The Mind4Survival Podcast

Fundamentals of Preparedness Situational Awareness In today’s episode I discuss: How the hierarchy of the five fundamentals of preparedness (Mindset, Situational Awareness, Survival, Safety, and Self). Review the first fundamental of preparedness, mindset, as it applies to situational awareness. The second fundamental of preparedness, situational awareness. Situational awareness is where, once we have done as…

Fundamentals of Preparedness Mindset In this episode, on the fundamentals of preparedness, I focus on mindset and how important it is to our overall preparedness. I also discuss a couple of quick coronavirus wins, the coronavirus quick wins and speak about keeping your animals safe, which keeps you and your loved ones safe during these…

In this episode on Preparedness and Interpersonal Relationships: I discuss how everyone, regardless of background, brings a unique perspective to the world around us. Sometimes it's our unique perspective that may save the day for everyone. That's because we all bring something special to the table at certain times. After all, that's what situational awareness…

If there's one thing about isolation, social distancing, or whatever we're calling it, it sucks. Am I right? And because it sucks, I feel we need to have ways to do things throughout our day to help us deal with the monotony, stress, boredom and anything else that can make it kind of suck more. …

Well, I did it. I up and bugged out. Why did I load up my truck bug out vehicle with as much as I could stuff in it and get out of Dodge? I hooked up that oldish trailer and bugged out for a number of reasons: Testing out the whole bugging out thing (evacuating for the non-prepper people reading this) and see what I can do better Sharing my experiences to help others become better prepared Getting away from a heavily populated area that may struggle more than other areas due to the coronavirus and fallout from it Helping friends and family who aren't as preparedness-minded be in a better position Getting in a great road trip in case road trips are not something we do for a bit  And because dealing with a potential pandemic isn't bad enough! My Truck Bug Out Vehicle Adventure My road trip/bug-out experience included all sorts of crazy things. Monsoon Flash flood Blizzard & whiteout Ice storm Power outage Unbreachable fog High winds Becoming lost on the Southside of Chicago with all of my stuff! Packing My Truck Bug Out Vehicle Before I started my trip, I was up for twenty-seven hours straight, driving and packing. I drove to my dad's house in L.A. Then we drove up to the Southern Sierras, where he has a little cabin and a trailer with a hole in the roof. And I picked it up there and then drove back to Vegas, where I arrived about 10 p.m. And I was thinking about this virus, and I don't trust this thing. I had been sitting home obsessing about the damn thing since January 25th. So I got home, and I just started loading my stuff. First, I had to reorganize everything because I've got OCD about organizing. I packed everything I could into that trailer. At that point, you're in commitment mode because whatever you have with you, that's all you've got, folks. I loaded for bear, man. And that was it. I hit the road in my truck bug out vehicle. Monsoon Then to add to the fun...and what really made it not an easy task... is that I actually got caught in a winter monsoon. You know, you get the rain that is about medium, then it increases to that really hard rain. And then it kind of goes just past the really hard rain to where there's just too much rain for the wipers to do the work.  Well, that's what I hit leaving Vegas. And when I left Vegas, I was towing 20 or 21 feet of a travel trailer from about 2000. The bumper was hitting because it was so loaded with my buckets of rice and much prepper crap as I could carry. The back of the truck was also full. I had two cats, and I had my dog. It was an ordeal. The monsoon hit about 20 minutes from my house, maybe 30. I was too far to go back because I couldn't see the road. And it's like, what do I do, man? So I pulled behind this truck stop that's just north of Vegas. It's raining, and oh, mind you, I had a leak in the roof of the trailer in this one corner. It's not a terrible leak. I had some of that flex seal on it. It definitely needed some work or to get an out from underneath the thing called the sky that drops water on top of us. And that was only the beginning of my truck bug out vehicle adventure. Anyway, I went to sleep. Flash Flood I woke up in the morning and fed and watered the dog and the cats. I'm pretty happy now because, again, I've gotten on the road. Everything I have with me? That's it. I'm not going back. I open the door of the trailer to look outside. That monsoon moved on somewhere, and all that water from the monsoon was coming down the road I'm on.  I hadn't even been on the road for 6 hours. Literally, I got 20 minutes down the road—boom, monsoon. I pull over, wake up later, and what do I get? A flash flood outside my trailer doors. I'm thinking, OK, dude.

