Our spiritual growth depends on our willingness to align ourselves with God’s will and act accordingly.
]]>One of those principles is Spiritual Freedom – I believe it is the most important of the Freedom Elements.
Today I would like to expound on that principle and how that freedom ties into our personal and patriotic freedom.
Without coincidence, this post is being written during the Holy Week (Easter) of Lord Jesus Christ, of which I consider myself a dedicated follower.
Let’s look at God and the principle of Freedom as it relates to Him…
In the world today, we do not have to look further than the closet headline to see man’s pursuit of power.
It’s akin to a lust that cannot be satisfied. The pursuit will always require these individuals to have more because they are empty - and so is what they are chasing. It is a hollow pleasure.
A few examples:
A few weeks ago, we were on the brink of a banking collapse – and still are in my opinion.
The greed of our central and private banks has been corrupting our money system for years.
Between bad investments, low interest rates, money inflation, etc. we have seen power start to consolidate into the hands of the “powerful.”
This has been at the expense of the working folks. Power goes to those that control the money and they know that.
Politics in our country has NEVER been more toxic. It is becoming readily apartment that political parties (both) are willing to do whatever they can to get and maintain power.
They both claim to be doing it for the betterment of society, but for the intuitive it is easy to see it is selfishly motivated. There are very few exceptions to this.
They see it as a zero-sum game – they know you cannot have Freedom while they also have power. There has to be a deficit and they want that to be your Freedom.
This hunger and obsession over power has been at the expense of society.
Crime is at an all-time high, inflation is destroying livelihoods, families are being divided; and they seemingly do it all with complete indifference.
I’m sure they have convinced themselves that it is for the good of others, but that is simply not true.
I have also found the idea of kings and royal families to be abhorrent.
It’s driven home each time I watch a Disney movie with princesses. You have a small modest town with town people that are just getting by. Then, you have this massive castle for the King. It’s exactly like the real world.
How does this make sense?
This strong conviction no doubt comes from my passion and beliefs around the American Revolution.
Our founders knew the corruption around having a King. They knew that it was contrary to God’s will as it violates how Freedom can and should be delivered.
This is what American stands for – or at least what we used to stand for.
With the abundant prosperity that our country saw through freeing themselves from the crown, I am in awe that we desire to have such a large government with so much power and control.
This truth – the ideals behind the American Revolution - have not been taught clearly as the years passed and the principle of Freedom is nearly lost.
Parents have neglected to teach this to their children, and the school districts have been more than willing to fill that void with cancerous teachings.
Our sins of omission in this regard will not be without consequences.
Let’s now compare that with God and His aim for his children.
A perfect example of this is Galatians 5: 1, where it reads:
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
What is freedom?
Freedom is the ability to progress, grow, and increase without restriction.
For us to have this Freedom there must also be the conquering of bondage. The bondage it is referring to is the death of our spirits and physical bodies.
As the scripture reads, we are being promised to be free through Christ. How can we truly be free if we are limited in our progress. How can we be free if we are enslaved.
This is the beauty of Christ and what His mission was all about. This is what we are celebrating during Holy Week - and every day hopefully.
Through Jesus Christ’s mission, he suffered for our sins so that we can obtain forgiveness. Then, on that glorious third day he arose from the dead.
These two elements are what conquered sin and death. It restored Freedom to God’s children.
Christ came to destroy anything and everything that would damn our progress. Again, as it says in Galatians: Christ hath made us free.
I believe this with every fiber of my being and profess to you that it is true!
Now, we must ask ourselves, if God and Christ wanted all the power, why would they try to make us free.
The answer is resounding and simple: They would not have done that!
If God desires control and power, and wanted to have it all to Himself he would have never provide a Savior for us. It’s that simple.
God’s goal is the absolute progress of his children and Jesus Christ is the way He did that.
Again, in Christ’s own words from John 8:36 He says:
If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
I do not see any caveats to this statement. Not kind of free. Not a little bit free. Not limited freedom. It simply says, “ye shall be free indeed.”
That is powerful!
This is what makes Him the God of Freedom.
I have heard people ask the question, “if God really wants us free, why does he give us commandments that we have to follow? That doesn’t sound like Freedom.”
This covers what is perhaps my favorite aspect of freedom, and herein lies a powerful principle. It also really clarifies how God and man part ways in how they view freedom.
For this principle to make sense, think of children.
I cannot imagine what it would look like inside my house if my wife and I allowed our children to do whatever they wanted to do. No structure at all, just full “Freedom.”
I am sure they would eat junk food, go to bed late, wake up late to go to school or not go at all, there would be a great deal of fighting, stinky from not showering, cavities, etc.
At least they would have their freedom, right?
Now imagine as they get older, those decisions carry more weight and may turn to things such as partying (drugs and alcohol), uninhibited sex, flunking out of school or poor grades, technology addiction, etc.
Kids left to themselves may not go to the extremes as stated above, but there is no doubt that many of these things would be present in their lives. Some of these assumptions also assume that incorrect teaching of principle is also absent when they are given full Freedom.
What are some of things that can result from these behaviors above?
Poor or lack of education, unhealthy eating habits and physical condition, poor routines, lack of talent development, addictions from substance abuse, and sexual addictions or children out of wedlock.
To me, those outcomes hardly sound like freedom.
Giving children – of which we are all children in the eyes of God – full “freedom” before they are ready for it can be disastrous. Most of these issues would cause a lifetime of struggle and bondage.
Conversely, when we teach kids structure, that restriction helps them grow in ways that they can properly structure their lives for success.
Avoiding the bad decision that can cause a lifetime of destruction alone will cause abundant freedom.
We teach them true principles, and as they are ready, freedom is then released. They are then better able to govern themselves.
This is exactly how God works. He gives us very strict commands, and as we prove ourselves more is released to us.
He gives us commands because he knows it will take us to the desired outcome which is freedom, prosperity, and growth.
This is very different than man. Man as a whole does not promise this same kind of freedom. When have we ever seen those in power release freedom back to those they govern?
We are told it is for our good. If it’s not an increase of truth-base Freedom, then it is not for our good.
It is my belief that God is willing to give us all that He has, but we must be ready for it. If we are not, just as it is with our kids, that freedom would destroy us.
He is giving commandments so that we can gradually progress without limit and eventually realize perfection. That is ultimate Freedom.
You can see how different God is from man. Just as a loving parent restricts their children and are later willing to give them everything, God does this same thing but on a much grander scale.
He is all-knowing, and if we trust His will, wisdom, and love; we are going to reap abundant blessings and Freedom.
I don’t know about you, but I choose God’s path to Freedom and not that of man's!
Our spirit (soul) and our body make up the essence of who we are.
Our spirit is a creation from God. It lived with Him before we were born. Our physical bodies were created here to house our spirits during our mortal journey.
Our purpose for being here is to learn and grow. Our goal is to progress and become like our God. He is perfect and that is what he desires for us.
To do so we must conquer our spirit and our physical bodies.
There is a constant conflict between our spirit and our bodies. This conflict occurs because our spirit knows what we should be doing but our bodies are harder to convince.
It is easy, when it comes to our bodies, to be lazy or unproductive. It is because that is easy and requires no effort.
Conversely, to be productive takes effort and work. It doesn’t come easily, and because of that our bodies fight that urge to move and work.
One of my favorite principles of truth is fasting. Fasting is going without food or water for a period of time – usually about 24 hours.
This practice is just as much spiritual as physical. This allows our spirits to tame the desires of our bodies. If we can tell ourselves we are just fine and don’t need food for a period of time, then we gain strength to do this in other ways.
What other ways?
Exercising, abstaining from harmful substances, having a balanced diet, avoiding impure sexual urges, etc.
There is no doubt that a battle is taking place between our spirit and bodies.
When we feel that battel taking place it means our bodies are overpowering our spirit.
When we feel balance, we know that our bodies are controlled and being used for our benefit.
There is amazing power when our spirit and body are in cohesion and working together.
This cohesion is the desired result - not conflict between the two. Our bodies are powerful but only if they are mastered and controlled.
If we can have discipline over both, there is no telling what we can accomplish.
We just discussed the need to master our bodies, but what about our spirits?
How does one conquer their spirit?
To do this we must have truth as our foundation. If we try to master our spirits based upon incorrect truth, our efforts will haven been in vain.
We cannot follow something incorrect and expect proper growth – at least in the correct direction that is.
This truth is delivered to us by God. Period.
First, we must learn and understand these important truths.
Second, we must accept them as truth.
Third, we must act on it.
Fourth, we must stay consistent and compound our growth.
Spiritual growth is a lifetime pursuit - or more apply it is an eternal pursuit.
Our spiritual growth depends on our willingness to align ourselves with God’s will and act accordingly.
As we do, we are in better control of our bodies and spirit.
As we do this, we will find that the voice of God is better able to direct and inspire us in our lives.
It also declutters and removes anything that destroys our ability to hear and follow God.
The result is spiritual Freedom!
You know something is powerful when you see the world combining against that principle. This is exactly what we see with Freedom.
I believe it to be the most important principle there is. It should be our basis for every decision that we make.
To do this, we must seek and receive those truths from God. We cannot falsely follow teaching that are incorrect and expect to get the correct type of Freedom.
If we make Freedom our focus, we will find our lives refined and in line with God’s will.
This Freedom gives us abundant power to accomplish wherever it is that we desire to do.
Thanks for reading,
Darron Rowley
Founder of Freedom Elements
I believe it should be the basis for EVERY decision we make. This would help us avoid any decision that causes enslavement.
]]>Over the last few years, it has become readily apparent to me that freedom must first be an internal struggle before it can adequately be an external one. How can we ever protect freedom outside of ourselves if we are slaves on a personal level?
There are seven elements of freedom that I call the The Freedom Elements – and I would like to discuss how we can better find freedom in those areas. These seven Elements of Freedom that make up The Freedom Elements are: Spiritual Freedom, Emotional Freedom, Financial Freedom, Physical Freedom, Mental Freedom, Freedom of Time, Freedom in Relationships. As we gain freedom here, inside of our own lives, we can more adequately fight for freedom externally.
This depiction perfectly explains freedom. Notice the difference between “false freedom” and “true freedom.”
For the sake of authenticity, I wanted to share with you the actual graphic I drew when I was formulating this concept:
The example on the right is how the world – in its current state – views freedom. Many believe that freedom is a gift that is expected and deserved. They also believe that there is no waiting period for its attainment.
