while? Create a budget with a little savings built in so that you can make a purchase you’ve been wanting (even if it means shopping the clearance rack or going to a thrift store). Do you want a personal trainer? The internet is full of information to help you come up with a basic workout and meal plan. Looking to meet that more altruistic goal of helping family and friends? Help them come up with plans to achieve their goals and find solutions to their problems.

Imagine how great it would be if we were all aspiring to meet our goals and in the process, we were helping out others around us. Listen, I know it sounds better on paper. But it’s hard. I get it. It’s also simple. And it only requires you starting with that very first tiny step. I’m here to help you with that tiny step so that you can inch your way forward until you reach your goal.

Don’t wait until you’re holding the winning ticket. Start now.