I Won the Lottery! Quickly—Check if You Did, Too
We often underestimate just how lucky we are. Let’s change that!
No, I didn’t get rich overnight. I struggle, just like the next person, but I do my best to see the good in any situation. Funny enough, there’s plenty to find. Not in your life? Keep reading!
This article is not me bragging about my good fortune. It’s an invitation and an illustration that you, too, can realize just how lucky you are. Ready for some re-frames?
What is the most valuable thing in the world?
Is it money, gold, platinum, a diamond, land, Nvidia stocks, or bitcoin? When we think of value and things that are valuable, we often limit ourselves to material possessions, don’t we?
Here’s the irony of that - in the grand scheme of things, money and material possessions, even reputation and status, are entirely irrelevant. Yes, even Lambos, billions, and mansions.
I see you disagreeing with me. Fine, let’s check the validity of my claim.
Are you rich in time?
You get the money, but in exchange, you give up years of your life. Would you do it?
Would you exchange 30 years of your life for 30 million USD?
How about 50 years for one hundred billion USD?
Too steep a price? How about 10 years for 1 million USD?
If you answered “of course not,” then you are saying that you value time more than money.
When you compare yourself to old billionaires, maybe you should realize you have something they can never buy and would trade everything for without a second thought—time!
Who’s truly richer? You or an 80-year-old billionaire?
Are you rich in health?
Would you trade your health for more money?
How much is your good heart worth? Sell it for a million, ten million, or one hundred billion USD?
How much is a body without terminal cancer worth? A terminally ill billionaire offers you to take his body, and you get all the wealth in the world in return. Do you do it?
How much are your eyes worth? If someone offered you one hundred million USD for both eyes, would you trade them?
A million for your sense of hearing? Ten million USD, but you never hear a soul or a tune ever again?
Twenty million USD for both your legs, ten million for each? Deal or no deal?
If you answered no to most of these questions, you value your health and body more than money and all other earthly possessions.
Who’s richer, you or a blind, deaf, and legless man with trillions in his bank?
Are you rich in love?
If you have a family, would you exchange your children for money? You get the money, but they die instantly.
How much is one child worth? A hundred thousand USD, a million, a hundred million?
How about your parents who are still alive? How much are they worth? Would you rather live without them but have a bit more money?
What about your spouse? How much is having a life partner worth?
Here’s another simple trade
You can be as rich as you want, but no one will ever love you, you will never feel love, never fall in love, never feel the human touch ever again. Do you take the trade?
For me, no such money exists. My family is my everything. Life without love is pointless. Wealth without anyone to share it with is worthless (to me). What about you?
Just yesterday, I was sitting in my chair in the morning, in an empty apartment, as my girls had already left for the day. It suddenly hit me what an empty shell this place would be without them in my life. No amount of money would fill the void left behind by their absence. No amount of money would be worth giving this up!
Who is wealthier, you with your family, warmth, and love, or a lonely millionaire in his mansion, who has no love in his life?
There are levels to wealth
Perhaps you have an autoimmune disease that is driving you nuts, or a minor disability, you lost a finger, a hand, an eye...
When you compare yourself to perfectly healthy people, you feel like you’re the unfortunate one.
Flip that around, and consider that you could have been one of millions of people who suffer much more serious diseases than yourself.
Go ahead, imagine it (not being able to walk, being blind, having terminal cancer). Really get into it. Feel it. Now realize that all that was just a nightmare, and all you have to deal with is the thing you have. What a relief!
When I was struggling with my disease, I one day made peace with a fairly limited life it enabled, because I realized that it could have been so much worse.
“If this is the cross I am to bear, so be it. I am happy to carry it, as I realize hundreds of millions of people around the world aren’t as lucky.” Ironically, that acceptance helped me heal, and today, I am free of all limitations that have tormented me for fifteen years.
You may be struggling as a parent right at this moment in time. I get it, but think about all those wannabe parents who cannot conceive children.
They will never feel the joy of a new life. They will never hold their child for the first time in their arms.
They will never see their own child take their first steps or learn their first words.
They will never experience the unconditional love of a small child, for whom you are the whole world.
No matter how much your children drive you crazy or how tired you are right now, think of losing them, and suddenly you will realize just how lucky you are to carry this burden.
Even if you only had one parent, think of every child in this world who has no one.
No one to love them, take care of them, keep them safe, and feed them.
Think of all the children who are forced into jumping from one foster home to another, never having the privilege of experiencing what the words “home” and “family” even mean.
Suppose you’re no spring chicken, and you know your days are numbered. On the line of life, you are deeply toward the end of it.
Yet, you can still walk, take care of yourself, spend time with your loved ones, and maybe even enjoy your favorite pastime.
How many of the people you know have lost that ability?
How many have departed this world prematurely?
