The dream you have about winning may be better than the actuality of winning.  There have been families that have just been torn apart by this process.

Here are some examples of the curses of  lottery millions:

"...nearly one third of multi-million dollar lottery winners become bankrupt in just a few short years after they’re big win."

Evelyn Adams, who won the New Jersey lottery not just once but twice (1985, 1986) to the tune of $5.4 million. Today the money is all gone and Adams lives in a trailer.

"Everybody wanted my money. Everybody had their hand out. I never learned one simple word in the English language -- 'NO.' I wish I had the chance to do it all over again. I'd be much smarter about it now," says Adams who also lost money at the slot machines in Atlantic City.

William "Bud" Post won $16.2 million in the Pennsylvania lottery in 1988 but now lives on his Social Security ($450 a month) and food stamps.

"I wish it never happened. It was totally a nightmare."

Suzanne Mullins won $4.2 million in the Virginia lottery in 1993. Now she's deeply in debt to a company that lent her money using the winnings as collateral.

"My understanding is she has no assets," says lawyer who sued her.

Ken Proxmire was a machinist when he won $1 million in the Michigan lottery. He moved to California, went into the car business with his brothers and within five years, Ken had filed for bankruptcy.

"Dad's now back to work as a machinist," says his son.

Willie Hurt of Lansing, Mich., won $3.1 million in 1989. Two years later he was broke and charged with murder. His lawyer says Hurt spent his fortune on a divorce and crack cocaine.

Charles Riddle of Belleville, Mich., won $1 million in 1975. Afterward, he got divorced, faced several lawsuits and was indicted for selling cocaine.

It really boils down to bad decision making and falling out of the grace of the angels and the Spirit of Life!  You create your own blessing or cursing.  If you live a righeous life, you will be blessed.  If you act foolish, make bad decisions ... drinking, fighting and carrying on ... karma is karma ... you can lose it all.

The Secret Law of Attraction

 

You have heard of the "Secret" by now.  It is the law of attraction that suggest that what you think on ... you will become.  Many celebrities have hopped on the band wagon of the "Secret".  However, I would like to take the "Secret" a step further.

 

There is a consciousness in the universe that understands right and wrong.  That rewards good behavior and that punishes bad behavior.  There are many wealthy people in the world who are selfish, vain, hateful and antagonistic.  Does this mean that because they have wealth that they are better than everybody else?  Absolutely not.  As a matter of fact, the consciousness in the universe promises that they will suffer from their wicked behavior and judgements.

 

 

 

There is justice in the universe that rights wrongs done by others.  So, the secret is not a secret at all.  If you are a good person and do not go out of your way to harm another, then the secret will probably work for you but it is based upon a good character first.  That you know what is right and that you do what is right.  Then, you will keep your blessing and your fortune.

 

The real "Secret" is that if you strive to do what is right and not what is easy or convenient, you will be blessed and good fortune will follow you.  By doing what is right, it aligns you with the Spirit of Righteousness and Justice and they will reward your obedience.

 

There are some people who are good at certain stages in their lives and then they fall into bad behavior and karmic law of justice takes over, taking their blessings away from them.

 

Better is the little of the righteous, than the abundance of many wicked.

 

 

Get it ... take as much as you want ... but with all your getting, don't forget ... to get some understanding!

Missourian Janite Lee won $18 million in 1993. But according to published reports, eight years after winning, Lee had filed for bankruptcy with only $700 left in two bank accounts and no cash on hand.

One Southeastern family won $4.2 million in the early '90s. They bought a huge house and succumbed to repeated family requests for help in paying off debts.

The house, cars and relatives ate the whole pot. Eleven years later, the couple is divorcing, the house is sold, and they have to split what is left of the lottery proceeds.

"It was not the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow," says their financial advisor.

Kenneth and Connie Parker were winners of a $25 million jackpot. Their 16-year marriage disintegrated just months after they became rich beyond their wildest dreams.

Jeffrey Dampier, a $20 million winner, was kidnapped and murdered by his own sister-in-law.

In 2002, Jack Whittaker won the largest individual payout in U.S. lottery history.

"I can take the money," Whittaker said at the time. "I can take this much money and do a lot of good with this much money right now."

Whittaker's life was consumed by hardship, including the death of his beloved granddaughter Brandi, who was a victim of a drug overdose, and the breakup of his marriage and the loss of his fortune.  It all really boiled down to his bad decisions that caused him to lose it all.

"If I knew what was going to transpire, honestly, I would have torn the ticket up," said Jewell Whittaker, Jack Whittaker's ex-wife.

On Christmas morning in 2002, Jack Whittaker woke up to perhaps the biggest gift imaginable. Whittaker had won the Powerball lottery jackpot -- a whopping $315 million.

"I got sick at my stomach, and I just was [at] a loss for words and advice," Whittaker said. "You know, I was really searching for advice, and it's, like, Christmas Day."

It was a made-for-TV Christmas story, and Whittaker's hardworking family became celebrities overnight. Whittaker's wife, Jewel, and their granddaughter Brandi Bragg would appear on no fewer than eight television shows. But as Whittaker celebrated his good fortune, he had no way of knowing that he was embarking on a journey that would lead to tragedy and the loss of everything he held dear.