I'm a crazy prepper who now more than ever wishes he had a hidden bunker with 10 years of food stockpiled and ready to go. Maybe filled with video games and movies. But seriously, yes, I consider myself a prepper. Actually, I embrace the term because I find it tragically humorous that many in modern society label people who prepare for future adversity as crazy whackos.  Unfortunately, it's the misconceptions due to the "othering" and labeling by those who don't prepare that cause many to not prepare. The fact is that the unjust stigma society throws on the prepping community prevents many from becoming prepared to face the difficulties that are part of life. Despite what the mainstream media label us, preppers are mostly not hoarders or dangerous members of society.  Instead, preppers are people who are concerned with the resiliency of themselves and their families. Preppers are people who want to be personally responsible and part of the solution rather than part of the problem. Preppers want to be their own best, self-reliant resource when it comes to protecting themselves and their loved ones.  Being a Crazy Prepper Did I go out at some point and buy rice and beans in bulk? Yeah, of course. I don't have years and years and years worth, but enough to take care of myself, some friends, and some family for a little while. Is that a bad thing right now? I recognize that my brain wants to go elsewhere, truly hoping to avoid any major problems. That's what my emotional brain wants. It's the fight or flight center of your brain.  The lockdowns and restrictions we've faced over the past year have told a lot of us that what we've been doing wasn't so nutty after all. If nothing else, 2020 was an ideal year to be a crazy prepper. But how "crazy" are you? Are you starting to suffer mentally from this slow-burning breakdown of our economy and society? If so, you should understand that's not a sign you're crazy - it's a sign you're normal. Feeling Isolated Doesn't Mean You're a Crazy Prepper Shortly after the lockdowns began, I realized I was going a little bit stir-crazy already. I had a conversation with a very good friend who felt the same way. We're human beings. We're herd animals. We like to be social. I mean, we wouldn't have football games and homecoming stuff if we weren't social. We'd have professional hide-and-seek instead. So it's natural to feel like you're isolated when you're cooped up. You're a hundred percent normal.  Some ways to lessen your feelings of isolation are to call your loved ones and use technology and social media for your benefit. Set up family Zoom calls for faraway relatives to be able to connect. Don't wait for the holidays to get together online. As restrictions loosen, you can begin getting together again. Get together outdoors for a picnic or a barbecue. Meet at restaurants that have outdoor patios. Do what you can to keep in contact with the people you care about and use social media for the very aspect it was made for - to socialize. Mindset Techniques Take a mental break and enjoy breathing the air.  Let's focus on the good. It's a good thing that we can go outside right now and breathe the fresh air. Feel gratitude that we're not one of the people who may be ill.  We can feel grateful if our family has escaped unscathed so far. Trying to remain in a good mindset is hard. We can overcome adversity. We've done it in the past. As we go into this, think positively and be grateful. There are certain things you need to be grateful for in your life. Saying it out loud is good for you. It's difficult when there's so much negative stuff on the news, but try to focus on the things you can control instead of the things going on halfway across the planet that you can't affect at all. It's a Good Time to Convince Others That Being a Crazy Prepper Isn't So Bad.

In this episode on Social Isolation Mindset, we talk about: Extended Isolation Preparedness CDC - 15 Days to Slow the Spread Overcoming Normalcy Bias Everyone has Normalcy Bias Extended Isolation Preparedness Overcoming Normalcy Bias Extended Isolation Preparedness What Do at Least 30 More Days More of Isolation Mean to Me, a Crazy Prepper and my…

Medical Preparedness | Kevin Faulk with Devil Dog Consulting is here and in this first part of the two-part episode on prepper medicine we’ll be covering: Medical Supplies Managing Expectations with Medical Training Managing Gunshot Wounds and Bleeding Control Vetting Training Comfort Items as Basic Medical Supplies Training with Medical Gear Medical Supplies Managing Training…

