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We traditionally think of preparedness as a function of natural disasters, where we ready for storms and events that may cut off the critical infrastructure for days. When we think about economic preparedness, it is often the gateway conversation to understanding that the phenomenon extends to political, economic, cultural / ideological and familial crisis as well.
Your family's primary income is exceptionally important to their ongoing health, it should be protected to the greatest extent possible. Hence, we discuss the ideas of creating a plan for when your income suddenly goes to zero, how you'll replicate that income, the timeframe to resume earning and the necessary emergency funds. Further, we talk about the need to understand the environment in which your company operates, is there an exogenous force that may cause your employer to close, reduce shifts or otherwise make changes to your level of income. We finish with a conversation about entrepreneurship, the challenges with that and concerns about preparedness that are essential to those building wealth. We know you cannot become wealthy by accepting a salary, only through business. Are you ready to venture into the unknown? I would only do so with a robust economic preparedness plan, that's what we offer...

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Doomsday Preppers was a series on TV, the reality is that much of what was on that program was scripted for show, those individuals were not that crazy. However, much of the modern impression of preppers is grounded in the idea that they are disconnected from reality, they hate government, love guns, want chaos and basically want to see the world burn.
The truth is that preppers are simply individuals who believe that there is a likelihood of a pause in the provision of critical infrastructure (CI) that will last longer than 14 days, but that society will eventually recover and return to normal. Hence, their preparedness measures differ from what is normally recommended as they adopt processed that allow them to replicate the sectors of CI for an extended period.
Not the stockpiling of basements, but the skills and tools necessary to provide for what is no longer available from society.
In this episode, we talk about how to become a prepper, the concerns, processes and idea - including how to build a group and find an offsite location for temporary evacuation of urban / suburban areas.

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Whether or not we like it, we all age. We might be caring for a loved one, an extended family member, or we are co-located in high density housing with seniors. There are real issues as we age, from physical mobility, cognitive decline, climactic control, evacuation, cyber crime and overall health.
Preparedness is individual specific, hence there are concerns related to your trifecta of preparedness plans if you are a senior, your ability to maintain positive control of your life, the choice of accommodation that assists in mitigating your restrictions and a host of other considerations.
If you are in your golden years or are caring for someone who is, this is worth listening to, to spark some ideas, to begin the conversation about protecting those you love from harm, as they age. 
Preparedness is future proofing and good decisions now will facilitate a good life tomorrow. 

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Welcome to the new year, a time when we regularly burden ourselves with unrealistic expectations, near impossible goals and set ourselves up for failure. A totally expected and avoidable situation. 
Maybe there is another way, a different methodology to review the past year, to consider what occurred, how it went, what you might have done differently and do so with kindness. 
Starting a new year beating yourself up over past decisions that are always goofy in the rearview mirror is not a recipe for success. Be kind, forgiving. It is what it is, you are where you are, so where would you like to go?
I offer my strategy, the one that enables me to set new goals across life's six areas of physical, mental and financial health, as well as relationships, professional life and leisure activities. A visual exercise to imagine a good life, then map the steps to achieve it. 
A novel view on success for 2025 - not ghost or monk mode, no 75 hard or strict carnivore diet; but a reasonably achievable roadmap to a happier, more joyful life.

Not a bad outcome. Welcome to 2025. 

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Our holiday series continues with a discussion on thriving, a definition and exact process to follow. The current government communications message of have a kit, make a plan and be informed is grounded in a 30+ year old Cold War mentality of within 72 hours you'd either be saved by the government or there is no government. 
In today's modern, technologically enabled society, the goal of preparedness is to wrap your hopes and dreams in a blanket of protection. To enable you to carry on living your life as you choose, irrespective of the external events. While others are falling down, confused, stressed and directionless, you're executing a well understood plan, with little to nominal disruptions in your life. 
The old moniker hols true, a lone wolf dies, while a pack survives. Accepting personal responsibility means understanding that you need a tribe, not of other peppers, but of those close by. Your neighbours, community, faith groups and other groups of people benefit from trusted relationships.
Humans survived for millennia because we relied on each other, leveraged our personal skill sets and supported the group, that remains true today. To thrive, you need to change the unit of measure from one to many, to build a community of preparedness with your neighbours. Instead of the government trying to build 100 different prepared families on a street, the evidence says you need one prepared community. 
You cannot purchase your way to preparedness, there is no economic barrier to adopting preparedness.
Preparedness is a lifestyle, not a stockpile. 