'No Control for Greed'

Whittaker now says that he regrets winning the lottery.

"Since I won the lottery, I think there is no control for greed," he said. "I think if you have something, there's always someone else that wants it. I wish I'd torn that ticket up."

Whittaker had the very best of intentions: He truly wanted to share his good fortune and help people.

"I wanted to build churches," he said. "I wanted to get people food that didn't have food. I wanted to provide clothing for children that needed clothing."

Within months, Whittaker was making good on his promise. He handed over $15 million for the construction of two churches alone.

The initial blitz of publicity meant that everyone knew about Whittaker's record-breaking win, and he was besieged by requests for help. In order to deal with these requests, he formed the Jack Whittaker Foundation. Jill, the clerk who sold him his winning ticket, went to work for him in the mailroom.

"There were so many letters that they wouldn't even deliver the mail. It was nothing for us to sit for 10 hours just opening envelopes," said Jill, who asked that her last name be kept private.

Jill says the foundation received all kinds of requests, such as, "people wanting new carpet, people wanting entertainment systems, people wanting Hummers, people wanting houses -- just absolutely bizarre things."

Whittaker gave away at least $50 million worth of houses, cars and cash. Suddenly, the man who won a fortune at Christmas had become everybody's Santa Claus.

"Any place that I would go they would come up," he said. "I mean, we went to a ballgame, a basketball game … and we must have had 150 people come up to us … and it would be going right back to asking for money."

Humble Beginnings

For a man who didn't start out with much, the experience was a bit overwhelming. "I grew up very, very poor in Jumping Branch, W.Va.," said Whittaker. "We never had a lot of luxuries. We never had a car. We didn't have a TV until later in life."

At the age of 14, Whittaker met the woman who would become his wife, and started his own construction company. Whittaker said it was the birth of his granddaughter that finally changed his obsession with work.

"I was with my daughter going to her doctor's visits," he said. "And Brandi waved at me on the first sonogram, so I was hooked then."

By the time Whittaker won the lottery, he said, he was doing $16 million to $17 million worth of work. He enjoyed years of success with few complaints, but less than a year after winning the lottery things began to change.

Rob Dunlap, one of Whittaker's many attorneys, said Whittaker has spent at least $3 million dollars fending off lawsuits.

"I've had over 400 legal claims made on me or one of my companies since I've won the lottery, " said Whittaker.

When asked why that might happen, Whittaker said it's because "everybody wants something for nothing."

'I Just Didn't Care'

As his company's reputation was challenged by lawsuits, Whittaker began drinking heavily to console himself.  At night, he made the rounds of the local bars throwing money around everywhere he went.

"I just got to the point that I just couldn't tolerate what was happening to me anymore," he said. "I would fly off the handle and if somebody wanted to fight me, I'd fight them. I just didn't care."

Whittaker alienated just about everyone in town, and things came to a head when he left his car running in front of the Pink Pony strip club and more than $545,000 in cash was stolen.

The West Virginia resident has been arrested twice for drunken driving, had his home burglarized as an acquaintance lay dead inside, was sued for assault, and was drinking at a strip club when $545,000 was stolen from his vehicle.

"I parked my car in the middle of the driveway, I went in to get me a drink to go, and I was drugged and my briefcase was stolen," Whittaker said.

Powerball winner Jack Whittaker gave that explanation in a note last fall to a lawyer for Kitti French, who accused him of assaulting her at the Tri-State Racetrack and Gaming Center, a slots-only casino near Charleston, according to a motion French's lawyer filed this week demanding payment of the confidential settlement.

For Eddie Nabors, the 52-year-old truck driver from Georgia turned recent mega millionaire, Danish offers this advice.

"I think you can probably fish for a couple days … but I'm not sure you can fish for 10 or 20 or 30 years," Danish said. "Without that goal or plan about what you expect to happen for yourself … it could be your worst nightmare."

Winning millions of dollars makes you a target by millions of people who have designs to take it away from you.  First the IRS takes their piece, wow what a big piece it is.  If you don't know how to budget the money and live on a budget it will be gone sooner than you know.  So, when lightning strikes ... some of you, reading this now, will win a big time lottery ... do yourself a favor, sock some away for a rainy day, put some into a Roth IRA, set up a spending plan and realize, that it won't last forever but it can last as long as you need it.  Live reasonably do not go into excess of anything, keep all things in balance and measure ... too much of anything can spell doom for you!

The "Real Secret" is not just visioning a better life, getting good fortune but knowing how to get it "righteously" and keep it, living righteously.  Staying in the grace of the angels.  Not losing your integrity.  To get it and keep it, try to live a good righteous life.  Show charity and compassion as you are able to do so and blessings and good fortune will follow you, forever.

If you are wise, you will pray often, to stay in your "right" mind!

The Serenity Prayer

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time; Enjoying one moment at a time; Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;  Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will; That I may be reasonably happy in this life  and supremely happy with Him Forever in the next. Amen.