As I was driving north on I205 last weekend my oldest son pointed out the billboard on the side of the freeway that announces the updated prize money for the Powerball drawing.  It had grown to an unbelievable $280 million!  For a while we played the game that all of us do when we think about hitting it big.  We talked about what we would buy and whom we would give money to. 

My son talked about the car he would buy and the big screen TV with the surround sound speakers.  Being more worldly and responsible I of course thought about the bills that I would pay off, the mortgage, business loans and the college tuition bills that seem to arrive at the most inopportune times. 

For a while I continued to ponder the possibilities of a fortune like that.  Would I, like so many others who say they will keep their jobs, stay in the same house, etc, stay the same person or would I suddenly change my lifestyle and become a world traveler or endow some huge charitable organization?

The Phoenix
Classic private submarine transportation for about $78 million

 It is fun to dream about stuff like that and I must admit I have from time to time gone down to the local lottery kiosk and purchased a ticket.  It usually takes me a few minutes to figure out how to work those machines because I don't do it too often. 

Lotteries are wonderful inventions because they level the playing field and everyone has an equal chance at happiness, fame and fortune.  You could probably say the same thing about going to Vegas and hitting it big in the slot machines or playing keno. 

Why is it when we do take that chance that we think our odds are so good?  Sure, you have as good a chance as anyone else.  You also have the same remote chance of being hit by lightning three times in a single day, but we never think about that.

The point is these thoughts give us hope and the opportunity to escape from the dull routine of our daily lives, if only for a few moments. 

The Powerball jackpot reminded me of an email I had received a few months ago.  It was an intriguing piece that showed up in my inbox that despite the virus warnings of our network administrator compelled me to open it. 

The email was from a Colonel Michael Bundu of the Democratic Republic of Congo.  It was cleverly written in the style of someone who had learned English as a second language but was grammatically accurate.  It told the story of how the former president of the DRC, who was assassinated by members of a rival faction, had given Colonel Bundu a relatively large sum of money to buy arms and ammunition to fight the rebels.  Before the president was assassinated the money had been placed in a private security company and now Colonel Bundu was seeking the assistance of a trustworthy person who could help him move this money out of the country.  Colonel Bundu continued his tale of woe by explaining that the new government was trying to locate the money so they could reclaim it and use it to further repress the poor people of his country.  This story was very enticing because we Americans are always trying to help out the underdog.

(OMED: See also Mike O'Brien's wonderful Ghana make myself millions which ran in last month's Oregon Magazine.)

I have also seen a similar story about a Mr. Woo Chong of the Chinatrust Commercial Bank, Nan Kan Branch in Taiwan and then there was the one from Dr. Uba Jega from the National Petroleum Corporation of Nigeria.  All of them were looking for someone to assist them in moving millions of dollars out of their respective countries and in exchange for this assistance, that person could expect to make a 10-15%. 

They just needed a trustworthy person to help them.  Naturally we could think of no one trustworthier than our own honorable self.

Sure these are obvious scams.  The disturbing fact is that enough people are drawn into believing these fabrications that the United States Secret Service has a public awareness advisory link on their website warning people about these "once in a lifetime" opportunities.

Why do people fall for these obvious and not so obvious plays on their emotions, and the opportunity to hit it big?  The truth is that we all desperately want to believe these stories are true.  Then if they are true, it is relatively easy to see ourselves making it big in some similar way. 

The truth of the matter is that wealth is very seldom accumulated in one big hit.  Those are the stories that get the public's attention.  For every Bill Gates who hit it big, there are hundreds of thousands of individuals struggling to meet payrolls and hoping that their product or service will give them the financial security they seek.  We don't read about those stories because they are too common and are too realistic.  Where's the fun and fantasy in that?

Wealth is accumulated in a very careful and well thought out manner.  It begins with establishing goals and developing a plan to reach them.  To achieve wealth you need three simple things: time, systematic investments and a competitive rate of return.  This model is a three-way balance.  If you don't have a lot of time to invest, you need to invest greater sums or earn higher rates of return. 

That is why the young have a tremendous advantage.  They have so much time in front of them to accumulate wealth.  Whether it is with real estate, a stock portfolio or building a business, everyone ha, like the lottery, an equal chance of accumulating wealth.  What separates the winners and losers in this game is the discipline to formulate a plan and carry it out.

Few people are talented enough to make that plan happen by themselves.  If you don't fall into that category then find competent advisors and take advantage of their skill and talents to complement yours.  While the hard work and discipline needed to reach your goals may not be as fun to dream about as hitting the lottery, I can assure you the results will certainly be more predictable.
 

© 2003 Mark Neil    Photos link to their souces where known.