When we seek freedom in this manner, we are expecting something before we are ready for it. That type of “freedom” comes with many risks. As you can see from the depiction, it eventually leads us into a narrow path of slavery.
Think of your finances. When we are 18 years old we are given access to “free” money in the form of credit cards and easy car and student loans. This gives us the feeling of financial freedom. When in reality the opposite is true.
Once certain debts are incurred, slavery ensues. It is extremely difficult to reverse these decisions – and some people never do. It leads from what feels like financial freedom to financial bondage or slavery.
The same can be said for nearly every example in our lives. Many addictions are formed because of this principle of false freedom. We think we are free when able to do whatever we please, but once addiction or consequences of them set in, there is no avoidance of the repercussions.
The graphic on the right is true freedom and the course we should be pursuing. Notice how the graphic shows “restriction” at the top. This should be compared with the graphic on the left which at the narrow part shows slavery. This is very different and was done intentionally.
Restriction is important and the building phase in gaining freedoms. Take the example of easy debt. What if instead of accepting easy credit we practice frugality. Buy a car that is just enough to get us by. Go to a school that is less prestigious. Refrain from impulsive purchases that are going on our credit cards.
Each of these steps represents a form of temporary restriction that will eventually funnel down to freedom. I know of many individuals who have attended dental school who come out so indebted that their financial situations are worse than if they hadn’t gone to school. How is that freedom?
Conversely, I know many people who have strong financial situations who lived frugally and are now able to do whatever they want without financial restriction. Financial restriction early on and full financial freedom later. That is the answer.
We must flip this idea of freedom upside down if we are going to obtain it. God gives us restrictions with the promise that we will be given absolute freedom when we are ready for it. We can apply this same concept to children. How disastrous would it be for your children if given full freedom to make choices before they are ready?
We need restrictions if we want to grow correctly. As we grow, we will then have the maturity to recognize when it should open to FULL freedom. As with any other true concept, we will be ready after we have done the work to prepare ourselves for it.
There are seven elements of freedom that make up the foundation of a successful life. If we want to be balanced, we must make each of these a priority.
We will discuss each element in basic form.
This is not given as advice or end-all solution, rather it is to get your mind open to freedom as it relates to these areas.
We hope these seven elements of freedom are helpful in your pursuit of a stronger and more balanced life.
No matter your spiritual persuasion, there is likely a belief in a Supreme Being that is there to give inspiration and direction. For me, this belief resides in the Godhead; which is God as our Father, Jesus Christ as our Savior, and the Holy Spirit as our Guide and Protecting Voice.
For you, this belief may be different – and that is okay. A belief in a Supreme Being is absolutely essential for our growth as individuals.
Why? Because of Truth!
It is not uncommon to hear people say, “I get to decide what is true for me.” There are few things I believe to be more incorrect, erroneous, and categorically false than that belief system. And honestly, I don’ think they even believe it. I think it just gives them an excuse for poor behavior.
Whereas a belief in God requires accountability. Because God in truth, you cannot violate that truth without a consequence. Nothing makes those who forsake God more upset. But the reality is just because you do not accept truth, doesn’t mean you can avoid the consequences of its denial.
As we discussed in our section “The Principle of Freedom Explained” you cannot expect freedom before it is earned. This is especially important when it comes to God.
I believe God is offering us full freedom. If we adhere to His truth, and structure our lives accordingly, freedom is the reward. And what is freedom? It’s power.
This is contrary to the way the world views power. The world believes it must be taken. That it is mutually exclusive or zero sum, and if I want the power that comes with freedom, then I must take from you. This belief is incorrect. It is contrary to how God views freedom. God give it to those who are worthy and ready. There is no mutual exclusivity with Him. It is a positive sum principle.
If we want this spiritual freedom, it’s quite simple, we must align ourselves with the will of God - an Infinite Being who is willing to give us absolute freedom. His principles protect us from incorrect behaviors that only seek to destroy and enslave us. Truth is absolutely the great liberator!
As we align ourselves with His will, we are entitled to revelation – which I believe is nothing less than the opening of God’s mind to ours. This is spiritual freedom personified and is the basis for all freedom – it starts with God.
Our spirits make up half of who we are. Spiritual Freedom must be our mail focus. It is for this reason that spiritual growth as a Freedom Element is such an important Element of Freedom.
I do not consider myself a therapist, psychologist, life coach, or anything of that nature.
What I do know is that I have analyzed myself nearly every day over the last 15 years, and I have come to find that our emotions – if not understood – can be one of our biggest disadvantages.
Conversely, if we take the time to understand the emotions that are found inside each of us, it can be beyond powerful.
What are our emotions and how does it compare to logic?
In my mind, emotions and logic are separated by an imaginary line, and each has a unique but important part of our lives – and especially our decision making.
Each completely left to themselves will be detrimental to us, and each overemphasized leaves us imbalanced. The key is learning how to blend the two.
Understanding my emotions has helped me better analyze why I do the things I do. Why I have the impulses I have. Helps me determine why I react with emotion instead of control. Why I allow outside factors to control a portion of me.
I have noticed that part of the reason why my progress has been slower emotionally than I would have liked is because of my unwillingness to dive deep into my own psyche. It is easy for us to fear what we will find when we undertake this exercise of self-exploration and is reason enough in our minds to never do it.
The problem is that these issues left unresolved leave us internally agitated – just as an external sore will if left untreated.
This causes a great amount of harm to us emotionally and prevents true healing and growth. We simply cannot allow that fear to block our progress as it inevitably affects our happiness – or the last thereof.
We must start today to understand how our emotions and logic can work together.
As was stated above, think of two sides of a paper separated by a line down the vertical center with emotion on one side and logic on the other.
What is more appropriate, should we bring some logic over from the logic side to the emotion side and use an emotional field primarily for our decision making with bits of logic mixed in.
Or,
Should we bring some emotion over from the emotion side to the logic side and use a logical field primarily for our decision making with bits of emotion mixed in?
This may be different for each person, but I believe the latter to be more correct – our decisions should be primarily based upon logic with bits of emotion mixed in.
We should use our emotion in our decision making, but being the primary driver can cause us to act against what is logical and correct.
That is because our emotion is exactly that – it’s emotion. It does not always strive for what is best for us but rather what makes us emotionally feel safe.
At the same time, emotion cannot be ignored because it brings in our intuition and past experiences.
Our emotions have the power to control every aspect of who we are, it’s for this reason that the Freedom Element around our emotions is such an important Element of Freedom.
If we can find the accurate balance between emotion and logic, we will have balanced strength in our decision making. This way emotion will not control us but rather be used to our advantage.
I have always found the quote by the Dalai Lama interesting as it relates to health and feel like it sums up nicely how we often neglect our physical bodies.
When asked what surprised him most about humankind, he said:
That man sacrifices his health to make money, then he sacrifices his money to regain his health.
I believe we often underestimate just how much our health limits our true potential.
Any limit that is placed on our ability to do something we desire is a form of slavery. If we want to have the freedom to do whatever we desire, our physical bodies are a key component in being able to do this.
I understand that there are things that are outside of our control – disability, deformity, chronic health issues, etc. – but for this section we are concerned with what we can control. And, even if we suffer from some of items listed above, there is still a lot we can do to optimize our health no matter our situation.
Our physical well being is an area where it is easy to make excuses for why we are not making it a priority – I don’t have the time, I don’t have the money to go to a gym or eat better, I can’t lose weight or gain muscle.
Being honest with ourselves is going to be very important if you want to make progress with your physical body. Emotional control is key here – as we discusses above – because if we have emotional control we can better determine what our true desires are and take excuses out of the equation.
Whatever your situation is, carefully consider where your freedom is limited when it comes to your body.
Whether obesity, weakness, or being out of shape, I am confident that the moment you start the necessary steps to take back control of this area; you will feel the confidence, happiness, and freedom you didn’t realize you were missing come back into your life.
We often think about our weight and strength as the main aspect of physical freedom, but there is another – and maybe more important – aspect at play here.
It is an addiction.
You may be saying to yourself, I am good here, I don’t use drugs.
The truth is that there are many things that cause physical addiction, and yet we try to take the easy way out and only label drug use and alcoholism as addiction.
The reality is that some of our strongest addictions lie within the food we eat.
There is excessive sugar in most of our food. This is one of the strongest drugs.
As a society we drink excessive soda and eat sweets. This is an addiction we don’t often consider.
The food industry manufactures our food to be addictive. Even the labeling is there to cause impulsive buying.
Another form of physical slavery is the sexualization of nearly everything in our society.
Pornography is ubiquitous. But what’s wrong with pornography, you may ask?
The issue with it is that it creates a lust that cannot be satisfied.
This means that it intensifies impure feelings without the proper outlet, and the more it grows the more dangerous it becomes.
This cancer called pornography leads to tragedy such as: trafficking of humans, infidelity, depression and anxiety, loss of confidence, and ultimately broken homes and individuals.
It is something that is seen as harmless but is literally decaying the foundation of society.
We are being told that sexual gratification should consume us. We see this on social media, in movies, the lyrics of our music – really, it’s everywhere we look
Sex should be an intimate act that is controlled and used appropriately.
That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t engage in sex; it is just means that it should be done inside the bonds of marriage and used as an expression of love – not lust.
If we are not able to control this aspect of our bodies, we are bound to get ourselves into serious trouble. This is no doubt a form of addiction that is controlling our society.
Anything that takes our ability to choose is addiction and causes slavery in our lives.
When you are addicted to something, even if you desire to choose the correct path, until that addiction is controlled and conquered you DO NOT have the freedom to choose. That addiction will make the decision for you.
Until we are willing to accept this truth, we will be slaves to these substances.
Whether it is: alcohol, drugs, sugars, pornography and sex, cell phone usage, etc. anything that is creating bondage must be eradicated.
We must be honest with ourselves, because the things we consider harmless are more than likely destroying us and stealing our freedom.
This Freedom Element around our physical bodies is a vital Element of Freedom because our bodies make up half of who we are. If we are enslaved here, it is unlikely we will have the control to gain freedom anywhere else.
Get rid of anything related to your body that is stealing your agency to choose.
This aspect of freedom is quite different for everyone – and that is what makes it hard to be specific.
When I think of mental freedom, I think of a cognizant ability to carry on important tasks in my life.
When I was in college, my ability to memorize material was very strong. It took me no time at all to glance over important notes and memorize and retain what I had student.
