For the last several months, I have been asking myself what I will do if I win, by playing a pound/dollar or two per week, in a lottery 5-10 millions or when I get the same amount thanks to my earnings and investment returns. I thought and imagined a situation like that many times and I asked myself how I would change my life tomorrow or in a week if today I got that amount in my bank account (or at least 10-100k).
I came to the conclusion that at this point in my life, I will continue working in the same place I work currently in the same position. I am lucky enough to call my job so far my dream job. I am grateful for what I can do and work on, with great people and the great mission. I know it sounds like an advertisement, and in some way it is, but it is fair and truthful one. I could not imagine how miserable my life would be if I had to earn for my shelter, food and for my fun on a job that I don’t like. Every time I thank God that thanks to many different opportunities in my life, thanks to education and practical activities that led to my skills’ improvement and training, and thanks to my desire to get the best marks and results, I was able to get good education and skills to be where I am now. Looking back, it is surprising even for me how smoothly everything went in my life, that I had opportunities to study and practise, as well as that I have been having some internal crazy driver inside me and motivation to do all of that with great, hard determination.
While in the past that motivation was caused by my upbringing and favourable environment I was in as a child and a youth person thanks to my parents, schools, universities and great people who taught me, now the driver for hard work every day is based on the “survival” instinct. I know that if I don’t make money, I “die”. If I don’t make money, I can’t fulfil my dreams. I can’t contribute to the family well-being in the present and in the future. Without enough money, it is hard to have a balanced and healthy lifestyle.
With money, with resources, I know that I and people I love can thrive. With money, I can fulfil my dreams. I can contribute to the well-being, of my own and that of my family. With money, it is much easier to have a healthy, balanced lifestyle.
I also know that if I work too hard, it will be a disaster: I will lose focus; I might become sick very easily, as well as I might make serious mistakes of different sorts. Hence, the same survival instinct that pushes me towards hard, smart and of course honourable work, pushes me towards taking breaks and having some other joy in my life in addition to work that I enjoy.
With that in mind, I come to the conclusion that even if I had a lot of money right now, I would continue doing what I do today and I would just continue growing professionally in this present direction. I had done some start-ups in my life before, and it was very good and useful experience, but while I still dream of being an “entrepreneur” one day, there is so much to learn by being an “active” employee in a good place (especially, where there are opportunities to be a “nano”-entrepreneur on a project). Sometimes I friendly envy people who have been able to do very successful start-ups straight away from the first or second start, but then I come to the conclusion that sometimes it is not the only way.
If I have 5-10 millions in my bank account soon, I most probably continue doing exactly what I do in terms of my occupation. I will probably though try to optimise my life even better such that I am more efficient at my work (e.g. by taking a course with a tutor in business, management, leadership, artificial intelligence, machine learning or in language), as well as I can spend more efficient time with the people I love and do more recreational activities. I will take even better care of my health and well-being. I will look for opportunities on how I can become more mindful and self-aware. Obviously, many of these things can be done partially without huge money, right now, and I think it is what all of us are trying to optimise in some way anyway, every day.