A lot of people believe that when disaster strikes, they'll immediately shift into survival mode and face the challenges. But that's the wrong way to look at it. Your state of readiness starts NOW. Your state of readiness should be a part of you at all times. Readiness is not just something you slip on like a superhero cape. Remain in the Present When it comes to being in a state of readiness, I focus on the individual and helping you to become more situationally aware. I've found that many readiness-minded people want to team together, collect food, build out their supply inventory, train together, all of which are critical. Unfortunately, while many of those same readiness-minded people focus on preparing for future disasters, they have problems when it comes to situational awareness within their day-to-day lives.  In other words, many people focus on future events and, at the same time, lose sight of what's going on here in the present. Most people are busy, have their heads buried in their smartphones, and doing other things that take their attention away from the present. The truth is that people can become better prepared if they don't solely focus on the end state of significant disasters but remain in a state of readiness. Be In a State of Readiness for the Most Likely Problem I get it. The crap may hit the fan. At some point, we may experience the worst-case scenario imaginable. Until then, though, we're going to experience many more not-so-great situations and scenarios that are likely to cause us suffering on some level. Sometimes that suffering may be a lot, and sometimes not so much. However, it is all suffering that is far more likely to happen than some society-ending scenario from a dystopian fiction novel or one of the world's most deadly disasters. Depending on where we live, we are far more likely to face a hurricane, tornado, earthquake, or burglar. We are less likely to experience a giant meteor that destroys 90% of the earth's population. So, stop focusing on the unimaginable. Work on simpler things to improve your situational awareness, safety, and overall quality of life.  Be Ready for the Small Things First If you're more alert and paying attention to the things that improve your safety and comfort, this will carry over into other areas of life. When they carry over, they'll improve those areas' overall quality too. One example of this is when new parents put a small baby bag with diapers, powder, wipes, in the back of each car. While you don't want to use it outside of an emergency, it sure makes life better when you forget your regular baby bag while rushing out the door.  Carrying a spare pair of sturdy walking shoes in your car can also be helpful in case you ever have car trouble and must set off on foot. You may even want to put together an entire emergency kit just for your car. Another common, simple thing to prepare for is a power outage. We've all experienced a blackout at some time or another. It could last minutes, hours, or days, depending on the cause. Have things on hand like flashlights, a way to keep warm if you're in a cold climate, non-electric games for the family, and some food that doesn't require cooking. This is a great way to be in a state of readiness for one of the most common inconveniences. The Bottom Line on Being in a State of Readiness So, obviously, by increasing your readiness, you'll encounter fewer problems that you can't overcome. When that happens, you'll most likely enjoy the day more and experience increased confidence.   Take steps to increase your readiness with a focus on your daily life. Learn how to master those conditions in the place you are most likely to encounter problems. That place is the here and now, not the end times. We want to develop the behavior patterns and habits that can make you more resilient as a human being.

Preppers and Fear Psychology | It bugs me when people, especially people who profit from the prepping community, try to use fear as a motivation for others to prepare. In this Episode on Preppers and Fear Psychology: Micro vs. Macro Disasters Disasters Are Not a Myth Prepper Frustrations Illustrate Them Into Understanding! Preppers, Confidence, and…

