It’s been an interesting couple of weeks…to say the least. Trump is full-on going after all of it! Yeah, you’ve heard of asymmetrical warfare? Well, Trump is engaging in all-out asymmetrical politics. He is going after the political establishment, the federal government, from all angles, in varying degrees, in dozens of ways each day. And the opposition is in chaos and reeling back on its heals. Yea Trump!

I am thrilled to see the feds finally getting off their collective asses and arresting criminal illegal aliens…and better yet, deporting them by the plane-load! It warmed my heart to see Trump read the riot act to Chile…and see Chile change their tune and accept their criminal citizens back home. And this program of buying out federal workers…simply genius in action. Think about how better off the entire country is with far fewer freeloaders…now if Trump gets the federal workforce down by 90%…that would be the best thing to happen to the US in the last 200 years!

But there is a downside to all of this…the noise and static. I think Trump is zeroing in on having issued nearly 40 Executive Orders, then add in his proclamations, his firings, his…well everything, every action starting on January 20^th and you have an amazing amount of activity taking place at the national level. The Dems, and some Republicans, are simply overwhelmed by all of it. Lawsuits are being filed, court orders are being issued, retaliatory threats are being made, and some smokey backroom meetings are being held, as well as nefarious deals being made by the opposition.

What does this have to do with you and me? Well, if we try to keep up with it we will be on the computer, in front of the TV, listening to the radio, or scanning app feeds on our cell phones 24/7. And that ain’t good…not good at all. It is entirely too distracting!

First off, how does any of it affect you and I as individuals? Virtually not at all. Second, what could we do about any of it even if we wanted to? Nothing, if you are the average person. The key to it that I am talking about is the “distraction” aspect. While spending all that time trying to keep up with the actions and reactions, the comments, threats, and court injunctions…well, what are we missing in our daily lives that truly matters and that we have control over?

What have I been doing the last 10 days since Trump-the-Amazing was sworn in? Finished up the improved security on my gate to the glamstead, installing driveway alarms, increasing the area for a potential garden, pruning our fruit tress, and enlarging our orchard. And those are just some of the reasons I’ve not posted anything at all since his inauguration. Yup, none of the national level activities was particularly noteworthy, I can’t see anything that personally affects us or people I know, and it is all stuff that Trump said he would do…nothing new really.

Sure, I’ve been scanning the headlines, watching the news while eating, and monitoring deeper information sources…but nothing has really shown up that is truly important. That doesn’t mean that a lot isn’t happening…to the contrary, much is happening most of which is good, if not terrific. Trying to keep up with all the details and commentary is a complete waste of time…little more than noise and static. And as I stated earlier…both are distracting…distracting us from what is really important.

I want to encourage you to turn off the noise and ignore the static taking place right now. It’s all politics, some good some bad, nothing new when you get right down to it. I called it “Asymmetrical Politics” earlier…it is political warfare…it is dangerous, it is brutal, and we don’t know who will win when the dust settles. And unless you are someone I am not aware of…you have ZERO influence on it…and it probably has no direct significant affect on you personally. So why worry about it? Why get involved in it?

Let this all play out…and it will play out. Neither political side will stand by and just let things roll…but that is just politics and their antics. And when it gets too far out of line with the real power in the US…then you will see the dangerous party start. Until the real power starts moving there is nothing to it that’s really all that worthwhile.

What I want to caution you about is the distraction. Stay focused on what is important to you, your family, your community, and your congregation. Keep working on that which you know makes a difference…especially when it comes to prepping. If you are in doubt on what to do…read the series “What can I do?”

Turn off the noise…ignore the static…neither of it is helping any of us one little bit.

Related Articles –

• ASKED OF ME: What can I do?

 2009 - 2025 Copyright © AHTrimble.com ~ All rights reserved
No reproduction or other use of this content 
without expressed written permission from AHTrimble.com
No legal, economic, or financial advice is given, no expertise to be assumed.
See Content Use Policy for more information.

Let’s cover a couple of facts* first:

• TikToc is a social media app used by close to 170,000,000 people in the US, 1billion users worldwide.
• TikToc earns about $20billion yearly from the US.
• TiKToc influencers/creators earn between $15,000 – $25,000 per year (median).
• There are about 50,000 US based TicTok influencers.
• US TikToc influencers generate at least $750,000,000 – $1.25billion annually for the US economy…and personal income for US citizens.

Here are the two most disturbing facts about TikToc; 1) TikToc gathers huge (and I mean massive) amounts of user data, 2) when you get down to the nitty-gritty, the Communist Party in China owns TikToc.

If you want to boil it all down more, a couple of things begin to clarify:

1. TikToc is wildly popular and generates a huge amount of money for the little guy here in the United States.
2. TikToc sends all that user data of US citizens to a massive data farm in China that provides valuable information to the intelligence service of the #1 enemy of the United States.

So what is the problem? Well, the real problem is the US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) ruling to uphold the TikToc ban in the US. Wait a minute…it’s a danger to the security of the US right? Up to debate, but probably…almost certainly true. Why/how? It opens users’ phones to hacking by China in addition to all that user data going to our biggest enemy. So SCOTUS was right to ban it, right? No!

The anti-TikToc law was written based on the security threat aspect it posed to the United States. SCOTUS also upheld the law for the same reason. TikToc was arguing that the ban violated 1^st Amendment ‘free speech’ rights. So, banning TikToc was still the right thing to do, right? No!

SCOTUS ruled that a foreign company doesn’t have free speech rights in the United States. And that might be true, I am no legal scholar to that point. But, the ruling wasn’t about the company’s free speech…it was actually about the users’ and influencers’ free speech rights. And those free speech rights were absolutely and definitely violated…without any question!

