Lottery Dreams? So What Would You Do?

Most of us at one time or another (usually when we are actually buying a lottery ticket or about to watch the draw!) have indulged in a jackpot-winning fantasy. Usually this revolves first and foremost around telling our boss what to do with our job and spirals out from there to include the house/ car/ champagne lifestyle of our dreams. Recently I came across the story of lottery winner Bob Erb in Canada. Bob scooped a $25,000,000 lottery win and since then has given $8 million of it away – mostly to causes in his community. He still lives in the same house (although he is making some improvements to it – one being his half million dollar ‘man cave’) but everyone agrees, Bob is exactly the same guy he was before he won – kind and generous, except his win allows him to be even more generous than before.

Take a tour of the stories of past jackpot winners on-line and you’ll discover than most of them don’t end up like Bob. We’ve all heard of people who won millions and ended up broke and on benefits five years later. So, what’s the difference between them and stories like Bob’s? And more importantly, what are those lottery dreams really all about? The sad fact about human nature is that so many of us experience a sense of schadenfreude when we hear that all that money didn’t buy happiness after all (and it can’t). But another fact is there are many people who win the lottery and go on to enjoy their money and their lives afterwards. The key is your attitude towards the money and what you do with it.

For most people the fantasy of winning revolves around having a lovely home for themselves (perfectly natural) and taking care of family and friends. Like Bob, the majority of people would donate to a good cause that is either close to their heart or their community. People run into problems when they focus solely on acquiring things or they are no longer able to control their impulses either with their spending or their behaviour – as in the winners we tend to read about who end up broke and/or addicts. There are many, many happy lottery winners out there but what tends to distinguish them from the ones who aren’t is that they were happy in the first place and that they used their money for experiences – either in helping others or in practical soul-learning ways. They also have respect for their money, seek good financial advice and invest it so they can continue to do just that. respecting your money and what you have, is linked to our sense of self-worth. When we value ourselves we value what we have. In astrology our money and possessions are all ruled by the same house – the 2nd. So, if you come into a windfall, we can say what happens after that may be a direct reflection of your own self-worth. If you don’t believe you are truly ‘worthy’ of having a lot of money then obviously, you will create circumstances in which you will lose it be they in self-destructive behaviours such as drug or alcohol abuse, uncontrolled acquisition of ‘things’ or else bad or no investment advice.

So, whether or not you’ve got the winning ticket this week – or have it in any other week, the main question you need to ask about your lottery dreams is why you have them? Chances are some of them are attainable without actually winning the lottery. If your dreams are about quitting the job you hate, what can you do to be in a job you love? If you would donate some of your win to a favourite charity, then how much can you afford to give right now because it is not the amount, it is the intention which counts.

You can watch Bob’s story for inspiration right here:

Take even the smallest step towards how you would be if you did win and I’m not saying you will, but I can guarantee you’ll feel like a winner on some level – and you’ll have the experience that goes with it – that of being generous to others and to your self.