On Christmas Day of 2002, 55-year-old Jack Whittaker was lucky enough to pick the winning numbers of the Powerball, earning him a whopping $314.9 million, the largest ever lottery win at the time. Jack was already doing pretty well for himself as the president of a construction company, so this windfall had pretty much set Jack for life.Shortly after his win, Jack seemed to have his life on track. He donated a good chunk of money to philanthropic efforts.
But this lifestyle wasn't to last. Things quickly took a turn for the worse.
Foolish with his money, Jack carried around enormous sums of cash in briefcases just because. Because of his reputation of carrying around this cash, he was robbed multiple times. Jack also lost a ton of money literally gambling it away. And if that isn't bad, it gets worse.
Jack's granddaughter, only 17 years old, was found dead (presumably murdered), wrapped in a tarp and dumped behind a van, reportedly with many drugs in her system. Several years later, Jack's daughter was found inexplicably dead, too. Having taken a lump sum, Jack found himself without a family and literally penniless after casinos and the government took the remainder of his money for avoiding his debts to them.
In 2007, Jack admitted in an interview with ABC: "I wish I'd torn that ticket up."
If you think I'm against having money, I'm not. Sure, you can easily Google lottery horror stories just like Jack's online, but I don't think it necessarily has to do with the money. I can't remember exactly who said it (I think it was Shark Tank's Daymond John), but the quote in the title of this post is so true: "Money only makes you more of who you are."
I think people look at money as the solution to their problems, and I can only very partially agree with that. Sure, money can do things like put food on the table. The problem persists and thrives, however, if the core of your being isn't right. It's not as if money makes you into a different person.
Opposite of the Jacks of the world, there are plenty of examples of people who have done a lot of great things as their wealth has grown. Bill Gates is a good example of this with his Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Another profound example of this is Mark Cuban. The guy is a billionaire, yet he continues to hustle because that is at the core of his being. He could easily close up shop today and live comfortably for the rest of his life.
Ask yourself: what are you in it for? Is it for the money? If so, what if somebody dropped a billion dollars on your front door step today? Would it affect what you aspire to today?
Align your goals to tangible aspirations, not money.
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