That is not the case today. It takes a great deal more effort to do so. Part of that is age, the other part is lack of exercise when it comes to that part of my brain.
I am now starting to learn Spanish and had I done this at my peak of memorizing it would have been a great deal easier.
The good news is that I am seeing this improve rather quickly just by engaging in memorization again.
The brain is amazing and can quickly grow as we use it consistently.
I have also seen mental capacity have a great deal of influence on my profession. The more knowledge I gain, I have been a stronger asset for myself in making more money.
Many of us – including myself – get stuck in a comfortable place when it comes to our profession and stop learning.
The problem is that when we stop progressing, so does our income. Keeping our minds active and learning can add a lot of value to our incomes – more on this in the upcoming section.
Mental freedom is also important when it comes to understanding the world around us. We live in a time where socialized thought is an expectation.
By socialized thought I mean from media outlets, Hollywood, school and universities, religions, are all happy to tell us how and what to think.
This limits our mental freedom as we are not able to see the world as it really is. This causes enslavement because we are beholden to other individuals for our thoughts.
To counter this, we should be digesting many sources of information, and be careful with other sources.
I personally find Hollywood and news outlets to be most toxic. What I prefer is to carefully curate who I follow on Twitter. This allows me to pick many sources of information in who I follow and get a broad spectrum of information.
Beyond modern sources of information, reading is probably the best source of information – that’s my opinion at least.
Finding great writers who inspire and enlighten – even if it isn’t present day information – can help us think critically and better understand the world around us.
Our mental freedom is such an important asset for us. It deserves a great deal of focus in our lives.
Our mind is the driving force for what we do and will grow in proportion to the effort we put into it.
Having a clear mind is also key here. Anything that goes into our mind that causes clutter or chaos will impact our cognizant ability – which steals our mental freedom.
A few things come to mind here….
The media we are digesting. If it is polluted (spiritually destructive) or mindless (lacking intellect or information) it hurts our minds.
We should be careful to only input things that expand what is going on in our minds – anything else is a cancer.
If we want to expand our mental freedom, we need to input things that will make it grow.
Think of your mind as a plant. Proper soil, nutrients, water, sunlight will help the plant to grow.
We need to add these same things to our minds: uplifting material, intelligent and insightful ideas, positive affirmations, etc.
The Freedom Element principle around our minds is a key Element of Freedom because our minds are a main driving force for our bodies.
Our goal for mental freedom should be to liberate and grow our minds. Get rid of anything that is stifling it and add to it anything that will make it grow.
This is a type of freedom that we hear very little about – and I believe that is because it is not well understood.
What do I mean by relationship freedom?
The family is the basic and most important unit in any society. It is also God’s unit of creation for how we grow as His children. It is inside the family that the most impactful growth can take place.
When this is disrupted, its consequences are severe – and result in a great deal of slavery.
Let’s take divorce as a prime example.
When two parents decide to split (not taking a stance if the decision is warranted or not, that is for another discussion) there is a division of the family unit.
Inevitably, time is going to be lost between former spouses as well as between parents and their kids.
True freedom in Relationships is being able to spend as much time as possible with those you love, and any type of restriction – which divorce causes – is a lack of freedom.
Where you could once walk down the hall to see your kid, you are now waiting until your approved time so spend time with them.
I cannot think of a more dreadful situation. Divorce also has a massive impact on your financial freedom (covered in the next section.)
The void that takes place also leaves each of the former spouses in a weakened emotional, financial, mental, physical, etc. state – which are all other forms of the loss of The Elements of Freedom.
Keeping relationships ships strong between spouses will help keep this vital family unit in place. This allows for relationship freedom where you can be with those you care about.
Another example inside the family unit is the bond between parents and children.
When this relationship is strong, there is great freedom as both parties enjoy time together and can create more memories – without restriction.
Part of children’s growth comes in their exercise of free agency – their right to make decisions for themselves.
When decisions divert from teachings that are accepted as truth inside that family unit, friction occurs.
That friction can cause a weaking in relationships if not handled correctly. This may cause either parent or child to not want to spend as much time together.
There is no easy answer for this scenario.
Creating strong bonds early can help combat this issue. You cannot avoid differencing in options, but strong relationships and clear communication can combat the issue.
Division does not need to be the issue. Rather, learning to respect, understand, and talk through issue is key in resolving differences.
Friction – to a certain degree – will cause strengthening of relationship bonds. It’s when it is excessive or not dealt with that irreparable damage takes place.
These same principles apply to other important relationships - friends, neighbors, co-workers, employers, etc.
The fracturing of any of these relationships can greatly impact our enjoyment in life and steal our freedom.
Think about how miserable it is to have bad neighbors or a toxic co-worker. These things harm our emotional and mental wellbeing, and as a result we lose freedom in those areas.
You are starting to see how each of these Freedom Elements or Elements of Freedom are all intertwined.
Freedom truly is an all-encompassing principle.
The more effort we put into making sure our relationships stay strong will return great value in our freedom.
Not only will we be able to see and spend time with those that matter, but the toll it could take on our emotions, health, wealth, mental capacity will be avoided.
This is an area that I particularly enjoy discussing.
I have found that money and its management will either bring great fulfillment or destruction to our lives.
Let’s not confuse financial freedom with happiness – as those two things are very different. Money will not bring us happiness – it will only magnify our current state of being.
Financial freedom refers to being able to do the things we desire without restriction. If our finances are not in order, we will be constrained – or worse, enslaved.
For everyone, what we desire with our financial freedom will be different – rather you like to travel, participate in hobbies, spend money on your children’s pursuit, etc.
It doesn’t matter what it is you like to do, the goal is to be able to do that thing.
One of the main killers of freedom when it comes to money is mismanagement of debt – Ironically, I am writing this as I sit in a car dealership waiting on an oil change.
Even as I am here, I see many individuals sitting down talking about financing options for rather expensive new cars.
Without judgement, I cannot help but wonder who is and who is not making good financial decisions.
For those who cannot afford these cars they are about to buy, a great deal of financial slavery is on its way.
When we take on debt – especially when we cannot afford it – we are now losing our freedom to spend that money in other ways.
This is especially concerning when it is done at the expense of: saving, investing, traveling and creating memories, etc.
Our society has done a great job making us believe that we should have what we desire right now. Not tomorrow but today.
This is a risky and destructive trap.
It not only affects our money, but our relationships, mental and emotional health, physical health, and our freedom of time (covered more in the next section).
It quite literally permeates thru every area of our life.
This is also the main trap for why individuals get caught in jobs they hate. They don’t have the financial set-up in place to be able to make an aggressive change in their job. This has major impacts on our enjoyment in life.
Opportunity cost refers to the lost freedom of spending money. When we spend that money on debt, we are unable to invest it.
Investing is the root of wealth creation. You cannot save your way to it. You need to have your money grow for you. You cannot get there any other way – except for maybe being lucky, which is a bad financial plan.
Starting a business is no doubt one of the most powerful ways to gain wealth.
When we take on debt, or spend all of our savings, we have very little flexibility to start our own business. Not only that, but business finance is just personal finance on steroids. If you are bad at your personal money management a business will likely be disastrous.
If you want to set yourself up to be able to take advantage of investment opportunities, you cannot be broke and expect it to work out.
I cannot tell you how many opportunities have presented themselves for me because I have had my money situation handled correctly.
One of my greatest investments was investing into an HVAC business. When I did this I didn’t take a pay check for the fist 4 months.
I wanted to show this partner the value I could bring before taking money out of the business. Had I not had my money in order I would not have been able to do this.
This business alone has added many millions of dollars of value to my personal net worth – and it really happened because of steps I had taken many years before to get my money in order.
Don’t let your bad money decisions be the reason you cannot live the life you want to live. It will take away greatly from the amazing life you will be able to live.
I am not saying you cannot have those nice things – like the individuals I see buying cars here in this dealership right in front of me – but I am saying it needs to be done it the correct order.
Buying too many houses is also an important example of this. Over the last few years many households have pushed to get into expensive homes only to find out later that they are now house poor.
House poor means most of your money goes towards your housing payment and leaves very little for anything else – especially saving and investing.
These things are not going to add to your value of life…
Let your money work for you, don’t be a slave to someone else that has a claim on every dollar you earn.
This Freedom Element principle around money is such an important Element of Freedom as it impacts so many other areas of your life. Making this a priority will yield many dividends (pun intended).
Freedom with our money leads us to our next level of freedom…Freedom of Time.
This one is straightforward; freedom of time is when you have the absence of restriction with your time.
When I discuss this with others, they will often tell me that you cannot completely free up your time and gain absolute freedom of time.
This is a misunderstanding of what the real aim is with freedom of time. I want freedom of time so I can do whatever I please, not sit around and do nothing. That sounds miserable to me.
A good example of this is my children. For anyone who has them, they know that freedom of time is akin to a solar eclipse – you only see it once in a while.
We stay quite busy taking our kids to sports, music, etc. As busy as this stuff is, and how restricted it may be, it is what I want to be doing with my time. I truly enjoy being present for my kid’s development.
Work or professional endeavors is important to evaluate when it comes to determining just how free we really are.
There have been times in my life where my work endeavors have felt anything but free.
When I was working for someone else and had to punch a time clock, that was most unfree I have ever felt. Gladly it has been a long time since I have been in that position.
As a mortgage loan officer, I had complete freedom of time. I could come and go as I pleased, but my lack of freedom took on another form.
As a commissioned employee I was always chasing a paycheck. At the end of each month it felt like starting over and doing the same thing again – like groundhog day.
The money was good, but I found myself chasing the dollar. Although the excellent income gave me financial freedom, I often felt unfree with my time.
Even though I could do as I pleased, the urge to build income kept me consumed. It was a tough balance.
Now as an employer, my pursuit for free time is completely different.
My goal has always been to build a business that operates without my complete attention. I try to hire smartly so that I have employees who are capable and can handle their functions correctly and autonomously.
No matter what you do in this area, there are always going to be employees falling short, employees changing careers, etc.
This requires you to get back involved in something that you thought you had solved. This derails my goal of complete freedom of time.
It is very tricky when it comes to a profession. What I have found most important is three things:
First, be of such value that you are allowed freedom of time (if you work for someone)
Secondly, if you own your own business manage it in a way that you are not consumed by it
Thirdly – and most important – you must enjoy what you are doing.
