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.

This is the beginning of the “practical” part. This practical part is also broken down into two areas; 1) the learning, 2) the doing. The ‘learning’ part can be fun and accomplished pretty quickly if you have the time…and to a lesser degree, if you have the money.

As I’ve documented many times through my decades of experience in professional incident and emergency management there are 7 Common basic threats/risks to every emergency, disaster, or grid-down event. They are:

1. Violence
2. Injury or Sickness
3. Poor/No Communications
4. Poor/No Organization
5. Dehydration
6. Exposure
7. Starvation

So these are the areas, the only areas, you need to worry about and concentrate on when it comes to the practical part of prepping. Why? because it covers all the bases.

There are a whole lot of so-called ‘experts’ out there that will preach all sorts of systems and methods. Don’t be sucked into, or suckered into, all that crap. No doubt they may have some skills in certain areas but few will have decades of experience with a wide range of incidents and 1000’s of hours of training in an approach to preparedness that makes sense and is organized…and is proven successful.

Why are the “7” numbered 1 – 7 in my list above? Because that is their priority order to be worked on and accomplished. It is also the same priority order of risk of killing you and your family. Listen to me…hear this loud and clear…the priority order is an absolute! Anyone who tells you anything else is laying the groundwork for YOUR failure…which means your family’s failure.

How so? Simple, as an example notice the ‘starvation’ threat/risk is priority #7? Let’s do a little exercise…you decide, because you read it on the Internet, that you must have food storage before anything else. So you spend hundreds, maybe thousands, of dollars buying two years worth of food storage. Yea for you! Oh, wait…you completely ignored priority #1.

Now along comes a disaster, you are all set to go…plenty to eat, no problems. Yeah, no problems until a couple of guys come along armed with nothing more than a baseball bat…and take all of that food storage that you so diligently acquired. And no, you can’t do anything about it other than getting your head bashed in because you ignored priority #1.

Let me make this real clear for you…How long do you last in a gun fight if you don’t have a gun…maybe 1 – 3 seconds? Further clarification…Did you know an average person can last 3 – 7 days without food? Hummmmmm…1 – 3 seconds vs 3 – 7 days…which is the higher priority again?

Do prepper ‘experts’ have knowledge that is worth learning? Of course many do, some don’t. Pick up quality skills and applicable information from any source you can. But if you don’t prepare correctly with a proven system, then you are prepping for somebody else’s benefit other than for you and your family.

And let me share this serious danger with you right now…I know men who have a simple plan when times get tough…they plan on taking whatever they need from people who have it. And I will also share this with you…they have the skills to do it. And if you don’t have the weapons and skills to stop them…your ‘stuff’ will become their stuff. And taking your stuff will be the best case scenario when talking about kids and women. Yes…a dark warning…a very dark and very real warning.

Enough of that…let’s get to laying the foundation practical prepping…

Broadly speaking you are prepping for emergencies. However, there are different types of emergencies, so you must learn how to prepare for each type. Otherwise, you are just flopping around like a fish on the dock.

Categorizing Emergencies –

Within the broad stroke of ‘emergencies’ (a.k.a. incidents) there are actually three categories; 1) emergencies, 2) disasters, and 3) grid-down events. And they are far, far different in sense of urgency and potential for loss of life. Let me share this with you:

1. cut finger = emergency
2. wildfire = disaster
3. EMP attack = grid-down event

Here’s another way to look at it…if you get a cut finger maybe a simple first aid kit can handle it, or a trip to the 24-hour clinic for stitches may be required. Chance of loss of life is virtually nil. Now, a wildfire comes through your community might entail you evacuating, or fighting the fire yourself, and potentially losing your home. Chance of loss of life is real, and far above a simple cut finger. Finally, an EMP attack on the country could be devastating, shutting down the entire power grid, taking out all chances of hospital care, and collapsing the economic system. Chance of loss of life skyrockets due to looting, theft, desperation…to say nothing of traumatic injury and disease.

Here is a way to look at this ‘probability’ of each occurring. You are far more likely (probable) to cut your finger than an EMP attack occurring against the country.

