I was sent an article on lottery sales by a reader a couple of weeks back - how, the Texas State Lottery was heading for record sales of US$3.83bn this year. Yes, that's one State and that's billion, not million! You'll also see in the article that its the poorer people who spend a disproportionate amount of their income on lottery tickets.
I was going to say even in an economic downturn, but perhaps I should say especially in an economic downturn ordinary people are hoping for something magic to happen that will transform their lives. And, yet, any one of us can transform our lives by simply deciding to do so. You don't have to purchase any tickets, you don't have to rely on luck or chance.
What you do have to do is take full control of your state of mind so it starts working for you - rather than, in it's default state, working against you. Five minutes 'mental exercising' (or meditation for those who aren't afraid of the word and have some idea of what meditation actually is) each morning will change your mindset for the day - and that will change your perspective and how you behave. It will also enable you to be more alert to the potentials or possibilities of life as it is lived, moment to moment.
Life is not a game of chance - there is no luck involved. Any one of us can rise above our perceived selves, grab life by the scruff of the neck and ride life's great rollercoaster. All it takes is a little nerve - and you'll find that nerve the moment you grab hold of the levers of power - the ones in your mind.
Willie Horton is an Irish self-help and personal development author and trainer living in the French Alps. He has been working in the field of personal development since 1996 with clients such as Pfizer, Deloitte, Allergan, KMPG, Nestle and DHL. He is creator of Gurdy.Net – the Personal Development Website and author of Normal Crazy People and To Succeed... Just Let Go.