It's best not to let that jackpot win go to your head!
One of the more detrimental things that can happen when you win the jackpot is to let the money go to your head. You now feel that since you have millions of dollars, people will cater to your every need. If they don’t, you simply flash a wad of money at them and immediately they will do your bidding.
As an example, many celebrities use their money to override a lot of things such as restaurant reservations, lineups, and really, just to get whatever they want. However, other celebrities don’t flaunt their money to bypass anything. These celebrities are appreciative of their money, remember where they came from, and don’t have an ego that they need to display to everyone by flaunting their money around.
Luck is Luck
The one thing you need to realize is that you didn’t earn this money. You simply got very lucky and won it when you played the lottery. You didn’t spend half your life building a successful company. You didn’t create a new invention, nor did you bring forth a world-changing innovation. You are not an actor or rock star. You simply won a lottery jackpot. You did not earn it, you won it. It’s important that you act appropriately, and not like an egotistical idiot.
How you use your money is going to be your legacy to your family, friends, and strangers. If you donate money to an organization to plant trees for reforestation, that is a good thing. If you insist that they make sure to put your name on every tree, then you are being egotistical with your money. Standing around with your spouse or date in a restaurant lobby waiting for a table is what we all do. Walking up to the host or hostess and slipping them $100 to get you a table right now is bad behaviour and makes you look like certain words that can’t be expressed here.
There are two monetary detriments to this type of behaviour. One, the more you flaunt your money like this, the more money people will eventually seek from you to provide you with the same “service” smaller sums used to get you before. Two, if you fail to increase your “donation” for preferential treatment, eventually your influence will suffer and you will quickly be back to the normal group most of us live in. Your money won’t mean anything at all to other people.
One other result of this type of egotistical behaviour is that you will definitely gain a reputation, and will not be a good one. You will be known as the guy or girl who can only get ahead of other people in your life by your money, and not by your personality, good actions, skills, or talent.
Act With Grace
Be aware that other people who use their money to butt ahead of the rest of us have that income still coming in to them. You, as a lottery winner, are limited to the money you have won. Since you are spending it to jump lines and not saving or investing it to produce income, you will quickly see your winnings dwindle, with a good portion of it going to other people just so you can be a big shot and prove to the world that your money will get you exactly what you want.
Be realistic and enjoy the fact that you have the money, but still are a decent and normal person. The more you flaunt your money, the more that friends, family, and strangers will eventually turn away.