And that comes to setting priorities for ‘how’ you prep or ‘what’ you buy. Here is a great example of all of this…if you put together a basic first aid kit you probably have the cut finger covered as far as being prepared to provide self-care. Therefore, when you put together your Individual First Aid Kit (BOK & IFAK) it still applies to all three levels. Eventually you want your family to have a Field Trauma Care Kit (FTCK) to take care of far worse injuries, such as you might find in the EMP attack. But, the time, effort, and money you put into the BOK & IFAK is just as valuable as it ever was.

So once you know how to categorize emergencies you can readily identify which to prepare for.

Resources:

• Categorizing Emergencies
• Threats, Risk, and Mitigation: Introduction
• Layering & the Common 7: Part #3 – Injury or Sickness

Setting Priorities –

So once you know which emergencies are ‘where’ on the severity scorecard…how do you know what to prepare for first?

I already hit on that…it is the “7”. But how do you come up with that “7” and which to go after first in prepping? For that you have to understand setting priorities. Not hard…LIPS.

Resources:

• Setting Priorities
• Objectives and Priorities (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 –

• Categorizing Emergencies
• Threats, Risk, and Mitigation: Introduction
• Layering & the Common 7: Part #3 – Injury or Sickness
• Setting Priorities
• Objectives and Priorities (Part #1)

Wanted to throw out some funny prepper memes just for the heck of it…you know…the expert preppers!

 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.

I ended yesterdays’ article with a couple of questions:

• Who are you really and what do you truly believe in?
• Are you willing to die for those things you believe in?

Isn’t that the real test of commitment in something? Are you willing to lay down your life for something you believe in?

Here is an example of a principle that you might consider…

Self-Defense: While many say they believe in the right to self-defense most don’t understand its origins and authority. If you don’t understand the foundation of a principle, how easily could you be persuaded, or compelled, to abandon that principle?

What is self-defense? Generally speaking it is a legal concept that allows an individual to use reasonable force to protect themselves or another from personal injury that is inflicted by another. Our Founding Fathers saw it as a God-given or natural right, but it didn’t originate with them.

Our Founders refined that concept from John Locke (1632–1704) who stated that natural rights were self-evident and gave man the right/power to pursue life, health, liberty, and possessions, as well as the right to self-defense. But that right came from English law long recognized an absolute right all the way back to 1330. And that can be traced back to Roman law 2000 years ago that stated a man had the right to defend his family and home from anyone who would invade that home. But it can go back further still, all the way to Exodus 22 (1400 BC) stating that a man has the right to defend his home, family, and possessions. Today we would call that the ‘castle doctrine’.

In today’s day and age in a constitutional sense, the natural law basis of the right to armed self-defense is part of the original meaning of the Second Amendment. That human rights were inherent (coming from God), and not granted by government…after all, the entire basis on which the nation was created comes from:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident…that all men are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights…” – Colonial America Declaration of Independence, the foundational document of the United States of America.

How does this right of self-defense apply? Well, it is easy to understand how it applies against criminals who wish to hurt us or others. And I noticed that there is no defining of, or any limitations on, who a person can defend against as it applies to that right. So the criminal part is easy…but so is the defense against a government who wishes to harm/injure us. And that was the bottom line to the whole Declaration of Independence…the right of self-defense from a government that was oppressing 1700’s Colonial Americans.

Hence, we see the Second Amendment was written based on the events of April 19th, 1775 in the Battles of Lexington and Concord. If the Founding Fathers didn’t want us to be able to have the unlimited right of self-defense they would have not have clearly stated such in our Founding Documents and they would not have executed that right themselves 249 years ago.

Now it comes down to morals in terms of self-defense…for instance, if we are committing a crime and injure/kill a person trying to stop us…is that self-defense? No…plain and simple. Or is it? In 1930’s & 1940’s Nazi Germany it was against the law to help Jews avoid capture. Would a German citizen be committing a crime trying to help Jews avoid capture? Yes.

So it boils down again to morals. What morals have priority…which have the highest authority when it comes to laws…now comes the concept of right and wrong.

