Mood Monday (a day ahead due to doctors, wrist surgery, and a hazy recovery)
Winning Powerball….
The idea of millions and millions of dollars handed to someone and getting everything they long for, in an easy game of choosing the right sets of numbers in the right order, is a little insane. Right? Everyone is talking about the possibility of winning. Luck? Number picking strategy? Choosing the right establishment to purchase your tickets?
It sounds so easy and yet you have a better chance of becoming president of the United States, or having a genius IQ of 190, and luckier at getting hit by an asteroid, which is a mere 1 in 700,000 chance. Roughly the odds of winning the Powerball is one in @292 million.
What is the appeal? What is so darn intriguing that people are camping out for hours in store lines and counting pennies to purchase their small little chance? I am perplexed at the idea of it all. I have been thinking about it ad nauseum. Stuck in broken arm recovery, I have a great deal of time to do a great deal of thinking.
Perhaps this winning ticket is just, permission. Permission to do whatever your heart desires. A Powerball winning is the money which allows the freedom to really pursue your passionate side.
Permission.
What are we all waiting for? Stop riding the brakes in your lives and move on. Put the peddle to the metal and DRIVE! The obstacle is not money, it is the inability to be creative and journey your life into unknown territory. Give yourself permission to pursue your deepest desires and most important dreams.
Have you thought about it?
What would you do if you had no worries, financially? Do you have a list of wants and dreams? Maybe that is the best place to begin. Have a heartfelt conversation with yourself and list what you would do with the money. The list of physical things to purchase will probably fall away at some point. You can only buy so much, and eventually your time will suddenly become consumed with financial planning and properly caring for all of those things.
What would you…do?
What ideas and dreams would you work toward making a reality?
I have my list. I hold it close to my heart everyday. A Powerball win may make it come true a bit faster, but it is truly up to me and my mindset, as well as creativity, to make it come true today. We are our own worst enemies when it comes to pursuing our dreams. We tend to focus on the road blocks in the way, or the lack of time and support. Honestly, I know, because I have spouted all of those excuses.
No more. Broken wrist or no broken wrist, there will always be obstacles and challenges in my life. Today, I want to see beyond them, around them, and march through each one. It is most important to me that I never suppress or deny my true calling. Doing so, creates frustration and sadness over time. Focusing on dreams and desires can be incredibly positive. What have I got to lose?
I don’t need a Powerball ticket to give me permission to live my best life. I give myself permission, and yes, I will have to be a better money saver, planner, and researcher to make my dreams come true. How about you?
When we truly listen to our heart, when we can be honest about our decisions and actions, then and only then, will we be winning.
“May your winning streak, may it never end”
Glen Hansard is an Irish singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Early in life, Hansard was influenced by a house filled with the music of Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, and Van Morrison. He eventually quit school at thirteen and began busking on the streets of Dublin, a young start to a long successful career in music.
Hansard is the founder and guitarist of the Irish group, The Frames, and one half of the folk rock duo, The Swell Season. Releasing music on his own, he successfully won nominations and awards for music he created for the Irish music infused movie, Once. His latest album, Didn’t He Ramble, was released just this past year. From that album, I found this wonderful tune which resonates in my soul today. In an e-mail interview with NPR, Hansard describes his inspiration,
“Each day we’re alive is a day we can reinvent or look at life from a different perspective. Nothing changes until we do, so it’s a song of encouragement to see these things and act on them.”
The song “Winning Streak”, is a simple tune with a deeply positive, sincere message. A song which reminds me to get on with it and live my best life…
no winning Powerball needed.
