401(k) "Investors": You're Not that Sophisticated

I’d like to delve more into what it truly means to be an investor.
Some have been taught that just because they are putting funds into a 401(k) or IRA that somehow they are an investor, with all their knowledge, sophistication, and experience.  Nothing could be further from the truth.
The truth is, if you are dumping money into a 401(k), which is managed by your employer’s investment managers, you are nothing more than a simple saver.  There’s a big difference between you and a person who actually has the knowledge and experience to control what  happens to their money as they attempt to make more.
Put another way, a saver lets someone else handle their money, thus eliminating opportunities to learn for themselves what will and will not make them more money.  If you are not personally controlling what happens to your money, nor learning how to put that money in motion to generate even more money, you cannot consider yourself a true investor.
Savers have their heads down, following the person in front of them, hoping for the best.  If the rest of the herd is on a good path, then all is well.  But unfortunately, as we  have seen time and again with the stock market, what goes up must also come down. If the herd is following someone who is headed over the cliff, everyone else is going over with them.
By contrast, a true investor has his head up, seeking to take action, observing his surroundings, expanding his perceptions, and making a plan by which he will put his money in motion to create more. Investing goes far beyond simply dumping money into a particular investment vehicle, such as a 401(k), or participating in a certain type of investment procedure.  Remember, investing should be seen as a plan, not a product or procedure.