But our enemy benefits from all the US users’ data…a national security issue…SCOTUS was right!!! Ah, no.

There are two completely separate issues here:

1. US citizen users’ right to free speech, a Constitutionally protected right.
2. China using TikToc for spying purposes, an illegal activity in the United States.

So what is the answer? I am not 100% sure, but consider this:

• Prove in court that the TikToc data is going back to China’s intelligence service. Then prosecute all the related folks (including the 38,000 TikToc employees) for spying.
• Educate US users on how to protect their data from being collected.
• Pass a law that apps can’t gather any user data.

You see, the 1^st Amendment right to free speech isn’t to protect the speech you like and approve of…it is to protect all speech. When you start to invoke “national security” or “security risk” to a Constitutional guaranteed right…then it becomes very, very easy to hinder or eliminate that right. And that leads directly to a police/security state…then authoritarianism. And then my friend…all rights, freedoms, and liberties are dead.

Last thought…why is there no huge initiative or program to educate app (i.e. cell phones) users on how to protect their data and/or make it illegal to gather that user data? Well, that is simple…the US government spy agencies do the very same thing that China is being accused of. The NSA, DHS, FBI, DNI, CIA…all of them capture the very same data that China does. And those very same US agencies use it against US citizens every single day, all day long. So if we are going to ban apps due to data being collected by spy agencies…well, there would be no more apps in the US.

So the real problem here…the US Supreme Court moved the US another step closer towards authoritarianism and the loss of yet more rights, freedoms, and liberties. And who exactly is talking about that? Certainly not US secret police agencies.

Related Articles –

• FAQ – 12/05/2022

* There is no 100% accurate and proven stats for TikToc information. 
The information I provided comes from what I believe to be reliable sources but could be inaccurate.

 2009 - 2025 Copyright © AHTrimble.com ~ All rights reserved
No reproduction or other use of this content 
without expressed written permission from AHTrimble.com
No legal, economic, or financial advice is given, no expertise to be assumed.
See Content Use Policy for more information.

Thank you so much for getting to this point…let’s wrap it up.

Personal Note : Why Am I a Prepper –

• I am a prepper because I want to be charitable. The scriptures tell us to be charitable, preppers (true preppers) are just that. In times of emergencies and disasters preppers can be the first ones to feed their own family, their extended family, neighbors, fellow congregation members, etc. And that can take place immediately, not the days and weeks it takes for government relief efforts to kick in.
• I am a prepper because it makes me feel secure. Whatever life throws at me I know I can at least feed, clothe, put/keep a roof over my family’s head, and provide them with clean/safe drinking water.
• I am prepper because I love to learn new things, especially useful skills. I can operate a Ham radio, I can build a solar system, and I can reload my own ammunition, grow my own food to name just a few skills.
• I am a prepper because I get to use all my cool gear and equipment when I go camping, hiking, or helping a neighbor. It is a whole lot of fun that I can share with family and friends.
• I am a prepper because I don’t trust the government to do a good job of taking care of me, my family, or anyone else. I mean, seriously, tell me something, anything, that the government does well. I don’t want to be depending on some government bureaucrat to be in control of my family’s safety, comfort, or future.
• I am a prepper because I don’t want to depend on the media or the government for my information. I want to be able to know what is going on myself, directly. I don’t need their bias and “slant” on what I learn. I can think critically because I am a prepper.
• I am a prepper because I want to be a contributor not a taker. I want to be an asset to my family, my friends, my congregation, my neighbors, and my community. I don’t want them to go hungry waiting on MREs to be pushed off the back of some National Guard truck. I want to be able to grab my tractor and grade a road or use my chainsaw to clear a tree from that road or a neighbor’s house.

Mostly though, I can’t tell you the single most powerful and underlying reason I am a prepper. It’s not because I don’t want to tell you, but it is simply because I can’t explain it to you. I actually can’t relate it to you because it “tastes like salt.” Yeah, try telling someone what salt tastes like. Unless you know what being prepared feels like, I can’t get that feeling across to you. I wish I could, I really wish I could.

But I can tell you this, I can feed my family, I can provide fresh clean water for them, I can house them, I can communicate with them, I can keep them warm, I can grow food for them, and I have the means to protect them if needed.

Can you imagine if more families could do that? How about if the vast majority of families in America could do that…free of any government intervention/interference? Free of government dependence. What would that mean for our communities and for our whole country to be independent of the government? Pretty sweet in my opinion if we could be more self-reliant.

In the first article of this series I listed a whole bunch of things you can do as a prepper to make a difference. Let me add tot hat list:

• Cut a neighbor’s grass for them.
• Change a tire for an elderly couple or mom with kids on the side of the road.
• Take a meal to a needy family.
• Take a not-so-close friend shooting for a morning.
• Join a Neighborhood Watch group.
• Form a Neighborhood Watch group.
• Take some garden vegetables to your neighbor.
• Weed a neighbor’s garden for them.
• Ask someone to go to church with you.
• Go to church every Sunday yourself…and listen to the Spirit while you are there.
• Live your religion.
• Invite a family that you know to come over for a lunch.
• Attend a class or seminar on the Constitution.
• Start a Constitution study group.

You want to make a difference? You want to know what you can do? Along with becoming prepared and self-reliant…serve. Serve others with small, medium, and large acts of kindness…provide tender mercies for them and their families. I have no idea what those acts can be…but you can figure it out. Eventually being properly “prepared” physically, mentally, and spiritually means being able to serve/help others.

