Self-Efficiency Guide

[JGeropoulas]

I thought this list of recommendations for developing self-efficiency in the face of financial crash was worth sharing. Many of his suggestions are practical, but many also pertain to strengthening emotional/spiritual health.

It was compiled by David McAlvany (35), who seems to be quite an interesting young guy. His bio states that "In a three-piece suit on top of a coffee table, six year old David McAlvany delivered his first speech on Inflation...spent his childhood traveling extensively with his father, Don McAlvany, to Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Europe...[which provided] a priceless education in geopolitical, social, economic and intelligence developments around the world."

He is a graduate of Biola University (a moderate, Christian university in Los Angeles) and Oxford University, where he studied philosophy and political theory. Following his studies, he spent time working in Chile volunteering as an analyst with The Institute for Liberty and Development. Currently he serves as Secretary of The Asia-Pacific Children’s Fund, a non-profit for orphanages in the Asian third-world.

David has extensive business expertise with Morgan Stanley, including with work with start-ups and business financing. He's now President and CEO of McAlvany Financial Group, which "has a contrarian, in-depth approach to its analysis of monetary, economic, and geo-political events. This approach helps the company avoid decisions based on emotion or 'herd mentality'." He's also the director of the Swiss corporation Global Gold.

He's an avid reader of everything from economics to philosophy. Like many others, David sees that the collapse of our economy as very likely--but unlike most Christians, instead of misguiding people into sheep-like passivity (i.e. "faith"), he provides realistic, practical advice.

Principles of Self-Efficiency

1. Change the way you look at everything. Rethink your entire lifestyle.

2. Develop discernment about people.

3. When you invest, invest first in the right people.

4. Look at your self honestly, and ascertain your strengths and your weaknesses.

5. Seek the counsel of others you trust.

6. Find like-minded people who can be part of a mutual support group with whom you can cooperate.

7. Find alternate methods for doing everything.

8. Develop an instinct for what doesn’t feel right. No matter how good something looks or sounds on the surface, go with your gut feeling, with your instinct, with your intuition.

9. Eliminate non-essentials from your life. Eliminate all time wasters and money wasters, and things you don’t need – i.e. clothes, furniture, junk, etc. Eliminate television from your life.

10. Simplify your lifestyle – learn to say ‘no’ to things or activities which do not make you self-sufficient.

11. Develop physical, mental and spiritual disciplines.

12. Learn to treat everything as if it were irreplaceable.

13. Buy things that will last, even if they cost more.

14. Acquire tools that do not depend upon electric power.

15. Learn to spend time alone with yourself in total silence – think, reflect, reminisce, and plan (or strategize) in silence.

16. Learn to spend time alone with yourself and your family, apart from superficial entertainment and distractions.

17. Learn something from every situation you are in – everything you hear, see, touch, or feel has a lesson in it. Learn a principle from every mistake you make, from everyday life situations.

18. Make sure your trust is in the Lord [Universe] and not your own preparedness.

19. Learn to enjoy simple pleasures from the smallest things – have a measure of joy and happiness that doesn’t come from creature comforts or entertainment.

20. Store up memories for times of isolation or separation from your loved ones.

21. Establish priorities for all of life (i.e. relationship, needs, present needs, future needs). Set goals for areas you’ll be proficient or self-sufficient in. Set a schedule or timeline based on money and time you can invest in self-sufficiency.

22. Examine the concept of civil disobedience from the Bible and history. At what point should the people of Egypt have said ‘no’ to killing the male babies in Moses’ day? At what point should the people of Germany have said ‘no’ to Hitler? At what point do we say ‘no’ to despots in our day – when they take over money, our property, our guns, our children, our freedom? Decide what is your action point – when do you move to civil disobedience? Don’t set your action point too early or too quickly – nor too late or never. Think through and calculate a strategy – then act on it.

23. Learn to ask the right questions in every situation.

24. Bring orderliness into your life. If you live in disorder, it will pull you down; it will break your focus. Think focus versus distraction. Eliminate the distractions from your life.

25. Self-sufficiency (or survival) principles are learned on a day-to-day basis and must be practical.

26. Always have more than one way to escape, more than one way to do something. Have a plan B and a plan C.

27. Everyday life (and especially crisis) requires ‘up-front systems’ and ‘back-up systems’ if the first line of defense or ‘up-front systems fails.

28. Real education (or learning) takes place only when change occurs in our attitudes, actions, and way of life.

29. Wisdom is making practical applications of what you know. It is not enough to know everything you need to know. It will only serve you and others if practical application is made of that knowledge.

