A Harvard like the one I flew in and nearly crashed.

Sometimes you need to be scared into changing your life. This is what happened to me many years ago. I'll tell you how I made a life-changing decision because of my terrifying experience...

PHOTO: Daily Mail

A while back the celebrity wife of footballer David Beckham departed a Los Angeles grocery store leaving the staff in fits of laughter.

The power of a makeover.

I bumped into someone I hadn't met for 20 years, in the vast supermarket he was now managing.

"You're looking very well," were the first words he spoke after we shook hands. I thanked him.

Inside myself I agreed with him... I felt good too.

It's a known fact: being wealthy does make you happy.

But a large win does come with some baggage. And part of winning giant phone-book numbers in the lottery is the problem of dealing with people who suddenly become your friends, while alienating your true friends at the same time. The best answer is never allow yourself to get into that position.

Because as a Silverite (a buyer of my system), your First Rule of Winning a large prize is never to let anyone know. Don't phone friends, workmates or relatives. Because nobody except you can keep a secret that big. So avoid talking about it to anyone.

Here's another tip...

I raised my hand like a stop signal, and my boss stopped talking instantly. A wave of elation swept over me at his response.

I had just quit my job, and he wanted to discuss it. I didn't any more. So I stopped him.

With a simple gesture I bought my power back and reclaimed my life. Until you have experienced the powerful emotions around claiming your own life back, it's hard to understand.

A boss has power over you by virtue of paying you... making a form of financial slavery that is hugely dispiriting to anyone with an ounce of independence. By swapping your life hours for a wage, you are enslaved - even at your choice - to a life not much better than a trained dog.

Want to be like George Clooney? Do you envy his life of endless travel, exciting projects and adoring fans and girlfriends?

Well, you would until you know the reality...

The car drew up next to me. "Oi!" shouted the driver through his open passenger window, and then said something I couldn't hear. But I knew it wasn't nice. I stared straight ahead.

The same day I pulled in front of a large truck. It immediately closed the gap between us and flashed its lights, blaring the horn.

And I had no idea what caused these two events. None whatsoever.

I was in a rented BMW 5-series, driving in a civilized country halfway across the world. And even though I had done this trip every year for decades and driven thousands of miles each time, I had never experienced two driving problems in one day. Maybe once every few years. Never in a single 5 hour period.

When I told my brother about it on returning to his house in the afternoon, he shrugged his shoulders. "Perhaps they just don't like white-haired men driving BMW's," he said trying to be helpful. "Perhaps they just had 14 incidents like this and you were the fifteenth, the breaking point."

As wise as those comments were, they weren't the real reason, as I was to find out very shortly.

I lifted the blinds this morning and peered out into the mist and drizzle.

Well knock me over with a feather... just a day after I spent 30 minutes of my life - which I'll never get back - lovingly washing my Lexus SUV, a LX570... it rained on it.

What a wasted effort. But it's curious...

This wash/rain happens so often I'm going to put it into a "World's Biggest Unanswered Questions" website, along with - how do birds navigate, where do flies go in winter, and why are some people more successful than others.

Because this coincidence happens quite often. Wash the car, rain starts... even if the weather forecast says otherwise. Do I start the rain maybe?

Some people have a similar feeling that they are going to win the lottery.

They get this urgent tickle and go out to buy a bunch of tickets, knowing deep down THIS GAME could be the time...