How about this lottery ad: Become your best self!

The Mega Millions lottery folks have some fun suggestions for you on how to spend those millions after you win the big game.

Buy your dream house!

Go back to school!

Take that family vacation you've been putting off!

Build your nest egg!

Hit the golf course every single day!

See a theme here?

It's all about you.

Well, guess what: It's not.

Every major religion, every philosopher worth his salt, every enlightened person you meet will tell you that thinking of others first and foremost is the real route to happiness.

"Only to the extent that someone is living out this self transcendence of human existence is he truly human or does he become his true self," wrote psychiatrist and philsopher Viktor Frankl. "He becomes so, not by concerning himself with his self's actualization, but by forgetting himself and giving himself, overlooking himself and focusing outward."

Kind of puts a different spin on all those millions, doesn't it? What good could you do with it?

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is a prime example of someone for whom "It's all about me." He has abused his position of power and squandered the good he could have done. And he may be headed for prison instead.

How's that self-actualization working out for you, governor?

In direct contrast to that is someone like Ronnie Strength.

The Richmond County sheriff has been quietly arranging -- quietly until we found out about it -- to donate $10,000 of his campaign funds to 10 local charities.

That's leadership. That's true self-actualization.

Under the law, politicians can spend their campaign cash in three ways: campaigning, obviously; transferring funds to other candidates; or donating to charity.

We wish every politician within earshot of this editorial would follow Sheriff Strength's lead and find some room in their campaign war chests for our area charities this Christmas season and into the New Year.

Why? Well, first because they can!

Secondly, though, 2009 is shaping up to be a very scary year for nonprofit agencies and organizations. When the economy gets a cold, nonprofits get pneumonia.

And they're caught in a wrenching Catch 22 in bad economic times: As donations become harder to come by, demand for their services by those of us in need is only going up. Nonprofits get hit coming and going.

That's why we love Sheriff Strength's example so much.

We know first-hand what the CSRA's nonprofits are up against this year: The Chronicle's annual Empty Stocking Fund, which helps families in need during the Christmas holidays have a little something extra to be sure every child has at least one gift for Christmas and the family has a nice holiday meal, is in real danger of not being able to deliver on its promise for the first time in its history.

This past week, the Empty Stocking Fund was more than $10,000 behind last year's fund-raising pace -- and the number of people visiting the News Building at 725 Broad Street to sign up for assistance has only increased over last year.

"We are not lacking applications requesting assistance," a company official said. "We are on pace to receive the largest number of applications ever.

"The combination of more requests for help and less funds to distribute will mean a large amount of applicants will not receive any assistance."

We can't let that happen. Not this year, especially.

You don't have to have a campaign fund or win Mega Millions to help your neighbors immensely this time of year. You don't have to be a millionaire. You may only be a "thousandaire." Or a "hundredaire." But every little bit helps.

And contrary to what the lottery ads and Illinois politicians teach us, it's through giving that we become our best selves.