New York Times Bestselling Author Larry Winget, star of A&E’s Big Spender, is best known for his unique brand of “pit-bull” motivation teaching sales people, business owners and others to get tough in today’s economy.
Now he says, I’m a ‘prepper’ and is actively preparing himself and his family for the uncertain days ahead.
Read about what he’s personally doing to prepare in challenging times:
“Expect the best, but be prepared for the worst.”
I have written in my books, “Expect the best, but be prepared for the worst.” I think most of us are great at expecting the best and do very little to prepare for the worst. This is evidenced by people’s saving accounts! But I think it’s time to take preparation to the next level. Therefore, I have become a prepper.
No, I am not one of those wacko survivalist youtubers by any stretch of the imagination. However, as I said earlier, I am a realist.
The Disaster Ahead
Our economic system worldwide is a disaster. The US is so upside down on its debt, with no solution at hand to fix any of it that I am not seeing a good way out of it right now. I don’t think our entitled citizens are above revolting like we have seen in France and Greece.
Natural disasters are increasing causing power outages and other issues that either force people to leave their homes or force people to stay in their homes. A report this week by the government said that our power grids are particularly susceptible to hackers.
Our borders are weak and our enemies are strong and sneaky. There are many people and nations who simply don’t like us and wish us harm, along with many individuals right here in our own country.
Are You Prepared?
We are vulnerable on many levels. Even FEMA suggests that every person have at least three days worth of food and water stored in case of emergency. Our grocery stores do not carry enough food to last three days if they lose power. So what happens to you and your family if your area loses power for a week, or even a day? Or if a natural disaster hits your area? Or if there is a revolt due to economic collapse? Are you prepared?
If you live in a climate where there is snow, you know you should put a blanket and some sand and other supplies in your car in case you get stuck in the snow. You probably carry a jack and a spare tire and jumper cables in your car ‘just in case.’ Yet that is most people’s entire level of preparedness.
Most people don’t have enough food in their homes to make dinner tonight. If every fast food restaurant in their neighborhood closed for the day they wouldn’t even be able to have dinner tonight. That’s dumb, naïve and irresponsible.
Food and Water for Six Months,
A Generator Too…I have food and water put away to last my family for six months. It’s easy to do and not much money. I have a generator and plenty of gas to keep it running for months. I can cook even if all power is gone. I can defend my family and my property if needed. I am prepared in every way I can think of, not out of fear but because I am smart and have taken the time, the energy and the small investment it takes to care for my family ‘just in case.’
You may think this makes me a crazy survivalist, I think it just makes me a responsible person. And while I hope none of us ever have to be tested in these regards, I won’t be one of those guys who looks back in regret because I couldn’t be bothered with it or was afraid of how it looked or sounded to others.
We think this is great advice.
What do you think?
Recommended: 1 year Food Supply
Source: Larry Winget
Filed under Emergency Preparedness by Terry Leverett. 
We’re excited to announce that registration for Really Ready Weekend, October 21-22, 2011 in Kansas City is now open.
If you’ve attended our previous weekend, this new “hands-on” training with a private tour of the Prepare The Way cave warehouses helps you put what you’ve learned into action!
If you’re new to Really Ready Weekend, this is the fastest way to be ready when it counts in a weekend.
More information and register here: Really Ready Weekend Registration
See you there!
Filed under Emergency Preparedness Training, Events by Terry Leverett.
Ever buy a great looking tomato, bring it home and discover it doesn’t taste like one?
Barry Estabrook, author of “Tomatoland” explains what’s happening with tomatoes, why to grow your own and how workers are being treated like slaves:
What happens to tomatoes grown today?
Estabrook: Winter tomatoes that we get in our grocery stores and in fast food places are picked when they’re bright green. Any hint of coloration is treasonous in a Florida tomato field in the winter. The industry says they’re “mature green” and supposedly might develop flavor, but there’s no way the pickers can tell the difference between mature and immature.
These green tomatoes are taken back to a warehouse, packed in boxes, which are stacked on pallets and moved into storage areas where they’re exposed to ethylene gas. The gas forces the tomatoes to turn the right color; it doesn’t ripen them.
Does this account for the lack of flavor in the modern day tomato?
Estabrook: There are two factors at work here. The first is that the tomatoes are picked when they’re immature and no matter what you do, an immature tomato will never get any taste; though it might look alluring.
The second problem with industrial tomatoes is that for the last fifty years, they’ve been bred for one thing only, and that’s yield. One farmer told me, “I get paid per pound. I don’t get paid a cent for taste.” Sadly, he was right.
What are the challenges to growing tomatoes in a climate like Florida?
Estabrook: I quickly learned that from a botanical and horticultural point of view, you would have to be a fool to try to grow tomatoes commercially in a place like Florida.
The main problem is that tomatoes’ ancestors come from desert areas. They’re adapted to extremely dry, low-humidity areas. That’s why Southern Italy and parts of California are so good for tomatoes; it doesn’t rain all summer. Florida is notoriously humid, which is just perfect conditions for all of the funguses, rusts, blights, insects and pests that destroy tomatoes.
That’s why they have to use 110 different chemicals, fertilizers, fungicides and herbicides to even get a crop. Florida and California grow about the same amount of tomatoes. Florida uses eight times to get the same agricultural product.
The second problem with Florida is – I’m not even going to call it soil, because it isn’t. Florida tomatoes are grown in sand. Just like the sand on Daytona Beach, it’s great to wiggle your toes in, but it contains zero nutrients. None.
So they have to essentially pump in all the chemical food that the plant is going to need for its lifetime. Then they seal the row in plastic and hope they’ll get a crop.
What is the best choice for a consumer?Estabrook: The best course of action is, of course, to grow your own or go to the farmers market. Or if you’re in your market, and you see tomatoes from your region in season, those are the best solutions.
Want to grow your own tomatoes and other fresh food even in a small space?
The book we use and recommend is All New Square Foot Gardening: Grow More in Less Space by Mel Bartholomew.
Click to order All New Square Foot Gardening
Video Source: Bloomberg
Text Source: CNN
Filed under Grow Your Own Food by Terry Leverett.
