The Secret to Escaping "The Box Trap"

The Daily Reckoning Presents... June 4, 2014     The Secret to Escaping "The Box Trap"   The sad story of the Catts -- how three people lost it all and turned to crime because they fell into the "Box Trap." Hopefully, you won't make the same mistake, but many reckoners might… No, you might not turn your family into felons… but your own "Box Trap" may lead you to make harmful financial decisions and blind you to the real solutions for your investment and personal problems... That's why you must read today's essay by the late, great Harry Browne. It's never before been printed in these pages. If you want to change your financial lot today, Harry explains in amazingly clear detail the steps you should to immediately erase any financial or personal worries from your life...       Keep this SECRET until June 17? A big announcement could be coming on June 17. It's not just any announcement… This could be the biggest medical story of 2014. It very well could improve the lives of millions of Americans, while generating billions of dollars… Can you keep a secret? Because we're taking a big chance telling you this… Go here for all the details.         Baltimore, Md. June 4, 2014 Peter Coyne, helping you escape your Box Trap... "I did it for the family," Scott Catt told Texas Monthly magazine. "I swear to you, I would only rob banks for my family." Catt, a structural engineer and father of two children, a son and daughter, was seen as a normal and committed family man by his Houston community. Just like one of your friendly neighbors might seem. Yet he had secretly held up eight banks altogether, raking in well over $100,000 without getting caught. Stunningly, somewhere between his fifth and sixth job, he convinced his 21-year-old son -- Hayden -- to partner with him in crime. Soon after, the duo realized they needed a better getaway. So the elder Catt recruited his 18-year-old daughter, Abigail as wheelwoman. Here's how the Catts look now: It was only while planning the family's fourth job together that they were pinched. Charged with aggravated robbery, here are their sentences from left to right… Abigail, five years. Hayden, 10 years. And Scott, 24 years. They look good in black, no? The elder Catt claimed that desperate times called for desperate measures. His wife had died about six years earlier from breast cancer. He had been addicted to drugs and alcohol for some time. He had been consistently unemployed since 2011 and also had his house foreclosed on. Tough times is an understatement. But the real reason Catt did it because he was in what's called the "Box Trap." He wrongly felt boxed in by his problems. Like he had no way out except for committing a crime. Boy, did he not think things through... Perhaps you've felt this way too -- maybe not hopeless enough to go rob a bank -- but downright bitter, like the 55-year-old Californian reader we quoted yesterday. He lost his livelihood and doesn't know what to do next. (If you're reading this, Dean, you need to read today's essay.) We're here to tell you -- you're falling into the Box Trap, but you can climb out if you have the determination. The elder Catt claimed that desperate times called for desperate measures. Maybe you can't make ends meet because of rising food prices. Or it could be a nasty divorce is leaving you with half or less of your money. Or more simply, life may have caught up to you and you don't have enough saved to live the way you expected. Or perhaps with interest rates so low, the savings you have are earning next to nothing. You may blame the government or the Fed… for not doing enough to help you… or doing so much that they've deprived you of opportunities that might've been. But you know what I say to you? Boohoo. Do something to fix it right now, or live with the consequences. I'm not trying to be flippant or rude. But sometimes a kick in the pants is helpful. The box that trapped the Catts was extremely sad and trying. It imprisoned them -- and blinded them to any of the remedies they could've used to fix their situation. And I know for a fact that there are fixes -- because we've researched and published them. (In fact, we've outlined how anyone could start a second, six-figure career at any age that would allow you to choose your own hours and give you the ability to work remotely. It's explicitly outlined in our Man's Right to Happiness book. Catt or anyone else could've used that no problem.) Worse, what started as an act of desperation for them became a destructive and addictive spree: "I had become consumed with money: spending it, getting more." "The greed had snowballed," Hayden Catt, told Texas Monthly. "I had become consumed with money: spending it, getting more. I wanted to rob enough banks until I could afford to go back to Hawaii and live out the rest of my life in a grass shack. It was all I thought about, like an addiction." Heck, at the very least they could've gone on welfare. Scott Catt confirmed it himself... "When I look back on what I did, what led to this place," he told interviewers, "I would have been better off -- we all would have been better off -- if I had gone on welfare and been a stay-at-home dad." Did he really have to go to jail to realize that? No, but that's how the Box Trap ensnares most people. You become so preoccupied with your problems you can't put them into perspective… and you miss the answers staring you in the face. There's good news, though. With any luck, you're in much better shape than the Catts were pre-robbery. So if they had better alternatives available, chances are so do you. Still, you may be no closer to finding the right investment or lifestyle solution that will help you escape your "Box Trap." That's why we've published the late, great Harry Browne's secret to escaping the Box Trap below. If you read one thing this week -- make it Harry's essay. He will give you a detailed road map for identifying your financial goals… pinpointing why they haven't yet been achieved… and the exact steps that you can take today, June 4, to attain them. Read on and carpe diem... [The Next Best Thing to Robbing a Bank: We've spent hundreds of hours of researching solutions for just about every problem that could ever drive you to rob a bank: unemployment, insufficient income, lack of privacy, declining currency, overpriced and low-quality health care, a shriveled nest egg and bad personal habits. We boiled all of it down into a free, 164-page book that every American should have on their bookshelf. You won't find it in a single bookstore or on Amazon. The only way you can get it, at no charge, is by clicking here now. Note: You can choose to get it in hardback or in digital form, depending on your preference.]         