April 11, 2016 | Gunner Steele

So I told you last Monday that I would be sharing the #1 mistake Americans make when it comes to destroying their financial future. Like most problems, its a cultural one. So before I tell you what it is, let me ask you a question...

What do you prefer to do in life? Do you prefer to be active—enjoying the things in life that excite you? Or do you prefer to do nothing? Do you get your thrills off of doing absolutely nothing? Does watching TV excite you? What about Oprah? Soap operas? Or how about watching YouTube all day? You know, those funny cat videos can really get addicting!

So think about it. Which do you prefer? Being active or being dormant?

You see, this is an important life decision that everyone needs to make, and most people make the wrong one. And by wrong, I don't mean morally wrong, I mean that it is not the decision they would otherwise INTEND to make if they were thinking correctly.

But here's the thing—American culture has failed us again. It has taught us that we should go to public school on the taxpayers dime, then go to college putting us in debt forever (even though its usually still subsidized by hardworking taxpayers), and subsist off of a "good, secure job, with benefits," so that one day we can "retire" and finally enjoy the fruits of all of our labor by doing absolutely nothing.

And of course, most Americans "retire" by pulling a Social Security check, because after all, "its my money," they say. "The government has been saving it for me for my whole life." Now, I don't have time to debunk the myth that Social Security is some kind of retirement savings account. Because its not. And its not your money. Its just a tax. When Uncle Sam took it out of your paycheck, they just gave it to others who were already drawing their Social Security.

And when you get old enough to draw your Social Security, the government will not be pulling money out of some savings account they created for you—they will simply be sucking other poor saps dry so they can take their hard earned cash and give it to you. That's how Social Security actually works.

But again, I don't have room or time to talk about that.

So here's my question—what is the point of retirement?

Our culture has exalted retirement as if it is some type of glorious goal. But think about it—we are telling people that the greatest thing they can achieve in life is to finally get to the place where they can do nothing. How stupid is that?

If you were to ask these same people if they like the idea of doing absolutely nothing (other than maybe staring at the boob tube all day), they would say "no way." But then ask them why they work so hard and they'll tell you that they are saving for "retirement."

You see this is one of the top tricks of all deceivers. They change definitions. If you can change the definition of a word and get people to believe in it, you can persuade them to do anything—even things they would otherwise abhor.

You see, "retirement" in America today actually means "the ability to finally do nothing." But nobody actually wants that. What people actually want is Financial Freedom. People want to be free from debt, free from bondage, and free to do whatever they want. In other words, they want to be free to be ACTIVE!

But think about it, most of the decisions that people make today actually work against the goal of being Financially Free. Instead, they work towards being dependent on the government. That's what Social Security is all about and that's what "retirement" is all about.

Don't believe me? Why don't you take a field trip to your nearest retirement home and ask yourself this question—is that what you want out of life?

Here's my suggestion for you—think about what you would actively be involved in if you were financially free. Then structure your life around doing those things NOW, instead of waiting until you're too old to actually enjoy them anyway!

Now that's living.

Here's the point—if you don't actually think about why you do what you do, and why you believe what you believe, you could actually end up making decisions that send your life down the exact path you otherwise wouldn't want to go on.

So here's to you re-thinking what it means to "retire"—and more importantly, making the rest of your years the most profitable and exciting years of your life. Its all just about the decisions you make now...

Until next Monday, I'm yours in Freedom
Gunner Steele
The Freedom Man

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