No Thanks to $650 Million

No Thanks to $650 Million.

This sounds made up, but it’s a real thought.

Real in action? We’ll almost certainly never know.

I think I’d turn down the $650 million Powerball.

It’s a nice number — not the gaudy $1 billion that gets everyone worked up every now and then.

But I don’t think it would make me any happier, which is what I’m "optimizing" for these days.

Optimizing for happiness might sound selfish, but once you realize the things that bring true joy are mostly altruistic — raising kids, helping your neighbors, creating something that makes people smile — it starts to feel like the opposite of selfish.

A Michelin-star meal is great, but it’s not that great if you don’t have someone you care about to share it with.

There’s this saying I thought I invented once: “These are the good ol’ days.”

I said it during a King of Pops Field Day behind The Masquerade back in 2013. It felt profound at the time. I went home feeling pretty good about myself — like I’d stumbled onto something original and true.

A quick internet search later, and I found hundreds of cross-stitched pillows with those exact words on them. Apparently Kevin from The Office said it too.

So yeah, maybe not original.

But I’m probably the only popsicle company CEO who’s had it painted on his office wall for a decade and still says it to himself most mornings.

Anyway, back to the lottery.

The biggest ongoing discomfort in my life right now is my 18-month-old’s wake-up time.

He’s a great sleeper — down at 7 p.m., quiet all night — but he starts his day at exactly 5:30 a.m.

We’ve tried blackout curtains, every sound machine setting, even the “wake him during REM” internet hack (which did absolutely nothing).

If money didn’t matter, sure, I could hire someone to handle mornings.

But honestly, that would make me kinda sad (the opposite of happy).

As much as I hate those 5:30 shrieks, I end up loving the time together. Half the mornings he’s in a good mood; the other half, I’m learning patience as he screams until a banana saves the day.

So yeah, I’d probably turn down the Powerball.

Not because I don’t like nice things — I do — but because the hard, messy, ordinary stuff seems to be what makes life actually good.

I wouldn’t judge you for taking the $650 million.

But I hope you realize that all the chaos and hard stuff swirling around you right now?

That’s the good stuff.

These are the good ol’ days.

💛 Steve