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Treat Your Job As If You Won The Lottery

Updated: 02/04/2021 by Financial Samurai 72 Comments

Do you hit the snooze button multiple times in the morning because you just don’t want to work? While at work, do you daydream of being somewhere else? Well too bad! You’ve won the lottery and you don’t even realize it!

In this global pandemic, please treat your job as if you won the lottery. When you have a six-figure job, or a regular job, a million dollar a year job, be appreciative. Millions of people are not so lucky.

Your Lucky Lottery Ticket

Here is why you’ve won the lottery with a job. Let’s say you make $50,000 a year.  Divide your income by the current 4% risk free rate of return and you get $1,250,000! 

In other words, if you have $1,250,000 sitting in the bank right now earning a 4% rate of return, you’re making your current salary of $50,000 a year. 

Not bad winning $1,250,000 huh? Now take your income, and divide it by 4% (0.04) and let me know how much you’ve won!

It doesn’t matter what job you have now.  Just know that the job you do have is coveted by a tremendous amount of people. This includes my first job mopping McDonald’s egg bits at 6am. 

My manager told me I was lucky to wear the purple and black (colors of the uniform) because he turned down 8 other candidates over the past month. 

I just felt lucky I could stuff my face with as many FREE apple pies when he wasn’t looking! Heck yeah! I had won the lottery again.

Whine And Cheese

What is it about the water cooler that attracts the whining crowd?  I swear, every time I go to the pantry to get a drink of water, all I hear are folks complaining about someone, or some aspect of the job they hate.

“I can’t believe Jerry is taking time off from work right now when we are so busy!”

“How come he gets a raise and I don’t?”

“I might as well be working for peanuts with the bonus they gave me!”

“Can’t believe we hired that dimwit.  What was he thinking?”

There’s one colleague who literally complains in French for 45 minutes everyday non-stop!  It’s like Pavlov’s Dog. 

As soon as we hear her French, we’re conditioned to think she’s complaining even though we don’t understand a word she’s saying.  Complaining is like an infectious disease that invades that permeates and breaks teams apart.  It’s got to stop!

If you are spoiled and clueless, please try working a minimum wage service job as an adult!

Know How Good You Have It

One in ten people are out of work, and there are plenty more who would HAPPILY do your job for less.  Despite double-digit unemployment, misery pervades. 

Some blame it on having to do more work for the same pay since there are 10% less people to help contribute. Others think their jobs are beneath them. Well if that’s the case, just move!

Job hopping is a common phenomenon at the beginning of the year.  The interesting thing is that once a hopper, always a hopper.  You can see resumes with five jobs in as many years, making you wonder what the heck is wrong with the person. 

More times than not, it’s because the candidate always believes the other side is better.  There comes a breaking point where an employer will stop giving you the benefit of the doubt for jumping around so much, and then you’re stuck in oblivion.

Every now and again, I get the case of “Greener Grass Syndrome.”  I wonder what it’s like to do something else, or be someone else.  Oh how wonderful they’ve got it. 

Then I snap back to reality and count my blessing with my existing employer.  Everything is relative, and it’s important to treat your existing job as if you hit the big one.

If you have a job, just know that you are the winner among a large pool of quality candidates.  Once you change your mindset, you’ll stop complaining and start flourishing again.

Related: 10 Reasons For Starting An Online Business Today

Be Your Own Boss Instead

I never thought I’d be able to quit my job in 2012 just three years after starting Financial Samurai. But by starting one financial crisis day in 2009, Financial Samurai actually makes more than my entire passive income total that took 15 years to build.

If you enjoy writing, creating, connecting with people online, and enjoying more freedom, see how you can build your own website in under 30 minutes for less than $4/month via my step-by-step guide. Not a day goes by where I’m not thankful for starting my site. 

You never know where the journey will take you!

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Here’s a real example of how much you can make blogging from a blogging friend. Be your own boss!

Regards,

Sam @ Financial Samurai – “Slicing Through Money’s Mysteries”

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Filed Under: Career & Employment

Author Bio: I started Financial Samurai in 2009 to help people achieve financial freedom sooner. Financial Samurai is now one of the largest independently run personal finance sites with about one million visitors a month.

I spent 13 years working at Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse. In 1999, I earned my BA from William & Mary and in 2006, I received my MBA from UC Berkeley.

In 2012, I left banking after negotiating a severance package worth over five years of living expenses. Today, I enjoy being a stay-at-home dad to two young children, playing tennis, and writing.

Order a hardcopy of my new WSJ bestselling book, Buy This, Not That: How To Spend Your Way To Wealth And Freedom. Not only will you build more wealth by reading my book, you’ll also make better choices when faced with some of life’s biggest decisions.