Summary –

Prepare or not. Prepare in a haphazard wandering manner or in an organized and systematic manner. Prepare for the right things or stumble around in the dark. It is all up to you. I can’t make you learn. Hell, I can’t even motivate you to learn, let alone prepare. The motivation must be yours and the “action” part is entirely up to you. All I can do is present information, my knowledge, and my experience to you. What you do with it…or not…is completely your decision to make.

Yeah that sounds a little bit like tough love…so be it. I’ve been at this a very long time and seen all sorts of people come and go in the prepper world. Some well intentioned, some only motivated by profit, a couple actually informants for the government. But the absolute worst of the lot…people representing themselves as ‘experts’ and giving out info that is worthless…or information that could get you injured or killed.

I still remember maybe 10 or 15 years ago a dimwit stating that the absolute best survival clothing was cotton jogging pants and sweatshirts, with tennis shoes. She swore that would meet every single requirement of emergency preparedness in all weather conditions. DIMWIT!!!!

I believe it was also the same ‘expert’ that said a bugout bag needed to only provide you with 72-hours of supplies. Okay, so I ask…what do you do after 72-hours? Another ‘expert’ preached only needing 1 years supply of beans, oats, wheat, and rice for food storage. Well, that person has no clue about nutrition, calorie usage/needs, or food fatigue…or even reality if truth be told.

Enough of that…you get my point…use qualified experts for your information and to learn skills. Others can easily turn you and your family into casualties.

If you have any desire to prepare, to become more self-reliant, and wish to do so with a high potential for success, then consider the information I have shared with you. See if it applies and if so, how it applies.

Here is a great tidbit of help…check lists. Yup, some time back I developed a series of check lists that coincide with each of the “7” to very accurately let you know where you are in being prepared. I would highly recommend you download each check list and use it.

Let me close with this…you can get prepared…you can become more self-reliant. Yup, you surely can…I promise you that. It will take time, effort, learning, and money to do so…but it is a realistic expectation to get there. Here is my last bit of wisdom in this prepper journey…it’s more a lifestyle not a hobby.

I’ve been prepping for decades…and TEOTWAWKI has not happened, nor has a wildfire swept through my community threatening my home, nor has an earthquake hit our region. I’ve never had to draw my weapon to defend myself or others…once it came close. I can tell you this…I’ve used my medical kit(s) and training a fair amount. And our water storage was used multiple times when the main water supply was interrupted. But the big grid-down event hasn’t happened to us…and maybe never will.

Have all our efforts been in vain? Nope! Because there is a great sense of security that comes with knowing you can handle an incident in a pretty self-reliant way. And yeah, even stretch out that reliance in a way to help others.

And while the ‘big event’ hasn’t happened…it doesn’t mean it won’t. And if it does…maybe tomorrow…we have a decent chance at handling it. But there is great solace in knowing we’ve done our best. I guess you could call it security…or peace of mind.

Why did I use the comparison of ‘lifestyle’ vs ‘hobby’? If you only do it as a hobby you can quite easily get burned out. Yeah, you have everything you need to survive for 2 years after the whole end-of-the-world event…and that event never happens. And all that stuff takes up a lot of room in the garage and basement…and your spouse complains about it. It makes it real easy to include all that prepper stuff in your next garage sale.

If your prepping is your lifestyle you don’t burn out because you know it could easily be a lifesaver great or small. And you love the sense of security that it gives you for your family.

Let me close with this simple message…you can do this and there are lots of folks out there just like you who also want to do this. Now, start prepping and hook up with some of those folks and support each other. One step at a time, one foot in front of another…you eat an elephant one bite at a time…be patient.

I hope in this series of articles I have answered the original question “What can I do?” I can imagine that most readers already knew most of this information. What I am hoping for is that some little piece of information struck you as important in some way…to inspire you to be a better prepper. Being a prepper is never a waste…everything you have, everything you’ve learned is useful. At some point it may even be lifesaving.

If you still don’t know exactly what to do…I would ask you to pray about it. Simply ask what it is you should do…it doesn’t have to be a complicated prayer. Just ask with real intent to hear the answer…and you will.

Thank you for spending all this time with me and reading so much of my materiel. I truly appreciate your efforts. We are starting a New Year…let’s use it wisely together.

Note: If you have any desire to gain some additional information and insight, you can < click here >

You can also ask a question of me or share a thought with me…

Articles in this Series –

• ASKED OF ME: What can I do?
• What can I do? (Principles)
• What can I do? (Laying the Foundation)
• What can I do? (Practical)
• What can I do? (Critically Important)
• What can I do? (Non-Conventional Prepping)
• What can I do? (Personal Note & Summary)

Related Articles –

• Check List – Introduction
• Check List – Violence
• Check List – Injury or Sickness
• Check List – Communications
• Check List – Organization
• Check List – Starvation (food storage)
• Check List – Dehydration (water storage)
• Check List – Exposure
• SitRep – 07/17/20 – WARNING !

 2009 - 2025 Copyright © AHTrimble.com ~ All rights reserved
No reproduction or other use of this content 
without expressed written permission from AHTrimble.com
No legal, economic, or financial advice is given, no expertise to be assumed.
See Content Use Policy for more information.

We have covered a whole lot of ground answering the question “What can I do?”…and I am not done yet. There is still this whole area that I have labeled “non-conventional”…and I think it could easily be the most interesting.

Granted, “What can I do? (Principles)” was pretty cool to dive into who you are as a person and what you believe in and are truly committed to. But this area is pretty dang…well, non-conventional and that alone I think makes it interesting.

