Take a Step Toward Action

I was recently told this "blonde joke" and of all the ones I've heard, this one was different and actually has some meaning hidden beneath the humor. Now I know blonde jokes are all kind of passe' and only offer a mild chuckle at most, besides, most of the blondes I've met are pretty smart. For the sake of this story, we'll just call the main character, a "poor soul".


A poor soul was at the end of their rope and was losing all hope. This soul worked and worked and still could barely get by. They had a mortgage to pay, a car payment, a family to feed, shoes and warm clothes to buy for the kids, the light bill, gas to get to work, and a neverending list of expenses.

The poor soul saw no end to this frustration and saw no way out of this predicament. It had been a long time since he prayed, but he was so overwhelmed he fell to his knees and said, "Oh Lord, if you could let me win the lottery, all my problems will be solved, please just let me win the lottery so I have the money to pay my bills."

The poor soul began to feel hopeful, but as the week went on and pressure from the bill collectors mounted he got more and more nervous. Not to mention having to keep his family fed. A week went by and nothing had happened, no big money yet. So he got on his knees again, and this time prayed even harder and louder, "Oh Lord, if you could let me win the lottery, all my problems will be solved, please just let me win the lottery so I have the money to pay my bills."

Well, another week went by and trouble was really closing in. The house payment was overdue, the car was about to be repossessed, the cabinets were almost empty, and the kids needed new shoes and winter clothes. No money yet. So he prayed again, this time even harder than before.

Then another week went by and another, and each week the poor soul prayed harder and harder, there was still no money, and things were really getting desperate. He didn't know what to do or why his prayers had not been answered.

After a few weeks the poor soul worked himself into such a state of worry, fury and desperation he finally got so mad he looked up to the sky, shook his fist and screamed at the top of his lungs, "Lord why can't you let me win the lottery so I can have the money to pay my bills and feed my family, I've been praying with all my might for weeks and nothing, you know I need it, why can't you just let me win the lottery..."

All of the sudden, during all of this stomping, fist shaking, and shouting; the Almighty himself appeared before him. The poor soul froze, then stood there very humbled, quiet, and waiting; and then the Almighty spoke...


" Work with me man... Buy a lottery ticket ! "



Yeah, this was actually told to me as a blonde joke about a single mom with kids and was delivered a little "lighter" than it appears in print. It was funny when I first heard it, but then it kind of made me think, the reality of this is no laughing matter at all, but I do believe there is a subtle message, so I recrafted it into this little tale. Do you detect the hidden message?

This story says to me on some level that if we expect miracles and great things to come our way we at least have to take a step toward making it a reality. Sure the metaphor in this anecdote is a lottery ticket, but that ticket can represent just about anything, especially our goals and desires.

Be it success in your business, starting a new project, penning that novel, composing that song or just making ends meet; it requires more than just wishing and hoping. Having belief and faith are important but action and taking the first steps toward our goals are what's most important.

The longer we procrastinate and put off what we know we must do, the longer it takes to realize our goals. Don't worry about how you're going to get there or if you stumble along the way. Just get started and take action toward something you really want and you'll be that much closer.