There are some very basic risk assessment principles that will help you to identify potential problems, manage your risk profile, and mitigate your most significant threats. Now many of you may be asking, well, what’s a risk profile? Your risk profile is all the stuff that identifies the threats to which you and your family, your home, your car, your dog, whatever are exposed to. You determine your risk profile by analyzing what your personal assets are, what you have to protect your personal assets from, and what you have to protect them with. Meet Ed Clark But before we get too far down the road on this, I want to bring in a special guest for this interview. My special guest is Ed Clark. Ed is a retired US Army Special Forces Officer and a global expert in security and vulnerability assessments. And today, he’s going to discuss risk management principles and give us some ideas on how to develop and manage our risk profiles and better protect our homes, our family, and our loved ones from the everyday trials of life. And again, it’s worth remembering that we can take these philosophies and concepts and apply them down the road to our overall prepping mindset and strategy. So without further delay, let’s go ahead speak with Ed. Brian: How are you doing, Ed? Ed Clark: Good, excellent Brian. How are you today? Brian: I'm doing well. It’s good to have you on the show. I appreciate you taking the time to come in here and talk with me and, hopefully, everybody that listens to us. Will you mind telling people a little bit about your background so people understand where you’re coming from and your level of expertise when they listen to this? Ed: Sure, sure. So I’m a retired Army, US Army Special Forces officer. I spent four years as an infantryman, about a year in a ranger battalion, and my last 24 years as a Special Forces officer. I had a break in service and came back into active duty after 9/11, thinking I was going back to 5th Special Forces Group. Instead, I got pulled into this homeland security project? So I was at Fort Leavenworth doing homeland security right after 9/11, and that’s when I started looking at managing risk and physical security and cybersecurity and things like that. I did some work for the White House, Homeland Security Council. We did vulnerability assessments for agriculture, fo, and agriculture industries. And from there, I left active duty again, and I went to help the coast guard establish their port security program. After that, I opened my own business doing security consulting, and since then, I’ve helped PSA with their pipeline security program. I’ve helped DHS establish its chemical facility security program. And of course, consulting for various types of critical infrastructure, port facilities, schools, we have a school security program that we do. Most recently, we’ve been doing a lot of active shooter seminars and consulting. Brian: That’s awesome. Those port security projects, those are pretty big, aren’t they? Ed: Yeah, it is. And that is my specialty. I tell people I can do one school or the entire school district. We offer a service that the US Coast Guard looks for called a Strategic Risk Management Program, the whole port facility, and all the different functions that it provides. It’s designed to identify the relative risks within the port to help that captain from the coast guard allocate resources. Where is the most significant risk? How much risk can I bite down? Foundation of Risk Assessment Principles Brian: Can we go over what the average person needs to do, one, to manage their risk profile and two, really to look at their home? People are concerned about how they protect their homes or come up with a proper home emergency preparedness plan for them and their families. I know you usually talk about risk on a  big macroscale.

RV Living Tips | Thank you for coming back for part two of the RV Prepper episode with David Helm talking about living in an RV trailer. In this Episode on RV Living Tips: RV Treatment by Others on the Road How Truckers Treat RVers RV Safety Concerns RV Security Measures Urban RV Security Concerns…

Living in an RV Trailer | Have you ever considered living in an RV trailer as a way to enjoy life more and as a backup place to live if things go bad? Listen in to this episode with David Help of RV Prepper as he discusses living in an RV trailer. In this Episode…

These safe online shopping tips can help you to avoid scams. Online shopping frauds are becoming more and more common. Imagine how you'd feel if you bought something on the internet, only to find out after forking over your hard-earned money that the whole thing was a scam? I know I'd be steamed! Safe Online Shopping Tips It's highly likely that some of you reading this article about safe online shopping tips, despite your best efforts, have been scammed when making purchases through the Internet. (That may even be what brought you to the article in the first place.) I personally was scammed when buying a ticket to the Super Bowl in 2011. Fortunately, I had precautions in place and, other than the headache of the situation, ended up doing well. Unfortunately, though, I am the exception to the rule, and many people are taken advantage of through online scams. These safe online shopping tips are strategies and tactics we can use when purchasing through the internet. Make the Seller Prove They Are Legit Making the seller of an item prove they are legitimate isn't foolproof. However, it can help chase off some scammers while providing you with information to help with your decision to buy. I didn't come up with this on my own. Instead, I saw it discussed in a Facebook group after a member had someone try to sell him an expensive knife. Here's what happened. The buyer is in a Facebook group where people trade and sell things. Well, in this case, the buyer was interested in a great but pricey knife. Luckily for him, there was a dude in the Facebook group selling one he liked. So, the buyer and seller/scammer went back and forth about the knife. Eventually, they decided to make the deal. However, to confirm everything was legit, the buyer asked the seller to send him a picture holding the knife while also making a "V" for victory sign with his fingers. Well, maybe he's more of a hippy and was asking him to make a peace sign. Busted Anyhow, the scammer sent a pic or video; I can't remember which, showing a guy holding the knife but NOT making the hand gesture as requested by the buyer. Instead, he tried to play it off. But our intelligent buyer did a little research and was able to find the same picture/video on a knife dealer's website. The only problem for the "seller" is that the dude in the picture on the site is the same dude in the photo that was sent to the buyer as his proof that it is a real deal. Well, when the buyer confronted Mr. Jackwagon about the photo he sent being one pulled off a knife dealer's site, the scammer's hopes went up in smoke. So, the moral of this story is this. Don't take things for granted. Be cautious when purchasing stuff off the internet. When you do, think outside of the box when coming up with ways to throw a monkey wrench into scammers' plans. Do Your Research Make sure you research the person or company you are considering purchasing from. Scammers usually don't include their personal information, such as a phone number, street address, or email address. After all, it makes it easier to find if they do. Therefore, when working with a person or company that you aren't familiar with, check them out. If you do get any contact info, look it up on the computer. When you do, if you notice anything that looks suspicious or gets your spidey sense pinging, consider finding another dealer for your purchase. Maintain Your Situational Awareness

