Ethical question: What would you do if...

[Bill Moore]

Originally Posted by artdutra04

. . .I'd do what Ken would do - keep it a secret from everyone else.

Best decision when quickly coming into riches.

Originally Posted by artdutra04

I wouldn't let anyone else know I won, simply because people would stop being friends with you because of who you are, but instead of how much money you have.

Don't forget, money not only changes the folks around a person, but often changes the person themself. Look at big lottery winners, there are many stories about how large sums have changed their lives for the worse. (i.e., going into debt against future annuity payments, etc.)

A person must be well grounded with their beliefs and who they are before they receive such large sums, or they often will fritter it away. Don't forget Ken's earlier statement that he earned over a million in his career already. Everyone on this board will similarly earn over a million in their careers. (Consider that working 20 years at $50,000/year is $1 million.)

Originally Posted by artdutra04

I want to do something in life, instead of just watching life come and go and being another average person in a planet of six billion. I want to be one of the ones that dares to take some risk, to blaze a new path, to be a leader, to change the world. Maybe you'll think I'm crazy for thinking this, as you wouldn't be the first one. But to quote Apple Computers, "... the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do."

I think if you talk with mentors of FIRST teams, you will find that they have changed the world. Not all changes happen like the personal computer revolution, which can be traced back to a group of garage based enthusiasts. Many changes are smaller, yet very significant in peoples lives, and the improvements often do not receive the public recognition that they deserve. In fact, for researchers, the improvements may occur, or be recognized, many years after their careers have finished -- consider the Nobel Prizes.