See how this can get weird and deep…and confusing without much trouble. Let’s go back to Nazi Germany…would you have the moral courage to recognize that the capture and murder of Jews to be right or wrong? Think about it…killing men, women, children, and babies either by shooting, starving, or gassing…right or wrong? For my way of thinking…unquestionably wrong!!

So now it comes down to this…if I break the law helping Jews escape that fate and kill a government agent doing so (i.e. Gestapo), am I guilty of murder or am I justified through the natural right of self-defense?

Let’s change it up a bit…I am a Jew and I kill a German soldier defending my family against capture by Nazis am I guilty of murder or am I justified through the natural right of self-defense even though I committed the crime of murder trying to protect my family?

Let’s make it way too close to home…example: in a disaster law enforcement officers come to my house to take my food storage and my only source of power to keep the lights on and heat running in my home. They do so with the five members of my family present. I refuse to turn over the generator, they threaten my family with guns and attempt to take the food and generator. Would I be justified in defending myself and family?

Remember, there is a difference between justified/legal and the right thing to do (morals). And remember, murder is the shedding of innocent blood. A thief is a thief is a thief…and therefore not innocent.

Let’s take a hypothetical example out just a bit…The Second Amendment is clear…perfectly clear. So next year the US federal government declares all semi-automatic guns illegal via an ATF ruling and begins immediate forceful confiscation the next day. How do you feel about that? I mean how do you really feel about it way down deep in your soul? Pause to think…

Then the day after the declaration…a heavily armed FBI/ATF SWAT team shows up at your door breaking it down to confiscate your guns…what do you do? Or, they show up at your neighbor’s door doing the same…what do you do? How deep is your commitment to the Constitution and Bill of Rights? Are you truly committed…or a fair-weather Constitutionalist?

Can you be persuaded to give up your beliefs in clearly outlined rights, liberties, and freedoms when a pretty boy starts talking about safety, security, the greater good, or national security? Politicians and bureaucrats talk that crap all the time. They spew national security, national interests, keeping the street safe, protecting our children, common sense gun laws, protecting the homeland, patriotism, salute the flag, sing the national anthem, law and order, apple pie…pure bullshit.

What is my point to all of this? The point is…WHO ARE YOU? What do you truly believe in? How deep is your commitment to what you believe in?

If you don’t know the answer to those questions then no amount of preparedness will mean a damn thing. You will be too easily swayed by anything and anyone that comes along who sounds pretty and talks convincingly…or has a gun and a badge.

Here are some examples of my principles/beliefs:

• No one will lay a hand on my family to do harm.
• Abortion, other than to save the life of the mother, is shedding innocent blood.
• The First and Second Amendments are sacrosanct.
• Transgenderism is a mental illness.
• Mutilation of a child in the quest for transgenderism is absolute evil and demonic.

The above are examples where I will not budge and will not be moved. Any attempt to do so will be met with resistance as needed. And no, I am not saying violence…I am saying resistance. However, the Founders did set the example that made violence an action of last resort. (Read the Declaration of Independence)

What about your principles/beliefs?

What do I base my principles/beliefs on? That is an easy one!

First, I base my beliefs on eternal principles. Meaning scripture based words of God. And I follow God far more than any man-made law. Man-made laws will come and go…God’s laws are eternal. Don’t murder, don’t steal, don’t commit fraud, and be faithful to your family. Add into that…try my best to treat others as I want to be treated.

Second, I also base my beliefs on the United States’ founding documents; 1) Declaration of Independence, 2) Constitution, 3) Bill of Rights. I see them each as carrying equal weight.

Anything preached outside of those two areas are null and void if it conflicts with either. And anyone who is doing preaching to persuade otherwise is not to be trusted at all…or is to be resisted or potentially stopped.

What would you use as a basis to define your beliefs and principles? In today’s world…there are lot of people and a lot of organizations that talk pretty, their ideas even sound good and look good. But, if they fall outside of, or are in conflict with, my ‘first’ and ‘second’…then they are of no use, no value, and are to be cast aside by me.