Paying close attention to these three times will help with your freedom of time – or at least enjoying what you are doing with that time.
As it relates to other areas of life, balance is important.
I am constantly trying to evaluate of the things I am doing are important and vital to the well being of my family.
It is okay to get rid of areas that are not valuable to your wellbeing. The trick is being honest with yourself and not getting rid of important things or maintaining things that are not valuable.
It is my opinion that this aspect of freedom should be more serious consideration in our decision making.
Because of how valuable time is, this Freedom Element of time is such an important Element of Freedom.
At the heart of a strong and free country are strong and free individuals.
You have heard the saying:
Hard times create strong men, strong men create good times, good times create weak men, and weak men create hard times.
America is at the tail-end of this cycle, unfortunately.
It pains me to say it, but it is hard to refute the facts of what is in front of us. We have had good times for so long, and that has made us weak. Our abundance and complacency have caused us to lose freedom in some many aspects of our personal lives.
We are heavily indebted, physically wrecked, struggling emotionally and mentally, families are being divided, we are enslaved to our phones and work, physical addictions – we are an enslaved people.
This slavery has made us weak and easily controlled. As a result, our society is being denigrated at a rapid pace.
In this current state we cannot sufficiently expect to maintain our political freedom.
For that reason, I believe if we want to be free as a nation, we must start with regaining freedom in our personal lives.
The strength from developing this inside of ourselves helps us to strengthen others and our country.
It is my hope that we will start looking inward as it relates to this principle of freedom.
I believe it should be the basis for EVERY decision we make. This would help us avoid any decision that causes enslavement.
If we do this:
We would be strong spiritually and have an accountability to God for our thoughts, actions, and deeds. This spirituality would make us a moral and chaste people.
We would be in control of our emotions and use them as part of our decision making opposed to the controlling aspect.
We would have the mental capacity to make decisions, be more informed, and be an asset in the workforce.
We would be in control of our bodies and not enslaved to them. We would be free from the grasps of physical addiction – which is anything that harms our bodies and steals our ability to choose.
We would have strong relationships with the ability to spend time with those we care about – without restriction because of the divisions that come because of weak bonds.
We would be in control of our finances and able to work, spend, vacation, etc. however we please.
We will be in control of who and what we are and that will allow us to spend our time doing the things that really make us happy – opposed to being controlled and told how to spend our time.
These things will lead to a strong country that has the ability and desire to be a truly free people.
It is my hope, rather my strong admonition, that we will pursue freedom in EVERY aspect of our lives with all of the energy we possess. These Freedom Element should be Element of Freedom that we implement and grow in our lives.
And if you don’t currently have a strong belief or affinity towards freedom, it is likely because you have not experienced it firsthand and are more enslaved than you realize.
The first step is to make change, and as you see that freedom take hold your life, your conviction to pursue it further will intensify.
As with anything else, you have to see change and feel its impact before you have a true belief in it.
The problem is that most people never take the step to feel its power – and that is by design from the enemy of our soul.
Fortunately, we have God as our aid who will bestow this gift of freedom upon anyone who desire it. We must start by doing our part and following the principles and making meaningful changes in our lives.
This is how God is different than man. God is willing to give freedom to help empower us and cause growth.
Man is there is take freedom because it enslaves you and gives them more power.
This is important to realize because anything that steals freedom is NOT from God – that is not how He works.
These are the elements of freedom, and they contain the power to change our lives.
My desire is that you will take these thoughts and apply them to your unique circumstances and see the change that takes place.
]]>Here’s quick look at how we got to where we are today:
A few years ago, I was visiting with a good friend of mine about patriotism and freedom – his name is Jacob Sanderson. He served many years in the Army and came from a proud military family. We were trying to think of ways we could give back to the military community and help build the cause of freedom.
These conversations were taking place in the spring of 2018 while we were both vacationing in St. George, Utah. I still remember a great deal about these conversations – especially the excitement I felt knowing what these conversations could lead to.
Through these conversations, Jacob and I decided we wanted to start a community that would provide resources and information to veterans. The name we decided on for this endeavor was All Things Veteran. We spent a ton of time coming up with the “perfect name” – and still to this day I feel like it was a great choice for what we were trying to do. This was a couple months after Jacob and I first sat down to visit in Saint George.
It was our hope that we could provide many sources and valuable content that would be helpful for the veteran community. We also decided to develop t-shirts to help fund this endeavor. We thought that a simple design, a clean website, and a few Facebook ads; and the shirts would sell like crazy. We printed our first shirt (Veteran Tribute) in April of 2019.
Wow, were we ever wrong. Nothing is ever that simple. The ads didn’t work – we sold very few shirts. The content was harder to produce than we thought – as we both had other full-time endeavors of employment and educational pursuits.
We also started to feel like we had created too narrow of a niche. While the veteran community is foundational to patriotism and freedom, we began to realize it was excluding others who are passionate about the cause we were trying to build – because the name made it sound like it was only for veterans.
There is no doubt to me the significant impact our military plays in our cause of freedom, but equally important is the non-military community who supports and love this same causes – and we didn’t want them to be excluded. So, we felt like we needed a name that would incorporate everyone interested in freedom.
There were a lot of learning experiences in that initial step that helped us as we progressed forward – but our struggle was just getting started.
With Jacob’s military service – and more specifically his father’s time in service – we decided to use the name 1911. The 1911 handgun was the military issued gun for most of the 20th century. This had significance to Jacob and we thought it would be a good name to rebrand with. We thought it would pull in the military, gun enthusiasts, and patriots in general. This name change took place in the summer of 2019.
The industries part of the name we added because we thought it sounded cool. Once we had selected this name we developed a few more shirts – you can still see some of those shirts on our current site: Freedom Isn’t Free, Don’t Tread on Me, Veteran Tribute, Betsy Ross Flag, Original Patriot).
We started to attend some local fairs to get our product out there - our first one was the summer of 2019. The response in person was very favorable. Despite that success, we were still really struggling with the online sales aspect.
A few months went by, and we were getting feedback that the name seemed a bit confusing. Were we selling 1911 handguns and accessories, were we a blog, or an apparel company? In some regards, maybe we didn’t even know the answer to these questions. What were we trying to do, exactly? This feedback led us to our next part of the brand evolution, another slight name change.
We were still young, and the change was small, so this didn’t prove to be too much of a setback. Even though there is quite a bit of time associated with making these types of changes.
This phase proved to be the real start-up of our brand and business. It was just a couple months after our fair success that we made this name change and applied for a trademark.
We were developing a few more shirts and felt like we had a “decent” product offering to show. Early in 2020 we started working with a freelancer who wanted to help us with our ads. This was right at the beginning of the pandemic.
As you can remember, people were just sitting at home and receiving lots of government stimulus - this was great timing for us. I am not sure our company would have survived without what was going on at that time, it was a perfect storm for us. With the help of this freelancer, we finally caught traction with our online sales.
It started out with slow momentum, and by mid to end of summer 2020 we were selling around 4K per day in sales. For a small company like ours, that was a huge deal. We were on top of the world. We were adding a bunch of people to our funnel (email and text list, social media, etc.) every day. The brand was actually growing.
But that growth didn’t come without stress – and a lot of it. Jacob was bearing the burden of shipping as our product and printing was being done in Logan, Utah - I was living closer to Salt Lake. We were trying to understand inventory management with how quickly the product was selling. This was new for us as his profession was in the medical field and mine was finance.
Things were moving so quickly that we decided to scale back our daily ad spend to get things under control a bit. In hindsight, this proved to be hurtful for our business and a major loss of momentum and progress. Not sure if it was because the government stimulus was starting to wear off – whatever the cause, it was a slow decline from there.
Another factor in this loss of momentum came from a decision we made with the freelancer. We were having decent success, but we had done quite a bit of research into what our ROAS (return on ad spend) should be, and we felt like we needed to explore an agency that could get us from our 2X ROAS to closer to 3x+. We were making money, but it didn’t feel like it was a good return on the time were spending.
We felt like moving from a freelancer to an actual agency would be like bringing in the “true professionals” to help us explode even further. This proved to be financially disastrous for us. Not so much our personal finances (we both had good incomes) but it was hard for our business. We had good fair success in the summer of 2020 so that helped with the blow we were about to take.
It’s one thing to put money in for productive growth, but to just keep dumping money in without results is tiresome and frustrating. We burned about 20K on this first agency – between start-up and monthly management. They did considerably worse than the freelancer we were working with.
We later switched to another agency and had the same result. This puts us at the end of 2020. We had ridden an amazing wave in the fall and summer of 2020, and now were starting to feel like our business was on life support – because it was.
There were pressures on our own careers. I am a partner in an HVAC business where I handle the finances and business development. Jacob had graduated from Nurse Practitioners school and his career was in full swing. It made it hard to have other good sources of income tugging at you, especially when 1911 Apparel was more of a money pit than anything.
This proved to be a true inflection point for both Darron and Jacob. We started to entertain the idea of selling the business – we even talked to a few people about having them buy it. In the end, and after many conversations, I (Darron) decided I would buy out Jacob and give it one more run at it. I am grateful for Jacob and I’s great relationship because even after him moving on, we remain great friends. With the decline of the business, and now seeing Jacob step away, many doubts were trying to manifest themselves. Quitting wasn’t an option; it was almost becoming personal for me. They say emotion has no place in business, but I disagree. I fully believed in the cause of freedom and felt like I needed to do more to further its cause.
This takes us another significant fork in the road with the business that I was trying to develop.
One of the main factors in my decision to keep 1911 Apparel was my love for writing content. Before starting this business, I had a personal finance blog called Finance Mindset. Personal finance has always been a passion for me and combining that with writing was a great fit for a blog. It was more of a hobby than anything.
After much struggle with what to do with 1911 Apparel, I decided the audience that was established would be an excellent way for me to share my belief systems around not just patriotism, but money and mindset development.
As I thought about the direction I wanted to go, I knew a name change was necessary. But wow, after having already changed two other times I really wondered if I had it in me. I was worried about losing audience and all of the branding we had done, people not loving the new brand, and about a million other concerns and self-doubts.
My concern over these things was such that I caused me to waffle somewhere between 1911 Apparel and Freedom Elements for quite some time. I had bought-out Jacob in April of 2021 and was contemplating names for about six months before I decided on the new name. It wasn’t for another six months after that that I actually started changing branding, applying for a trademark, and printing with this new name on it. It was another four months after that before I actually updated the URL for my website to Freedomelements.com.