The Most Lethal Arm of the United States Government What do you think is the most lethal arm of the United States government? It's not the military. It's not the CIA or NSA. It's not the ATF or Border Patrol. It's more lethal than all of them. CLICK HERE for the spine-chilling truth. And even more importantly, HERE'S how to defend yourself against the most lethal organization within the United States government.         The Daily Reckoning Presents... Our mission is to help you think of alternative ways for you to take action to improve your own life. That's the essence of breaking out of the boxes you find yourself trapped in. That's why we specifically selected the gem below to help you discern the best path to take to obtain financial liberty in your life, despite past mistakes, hardships or behemoth government. Read on for clarity about achieving peace of mind on your own... ******************************   Here's the Secret To Escaping "The Box Trap"   by Harry Browne   Everything you want in life has a price connected to it. There's a price to pay if you want to make things better, a price to pay just for leaving things as they are, a price for everything. The price may be in time, effort, money, emotional turmoil, or physical discomfort. It always comes back to time, however. You aren't going to live forever, so time is a limited resource. Whatever you do with your time, you pay a price by forgoing other alternatives -- other things you could have done with that time. That's why you choose; you hope to satisfy your highest values and let the others go. A key to good decision-making is the ability to recognize what you're giving up when you choose something. It's obvious that you can't have everything you desire. But often, when choosing to do something, you can overlook the desirable things that you'll have to forego because of the choice you're making. So it's important to recognize what you're giving up and to make sure that what you're getting is more valuable to you than what you're foregoing. If you do that, you're less likely to have mixed emotions later when the other things appear desirable to you. In effect, a box is any situation that restrains your freedom. As long as you stay in it, you suffer a discomfort of some kind and you forego other alternatives that are more desirable to you. You're in the Box Trap if you tolerate any such situation by assuming there's no way out of it. The box could be a bad marriage, an unpleasant occupation, a debt for something of no value to you, or a social obligation of some kind. A box can also be the problems involved in maintaining an image or reputation that isn't genuinely yours -- such as having to watch what you say. You're in the Box Trap if you tolerate any such situation by assuming there's no way out of it. The first thing to recognize is that you're paying a price every day you remain in the box. You're foregoing more attractive alternatives. And you suffer discomfort just from knowing that you don't like the situation, plus the discomfort of whatever you have to do to keep from rocking the boat. The second thing to recognize is that there is a way out. To get out, you have to pay a price. The price may be in emotional upheaval, in money, in time spent to make things right. Whatever it is, there is a price you can pay to get out. Part of the problem is usually the vagueness of the situation. It's easy to assume that the cost of getting out is too horrible to contemplate, and so you don't even think about it directly. As a result, you can go on living daily in a box without ever knowing exactly what it would require to get out. If you could know specifically what you're paying by staying where you are and what you would have to pay to get out, you could make a definite choice. You'd know which alternative was truly best for you. If there's a box in your life (big or little), let me suggest a simple method of putting it in focus. Take a few minutes away from everything else. Find a comfortable chair in a quiet room where you can consider the problem without interruption. As long as the situation is just a hazy problem with no solution, it can always seem easier to let things continue unchanged -- as uncomfortable as it may be. But when you recognize what it's costing you to stay in the box and what you could do if you were out of it, you gain new incentive to do something about it. If there's a box in your life (big or little), let me suggest a simple method of putting it in focus. The price of getting out might have seemed horrendous when viewed vaguely from a distance. But now that you've identified it clearly, it may lose its power to frighten you. That won't necessarily happen in every case, but it is likely enough to be worth checking. In most cases, a half hour spent in this way will lead to the conclusion that it's easier to pay the price and get out than to stay locked in the box. No matter what the discomfort, there's always a price you can pay to get rid of it. Suppose you've acquired a debt for something you bought that you really don't care for anymore. Each month you have to write out a check for money you'd much rather use elsewhere. It can be a monthly torment -- a symbol that you've made a costly mistake. Why put up with it? There's always a way out. Maybe you have twenty payments left. If so, don't take the attitude that you have to endure this discomfort for twenty more months. There's a price available that will end it now. See what you can sell the item for. Don't fall into the previous investment trap by thinking you can't take a loss on it. You only increase your losses -- in money and emotional distress -- by hanging onto it.       Prediction: Largest Economic Opportunity of the 21st Century   It's already being used to partially power Google, Wal-Mart, FedEx and Bank of America. And the company that makes it could become one of the most valuable in the world.   