A few days ago, someone bought the winning Florida Powerball ticket worth $189 million less than 10 minutes from my house. While it’s fun to think about what I could do with that kind of money—a new Wrangler, a fleet of helicopters, an army of Shetland ponies with diamond-encrusted horseshoes—the fact remains that I am not that lucky fool with nine figures now burning a hole in his pocket. And that’s a good thing. 

Because as much as we dream about the easy way out and a Scrooge McDuck money tower to solve all of our problems, our wealthiest asset is the ability to remain grounded and level-headed. We could have all the money in the world, but for the sake of what’s important, especially in a time when so many people need help and are reaching out for assistance, it’s so much more fulfilling to be a part of the solution by rolling up our sleeves and giving of our time to help someone out. 

Two years ago I received a challenge from my good college friend and his wife, as they were volunteering with Big Brothers and Big Sisters in Tampa, Florida, and they encouraged me to do something positive with my time, so I figured, Why not? I’d volunteered with various non-profit and charity organizations before, so I assumed that it wouldn’t be any different than any of the smaller involvement I’d had with Children’s Miracle Network or the Ronald McDonald House back in college.

But it’s become more infectious than I ever imagined, and not just because I have this awesome seven-year old who looks up to me as a role model. Inspiring someone is such a powerful thing because there isn’t anything more satisfying in the world than knowing that you’re promoting a positive influence on someone. What is truly exceptional to me, though, isn’t simply that I am impacting someone’s life, but that even as an adult I can still be impacted by the actions of others.

Something I never expected, or at least took into consideration, when I joined the Pageantry family was that I would get to read and listen to so many wonderful and inspiring stories from you, our readers and friends. So many of you give of yourselves with such remarkable selflessness that it’s awe-inspiring and does exactly what it should—it makes us want to do more not only for these great causes, but for you. We want to be able to tell your stories of your hard work in a timely manner so that other people can be inspired by your actions.

The powerful thing about inspiration is that it can set off a chain reaction. This is a time when so many people are finding themselves in positions of asking how they’re going to help themselves. But if we can inspire each other to devote just five hours per month to our causes or our platforms, then maybe we can help people out of their downturns or depressions. Positivity begets positive results. I used to think that was a myth, because sometimes it feels like for every positive action we commit, there are 10 people who take a step back. Again, though, it took the actions of people like our readers and the aforementioned married couple to make me realize that I, too, had the power of inspiration.

What it comes down to is how we manage our time and how we balance our priorities, because if you can give just five hours of your month to a cause or to a new platform, then I guarantee you that within months you’ll be up to 20 hours a month. Here’s the perfect personal example —what started as four hours a month with Big Brothers, turned into five hours per week with my little brother, then two hours a week mentoring at a middle school and another 10 hours per month at the SPCA. And on top of everything, because of what Pageantry’s readers have inspired me to do, I’ve started my own non-profit organization to spend my weekends helping underprivileged teens prepare for and find part-time employment by working with locally-owned businesses to help create part-time work for them.

That’s the power of inspiration. All it takes is one person to inspire a few, and then the dominoes start falling. That kind of dedication and involvement can do more for one person’s life than any winning Powerball ticket ever could.