Six Reasons Why You Won’t Survive
1. Overconfidence – The overconfidence effect is a bias in which someone’s subjective confidence in their judgments and abilities is greater that their actual skill set or knowledge.
Never assume you know everything or even enough. We can always learn and expand our knowledge base. I learn new things and contemplate fresh ideas all the time, the guy or gal thinking they know all there is to know will likely be the first one in the stew-pot.
2. Procrastination – I covered procrastination in a previous post “How To Stop Procrastinating and Start Prepping”. Procrastination, the habit of putting things off to the last possible minute, can get you killed. In a true collapse situation you may not have time to run to the corner grocery to stock up.
Everyone will try that. The lines will be long, dangerous and best avoided. It’s better to get off your butt and get it done now. A lot of people fear stocking up on survival foods and never needing to use what they bought, eventually there stocks go bad and they waste money.
This is nonsense. You will always need to eat, so the solution is simple eat what you store and replace. First in – first out. Repeat. This way you never spend more money than you normally would. All your doing is buying what you already need in advance.
3. Inefficient use of resources -This is another big mistake often made by preppers. Wasting money (resources) on things of lesser importance, while neglecting the stuff needed to survive.
I see this all the time. You know what I’m talking about – the “survivor” who spends $10,000 on weapons and related gear, yet has a two week supply of survival food and no water filter.
This is stupid. I love guns and gear as much as the next guy – but I know eating and drinking are more important to survival. Sure we need weapons to protect what we’ve put away, just don’t neglect the other stuff.
A Lee-Enfield or Mosin Nagant will stop a raider as sure as the most expensive tactical weapons system. The key is skill and a willingness to squeeze the trigger.
An expensive armament will not make up for lack of skill or proper mind set.
4. Failure to act – This one ties in with procrastination and indecision and many of us suffer from it. Not only will it interfere with your survival plans it can stop you from planning at all. Look at your situation, form a plan (write it down) and do it. No excuses.
5. Lack of persistence – Most people start their survival preps with the utmost determination and desire to get things done – but they stop when they run into the first obstacle. They lack persistence.
Most things aren’t easy, if you give up before completing your goal, you will never get anything done. Quitters never succeed. Set realistic preparedness goals (write them down) and work through it until completion.
In case you missed it, the key word is realistic, never set goals that are impossible to reach. Most of us can’t afford the retreat in Idaho, $20,000 survival gun collection, hummer, concrete bunker and ten year supple of mountain house freeze-dried foods.
I’m sure many who read such advice give up before they even start. Some survival blogs just don’t get it. They can’t identify with the common, struggling to make ends meet individual in the trenches. They are blinded by their wealth to the point of being nearly worthless to the needs of common folk. Set realistic goals, not pie in the sky dreams. Write it down and work at it until it is a reality.
6. Divided actions – Many preppers run around like the chicken with its head cut off. Their actions are divided, to the point where they never get anything done.
A can of spam here, a box of ammo there, maybe work on a bug out bag – but they never meet their goals or get anything done. You know who I’m talking about…
Take a look at your personal situation and decide what is the most important concideration for your survival. Again make a list. List the most important to the most trivial. Work down the list in descending order until your goals are completed.
What’s been holding you back? What advice do you have for others?
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January 4th, 2010 at 12:39 PM
Great post M.D. I think we are all guilty of these at one time or another. Thank you for a wonderful blog.
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January 4th, 2010 at 2:43 PM
Nice kick to JWR's yuppie balls think he felt that one? You are right he just don't get it.
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January 4th, 2010 at 2:53 PM
Have to agree. Over the last year JWR and survival blog have been going down hill with the information being more of buy my book than practical advice.
He is in it to make a buck. His "Rawles Gets You Ready" preparedness course," is no better than your free ebook yet he wants you to send $149.95, plus $12 S&H U.S. for it! Sad.
And don't forget to donate to his "Ten Cent Challenge subscriptions" fund daddy needs a new SUV.
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January 4th, 2010 at 3:13 PM
As always good advice, M.D. keep up the great work and your free ebook was top of the line. Making it available as a free download shows you have class and actually care about your readers.