Start becoming a non-conformist.That’s pretty non-conventional…yeah?

Basically a conformist is a person who behaves and thinks like most other people, often avoiding actions or ideas that are different or unusual. The term is often used in a disapproving way to describe someone who follows societal norms and standards without questioning them. What? Yeah, a true sheep.

Think about it for a minute…what does public education do more than anything else? Teaches you to conform to their standards. But…who sets the nation’s educational standards? A bunch of federal and state level bureaucrats and politicians.

If you join the military what do they teach you? To conform to a very rigid set of standards without questioning and without hesitation. Why? Because they want you to be able to kill people and destroy stuff without question or even without thought.

Daily we see law enforcement officers who work for various levels of law enforcement agencies doing what? “Enforcing” laws. Sound weird? Well, they are almost complete failures at actually solving crimes…statistics prove that. So what is their actual job? Teaching everyone to conform to every law, rule, regulation, code, ordinance, and even their own personal commands…without hesitation, without questioning, without even thinking.

So what does that all mean? Sheep, with plenty of herding dogs, are easily controlled, produce lots of wool…and give birth to lambs for the slaughter.

Governments’ goal is to make the population conform, to make the population easy to control (power)…while making the population produce (funneling money/resources to the government).

Let me clear this up right now…I am not advocating becoming an outlaw…I am suggesting you become less of a conformist. Why? It was Thomas Jefferson who said to “question everything”. Not in the context of rejecting all laws, norms, morals, etc., but simply to challenge them to prove them right or come up with a better way. Such as when the Founders challenged the right of the British Empire to exercise tyrannical rule and excessive taxation over the colonies.

Conforming…Society now pictures the perfect family as two persons (unknown and undefined gender) raising one, maybe two, children (unknown and undefined gender) in a house (they can barely afford) where both adults work a job and the children have been surrendered to the government education/care system at the age of 3 – 4…for the next 15 – 19 years. Oddly, we know statistically that this is the worst possible scenario for children and families.

Non-conforming…Statistics are everywhere that show families with a mother (female) and father (male) both present in the home, the father working, the mother at home caring for their children is the best parental/family model. Additionally, statistics show that children who are home schooled have better SAT scores, and do better in college than government educated students. And everyone involved in this traditional family setting are less likely to get involved in drugs, less likely to catch STDs, less likely to become criminals, more likely to have a happier home life as adults, far few instances of suicide, and more likely to be willing to serve others.

But the government (at all levels), and society in general, pushes people away from the more fulfilling lifestyle into situations that strap a family financially and push mothers out of the home into the job market…and throw children into the hands of the government education and care system. Think about these items of fact:

• Homes cost 80 times more now than just 60 years ago.
• Vehicles cost 10 – 20 times more than the average home did 60 years ago.
• Middle class % of US population down by 20% in the last 60 years.
• Middle class % of US wealth down by more than 20% in the last 60 years.
• Top 1/10th of 1% of wealthy people have seen their % of US wealth double in the last 60 years.
• Federal government workforce up over 30% in the last 60 years.
• Household debt is up 1500% in the last 60 years.
• US national debt is up from $300billion to $36trillion in the last 60 years…that’s an increase of 1100%.

Notice anything there? Anything stand out to you there? Any little whisperings come into your mind and/or heart?

So society paints a picture of a large beautiful new home for families, two new(er) vehicles in the driveway, fancy vacations and/or cruises each year, latest in phones, jewelry, computers, TVs, and clothing. And of course government providing home loans, consumer purchase incentives, tax credits and motivation to keep people buying and borrowing.

Honestly, answer this…Why do you think that is?

Government at all levels push back against church based charity, community self-sufficiency, and neighbors taking care of neighbors. Government provides highly-paid firefighters and LEOs, multiple levels of disaster agencies, hundreds of welfare programs, and of course FEMA to care for us in the event of emergencies and disasters.

60 years ago average families had large gardens, most families preserved some amount of their food, many families even raised chickens and rabbits for eggs and meat, and farmers were self-sufficient. Now…well, the city, county, or the HOA will fine the hell out of any family that tries to color outside of the lines. The USDA is even regulating (i.e. putting out of business) most small farmers who want to provide food direct to consumers.

Why do you think all of this is? Why has society so radically changed for the worse over the last 6+ decades? What do you think their end-game, their end-state, their goal really is?

Why do you think society wants us dependent on a small group of health providers, a small group of grocery providers, a small group of retailers, a small group of corporate farms, and a small group of professionals…who ironically enough are all tightly regulated by the government?

Maybe you can answer all of those questions…maybe not. But that is not my real point. My point is this…everything the government does, everything that society is all about, is to make you conform…conform to their vision of who you should be and how you should live your life. And that conforming process starts as soon as you enter the ‘system’…usually ‘childcare’ at the age of 3. And it is surely in full swing by the age of 5 when children enter kindergarten.

So how do you not conform?

Don’t get caught up in the debt trap. Buy only what you can afford, and be very prudent on what that is. Avoid debt…it becomes the master and you become the servant!!! You end up working to pay your debts…not paying to enjoy life with your family.

Don’t get caught up in the job trap. Your job is NOT you. Do you have a job to provide for your family and your family fulfills you? Or does your job define you and you look to your job to fulfill you? Should your job should be the mechanism to provide for your family…and your family fulfills you?

Don’t get caught up in the food trap. Raise some amount of wholesome food that you grow personally. You can also buy food from local sources such as farmers and ranchers. Cook food for meals…yeah, actually cook it not heat it or microwave it.