The summer of 2022 was really good for the brand. We attended more fairs and parades than we had the year before and our sales were great. I was able to get one-on-one feedback of what others thought of the new brand. What was also encouraging is that many people who were on our email list were following the changes (email and social media post explaining what we were doing) and loved what was happening – they acted like it was not a big deal that it had changed. Here is an article with some of my obsersations at these fairs:
These fairs really helped me gain the confidence that we were on the right track. It was time to go full steam. A decision I was struggling over, I was finally able to put to rest. I was also worried about the inventory that showed 1911 Apparel on it. The perfectionist in me wanted to swamp it all out to Freedom Elements. The finance guy in me didn’t want to see the financial loss of doing that. In the end I decided to just put a disclaimer on each product page letting people know – especially new buyers – that there was a transition taking place. As of now, not one customer has said anything about it; so it seems we made the right decision to sell that product through.
There are so many challenges when it comes to running a business. In the early stages you have to be a master at just about everything, otherwise you have to be willing to pay for someone to do it – I have done a little of both. Despite the challenges of what the brand has gone through over the years, I have always felt like a value often overlooked when owning a business is the personal development that happens along the way. You learn a lot about yourself, and it really acts as a refiner for the individual.
I had a list of really good names to choose from, but when it came down to it, Freedom Elements was the best description of what I wanted to do with the brand.
We often think of Freedom as a political endeavor, but I believe it must be a personal one before it can ever be a political one. How can we as individuals ever keep freedom for our country if we are slaves in our own personal lives.
What do I mean by slaves? If we are heavily indebted financially, physically out of shape, spiritually dead, emotionally wrecked, mentally unfit, time-poor, relationships on fire, etc.; how can we focus on strengthening something else? Now, these characterizations may seem insensitive, but if we are being honest we all have some of these issues going on. It’s not about being “nice,” it’s about being self-aware enough to see things for what they are – and being willing to do something about it.
Freedom is on the other side of these struggles we are having. Self-awareness and discipline are what is required if we want to make the necessary changes to get there.
Now, here is the key, if we are wrecked personally, how can we fight for the freedom of others. I believe this is the genius behind evil. They have done everything in their power to destroy us on a personal level. This has made it nearly impossible for us to have the strength to do anything other than just try to survive. This survival mode is a distraction for the decay we should be trying to help eradicate.
This is what this new brand name stands for. Freedom Elements reference these elements or areas (financial, emotional, spiritual, mental, physical, , time, relationships) that are most important in our lives. If we can gain freedom here, in these critical areas, we will liberate ourselves and be able to help empower others. If we don’t, there is little to zero chance we will have an impact outside of ourselves – and for me that isn’t good enough.
Freedom is God’s principle. I believe it is what he desires most for his children. As we think about happiness – which is what we all want – I believe that happiness is achieved when we find freedom. Freedom should be the basis for all of our decisions making. Ask yourself, will this decision make me free? You will be surprised how just one question alone can keep you centered on the correct path.
It is my goal here, with this new brand, to do whatever I can to help others gain freedom in their own lives. I plan to do that in two main ways.
First, gain ultimate freedom in my own life. I cannot teach something I am not living. This is a very heavy focus for me. I will share my insights and journey as I do it for myself.
Second, I will do my best to teach the truth. Understanding the truth is a journey – it is a lifetime of learning, and even more accurately an eternity. But there are also some foundational truths that – at least to me – are readily apparent. We need only observe others around us to see the type of behaviors and mentalities that promote success or absolute struggle.
I will do my best through these two avenues to help others gain freedom in their lives. I love the principle of freedom and feel like it is truly the answer to the word’s ailments. There is a reason evil goes so hard against it. If you take that away you stop the progress of: individuals, families, communities, and countries.
Life is a journey, and so it is with what is now Freedom Elements. Three name changes, getting burned by marketing agencies, self-doubt, the struggle between career balance, going it alone, etc. The struggle is real, but I believe the brand has great value in what it can do for others. It’s never been about making money for me – although that is an important gauge of the value that is being provided. I want to see the impact it can have. I want to see others liberated from whatever is causing their individual slavery. I want to see much stronger individuals and families.
Progress is what leads us to happiness. If we are not moving forward, we are falling backwards. That decline is the source for much of our unhappiness. My hope is that this brand will help us all take steps forward in the important areas of our lives.
That progress which leads to happiness is nothing more than our search for and struggle to gain ultimate freedom in our own lives. It truly is A Freedom Thing!
Darron Rowley
Founder of Freedom Elements
It will be interesting to see which party the regulators try to go after for this market manipulation - the Reddit crowd or the financial institutions.
Whither it is cryptocurrency, or the financial revolutionaries on Reddit, one thing is for certain and it’s that the little guy is growing tired of those ruling the system.
]]>If you have been following the stock market over the last few weeks, you have probably heard of the craziness around these stock names:
-AMC
-GameStop
-BlackBerry
-Bed Bath and Beyond
And many others…
But if you are wondering what is going on, I will attempt to give you a 30,000-foot view of the situation.
And trust me, it is fascinating.
The Ruling Class is the Target
Whether it is election interference, the banking system, or what feels like unfair capitalism at the hand of the 1% - it seems as though those at the bottom are fed up.
It seemingly started on Reddit.
A group of individuals took notice of how a few hedge funds were manipulating the market in their favor.
They were doing this by shorting the stocks of certain companies.
When you short a company, you are betting on the stock price to drop.
In the case of GameStop, they had shorted 130% of the shares the company had available.
How is that even legal?
Great question.
That is exactly what these individuals on Reddit were wondering
These hedge funds short these companies, which drives their price down, and in the end, they make a big profit doing it.
This is at the detriment of the company and its investors.
How this Reddit Group Responded
With a bad taste in their mouth for what they saw back in the financial crisis of 2008, these groups wanted to send a message to Wall Street.
What was the message?
We are tired of you rigging the game in your favor and we have had enough.
What they did next really put a hurt on these hedge funds.
Knowing that they were heavily exposed in shorting these companies, they started buying the stock.
Not only them, but many others.
Eventually the cause went viral – hence why you may have heard the chatter.
When lots of people buy a stock, this drives the price of the stock up.
This is where the hedge funds come into play.
When you short a stock, you are promising to deliver that stock- that you do not currently own – to a buyer at a later date.
Seeing the price of the stock rising quickly, they then had to start covering their short positions.
This is called a short squeeze.
Remember, they had shorted 130% of the stock the company even had available – which means they had to buy a lot of stock.
Once that happened it drove GameStop to the moon.
Before this all took place, the stock was at $20 share.
As of yesterday, the stock had reached a high of $483.
Talk about putting the hurt on these hedge funds.
When they short a stock at $20, they are promising to buy it later – maybe as high as $483 – and deliver it to someone for $20.
That is a loss of $463 per share.
Some of these funds where rumored to be taking a 13-BILLION-dollar loss because of this.
They are not Stopping at GameStop
This movement has caught hold and is moving to many other names.
They are even taking aim at commodities.
Basically, anywhere these hedge funds have been heavily shorting, they are targeting.
They consider it their own form of ‘redistribution of wealth.’
This very much feels like David versus Goliath, and David seems to be winning.
Many of the comments on these Reddit boards are individuals who had their finances decimated in the Great Recession.
That bad taste has not left their mouths.
One of the arguments against capitalism is that this type of behavior is condoned from hedge funds and other financial institutions who game the system.
But the truth is that it has nothing to do with capitalism.
Much of this is because of government’s involvement in capitalism.
When companies know they will be bailed out - or protected - from their bad behavior, they often act unscrupulously.
Anyone who says this is a sign that capitalism doesn’t work is not being intellectually honest.
Conclusion
What we are seeing is going to be something we sill study for years to come.
It will be interesting to see which party the regulators try to go after for this market manipulation - the Reddit crowd or the financial institutions.
Whither it is cryptocurrency, or the financial revolutionaries on Reddit, one thing is for certain and it’s that the little guy is growing tired of those ruling the system.
I am not proposing to run out and by these stocks, nor am I condoning or condemning what we are seeing, but understanding what is happening is important.
We are starting to see decentralization in the financial markets.
We are seeing history in the making.
Maybe, just maybe, we will come out the other side with the financial world on a more level playing field.
The power seems to be shifting to the people.
The only question that remains is can they hold on.
Thanks for reading,
Darron Rowley
Founder of 1911 Apparel
This is not financial advice. Contact a licensed mortgage professional or investment professional in your area to see what makes sense for your unique situation.
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In the last episode of Finance Friday we talked about refinancing.
If invested for 30 years it would be $1,012,699.
Darron Rowley CO-Founder 1911 Apparel
This is not financial advice. Contact a licensed mortgage professional in your area to see what makes sense for your unique situation. |
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You have probably heard the buzz about how low rates interest are.
As someone who has had a mortgage license for 10+ years this is something I felt would be good to address.
Let’s look at a few points you should consider when looking to refinance.
How long will you be in the home?
Most refinances are going to have some closing cost – and some will have much more than others.
There is a break-even point on any refinance.
Your break-even is when the monthly savings pays back the closing cost.
If you have $3,600 in closing cost, and you are saving $100 per month, your break-even is 36 months.
If you plan to be in your home less than 36 months, a refinance may not make sense.
Analyze this break-even very closely.
It is my opinion you want to have it less than 36 months.
Should I go with a 15-year or 30-year?
It used to be that there was a much bigger difference between a 15-year and a 30-year mortgage rate.
Because of how suppressed rates are, there is now around .25% difference, and sometimes they are the same.
That being said, going with a 15-year won’t save you as much interest as it used to.
When you go with a 15-year, your payment will be as much as 25% higher.
Something to consider, is going with a 30-year (because the rates are very similar) and treating it like a 15-year.
The benefit here is that you can always default back to paying just the 30-year required payment if something comes up financially.
You may also want to consider investing those additional monies instead of paying off a mortgage.
This is something we will cover in greater detail in a coming post.
Do I need to drop my rate by 1% to make it worth it?
This is something I have heard throughout my career, and I am not sure where it came from.
What really matters is how much interest it will save and how it will affect your cashflow.
Freeing up money each month to pay off other debt, put in savings, or invest is a huge benefit that can have major impact on your finances.
Look closing at monthly savings and make sure you are not incurring a lot of closing cost for very little benefit.
