By Ahsan
“If wishes were horses, beggars would ride."
Have you read this Scottish proverb before?
What does it mean?
One meaning is that wishing does not get you much; otherwise, the homeless person would live in a mansion. Yet we all have at some point wished to win the lottery, haven't we?
Nothing wrong in wishing unless of course, you don't really have to. What if, you could win the lottery at some point in 2019⎯guaranteed! Not only that but without spending a dollar on buying a lottery ticket.
Let’s think about this for a minute. If we did win the lottery in 2019, what would that mean? After buying a few luxurious possessions and paying off all your debt, what else would you get, be, have or do? Go on….dream a little. What would this mean to you?
Ah…to win a million or two that would be so awesome!
I need to let you in on a secret, if I may. You the reader have already won the lottery, you just may not have realized it!
Anyone who has good health⎯won the lottery. Anyone who sleeps peacefully at night without fear of war breaking out⎯won the lottery. Anyone who lives in a free country⎯won the lottery. Anyone who can pursue their dreams, pay for their living and save a bit for a rainy day⎯won the lottery.
It’s all a mindset, isn’t it? The moment you come to realize that you have advantages over 80-90% of the people on the planet, will be the day in 2019 that you, my friend, win the lottery. If you need a bit of help to develop this mindset, please do the following exercise without delay:
Must Do Exercise # 1: Brainstorm Your Strengths
Sit with a blank piece of paper and write down 20 things you are good at.
Must Do Exercise #2: Brainstorm Your Blessings
Sit down with another blank piece of paper and write down 20 blessings that you are grateful for.
Must Do Exercise #3: Multiply Your “Wealth”
Sit down with another piece of paper and come up with a three bullet point action plan for each of your blessings from exercise #2 to be strengthened by one or more of your strengths from exercise #1. Why not combine your strengths with your blessings? It’s a wealth multiplier.
Here are two examples to make things clear. Let’s say you are good at teaching concepts and you are blessed with children, you could consider using your teaching skills to help your kids to excel at public speaking. If you are good at making friends and you are in the middle phase of your career, why not mentor new immigrants at a local job seekers club?
This three-part exercise should take you an hour if you do it conscientiously; however, the richness of the experience and the dividends it will add to your wealth will compound over the rest of your life. No lottery ticket purchased and treasure upon treasure found!