One Billion Dollars Wouldn’t Change The Majority Of My Day
We’ve all heard people say “I would change everything if I won the lottery”, I have said it myself many times. But is it really the truth, that nothing at all would be the same?
Perhaps the answer isn’t what you would expect.
This article is something a bit different to the usual Profit Pants story. A “shower thought”, or in actuality a “bed thought”, in long form.
Laying in bed. Warm flannelette sheets. Head against the pillow. Eyes closed.
Earlier that day I had watched a James Cordon video with Harry Styles. They had made a music video together. Putting it together required Harry, and James of course, to team up with what we will call “every day people”. The 99.9% of the population, just like you and I, who don’t live the life of someone who is rich and famous.
I don’t often think of Harry Styles, in fact, saying that I “never” think about him would be closer to the truth. But for now, thoughts of him and music video had come back into my mind.
His life is completely different to mine. Nothing would be the same.
Or would it?
If I had unimaginable fortunes, what would be different about how I am spending this moment in time?
Quiet. Darkness. That question continues to spiral in my head.
How about I take one billion dollars and we try and map it out.
7:30pm — 10:00pm (10.5% of my day)
I no longer enjoy heading out to clubs until the wee hours, those days are behind me. Come 7:30pm there is no place I would rather be than on a comfy couch, stationed in front of a reasonably large sized television, which is streaming movies. Maybe place a guitar in my hands to play around with too.
No billionaire status required for this, it’s how I already live. A bigger screen? I guess I could, but it isn’t really going to improve my enjoyment at all. A more comfy couch? I haven’t found one yet.
Note: Any guitarist at this point knows that the above paragraph includes a little white lie. There is always another guitar that we want to purchase!
10:00pm — 11:00pm (4.2% of my day)
Get ready for bed. Have a shower. Brush teeth.
Bring out the Kindle. Begin reading.
Startle myself awake when I realise that I was begin to drift to sleep, as the Kindle nearly drops from my hands.
The backlit Kindle PaperWhite has served me supremely well for more than 5 years. I paid less than $200 for it. If it broke today, even with a billion dollars sitting in the bank and begging for a new home, the replacement device of choice would look nearly identical.
11:00pm to 7:00am (33.3% of my day)
Very comfy bed. Good pillow. Add in the flannelette sheets from the opening scene.
The room is dark. The room is quiet.
Life is great.
In this illusion we aren’t woken up by children in the middle of the night.
What would be different with a billion dollars? The bed might be in a bigger bedroom, located in a bigger house, in a more premium area. But my eyes are closed. I am asleep. The experience with a billion dollars is not significantly improved. Granted, money can help to reduce stress, which may lead to a more sound sleep.
Hold that thought. I’ll take a night-nanny on standby to be ready to handle any waking child event!
7:00am — 8:00am (4.2% of my day)
Wake up. Get out of bed. Go to the bathroom.
Make a cup of fresh coffee, made using quality coffee beans.
On the menu is cereal. Or possibly it is instead toast, fruit or something hot. Whatever I feel like eating really.
Bring out the phone or laptop.
Check emails. Read the news.
A billion dollars. It won’t significantly change the types of food I eat for breakfast. Breakfast isn’t an expensive meal.
Tally that up. 52.2%.
The majority of the hours in my day. And even with a billion dollars, none of it is significantly changing.
I could be sitting in much bigger rooms. Using a much more expensive coffee machine. Playing a Gibson Les Paul guitar from the late 1950s valued at a million dollars.
But the core activities, and the enjoyment that is derived from performing those activities, they aren’t different.
My life isn’t unusual. The activities I perform aren’t unusual. The day above is probably very similar to most people who are reading this article.
Now don’t get me wrong, I need to mention that “other 47.8%”. I’d be going to new locations, having new experiences, throw in a few sports cars too. I’m realistic.
But think of this as a thought exercise. My initial assumption had always been that “I would change everything”. Mapping it out, I was wrong.
It is comforting to know that, for at least the majority of the hours in my day, one billion dollars would change very little.
I’m mindful that I already live a privileged life. Safe housing. A comfy couch. Fresh coffee beans.
It is easy to get caught up in the grind, always looking for the next big thing, being too hard on ourselves. Sometimes we need a reminder of how lucky we already are.
How many of your 24 hours would significantly change?
I’ll still be buying my weekly lottery ticket though.
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