Opportunities For Winning

Opportunities for Winning

There are so many opportunities for you to be a winner. I like online sweepstakes, but let's come back to that. Let's think outside of the online world for now.....

In-person, retail drawings will give you a great odds, I highly recommend them. 

A fine jewelry store that I worked at had a drawing for a pair of $3000 earrings, we ended up having less than 20 people enter! Customers are resistant to taking a moment to write their name and email on a piece of paper and shoving into a box of the unknown. I get it, but is a trusted, national chain going to scam you in some way by having your name and email?  No, worse case you are going to get annoying emails. Take a chance, then unsubscribe. I told all my customers that day that I am lucky and that I knew that it would be one of my customers who won. The next day it felt pretty good when I called one of my customers to let her know she could come back to see me and pick up her 1ct diamond earrings. 

I won 2 full passes to Austin City Limit ( big ridiculous music festival) because I saw a jar at the TOMS store. It didn’t seem have many entries in it, or much advertising around it, so I immediately thought-perfect, this is mine! They called the next day. After being very tempted to go to the loud crowed concert, that was sold out, I decided that selling them for $500 was a better fit for me at the time. ( Also being at an outdoor collage party with over priced food and beer, for 3 whole days? It was not for me, but I was happy to hook someone else up).

When filling out an entry slip go ahead and be excited, tell the store clerk you can't wait till they call you with the good news. I like to draw a star on the paper before I fold it up. I have heard that crumpling up your entry helps it stick out and has a better chance of being lifted out. What ever trick you think works, go with it and believe it is working in your favor. Sometimes my husband looks annoyed that I am taking the time to go into a store for the sole purpose of getting something for free but when I share my prizes with him he is reminded that I am not crazy.

Look for short entry periods- whether it's a drawing, a sweepstakes or a raffle. The longer they are accepting entries the more names they have to randomly pick from. Is the drawing that day? Even better, I only have to focus my energy on it for one afternoon. 

I would stay away from any in-person drawing where there is a table set up in the middle of a mall, with gimmicks and a sales person ready to give you pitch as sign up. If you are not sure what the situation is when you approach this type of table, hold back while you see what others experience is. If it seems like an annoying hassle, then it is. It is likely it has big strings attached and not be as good as it sounds. The negative feeling you would have associated with the experience is enough to kill your odds anyway. If you are going to go for it, focus on getting in there and getting out quick before the feeling of annoyance set in.

Winning life

I have won six sweepstakes/drawings in the past three years. So far this is a total of $9800 worth of prizes (not much of it was cash, but some). I know this is just the beginning. I am not telling you this to brag. I am telling you this to motivate you to go for it too. Even though these are “random drawings”, I defiantly have a system and clearly it is working for me. In the next several blog posts I will go over my tips and tricks. Lets start with the most important one!

First and foremost, I believe in the Law of Attraction. Wikipedia defines it as :"like attracts like" which in New Thought philosophy is used to sum up the idea that by focusing on positive or negative thoughts a person brings positive or negative experiences into their life. This belief is based upon the idea that people and their thoughts are both made from "pure energy", and the belief that like energy attracts like energy. Although there are some cases where positive or negative attitudes can produce corresponding results (principally the placebo and nocebo effects), there is no scientific basis to the law of attraction.

Yes there is a book called The Secret. There are many skeptics. It all may sound very cheesy, but it really is the Secret. For me it is about visualizing that you want, asking for it, believing that it will happen, thinking positive thoughts, and then being open to receive/achieve it. Whatever you want to call it, you have probably done it before. The concept has been around for a long time- Albert Einstein, Buddha and Gandhi have all famous quotes that follow this line of thinking. I am on board; I completely believe it works because I am living it. I would describe it as more than just positive thinking, it is about trusting and believing that the universe (for you it may be “God”) will provide you with the things that you need and desire, and that you are worthy of having a great life full of prosperity and happiness. Of course it doesn't always work like magic. You have to do your part too.

I have so much to say on this topic, but for now lets keep reading to hear more of my personal winning experiences. I love winning stuff! I have specific tips, and free advice for you that will help you get started winning contests, sweepstakes, and drawings for yourself.

The Secret to My Luck

People say I am lucky. I have won random prizes and awesome things do happen in my life. I don’t think these things just happen randomly. For me there is a strategy to it. It sounds corny, you can laugh, but you can’t deny that something is working for me. Let me tell you what it is so that you can try it too.

