I’ve never won anything on the lottery, not a penny. It’s been this way for so long that I’ve come to the conclusion that my role is purely to improve someone elses’ chances of winning. As a result, I’ve never been too fussed about playing. But a post by Matt @ 1year Sabbatical on how to win the lottery really got me thinking. He puts forward the excellent point that winning the lottery is easily achievable, not by gambling on a big money win but by making decisions which actively move you towards your ideal lifestyle. An excellent point well made. But, it got me thinking. Travel and finances are inextricably linked. Some people save up for years to enable them to travel for a set period of time and others find ways to fund their travels as they go. There are hundreds blog posts written about the subjects of saving for your travels, offering advice on how best to put away the maximum number of pennies. To me, working for your travels is a vital part of the experienece.
Lottery funded travel
So, if I were to win the lottery, how would it feel to fund my travels that way? Would it feel as rewarding as funding it through hard work and sacrifices? Or would it feel less of an achievement and therefore less special?
We’ve all had the conversations about what you’d do if you won the lottery. Most people’s answer involves quitting their job, making sure their loved ones are secure and then jetting off around the world. I certainly couldn’t imagine continuing to sit in my cubicle if I knew I had fifty million pounds in the bank. Imagine the freedom you would have to fly wherever you wanted, stay in the most luxurious of hotels and enjoy slap-up meals nightly. Or perhaps you wouldn’t choose to go the luxurious route. You could continue to travel in a backpacker fashion but you’d never need to worry about the money running out. You could literally spend the rest of your life backpacking around the world and barely scrape the surface of that bountiful bank balance.
But would it be as exciting? If you hadn’t needed to work to earn the money to travel, maybe that would take away from the appreciation you would have for the experience. I moan about work a lot, but I like knowing that when I’ve managed to save up all the money I need I will be able to sit on that beach in Thailand and know that I’d worked hard to get there. I wonder if I would feel the same way if the experience were not borne out of work but luck.
Have we already won the birth lottery?
You could of course argue that, above all else, it is luck which has contributed to us being in the position to travel in the first place. It’s just that our sense of proportion affects our consideration of wealth. To those of us brought up in (for lack of a better, all-encompassing word) ‘developed’ countries we would consider a bank account boasting millions to be our definition of ‘rich’. However, with half the global population surviving on less than $2 a day, the money that we poor backpackers carry is already far outside the grasps of many. From the perspective of, say, a farmer in Laos I imagine it would be difficult to differentiate between a $20,000 a year lifestyle and a $20M one. They are both so out of reach that the actual figures may cease to hold any meaning.
What would you do if you won?
Jodi, over at Legal Nomads has written a thought-provoking article on the perspective gained through travel. I agree with her assertion that one of the charms of travel is the perspective it gives you on your own life and how you fit in with the rest of the world. I fear that lottery funded travel would be immune to those sorts of revelations. Would you still be able to appreciate the value in the small moments, the kind gestures and the generosity of others? Or would your world be so far removed from that of the people you encounter that you couldn’t possible understand their values and the sacrifices they have to make?
On the other hand, imagine being able to use the money to fund travel to places all over the world in need of volunteers and funding. Think of the difference it would be possible to make if you were in a position to use your incredibly good fortune to improve the lives of many others. Maybe having that sort of money would give you a renewed appreciation for the hardships some others have to endure.
Life as a lottery – you gotta play
It is, of course, unlikely that I could ever definitively answer these question (although if the fates fancy throwing me a lottery win for the purpose of writing a follow up article, I wouldn’t say no!) For me, working hard at a non-dream job is a vital part of the planning process. A lot of the time, it is through finding out what you don’t love that you can get closer to a job that you might. In the meantime I’ve had the chance to build my confidence, flesh out my CV and delve into the world of blogging. I’m not sure, in retrospect, if I’d trade in those experiences.
Despite my incredible losing streak, I do like the concept of playing the lottery – of throwing a little money into the hands of fate and believing that you could possibly be the one person to defy probability and have a life changing win. It requires you to dream of the possibilities and explore within your own mind what it would mean to you to no longer have any money worries. This, surely, is the first step in anyone’s journey towards a rewarding lifestyle – to dispense with the cynicism and believe that another life is possible for you, at any age. As Matt has already so eloquently suggested, this belief combined with a determination to succeed is a sure-fire recipe for a ‘lottery win’. So, go, take a leap of faith and gamble on the possiblities that life could present to you.
What would I do if I did win the lottery? After making sure my family were suitably comfortable I would buy myself an ocean-worthy yacht and sail round the world. I would find struggling charitable causes in out-of the way corners of the world and help in any way I could. Eventually, if I felt I’d like to settle somewhere, I’d buy a property and turn it into a hostel (plus a bunny sanctuary on the side) with a view of the ocean.