Here's the best part -- you can own a piece right now for only about 21 cents.   CLICK HERE NOW for all the details.         The outstanding debt may be more than the amount you could sell it for. If so, why not pay the difference in cash and get rid of the problem? Or sell something else you don't need to make up the difference. You don't gain anything by waiting the twenty months. By then the item will be worth even less, so you'll simply lose more money by hanging onto it. Sell it now, pay the difference, and end the problem. Then you won't have to write those monthly checks anymore. However you handle an irritant, there's no reason to assume you have to endure it just because you've made a mistake. There's always a price you can pay to clear the record and start fresh… Cultivate the art of looking for prices anytime you notice a discomfort. Find out what it would take to be rid of it; there's always a way. If the first price you discover seems too big to be worth it, think about it some more; perhaps there's an easier way. Once you get into the habit of looking for prices, you'll realize that any irritant in your life can be handled. You'll no longer tolerate that slow, chronic discomfort that eats away at you daily -- destroying your incentive, making you think less of yourself, darkening your attitude toward the world. No matter how long a situation continues, there's always a way to get out. As you develop this talent, you can move up gradually to the bigger boxes in your life, dealing with them in the same way. And one day you might wake up to realize that there isn't anything hanging over your head. You're free! -- free to approach the day as you want to live it, not restricted by the chronic problems that other people take for granted. I've never found an exception to the rule that the sooner you pay a price, the less it costs you. As long as a situation continues, you pay a price just knowing that the situation is unresolved. And the longer a situation continues, the firmer other people become in their attitude that you have no right to initiate a change. No matter how long a situation continues, there's always a way to get out. But the sooner you handle it, the easier it is. So many people live in chains of their own making. They cry out for freedom from political policies they don't like; they complain about the villains who prevent them from being free. And all the time they voluntarily tolerate boxes that reduce their freedom of action by 20 to 50% or more. Getting out of boxes may not get the politicians off their backs. But if freedom is so important to them, why don't they remove the chains that are within reach? Take a look at your own life. What could you do today that would give you more freedom tomorrow morning? If the dollars you lose in taxes are important to you, then what about the dollars you may be spending to perpetuate boxes you could get out of? If the hours required to earn the money to pay taxes are vital to you, then what about the hours you spend in uncomfortable relationships? Every dollar or hour you stop spending to preserve a box is one you could be using for better things. Every day outside a box is another day added to your free life. In addition, when you get out of those boxes, you'll be much freer to take advantage of opportunities that will free you in other areas -- such as removing the political chains from your back. As I've mentioned you're often prevented from using an attractive alternative in one area because you're restricted in another. When you're no longer deep in debt or stifled for time by bad relationships, you can take advantage of the many alternatives available to get rid of high taxes and political repression. The nice part of it all is that you can get out of boxes just by exercising your own initiative. It's a direct alternative that doesn't involve influencing others. All you have to do is pay the price. Instead of worrying endlessly about a vague, ominous threat, face it mentally. Get off by yourself, relax, recognize what you're paying already, discover what you could pay to be rid of it, picture yourself paying it. And when it no longer frightens you, pay it and be free. There are always prices. You pay them whether you change things or leave them alone. The price that gets you out of a bad situation is by far the least expensive one. It's usually far less terrifying than it was when you let it scare you from a distance. Pay it. You have nothing to lose but your boxes. Regards, Harry Browne for The Daily Reckoning 1973 [Now that you've read Harry's piece, you have a choice. Will you take action to escape your Box Trap or not? We've researched 101 simple and legal ways to start your own business at any age, increase your investment income tax-free and reclaim your lost personal liberty, and we've published them in a 164-page tome for just $7. The book's called A Man's Right to Happiness. Between its covers are countless stock recommendations, legal tax tricks to save thousands, NSA privacy solutions, quality and affordable Obamacare alternatives and much, more. All for a measly $7. Most McDonald's meals cost more than $7 nowadays! Yet we can put the keys to practical liberty in your hands for as much. There's no long-winded video to watch… no over-the-top claims… no gimmicks. We can't do any more for you. It's up to you to click here and take advantage of this right now.]         Harry Browne was a two-time presidential candidate, investment advisor and the author of twelve books including Inflation-Proofing Your Investments. From 1974 to 1997 he published his financial newsletter Harry Browne Special Reports.         BE SURE TO ADD dr@dailyreckoning.com to your address book.       Additional Articles & Commentary: Join the conversation! Follow us on social media:         The Daily Reckoning is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. We do not rent or share your email address. By submitting your email address, you consent to Agora Financial delivering daily email issues and advertisements. To end your Daily Reckoning e-mail subscription and associated external offers sent from Daily Reckoning, feel free to click here. Please read our Privacy Statement. For any further comments or concerns please email us at dr@dailyreckoning.com. 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