The lottery has been called a tax on fools and the mathematically challenged. With the combined jackpots for PowerBall and Mega Millions at nearly $1.4 billion, it’s easy to think about the incredible odds against matching all the numbers. You have roughly a 1 in 300 million shot of winning the jackpot of one of these upcoming drawings.
But the lottery isn’t just a “tax on fools.” It’s also an opportunity for escapism that can reveal our values and dreams. Take a moment to daydream about what you’d do if you were to win one of these life-changing jackpots. What would you do with your sudden wealth? Would you travel? What charities would you support? What would you do to enrich your life now that budget concerns have disappeared? Would you read more books or maybe even write one? Start a company or invest the seed money for a Silicon Valley entrepreneur?
Spoiler alert: you are not going to win the jackpot. Though, if miraculously you do win, AME would love to be one of the non-profits you choose to support!
But your daydreams reveal things that can be applied to real life. If time and money were no object, what might you do differently in your organization? Adjusting for the available budget, how might that idea scale to your current reality? What practical steps can you take to incrementally bring you closer to your desired state?
I’d like to think that AME and the practitioner-to-practitioner sharing we enable can help you feel like you’ve won the lottery. Sure, we’re not giving you hundreds of millions of dollars in one lump sum, but we can help you find professional wealth in other ways. When you think about trainings and access to peer organizations willing to open their doors to you, you’ve found a small jackpot that can help you succeed and take steps toward the end results you seek.
It’s not a fool’s errand to dream big. So, take a minute to daydream about what you desire. You’ll reveal ideas and things that you value and a future state you desire. Ground these in reality and think about how real support — from AME, our partners, network of volunteers, and others — can help you achieve your goals.
As always, please stay safe and keep looking out for one another.