30. Fix in your own mind the truth about your capabilities. In a crisis situation, this principle will keep you from cockiness (or overconfidence) and will provide you with confidence.

31. Decide ahead of time before a crisis arrives, how you will react in a given situation so that you are not swayed by the circumstances, the situation, or your emotions.

32. Beware of being spread too thin in your life. Decide on the few things in life that you must do and do them well. Think focus versus distraction. Make sure that unimportant, non-essential distractions don’t keep you from achieving your important objectives.

33. Learn to quit wasting things. Be a good steward of all that God provides.

34. Buy an extra one of everything you use regularly and set the extra one aside for the time when such items may be difficult or impossible to obtain.

35. In every situation, train yourself to look for what doesn’t fit, for what’s out of place, for what doesn’t look right.

36. Teach your children (and yourself) that they are not obligated to give information to a stranger. You don’t have to answer questions (not even to a government official) that are none of their business.

37. Sell or give away things you do not use or need. Consider giving away or selling 50% of your ‘stuff,’ (i.e. the non-essentials.) Simplify and streamline your life, lifestyle and possessions.

38. Find someone who lived through the Great Depression and learn from them how they were self-sufficient, how they made do with little, and how they found joy and contentment in the midst of hard times. An excellent book on this subject is We Had Everything But Money: Priceless Memories of the Great Depression From Strong People Who Tell In Their Own Words What It Was Like When Banks Closed and Hearts Opened.

This list, as well as one on crash-proofing personal finances, can be found here:
_http://www.mcalvanyica.com/resources/investors-plan-of-action/#.U3pRN3aPPdV.

 

[Rich]

Thanks for sharing that JGeropoulas. There are some useful ways to think and act in that list that are rarely referred to in typical preparedness articles. - In many ways prepping the mind is essential and it is one thing everyone can do, irrespective of the resources one has at their disposal.

 

[Ivan_]

Very good indeed. I also love Gurdjieff's 82, though they are on a slightly different note:

1. Ground your attention on yourself. Be conscious at every moment of what you are thinking, sensing, feeling, desiring, and doing.
2. Always finish what you have begun.
3. Whatever you are doing, do it as well as possible.
4. Do not become attached to anything that can destroy you in the course of time.
5. Develop your generosity - but secretly.
6. Treat everyone as if he or she was a close relative.
7. Organize what you have disorganized.
8. Learn to receive and give thanks for every gift.
9. Stop defining yourself.
10. Do not lie or steal, for you lie to yourself and steal from yourself.
11. Help your neighbor, but do not make him dependent.
12. Do not encourage others to imitate you.
13. Make work plans and accomplish them.
14. Do not take up too much space.
15. Make no useless movements or sounds.
16. If you lack faith, pretend to have it.
17. Do not allow yourself to be impressed by strong personalities.
18. Do not regard anyone or anything as your possession.
19. Share fairly.
20. Do not seduce.
21. Sleep and eat only as much as necessary.
22. Do not speak of your personal problems.
23. Do not express judgement or criticism when you are ignorant of most of the factors involved.
24. Do not establish useless friendships.
25. Do not follow fashions.
26. Do not sell yourself.
27. Respect contracts you have signed.
28. Be on time.
29. Never envy the luck or success of anyone.
30. Say no more than necessary.
31. Do not think of the profits your work will engender.
32. Never threaten anyone.
33. Keep your promises.
34. In any discussion, put yourself in the other person's place.
35. Admit that someone else may be superior to you.
36. Do not eliminate, but transmute.
37. Conquer your fears, for each of them represents a camouflaged desire.
38. Help others to help themselves.
39. Conquer your aversions and come closer to those who inspire rejection in you.
40. Do not react to what others say about you, whether praise or blame.
41. Transform your pride into dignity.
42. Transform your anger into creativity.
43. Transform your greed into respect for beauty.
44. Transform your envy into admiration for the values of the other.
45. Transform your hate into charity.
46. Neither praise nor insult yourself.
47. Regard what does not belong to you as if it did belong to you.
48. Do not complain.
49. Develop your imagination.
50. Never give orders to gain the satisfaction of being obeyed.
51. Pay for services performed for you.
52. Do not proselytize your work or ideas.
53. Do not try to make others feel for you emotions such as pity, admiration, sympathy, or complicity.
54. Do not try to distinguish yourself by your appearance.
55. Never contradict; instead, be silent.
56. Do not contract debts; acquire and pay immediately.
57. If you offend someone, ask his or her pardon; if you have offended a person publicly, apologize publicly.
58. When you realize you have said something that is mistaken, do not persist in error through pride; instead, immediately retract it.
59. Never defend your old ideas simply because you are the one who expressed them.
60. Do not keep useless objects.
61. Do not adorn yourself with exotic ideas.
62. Do not have your photograph taken with famous people.
63. Justify yourself to no one, and keep your own counsel.
64. Never define yourself by what you possess.
65. Never speak of yourself without considering that you might change.
66. Accept that nothing belongs to you.
67. When someone asks your opinion about something or someone, speak only of his or her qualities.
68. When you become ill, regard your illness as your teacher, not as something to be hated.
69. Look directly, and do not hide yourself.
70. Do not forget your dead, but accord them a limited place and do not allow them to invade your life.
71. Wherever you live, always find a space that you devote to the sacred.
72. When you perform a service, make your effort inconspicuous.
73. If you decide to work to help others, do it with pleasure.
74. If you are hesitating between doing and not doing, take the risk of doing.
75. Do not try to be everything to your spouse; accept that there are things that you cannot give him or her but which others can.
76. When someone is speaking to an interested audience, do not contradict that person and steal his or her audience.
77. Live on money you have earned.
78. Never brag about amorous adventures.
79. Never glorify your weaknesses.
80. Never visit someone only to pass the time.
81. Obtain things in order to share them.
82. If you are meditating and a devil appears, make the devil meditate too.

