He won nearly $10 million in the lottery and decided to continue with his job for an unusual reason: “You have to have a purpose...”
He hit the jackpot before turning 21, but instead of walking away from work, he chose a path that has left many shaking their heads.
Who hasn’t dreamed of winning the lottery big at least once? At some point, we have all imagined what we would do with a prize so large it could change our lives – quitting work, traveling endlessly, or embracing a life of leisure. That is likely the main reason so many people buy tickets every week for draws such as La Primitiva or EuroMillions, with jackpots that grow ever larger and more tempting.
The odds of winning are tiny, but someone always does. That was the case for a 20-year-old man from Carlisle, in the UK, who woke up one morning to discover he had won almost $9.8 million (just over £7.5 million).
As often happens in stories like this, the first person you tell does not believe you. That is exactly what happened to James Clarkson, the protagonist of this story. His girlfriend, who was with him that night, initially brushed it off. “She looked at me sleepily. ‘No, you didn’t win,’ she said. Then she turned over and went back to sleep,” he recalls. But he confirmed the win by calling his family. “I started laughing and thought it was madness,” he adds.
His first splurges after lottery jackpot
Clarkson did what most people would do in his situation: he celebrated. A lavish dinner with champagne alongside family and friends, a luxury vacation to Cape Verde, the purchase of a few expensive items, and some early plans – paying off the mortgage, buying a car, or snapping up tickets for every game played by Manchester City, the soccer team he supports.
Still going to work as a newly minted millionaire
What seemed like the beginning of a completely new life, however, turned out to be little more than a series of treats. Clarkson has decided not to retire – at least not yet – and to keep working. Unusual, to say the least. “The day after I found out I’d won, I was outside in the cold trying to fix blocked drains. It was a bit discouraging, but that’s reality. I’m not going to stop working – I’m too young,” he explains, fully aware that many people will think he is “crazy.”
“I want to qualify as an engineer and move forward. I need to have a purpose in life. Besides, my dad wouldn’t let me stop working anyway. He says there are plenty of millionaires who still work, and that you need a reason to get up every day,” he says – with nearly $9.8 million in his pocket.
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