When I was little, maybe 10, my Uncle Al pulled me aside and said something like “if you want to be rich, then you shouldn’t have a family.” Yikes. I don’t remember the context of why he said that to me; I must’ve been talking to him about parlaying all my paper routes into an empire.
Appreciate what matters
Even though I didn’t recognize at the time why he was saying it, he definitely made me think. I thought about it then, and I’ve thought about it in the last few years as I have come around on some financial success. I’ll go so far as to say that I’ve proceeded in business with a very heightened awareness for the things I love in life, and a strong commitment not to “sell” those things for money.
Someone asked me yesterday what I would do if I won the Powerball, and I told him that maybe I would choose a few hundred people to turn into millionaires.
The truth is that I have been very blessed, and I have plenty of money at this point in my life to have the things I want and need.
I’ve been there for a little while. I’m doing my job now for the thrill and accomplishment, pure and simple. I love the people I work with and I love the work we do together. This is getting fun.
I saw one of the people that won 500 million dollars on TV yesterday morning. Everyone thinks they want to be him. I just looked at the guy and wondered how eff’d up his life just got. Seriously, what if that guy was happy as a lark yesterday? You think he’s going to be happy as a million larks tomorrow? I have my doubts.
Don’t get me wrong. If you don’t have enough money to live a decent life, then you need money or you need help. That’s why I and Toppers Pizza strongly support the good work of Feeding America. But, if you have what you need, then be careful what you hope for.
My last name, Gittrich, is good for about 50 remarks a year.
Sometimes people say “so are you?” I always say “Yes, in the things that matter.” You might think that’s easy for me to say. I’ve got mine
Uncle Al helped me learn to live
Listen brother and sister, you probably have yours too. I won the Powerball a long time ago. I won it when I was born into a great family with great values. I won it when I met my wife and when we had each of our 5 kids.
I won it last summer when I went wilderness camping alone with my daughter. I won it when Uncle Al helped me learn how to live.
Fellow traveler,
Scott
Good reminder for all of us Scott. Yesterday I got an email from a former colleague of mine. We both got laid off 3 years ago from our jobs of 17 plus years due to downsizing. She reminded me yesterday in her email that I won the lottery 3 years ago. I did!! Shortly after losing my job I was hired by an awesome company, a manager who immediately saw what he was looking for, in me!! Not the first time I’ve won – just an example of how we need to turn a loss into an even bigger gain. I have never been happier in my sales career; I do it because I enjoy it and work with amazing new colleagues that I now call friends.
Like you, I also won the jackpot with my family, two amazing sons with wives I can call daughters and grandchildren that light up my life.
We can decide to quit or we can decide to pursue our jackpot. If you want to win the lottery you have to buy tickets. If you want to win your lottery in life you have to pay with hard work and faith in yourself!!
Love your articles Scott!
Hi Mary Jo. I love your comments too! The winners of the actual powerball lottery are the people that have the money to spend on a little entertainment and had fun in the last week. The losers are the financially weak in our society that are actually targeted by the government that runs the lotteries. Wow, “for the people”…quite a weird role for government. Scott