Words Can Enslave or Set You Free

I write this in my new city, San Diego. Every morning I take a walk with my coffee, then sit at my desk for three hours. I read. I write. I do it to clear my head, to put my scars somewhere, and to move forward. At this stage of my life I find peace in sharing what I have learned. I write mostly for myself. If you find value, good. If not, that is fine too.

When I was 25 years old and just starting out in the financial industry, I walked into the World’s Biggest Bookstore in Toronto. It really was the largest in the world back then, though now it is gone. It is unfortunate that people do not read books that much anymore. That day I walked out with seven books. Two of them were on language. That day I fell in love with words.

I learned that words can heal and build. They can also trap and destroy. Under the right hands, language paints beauty. Under the wrong hands, it becomes a weapon. It becomes a spell. Have you ever noticed that if you add an “s” to the beginning of the word words it becomes swords. This is no accident. The creators of the English language intentionally showed us that words can cut just as deeply as steel.

The first danger I found was the double bind. That is when someone gives you two conflicting commands so no matter what you do, you lose. A child hears, “Speak up, but do not talk back.” An employee is told, “Take initiative, but do not step out of line.” A partner hears, “Be honest, but do not upset me.” There is no way to win.

The second was framing. Whoever sets the frame sets the rules. If someone asks you, “Why are you always late,” the frame is that you are guilty. If instead they ask, “What got in the way of you being on time,” the frame is that you are human and something happened. The person who controls the frame controls the conversation.

Then there is the double negative. A choice that looks like freedom but is not. “You can leave if you want, but if you stay it proves you love me.” “You can keep your savings in cash and let inflation eat it, or you can put it in the market and risk losing it.” Either way, you are trapped.

This is what strips people of agency. Agency is the ability to choose for yourself. It is when you act from your own will instead of inside someone else’s frame. Without agency, you are living someone else’s life.

In my book It Starts With Gold, which I co-wrote with Adrian C. Spitters, we showed how the Financial Industrial Complex uses these traps on entire populations. The Financial Industrial Complex is the network of central banks, governments, regulators, and big financial firms that control money. It thrives because people accept its double binds, frames, and double negatives without question.

Here are examples we laid out in It Starts With Gold:

• Double Bind: “You must save for retirement in the stock market, but if it crashes it is your fault for not diversifying. If you do not save, you will have nothing.” Every road is a loss.
• Frame: “Student loans are an investment in your future.” Once you believe that, you are signing your life over to decades of debt.
• Double Negative: “You can retire early and run out of money, or work until you are 70.” Neither is freedom.

This is why Adrian and I wrote It Starts With Gold and why we are finishing Killing Crypto. Someone needed to turn the tables and throw the double binds and false frames back on the Financial Industrial Complex itself. Between the two of us we have more than 70 years inside this system. We know how it works. And we know how it enslaves.

So how do you protect yourself? You ask simple questions. Who set this frame? Was it me or them? Is there a third option I am not being shown? If both choices make me lose, am I in a double bind? Am I really free, or are both paths the same cage?

The Greek philosopher Socrates gave the answer thousands of years ago: Know Thyself. If you know yourself, you will not walk blindly into someone else’s trap. The best way to avoid a double bind or a false frame is not to enter it in the first place. Once you step in, it can take years to get out. I know. I have scars to prove it. I count myself lucky. I walked through some of the hardest doors, got caught in some of the worst binds, and somehow managed to get out. That is why I write. To pass on what I have learned.

And here is the hard truth. Some people use these tricks without even knowing it. Others know exactly what they are doing. Either way, you cannot let yourself stay caught. Most of the time, the best answer is to walk away. Sometimes you cannot. Sometimes you have to turn the mirror back on them. I do not like doing it. I despise it. But I have learned there are binds so dangerous they can cost you your peace, your freedom, and even your life.

This is why Adrian and I have committed ourselves through our newsletter The Merrick Spitters Reset Report and through our books It Starts With Gold and Killing Crypto. Our work is about showing people the traps for what they are, the double binds, the false frames, the double negatives, so they can see the maze clearly and find the way out.

Knowledge on its own is not power. Power comes from applying wisdom. Power comes when you act. That is why we write, and why we invite others to take their first steps. Because this is not theory. This is a fight for agency. A fight for sovereignty.

We are building a community of sovereign individuals that have taken back the narrative. If you are reading this, the question is simple: are you ready to step out of the bleachers and onto the field? The game is already on. The choice is yours.

Peter J. Merrick, TEP

I write these words because I have seen how language, frames, and false choices can strip people of their agency. The same is true in finance. Without clarity, people unknowingly surrender control of their wealth to the very system designed to trap them. That is why Adrian and I not only write but also work directly with families to put these lessons into practice.

At our firm, we assist clients in structuring wealth by Owning Assets in Order of Asset Security. We begin with the most secure foundation and then safeguard those assets most at risk. This way, what you have built is protected and endures for your children and the generations to come.

Book your complimentary review to learn how to adapt your approach for the shifts ahead.

👉 Sign up today for The Merrick Spitters Reset Report™.  Once subscribed, you will be directed to a download page where you can access a free digital copy of our #1 International Bestselling book… It Starts With Gold™… our White Paper… Last Asset Standing™… and receive early notifications on the release of our upcoming book… Killing Crypto™. 

Stay informed. Stay prepared. Take action now. I have seen how language, frames, and false choices can strip people of their agency one step at a time. The Financial Industrial Complex thrives on this erosion. Freedom and dignity are not lost in a single blow but chipped away whenever we accept traps disguised as choices. Safeguard your autonomy before complacency allows history to repeat itself. Do not wait until you find yourself living inside someone else’s frame. Step forward, reclaim your sovereignty, and choose before it is too late. SUBSCRIBE.

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