The last few weeks of news cycles have been saturated with a piece of news that would affect just three people in the entire world: a billion-dollar lottery jackpot.
Jackpots like these bring out similar questions in us all: What would I do if I became a billionaire overnight? How much would my life change? Get easier? Get harder? Most people assume such a lucky strike would bring them happiness without end. It’s that assumption that led millions of people, after all, to spend money on little pieces of paper that are almost certain to have a final value of $0.
The truth is that the vast majority of lottery winners end up regretting their good fortune, telling interviewers that they wish they’d never won. Many report severe depression, broken relationships, and upended lives.
Why? How could such riches possibly disappoint? For many, the riches cause their winners to cast off all restraint. In other words, they don’t have a plan, Stan.
One lottery winner who managed to keep his life from spiraling out of control sat down with NPR to offer his advice to the latest entrants to the millionaires club. $220 million dollar-winner Brad Duke said, “The biggest piece of advice I can give someone is that you really have to define what’s most important to you.”
Simply put, Duke had a plan. He kept his day job, and told as few people as possible about the riches. He used the money to fund new ventures. Seed money intended to grow the wealth, not use it up.
This topic may seem far-fetched, but the truth is that as a Biz Kid, you may someday find yourself walking out of a meeting in which you just sold your patent, licensed your business model, or landed a lucrative account. How you handle that windfall will have a big impact on your life.
That’s why we filmed an entire episode called What to do with a Windfall.
And we didn’t stop there. This Spring, Biz Kid$ is releasing a long-awaited book titled How to Turn $100 into $1,000,000. The book covers earning, saving, and investing, and encourages a habit that is a lifeline for anyone lucky enough to strike it rich: making a plan.