Should I consider a cash-out refinance?
Many financial experts say this is a bad idea and that your home is not an ATM.
I agree that this sets a bad precedence with your money, but there are times it makes sense.
I recently helped someone who improved their finances by $2,500 a month by doing a cash-out refinance.
Their payment went up, but they saved so much consolidating other debt that their cashflow was substantially improved.
If you are going to do this, I would recommend making sure you have changed your lifestyle first.
Whatever it was that got you into trouble the first time needs to be fixed.
That will help ensure you don’t get in the habit of using your home equity to pay off other bad financial decisions.
Should I wait to see if rates drop lower?
You have a 50/50 chance of getting this right.
The truth is no one knows.
The best thing you can do is make sure you are not paying excessing closing cost, and that you are getting a respectable monthly savings.
If rates go lower down the road, you can reevaluate another refinance.
They key is to shop around to get a good rate and low closing cost.
Not all loan officer and mortgage companies are created equal
There are predatory institutions out there.
There are some loan officers who are not as competent as others.
Do your research.
Ask others who have recently done it if they had a good experience and if so talk with whoever they used.
Look at reviews online.
If you can’t find them online, they may not be the best option.
You want to work with the best individual you can.
Even if that means you don’t get the absolute lowest rate - sometimes it is worth it to work with the best.
I hope this helps. Feel free to email me if you have any questions I can answer for you.
Thanks for reading,
Darron Rowley
Founder of 1911 Apparel
This is not financial advice. Contact a licensed mortgage professional in your area to see what makes sense for your unique situation.
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Darron Rowley
Founder of 1911 Apparel
]]>As promised, let’s build on last week’s email.
I am going to spread these concepts out over a few weeks.
Last week we talked about paying yourself first.
Ideally, we want to start with 10%, but it will be different for each person.
The important part is getting started with paying yourself right away.
I hope you took the first step of setting up a separate account where you can move that 10%.
Ideally, you want to have it where it is out of mind – which means at a different bank than where you usually do your online banking.
This will help create separation so that you are less likely to consider using these funds.
Also, automation is very important.
Have it set up so these funds either automatically transfer from another account, or have part of your payroll automatically deposited into this account from your employer.
Where Do I Start With the 10%?
The first thing we want to do with this money is create a savings.
We want to get your savings between 3-6 months of your total expenses.
To start thought, we want to get to at least 1 month.
This will give us a small level of comfort so we can get to work on a few other areas.
Then, once we have taken care of the other areas we can bump this from 1 month up to the necessary level of 3-6 months.
Savings is very powerful mentally because we know our back is not up against the wall.
It gives us confidence and peace of mind.
It gives us the first step of financial momentum.
Invest as Soon as Possible
For me personally, this next step is very dependent on your age.
If you are older than 30, I believe it is very important to make sure you are contributing 10% towards retirement.
With how powerful compounding interest is, we want to make sure we take full advantage of it.
The older we get, the more we will lose out on its power.
For this reason, I believe we should be putting money there as soon as possible.
Especially if we have an employer who gives us a match, we want to get that free money.
If we are younger – less than 30 - more of this money can be used to get out of debt.
Pay it down as aggressively as possible, because that will give you more monthly cash flow to invest.
If you have an employer that does a match, you will want to contribute whatever you need to get that full match right now.
For most employers, that number is between 1-3%.
If you contribute the same, you will usually get their full 100% match.
Paying Down Your Debt
So which debts should you pay down first?
For me, there are two issues you want to consider.
They are: cash flow, and predatory debt.
Cash flow means, which debt can you pay off that has the highest payment.
This debt will give you the quickest improvement to your monthly cash flow.
As you free up that debt, it gives you more money to start compounding towards other debt – and eventually towards the true goal, which is investing.
Predatory debt refers to debt with high rates.
These debts, if not taken care of first, will keep spiraling out of control.
These are usually debts like: credit cards, payday loans, title loans, unsecured loans, etc.
These debts have such high rates of interest that if you are not paying aggressively towards the principle they won’t ever get paid down.
These should be your first priority unless you have a high payment debt that is just a few months away from being paid off.
Conclusion
These are just the first few steps of how to allocate that 10%.
Next week we will dive deeper into the next steps.
I will also address a VERY common mistake individuals make with their money that is preventing them from making true financial progress.
Thanks for reading,
Darron Rowley
Founder of 1911 Apparel
These writings are not financial advice, just the views of the writer. Before making financial decisions, consider consulting an investment or tax specialist.
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Thanks for reading,
Darron Rowley
CO-Founder 1911 Apparel
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Thanks for reading,
Darron Rowley
Founder of 1911 Apparel
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Thanks for reading,
Darron Rowley
Founder of 1911 Apparel
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Thanks for reading,
Darron Rowley
Founder of 1911 Apparel
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Thanks for reading,
Darron Rowley
Founder of 1911 Apparel
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Today’s topic will have an application to finance, but is definitely a broad-based life concept. Given our current environment, this topic is very unpopular. But I know that this is something I need to focus on just as much as anyone. Darron Rowley Founder of 1911 Apparel
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For the longest time I thought comfort was the ultimate goal in life.
I thought, if I can control my environment than I could eliminate the uncertainty that destroys this desired comfort.
I thought that this certainty was the desirable end result.
What I didn’t realize at the time is that being comfortable also meant I wasn’t growing.
Financial Discomfort
When it comes to my money, my biggest progress has come outside of comfort.
A few years ago, I was very comfortable as a mortgage loan officer.
Despite being a good income, it had stalled out because I was comfortable.
I also noticed that discontent was slowly creeping into my career.
The lack of progress was causing me to be unfulfilled.
As I was progressing towards making a change, the institution I worked for decided to close their mortgage department.
It was a forced change.
What was a very comfortable situation, had now quickly turned towards discomfort.
I had a decision to make.
Was I going to just switch to another company and continue in my comfort zone, or do something BIG?
I Chose Discomfort
Knowing that my heart’s desire was being an entrepreneur, and that I would never be fully content in what I was doing as a loan officer, I decided to follow my dream.
Knowing that it was unwise to quit a profession completely that provided income for my family, I elected to find a place I could do mortgages that gave me full flexibility with starting a business.
A place where I wouldn’t get distracted and comfortable.
A place that didn’t need my full attention.
This decision no doubt plunged me directly into discomfort.
Knowing that I needed to get a business going quickly, I knew I had to get to work immediately.
Two Opportunities
Fortunately, two amazing opportunities came my way.
First, I had been working on 1911 Apparel with one of my best friends from high school.
The brand was growing, but not as quickly as we wanted it to.
Being in my present state of discomfort, I knew this needed to get more of my attention – and quickly.
Jacob and I started working hard to build that brand.
We have made 10X more progress in the last year than we did in the prior year.
Why?
Discomfort.
The second opportunity came my way because of the financial consulting I had started prior to that mortgage department closing.
I had a business owner who was struggling with the finances of their business.
He told me he would give me a considerable stake in his business if I would come over and manage the finances and help grow the business.
I decided to go for it.
Talk about more discomfort.
I knew nothing about the industry I would now be an owner in, but I was up for the challenge.
I knew it wouldn’t be easy, but being a business owner is what I wanted.
I was ready for the challenge.
I learned two important lessons from these experiences:
First, discomfort causes you to create opportunities for yourself.
Often, they are already there and you just don’t see them because of the blinders that come with being comfortable.
Second, this last year has been extremely fulfilling.
I love what I am doing.
I feel excited to get started each morning when I wake up.
This may seem cliché, but it is true.
This is NOT how I felt each morning when I was waking up to do mortgages.
Some people may enjoy that work, but it wasn’t my purpose.
It wasn’t challenging me.
I needed some discomfort to grow my income and to challenge me personally.
I desired growth in both of those areas.
Conclusion
I will be honest, I was upset when they announced that they were closing that mortgage department.
I didn’t like them taking away something that was comfortable for me.
In hindsight, I am grateful.
I should send them a thank you card.
It got me out of my rut.
If I had just fallen into another similar loan officer position, I would have ended up feeling the same way.
Instead I chose discomfort.
I learned that growth comes in the uncertainty.
This is when we find who we are, and what we are capable of doing.
Having that department close was one of the best things professionally that has ever happened to me.
That discomfort has resulted in increased income and financial assets.
And more importantly, it has increased how happy I am with what I am doing for work - and that's more important than money.
I challenge you to look for that discomfort.
Don’t avoid the unknown.
I am confident as you do, that you will find fulfillment and massive growth on the other side of that uncertainty and discomfort.
Thanks for reading,
Darron Rowley
Founder of 1911 Apparel
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Good luck on your journey!
Thanks for reading,
Darron Rowley
Founder 1911 Apparel
]]>I am sure you can easily pinpoint the things that you are good at when it comes to money.
These are the pleasant things to think about as it relates to finances.
But how clear are you on your weaknesses when it comes to money?
Isolate and Understand the Issue
For most of us, I’m sure we know what areas is our biggest struggle.
The real question is, do we know how big of an issue that area really is?
With most of the individuals I have worked with, I have seen a common trend…
It is this:
When we have a problem area, we would rather not know how bad it really is.
We tell ourselves: “I don’t want to see what it really looks like, so I’m not going to look at all.”
The problem with this is that those issues grow as time progresses.
The Issues are Seldom as Bad as We Think
When we leave an issue unresolved, we are good at magnifying it in our own minds.
We make that issue out to be worse than it really is.
Even if it is pretty bad by nature, we are good at making it seem worse.
After taking that step of uncovering their financial struggles, I have heard many people say:
“That wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be.”
This is even true for those who situations are indeed pretty bad.
No matter what it looks like, we are good at making it worse in our heads.
For that reason, the first step is to go below the surface and find out what you are dealing with.
Expose it as quickly as possible.
I Should Have Done This a Long Time Ago
This is also something I hear quite often.
Have you ever heard someone who has resolved a major issue say, “I wish I hadn’t done that?”
I know I haven’t.
Maybe when they are in the process they may say or think those things.
But, once the issue is truly resolved, it is immediate relief.
I have heard many people say these exact words.
Remember what is waiting on the other side of the frustration you are currently experiencing - it is relief and peace of mind.
That peace of mind is worth every penny.
Conclusion
Things that don’t change, remain the same.
Those financial struggles won’t fix themselves.
The longer we allow those concerns to fester, the more they grow.