How about you?

In my way of thinking…you MUST figure out who you are, what you believe in, and how committed you are. Otherwise, how will prepping really do you much good?

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)

 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.

The following question was posted as a comment to article of mine last month. The article that I had written outlined a number of current event issues that had come up that are very disturbing and that little can be done by the average person to affect them. So the person posting a comment asked “What can I do?”…mostly out of frustration I think.

The question that was asked shows amazing fortitude and desire to make a difference. Another way to ask that question could be “How do I prepare for what is happening and what is coming?” I am sure there are other versions of that same question but the bottom line is the same.

The answer is “preparedness”…or…to be prepared. To ensure we are on the same page, here are some well-established everyday definitions:

• Preparedness = The state of having been made ready.
• Prepared = Made fit or suitable; adapted; ready; willing.
• Prepare = To make ready beforehand for a specific purpose, as for an event or occasion. To equip yourself.

I found it really interesting how these words all fit together in intention and action. Then it occurred to me to look at another term… self-reliant.

Self-reliant means to be reliant upon one’s self; trusting to one’s own powers or judgment. And to be free from external control and constraint in action and judgment.

As I was pondering this whole concept I put it together like this…

Self-reliant is the end-state, the goal. To get to that point (the end-state or goal), you have to prepare (the action)…thus you are not just prepared, you are self-reliant.

Can you actually be self-reliant in this day and age…or self-reliant in any and all scenarios such as TEOTWAWKI? I don’t think so…too many moving parts and no one person can be sufficiently proficient in all aspects of preparedness. Example: You might be really good at food storage but you might not be a combat medic ready to treat gunshot wounds. In my opinion, being self-reliant in all things is not realistic.

However, I do believe that it is possible to be relatively free from external control and constraint in action and judgment when it comes to who you are and what you believe in…when things get rough. I also believe that the more you are prepared the more self-reliant you can be. Then add to that a trusted circle of people who have additional and complimentary skills.

Why is this exercise in terminology needed? Because you have to have realistic expectations of what you can and can’t accomplish. If it’s not realistic…then you will always be in a state of “fail”. What you want is to be suitably ready, willing, and adaptable to deal with the events that are occurring/coming, while being free external controls and constraints…to the best of your ability. To me that is the essence of preparedness.

If you wanted an instant answer with me telling you what to do, the list could include things such as:

• Call an elderly couple and ask them if you could do their shopping for them.
• Take some diapers over to a single mom’s home.
• Give a couple of rolls of toilet paper to the largest family you know.
• Take a meal to an elderly woman’s home.
• Call your friends and ask them how they are doing and if they need anything.
• Take a big container of soup to your neighbor’s house for dinner.
• Get on Skype and read books to your grandchildren.
• Ask your church’s congregation leadership if a family could use your help.
• Identify some older couple in your neighborhood and call them each day to see how they are doing.
• Take a gallon of milk to a needy family with kids.
• Bake a loaf of bread for your Pastor/Minister/Bishop.
• Post positive stories and messages on your social media account.
• Text friends telling them you are thinking of them and hope things are going well with them.
• If you are shopping take only what you need, and don’t take the last item…look around for someone who needs it more…especially if they are elderly…take it over to them and offer it to them.
• If you are shopping and you see an elderly person shopping by themselves…help them…or at least make eye contact and smile at them.
• Start a Neighborhood Watch program.
• Get out of the mainstream economy the most you can; buy at farmer’s markets, buy at garage sales, buy meat direct from a cattle rancher, barter some of your excess garden vegetables with your neighbors. Trade your skills for other folks’ skills.
• Don’t buy into the FBI propaganda and public relations; see them for who they are.
• Don’t believe a single thing the DOJ says.
• Don’t let law enforcement on you property, especially in your house, without a warrant.
• Never talk with a federal agent without a lawyer present.
• Stay away from 90% of all mainstream media outlets.
• Garden, can, dehydrate, ferment, and freeze as much of your own fruit and produce as possible.
• Learn about and understand the ATF is the most unconstitutional federal law enforcement agency ever created. It exists specifically and solely to destroy the 2nd Amendment and imprison US citizens.
• If you belong to a political party…leave it.
• Develop strong principles, morals, and ethics…don’t compromise them.
• If you belong to a church that supports abortion…leave it and find a Christ-centered church to join.
• If you have children in public schools…try your best to homeschool…or at least provide education to your children that counters the anti-American, pro-Socialist/Communist crap they learn in public schools.
• Learn and teach history.
• Figure out how to make a great living without going to college. Professions such as electricians, plumbers, builders, mechanics, computer programmers and technicians, and a wide range of other occupations that pay as good or better than college educated jobs…and without the 10’s of thousands of $’s of debt that college requires.
• Become as independent of the government, utilities, media, school systems, and the economy as possible.
• Work outside of the conventional economy. Buy direct from farmers, ranchers, and farmers markets; buy from thrift stores, flea markets, and swap meets. Go to garage sales and estate sales; buy from online classifieds. Give your unneeded stuff away…or barter them for things you wan/need.

