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Discipline to Success:

The Components of Well-Roundness

So they committed themselves to the will of God and resolved to proceed.
William Bradford of Plymouth Plantation, 1620.

continuation from BLOG post: part VI.b

Our character has five distinct character attributes or disciplines: physical, physical temperance, education, social and spiritual. These attributes make up our individual personality.

Last week, we were discussing making character changes to build the discipline we need for success. We continue our discussion here.

continue

Each character attribute carries equal weight — meaning that each attribute is equally important and must be equally developed to shape a well-rounded character. But the levels of energy and motivation will vary for each attribute. One attribute may require less energy to develop than another. And a second attribute will have a greater impact on motivation than another. These are important concepts to remember.

We turn to the Inverse Pyramid Model to demonstrate these concepts. The model uses the X,Y coordinate axis to measure energy and motivation among the five character attributes. Let’s begin measuring energy using the X-coordinate illustrated below.

There are two types of energy forces: internal energy and external energy. Internal energy are the forces (or actions) that you control or manage — such as the self-when, self-where, and self-how. External energy, on the opposite end of the scale, are the forces (or actions) that are controlled or managed by outside influences — such as other people or external factors. I’ll use several examples to explain these concepts further.

We can approximate the amount of total energy required to make a character change on the horizontal X-coordinate using two segments: internal and external energy (measured in units). Any character change will require both internal and external energy. The combination of these two energy forces equals total energy required to make a character change.

Let’s take the physical character attribute and plot it in the model above. The model will measure the amount of total energy required to develop and strengthen the physical attribute. We begin with the following example.

Susan is a young graduate student who landed a nice research position with a Fortune 100 company. The job will be demanding on her time and she will need to utilize her time more efficiently. Susan tires easily by late afternoon and often feels sluggish. She decides to strengthen her physical attribute to become more active and alert.

Her physical development begins with an early morning jog. What energy forces will she need to achieve this physical development goal?

Internal Energy Forces:
Factors you control — the how, when, and where.

1) Susan will need a good pair of running shoes. The amount of energy expensed to obtain a pair of running shoes is very little. Susan can simply buy a pair of shoes at a local department store.

2) Susan will need to find a place to run. If Susan doesn’t live near a field and running track, she can simply jog along a side road that is safe. The energy expended to secure a mile of running ground is very little.

3) Susan needs to schedule the time to run. She needs to allocate time to awake, dress, stretch and jog the necessary distance before going to work. There is little or no energy required to achieve this step.

4) Finally, Susan will need to “. . . do it.” She will need to —

— Draw her legs out of bed when the alarm sounds.
— Stretch a little to get the circulation flowing.
— Dress in a jogging outfit that’s suitable for the weather.
— Tie her shoe laces.
— Stretch for 5-10 minutes before her jog.
— Open the front door of her house.
— Begin her run.

External Energy Forces:
Factors controlled by other people or outside influences.

1) Susan might need to schedule her jog around other people. She won’t have any problem if she lives alone. But if she is married or lives with other people, she will need to schedule her morning jog so that it doesn’t conflict with her house mates. This should require little to no energy.

2) The weather is an external factor to consider. If Susan lives in inclement weather conditions, she will likely expend more external energy to achieve her physical goal. She might join an indoor jogging club, enroll for an aerobics class, or jog standing in-place during bad weather.

Let’s now approximate the amount of internal and external energy required to develop Susan’s physical attribute goal and plot the amount in the model below:

Internal Energy:
Jogging Shoes: No Energy Required
Jogging Ground: No to Little Energy Required
Jogging Schedule: No to Little Energy Required
Jogging Preparation: No to Little Energy Required
Jogging: Moderate to High Amount of Energy Required

External Energy:
Scheduling w/ People: No to Little Energy Required
Weather: Little to Moderate Energy Required

Total Required Energy:
Low to Moderate Amount of Total Energy.
(internal and external)

We can see from the scale (this is an approximation only) that Susan will expend more internal energy than external energy. Most of the forces necessary to complete this goal are internal — it’s dependent on Susan’s willpower. By totaling the two energies, Susan will expend a low to moderate amount of total energy to achieve her physical development goal.