Don’t get caught up in the government schooling trap. Homeschool your kids, give them the education that teaches them, that gives them knowledge, and encourages them to think for themselves.

Don’t get caught up in the 2-person income trap. ALL stats show that a man working to provide for his family and the mother caring for the children is the #1 way to raise a family successfully.

What???? Challenge a 2-person income family setting???? Yup!

Let’s say you are a family who wants 3 children. Slightly larger than the average family but way smaller than many families. You ready for this?

Try this on for this scenario…the US average cost to raise a child is about $1,400 per month (mostly day care, schooling, clothing, transportation, etc.) The average cost of clothing, make-up, etc for a working woman is about $300 per month. The average employed woman spends about $200 more per month on their car payment. The average employed woman spends about $175 per month more for gas than stay at home moms.

Conservatively the stay at home mom who home schools can save the family between $2,800 – $4,800 per month…and that doesn’t include any accounting for a garden, home cooked meals, thrifting for clothing and household goods, and a ton of other accomplishments.

Think this through for a minute…a stay at home mother would need to make over $33,000 per year at a job just to break even…and then hires out everything to someone else to raise her children. Oh wait…factoring in income taxes, social security tax, medicare tax, etc…it is actually over $46,000 per year.

Bummer…the median income for a woman in the US is just a slight bit higher than $42,000.

Think about that…the average wife/mother gets a job outside of the home…gets paid about $42,000 per year. The family loses about $4,000 per year…PLUS the government and strangers get to raise their children…instilling into those children morals, ethics, principles, and knowledge straight out of the hands and minds of government workers, politicians, and bureaucrats NOT the parents. Does this bring to mind any thoughts or ideas about why the country is where it is right now?

Challenge everything!!!!!!

Become the non-conformist. Do things the way it works best for you and your family. Take charge of your life, raise your children with standards and morals that match what you know to be right NOT what the government wants to brainwash them with. Raise a healthy and happy family according to what you know to be right…don’t let bankers, the government, lawyers, politicians, or bureaucrats dictate to you what is right.

Look, life is short. I am knocking at 70 now…and I can tell you this…life is real short, it goes by in the blink of eye. If you live your life by the dictates and expectations of others, especially the government…you cheat yourself and you cheat your family. Don’t lose this precious gift of life and family…stay away from the tyranny of government and the oppression of society. You can control your own life…so go do it!

I think you could enjoy, and maybe appreciate, the following articles:

• Rise Up !
• “Rise up !” Actions & Suggestions
• “Government is the problem!”
• Power, Politicians, Crushing People…and “Prepping” – Part 1

Articles in this Series –

• ASKED OF ME: What can I do?
• What can I do? (Principles)
• What can I do? (Laying the Foundation)
• What can I do? (Practical)
• What can I do? (Critically Important)
• What can I do? (Non-Conventional Prepping)
• What can I do? (Personal Note & Summary)

Related Articles –

• Rise Up !
• “Rise up !” Actions & Suggestions
• Public Schools – Part #1
• Public Schools – Options
• Parallel Universes
• Then they came for… (part #1 of 3)
• Do We Need Police Reform? (Part #1)
• “Government is the problem!”
• Power, Politicians, Crushing People…and “Prepping” – Part 1

 2009 - 2025 Copyright © AHTrimble.com ~ All rights reserved
No reproduction or other use of this content 
without expressed written permission from AHTrimble.com
No legal, economic, or financial advice is given, no expertise to be assumed.
See Content Use Policy for more information.

Yesterday I hit on the “7” practical areas of prepping but there is more to cover that is really important as it applies to each of the “7“. So there are some categories of learning that kinda fit outside of the “7” put actually touch on each in some way or another. However, I can’t tie them to any of the “7” specifically. I will cover some of those in general…

Psychology & Personalities –

Here is what I am saying…there are certain personality types that exist pre & post event/incident. Meaning people behave one way during normal everyday life, but after an event/incident, when the stress is really on, their true personality comes out. Often this transition is determined by stress and desperation, but not always. Sometimes people in every day life can hide really well who they truly are under layers of society’s norms. But once those norms, such as laws/expectations/rules, no longer apply…they become who they were all along…who they were deep inside their soul. Understanding this potential transformation could be just as important, maybe far more so, than owning a great shotgun with plenty of ammo or having the best water filter in town.

Resources:

• POST-DISASTER PERSONALITIES : Part 1 – Who are they?
• Are you well-grounded?

Exercising & Scenarios –

Over the years I’ve come out with ways to think through different scenarios and options on how to react. Yup, it’s called training. It’s not meant to dictate to you what you must do…but showing you what you might run up against and letting you figure out how you might handle it.

Do NOT discount this kind of training. It has proven over and over again how effective that role playing and scenario training works! Do not doubt me on this one. The time to be making big decisions is not when they have a gun pointed at your head. The decisions should have been made a very long time before that occurs. But if that time should ever come…you will already have a pretty good idea what to do if you have done role playing and scenarios.

