Tag Archives: lifestyle planning

Episode-1038- Understanding the Coming Shifts in Society

Posted on December 11, 2012 by Modern Survival| 51 Comments
Episode-1038- Understanding the Coming Shifts in Society [ 1:15:06 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Recently I have had to explain many times that TSP is not about “the end of the world” in the way prepping is portrayed in “Doomsday Preppers” and other such mass media things.  I don’t mean on the air, I mean in real life and in some email exchanges.  This is part of why I hate things like Doomsday Non Reality TV.

Thing is I don’t really care if someone thinks I am nuts.  Hell my business partner Neil Franklin calls me “Crazy Jack”.  The concern is that when prepping is presented as “extreme” to the masses it actually emboldens them to remain unprepared.  They look at this stuff and think “those people are nuts” and the natural response to take the show to be nothing more then entertainment like Jersey Shore of the bimbo Kardahians.

The reality is along with things like natural disasters which we have all witnessed many suffer the consequences of not being prepared for, we have a bigger issue.  The world is not going to end but it is shifting right now in many ways, today we are going to discuss that shift.

Join Me Today As We Discuss…

  • How we got here collectively
  • How we got here individually (more important)
  • Some Shifts we Must Understand
    • Population
    • Economics
    • Politics
    • Migration
    • Resource Competition
    • Long Term Cycles
  • Why these things will happen, not might happen
  • What we can do to prepare for them
  • Why we need to be prepared to help more then just “our own”
  • The community you are part of whether you want to be or not
  • Why there is a lot of hope in our future despite a lot of challenge

Resources for today’s show…

Remember to comment, chime in and tell us your thoughts, this podcast is one man’s opinion, not a lecture or sermon. Also please enter our listener appreciation contest and help spread the word about our show. Also remember you can call in your questions and comments to 866-65-THINK and you might hear yourself on the air.

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Episode-1011- What is Modern Survivalism Really All About

Posted on November 1, 2012 by Modern Survival| 30 Comments
Episode-1011- What is Modern Survivalism Really All About [ 1:06:48 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Learn from the past, live in the now, plan for the future

Learn from the Past, Live in the Now, Plan for the Future

Every day I get an email from some company that wants something from the TSP community.  They want to promote some new gadget or gizmo, on occasion it is something really new, cool and useful.   More often then not though it is some repackaged crap or over priced assembly of commonly available components.

Since I have told off just about every major network executive like those making the horrible crappy “Doomsday ________” shows they contact me less frequently but it still happens.  They are always looking to discuss the “end of the world” and do a good job of feigning false support of the idea.

Additionally of my 200-500 daily emails a good portion are new audience members that are in a huge state of fear.  Most just found out recently that everything isn’t okay and super and that real threats exist.  They are generally focused on one or two major threats and freaked out.  The ones who have been listening to Alex Jones are generally the worst.

These are three very different groups of people, but they all have the same problem, they don’t really know what real survivalism is all about.  Yep real survivalism, but I call it modern survivalism, today we discuss why.  In short to me, modern survivalism is a lifestyle that builds redundancy first around our needs, then around our wants and lastly around luxury so that we can live a better life.

Join Us Today As We Discuss…

  • The bullshit statement, “I am not a prepper I am a real survivalist”
  • What my real goals are for my nation and the rest of the world for that matter
  • Why reactionary prepping is dangerous and counter productive
  • How to decouple from fear based action
  • Balancing the reality of true threats with common sense
  • Why understanding needs is important
    • Food
    • Water
    • Shelter
    • Energy
    • Security
    • Sanitation and Health
  • Why living life effectively when times are good is the best form of preparedness
    • Insure your needs have redundancies
    • Build real wealth in every way you can
    • Bet neither on failure or success, either way you will lose
    • Develop skills and knowledge daily
    • Learn from others but don’t try to be who they are
    • Trust yourself more then anyone else, including me
    • Learn from the past, live in the now, plan for the future

Resources for today’s show…

Remember to comment, chime in and tell us your thoughts, this podcast is one man’s opinion, not a lecture or sermon. Also please enter our listener appreciation contest and help spread the word about our show. Also remember you can call in your questions and comments to 866-65-THINK and you might hear yourself on the air.

