DNO Sir Kindheart's blog: "Sir Kindheart's Pithy Advice"

YAY you!!! You just won the lottery!!!  Feel free to scream and jump up and down and bounce off the walls until you're exhausted!!!

NOW what?

Glad you asked, because that's what this blog entry is all about!  I should be upfront and tell you right away that nothing I say here can't be found elsewere online; there's plenty of online articles that will give you the same advice.  That way you can confirm that what I say here is nothing you can't learn from another source.  But you're here and you're still reading, so sit back and relax!  Although once you're finished reading, you may come to realize that it's the last rest you may have for quite a while!

Why is that, you ask? Well, it's because your first move after you enjoyed your first rush of excitement and celebrationi is to get yourself under control!  You see, the first big mistake many big winners make is to think, "I'm rich!!! My problems are solved!!!"  That's the worst reaction they could have.  Because what's really just happened is that you've suddenly come into possession of hundreds of millions of new problems...and if you don't keep a steady head on your shoulders now, you could very well be right back where you were before you bought that winning ticket...and possibly even worse off than you were before.   Many other big ticket winners have found that out the hard way!

Next step:  TELL NO ONE.  AT ALL.  NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU TRUST THEM.  You do not want relatives and friends all lining up with their hands out, ready to recieve lot$ of ca$h, expe$ive gifts, or to try to sell you on going into some business or other (usually a restaurant) that will flop within a year because neither of you has developed the business sense you would need to make it a success (although they'll immediately blame you when it does for not putting enough money into their Absolutely Great Can't Miss Idea).   This also means do NOT up and quit your job, no matter how much you hate it or that lousy excuse of a boss who's #1 in your personal Top Ten Most Punchable Faces!!!  Don't let on that you're a multimillionare who's only playing the part of a rank-and-file employee...for now!!!

Third step, secure a safe deposit box.  DON'T use your regular bank for this!  Stash your winning ticket in it (along with a few other items, so no one at the new bank gets curious).  IF you still have the receipt you got when you bought your ticket, stash that in the box along with your BIG ticket!  In fact, it's always a good idea to get a receipt whenever you buy a ticket.  You may very well need it to prove that you and only you could have bought your BIG winner!   You don't have to hurry to turn it in; I believe you have about six months to get around to that.  So don't!  You still have plenty to do, because of your...

Fourth step:  You will need to recruit the services of a law firm, an accountant agency, and a financial planner.   They must have excellent reputations; there can be no question about the character of the people they hire.   Make sure you check them out as best you can.   Once you have decided on the right people, you must work closely with them in order to plan out exactly what you want to do with your money.  Start learning how to control it yourself, or else it will control you!  You don't want to be one of the big winners who end up being bigger losers!!!

Fifth step:  At the same time you're working with your attorney, accountant, and financial planner on how best to put your money to use, start teaching yourself to say NO.  There will be people asking you for a lot, and there will be times when you have to say NO and mean it!  Make sure that whoever's asking understands that NO MEANS NO!   If you don't, they'll assume that they can keep on asking until you say yes, just to get rid of them.  It will cost you friends, and relatives will probably disown you.  If they do, it won't be because you're selfish.  It will be becase they expected to get what they wanted from you.  Which says a lot more about who they really are than it does about you.

Sixth step:  Once your plans for your newfound riche$ are in place, and you're ready to turn your BIG winner in, you may want to consider hiring a private security firm.  It should, like your attorney, accountant, and financial planner,  have an excellent reputation.   It won't be much fun being guarded 24-7, but remember:  you just came into possession of hundreds of millions of new problems, and there are any number of people who will be more than happy to "help" you with those problems...by taking as many of them off your hands as they can get!  You want to keep the con artists, kooks, and potentially dangerous thugs away,  And you'll need to be aware of any potentially dangerous people.   A good private security firm can do those things for you.   Also, you'll want to take some serious courses in self defense training.   Be ready to defend yourself if you have to!

Seventh step:  Now that you've done the work you needed to do so that you stand a decent chance of never going broke for the rest of your life...enjoy your life however you want to!!!  Maybe all you did was buy a ticket to begin with, but now you've earned it!