My dream to pay it forward to our future designers and creatives.

Everyone has their very broad and amazing tales of what they would do if they won the lottery. Some include yachts, fancy cars, and dining at the top restaurants while traveling the world.

And then there’s me.

So what would I do if I won the lottery? Let’s say that I won a million dollars. I would, of course, choose to get the lump-sum payout instead of the payout that takes many years, and so I would probably end up with $700,000 give or take at the end of the day. Here’s what I would do:

— Pay off my college tuition.
— Buy my dad a Harley Davidson motorcycle to replace the one that he sold so we could afford for me to go to school.
— Buy 100 MacBook Pro’s, and have them customized to the top extent possible.

“But, Ben, you just said that you wouldn’t do anything crazy or extravagant! One Hundred MacBook Pros!?”

Yes. Here’s why.

I remember longing for a machine like that up to almost a year ago from the time I was fourteen. I knew that design was what I wanted to do, and in order to have any leverage in that world I would need to have a computer of the Pros. I always had my sights set on that laptop, but not until I was going off to college did I get it. If I had had it a lot earlier I would have been able to do even more amazing stuff and build up my portfolio that much more.

So, if i were to win the lottery, I would buy 100 MBP’s and give them all away as toolships (like a scholarship, but for material items relevant to the person’s work) for kids around the country. They would be chosen based on need, income, likelihood of being given to a good home, and only after a portfolio review. Hopefully there would be two kids from each state chosen to receive a MBP, and we all would meet somewhere beautiful, all expenses paid for them, so they could have an awards ceremony and a huge party afterwards. Each laptop would come decked-out with the latest Adobe Creative Suite Master’s Collection, Final Cut Pro, iLife, iWork, and a ton of applications that I personally use which I would hand-pick for them.

This is my dream. If I ever win the lottery, have my own charity, or just come in to more money than expected, this is what I hope to accomplish. Other than that, I wouldn’t need anything other than a roof over my head and some nice food to eat. I could live happily in shables knowing that across the country there’s kids who are realizing their dreams and talents more and more every day, especially because of a contribution I made to their lives and futures.

I hope you enjoyed this posting, and that you’ll pass it on to others. Perhaps some day I can start a charity or come in to a nice heap of money and make these dreams a reality…

-Ben Hughes (obviously!)