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Episode-1002- The Why, What and How of Modern Homesteading

Posted on October 19, 2012 by Modern Survival| 44 Comments
Episode-1002- The Why, What and How of Modern Homesteading [ 1:14:05 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
The Classic View of "Homestead" is not the Only Option

The Classic View of “Homestead” is not the Only Option

There is an old saying, “what’s old is new again”.  While a fashion minded yuppie may be referring to something like a brief return of the awful concept of bell bottom jeans or some such nonsense, there is a real meaningful component to the statement.

When we are unhappy, when we know something is wrong we try to think back to happier times and make part of what they had part of what we have today.  Why do you think “I Love Lucy”, “Andy Griffith” and even “The Three Stooges” enjoyed a lot of rebirth after 911? Why do you think one network plays “A Christmas Story” for 24 hours strait every Christmas?

This is particularly playing out today in the homesteading and back to the land movements.  Something is different this time though, people seem to be doing it for a new reason, while seeking the lessons of the past, they are actually looking to the future.  Rather then nostalgia driving a quaint idea, we seem to have realized, there is “a better way to do things”.

Join Me Today as We Discuss….

  • The Why of Modern Homesteading
    • Saving Money
    • Improving Health (mental and phyical)
    • Taking Control
    • Building Value in our Homes and Communities
  • The What of Modern Homesteading
    • Food Production
    • Animals That Have Jobs
    • Creation of Income
    • Development of Skills
    • Energy Independence (even by percentage)
    • Resource Identification
  • The How of Modern Homesteading
    • Gardening/Permaculture and Irrigation
    • Food Preservation Methods
      • Fermentation
      • Dehydration
      • Canning
      • Flash Freezing
      • Jerky/Biltong
      • Brewing/Vinting
    • Foraging
    • Barter and Buying from the Local Economy
    • Animal Husbandry
    • Tool Maintenance
    • Planning/Scheduling Activities and Upkeep
    • Record Keeping
    • Community Development

Resources for Today’s Show…

Remember to comment, chime in and tell us your thoughts, this podcast is one man’s opinion, not a lecture or sermon. Also please enter our listener appreciation contest and help spread the word about our show. Also remember you can call in your questions and comments to 866-65-THINK and you might hear yourself on the air.

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Episode-985- From Pawn to Personal Sovereignty

Posted on September 25, 2012 by Modern Survival| 143 Comments
Episode-985- From Pawn to Personal Sovereignty [ 1:03:22 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
If You Wish to be Free - First Understand You are a Pawn

If You Wish to be Free – First Understand You are a Pawn

I chose the title today in spite of the wackos at the fringe of the “sovereign citizen movement”, not because of them.  In may ways those people have polluted the concept of personal sovereignty but no other phrase really applies to what I want to discuss with you today.

Personal sovereignty basically means “self ownership” and as such is much larger then any political statement.  Someone who truly lives their life based on self ownership must carry far more responsibility then just telling others that they won’t do as commanded.  The individual sovereign much accept that if they fail the failure is theirs and it will be up to them to get up and try again.  They realize any help by any other party will be voluntarily and not something they are entitled to.

They will carry a burden that due to this they must also have a responsibility to help others in need, to do what is right for simply the sake of right.  They can’t rely on others to tell them when to give, what to give, how much to give or who deserves their help.  They must be responsible for themselves, their families, their communities and their nation as a whole.  The problem is today, most people even those who believe they are “free” are pawns on a giant chess board.  Just as the drug addict must first admit to being a drug addict before he can become free of drugs, so must we admit first that we are pawns if we wish to claim our birth rights of personal sovereignty.

Join Me Today As I Discuss…

  • The blog post that led to this
  • What our nation claims to be vs. what it is
  • Why you must first accept you are a pawn if you want to be free
  • Why you have to let go of all dogmatic beliefs when they are proven false
  • What is personal sovereignty
  • What are your responsibilities as someone who owns yourself
  • How do you break the chains that keep you on the game board
  • What hope do we have if we indeed are all pawns?  A lot!

