Welcome to the first Save Yourself Today post. The purpose of this blog will be to present various topics in the 4 skill-based focus disciplines that Save Yourself Academy offers courses on:
To start, I figured I would tell you a little about me and how Save Yourself Academy came to be.
Background
I am an Eagle Scout, Air Force Veteran and have been an IT Professional for 33 years. I spent the last 23 in the corporate world where I also was a Project Manager and Corporate Trainer.
In 2019, after living in Illinois for 22 years, the company I worked for moved to the gulf coast of Alabama. While I could have stayed with the company and moved to the gulf coast, I knew in my heart that if it was time to move, I was moving back to Utah. It is where I was first stationed with the Air Force in the late 80s.
How did I pick Utah?
I absolutely love Utah; the mountains, the 5 national parks and dozens of state parks. It’s a skier’s and outdoor lover’s paradise and I missed it after living here for 5 years in my youth. It’s pretty much the center of the west. I can easily drive to nearby states in a day or less to explore their National Parks and outdoor attractions.
This is also something that I had wanted to do for some time. With my house sold and all my stuff packed into a moving van, I moved to Utah in October 2019. We had 18 months’ notice of the company move so I was able to save enough to cover expenses for 15 months until I could find work. Little did I know at the time how important this would be for me in 2020. I also got a decent severance, but that ended the first week of March. I began looking for work in mid-February so I wouldn’t have to deplete my savings and then it happened; a new virus being reported in China was spreading around the world like wildfire.
Then it happened
I imagine that for all of us, March 2020 drastically changed what started off as a normal year. The lockdowns in March, April and May delayed my job search even further. With many workers laid off and companies and schools going remote it was not a good time to be looking for a job. The uncertainty of what was going to happen had most companies freezing all hiring. Only grocery stores and other essential businesses were looking for people.
By June I filed for unemployment and was trying to figure out what I could do or was willing to do for work during this pandemic. Being in my 50s and admittedly overweight, I was concerned about how I would fare if I caught this virus. I also started to think “what happens if this gets really bad?”
How it started
I started going through various scenarios in my head and thought about all the ways I could prepare for whatever eventually played out.
As an Eagle Scout I have always lived up to the Boy Scout Motto of “Be Prepared”. It didn’t matter what I was doing; backpacking in the mountains of New Mexico; going to summer camp in Wisconsin; taking a 600-mile bike-packing trip through 4 European countries – I was always prepared, and in many cases over-prepared. I had all the necessary gear, everything you would probably need in an emergency situation and most of the time, it was never needed, but I had it. I feel much more comfortable having something and not need it, that not have something I need.
As July rolled around and things were not getting much better, I started to put together a presentation for emergency preparedness. At first it was just a collection of thoughts, tips and tricks, etc. Surely there were many people just as unprepared if not more so than me that would love to have this information and it gave me something else to focus on and pour my energy into as the job search continued to drag on with no hope in sight.
If we look at all the panic shopping that happened (and in some places is happening again): Meat, Toilet Paper, Hand Sanitizer, Hand Soap, Guns, Ammo, Chest Freezers….the most eclectic group of items were impossible to find and some still are not back in stock or difficult to find 8 months later.
Looking for existing content
I searched for training and online content. With the exception of some dry reading on official government websites or the more fringe elements of extreme preppers, I didn’t find anything that felt designed for everyday regular people.
As I continued to research online and dug through my old Scouting and military books for information, an outline came together for a comprehensive plan for getting prepared for whatever might happen. I started to take stock of what gear/equipment I already had and where I was lacking.
I had spent March and April building up a food and water supply. In June, July and August I went about acquiring some gear that would improve my readiness if the pandemic took a turn for the worse or another disaster struck. Utah had experienced a 5.3 earthquake in May and wildfires burned from June through September. I kept on working on my presentation (and hiking each weekend in the mountains to test the gear and keep my sanity). I was thinking about opening an outdoor skills training / survival school and store (I even looked at available buildings in my area) when I came across the Teachable platform.
Enter Teach:able
All the sudden it just clicked, I could create training courses online and reach a much larger audience with significantly lower overheard. There was no need to lease a building and stock a store with inventory. Not only does that carry a lot of risk, but it requires a significant financial investment to get started. Then there is marketing to get people to come to your business. Besides trying to figure out how to get people to enroll in my in-person classes or buy items from my store, would anybody come to an in-person class while the pandemic rages on? Probably not. Did I want to be interacting with people not knowing who may be a carrier and spreading COVID to me, my staff or other students? Absolutely not.
With my job search continuing and yielding no results, I decided that Teachable is where I will start this journey and Save Yourself Academy was born.
The need exists
As I continued to watch 2020 unfold, the sheer number and frequency of disasters that struck not only America, but nations across the globe, made me realize there were plenty of people that needed information on how to be prepared and I could help them save themselves.
It has been apparent to me for some time, that despite best intentions or efforts, most government agencies are woefully unprepared to deal with disasters. It comes down to leadership (and an extreme lack thereof in many cases). Very few politicians are actual leaders (most are just shady salesman). Even those that truly are get bogged down with the bureaucracy and incompetent workers under them. That only increases the obstacles in their path to be effective.
People need the knowledge and tools to be able to save themselves in disaster situations. The COVID pandemic proved my beliefs beyond any doubt with the incompetent leadership at all levels of local, state and federal government across this nation and the bungled response to this disaster. So many people have died that didn’t need to.
More than just preparedness
There are also just as many people that need help with business and technology challenges of which I have plenty of experience to share. From learning the basics in core skills like email, spreadsheets and presentations to more advanced topics. Leadership, on-boarding/off-boarding of employees, process development or analysis and how to conduct effective meetings both in-person and online. I can teach you to save yourself in any situation you may face.
I also want to help those lacking basic life skills that they should have learned at home or in school while growing up, but never did. Our focus as a society isn’t on preparing kids for life, it’s preparing them to take standardized tests. Why else are so many failing at basic life skills and moving back home with their parents? Why are so many parents ok with this arrangement? What happens when they can no longer provide for or take care of their adult kids? What will they (you) do then? Learn how to save yourself whether you are that parent or that adult kid so that you both can live meaningful lives without being a burden on others.
I like teaching others
I have always had a desire to teach and share knowledge and have been doing it in some form or another since my youth. My path forward is uncertain, however, a transition away from the hustle and bustle of a 9-5 corporate job is becoming more and more likely. I don’t know where I will end up, but I’m excited for this next phase of my life. I hope you find my course offerings useful. I’m looking forward to sharing my knowledge and experiences with as many people as I can.
Thank you for your time and consideration. Please feel free to share any comments you have below.
Dave
NOTE: I welcome any constructive comments, engaging discussions, and feedback to help me improve, however, unprofessional conduct will not be tolerated in any form.
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Last Updated on July 15, 2021
