Change and your Safety: Change has Consequences
The Important Consequences of Change!
This has been a heck of a week. Tons of changes and lots of fresh new content from Safety Solutions Academy including a new podcast!
I am excited about the changes and the content and hope that you are too! Next week is going to be great as well!
As I write these words it is late August 2015. Definitely a time of change. The mornings and evenings are getting cooler and there is no doubt that fall is in the air. Football is headed this way soon. College and pro games will be underway before we know it.
Kids are back in school and that marks a change for any one with school age kids.
More Time for More Content
With the start of the 2015-2016 school year, for the first time, both of my kids will be in school full time. In the past, I have put one on the bus in the morning and then gotten the youngest to preschool and then tried to cram as much work as possible into the 2.5 hours of uninterrupted time I had. It totaled about 10 hours a week. Yeah SSA running on 10 hours of “office time” a week. It was insane and no where near enough time.
Now, with both kids heading to school, my time has more than tripled.
With more time comes more content.
This post I’m writing now will be the 5th blog post for the week.
5!
I am pretty sure that I have never had 5 blog posts before.
It is a pretty exciting idea that this change in time has the potential to result in a tremendous increase in the content I can put out in the matter of a week.
I’m fired up about it and I hope that you are too.
The New Format for the SSA Blog
If you are paying attention to what is going on with Safety Solutions Academy, you have probably noticed that we are redlining it!
In addition to teaching courses virtually every weekend, we often host other instructors to teach critical information related to self-defense and the defense of others and we run other events that somehow relate to SSA’s mission.
Recently we hosted a corporate event where we brought in quality instructors from around the country to help 16 championship athletes through some intimate interactions with some amazing guns we procured from Ohio Ordinance work and some other sources.
What does this have to do with our new format? Good question and it really comes down to the idea that the blog and the events no longer have to compete form my limited time.
M-F I will have the time to recruit, plan and prepare for events and create content.
It is my hope that I will be able to get a blog post out each and every day. It won’t be in-depth epic content daily, but the little tidbits that can make a difference when you add them all together.
Then after using the week to really organize my thoughts on a topic, I’ll be putting together that big blog post (kinda like this one except with a ton of defensive related content.)
Add to all that the idea that every Thursday will be podcast day and we are starting to put together a winning combination!
But Wait, There is Even MORE!
I have to say, this is one of the things that I am the most excited about.
Each Wednesday Grant Cunningham and I will be doing a live show on the googles.
Since I broke the news on Wednesday of this week, we have put a lot of work in.
The show now has a name:
We have scooped up the urls and a facebook page. So head on over to facebook, get infant of the curve and give The Protected Life a like. I did.
The show will be live, each Wednesday at 12, noon EST and will focus on the practical sTeps you can take to lead The Protected Life.
We will cover topics like:
- Self-Defense
- Home-Defense
- Selecting the right training
- Finding gear that really works
- How to make sure you and your family are prepared for the situations that you are likely to face
- And more!
The Protected Life is rare in that it has already received the backing of some major players in the industry in the form of advertising. It is also rare in that the advertising will actually fit our audience and their needs!
So make sure to set a reminder to be ready for the debut of The Protected Life on Wednesday, September 8, 2015.
You can listen to the audio podcast here, or subscribe through iTunes so that every new show is sent directly to you.
Safety Isn’t a Feeling
Yet that is how many people think of it. They take some action or worse some part of an action and they feel somehow fulfilled and confident in their decision and then make the assumption that they have accomplished something.
The reality is the only real change is most often a lighter wallet and a bigger ego.
I hope you don’t feel like I’m talking specifically about you. I’m not. Actually, I’m talking about myself.
I didn’t figure out how ignorant I was until I stepped on the range to act as a safety officer for a defensive training event in the fall of 2000. Yeah about 15 years ago.
I watched a fella named Brian Bastianelli who now owns Fortis Defense and Lou Chiodo of Gunfighters Ltd. conduct some actual defensive training and as I listened and watched I realized how much of a game I had been playing.
Luckily I was open to the idea that I had just been going through the motions and that going through the motions might feel good but the reality is it was nothing but false bravado.
So, I started to actually do things to be safer.
For example, I started to lock my doors!