Resources:

• Days of September – 9/1/2019 Opening
• Days of September – 9/2/2019 What I might do Part #1
• Days of September – 9/3/2019 What I might do Part #2
• Days of September – 9/4/2019 Introduction
• Days of September – 9/5/2019 Day #1 Threat of Violence
• Days of September – 9/6/2019 Day #2 Threat of Injury or Sickness
• Days of September – 9/7/2019 Day #3 Communications
• Days of September – 9/8/2019 Day #4 Organization
• Days of September – 9/9/2019 Day #5 Dehydration
• Days of September – 9/10/2019 Day #6 Exposure
• Days of September – 9/12/2019 Day #7 Starvation
• Days of September – 9/13/2019 Summary
• What would you do? – 9/14/2019 
• What would you do? – 9/15/2019
• What would you do? – 9/16/2019
• What would you do? – 9/17/2019
• What would you do? – 9/19/2019
• Initiative ’17 – Part #1: Complacency vs. Tunnel Vision
• Initiative ’17 – Part #2: Training, Experience, Knowledge, and Wisdom
• Initiative ’17 – Part #3: Prepared to Lead
• Initiative ’17 – Part #4: Leader’s Intent

Parallel Action Tracks –

I am sure you already figured this out, but let me sound important (at least in my own head) and share this with you. This is not a plan (or suggestion) to do one thing at a time, it is not a plan to work on only one of the “7” at a time…you can work on whatever you can at any time. Meaning?

While you are working on the “who are you” principles part you can certainly be buying extra cans of food for your pantry when you go to the store. That’s a no-brainer…you are going to need some soup so buy it next time you go to the store. But that shouldn’t delay you from figuring out what you believe in…discovering your core values.

While you are buying ammo (part of priority #1) you can also purchase a Olicamp Vector Stove (part of priority #7). When you order items for your medical kits (part of priority #2) you can also order a water filter/purifier (part of priority #5). You get the idea, yes?

CAUTION: Although you can work on multiple areas at the same time…concentrate on the “7” in order. Meaning, don’t neglect buying a shotgun to buy all of your food storage. Don’t ignore putting together your IFAK to buy a pressure caner.

Remember the “7” are there for a reason…and they are in a particular priority order for an even greater reason. Neglecting a high priority area for an easy/lower priority can lead you and your family to disaster. Yeah, you might have bought an awesome tent…and die from an injury that a simple Home/Family First Aid Kit could have prevented.

Realistic Expectations –

If you are brand new to prepping you are probably pretty excited to get started…and that is great! If you are an old hand at prepping but you’ve just kind of stumbled around in your quest to become prepared you too might be excited to find an actual systematic approached in this series of articles to better ensure you are truly prepared. But there is a nasty little problem lurking in the shadows.

Unless you are blessed with unlimited funds (i.e. money) you probably can’t do everything immediately. And, due to the time required, you probably couldn’t do everything immediately even if you wanted to and had the money to make it all happen.

The answer is ‘realistic exceptions’…yeah, maybe you’ve never heard that term before or maybe never truly understood it. Let’s start with an example…You’ve never shot a pistol before, is it realistic that you can become a highly effective gun fighter in a week? Ah, no. Can you be better than when you started? Yes. Can you be Delta Force level good within that week? Absolutely not…it’s not realistic! Can you be good enough to defend yourself or your family in that week of training? Maybe…probably. For most people it takes time to develop all of the motor skills required to become a good gun fighter. And a lot of that time isn’t spent punching paper at the range.

Wait a second…do you know why I use the term “gun fighter”? Well, it is a matter of skill level. Many people can safely handle a pistol, many can shoot great paper target scores, some have mastered mag swaps, FTF/FTE drills, and off-hand shooting. But, few can shoot accurately and effectively under pressure, on the move, with the bad guys shooting back at you.

About 10 years ago I took a class designed to teach you how to shoot accurately enough, under pressure, effectively, against odds…with the bad guys shooting back at you. In the class, once we proved our basic firearm skills, they put us into scenarios with high-powered paintball guns. Yeah, laugh it you want to…it changed the whole concept of gun fighting for us. My point? I was a good gun fighter before that…but only to a certain degree. But once I went through that training my abilities went up by a factor. But it took me years to get to that point.

Another example would be food storage. Is it realistic that you can acquire 5 years worth of food storage, or even 1 years’ worth, overnight? Of course not…unless you have thousands of extra dollars on hand just laying around. It will take time to understand what you need, where to find it, and then actually to acquire it. Then there is how to store it and how to use it in rotation. So not only is there the realistic time-frame to acquire your food storage…there is also the realistic time-frame to gain the skills associated with using food storage.

You already know what your priorities are…the “7”…now you have to set goals that are both achievable and realistic. If you don’t…then you are going to get very, very frustrated…or maybe you get burned out.

Resources:

• Decision Fatigue
• Are you well-grounded?

Balance –

I could have just as easily labeled this section as ‘burnout’ and maybe that would have painted a clearer picture. But let’s stick with balance.

If you are a fairly average person you have a spouse, kids, job, church, home, garden, yard, hobby, and friends. Think for a minute what would happen if you started spending all your free time with one particular friend. Or, you worked all the time and stopped going to church and/or spending time with your spouse and kids. What would happen? Yeah…a ‘come to Jesus’ meeting would take place and you would be told to straighten out your life.

Same will be true when it comes to prepping…you gotta stay balanced. If you don’t folks are going to get ticked-off at you or you will simply burn out. The key to the ‘balance’ is to steal a little time from each area of your life and use it to prep. Here are some pictures to give you an idea what I am getting at…

Do these graphics help?

