To my American friends, I hope you all are enjoying your holiday. Today, for those that aren’t aware, is Labor Day, a national holiday that commemorates the efforts of the American labor force. It’s taken many decades of work, negotiation, and standing up for the rights of workers, but we in America benefit from a body of laws that projects us in many ways. For that, I am thankful.

However, the downside of labor in the US is having to participate in a system that still manages to take more from its labor force than it gives in return. Even the most diligent workers have to deal with unfair treatment in the workplace, a lack of adequate healthcare after leaving the workforce, and very slim chances of achieving comfort in the elder years. It’s a system where the amount of work completed doesn’t usually correlate to rewards: in fact, the current work system usually penalizes the hardest and most efficient workers.

So, what that means for the savviest among us is that we must aim to labor LESS. In the words of the old adage, work smarter, not harder. Part of working smarter means letting our money work for us, instead of us working for money. Our energy can be depleted, and we can experience burn out if we’re trying to leverage the majority of our physical energy to create the lifestyle we desire. We have to learn to utilize our mental energy and strategies to create frameworks that put our money to work on our behalf, so that our initial investment of time, energy and resources can continue replicating itself for many subsequent years.

I’m looking forward to exploring more ways to work less, and sharing those findings with you all. I believe wholeheartedly in working a little upfront, and letting that work continue to pay me for years. I’ve made some great decisions, but I want MORE, and I want you all to experience MORE, too. Look out for more posts about working less in the future!