Imagine that you’re in Las Vegas.

You’re walking down the Vegas strip, surrounded by tons of people.

You take in all the bright lights, sights, sounds, and not-so-great smells.

As you take in the visual chaos, you get distracted by the bright flashing lights of the many casinos advertising the opportunity to “Win big!”

To escape the madness of the strip, you head inside one of those massive, Walmart-sized casinos.

You walk to the back of the casino, where people are betting on sporting events. The Sportsbook.

You look up at a giant digital video screen and see a long list of all the options: basketball, boxing, horse racing, dog racing, soccer, golf, cricket, you name it. You can even bet on people playing video games or e-sports.

Listed next to each sporting event are the odds for who’s going to win the event and how much you can win if you bet on them.

As you observe the various odds for sporting events, something grabs your attention. You stand up straighter. You get butterflies in your stomach. Your heart rate increases.

Among all the games and events that you can bet on, you notice your name.

People are betting on you.

People are betting on whether you’ll accomplish what you say is most important in this life.

You start to sweat, your hands start to tremble, and your throat goes dry.

The idea of people betting on you makes you feel really uncomfortable – kind of like when you have to urinate during a long drive, but you know there won’t be a rest stop with a bathroom for another thirty minutes.

Still, you get curious and wonder if the odds are in your favor or against you.

If you were a betting person, would you bet on you?

You hesitate. Just then, out of the corner of your eye, you see a dear family member heading toward the stall to place a bet.

They’re about to bet their life savings on you doing all that it takes to make your dreams come true. You start to panic.

Would you let them bet on you? Or would you immediately rush over to stop them from losing all of their money?

The question now begs:

Are the odds in your favor at “winning” at life or are they against you?

Las Vegas Is Your Life – How To Put Yourself First

In more ways than one, life is like a Las Vegas casino.

Whether you know it or not, every single day you’re betting everything on yourself with the effort you do (or don’t) put forward.

Instead of gambling with our money, we instead routinely gamble with our lives—based on the decisions we make (or don’t make). And believe it or not, we aren’t the only ones betting on ourselves.

Our parents bet on us when they raise us and pay for our educations.

Our spouses bet on us to always be there for them in good times and in bad.

Our children bet on us to take care of them every day.

Companies that hire us bet on us to be productive and engaged employees.

Even institutions like banks bet on us to meet our obligations every month..

Hell, even our friends bet on us to help them move apartments, take them to the airport at 5:00 a.m., or be there for them even as life takes twists and turns.

So, are you gambling away your life or making every moment count?

Based on your past actions, are you living a life you’ll be proud of or one that’ll be filled with regrets?

More importantly, can others reliably bet on you? What we’re talking about is trust. Trust is earned.

When it comes to betting, here’s another thing I learned:

If you don’t bet on yourself, no one else will.