Would you want to win the $1.5 billion lottery? Not me. Seriously. No thanks.
I already like my life, just the way it is. I like my friends and family members, just the way they are. Making ends meet is part of the challenge. I love challenges.
I know you think I’m full of crap. But I’m dead serious. I’ve never purchased a lottery ticket. I’ll never purchase a lottery ticket. And if you were the winner and gave me yours, I’d say no thanks. I don’t want things to change. And, I know a bunch of millionaires. None of them have “arrived.” Many have flat admitted to me, many times in moments of despair, that their wealth is like a noose around their necks. A few are flat miserable. It’s not a surprise. Extensive studies have been done on wealth. After around $75,000 per year in income, happiness just flattens out.
Years ago, Steve Jobs talked about wealth on his interview with 60 Minutes. He talked about when Apple went public. Suddenly many of the team members became multimillionaires. He talked about how they were buying mansions and the wives were getting face lifts. Jobs said they became different people.
They forgot who they are.
I’ve told people what I think about this. That I don’t want to forget who I am. They all say the same thing. “I’d be different.” “Having millions of dollars is a problem I’d be willing to deal with.”
If I was a millionaire I think I’d become lazy. I’d probably stop writing. And who’d want that? 😉