Take the first step of getting a clear picture of what you are dealing with.
You’ll likely find relief knowing where you are and that it’s not as bad as you thought.
From there, make a plan.
Start with something simple, and as you perfect that, you can then move on to bigger items.
I am confident you will tell yourself when it’s all done: I wish I had done that sooner.
And remember, this same principle is true for any aspect of life, not just money!
Good luck on your financial journey...
Thanks for reading,
Darron Rowley
Founder 1911 Apparel
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Prepare your Personal Life and Finances
No surprise this is #1 on my list.
One of the biggest mistakes many entrepreneurs makes is that they neglect to prepare their personal lives before starting a business.
If this is not organized carefully, it will affect your business.
There is a lot of stress associated with being an entrepreneur, and if there are worries at home this will affect what is going on in your business.
Having buy-in from your family is important.
The long hours a business requires will take the support from those who are close to you.
Solidify those relationships so they are a strength to your business and not a worry.
Finances are also very important.
When managing money in a business, it is like personal finance on steroids.
If you are doing things correctly, you will be dealing with much larger amounts of money coming in and going out than with your personal money.
Your personal finances are a great place to start learning the necessary money disciples so you are ready when it is magnified in a business.
When this step isn’t taken, it is often the end of most businesses.
Prepare the needful areas of your lives to help ensure your business receives the attention it needs.
Develop an Important Skill or Product
For many individuals, their first business will likely be built around a skill or product they understand really well.
My first business was when I was as teenager.
I started working for a lawn care business, and once I learned the skills I needed, I started my own business with a friend doing the same thing.
This trend continued when I was an adult when I started doing financial consulting.
Learning and practicing personal finance for myself gave me the knowledge I needed to help others.
I also see this same trend with many business owners I work with.
Many started in the plumbing, HVAC, or electrical trades before working for themselves.
They first learned what they needed from an employer and then thy were ready to do it on their own.
Gaining knowledge or a skill is an important step when deciding what business you want to start.
You are more likely to succeed if you are working in an area you understand really well and have experience in.
Test your Business Before Quitting Your Job
For 99% of people I believe this should be a requirement.
I have talked with many people who quit their jobs before really establishing a business.
Many of them realized they weren’t as prepared as they should have been – often resulting in a failed business.
A wise first step is to start taking on customers to test your idea, skill, or trade.
It is also a good way to test your aptitude for starting a business.
Find out before you quit your job if you like working for yourself.
Better to find this out before quitting.
This also allows you to work out some of the inevitable kinks prior to going all in.
Having this momentum will help you feel confident in what you are doing.
Conclusion
Preparation when it comes to starting a business is vital.
These simple steps will help you increase your odds of success.
Being an entrepreneur isn’t for everyone, but for those who are able to succeed at it, it provides many benefits.
I believe everyone should at least explore this idea and see if it is something that will work for them.
The freedom of time and money that a business can afford is hard to find when working for someone else.
Thanks for reading,
Darron Rowley
Founder of 1911 Apparel
]]>In the same way that building a house starts with the foundation and not the framing…
Your money is the same way.
Putting a proper foundation in place first helps assure future success.
I like to simplify money into three categories.
These three items are a necessary foundation for your finances.
Step 1 – Understanding your Spending
I don’t like budgeting.
In fact, I feel like it is the stumbling block that prevents most people from progressing with their money.
When we are told we can’t do something, it creates a scarcity mindset that feels like punishment.
Instead, we are better served by understanding our spending.
To do this, I recommend a monthly spending review.
Go through your monthly statement and get a good idea of where your money is going.
As you do so, you can determine which items are hurting your progress.
The other necessary part of this process is to know what your money goals are.
These goals should be the reward you reap from smart financial decisions.
As you review your spending, you now have a lens to compare it through.
Instead of telling yourself “no” you can’t buy that, you can now ask: Is this helping me reach my financial goals?
The difference is subtle but powerful.
Step 2 – Growing Your Income
I cannot stress this enough.
Income growth has to be a top three component of your financial growth.
You are already at work, might as well maximize that time with the highest return possible.
Too many of us just coast through our jobs and perform a task instead of growing our careers.
We need to have goals of how and in what timeframe we will grow our income.
Don’t be passive on this issue.
Let your employer know your intentions so you are both accountable to each other.
If you don’t set these expectations, you’ll be frustrated when they don’t respond in the way you had hoped.
Make income growth a priority!
Step 3 – Compound your Money
We have talked about this point many times in past emails.
Opportunity cost is a large part of money growth.
If you are spending all of your money on stuff, there is nothing left to invest.
If we invest poorly, we are not maximizing our growth.
Both must be managed carefully.
Think of your money as your little workers.
Its job is to increase and bring you value EVERY DAY.
If your money is sitting idle, it is like a bad employee who isn’t doing their work for you.
Also, the more employees (money working for you) you have the more value that will come back to you.
After all, who wouldn’t want many workers out making them money each day?
This is how you should view your money.
Conclusion
This is a simple 3 step process that will help you make progress with your money.
One of the worst things we can do is be passive with our wealth building.
It won’t fall into place without us giving it very specific directions.
Look at these three areas TODAY and ask yourself: What can I do to make progress right now.
You’ll be glad you did!
Thanks for reading,
Darron Rowley
Founder of 1911 Apparel
Disclosure: This is not financial advice. Make sure you contact a licensed professional when making investment decisions.
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Founder of 1911 Apparel
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This past week I was reading a book by David Goggins and was impressed by its honesty.
He touched on something I have shared quite a few times in this newsletter and wanted to touch upon it again.
I find this very relevant because we are all in the middle of a situation that is not ideal – and for many very trying.
It is during these difficult times – like a virus - that we need to tell ourselves the truth about how we are doing.
In his book, David talks extensively about the trying situations he faced in his early years.
The stuff that he went through was awful.
As he got to the end of high school, he finally realized he had turned into a complete loser.
It all came to a head when he couldn’t pass the entrance exam to get into the military – one that should have been no problem.
He was also flunking out of high school.
That night he looked in the mirror and had an honest conversation with himself – he was very blunt.
A few of the things he said to himself:
Why would the military want you, you look like a bum?
You are in high school and are at a 3rd grade reading level.
You have never tried hard at anything other than basketball.
He called himself out on every area where he was not meeting his potential, and when he was done, his final words were:
It’s on!
He had made a choice that he wanted to be and do more.
This was a turning point for David Goggins.
He changed his grungy appearance.
He started a focused study of his school work.
He changed everything about himself that he had neglected.
He said in his book, “You have to call yourself out.”
Be Direct.
Don’t sugar coat it.
If you are overweight, tell yourself that.
Be honest.
Don’t tip toe around it and say I should probably lose weight.
Call it for what it is.
If you hate your job and do it because you are scared to leave.
It’s time to be honest and call yourself out on it.
If your finances are a wreck, place the accountability directly on yourself.
It’s Time to Make a Change
We are in the middle of a reset.
If we are taking full advantage of what is going on, we have a great opportunity for reflection.
A time when we can evaluate what we are doing and determine if we are on the right track.
As you know, I like to talk about finance – hence the Finance Friday – but this applies to every aspect of life.
It’s time to look inward.
Has this virus exposed weaknesses in your finances?
If the answer is yes, then you have a choice to make.
We can make excuses, or shift blame, or we can call it for what it is and get to work.
Find whatever your problem area is, and face that demon.
If your income is low, don’t blame your employer.
Instead, make a plan on how you can create more value and get paid more – or even better, start your own business.
If your savings are non-existent, don’t make the excuse that it has to be that way – start taking control of your income and spending.
I am not saying it will easy, but it is possible.
The first step is being accountable.
Blame Yourself
This is not a popular idea these days.
We all fall into the trap of telling ourselves that someone else is to blame for our misfortune.
The problem with this is that we give someone else control over our progress.
Even if it’s not our fault, if we hold ourselves accountable, we are admitting that we can change what is in our control.
This is empowering and the beginning of true growth.
This is a concept my wife and I have really been working with our kids on – as well as ourselves.
I have been very impressed with how it has changed the way our children view their progress.
It’s a very liberating concept that I believe is centered in truth.
This email is as much for me as anyone.
I plan to come out of this virus situation a much better person than before.
I am having these honest conversations with myself – even if it’s uncomfortable – because I want to be better.
I want to have better finances.
I want to be in better shape.
I want to be a better husband and father.
I want to see improvement.
I hope you will do the same.
If there are areas of your money (or your life for that matter) that are haunting you, now is the time to make a change.
It’s in our control if we are willing to look in the mirror and have that conversation.
Do as David Goggins suggest: call yourself out.
I would love to hear about your goals or progress, so please feel free to send me an email.
Thanks for reading.
Darron Rowley
Co Founder of 1911 Apparel
]]>
Example:
72 / 6 (% rate of return expected) = 12 (years).
If you anticipate you will get a 12% return, it will take 6 years to double your money.
72 / 12 = 6
You can also use it for something like: I have 4 years to double my money, what rate would it require to make that happen?
72 / 4 (years) = 18 (% required rate of return).
So, you would need to get an 18% return to double your money in your required 4-year period.
If you can only get 4% - that’s a whopping 18 years, ouch!
Rate of return really matters!
As you can see, the number 72 is a consistent throughout each equation.
The number you will divide it by is either the anticipated rate of return, or years to invest.
This will help you to determine your unknown.
Conclusion
This simple rule can be a powerful tool in determining required rate and years to double.
Here is a prior post of mine that expounds on the concept of compounding interest.
It can be applied broadly.
If you are wondering how long it will take your home’s value to double – use the Rule of 72.
If you have a business and need to do a quick estimate on growth, use this rule.
It can be used for anything that deals with compound interest or growth, and can be a powerful tool.
Understanding this simple equation can really help you grow your wealth in profound ways.
Thanks for reading,
Darron Rowley
Founder of 1911 Apparel
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Back in 2008 large corporations – and specifically banks – took a hit with consumer sentiment.
Being more direct, people hated banks.
They blamed them for most of the situation we found ourselves in.
There is no doubt the banks were unscrupulous, but there was another larger factor at play.
These banks knew that if they ever needed a bailout, that the government would gladly do so.
Why? Because the economy seemingly needs those banks to be strong.
When you provide a guarantee that you will help a corporation if they act poorly, you are encouraging that kind of behavior.
Executives had an incentive to take excessive risk because if they were right, they would make a lot of money.