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January 4th, 2010 at 3:16 PM
Book Review: Rawles gets you Ready this review says it all.
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January 4th, 2010 at 3:20 PM
Rawles blog is written by his readers he writes very little of his content, yet he gets all of the financial rewards. Don't seem fair.
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January 4th, 2010 at 3:22 PM
Divided actions and lack of focus are the two thing holding back my preps. Great post.
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January 4th, 2010 at 4:05 PM
This is a great post for the new year. In 40 years of prepping, I have tried never to stop learning. It has slowed from time to time, but never stopped. One item that struck out as very important is "Inefficient use of resources". When I first started, I bought all sorts of "survival food" that I had no knowledge or skill in preparing. Most of that food was thrown out without ever having been used. WHAT A WASTE! It's also dangerous. Suppose something had happened when I had all that "food" set aside? Inefficient use of resources had produced overconfidence! Today, I store what I eat and I eat what I store. A very important rule. I work into my diet all the types of food I have in my storage supply on a weekly basis. These types include: store-bought canned food (rotation is important here), the Mormon basic four (wheat, powdered milk, sugar or honey and salt), buckets of beans and rice, MREs (for emergency evacuation), freeze-dried food and food from my garden. One other important issue is WATER! I bet most of us don't have enough water stored.
On "Lack of persistence": I do a FULL check on ALL of my gear and supplies on a quarterly basis: As a tradition (and suggest it should be made one), I do this over a two-day period at the New Year, in March, near the 4th of July and around Labor Day. I just finished one of my checks last week. Persistence paid off when I found that the terminals on a piece of communications equipment had developed some corrosion rendering it "NOT READY". A quick sanding of the terminals with an emory board, a re-test of the equipment and the replacement of a moisture absorber was done before I needed it in an emergency.
If you're just starting, don't try to do it all at once. Start with the basics and add to them. Over time your preparations with mature with persistence.
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January 4th, 2010 at 4:41 PM
Its all here with this post and the other free ones from here. Written down for us,all we have to do is follow it. Its coming, there's no reason not to be ready.
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January 4th, 2010 at 7:22 PM
A Lee-Enfield or Mosin Nagant will stop a raider as sure as the most expensive tactical weapons system. The key is skill and a willingness to squeeze the trigger.
So true.
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January 4th, 2010 at 7:36 PM
Regarding you ebook" It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine." The lyrics of a song by the commie rock band U2. That really makes me want to read this, not! Free and no doubt worth every penny.
Get a life jerk. Rawles Gets You Ready" preparedness course is much better and worth every penny.
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January 4th, 2010 at 7:42 PM
Anonymous 2:36 PM,
Thank you for your comment it is much appreciated. Regarding the title of my ebook, it was meant to be more of a slap in the face for U2 than a testament of agreement toward their political views.
Anyway I hope you enjoy Rawles preparedness course and find it most useful. Good luck.
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January 4th, 2010 at 7:52 PM
M.D. pay no attention to butt heads like Anonymous 2:36 PM he is just a jerk causing trouble. No doubt he will be the first one in the stew pot. Great job on the ebook by the way.
Big Bob
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January 4th, 2010 at 8:28 PM
Actually, "It's the End of the World As We Know It" was performed and written by the band REM. Not U2. That was my decade, so I had to correct the misinformation.
I like your blog, pretty much. I'm probably not your typical reader … I work in a business that would probably be considered suspicious or dangerous to most survivalist types. But I see the end of days coming… and I don't plan to go down without a fight.
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January 4th, 2010 at 9:29 PM
I must say that this false rivalry some of you insist on contriving between Creekmore and Rawles is both ridiculous and distracting. It does nothing to help me prepare myself and my family for what may lie ahead. Both survivalblog and thesurvivalistblog have good ideas; both have things that I find useful. The things that are not useful, I ignore. Who cares if Rawles doesn't write most of his own stuff? The articles are still informative. I applaud M.D. for writing all of his own stuff; it is generally informative and it pushes me to better my preps. I simply wish that those of you who like to participate in the imaginary pissing match between Creekmore and Rawles would STOP. It isn't helpful to anyone.