Are you not lucky to still be alive?
I have won the lottery because…
Here’s a little rant I like to do, from time to time, to remind myself just how lucky I am. This one is personal, and you might not empathize or agree with some items. That’s okay.
Compose your own list and realize just how lucky you really are!
Revel in that sensation. Milk it! Enjoy it! I guarantee you will feel much better after this exercise.
I have won the lottery because I was born in the 1980s
I could have been born during World War I or II, or in the Dark Ages. In fact, I prefer this era to absolutely all other possibilities for me to start my life in. Throughout human history, there has been infinitely more suffering, lack, disease, and much less comfort.
As a parent, I am so grateful that I don’t have to worry about my children dying from one of a million possible reasons that have torn parents’ hearts throughout history. The odds of my child surviving into adulthood have never been higher.
I am grateful because I get to travel the world, and it’s so easy. I get to ride motorcycles everywhere I want. I can travel to another continent and be there in hours, in complete comfort and safety.
I have lived my life in relative peace. While there was a very nasty war in my neighboring countries during my life, we were spared this horror. Just fifty years earlier, our country was overrun with Nacies, literal ones!
I am lucky because I get to have a hot shower every day and a working indoor toilet, a luxury denied even the wealthiest people just a few generations ago.
I am lucky because I have never starved a day in my life (involuntarily).
I am lucky to have been born into a technological age. While it has some drawbacks, the comfort, ease, productivity, knowledge, and entertainment it offers were absolutely unimaginable mere decades ago.
I have won the lottery because I happen to live in Europe
I like living in Europe. Sure, we have our problems, but there are very few other places I would have chosen to live. I love the diversity of cultures, the natural wonders, the highly functioning society, and what it offers.
I am incredibly grateful that my daughter was born in the West, not somewhere in the Middle East or Africa, for example. I despise how they treat women in some places. I am grateful I don’t have to see such mistreatment in my daily life.
The West has its problems, and women have complicated their lives voluntarily, but it’s a choice. It’s not forced on them. My girlfriend, mother, and daughter can drive, work, study, dress as they please, explore the world, dance, learn, and are treated as equals. That’s a very new thing in terms of human history!
It’s also a safe place to live, where I am. We can walk around at night, and the chances of anything happening to you are minuscule. In most rural areas, people still don’t lock their doors and leave keys in their cars.
We don’t have to worry about terrorism, people being kidnapped, police brutality, or school shootings. How lucky are we? Please, let it last!
I have won the lottery because I was born into a loving family
Listen, we had our share of problems, but all in all, I consider myself incredibly lucky to have been born to my parents. I had a good childhood, even if it sometimes doesn’t feel like it. My parents weren’t violent, drunks, or drug addicts.
They’re still together, and I have pretty good genes. I am grateful for every year I get to spend with them on this planet. We maintain good relationships to this day. I love them, and I know they love me, despite my flaws, of which there are many.
I was given a decent example of relationships, giving me tailwinds for my own. I consider myself very lucky.
I have won the lottery because I am a white man
I live in a country where being white is the norm (99.9). Were I born of another ethnicity, my life would have been more difficult.
Being a man also offers many privileges. If nothing else, it feels safer.
Looking at short men, I feel lucky for being six feet seven inches tall, and it had nothing to do with anything but pure genetic lottery.
I’ve been blessed with reasonably good intelligence that has served me well. I am not the smartest, handsomest, strongest, or most capable person alive, but I do alright. I am lucky, even if ignorance can sometimes be bliss!
Enough about me - how wealthy are you?
Now, I’ve had plenty of practice at finding the good in my life, and contemplating my luck, amid not-so-perfect circumstances. You may not have as much practice. Why not start today?
The ability to find the good amid challenging circumstances has enabled me to claw my way out of very dark and hopeless times.
Every single one of us is wealthier than we give ourselves credit for.
We have won the lottery many times over, even when it’s not presented in monetary terms. Many of you are even doing alright financially.
Most importantly, most of us don’t live with debilitating diseases, aren’t on our deathbeds, don’t live in war zones or ghettos, have had decent childhoods, have access to all the modern amenities, and have all our physical senses to observe the world around us.
How lucky are we?
I hope the above example gave you something to think about and helped you realize just how lucky you are, even when things are far from perfect. They never are.
It’s up to you to choose what part of the equation you focus on. That is what makes all the difference!
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT
I’ve written a fun little manual on “How to be happy”. I will begin publishing the series this week. Since it’s a long read, yes, longer than my usual musings, I’ve decided to separate it into thirteen chapters. You’re welcome! :)
If you are interested in the subject and want to learn to be happier and more at peace, subscribe and start implementing the lessons ruthlessly. Your life, sanity, and happiness depend on it.
Bravooo, top! 🙏💝