I never spend my money on lottery tickets. But, I know some people are addicted to them. Let’s take a look at Morgan Housel’s Data.
Americans spend more on lottery tickets than movies, video games, music, sporting events, and books combined. And who buys them? Mostly poor people. The lowest-income households in the U.S., on average, spend $412 a year on lotto tickets, four times the amount of those in the highest income groups. Forty percent of Americans cannot come up with $400 in an emergency. Which is to say: Those buying $400 in lottery tickets are by and large the same people who say they couldn’t come up with $400 in an emergency. (The Psychology of Money)
I see the same patterns with startup founders. They are starting companies which are 90-95% going to fail their first 3 years. If not, they will be mediocre companies for another 3-4 years till they might figure out what is working or not if they have enough runway, aka cash in their bank.
In recent years, being an entrepreneur is getting more streamline. Everyone wanted to start a company, but no one is patient enough to spend their next 5-10 years on their own ideas or product. They are all looking, “The Lottery.” Just get quick rich less than a year or sometimes in a couple of months. That stories on the media someone started and sold their companies hundreds of millions of dollars are 1 out millions. And, most of the cases, those founders had multiple fails before their hit.
If you have enough cash in your bank account and working product, you are Golden. Don’t scare about what is going to you in the future; whatever will happen is out of your control. You are building your house, and definitely takes time. Even if you end up failing to build it, there is no game over. You will start a new one with more knowledge, connection, and confidence. Don’t expect huge returns in a short time from startups. If you have it, play the lottery. You might have a better chance:)
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Note: If you are interested in “The Psychology of Money” and can’t afford it just DM me on Twitter. I think I have 20 seats left.
