Summary: Today… we’re going completely random on you! We have a bunch of short, unrelated topics that have been simmering for a while or just been on our minds and we figured it was time to put them out there. So we figured that maybe a few short bursts of ideas or tips might be helpful. A lot of these things we’ve been wanting to discuss but they aren’t something that would fill our usual topic segment length. But, we still wanted to get them out there. So, Vanessa suggested “Let’s do a completely random show and call it The Random Show!” Uh, OK...why not!<br> <br> Well, the cool thing for you is you get a bunch of random tips...all solid in their own right, but boiled down into a few simple points! It’s like a pot luck dinner! Read more...<br> <br> <br> <br> Main Topic:<br> Dan: <br> It’s not the tools, it’s the work: Every once in a while I have to remind myself of a lesson I first learned long ago from my older brother, Kevin.<br> <br> <br> Our big job in the Winter time growing up in the Southtowns of Buffalo NY was shoveling snow.<br> Kevin always seemed to be getting lots more done than me!<br> We had 2 shovels, the long push-type shovel that plows the snow and the typical square type shovel for shoveling the snow.<br> Didn’t matter which one Kevin had, he always got more done than me.<br> I was convinced it was the shovel and always asked him to switch.<br> He always chuckled, but always switched with me. It didn’t make a difference.<br> What Kevin was teaching me was that it’s not about the tools, it’s about the work.<br> Occasionally, as a gadget guy, I have to re-learn that lesson.<br> Once it sinks in though I realize it’s my big brother teaching me the lesson again, 40 years later and 1600 miles apart. Thanks Kev.<br> <br> Take Away: Next time you go to buy that new tool, that fancy new laptop, download that next app that will supposedly solves all your problems...consider whether or not you need a new tool, or just need to master something you already have.<br> It’s natural to nest…yes, even for guys. But it can easily get out of hand and then it’s time to draw the line. Eventually, it’s time to simplify.<br> <br> <br> So, over the years I’ve spent over:<br> <br> 2 years living in tents.<br> I’ve lived in abandoned/bombed out buildings.<br> About 6 months living in wooden huts.<br> And 8 months living in a shipping container.<br> <br> <br> Each time, I and everyone that I lived with in these places, went through a bit of a nesting phase. I’ve seen guys/troops:<br> <br> Build complete dressers and nightstand sets out of MRE boxes.<br> Leave extra stuff home so they could fit hanging canvas shoe organizers in their bags to hang up.<br> Fight for foot lockers.<br> Or meticulously pack their rucksacks to the point where the seams were ready to burst.<br> <br> <br> There was also a certain “hierarchy of needs” that Maslow might even find puzzling. Of course it differed by your job specialty, but the order of precedence I typically saw with my guys was this:<br> <br> Make sure combat gear was organized to grab and go (#1)<br> Ruck/pack (#2)<br> Evolve from sleeping on the ground to sleeping off ground (#3)<br> Find a spot to hang your toiletry gear since you’ll be using that every day to wash your squishy parts or dangly bits (#4)<br> Pogey bait, gedunk, lickey chewies (#5)<br> Comfort/chill gear (#6) (music, cards, books, etc). Depending on how long it took you to get to your destination and the immediate tactical situation...this could go up as far up the list as #1!<br> <br> <br> We’ve talked before about learning to “embrace the suck”. I think that’s a skill that everyone should be able to call on any time they deem it necessary.<br> But like a pendulum, sometimes we overcompensate for those moments of suckage and let things get a little to...
