Why would anyone buy a lottery ticket? Here’s why

Notice what was happening with the Powerball lottery tickets, which, as of last night’s drawing, was at 1.5 billion dollars.

It’s not what everyone thinks.

Right on schedule, cue the sudden cluck-clucking from journalists of poor, ignorant people who waste their money on lottery tickets.

“If they just saved that $2 and put it into an index fund, after 348 years, they’d have $32,000. Sigh, this is why they stay poor.”

You can almost set your watch to these condescending articles and blog posts. The irony is, they think they’re right, but their articles reflect a total lack of understanding about WHY people buy lottery tickets.

Hint: People who buy lottery tickets don’t really expect to win. People know the odds are astronomically, cosmically against them. So why would they do it?

The answer: They’re buying permission to dream about winning it.

If you think about it, $2 for a dream is well worth it.

If you live a life where you’re counting pennies, isn’t it worth paying $2 for the dream of becoming fabulously wealthy — even if just for an hour? Hell, if you live a humdrum life of $60,000/year with 2% annual raises and one 2-day vacation a year, you can see why people would crave an escape.

By the way, there are a LOT of other ways we pay for an escape: Movies, fancy clothes, and so many more things. Isn’t it funny how lottery tickets cost less, but incur more wrath from judgmental people?

It’s fun. It makes you feel good, and that’s a great reason to spend $2. OF COURSE lottery tickets are mathematically stupid. So is going to a bar to meet someone…but we do it anyway.

That’s fine for fun. Frankly, sometimes, I think you guys could spend a little more time loosening up and having fun, and less time dreaming about systems and optimization.

But there’s a time and a place for everything. If you want to live a Rich Life, you have to do better than just random hopes and dreams.

For example: I wasted years talking about how I wanted to get in shape. I read blogs, bought books and training videos, I did all these things that made me feel like I was making progress.

Look at those guns holding a bodybuilding ribbon. Just kidding, that’s me winning a spelling bee

But then I got off my ass. I paid for a personal trainer and learned how to actually work out:

And it worked. All the reasons I’d told myself I was a scrawny Indian kid…I realized they were all excuses. They were bullshit.

I already know you’re a top performer — that you’re willing to take action to build a Rich Life. Just by reading this post you’ve put yourself ahead of 75% of people who just complain about their life.

One of my goals is to push you to the next level of living a Rich Life. To suggest, nudge, and sometimes even just plain push you to greater things than you ever thought possible. Sometimes, we don’t know how far we can go until someone in our corner shows us.

For 11 years, I’ve only suggested things in my readers’ best interest. That’s why we don’t accept any students with credit card debt into our program. It’s why I name names on shitty companies to avoid (like Bank of America). And it’s why I give away so much of my best material for free — to prove that I put you first.

So if you’re interested in exploring a new phase of a Rich Life, I’ve put together a special training session, starting next Wednesday.

I’ll show you how to continue doing work you love, while “buying” yourself more time. I’ll show you the mental barriers I recognized — and overcame — at every level, from $1,000 to $100,000 and even $1 million and beyond.

And, of course, the tactics that helped me impact millions of people, earn more, and set my own schedule.

The best part is it’s completely free. Come if you like. Or if not, no pressure.

It’s just my small way of saying thank you for your continued loyalty.

Remember, if you bought a Powerball ticket, that’s fine. Don’t let anyone make you feel stupid or say you wasted your money. It’s OK to pay for a dream.

But I believe in taking action. I’d encourage you to do the things that will definitely help you live a Rich Life, not just give you a 1-in-292,201,338 chance of hitting the jackpot.

If you’re ready for a new phase of a Rich Life, I hope to see you there. At the very least it should be interesting.

And at best…it could be life-changing.

-Ramit