I make wishes, but they are not weak, wet noodle, wishes. I don’t say “Oh, I hope this happens… ( cue the soft girly voice and dreamy eyes).  My wishes are determined wishes. They are each a firm hand shake. As I make them I decide they are going to happen. I feel like I am telling the universe with my heart. I always end my wish with a thank you.

I will take any opportunity to throw a coin in a fountain or look up to a star and say “star light start bright…..” Yes, I say the whole thing, every time.  In my wish I say “ I want__________to happen”.  Then I might say “ ________ is going to happen, thank you”.  Always be polite when demanding good things from the universe. When I walk away I have a feeling as if I have checked something off my TO-DO list, as if I have already accomplished something, and I am grateful. I had been doing it long before I knew there was a name for it. I was glad to find out that is actually a thing. The Law of Attraction is something many people practice, this is all about being positive, asking the universe for what you want in life, and being grateful. It is easy, and you can do it too.

          Stay tuned, I have more to say about this.....

Tips for making friends instantly at any party

When you have moved  around a lot, like I have, you must to learn to make friends quickly. I love going to parties where I hardly know anyone, this is a perfect opportunity to rack up some new friends. These tips will help you even if you are kind of dull and not an interesting person.

-  Always start by hanging out by the food table. It gives you something to talk about and gives you something to fill any awkward silences that may occur. If you are waiting for someone to talk to you just start chewing a pizza roll and someone is bound to ask you a question.

-  Often people only want to talk to you if you compliment them or ask them a question about themselves first. Try finding a guy with a band shirt on and comment on it. This should open a can of worms for you. Maybe there is a lady with a lovely neck tattoo? She either cuts hair or is a bartender- lots of fun stories there.

- Once you feel more comfortable find the loudest person at the party, this person is always in the kitchen. Start by mimicking what they are doing; when they laugh, you laugh. When they take a shot, you take a shot. Very soon he or she will recognize you as their party buddy for the night.  Before you know it they will start introducing to people and bragging about how cool you are. Make sure not to get as drunk as they do, that way you can maintain your cool-ness factor. Also, make sure to ditch them before the end of the night, you don't want to get stuck being the one that takes them home. They need to find another friend for that.

-People love to talk about murder. If you have any stories about having witnessed a murder or have any old friends who have turned out to be a murderer make sure to work that into a conversation. It grabs people’s attention and there is always someone else who has dated some guy accidentally beat someone to death or who has seen their neighbor go down in gun fire.

-Then to lighten the mood, make fun of hipsters. This works anywhere. Do not point at anyone or be too specific. “What’s the deal with tight pants?" should be enough to domino into someone ranting about how they hate hipsters. They may even be a hipster, they may have tight pants on, and it doesn’t matter because there are always tighter pants. Everyone will assume you are talking about those people. Soon the group will start comparing how they are more main stream then everyone else. People also hate hippies, but you must be careful with this one, if there is someone with who has dreadlocks or is wearing patchouli at the party  and they may be offended. (If you are the one who is offended you should wash your hair and get a job, people will like you better).

- People like it when you seem passionate about things. If you don’t have a lot of fun hobbies and interests don’t worry you can just exaggerate things you are mildly interested in. If you have gone kayaking once, say " I f’ning love kayaking!". Someone else within earshot will also love kayaking. Hiking is a really easy thing to pretend to be into, its really just walking. If you tried to knit something once, proudly, maybe even in a braggy way, let people know that you hand make all your own doylies. You may score a high five, just go with it and change the subject before they ask too many questions. 

- If you discover that someone has a unique dislike for something and you feel similarly invite them to join your Facebook group page. It can be anything- "oh you hate the Red Hot Chili Peppers too? You have to join my new Facebook group page called I Hate The Red Hot Chili Peppers” As soon as you get a chance quickly make a group page. Now you have a new Facebook friend, there will be many things you can hate together. Since people are way too unreliable to call each other anymore, finding each other on Facebook is far more effective.

- Refrain from using sarcasm with girls, most are too sensitive and don’t get it. You don’t want to run the risk of them perceiving you as a jerk when you are actually being hilarious. Feel free to use this type of humor on guys; they should be able to take it. If not, they are whiny pansies and you shouldn’t be friend with them anyway.

Hopefully this has been helpful, good luck making superficial social connections.

-

-