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Even as a teenager, I understood the difference between the journey and the destination.
When the first $1 million New York Lottery jackpot came around, I was around 15. $1 million was an absolute fortune back then, and my friend Cliff really wanted us to go in together on some tickets.
But I said no. Even though I always dreamed of making it big, I didn’t want it that way, without any work.
This little story has turned into an ongoing debate in my family:
“If you could take a 'success pill' that would result in the following two scenarios, which would you choose?”
You receive a fortune instantly.
OR
You work really hard for years and eventually become very successful, earning a fortune.
To me, there’s only one right answer.
To me, life is all about the journey, not the destination.
The journey is where you have all the fun; where you go through triumphs and adversity; where you love and lose; where you laugh and cry; where all the blood, sweat and tears go. The journey is what makes you feel like you’re really living.
To me, it’s obvious that the money without the earning of it - without that journey - would just make you feel empty and dissatisfied inside. You’d just end up wanting more money, and since you didn’t take the journey, you wouldn't even know how to get it.
My kids, both in college, have always had a different take. (Shocking, I know.) They maintain that you’d be a fool not to take the money on the table; that a bird in the hand is always worth two in the bush, period, end of story.
I wonder if they'll feel the same way when they've been through a bit more of life. When they understand what tends to bring lasting happiness in life, and what the quick fixes tend to bring you.
What about you?
If you won the lottery right now - what would you do and how would your life change?
Would you quit your job?
Or would you keep it, because you’d still want it to be the thing that gets you up in the morning?
Do you feel you need a winning lottery ticket to get where you want to go?
Or would winning the lottery just be a bonus because you already know what you need to have in place for your journey, and you're going to take all the steps yourself?
