The Best Prepper Advice I've Ever Heard

I've been around the prepper/survivalist community for 15 years. During that time, I've heard and read a lot of advice for prepping for future crises. Some of that advice is good. And some is not so good. In today's post, I reveal the absolute best piece of advice I've heard. On Thursday, I will revel the absolute worst.

The Best Prepper Advice I've Ever Heard 

Preparedness is about your attitude. Its not about tools, or supplies, or even skills. It is about your mind, the way you think. It is about developing a self-reliant mindset. A mindset which says - I am responsible for myself and my family - not government, not corporations, not society, not "experts" or anyone else. Me. I am responsible.

It  is an attitude that says "I need to be informed, therefore it is my responsibility to get informed.  I need to know myself and what I want out of life, and not just go with the flow or otherwise just drift aimlessly through life.  I need to think for myself, and not rely on others to do my thinking for me. I need to make my own decisions, and I need to act on those decisions. I need to adapt to changing circumstances and not just whine when things get difficult."

In many ways, its the exact opposite of the modern way of thinking. Its about not being one of the sheeple - waiting around for some imagined "authority" or "expert" to tell us what to do and when to do it. Its about not worrying what others think or about being liked. Its about not being intimidated into inaction, failing to make decisions and take actions, for whatever reason, be it fear, uncertainty, lack of confidence, or whatever.

Think ahead. Ask yourself "What problems and difficulties might I face in the future? What can I do now to help myself and my family overcome those problems if and when they do occur." Find the information you need. Make plans based on that information. Take actions to make those plans reality.

The most important thing you can do to survive and thrive, in good times and bad, is to start taking personal responsibility now for your own life and the lives of your family. This is the attitude you need, and it is the best advice I've ever heard.

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Building Community in Your Neighborhood

Want community? Many preppers do. Here are some tips to find and build community right where you live:

You have to play the hand your dealt. It is not a perfect world, and no neighborhood is perfect - mine included (and don't I know it!). But your neighborhood is where you live, for better or worse, so you might as well make the best of it. Sitting around wishing for things to be different is counterproductive.

You don't need everyone.  Not every neighbor is going to be like-minded, or even friendly towards your efforts. That's okay. You don't need to get every single person in your neighborhood on-board with your plans. Its not all or nothing. There will always be a few malcontents you will never be able to reach. Ignore them and build community with those you can. Some community with some folks is better than no community at all. 

Knock on doors. Or at least wave at mailboxes. In other words, you have to take the first step. Waiting around for your neighbors to come to you won't work. Go. Introduce yourself to them. 


Avoid religion and politics, especially in the early stages. Basic preparedness doesn't depend on religion or politics. You don't need to be of a certain religion to store food and water. You don't need to have a certain political viewpoint to learn first aid. You don't need to have the exact same religious or political views to encourage and help your neighbors. 

Don't talk prepping, at least at first.  The preparedness talk can come later, for now simply get to know your neighbors. Find out what you might have in common. As things progress, you can start dropping prepper lines and see how they respond.  

Form a Neighborhood Watch. It can official (working with your local police, posting signs, etc.) or informal (exchanging phone numbers and agreeing to keep an eye out for strangers or anything else suspicious in the neighborhood). The point is you and your neighbors will begin getting to know one another and watching out for each other. You can build from there.

Have a community yard sale. We have been doing this in our neighborhood for a few years now. About twice a year we'll get together and advertise a community yard sale on a Saturday. Not every household participates, but many do. Even many of those that don't participate in the selling walk around looking at what others are selling. Curiosity gets them out of their house. I've actually met several neighbors this way that I otherwise never would have met.

One by one. Two by two. Everyone doesn't have to get together at the same time. A neighborhood-wide barbecue may be too much to put together, but you can host a barbecue maybe once a month and invite one or two neighborhood families over. Invite different families each month. Barbecuing not your thing? Try a Game Night instead. Or a movie night.

Advance slowly but surely.  Turning your neighborhood into a community is a one-step-at-a-time activity. Get to know each other. Then work on building friendships with those who seem willing. Then start talking preparedness with those that seem receptive. 

Building community is about more than just preparedness. Preparedness for some future crisis might be your ultimate goal, but it cannot be your only goal, otherwise you'll scare people off. Community is about building friendships and relationships of trust. Community is about watching out for each other, encouraging each other, and helping each other. The cold fact is that you are extremely unlikely to get your neighborhood converted into a 100% prepared for doomsday survivalist community. But the more of a community that you're neighborhood is, the better off you'll all be if and when the SHTF.
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Patriots' Prayers for 7-15-2018

There is no audio version of this week's Patriots' Prayers. The audio versions will return next week. 

Prayers of Praise and Thanksgiving

Psalm 100: 1 – 6

 1 Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands!
 2 Serve the LORD with gladness;
         Come before His presence with singing.
 3 Know that the LORD, He is God;
         It is He who has made us, and we are His;
         We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
    
 4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
         And into His courts with praise.
         Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
 5 For the LORD is good;
         His mercy is everlasting,
         And His truth endures to all generations.

