"The darkest hour of any man’s life is when he sits down to plan how to get money without earning it.”
-Horace Greeley
Investing vs. Gambling
The term “investor” is used in a peculiar way in modern America. Anyone who writes out a check with the intention of generating a return 
on that money is called an "investor." Such thinking clouds the fundamental principles at the heart of wealth creation, and is responsible for many of the financial problems that modern day "investors" encounter.
Garrett defines investing as anything we do that has a win-win value proposition of which we have knowledge through Human Life Value such that risk can be mitigated to near zero, and which will safely yield high returns. In contrast to investing, Garrett defines gambling as any win-lose proposition that involves a high degree of risk and uncertainty, and is designed or intended to bring a return. Given these definitions, is the average consumer who has money in mutual funds investing or gambling? Unless that consumer is extensively informed of the thinking and analytical processes involved in choosing the stocks in which the mutual fund “invests,” the answer is unequivocally gambling.
Most people who place money in the stock market have no idea what their money is doing, no idea what kinds of returns they can expect, no mechanisms for reducing risks, and no idea how they as an investor are creating value in the world through their investment. The way most people “invest” is like someone who, playing craps at a casino, makes bets based on how he has seen other players win. Yet the financial pundits continue to refer to these people as “investors”—and the “investors” continue to feel good because they’re doing what everyone else is doing and don’t have to think much about it.
Gambling destroys Human Life Value because it comes from the spirit of wanting something for nothing. Any time we want something for nothing we’re not focused on how we can serve and create value for others. This is the epitome of selfishness; we’re only in it for the short run, and for no one else and nothing else beyond ourselves. Breaking through the win-lose myth of the accumulation theory requires that we become enlightened investors as opposed to selfish gamblers.
Ultimately, to be an enlightened investor, we must make use of our individual, unique Soul Purpose. We must recognize how our individual skills, ambitions, and talents contribute to the creation of value through an investment. We must understand how the contribution of our money to a for-profit enterprise extends the vision and mission of that enterprise.
Investing in this way always leads to production. Achieving this kind of insight about investing, and applying it effectively to our daily decisions, is accomplished through a breakthrough in education.
Garrett B. Gunderson has simplified the process of gaining this education through The Freedom FastTrack series of programs. In The Freedom FastTrack program dedicated to the financial domain, Garrett introduces clients to The Risk Transformation and Value Proposition Worksheet. This analytical exercise lets investors determine how closely their unique Human Live Value aligns with an investment, thereby mitigating risk to near-zero.