Next time, we plot another example that we take more energy to achieve.

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Seizing an opportunity is all about timing, therefore for the person who owns a home and is looking to refinance, consideration must be given today whether to seek a new loan immediately. Why the rush? Because, no one knows what mortgage rates will be six weeks or six months from now. They could continue to drop, but they can just as easily start climbing again.

Take Action Now If You Need To Refinance

If you’re like the vast majority of American homeowners who is satisfied with their current mortgage, then you need not do anything. However, if you are part of that small segment of homeowners who is in danger of losing their homes or under financial pressure as their mortgage rate resets, then taking action as soon as possible is advisable.

Aren’t Rates Set By The Fed?

Rates are affected by what the federal government does, particularly as the federal rate fluctuates, but that is only part of the equation. Your specific rate is actually determined through secondary markets such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, mortgage investment arms founded by the federal government.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, along with other mortgage investors, buy up loans that lenders make and either hold them as an investment portfolio or bundle them with other loans into mortgage-backed securities. These securities are sold to mutual funds, stock investors, and other parties, who trade them much the same as Treasury securities and bonds are traded.

Take Action Now

Perhaps you are waiting for mortgage rates to slip another 1/8 to 1/4 percent before you take action. Unfortunately, even if the Federal Reserve cuts their fund rates as they are expected to do once again in March, there isn’t a guarantee that mortgage rates will also decline. In fact, sometimes a slight up tick in financing rates takes place. Again, other factors weigh in besides the fed rate.

Yes, everyone wants to receive the lowest rate possible when financing a home, car, or special project. But, to delay can be costly adding hundreds of dollars annually to loan costs for consumers who gambled and lost.

For more information about refinancing, please visit SayLending.com to make the right choice in home refinancing. Check out the helpful smart money tips to learn about important ways for you to save money.

Tags: Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, home refinance, mortgage loan, mortgage rates, smart money tips

When the U.S. Treasury starts sending out economic stimulus package checks this June, the hope is that the billions of dollars of money received by eligible citizens will be poured right back into the economy to give it at least a temporary boost. If you are a politician, you hope that the boost will aid your constituents, some of whom have been hard-pressed to make ends meet over the past year.

At the very least, the checks will aid some political pros as they seek reelection this year. Okay, a bit of a cynical remark on my part, but not too far from the truth!

Although politicians are hoping that you will spend your money, early surveys are indicating that one-quarter of the recipients will put their checks into savings while a near-equal number of citizens will use the funds to pay off debt. The remaining recipients will probably spend their money with some doing it with reckless abandon while others will look at their checks as a special opportunity to spend their money wisely.

If you fall into the latter group of recipients, the following tips can help you get a lot of bang out of every buck received, especially if you own your home:

Pay Down Your Mortgage. If you still owe money on your home, why not consider applying your check to reducing your mortgage burden? Deposit the check in your checking account and send an equal amount of funds to your mortgage lender, stipulating that the funds are to be used to reduce your principle. You could shave several months off of your mortgage term by taking action now.

Start a Home Improvement Project. If you are handy around the house and have considered replacing windows, adding a sliding door or taking on some other small project, you can expect that when the checks start to go out that some hardware stores and home improvement centers will be running terrific sales. They want a piece of the package and the one way to entice you in is by dropping prices. Those $1500 French doors could drop to $1200 just in time for your project to begin.

Hire A Contractor. If you aren’t handy around the home, contractors would love to do the work for you. Those three or four electrical or plumbing issues around your home can be handled in one fell swoop. Use your stimulus check to pay your electrician and plumber and enjoy your new fixtures thanks to the check you will receive.

Each of these three tips do the same thing: add value to your most important investment, which is your home. One thing to keep in mind about the economic stimulus package is that you’ll have to file your 2007 federal tax return in order to qualify. Other rules and restrictions may play in, so visit the IRS’ site for more information.

Why not plan your home improvement project now to see just how far your stimulus check could go? Use a budgeting worksheet to make planning a snap.

Tags: economic stimulus package, Home Improvement, income tax check, Internal Revenue Service, IRS, tax rebate, US Treasury