AND THE WINNER IS: 40-25-11-22-03 Mega 15!

You stop at your neighborhood 7-Eleven, and purchase one Lotto ticket. It’s not going to win, you’re sure, but you’ll check tomorrow night anyway. If you do win, it will be the answer to all your prayers, right? Not necessarily.

There are plenty of horror stories about people who’ve won the Lotto. For example, Denise and Thomas Rossi were married for 25 years, happily, or so it seemed. Out of the blue, Denise filed for divorce. During the divorce proceedings, it was discovered that she’d won 1.3 million dollars in the Lotto. After the judge found out, it was determined that she was guilty of violating the California disclosure law. All the money went to her ex-husband, Thomas. How happy to do you think she was?

Poor Billie Bob Harrell, Jr., is another example of a Lotto win gone bad. He won 31 million dollars. Nice little chunk of change, heh? It only took him 20 months to lose it. After the initial donations and constant harassment, his spending went out of control, and he lost everything, including his wife. Eventually he committed suicide.

How many people dream about winning the Lotto? About what they’d do with their millions? About how it would solve all their problems? I confess to playing the What If game myself, but not seriously. I’m not interested in winning the Lotto, hence why I never buy any tickets. Still, it is fun to dream about having a lot of money. There are people out there, though, who are really serious about winning their “happiness.” They really believe that winning is the Magic Key. They play often and believe that if they were to win, all their problems would be solved. But the answer to that is NO! All their problems will not be solved.

Admittedly, winning the Lotto could be a pretty nice thing, but it is just a Life Event like any other. You’ll receive money; be able to buy lots of toys, maybe even a fancy car, and a house overlooking the ocean. You might even help some of your family and friends, but it will not buy you happiness. In fact, you might wish that you’d never won the money. At first, the money will come attached with joy, gratitude, and happiness. But just as quickly, you’ll realize it’s attached to expectations from others, illusions, fear, anxiety, and eventually even loss.

Money is complicated. It’s considered the Root of all Evil, or the Key to Happiness.

But money is neither the Root of all Evil, or the Key to Happiness. Money is paper. You are the Key to Happiness. Only you. No one can make you happy, or take your happiness away.

Stop dreaming about winning the Lotto, and instead start thinking about what you can personally do in this life to succeed. Not just to attain fleeting success because you happen to win money, but ongoing success through wise choices and hard work.