If they we are wrong? Oh well, Uncle Sam will bail us out.
This lack of accountability is dangerous and causes the bubbles we are seeing.
How Does This Apply to Households?
While we saw a stimulus type bailout in 2008, it is significantly less than what we are seeing today.
In 2008, the checks were sent in hopes of helping consumers spend money and keep the economy going.
What we are seeing this time around is a full-on bailout in hopes of keeping the economy from crashing.
And while something is needed to keep this from happening, it is setting a dangerous precedence – arguably one that was set 100+ years ago.
Just as we have seen in past bailouts to corporations, nothing has changed.
It only took 2-3 weeks of slowing business for corporations to be in turmoil.
So why did they not learn form 2008 and save more money?
Because the government set the precedence that they would bail them out if needed.
This same message is being sent to households today.
While business and individuals are quite different, the concept is the same.
We are seeing that debt is crushing individuals and businesses, and that neither have adequate savings.
What We Need to Do?
If businesses and households both had 6 months of savings, this would be a virus issue.
But because our financial house is not in order, it is also a financial crisis.
Image how much less stress we would be feeling right now if we didn’t have the money worries.
The stock market would be less volatile.
Households wouldn’t be in a full-on panic.
It is the lack of preparedness that is driving most of the concern right now.
If savings were in place, we would be more equipped to handle a quarantine – both as businesses and individuals.
My hope is that we learn from this experience.
We can either assume we will get bailed out and go about life as before, or we can make a change.
We really need to view the discomfort we are feeling as a call to action.
Now is a great time to learn from what got us here.
If nothing else, we would all be much better off by getting rid of our debt, and getting our savings in place.
These two factors alone would alleviate much of the chaos we are seeing.
Having this worry eliminated would allow us to focus on the real issue at hand - which is a virus.
Every tragedy and struggle we have is merely an opportunity to become strong and better - if we focus on improving ourselves that is.
If you haven’t read my guide for preparing for a recession, you may find interest in it.
Thank you for reading,
Darron Rowley
Founder of 1911 Apparel
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Co-Founder 1911 Apparel
Disclaimer: This is not financial advice. This is solely the opinion of the author and does no represent financial advice. Always consult a tax or investment professional when it comes to financial related issues.
]]>Founder of 1911 Apparel
]]>When we do this we lose progress.
The act of having to start over is very difficult.
Any time we stop and have to start again it is much harder than if we had kept going.
]]>As is the case in most lessons, they can be related back to simple examples to help us better understand their meanings.
When my little girls first had their training wheels taken off, I noticed that they were scared to maintain speed.
When they lost their speed it soon led to an out of control wobble and eventual crash.
I kept telling them to keep peddling, but that didn’t seem to help.
In my mind I knew it was a momentum issue, but until I explained what was happening in detail, they kept doing it.
I took them aside and explained this principle of momentum. I told them that going slower was actually making it harder to ride.
I tried to help them realize that their fear of going too fast – because of being scared of crashing - was exactly what was leading the crash their feared.
Once they saw the need to keep their momentum up to avoid this, they were on their way.
Then whenever someone got in their way they would begin screaming, “get out of the way, I have to keep my momentum or I am going to crash.”
Simple as this example sounds, it is powerful.
How to Apply this Principle
Momentum is key to every aspect of life.
If we want to see quick and steady progress, we have to gain momentum.
What we often see in life is that we have short periods where we focus on this momentum and then lose focus.
When we do this we lose progress.
The act of having to start over is very difficult.
Any time we stop and have to start again it is much harder than if we had kept going.
I encourage all of us to focus on momentum.
What are the areas in your life that are the most important?
Start by focusing there.
Avoid stopping at all cost.
Once you have momentum in that area, move onto another.
As you keep this going you will see much quicker progress in these areas.
We hope you find this valuable.
We would love to hear form you on how you are applying these mindset principles.
Feel free to reply to this email and share your progress with me.
Thanks for reading,
Darron Rowley
Founder of 1911 Apparel
]]>This must happen inside your mind before you can actually accomplish it in reality.
]]>First You Have to Believe
This principle of scarcity and abundance applies to every area, not just money.
A great example of this is the 4-minute-mile.
Back in 1954, Roger Bannister was the first person to ever run a full mile in less than four minutes. Prior to his achievement, it was accepted as impossible.
This is scarcity thinking. Why did everyone say it was impossible?
Because it hadn’t been done.
Well, along comes Roger Bannister to prove you are only limited by your thinking.
It only took 46 days after Roger broke the 4-minute-mile for the next person to do it. This time it was even faster than Roger.
Since this feat was accomplished, and the mindset barrier removed, over 1400+ athletes have now run a 4-minute-mile.
Think about that. It took only one person to show the world it could be done, and that one person was Roger Bannister.
There are millions of examples of this same thing happening throughout history.
And yet, we struggle to believe we can’t get a better job, create a meaningful family, retire wealthy, start a business, lose weight, etc.
It’s only true if we believe it and accept it.
Applying This Principle
Your goal may not be to run a 4-minute-mile, but hopefully you have lofty aspirations of your own.
Roger Bannister had to fight the sigma from others that he couldn’t run a mile that fast because no one ever had.
He was fighting an entire sport that was saying it couldn’t be done.
You may find that the person you likely have to fight is yourself.
If you have a lofty goal that you want to accomplish, the first step is persuading yourself that it can be done.
This must happen inside your mind before you can actually accomplish it in reality.
What is it you want to do?
Do you believe it is possible or are you doubting yourself?
What do you need to get out of your way to start believing?
I have found that the easiest way to break down this doubt is by starting with something small inside my main goal.
Once I see that it is not that scary or hard, I then build upon it.
As you gain momentum and confidence, you can accelerate this goal.
I want to encourage all of us to tackle our version of the 4-minute-mile.
It can be done, but we must first believe in ourselves.
Good luck!
Thanks for reading,
Darron Rowley
Founder of 1911 Apparel
]]>
Our hope is that these short bits will help all of us to become better Patriots.
And not just patriots in our communities, but in our homes, our workplace, and individually.
In these short excerpts, I will share a few points from each chapter of our book.
Today’s thought comes from Chapter 1 – A Mindset of Abundance.
Here it is:
I have been fortunate in my life to have never experienced extreme financial struggle - other than a few years as a poor college student.
I have, however, seen it first-hand and am very sympathetic to its difficulties.
One thing I know for certain is that there exists a very different belief system between those who struggle with money, and those who have risen above it.
What it ultimately comes down to is mindset, and to be more specific, the mindset of abundance and scarcity.
These two mindsets are as different as day is from night.
The encouraging thing is that I have also seen people change their views and move from scarcity to abundance.
The main difference in these two mindsets really comes down to outlook.
Those who think abundantly are optimistic and have a belief system of hope.
Those who suffer from scarcity are pessimistic and hopeless.
We see the scarcity mindset at work with people who either hate their jobs, or are miserable because they are underpaid.
Both of these result in misery and discontent.
So why do people stay at jobs they don’t like?
Because of scarcity.
They either don’t believe there is anything better, or they don’t think they deserve more - both limit their potential for growth.
Applying This Principle
This portion from the book is related to money but applies to any aspect of life.
I am very sympathetic to individuals who are going through hardships financially – and am not referring to extreme poverty.
But there is BIG difference in mindset with those who are determined to fixed their money issues – and those who have accepted that it will never change.
This is the part of mindset we should focus on. Not the parts we cannot control.
Divorce, health issues, loss of loved ones, etc.
All of these can hurt out finances – and are often out of our control.
But most financial issues are in our control.
Abundance is the belief we can change our situation.
Scarcity is the belief that we are doomed and nothing can be done.
The first step is to believe we can change and improve.
Whether it is a job that underpays, excessive debt, or low savings.
These are ALL in our control and we must believe we can make a change.
Once we have accepted this, we can get to work on making it happen.
This principle can and should be applied to every aspect of life.
There is great opportunity and abundance all around us.
The first step is adopting a mindset of abundance and believing we can improve ad that there are no limits to what we can accomplish.
The rest is up to us.
Thanks for reading,
Darron Rowley
Founder of 1911 Apparel
]]>The unique thing about this particular game is that you are both the offense and the defense.
]]>At its foundation, mindset can be summed up as the mental game you are playing inside your own mind.
The unique thing about this particular game is that you are both the offense and the defense.
What this means is that before you can adequately go out and compete against others, you must first win the internal battle inside yourself.
If left unchecked, the mind will naturally deteriorate.
The reason for this is simple, because progress is difficult and won’t naturally build without concerted effort.
Think of this principle of natural decline in terms of your fitness.
How often do you see someone who is physically fit that doesn’t have disciplined eating and an exercise regimen?
Muscles do not grow by themselves.
Eating correctly and exercising your muscles will make you stronger – that’s a fact.
The same can be said for your mind.
While the brain is often called a muscle, it is not, it is an organ.
So why is it mistaken for a muscle?
Simple.
The brain has many characteristics that are similar to muscles. Here are a few:
Once we understand the connection between our mind and it’s need to be exercised, we are then able to take the necessary steps to strengthen it.
It is this act of increasing your mind that comprises this concept of mindset - and the focus on this book.
Circling back to our example of the game we must play inside our own minds.
There are two aspect to this internal game.
Offense is the first part we must focus on.
As in any sport, offense is the act of scoring, whereas defense is the act of preventing others from scoring.
When we play offense in our own minds, we are feeding our minds deliberate and strategic information so we can perform at a high level.
Here are a few of the things we must feed our minds: positive thoughts, valuable information, correct thinking, etc.
When we play defense, we are being strategic in preventing something from happening.
When it comes to our minds, there are certain things we must prevent if we want to be successful.
So, what must we prevent when playing defense?
Negative thoughts. Doubt. Insecurities.
Anything that enters our mind that prevents progress is something we must play defense against.
In this way we can strategically play this game and use both offense and defense to help build our mindset.
The purpose of this course is to help you master each of the ten aspects of building mindset – both offensively and defensively.
We will discuss the key points of the ten mindset areas you will need to focus on as you undertake this process of personal development and mindset growth.
Let’s get started!
A Final Note
Again we appreciate the support as we build this brand to help the veteran and patriot community.
Here is the link to our site if you want to help support the cause through our apparel or other products. 1911Apparel.com
Thanks for reading,
Darron Rowley
Founder of 1911 Apparel
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