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I read recently about a Canadian guy who figured out a mathematical way to win big money on scratch-off lottery tickets with regularity. So you really could fund travel with the lottery if you try hard enough…
But I agree with your larger metaphorical points… traveling on a budget does make one appreciate things more. And I do kinda feel like I won the lottery once I started traveling!
Scott – Quirky Travel Guy\’s last post…Am I the only one who finds Kerouac’s On the Road boring
Scott, I know exactly what you mean. At one point during my first trip I found myself on a beach on the north of Oahu, with some new friends, sitting back and simply enjoying ‘being’. I thought to myself at that point: there is absolutely nothing more I would wish for myself right now. Not a thing. It’s never about the money but, unfortunately, it’s a necessary evil to get you out there.
Very interesting piece, I often dream of winning the lottery (despite the fact I don’t play it). I think travel is like anything in life, you appriciate it more if you’ve had to work for it.
I really like the the bit about winning the birth lottery, I couldn’t agree more. We in the western world really have won the birth lottery. We don’t have to worry about where our next meal is going to come from, or whether we can afford to send our kids to school.
Mike\’s last post…Cape Kidnappers New Zealand– Blog4NZ
Thanks for your comment Mike. I really do have to constantly remind myself how incredibly lucky we are. I saw something today that looked at the population of the world represented as if it were only a village of 100 people. http://www.miniature-earth.com/ It says that more than a fifth of the world’s population live on less than $1.25 a day. Having a roof over our heads, a bed and a wardrobe makes us richer than 75% of the people on the planet.
But, I firmly believe there’s no point feeling bad about it. The best thing we can do is get out there, learn about the world and make the most of our very fortunate position.
I had a conversation with my husband last night about wealth! I had just finished my first Volunteer Conversational English class via Skype with a Burmese student living in Thailand. We talked about Burma and how there was no public education. If your parents don’t have enough money, you simply do not go to school. He talked about how he has to pay for his Burmese passport, as well as his Thai work visa, and at the end of the day he doesn’t save any money after working 6-7 days a week at a hotel. But he is happy, because he has so many more opportunities for learning and bettering his life in Thailand.
I came to bed last night with a new appreciation. Although we are not rich by first world standards, compared with most of the world we are extremely wealthy. Travel, and making connections with locals, really puts your life into perspective. The life I was born into is my lottery, and I’m pretty damn lucky.
Amy\’s last post…To My Parents
I completely agree Amy. It’s that sense of perspective that is vital. It winds me up something chronic to see British school children complaining about having to go to school. To them though, they don’t know any differently. They can’t imagine the world of hardship which some children find themselves in and for whom school is a privilege that they work unbelievably hard for. Meeting locals on my travels was a massive eye opener for me, from the hotel masseuse in Bali who had never been to school but used her treatments as an opportunity to learn English from clients to the guide we hired in Ubud who was so very proud of his 12 year old car because he had worked to pay for it himself. We owe it to the world to travel with our eyes open, taking in as much as possible and learning everything we can.
I had no idea my post would spark such a thought provoking piece. I really like this Sarah. I think world travel has a way of opening our eyes to the fact that we in the industrialized world have won the lotto and we’ve won it big. The opportunities that have been afforded us based on the luck of being born in a certain country are certainly things to never take for granted. And in that respect I think we have an obligation to use our opportunities to live a fulfilling and meaningful life doing the things that we are passionate about and making a difference in the world. Happiness and enjoyment of life are not something we can buy with dollars and cents (or Euros) it’s a state of mind that each of us has to find our own path to. Of course I wouldn’t turn down a bank account full of cash but I’m certainly not going to let no having that hold me back from doing great things.
Matt\’s last post…Presenting a Sabbatical Proposal
Thanks for your thoughts Matt. Your article really did get me thinking about the way we fantasise about changing our lives without believing we have any real control over our fates. Although I often feel very guilty about the luck I have been born with it seems that the only thing I can really do to rectify this is to appreciate it as much as possible and not waste those opportunities.
I really wish I could say “oh yeah, winning the lottery would fix everything” but I know it wouldn’t. Sure it might help in some aspects, but things definitely wouldn’t be perfect. I remember learning in psychology class about intrinsic and extrinsic rewards. Intrinsic rewards are internal, like when you pass a test and feel proud about it. Extrinsic rewards are external, like money. One study that showed kids responded better to intrinsic rewards, than extrinsic rewards. Those who were rewarded with money or candy for certain behaviors or activities (like schoolwork) actually did worse, and were less motivated in the future. I think that’s why it’s important to live life for more than making money. Even with your job, you need to find something you love to do. Because if it’s only about money, or material goods you’ll just never be really happy.
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