Scratch N' Hope

I was in a store last week buying milk. The woman in front of me had about a dozen plastic envelopes and the clerk had a stack of lottery tickets she had processed on the desk. Winner, loser, free play, ten bucks, play again, loser, rinse repeat. The lady stood patiently as it was tallied. $238 was her take. She said it was a good week.

She then started reciting what she needed for her next haul; and don't forget those scratch tickets! She placed each ticket into its corresponding labeled envelope, paid her money, and she was on her way. I wonder what would happen to these people if they ever won the big one. Would they retire from their career of buying lottery tickets? 

Motivating factors 

This has happened before; perhaps it's happened to you. You just want to get your stuff and get home but I was fascinated by this woman. What was her motivation? She can't be up after all the weeks or months or even years she's been doing it, so she is spending money to lose money to spend more. That makes perfect sense. 

On my first trip to Vegas, the two guys behind me on the flight were calculating how much they were willing to lose. They knew it was doubtful they'd be coming home with more money than they went down with but they seemed okay with it. A buddy once remarked on the shuttle driver's comments on his first trip there who said; "Welcome to Vegas, folks. Please keep in mind this city was not built on the backs of winners." 

I've been there twice, both on business trips, and I've spent about $50 on blackjack. My short-lived Vegas career has me up about $450. One night, I hit a bit of a lucky streak. My two buddies kept saying I should keep going. I grabbed my chips, stood up, and walked away. You might win some but the house will eventually beat you. Breakfast on me in the morning and let's go home. 

Gambling on real life

How often do we go for that gig that may be a bit out of reach; ask that woman for a date who may say no; sell the house and move to a new town where we know no one for a chance at a new venture?

We know as we board the plane that we won't be playing Phil Ivey in the World Series of Poker final at the Bellagio but we go anyway. The woman in the store knows her odds and keeps playing. Is it lunacy or hope? Is it the thrill of the chance or the chase of a dream? It does bring up one important question.

How often do we place that bet on ourselves?

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Winning the Success Lottery

You allow your mind to drift and imagine what you would do if you won the lottery. No more bills, no more debts, no more boss, no more schedules. It would be fantastic!



Or would it?

It’s funny to see those winners who claim their lives won’t change and you can see them almost convincing themselves but that is simply not the case. If the jackpot is a few thousand bucks, cool, go buy something silly. A few million is a game changer.

Suddenly you are the one expected to pick up the bill. You strangely get a rush of Facebook friend requests from all those people who suddenly wanted to ‘stay in touch’. The phone starts to ring from people who seemed far too busy just last week.

Now switch “lottery” with “success”.

It may not be as immediate as hearing from cousin Larry days after you win the jackpot who just happens to be passing through town next week. But something is changing.

It may not be apparent until suddenly everyone around you is treating you differently. Could it be jealousy? Could it be a case of zero-sum? Something akin to 'we're all in this together, until we're not'.

In the social web, success can be deceiving. More followers, friends and connections means your business is growing - or does it? It's not about the tools or numbers, right?

Fear is Real.

Some point to a fear of failure when discussing careers and entrepreneurship. But after owning my own business for a while and consulting business owners, it may strangely be a fear of success. Can you handle all those dreams coming true?

There is a story about Whoopi Goldberg that I find quite revealing. It stems back to when she was a starving artist. She would walk by this fancy restaurant in New York City with her fellow comedians and they would vow to have dinner there when one of them made it. She was the first to make it and invited them for dinner. No one showed.

Success – like a winning lottery ticket – will change our lives. Should that be a reason for us not to strive for it?

knealemann | email


image credit: virginmedia

Being Social Through Social Media

What is the first thing you would do if you won $5 Million?

Yesterday was a fun day on Twitter. It was one of those moments where I wanted a naysayer to be around so they could see what social media is all about.

In light of the current economic situation, I thought I'd pose an age-old question. Perhaps the answers have changed. My question was: what would be the first thing you would do if you won $5 Million? The amount wasn't important, but I felt it needed to be significant enough to get a reaction.

Some responses…

@DellaSiemens Pay off student loan debt
@CamilleJ buy my own flat! :)
@LifeLdrshpCoach Pay off my mortgage & credit cards, help my family members get in the black, put a BUNCH under the mattress, and then DONATE.
@cynthiayoung Buy expensive ketchup! (Barenaked Ladies' reference)
@chrisbrogan I’d bank 2, donate 1, and burn through 2 "fixing" things.
@Zoeyjane I'd buy new clothes. And a skateboard. And a tattoo. Prolly some furniture. Eventually I'd make it to a charity or two.
@myogis Call in rich! (nah...I'd probably call in sick before telling anyone)
@marcpsummers save $2 million and buy property with rest after paying every bill I had in my whole lifetime.

Science Meets Reality

A discussion ensued over a question we have asked, been asked and asked ourselves our entire lives - what to do if we won a bunch of money. Most lists didn't simply include buying fivolous stuff - though fancy ketchup is a good one. More importantly the lists included many ways to help others.

It is my suspicious that if we did a more scientific and detailed piece of research the responses would still fall under these main categories:

1. Pay off debt
2. Help others
3. Make a difference

Now let’s change the question slightly...

What would you first do to make $5 Million - so you could help others and make a difference?

km