Articles in this Series –

• ASKED OF ME: What can I do?
• What can I do? (Principles)
  
• What can I do? (Laying the Foundation)
  
• What can I do? (Practical)
  
• What can I do? (Critically Important)
• What can I do? (Non-Conventional Prepping)
  
• What can I do? (Personal Note & Summary)
  

Related Articles –

• “Government is the problem!”
• POST-DISASTER PERSONALITIES : Part 1 – Who are they?
• Are you well-grounded?
• Days of September – 9/1/2019 Opening
• Days of September – 9/2/2019 What I might do Part #1
• Days of September – 9/3/2019 What I might do Part #2
• Days of September – 9/4/2019 Introduction
• Days of September – 9/5/2019 Day #1 Threat of Violence
• Days of September – 9/6/2019 Day #2 Threat of Injury or Sickness
• Days of September – 9/7/2019 Day #3 Communications
• Days of September – 9/8/2019 Day #4 Organization
• Days of September – 9/9/2019 Day #5 Dehydration
• Days of September – 9/10/2019 Day #6 Exposure
• Days of September – 9/12/2019 Day #7 Starvation
• Days of September – 9/13/2019 Summary
• What would you do? – 9/14/2019 
• What would you do? – 9/15/2019
• What would you do? – 9/16/2019
• What would you do? – 9/17/2019
• What would you do? – 9/19/2019
• Initiative ’17 – Part #1: Complacency vs. Tunnel Vision
• Initiative ’17 – Part #2: Training, Experience, Knowledge, and Wisdom
• Initiative ’17 – Part #3: Prepared to Lead
• Initiative ’17 – Part #4: Leader’s Intent
• IFAK
• Home/Family First Aid Kit
• Olicamp Vector Stove
• Decision Fatigue
• Are you well-grounded?

 2009 - 2025 Copyright © AHTrimble.com ~ All rights reserved
No reproduction or other use of this content 
without expressed written permission from AHTrimble.com
No legal, economic, or financial advice is given, no expertise to be assumed.
See Content Use Policy for more information.

Each of the “7” common risks/threats (talked about that yesterday) has the practical side such as buying a gun and ammo; we’ll call the tangibles the “hardware”. But along with the hardware is the skill to use it; let’s call the intangibles “software”. That means, in addition to buying a gun and ammo, you have to take basic firearms classes or online instruction, then eventually tactical weapons training if you can. Remember, there is a huge difference between punching paper at the firing range and learning to shoot effectively and move in various scenarios under pressure.

So we have the hardware and software parts down pat…we’re confident, skilled, and capable. But are you knowledgeable? In other words…do you know when to use a weapon, when not to, how to properly employ it…and when to run like hell. Part of the learning curve involves gaining that highly important, maybe the most important part, “knowledge”. Granted, some folks might refer to that as “wisdom” and I can’t argue that. Either way you call it…that my friend comes from Situational Awareness.

Being the best shot in your community, having the coolest tricked-out AR, the best quality ammo, and optics to die for means nothing if you don’t know when to pull the trigger or stay hidden and avoid the fight. Hell, do you even know what to look for before you pull the trigger to recognize bad people or a bad situation?!? I would love to be in a group setting to hear all the different answers.

Wrapping this up…acquire the hardware, the software, and the knowledge for each of the “7”.

7 Common Risks / Threats –

#1 – Violence

• • • Layering & the Common 7: Part #2 – Violence
    • Grid-Down House Security : Strengthen your door…
    • Choosing the Right Gun
    • Choosing the Right Pistols
    • Choosing the Right Shotgun
    • Choosing the Right Carbine/Rifle
    • Tactical Vests
    • What is your favorite knife? FAQ – 3/17/2016
    • Gerber StrongArm Knife

#2 – Injury or Sickness

• • • Layering & the Common 7: Part #3 – Injury or Sickness
    • BlowOut Kit (BOK)
    • Individual First Aid Kit (IFAK)
    • Team Basic Aid Kit (TBAK)
    • Squad/Group Trauma Aid Kit (STAK)
    • Mass Casualty Aid Kit (MCAK)
    • Field Trauma Care Kit (FTCK)
    • What, Why & How
    • First Aid Kits & Medical Kits…Types, Sizes, and Contents
    • Home/Family First Aid Kit – Part #1
    • Home/Family First Aid Kit – Part #2

#3 – Poor/No Communications

• • • Layering & the Common 7: Part #4 – Communications
    • Tell me again why I need a radio…
    • What radio to buy? The Baofeng UV-5RA Handheld Radio!
    • A case for GMRS radios !
    • Do you think the Baofeng UV-5RA radio is the best handheld radio out there? FAQ – 4/16/2016
    • ComSec – What is it and how do I use it?
    • Phonetic Alphabet

#4 – Poor/No Organization

• • • Layering & the Common 7: Part #5 – Organization
    • Preparedness & Organization : Part #1 – Why is it important?
    • Preparedness & Organization : Part #2 – The Necessity for…
    • Preparedness & Organization : Part #3 – “Grid-Down” Needs
    • Preparedness & Organization : Part #4 – ICS Overview
    • Preparedness & Organization : Part #5 – Logistics Section
    • Preparedness & Organization : Part #6 – Planning Section
    • Preparedness & Organization : Part #7 – Administrative & Finance Section
    • Preparedness & Organization : Part # 8 – Operations Section Organization for Churches & Preppers

#5 – Dehydration (water purification & storage)

• • • Layering & the Common 7: Part #6 – Dehydration
    • WATER: Part 1 – Introduction
    • WATER: Part 2 – Storage
    • WATER: Part 3 – Removing Sediment Before Filtering & Purifying
    • WATER: Part 4 – Water Filtration & Purification
    • WATER: Summary
    • Water Purification: ChlorFloc
    • Water Purification: Portable Aqua Tablets
    • Water Purification: NDUR Water Purification Straw
    • Water Purification: LifeStraw Personal Water Filter
    • Water Purification: Survival Hax Water Filter Straw
    • Water Purification: MSR Sweetwater Purification System
    • Water Purification: MSR MiniWorks EX Microfilter Water Purifier System
    • Water Purification: Monolithic Ceramic Water Filter
    • > > IMPORTANT ! – Monolithic Water Filters
    • TIP: If your water supply is failing fill your bathtub and