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Over these holidays, it is always a blessing to reflect on the year, what was and was not successful, take stock of life, be grateful and thank someone for helping us along the way. 
This series is designed to entertain over the holidays, to lighten the load of political and economic harm, to provide some time to ponder your preparedness journey.
In preparedness we often take this time to reflect on first principles, to return from a detailed analysis of something foundational, and bring the conversation back to simple terms.
This episode reflects on personal responsibility, the grounding argument for preparedness. You are not a victim, oppressed, held back or otherwise not responsible for your outcomes. We all fail, as we should, so that we can learn and do better. The average millionaire goes bankrupt a few times before they earn 7 figures. Think about where you live, for whom you're responsible, the local hazards, access and dependancy on critical infrastructure and how you intend to shelter in place. 
Basic, but worthy of your time.

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Post pandemic, we reflect on the state of our healthcare systems, public health and preparedness education. Are they ready for the next plague and what are those efforts that would contribute to a set of better post event outcomes. 
There are consistent calls for additional "investments or strategic incentives", AKA more taxes on the population, to build the robust capacity required to better manage the next calamity.
The issue is that in all these fields, we are addressing the symptom, not the issue. 

We need to say the quiet part out loud, the population is sick and unhealthy. 

If we invest in preparedness education - not the crap provided today, and we create a physically and mentally healthy society, the demands on the healthcare system collapse - leading to the surge capacity required for significant events. No new money, beds or staff required. 

We don't do that, we just call for more magical government money to treat the symptoms, funding a death spiral of the system. 

We can do far better, with no additional funding. 

But that's not the answer people want to hear, for it requires us to personally accept responsibility for our physical, mental and financial health. 

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It is often stated that we are the most connected, yet loneliest generation. We hold in our hands a device that has access to the entire knowledge base of our species, the ability to call anyone on the planet and to send and receive information across all mediums. Yet we don’t know our neighbours, we are increasingly less tied to our communities and our sense of identity is less linked to place. It is the time of the individual, when the world needs the community.

Across the literature in multiple social sciences, there is a reasonably regularly occurring thread of the importance of human relationships, the value found only at in-person situations. We know there are physiological responses to the presence of another human, ones that do not present in online interactions. We are biologically wired to be together, in each other’s presence. We’re a tribal species who like the wolf, may be capable of survival as an individual, but to thrive requires a team.

The champion. Every community requires someone to step up and start, to initiate the first enabling environment, to announce the activation context and to organize the initial in-person gathering. Whether that is the local EM representative, a concerned voice in the chamber of commerce or a not for profit volunteer who sees an increasing demand for their services. I have seen a few examples in my research in Canada, a number of communities that have created a non-governing, non-decision making space where response is discussed. Often best described with the question: “What does it look like when X happens in our community, how will it affect you, your operations and what do you think we can do about it?”. A place for all four sectors of society to discuss the real impacts of certain events and as a team, consider what they could do, realize existing resources and coordinate assistance. 

In the words of a stalwart in the field, Damon Coppola, “In a resilient community, EM is the redundancy”, not the primary response vehicle - that’s the community.

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Who and what is a preparedness guy? Nat Sellers is a passionate emergency manager with his own podcast, diligently plowing away at the bureaucracy and the barriers to building a resilient community. His efforts and ideas will keep you glued to the speaker, this is likely the first of many conversations.

Our goal is to provide a broad swath of opinions, ones that support and those which challenge the status quo. We need to consider disruptive ideas, those that might - but not necessarily, find innovative ways to deliver emergency management services at higher degrees of efficiency, while remaining effective. A tall order.

Nat Sellers is one of those voices, ideas galore and a great deal of fun to chat with, you'll enjoy this wide array of topics within the genre and some important nuggets for your preparedness journey. 

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It is not that the population sees preparedness as unnecessary, but when associated as a cost element for a family, most are choosing to maintain more realtime budgetary requirements. Preparedness is future proofing, supper is today. If we correlate a cost to preparedness, we create an offramp, the easy button to choose not to adopt a prepared life as it is outside our current economic conditions. 

The State creates the economic barrier in preparedness and then reinforces it as a selection on surveys. Offer a respondent the opportunity to indicate that something is important but unachievable due to economic conditions beyond their control, and they will do so in a statistically significant way. Simple logic and psychology. The individual feels better about themselves by assigning the blame for not adopting preparedness to the economy, not too different from the response to climate change arguments - I would do what I perceive as the right thing, but it costs money I don’t have access to, so I will hold the beliefs, feel good about myself and carry on. 

Preparedness for disasters is a niche and interesting gateway to the overall phenomenon, a way to ground individuals in a new worldview, a reflective exercise expressed in the words of the stoics. Being ready to navigate events from the five areas of influence is an exercise in education, strategy and human relationships - not money. 

Significant barriers to adopting preparedness exist, but access to financial resources is not one of those. It is unfortunate that one of the obstacles to overcome is the government.

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