Resources for Today’s Show…

Remember to comment, chime in and tell us your thoughts, this podcast is one man’s opinion, not a lecture or sermon. Also please enter our listener appreciation contest and help spread the word about our show. Also remember you can call in your questions and comments to 866-65-THINK and you might hear yourself on the air.

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Episode-874- Thoughts From Jack On The Great Lie of Dichotomy

Posted on April 5, 2012 by Modern Survival| 60 Comments
Episode-874- Thoughts From Jack On The Current State Of Things [ 1:07:54 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
How's This for a Choice?

How's This for a Choice?

Once in a while I just need to take the time to chat with you guys about what is going on and perhaps clean up some things from past episodes as well.

Today is such a day.  Likely as in most instances when I speak my mind I will tick some of you off, hence I ask you to listen to the second bullet point today with your heart and truly think about something I am going to describe and ask you to consider.

Survival is not just waking up alive the next day, plenty of people will survive the coming economic collapse for instance but how much misery will they endure that could be avoided, we will examine that and many other things today.  Hope you enjoy the show.

Join Me Today As I Discuss…

  • The new enzyme Steven Harris is bringing to market is a big deal
  • The great lie of dichotomy and a ridiculous scenario it creates
  • Why I believe the current economic system must collapse
  • What can we do between now and “economic doomsday”
  • Why many people will likely survive economic collapse in misery
  • Why I believe we should be optimistic and hopeful going forward
  • Who wins if people ignore reality
  • Who wins if people freak out
  • Who wins if people prepare
  • Why the next president won’t really make a difference
  • Why no one can fix the problem with the current system
  • What you should do for yourself regardless of who or where you are

Resources for today’s show…

Remember to comment, chime in and tell us your thoughts, this podcast is one man’s opinion, not a lecture or sermon. Also please enter our listener appreciation contest and help spread the word about our show. Also remember you can call in your questions and comments to 866-65-THINK and you might hear yourself on the air.

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Episode-809- Passion, Persistence and Planning Always Beat Paranoia

Posted on December 22, 2011 by Modern Survival| 23 Comments
Episode-809- Passion, Persistence and Planning Always Beat Paranoia [ 49:37 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

If you asked me to sum up my view of prepping in some plucky marketing way, I would say it comes down to Three P’s

  • Passion
  • Persistence
  • Planning

Unfortunately many people in the prepper world have a fourth P that over rides their entire life, paranoia. I have been told that you are not paranoid if the thing you fear is a legitimate threat. I don’t fully agree, I mean being hit by a car is a legitimate threat but living in fear of roads or seeing every car as “trying to run you over” is indeed living in a paranoid state. Sure the danger exists but the disconnect is between the danger’s true reality and the perceived danger in the individuals mind.

Join Me Today As I Discuss…

  • What exactly is a healthy fear vs. a paranoid state
  • A perfect example of paranoia the NDAA as reported vs. as written
  • My solutions to Paranoia
    • Planning
      • Your lifestyle
      • Your future
      • Your property
      • Your redundancy
    • Passion
      • For Life
      • For Liberty
      • For Your Family
      • For Your “Work”
      • For The Future
    • Persistence
      • Failure is only a lesson
      • Nothing worth much is easy
      • Preparedness is a lifestyle not something you “do”
      • How you think is more important than what you know
      • What you know is more important than what you have
      • What you have is more important than what you don’t have
      • Everything is interconnected

Additional Resources for Today’s Show

Remember to comment, chime in and tell us your thoughts, this podcast is one man’s opinion, not a lecture or sermon. Also please enter our listener appreciation contest and help spread the word about our show. Also remember you can call in your questions and comments to 866-65-THINK and you might hear yourself on the air.

 

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Episode-807- What We Can Expect in 2012

Posted on December 20, 2011 by Modern Survival| 28 Comments
Episode-807- What We Can Expect in 2012 [ 1:09:59 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
I Don't Have a Crystal Ball, But Let's Look at the Future Anyway

I Don't Have a Crystal Ball, But Let's Look at the Future Anyway

I will be the first to tell you my “predictions” if you wish to call them such are far more long term then a year in most instances.  I do figure though that now is a good time to talk about the coming year of 2012 and what we can and should expect to see happening over the next year.

