Life is all about odds. It’s all about putting ourselves in situations that provide the best chance for success.
Here are some interesting odds in life:
- A meteor landing on your house: 1 in 182,138,880,000,000
- Winning the lottery: 1 in 13,983,816
- Being an astronaut: 1 in 13,200,000
- Becoming President of the United States: 1 in 10,000,000
- Winning an Olympic Gold Medal: 1 in 662,000
- Getting a royal flush in poker with the first five cards dealt: 1 in 649,740
- Being struck by lightning: 1 in 576,000
- Dating a supermodel: 1 in 88,000
- Becoming a pro athlete: 1 in 22,000
- Bowling a perfect game: 1 in 11,500
- Winning an Academy Award: 1 in 11,500
- Catching a ball at a major league ballgame: 1 in 563
- Being on a plane with drunk pilot: 1 in 117
- Having twins: 1 in 9
- In America, having at least one container of ice cream in the freezer: 9 in 10 (I’m so disappointed in the ten percent who messed up this near-perfect score.)
- Lebron James getting a championship ring: I’ll leave this one alone.
Many times we put ourselves in situations that decrease the odds of success in our lives. For example, if I asked you what I should do to increase my odds of being healthy you might suggest that I keep a good diet, drink lots of water, exercise regularly, avoid fast food, be active and enjoy life, etc. In other words, if I do all these things, I should increase the odds that I will live a long, healthy life.
Or how about relationships? What would you suggest people look for in a spouse to give their marriage the best chance of success? You might tell them to look for compatibility. Or someone who shares their common core values, faith, and interests; comes from a good family; has a good personal track record; and someone that they have chemistry with.
Likewise, being financially independent doesn’t just happen by accident or luck. You can stack the odds in your favor.
- Work hard; the harder you work the luckier you’ll get.
- Read books.
- Associate yourself with strong leaders who challenge you to improve and get better.
- Constantly work on improving yourself.
- Stay in shape to keep your energy high.
- Become an entrepreneur.
- Be frugal when it comes to spending money.
- Save and invest your money.
- Live within your means.
- Put yourself in a situation of ownership in a company.
- Take responsibility.
- Be a team player.
This same exercise can be applied to every aspect of our lives. My challenge to you is to inspect all parts of your life to find out if you are putting the odds in your favor.