Really, you do need to lock your doors and windows. I know that it makes complete sense to keep your doors locked at night. Of course it does. At night you are asleep and much less aware of your surroundings. Locking doors and windows means that most criminals are going to have to enter your home forcibly which takes time and makes noise. The idea is simple the time it takes gives you time to respond to the noise that is created and that theoretically wakes you from your peaceful slumber.
I lock my doors during the day as well. Do you? The idea is the same. I want to have time on my side. If a bad guy is forced to forcibly enter my home, that is time that I can use to mount a defense against the pending attack.
What about your garage door. You know the door between the garage and the house. Do you lock that door? You probably should. Your garage door is one of the likely points of entry. Remember that garage door remote that is in your car? That is the way many people get that garage door open. They just push the button just like you do!
Locking your doors gives you the advantage of time and this advantage doesn’t just makes sense when you are at home. It also makes sense when you are in your office, at school or when you are driving your car.
Keeping your doors locked can be a life saver.
You also need TRAINING!
If you depend on a firearm get professional defensive firearms training! Really, you need training.
Humans have been dealing with threats for thousands of years but it doesn’t take a genius to realize that guns haven’t been a major factor in human survival for even a fraction of the time.
What does this mean?
It means that defending yourself with a firearm is an unnatural act. Neither you or I have the instinctive capability to defend ourselves efficiently with a handgun. That doesn’t mean that you might not find success in defending yourself, but if you had quality training you would be better at defending yourself or others and less dependent on luck.
The solution to training is simple, TRAIN!
- Get concealed carry training
- Get home defense training
- Get training on how to use your gun efficiently in and around your vehicle
Remember, it isn’t just about firearms training there are several other disciplines that you need to train if you want to be truly safe.
Once you get the proper training you actually have to carry your gear!
Really you have to carry it.
Whatever it is, if it isn’t on your person you aren’t likely to be able to retrieve it when you really need it.
- Carry carry your gun every time you go out of the house.
- Carry your gun when you are in your house.
- Carry your gun when you are driving.
Having a good belt and holster combination can really help.
- Get a quality holster that safely and securely holds your gun but at the same time allows you to draw that gun.
- Get a quality belt that is torsionally stiff.
- Take the time to get used to carrying your gun.
Your overall health matters as well.
One of the issues I have with folks in the tactical world is with the amount of effort and energy they will invest in training for a violent encounter which only a fraction of the population will ever face while all along ignoring threats that common sense tells us will be an issue in their lifetime.
If you are really interested in your safety and the safety of those that you love, you need to dedicate yourself to your own physical wellbeing.
Although it might take a while to actually see the effects of improving your physical condition there really is no better way to improve your own personal safety than to improve your overall health.
The things you do matter. Use your body more, abuse your body less.
- Quit smoking
- Get some exercise
- Get more sleep
- Eat better
This has been a personal mission of mine for the past 9 months and I am kicking it in to overdrive.
Better eating will help to control those few extra pounds.
Exercise has been increasing my energy level and my productivity.
I haven’t entered into some crazy lifting routine or start to crossfire not that there is anything bad, it is as simple as getting some exercise by walking every day. I’m adding in yoga starting in the beginning of September.
I’m interested in long term changes over the rest of my life.
Remember, changes you make today have an impact long term because they add up every time you make the choice to do the right thing.
Changes can Make a Difference!
This week has been a pivotal week for Safety Solutions Academy. Maybe it isn’t quite the same for you. That is o.k. Just understand that what is important is that you are constantly prepared for change. I have been looking ahead and planning for this change for a long time now. What is the next big change motivator in your life? How can you get out in front of it so that you aren’t thrown off balance.
When those changes come, are you ready to capitalize on them from a safety standpoint, or are they going to rock you in a way that compromises your safety.
Your personal safety and the safety of those that you love is ultimately in your hands. Hopefully, the changes coming to SSA, and the safety content we shared here this week will help you to improve your safety overall.
What You Should Do Next:
Take a minute and leave a comment below and continue the discussion. What changes have you experienced in your life? What changes do you anticipate in the future? What are you going to do so that you are prepared for those changes and can remain safe?
Thanks for commenting!
Thanks for taking the time to consider what I have to say!
-= Paul Carlson =-
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