My hope today is not really to do a modern Nostradamus impersonation, it is more to help you look into the coming year with both caution and optimism.

2012 has a lot of nonsense attached to it as “the end of the world” and while most people don’t believe that, it has had an effect.  Many people have been open to their vulnerabilities by the hype around 2012 for the last few years.  Many in the preparedness space are poised to capitalize on this manufactured paranoia.

My hope is today’s show will put some perspective into this nonsense and lead you to the logical conclusion, no one really knows what is going to happen but working for a better future is the best course of action.

Join Me Today as we Discuss…

  • “The most important election in history” – meh not really
  • Another almost government shut down a month before the election
  • Gingrich looses in Iowa and begins a terminal spiral
  • Iran becomes the “most dangerous threat” on the news and in debates
  • More US Cities and Municipalities go into receivership (bankruptcy)
  • Downward class migration continues but the message is “the economy is improving”
  • Unemployment will drop, people will still have less money
  • Urban farming will continue to grow
  • More big money pours into agricultural and timber land
  • Big Ag companies will change their marketing (environmentally friendly)
  • The world will not end – I promise!

Additional Resources for Today’s Show

Remember to comment, chime in and tell us your thoughts, this podcast is one man’s opinion, not a lecture or sermon. Also please enter our listener appreciation contest and help spread the word about our show. Also remember you can call in your questions and comments to 866-65-THINK and you might hear yourself on the air.

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Episode-797- Avoiding Prepper Burn Out

Posted on December 6, 2011 by Modern Survival| 40 Comments
Episode-797- Avoiding Prepper Burn Out [ 1:03:45 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I have received a ton of comments and emails lately with the term “prepper burn out”, used in them.   The reality is much of this is seasonal, I am now going into my fourth Christmas season producing this show and I can tell you, “burn out” for many is part of the good old fashioned “winter blues”.  Hell the shorter days, cold nights and dampness make you down enough, thinking about the threats out there sure as hell doesn’t make things any brighter.

Yet the issue is real, it is also why I spend a ton of time on subjects such as gardening, permaculture, health, cooking, etc.  Some criticize me for this, stating stupid nonsense such as “today I REALLY prepared unlike yourself”.  Such fools probably think listening to some shock jock ramble on about the new world order while cleaning a gun they never fired is “really prepping”.

So today I am going to go over some of my favorite positive aspects of prepping and how they can be done for little to no money.  Because I believe this is another cause of “burn out”, a person preps to a level they financially can, they know what else they should do but can’t do it now due to fiscal reasons.  Being reminded about the hole in their energy redundancy doesn’t really help them on a daily basis.

Join me today to discuss…

  • Why people burn out
    • Expense
    • Seasonal issues
    • Lack of focus on the positive
    • Fear (the awakened know where they are weakest)
    • Lack of community
    • Making stupid and expensive decisions early on
  • Fast cheap crisis prepping to avoid fear
    • Beans, rice, flour, wheat and some hand warmers on clearance
    • Black out kit
    • Bug out kit and documentation package
    • Copy canning (especially for meat early on)
    • One small generator, two batteries and an inverter
    • 25 gallons of stabilized gasoline
    • One small window unit AC
    • One or two portable indoor safe heaters
    • Cache some of your extra “junk”
  • The aspects I prefer to focus on daily
    • Permaculture and gardening
    • Skill set improvement
    • Cooking (yes it is a survival skill)
    • Herbology
    • Foraging
    • Scrounging
    • Community building
    • Air gun and soft air shooting (cheap/free)
    • Functional fitness (take a walk)
    • Building a business
    • Increasing knowledge
    • Finding joy in your life

Additional Resources for Today’s Show

Free eBooks I mentioned today from the National Academies Press (sign up to get the free PDFs)

Remember to comment, chime in and tell us your thoughts, this podcast is one man’s opinion, not a lecture or sermon. Also please enter our listener appreciation contest and help spread the word about our show. Also remember you can call in your questions and comments to 866-65-THINK and you might hear yourself on the air.

