For the first time in my life, I played the lottery. The prize was over One BILLION Dollars, and people were going crazy about the possibility to win. All the stores that sold these tickets were busy from dawn to dusk. People stood in line to spend money they really could not afford to lose and play a fantasy game in their minds about what they would do with that money.
As I was reading about the delirium the Country was in over the prize money, I could not help noticing a pattern in the Fantasy game people played with what they would do with the money. Can you guess what the number one response was with people being interviewed about what they would do?
Retire! Most people said they would not go back to work after winning the lottery. Other favorites were buy a new car, house, go on trips, give away money to family, boats, and an assorted bag of bigger and better toys to play with.
I find this mind set disturbing—wanting at all costs to stop working! You probably think I am crazy, but I LOVE MY WORK and could not imagine not doing it even if I had won the Billion Dollars! Please be honest with me – don’t you think that having the mentality that I hate my job, I hate working is not only unhealthy for you but a horrible way to go through your ENTIRE adult life?
I think there are two main reasons why we don’t like doing what we are doing:
- We focus SO much on what we don’t have or don’t like about our work/job and not on what we do like and what we and the company we work for are doing well! I don’t love everything about my work. Some of it I down right despise doing, but my focus is on how we are changing people’s lives and this motivates me to do the things at work that I do not like to do!
- We are doing a job/work solely based on the money or what we are getting out of it. Sorry but money will not motivate you long term and is a TERRIBLE Task master. If you are doing something out of security, I urge you to invest your off time to develop what you do LOVE.
Of these two reasons NUMBER 1 is the ROOT of most of our problems and frustrations.
Winning The Lottery will not make you happy, nor will retiring from your job. Happiness comes from being grateful for what you have; it is a byproduct of focusing on the good that you are doing and NOT focusing on what you do not have.
I won the Lottery many years ago when I decided to fall in love with my work and focus on how we are in the business of changing people’s lives and not just making money!
Find Your Passion and You Will Find Your Life!