Are you hoping to hit the jackpot this year? Be it a promotion, increase in sales or striking gold, maybe you hope this is your lucky year for a huge financial breakthrough!

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the reality is, in 2015 you will fall into one of these three categories. Take a minute to look over them and decide which one best describes your financial plan this year.

1. You will stay exactly where you are, which if you are like the majority of people, is living paycheck-to-paycheck and stressed about the crushing weight of your debt.
2. You will get worse. Maybe something will happen this year and you’ll lose some income, or you will just continue to go further and further into debt.
3. You will start (or will get closer to) becoming financially independent. You will say enough is enough. You will STOP going into debt, and take a step in the opposite direction!

If your financial plan was to get lucky this year, guess what… that is not a plan! Think about the bigger picture for just a minute. You may be someone who buys lottery tickets each week, or you could be someone who has never bought a single ticket in your entire life. Either way, don’t count yourself out just yet…

Because this is something that goes much deeper than a simple lottery ticket or this idea that you will get “lucky.” There is a mindset behind that lottery ticket that leads to financial failure. Ancient wisdom says he who chases fantasies, has poverty waiting for him.

What is a fantasy, and how does it lead to poverty? Well, the belief you will somehow get lucky and have all of your problems solved, is a total fantasy. The belief you will get something for nothing is a fantasy. It is a fantasy to think you can go to work and do just enough to not get fired, and then expect to get promoted or get a huge bonus. It’s a fantasy to think you can keep eating out 4 times a week, going shopping, and stopping at Starbucks every morning and still expect to become debt-free.

This is what we call the “lottery mentality,” and it will never lead to long-term success. If you pursue this mentality, you will always end up disappointed.

Many years ago, someone told me, “If you want to be successful, then find out what everyone else is doing and do the opposite.” So let’s look at the other side of this “lucky” coin…

It’s safe to say most people are living under this lottery mentality in one way or another. That is, they hope to get something for nothing. But, if want to get something out, you have to put something in.

If you want to annihilate your debt, should you sit and pray and sit and pray and watch and hope and wait for it to suddenly disappear? Heck no! That’s stupid! If you want to annihilate your debt and still have money to do what you want, you have to start with the basic principles of handling money! That’s not chasing a fantasy… that’s pursuing skills and producing results! The bottom line is, if you do what you’ve always done, you’ll have what you’ve always had. Do not put your hope in a fantasy, because it will never lead to success. Choose today to get equipped and to take action in the direction of your goals.

I hope this motivated you to get out from under that giant weight of debt and financial pressure pushing you down and stressing you out! Leave me your comments below and Like and Share this message with your friends and family.

Feel free to join us later today on The Dani Johnson Show at 12 pm ET/11 am CT for real strategies to improve your daily life. Tune into the show on either your TV or radio and please remember you can always stream today’s show right on our website.

In great faith,

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