Today's question about daily water consumption comes to us from Jason in VA.  Jason writes: Hi Brian, I listened to the Water Storage podcast yesterday. It was really good. I wanted to get your opinion on my water storage. We have a household of 5. I have built up to 20 cases of water along with 20 - 1-gallon jugs of water. I do keep a large trash can full of water outside available for when the power goes out so I can flush my toilets. I feel like I should be good for almost a month with my current supplies for general hygiene, drinking, and cooking. My outside supply of water would probably last several days to flush the toilet. Anything longer than a month, I feel like I should be able to collect enough rainwater to keep going if necessary. I also have a stream about a mile away that I could walk to get water. Not ideal but would do it if I needed to. I have multiple ways to boil water that I collect when the power is out. Do you think I am on the right track? I would love to hear your suggestions on other things to consider. Thanks,Jason in VA How Do You Calculate Your Daily Water Consumption Needs? First off Jason, yes, I think you are definitely on the right track with your daily water consumption. As with most preppers, you have probably done more than 99% of the population when preparing for the hard times ahead. After all, as preppers, we know that it's not a matter of if something terrible will happen, but rather when something terrible will happen. When it comes to figuring out your water storage prepping and how much water you should have on hand, you first need to determine how much water your family will need daily. To establish our daily water needs, let's consider the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's recommendations, stating that men need 101 ounces of water per day (~13 cups). In comparison, women need 74 ounces of water each day (~9 cups). 8 Eight-Ounce Glasses of Water Is a Myth It's worth mentioning that based upon our fundamental needs, the often-referred-to recommendation that we should consume 64 ounces of water per day falls short. This helps remind people who would otherwise not drink much water but leaves women with over an eight-ounce per day deficit and men with a nearly five glass per day deficit. With the basic water intake needs of an adult set, it's critical to consider the situation for which each of you is planning. Those considerations matter because without their inclusion into your preparedness plan, you may find yourself with a less sustainable supply of water than you had hoped. Some Scenarios Require Even More to Meet Daily Water Consumption Needs Some individual considerations that you may want to consider when creating your water plan include age, environmental conditions, stress, expected physical exertion, and health and fitness levels among group members. Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding, require additional water. Pregnant women should drink 108-ounce glasses of water per day, while breastfeeding women may need a daily water intake of up to 104-ounces (13-cups). Planning the water needs of children requires people to be flexible and attentive as their needs change over time. Without individual considerations such as environmental impacts, Children's Hospital of Orange County recommends that children one year of age and older intake one cup of water each day, per year of age. So, for example, a one-year-old should drink one cup of water per day, while a seven-year-old should drink seven cups of water per day. Another consideration with children is how to get them actually to drink enough water each day. One method is to encourage children to take small, frequent sips of water throughout the day. You can also try to make drinking water fun and turn it into a game. Regardless,