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January 4th, 2010 at 9:36 PM
That song is by the commie band REM, not the "look ma I'm saving Africa" commies called U2.
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January 4th, 2010 at 9:38 PM
I AGREE WITH EVERYTHING HERE,IF YOU WANT TO LIVE PREP AND PRAY .IF YOU DONT DO YOU THINK THE GOVERNMENT WILL HELP.PEOPLE WE GOT TO BE READY AS OUR FRIEND FROM ILLINIOS HAS STATED FOR SO LONG.LETS GET READY IS THE ADVICE I WOULD OFFER TO THOSE WHO CARE TO SURVIVE,THAT BEING THE MESS WE ARE IN AS A COUNTRY.FROM JAY IN NC
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January 4th, 2010 at 9:40 PM
Thanks for the correction – I get REM and U2 mixed up – both pretty much the same. I heard the song along time ago and the title stuck in my head.
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January 4th, 2010 at 9:46 PM
Just for reference sake the song was by REM not U2 – it doesn't make much difference as the politics don't change.
I haven't had a chance to read Rawles book because I can't afford it. However I appreciate all that you do MD. I first started reading your posts on BHM's boards and have followed you since then. You seem quite sincere and straightforward. If you can get your point across in a single page you do it rather than turning it into a novel. I really appreciate that as my reading time is almost as limited as my finances.
I was glad to see that I'm on the right track as far as preps go (according to your e-book). The book also helped me to focus my 'next steps' as I have a tendency to be the sort who grabs a box of bullets and a case of canning jars one week and 50# of flour and some batteries the next. What did you call us… Divided – yeah… that's me. Keep up the great work MD!
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January 4th, 2010 at 9:55 PM
A few notes in the way of first impressions of a new reader:
1) Thank you for your sincere contribution to the education and preparation of people that need it.
2) You lose credibility when you can't spell/edit.
3) I agree that JWR's site is full of other people's information and that he's always begging for money. So what, stop bickering. It makes you look like a child.
I hope you can take it constructively.
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January 4th, 2010 at 10:17 PM
Ditto on the trouble makers. Neither M.D. nor Rawles bad-mouth each other. They each have something to contribute, and fill respective niches. I read and enjoy and learn from both blogs.
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January 4th, 2010 at 10:45 PM
MD,
I can't get your contact page to send a message to you. It says I've entered the wrong code, which I have not, as far as I can tell.
Please email me at mollyvon13@hotmail.com regarding your "End of the World…", if you would please.
Thanks much, and thanks for a great site.
jb
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January 5th, 2010 at 1:06 AM
Ditto on the "false rivalry" thing. Cut it out. It detracts from the useful things I find on the sites.
As to the list, I must say that Divided Actions could be a big one. I used to think that a bugout bag, vehicle and hideaway retreat were the thing. Try bugging out. Grab your bag and hit the woods, your retreat or even a motel for a week. Can you load up quickly? Can you even find everything? Could you carry all that crap 50 miles on your back if you had to?
I can't even get my family of 4 loaded into the car for a trip to the local mall efficiently. It's like herding cats! We have a retreat in another state which can be accessed by ATV, but that's an absolute last resort! Our house is our castle and fort. Harden your home & only prepare a bugout plan for the 72 hour natural disaster scenario.
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January 5th, 2010 at 8:06 AM
This was a really good post. Everybody can afford to prep.
What did you eat last week? Can you buy a little more of what will keep without electricity? If you buy a few extra cans every week and use what you normally do you'll end up with a stash of food you use.
On Monday we stopped at a Cabela's and ended up looking at the water filters. Those sports bottle filters are not that spendy (and that was at Cabelas!) and clean drinking water is a must. There are plans/descriptions on the net about how to build a water filter.
The "Big 5" ad I just saw (western WA) had the Mosin Nagant on sale this for $99.
A supply of the food you already eat will get you thru a bad cash flow week (you had to fix the car??) or help out if you lose your job, it will be really welcomed the next ice storm. It doesn't have to be civilization collapsing.
