We have all heard of lottery winners who went from rags to riches in an instant. Most of us have imagined it happening to us. But most of us have also heard stories of those same lottery winners and how years later they are even worse off than they were before they won the lottery. Test me on this: do a Google search for “what happens to lottery winners.” The results are staggering and ultimately depressing.
It is not just lottery winners that have trouble handling their new found fortunes. Rock …

I have always wanted to win the lottery. Who hasn’t? We all want a sense of financial security and freedom.
I remember watching the cartoon Duck Tales after school and seeing Scrooge jump off the diving board at the top of his bank vault. With great glee he swam through mounds of golden coins, until at last he did a backstroke, his eyes closed in complete contentment. When I imagine winning the lottery, I picture feeling the same kind of glee, and then afterwards the same kind of contentment.
A few years …

Recently, I was shopping for the holiday season and passed a book store. I cannot help but stop when I pass a bookstore. I suppose it is like a liquor store to a drunkard or a lingerie store to a man or a cake shop to a woman. Full of enticement. I shuffled through all the people reading back covers near the bargain bin and stopped in front of the rack of current bestsellers. I was surprised to see that three of the top four books were by the same …

I always used to think that New Year’s resolutions were simple things like trying not to swear, or bringing home flowers to the wife more often, or eating cake only once a week instead of twice a week. These are all good things in and of themselves. But how close are they to our hearts? Do we really care if we fail to keep them?
As I grow older I see what New Year’s can be. It can be the chance to start again, to reassess my hopes and goals and …