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Comments

  1. Viju says

    August 5, 2014 at 11:46 pm

    Dear Sam,

    Greetings!

    Very much fascinating post!..Very true and liked that so much..

    Thanks and Regards
    Vijendra Padwal

    Reply
  2. Self-described complainer says

    August 14, 2010 at 1:32 pm

    While I don’t think everyone should be whining all of the time, as someone who was recently laid off from a horrible work environment (and sad as it was, it was a total relief), I can say that sometimes people complain for a reason.

    I worked in a small department of an otherwise okay organization, and my director was awful (I will not go into examples). Everyone in our department would, yes, complain daily about him, mostly to each other. Few outside of our department knew of the internal turmoil. I can only imagine the author of this post referring to us as I read it. “Oh, it’s not that bad…oh, they could be unemployed…oh, get over it…” Daily, our director would remind us that “you’re lucky you have a job” while generally being a jerk. I think that sort of thinking is the problem. Eventually we all left, and even the people who were laid off were relieved at not having to go into a toxic environment everyday.

    Yes, complainers might be lucky to have a paycheck. But that does not excuse poor work environments, and the daily berating by a supervisor. Remember that sometimes complainers are complaining for a reason.

    Reply
    • Financial Samurai says

      August 14, 2010 at 1:56 pm

      Complainers are always complaining for a reason. But, after a certain amount of time, if you aren’t moving on to do something else, then it’s their fault, and not the organization.

      There is no place in an organization for jerks. In fact, we have a “no jerk policy”!

      I hope you get unemployment insurance and find yourself a better job in the future!

      Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see you around.

      Best, Sam

      Reply
  3. valletta says

    August 11, 2010 at 4:24 pm

    I owned my own profitable business, sold it in 2007. Was unemployed for 2 loooooong years (never been unemployed in my LIFE). My husband was unemployed for 1 year. We lived off savings and racked up 50,000 in debt when we exhausted savings.

    I am now working (at my old employer, best company in the world!) and I pinch myself daily, I am so lucky. I’m making incredible money, love my job, love my boss. We were about 2 months away from missing a mortgage payment. I had suicidal thoughts, which I’ve shared with no one until this post. My heart goes out to the millions of Americans out of work based on predatory and corrupt corporatist policies (outsourcing, stagnant compensation, overpaid CEOs, etc (another rant).

    Do I love my job so much because I was so close to the edge?? I’m sure it’s part of it.
    I will never take employment for granted again. Never.

    I thank my

    Reply
    • Financial Samurai says

      August 11, 2010 at 5:21 pm

      Valletta, thanks for sharing your story and I’m so glad you made it and everything is turning out alright!!!!

      Reply
  4. Mike - Saving Money Today says

    August 3, 2010 at 4:07 am

    Misery loves company…some people just aren’t happy and can’t stand to see anyone else happy. One complainer can ruin a good team very quickly.

    Reply
  5. admin says

    August 2, 2010 at 8:44 pm

    Yikes, I’m glad you no longer have “work sucks” as your # one phrase! I really think running a website is a great outlet.

    Reply
  6. admin says

    August 2, 2010 at 7:38 pm

    One day is today! No reason you can’t work on your side business now. Shake things up! $1.25 million big bucks!

    Reply
  7. youngandthrifty says

    August 2, 2010 at 1:06 pm

    Woow! $3.25 per hour at McDonalds? Hey are you dating yourself? =) They say that McDonalds is a great place for a first job. You learn about efficiency, working as a team, discipline (like you say above).

    Yeah, I think people complain too much. Period. I think I can be guilty of that too… If we all were happy with what we have already, the world would be a much much better place. =)

    Reply
    • admin says

      August 2, 2010 at 7:39 pm

      Big time money eh? However, I’m not sure what you are asking about whether I am dating myself? Sometimes I take myself out for a milkshake, I admit it!

      Reply
  8. Financial bondage says

    August 2, 2010 at 10:08 am

    lucky to wear the purple and black? lol

    retail and fast food have high turnover rates usually, so their will always be jobs in those areas. Low paying jobs. Who can live on $8/hour? Only a kid living at home with no bills. Most adults could not live on that.

    Reply
    • admin says

      August 2, 2010 at 10:45 am

      Yeah, man….. Purple and Black 4 life! lol.

      I made $3.25 an hour that summer. Kinda sucked, but still allowed me the independence to buy whatever I wanted as a teenager. Taught me discipline, working together in a team, and how to avoid/impress tyrant managers!

      Reply
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