Heavenly Father, We humbly and heartily thank You for hearing our prayers.We thank You for the many blessings You have bestowed upon us, both as individuals and as a nation. We thank You for the many rights and freedoms You have given to us, that no man or government may take away. We thank You for our Right to Life, to Liberty, and to pursue our own Happiness according to Your Ways. We thank You for Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Religion, and the Freedom to be secure in our own person, among many other Freedoms. We thank You for the authority and perfection of Your Word, providing us with absolute standards of right and wrong. We thank You especially for Your love - a love so great that You sent Your only begotten Son, that we might be saved from our own sins. Thank You for Your forgiveness, undeserved as it may be. For all Your many blessings and mercies, we thank you. In the Name of the Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen. 
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Understanding Preparedness - Loss of Comforts of Civilization

Sweden recently issued a "Prepare for War" booklet to all Swedish households.  In it, they ask the rhetorical question What would you do if your everyday life was turned upside down? They go on to say "In just a short time, your everyday life can become problematic." 

Problematic? Really? For the scenario the Swedes seemed concerned with, a civilization-altering world war possibly including the use of nukes, problematic doesn't even begin to describe it. Try "your everyday life as you have known it will become impossible."

This goes not only for a possible nuclear war, but for other widespread disasters, including natural disasters (plagues, super-volcanoes, CMEs, etc) and man-made disasters (widespread civil unrest, attempted coups, civil war, economic collapse, etc.). Life as we currently know it could change drastically and suddenly.

Results of a Major Disaster

A major  disaster usually will result in the temporary or permanent loss of many of the “comforts of civilization” we are used to enjoying. Comforts of civilization are those things that are provided to us by modern civilization that we take for granted. So much so that we don't even consider them comforts or luxuries anymore, but rather basic necessities. It would be difficult for most modern people to provide most of these things for themselves, especially without learning new skills, having access to stockpiles of tools and supplies, and preparing well in advance for their loss.

These comforts of civilization we would likely lose include:

• Readily available running water that is safe to drink.
• Readily available food from stores and restaurants.
• “Flush and forget” human waste disposal.
• Modern medicine and health care.
• Readily available electricity for lighting, heating, cooling, cooking and hot water.
• Readily available natural gas for heating, cooking and hot water.
• Readily available fuel for cars, trucks, tractors and planes.
• Public transportation (trains, buses, subways, taxis, etc.).
• Instant long distance communication (phones, email, etc.).
• Ready access to education (schools) and knowledge (libraries, the Internet, etc).
• Ready access to emergency services such as fire, police, and paramedics.
• Most modern luxuries (television, IPods, mobile phones, computers & the Internet, etc.).
• An economic support infrastructure (electronic funds transfers, shipping & delivery, etc.).
• Ability to spend money without having it (credit cards, mortgages, installment plans, etc.)

Disasters can also lead to the loss of certain fundamental (inalienable) rights. This loss would, of course, be both immoral and illegal, but may occur because of the imposition of political correctness, a police state, martial law, or even the development or imposition of a dictatorship. The rights which may be lost include:

• Loss of Privacy.
• Loss of Freedom of Speech.
• Loss of Freedom of Religion.
• Loss of Freedom of the Press.
• Loss of Free Assembly.
• Loss of Freedom of Movement.
• Loss of Self-Defense Rights.
• Loss of Due Process.
• Loss of Parental Rights.
• Removal of children from your home.
• Confiscation of land, firearms, knives, personal property, or even your stored food, water, and other supplies.

Understanding what a major disaster will likely entail will help us to better plan for such frightening scenarios. Ask yourself questions about how you could realistically handle the loss of these comforts of civilization and even these basic rights.

Detailed planning, rather than hit-or-miss stockpiling of food, guns, and other stuff,  takes time and effort, but will go a long way towards ensuring the survival of you and your family & community.

***You might also be interested in my article Sweden Distributes ‘Prepare for War’ Booklet to All Swedes - Here's What It Advises
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Website Update - Comments Disabled

Hi Folks,

Due to a sharp uptick this year in the number attempted comments that are pure SPAM and/or contain links to phishing sites, virus and malware infested sites, and even potentially illegal content, the comments section has been discontinued. It is simply impossible for me to (safely) check each and every link posted, yet failure to do so not only puts my readers at risk, but also raises the specter of potential legal liability.  Sadly, this is a perfect example of a few "bad apples" ruining things for everyone else.

The software used to build this site has only limited options for maintaining a comments section. I have tried various settings available to me to better manage comments, but this appears to have inadvertently blocked or erased many legitimate comments. A few of my readers have recently expressed their frustration to me that many of their comments aren't being posted. I understand their frustration, and share it.  But the reality of the situation is that this website is a one-man operation with limited funds. Additional tech-support or software upgrades are simply not affordable. So, for now at least, the best option seems to be to discontinue the comments section. 

I sincerely want to thank all of my readers. I greatly appreciate each and every one of you. THANK YOU!!! I will continue to post articles that I hope you will find both useful and enjoyable. 

My God Bless You,

Tim Gamble 

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