#6 – Exposure

• • • Layering & the Common 7: Part #7 – Exposure

#7 – Starvation

• • • Layering & the Common 7: Part #8 – Starvation
    • FOOD: Part 1 – Introduction
    • FOOD: Part 2 – Food Storage Layering
    • FOOD: Part 3- Normal Pantry Food
    • FOOD: Part 4 – Short-Term Emergency Food
    • FOOD: Part 5 – Long-Term Every Day Food
    • FOOD: Part 6 – Long-Term Staples
    • Food Storage Methodology
    • Food Storage in Paint Cans!
    • Why garden at all?
    • Can you recommend good quality 20-year prepared meal food storage? FAQ – 2/28/2019 (#2)
    • How much food do you have stored? FAQ – 3/7/2016
    • Days of September – 9/12/2019 Day #7 Starvation
    • SitRep – 05/01/20 – WARNING !
    • How Fast Could You Leave?

Knowledge / Wisdom –

• Situational Awareness: Introduction
• Out-Of-The-Loop
• Do the Unexpected!

Articles in this Series –

• ASKED OF ME: What can I do?
• What can I do? (Principles)
  
• What can I do? (Laying the Foundation)
  
• What can I do? (Practical)
  
• What can I do? (Critically Important)
  
• What can I do? (Non-Conventional Prepping)
  
• What can I do? (Personal Note & Summary)
  

Related Articles –

• 7 Common Risks/Threats
• Situational Awareness: Introduction
• Layering & the Common 7: Part #2 – Violence
• Grid-Down House Security : Strengthen your door…
• Choosing the Right Gun
• Choosing the Right Pistols
• Choosing the Right Shotgun
• Choosing the Right Carbine/Rifle
• Tactical Vests
• What is your favorite knife? FAQ – 3/17/2016
• Gerber StrongArm Knife
• Layering & the Common 7: Part #3 – Injury or Sickness
• BlowOut Kit (BOK)
• Individual First Aid Kit (IFAK)
• Team Basic Aid Kit (TBAK)
• Squad/Group Trauma Aid Kit (STAK)
• Mass Casualty Aid Kit (MCAK)
• Field Trauma Care Kit (FTCK)
• What, Why & How
• First Aid Kits & Medical Kits…Types, Sizes, and Contents
• Home/Family First Aid Kit – Part #1
• Home/Family First Aid Kit – Part #2
• Layering & the Common 7: Part #4 – Communications
• Tell me again why I need a radio…
• What radio to buy? The Baofeng UV-5RA Handheld Radio!
• A case for GMRS radios !
• Do you think the Baofeng UV-5RA radio is the best handheld radio out there? FAQ – 4/16/2016
• ComSec – What is it and how do I use it?
• Phonetic Alphabet
• Layering & the Common 7: Part #5 – Organization
• Preparedness & Organization : Part #1 – Why is it important?
• Preparedness & Organization : Part #2 – The Necessity for…
• Preparedness & Organization : Part #3 – “Grid-Down” Needs
• Preparedness & Organization : Part #4 – ICS Overview
• Preparedness & Organization : Part #5 – Logistics Section
• Preparedness & Organization : Part #6 – Planning Section
• Preparedness & Organization : Part #7 – Administrative & Finance Section
• Preparedness & Organization : Part # 8 – Operations Section Organization for Churches & Preppers
• Layering & the Common 7: Part #6 – Dehydration
• WATER: Part 1 – Introduction
• WATER: Part 2 – Storage
• WATER: Part 3 – Removing Sediment Before Filtering & Purifying
• WATER: Part 4 – Water Filtration & Purification
• WATER: Summary
• Water Purification: ChlorFloc
• Water Purification: Portable Aqua Tablets
• Water Purification: NDUR Water Purification Straw
• Water Purification: LifeStraw Personal Water Filter
• Water Purification: Survival Hax Water Filter Straw
• Water Purification: MSR Sweetwater Purification System
• Water Purification: MSR MiniWorks EX Microfilter Water Purifier System
• Water Purification: Monolithic Ceramic Water Filter
• > > IMPORTANT ! – Monolithic Water Filters
• TIP: If your water supply is failing fill your bathtub and
• Layering & the Common 7: Part #7 – Exposure
• Layering & the Common 7: Part #8 – Starvation
• FOOD: Part 1 – Introduction
• FOOD: Part 2 – Food Storage Layering
• FOOD: Part 3- Normal Pantry Food
• FOOD: Part 4 – Short-Term Emergency Food
• FOOD: Part 5 – Long-Term Every Day Food
• FOOD: Part 6 – Long-Term Staples
• Food Storage Methodology
• Food Storage in Paint Cans!
• Why garden at all?
• Can you recommend good quality 20-year prepared meal food storage? FAQ – 2/28/2019 (#2)
• How much food do you have stored? FAQ – 3/7/2016
• Days of September – 9/12/2019 Day #7 Starvation
• SitRep – 05/01/20 – WARNING !
• How Fast Could You Leave?
• Situational Awareness: Introduction
• Out-Of-The-Loop
• Do the Unexpected!

 2009 - 2025 Copyright © AHTrimble.com ~ All rights reserved
No reproduction or other use of this content 
without expressed written permission from AHTrimble.com
No legal, economic, or financial advice is given, no expertise to be assumed.
See Content Use Policy for more information.