All of the above could make a difference in life…for you and others. But, you know, I really don’t want to just tell you things to do because they would be my ideas, not personal/applicable to you. Additionally, you also would just be doing stuff and not figuring out what was behind it all…the ‘why’ you were doing it. And honestly, the list may not include a single thing for you; you have to figure out what is right for you to do.

I would much rather share some insight in preparing and let you run with it…you figure out your own list.

Preparedness has two major components; 1) the principles, 2) the practical. Preparedness also is by far more a state of mind than anything tangible. Most people live their lives simply going through the daily motions of eat, sleep, work, a little socializing, barely some quality time with the family…repeat. Few folks ever really put much thought into the “what if” side of life…probably for along list of reasons. Mostly, I believe that people feel that disasters happen to others and ‘grid-down’ stuff only shows up in novels and movies. Add on top of that, preparing takes time and money…something most people feel they already don’t have enough of. It takes a particular, a special, mindset to be successful at prepping long-term.

Have you already had a change of your mindset, your thinking, your view of the world? If not, are you willing to see things differently, unconventionally, non-conforming?

Generally speaking the “principles” part are the intangibles, the “why’s” and the underlying reasons behind what you will be doing as a prepper. This principles area is a little more ambiguous in nature and due to it being so broad of a subject it will need a bit more explanation. The “practical” part is fairly easy…it is what you will do to be prepared. The “principles” part is who you are, or who you will become, to be prepared.

Which element is more important, principles or the practical?

Dang, tough question to answer…kinda like a “chicken or the egg” kinda question. They both are very important and one can’t be very successful without the other. But, I feel the “principles” component is the highest priority. Why? Because it will probably take more thinking, more introspection, and potentially tougher actions/changes.

Principles –

What exactly am I referring to when I talk about principles? Over the last several years my attitude and view of principles have changed. My view used to be strictly along the lines of principles only as applying to the practical side of preparedness. Topics such as Situational Awareness, classification of events to be prepared for, risk mitigation, etc. And I wasn’t wrong. But, as time went on I realized there was a whole other side to the principles concept.

Let me share a couple of quotes for you to ponder…

“A man who has nothing he is willing to die for has nothing worth living for.” – Martin Luther King Jr.

“If you’re not ready to die for it, put the word ‘freedom’ out of your vocabulary.” – Malcom X

“In the great scheme of things, what matters is not how long you live but why you live, what you stand for and what you are willing to die for.” – Paul Watson

“If you’re not at least willing to die for something -something that really matters- in the end, you die for nothing.” – Andrew Klavan

And then there is…

“Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!” – Patrick Henry, 1775

A little less dramatic would be a quote normally attributed to Alexander Hamilton –

“If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.”

The point I am trying to make is this…Who are you really and what do you truly believe in? Followed up with…Are you willing to die for those things you believe in? Isn’t that the real test of commitment in something? Are you willing to lay down your life for something you believe in?

Tomorrow I will get a little further into those questions with actual examples, more information, and a challenge for you.

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)
  

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