Prepare for your Survival
January 28, 2022, by Paul Boudreau
Prepare Today to Survive Tomorrow-the easy way, is a cautionary tale about using your time wisely and not letting life pass you by. Preparing is a good idea.
Prepare Today to Survive Tomorrow, is not about preparing to survive an apocalypse, in the wilds of some foreign jungle. It is about making the best use of your time, and days, to make life better in your future. Instead of spending all your efforts focusing on immediate gratification, why not invest some of that time working to make your future, just a little bit better.
My Early Years
I grew up in a small fishing village, and today, I can still recall those vivid memories of my youth. I can still remember watching my grandfather repairing his fishing nets after he had brought them back to shore. One day I asked him, “Why are you always mending your nets”? It looked at me, kind of strangely, as he stared at a huge hole that a seal had made in his herring net, and said, “How could I catch a herring, in a big hole like this?”
Even though I was very young, at the time, I understood immediately, what he meant. Grandfathers have a special way of impressing young minds. I believe that it’s tied up in the respect that experience embodies.
Grandfathers Rule
Grandfathers earn their respect from having done things, and from knowing how to do things well. My grandfather didn’t spend all day explaining things. Something else that he didn’t do, complained. For me, as a young boy, it seemed as if he was always doing something, and that something was either repairing his fishing gear or repairing his boat, to go back fishing.
In those olden days, of inshore fishing, winters were cold, and the snows were deep. I know this to be a fact because I lived in those times. These cold winters were spent in the fish sheds, getting ready for Spring, when fishing would resume. Winter fishing was left to the larger commercial fleets, and he preferred to fish his own boat.
A Sea Captain Prepares
He was the sea captain of his vessel, and he believed in making his way through life, from his own efforts. He had a way of getting to the point quickly, and on top of that, multiple questions were not usually tolerated unless there was an effort made to learn from the previous answers.
Preparing for tomorrow, and the next season was embedded in his DNA. No one was coming to help him or save him, because everyone else was trying to survive their own trials and tribulations. I don’t want to rant on, about how life was more difficult back then than it is today, but it was. There were no electric appliances to come home to, and everyone worked to move their lives forward and survive another day.
The Good Old Days
Every once in a while someone would throw in the stories about walking to school, barefoot, in the snow, having to walk uphill, both ways. While this theory has never been proven or refuted, it still manages to bring a laugh to its listeners.
What I did learn, from those olden days, was that preparing for the future was never a bad thing. What can we do today to prepare for tomorrow?
8 Things You Can do Today to Prepare for Tomorrow
1. Be Aware
Awareness, and more specifically, self-awareness is life itself. Be aware of your surroundings, the events that take place around you, and the people you hang around with.
2. Educate Yourself
Learn all you can about what you’re doing. This includes attending school if you are of age. If you are out of school, begin by researching your subject matter online. YouTube is excellent to learn new skills. There are thousands of video classes and tutorials on any subject matter that you can imagine.
3. Read
Reading is the easiest and least expensive method of getting an education. There are more books than you could read in a lifetime, in every small town or city library. All these books can be borrowed for FREE with a simple library card. No more excuses, start reading today.
4. Listen
You will never improve your situation if you don’t learn to listen well.
Every once in a while, it’s important to STFU and listen.
5. Write
Writing does not seem to be much of a survival exercise, but hear me out. Writing your thoughts down on paper, making a budget to better manage your finances, or even sending a Mother’s Day card to your mother, all have beneficial effects on your state of mind. This will strengthen your constitution and make you a better warrior.
6. Exercise
I am a firm believer that regular physical exercise is essential to proper health. If you live a sedentary lifestyle, this does not bode well for your future. A lack of exercise, combined with a poor diet will bring poor results.
If you do not exercise, get started today. Begin by walking. There is no need for expensive gym memberships, and you can get started as quickly as going to your door, out of your house and begin walking around your neighbourhood.
You don’t need to train like an Olympic athlete to have and maintain a healthy body. Begin by walking for half an hour a day. It’s not that hard once you get off the couch and out the door. In a few days, you’ll feel much better, and you may not want to stop, even when the days are windy, raining, or cold. Soon you’ll convince everyone else why they should be walking as well.
7. Diet
Diet does not imply jumping on the latest bandwagon rolling down the street. I am not suggesting you eat more meat, less meat, or no meat at all. Whether you eat more vegetables, fewer vegetables, or even if you agree with Homer Simpson’s concept that bacon and pork chops are your favourite vegetables.
What I am suggesting is that you read up on food and nutrition. Are you overweight, underweight, or just right for you? Do you eat well, or could you improve the quality of what gets into your stomach? Proper diet is very important for your health, and a healthy body today, is surely going to be of benefit tomorrow.
8. Save
Are you saving something for your future? It’s your future. I once had some of the best excuses for not saving money or anything else for that matter.
One day, while I was attending YTU, (YouTube University), I came across an excellent book on financial literacy, It was called “The Richest Man in Babylon” by George S. Clason.
In it, there are many timeless money management ideas, dating back to the days of Babylon.
It contains timeless classics, such as,
- pay yourself first
- the 1st 10% of your earnings for YOU
- the next 70% for your living expenses, and
- the last 20% to pay off your debts
The most important part of that equation is the 10% that you save for yourself. It doesn’t sound like very much in the beginning, but rest assured that it does build up quickly. 10% is an easy number to remember and even easier to calculate.
Once you see this number grow, you will be sending me emails thanking me for the idea, but before you thank me, buy the book, or better yet, listen to it on YouTube, for free.
Some Things to Consider
Prepare Today to Survive Tomorrow is an easy mantra to remember and to follow. Keep in mind that all this work and effort is for YOU!
I would love to hear your thoughts on prepping for your future. Is there any value in it, and how much of a concern is it for you? Do you have any comments, questions, or suggestions, that would be of some benefit to us all?
You can leave your comments in the space below!