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Episode-770- Modern Financial Survival

Posted on October 25, 2011 by Modern Survival| 43 Comments
Episode-770- Modern Financial Survival [ 1:15:12 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Yesterday I stated that we are about to in effect go into the middle of a financial war.  I am not sure the analogy was fully understood it wasn’t so much about fighting the battle but more about the way that even if good is the end result how many can be harmed in the process.

This resulted in a litany of people trying to nit pick about the justification for WWII, why the US prospered after the war, etc.   Such people are literalists that don’t comprehend analogies and tell “ants are socialists”, when you tell them the ant and grasshopper story.

Today I will revisit a few things people took exception to (very briefly) and will spend most of the show outlining my “modern financial survival guide” for the coming future.

Join Me Today as We Discuss…

  • Is the Catholic Church calling for a “World Bank” and global tax or not
  • What exactly do I mean by a financial war
  • Why do I believe so emphatically that I am right about the coming collapse
  • What I think you need to do to be financially prepared for the future
    • Get rid of debt (especially floating rate debt)
    • Try to save at least 20% of your income (6 months security)
    • Know your exit points for every investment
    • If you are in stocks by only the best companies
    • Do not hold any and I mean any long term bonds
    • Keep an eye on TIPS Bond Yields
    • Remember most “experts” on TV are actually idiots
    • Develop your local community
    • Don’t bet on any government money (specifically @ 100%)
    • Consider land as the best investment (not houses)
    • Increase your financial IQ daily – start with vocabulary
    • Focus on gaining some % of self sufficiency with the 5 needs
    • Try to be as “cash rich” as possible
    • Don’t act in fear, think before you do anything
    • Do not listen to conventional wisdom during unconventional times
    • Remember the prepared can always profit and prosper

Additional Resources for Today’s Show

Remember to comment, chime in and tell us your thoughts, this podcast is one man’s opinion, not a lecture or sermon. Also please enter our listener appreciation contest and help spread the word about our show. Also remember you can call in your questions and comments to 866-65-THINK and you might hear yourself on the air

 

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Episode-766- Jacob Lund Fisker from Early Retirement Extreme

Posted on October 19, 2011 by Modern Survival| 28 Comments
Episode-766- Jacob Lund Fisker from Early Retirement Extreme [ 1:10:40 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Jacob Lund Fisker is the author of Early Retirement Extreme, he retired at 33 with enough investments to never need to work again.  He is from Denmark but has lived in the US since 2004

In his prior life he was a theoretical astrophysicist, but got tired of the careerism and wasn’t inspired by the prospects of doing the same thing day after day for the rest of his life.

He now self-identifies himself as “a writer”.  When he was in grad school, he discovered peak oil (in 2001, before it was cool) together with anticonsumerism and finance. So he started saving as much as he could to avoid “getting mortgaged” while at the same time prepping for TEOTAWKI.

Later it just became a lifestyle (he considers himself a “recovering doomer”) and somewhere along the way he discovered that he could use the money he had saved to buy his first house in cash to supply himself with a living income for the next, oh say, 300 years. The rest, as they say, is history.

Join us Today as we Discuss…

  • How different generations define “retirement”
    • The GI Generation
    • The Boomers
    • Gen X
  • What is a climax state in nature and how it applies to the modern economy
  • How complex systems break down and need to be rebuilt
  • Why most people should focus more on savings than increasing income
  • How 3% ROI can yield a full retirement with only 5 years of savings
  • Getting out of consumer mentality (problems equal products)
  • Why modern specialists are more replaceable than an “uneducated” farm hand
  • The value of leaning to cook
  • Turning your oven into a grill – you will probably go “DUH!” when you hear this
  • Living a great life below the “poverty level”

Additional Resources for Today’s Show

Remember to comment, chime in and tell us your thoughts, this podcast is one man’s opinion, not a lecture or sermon. Also please enter our listener appreciation contest and help spread the word about our show. Also remember you can call in your questions and comments to 866-65-THINK and you might hear yourself on the air.

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