The Worth of $100: A Metaphor for How We Our Lives

 You have three options:

• $100 cash
• $100 worth of stock in a strong, growing company
• A lottery ticket that cost $100, but worth millions if you win.

The benefit of the cash is you can use it instantly for anything you want. The disadvantage is that holding onto it decreases its value due to inflation.

The benefit of stock is that historically it increases in value faster than inflation. The disadvantage is that you don't get any immediate benefit from it.

The benefit of a lottery ticket is that if you win, it is infinitely more valuable than any of the other options. The disadvantage is that the chances of winning are basically zero.

What in your life do you treat like cash, like stock, or like a lottery?

I think that the company of another person is like cash. I'm going to engage with that person; put away or turn of the screens, face them eye-to-eye, and enjoy their company.

I think that hard work is like a stock. I'm making the sacrifice now to learn and build sweat equity. I do it because I'm confident it will pay off in the future.

I think a lottery ticket is like a promise of a perfect, peaceful future. Appealing. Tempting. But there's no way for me to know if it can or will happen.