You can't expect to hit the jackpot if you don't put a few

The words of Flip Wilson, “You can’t expect to hit the jackpot if you don’t put a few nickels in the machine,” shine with both humor and truth. They remind us of a universal law: reward does not come without effort, gain does not come without risk, and triumph does not come without investment. To hope for riches, success, or glory while giving nothing of yourself is to live in illusion. The world does not yield its treasures freely—it requires your courage, your labor, your sacrifice, and sometimes even your faith.

The image of the jackpot and the nickels may sound simple, even playful, but beneath it lies an ancient truth. For the farmer cannot reap a harvest if he does not first scatter his seed upon the soil. The warrior cannot expect victory if he does not first step into the field. The student cannot expect wisdom if he does not first open the book. The principle is eternal: you must give before you can receive, act before you can attain, sow before you can gather.

History bears witness to this. Consider Christopher Columbus, who dreamed of crossing the ocean to discover lands unseen. His vision was bold, but vision alone could not move his ships. He sought patrons, endured rejection, invested years in preparation, and at last persuaded the crown of Spain to fund his voyage. He put in his “nickels”—the labor, the persistence, the willingness to risk—and in doing so, he unlocked a discovery that changed the world. Without those first investments of time and courage, the “jackpot” of discovery would have remained a dream.

So too with Madam C. J. Walker, the daughter of former slaves who rose to become America’s first self-made female millionaire. Born into poverty, she might have surrendered to despair. Yet she dared to invest—her time, her energy, her belief in her vision of beauty products for Black women. She worked tirelessly, selling door-to-door, training agents, building an empire. Each effort was a nickel placed into the machine of destiny. And at last, the jackpot came: wealth, influence, and the power to uplift others.

Wilson’s saying also warns against passivity. Many sit in the shadows of envy, gazing upon the triumphs of others, yet never daring to risk their own coins. They long for success, but fear the small sacrifices it demands. They desire the jackpot without the nickels, the harvest without the planting, the victory without the battle. But this world is not so merciful to idleness. Only those who are willing to give, to risk, to try—even in small amounts—may ever hope to receive.

The lesson is clear: if you would reach greatness, you must be willing to invest—whether it be time, effort, money, or courage. Start with what you have, no matter how little, and place it boldly into the machine of life. You may not win at once, but each act of effort brings you closer to the prize. To withhold your nickels out of fear is to guarantee that you will never see the jackpot. But to dare, to risk, to act—that is the path to possibility.

So I say to you, children of tomorrow: do not hold your coins too tightly. Place them in the machine of your dreams. Risk the effort, dare the labor, endure the uncertainty. For it is only through this that fortune, destiny, or divine blessing will yield its treasures. As Flip Wilson wisely declared: “You can’t expect to hit the jackpot if you don’t put a few nickels in the machine.”

If you would live this truth, begin now with a small step. Invest in your dream—sign up for the class, write the first line, knock on the first door, plant the first seed. Let each small act be your nickel, and trust that over time, the machine of life will turn in your favor. In persistence and courage, you will discover that the jackpot is not luck alone, but the reward of those who dared to put something in first.