There is no end to problems, being ready is the best thing you can do and you don't have to be wealthy to prepare.
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January 6th, 2010 at 6:34 AM
jUST A COMMENT OF FACT kinda, I did not attend the funeral so therefore it is a kinda fact. Rawles lost his wife recently to cancer as I understand it.
and now— what I have read so far, is good enough to stick around and read more.
73s
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January 6th, 2010 at 6:44 PM
I'm sure many who read such advice give up before they even start. Some survival blogs just don't get it. They can't identify with the common, struggling to make ends meet individual in the trenches. They are blinded by their wealth to the point of being nearly worthless to the needs of common folk.
Sounds like politicians. They are all worthless!
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January 6th, 2010 at 9:24 PM
"Some survival blogs just don't get it. They can't identify with the common, struggling to make ends meet individual in the trenches. They are blinded by their wealth to the point of being nearly worthless to the needs of common folk."
He's talking about YOU, Rawles. LOL
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January 9th, 2010 at 7:30 PM
You know, everyone going on about U2 being commies sounds incredibly ignorant. Certainly they are a rather left leaning bunch of arrogant, self-aggrandizing, do-gooders. But they are certainly not communist.
In fact they are very successful Capitalists. They made a fortune with their music, and then multipied it several times through skillful investment. Hate their politics if you want (I do), but you have to respect their business accumen
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January 10th, 2010 at 9:11 PM
I notice at the end he asks what advice we may have, so instead of going off an U2/REM I think I'll offer some advice, take it for what its worth.
I have a family of 3, which equals 3 bug out bags. The bags each contain 100 rounds of pistol ammo + pistol, 100 rounds rifle ammo + M-4, a SW radio with spare batteries and a solar charger, 4 1qt canteens attached to the outside and a bottle of iodine tablets 3 3600 cal. survival bars, a ranger hand book spare socks and clothes that FIT, first aid with quick clot, a knife, pocket fisherman, poncho and liner, flint and steel, compass and a tin of shoe polish (its a good fire starter + the flame really shines!) There are other things in there but thats just to give you an idea of what I have.
The most important thing, and this is going to come across as cold as Ice, but the reason all 3 contain the same Items and everyone in the house knows where they are is just in case somebody must be left behind for whatever reason. Something we all need to get in our head is that everyone acts differently in a crisis, some go into action, others freeze up and no ammount of prodding or threatening will make them move. That is when you have to decide do I leave or stay? Hope that the act of leaving will get them moving, if not at the very least you know you left them with the same chance of survival as you have.
What are your thoughts on this?
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January 20th, 2010 at 5:50 PM
CRIMES AGAINST POSTERITY
SWINE FLU SWINDLE
SWINES FLEW IN TOP HATS
Glaxo is just a marketing hand
so who sold that vacc to the whole world carrying seeds of the next pandemic?
What state, what monster?
When failed, getting away to try again?
Like Oklahoma
your comment must be approved by
OH YEAH?
guess where all the internet monitoring flows to and you guessed where that vaccine maker sits
According to a list compiled by Dr. Patricia Doyle at rense.com, a host of strange ingredients are used to make up Hoffman-La Roche's anti-flu drug Tamiflu, which has recently been connected with bizarre behavior,
Patients using Tamiflu — which many nations are stocking up on as a way to combat a possible pandemic of the deadly H5N1 bird flu — reported delirium, hallucinations, delusions, convulsions, disturbed consciousness and abnormal behavior. The FDA reports that side effects reported with Tamiflu include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, bronchitis, stomach pain, dizziness and headache.
ANTI-MONOPOLISTS VERY QUIET ON JUST ONE FIRM ''SERVING'' THE WHOLE WORLD
COMING SOON FROM THE SAME CREEPS: CARBON SIN RELIC INDULGENCES, PAYABLE GUESS TO WHOM.
Hint 1, it never was the Pope.
Hint 2, when exposed with biggest fake relics collection ever, the perpetrators protest laudest and become The Reformation Crowd.
Hint 3, See Barnum's Humbugs of all times 1860 book, chapter on Moon Hoax
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