How To Change Your Life For The Better: The American Way

“I am the opposite of progress. I am the wall it bashes against. And I will not be the one who breaks.”

The words of John Dutton III as he’s sworn in as governor of Montana…

Yellowstone, starring Kevin Costner as Dutton, is one of my favorites.

In fact, I’m an obsessive fan of the show.

I was in Paris with my family over Christmas, and we wanted to watch the just-released prequel, “1923.”

I discovered it wasn’t available on Paramount+ in France—which nearly ruined the holidays.

We found a way to watch it all the same…

Mainly I like “Yellowstone” because it’s a modern cowboy story. There’s edge-of-the-seat action, ruthless characters, and compelling twists.

But the show also has a lot to say about America—past, present, and future.

The series is just one more example of America’s red state/blue state divide.

“Yellowstone” is the number-one rated show in America… but a lot of people in big cities have never heard of it.

The New York Times called it a “conservative fantasy”: “liberal audiences mostly ignore it.”

The quote from Dutton sums up the idea of the show.

Owners of a vast ranch in Montana bordering Yellowstone National Park, Dutton and his family fight to preserve their cattle-rearing way of life against developers who want to turn the ranch into a vacation resort for rich New Yorkers.

Developers want to build a city and pave over the grazing land, rivers, and forests that the Duttons have made their home for generations.

I’m not a warrior on either side of America’s “culture war.” I call it as I see it. And I like what I like.

But it does not surprise me that “Yellowstone” isn’t popular in America’s big cities.

I think it might surprise a lot of people in big cities to learn that there are actually still cowboys in America today…

Dutton doesn’t care about what’s trending on Twitter or what’s the “politically correct” or “woke” thing to say.

He prefers working with his hands to staring at a computer… and prefers riding his horse to driving his truck…

John Dutton III becomes governor of Montana because he wants to make it the state where “progress” goes to die.

That old-school American way of life—working hard, just you and the land; the spirit of adventure, the kind that settled the West—is what Dutton wants to keep alive.

But Dutton knows he’s one of the last cowboys in America. That’s why he’s fighting so hard.

If you know anything about me from reading this newsletter, you probably know that I don’t hold my tongue. I “shoot from the hip”… I also like my Stetsons and my guns…

So, Costner’s character is my man.

Dutton fights by any means possible to hold onto the way of life his family sacrificed for, going back generations.

In a way, everything I do, everything I write about here is about building a legacy.

The opportunities I share with you… My views on maximizing your wealth by going offshore… It’s all about setting you and your family up for the future.

Protecting what’s yours.

I’ve used the strategies that I recommend to build a legacy that my family can take over, and carry forward into future generations…

I understand the mind of John Dutton.

But here’s where I think the hero of “Yellowstone” is wrong.

It’s a noble thing to want to hold onto a way of life that’s disappearing in today’s fast-paced, tech-obsessed world.

But the real Duttons of history… the pioneers who settled the West, and who built what Costner’s character wants to preserve… they were driven by opportunity.

The opportunity to cultivate new lands. Build things where nothing existed before.

They wanted to change their lives for the better.

The freedom of open spaces and finding your fortune…

What made America great is that spirit of opportunity and adventure… that idea of freedom… Forging your own destiny…

Today, we pioneering Americans can take that idea of freedom and find our fortune and build our legacy even beyond the borders of our own country. Follow opportunity wherever it leads. That’s an incredible thing.

Expats are doing it in Belize, in the Carmelita Gardens community (one of our partners), which will be self-sufficient with organic farming, solar panels, and grey water systems. (Find out more here.)

Expats are forging their own path wherever it leads…

I’ve found my Yellowstone on Panama’s Azuero Peninsula, the “Sunset Coast,” where Kathleen and I are staking our claim and building a 215-acre community to enjoy open space that stretches to the sea. With hiking trails, an equestrian center, two beaches, and much more…

(You can stake your claim here too, by the way.)

I’m hoping this community will pass down through the generations and still be around in a few hundred years, just like the fictional Yellowstone.

We consider ourselves stewards of the land and protectors of a legacy we’re building, in the same way that John Dutton does.

But it’s not a problem for us that we can’t live the life we want in America anymore. There are plenty of other places where we can… Places where the living is slow (if that’s what you want) and you can tune out whatever it is the keyboard warriors care about… The whole world is our frontier.

It can be yours, too.

Regards,

Lief Simon
Editor, Offshore Living Letter