Most people dream of becoming millionaires someday. That is exactly the reason why financial-related sites such as this one are established. Reasons why many individuals dream of being wealthy are diverse. Some, believe that money is the answer to all of their problems. Even young girls grow up dreaming of castles with large gardens and rich princes.
The article- The Road to Riches outlined several ways how we can become financially free. To attain financial success, you should have the perfect concoction of hard work, persistence, creativity, and luck. If you dwell greatly on the luck factor, then you are probably eying the lottery.
Indeed, there are a lot of people who believe that winning the lottery is the only way to become financially secure. Yes, money may help ease some of our worries but it is not entirely the answer to all our concerns in life. One man actually saw how money can affect his life, but not in the manner that he intended it to be. Jack Whittaker became an instant celebrity for winning the jackpot in a lottery in America. However, he had been famed as well for the tragedy that had befallen him after his awesome luck.
Jack Whittaker, also known as Andrew Jackson Whittaker Jr., was born in 1947 in a small town called Jumping Branch in West Virginia. At the age of 10, he started helping out his father by pouring cement and working part-time. He understood by then that he must make his own money and believed to make it big. By 14, he realized that he has no interest in school and started working full-time.
In 2002, his obsession with work finally paid off as he became a self-made millionaire and the president of Diversified Enterprises Construction, a pipeline business worth $17 M. His life, however, abruptly changed on Christmas day of 2002 when he chose the correct numbers for the Powerball lottery.
He had just won a whopping $314 million jackpot. Jack opted to take his prize as a one-time payout of $113,386,407.77, after taxes. Even with the immense amount of his winnings, he was resolved that his life would not change and he and his family would still lead a normal existence. He was dreadfully mistaken.
Immediately after his big win, Jack and his family became famous. They were featured on numerous television shows and everybody was talking about them. Lottery winners from a small town sure made them instant celebrities. Requests for help also bombarded them from all over the country. Solicits for money and a piece of Jack’s winnings came from people from all walks of life. Eventually, Jack hired assistants to help him in reading the tons of letters that came to them as well as a private investigator to check if the writer is indeed in need of help.
The multi-million winnings, however, were too much for Jack and his family to handle. Jack began to squander and give away money to whoever he met. He began to drink and gamble. But the one thing that he regretted most was the effect of the money and the fame on his one and only granddaughter.
Jack had loved his granddaughter with all his heart. He was hooked to her even from the time that she was still inside her mother’s womb. Jack even bought her 4 different cars to use after he won the lottery. His granddaughter, however, began taking drugs as she was not accustomed to having thousands of money for allowance as well as the turn that her life had gone to after the fame of the jackpot hit. A year after Jack’s Powerball hit, his granddaughter was already in rehab. His granddaughter’s life began spiraling down the drain, and eventually, at the age of 17, only 3 years since the Powerball jackpot, Jack’s granddaughter died after struggling with drug addiction.
Certainly, not all lottery winners turn out to have the same life as Jack. However, one thing that we have realized from his story is that winning the lottery and becoming an instant millionaire is possible. Although the probability of winning the lottery has odds as high as 120 million to 1, we have to believe that it is undeniably real and achievable. A dose of determination, a sprinkle of faith, and a pinch of luck might just make millionaires out of each and every one of us.
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