How your bucket list can surprisingly help you win the lottery too

Morgan Freeman (left) and Jack Nicholson sit on top of a pyramid in Egypt during part of their bucket list trip.

A while back I got the opportunity to cross off another wish from my bucket list.

If you don't know what a bucket list is, the popular term also comes from the film of the same name.

Two terminally ill men, played by Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson, make a list of things to do before they kick the bucket - pass away.

Celebrate your lottery bucket list with something from another bucket!

Their list included skydiving, climbing the Pyramids, and - related to my own list item - driving at speed on a track.

One of the items on my own list was to travel at 200 km an hour in a car of any type... either as a driver or passenger. For those of you in imperial measurements, that's 125mph.

It's not that fast... but it is illegal in my country except on a track.

And so the opportunity came up, and one weekend I was a passenger in a Porsche doing 215 km an hour on a racetrack. It didn't seem that fast, but what the heck - the record was broken for me. Scratched that one off the list!

But what I found amazing was that the desire for this wish was on a list I had made several years before.

And I hadn't looked at it for many months.

This is the fascinating part.

My subconscious brain kept working on it until it was accomplished.

It's another example of the power of making a wish list. It focuses your mind onto a goal... and does it subliminally in the background while you carry on with your own life!

And because it works in your subconscious, all you have to do is write down your goal or wish...review it a few times over the next few weeks... then forget about it.

A goal is essentially a wish list.

Like a grocery list, you write down what you want, go down to the store and pile the items into your trolley.

Now, here's a twist. According to studies if you visit a grocery store while you’re hungry and without a list, you'll come away with 50% more than you expected.

And that's often a lot of wasted groceries.

Because when you go shopping, you are actually predicting what you'll need over the coming week or days. If you rely on chance, you'll come away with the wrong stuff.

Make sure your list is timely. Same with the lottery. If you don't know what you want, you'll spend a lot of money trying to find out. You need a list of some kind to focus your thoughts.

Here are 3 ideas for making your list work:

1. Make a wishlist.
Write down everything you want to do with your lottery winnings, including charities and crazy vacations. Make it detailed and put some emotion into it... "I love being on the beach in Hawaii, feeling the warm breeze and listening to the waves as I sip an orangeade."

2. Review the wishlist daily.
Relive the desire you had when you wrote those wishes. Make new ones if they appeal, delete some if they feel stale. Make it a living list that talks to you.

3. Pinpoint the game you want to play.
Don't try another game if you're not getting results. Work with the Star Ranking in your LottoPredict to get the best game for your area, and stick with it. As with most successes in life, everything comes to those who persist with a single plan and follow through.

This list works because it's easy to get hungry, tired and discouraged during your week. That's exactly the time when you'll waste your money on quick-picks or not spend enough on tickets to make any difference.

When you have the list, you'll feel positive and encouraged about winning.