Source: https://archive.org/details/GurdjieffCommandments

 

[NevadaCat]

This is wonderful. Thank you for sharing both lists. I love Gurdjieff's #82 too. I think I have managed to honor #62 without even trying. :) It takes one out of the comfort zone of shame, self-loathing as well as pride, ego, etc. Wonderful.

 

[Ivan_]

Yeah, naturally, you would do better at some and others will be the lessons of a lifetime, some may be touching the chief feature, or should I say bug, which is harder to deal with.. What I love about all these, is to think of how will my attitude be, how will my mental posture be, what would I be doing, etc., if I were to follow entirely all of these all at once. Since it's difficult, if not impossible, for now at least, I do a few. And then try them in life, etc., with the principle of starting small.

 

[A Jay]

Thanks for sharing these lists guys!

 

[SeekinTruth]

Yeah, thanks for sharing. I hadn't read G's list for a few years, so it was also a good reminder. I was surprised that many things on his list have become habitual for me without needing much effort now. Still lots to work on though.

Another thing, I think, is important to keep in mind in surviving when TSHTF, is that physical survival is important, but should not be the one and only thing to strive for because, no matter what, the physical body will die at some point. So it's important to keep things in perspective and strive to be useful to the Universe in every situation.

 

[Thaigrr]

Thanks for sharing the lists! All and everything self-improving is presented in a complete and succinct nutshell. Much to ponder and implement/improve upon! :)

 

[trendsetter37]

Both of those list sums it it pretty well. Thanks for sharing!

 

[theos]

Thanks for posting these lists. Very useful information :)

 

[Drea]

They both seem to put an emphasis on eliminating distraction and simplifying which brings us back to the basis of who we are, what we absolutely need and what our aim is.
If we can be minimalistic in our lives it seems we have that much more room to work on ourselves and help others instead of being bogged down and losing energy unnecessarily.
Thanks for sharing these.

 

[HowToBe]

Wow, those are both very good lists. Just working on one a day seems like it could be pretty powerful. Definitely time to fix the printer...

 

[placematt]

what an amazing couple of lists for self efficiency. They have definitely given me a frame work to think back on in times of crisis! Much appreciated for sharing!! :)

 

[patty2292]

Great list's to keep too, love G's 82 Madara Knight :)
Making a personal note of them!!

Thank you for sharing

 

[Gwenllian]

Thanks for sharing that JGeropoulas. There are some useful ways to think and act in that list that are rarely referred to in typical preparedness articles. - In many ways prepping the mind is essential and it is one thing everyone can do, irrespective of the resources one has at their disposal.

The book Deep Survival - Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why by Laurence Gonzales is also a great one for prepping the mind IMO. There is more information to be found about this book here on the forum.
Another list :D:

In reading about cases in which people survived seemingly impossible circumstances, however, I found an eerie uniformity. Decades and sometimes even centuries apart, separated by culture, geography, race, language, and tradition, they all went through the same patterns of thought and behavior. I eventually distilled those observations down to twelve points that seemed to stand out concerning how survivors think and behave in the clutch of mortal danger. Some are the same as the steps for staying out of trouble. Here's what survivors do:

(I am just quoting the points here. Gonzalez explains every point in his book:)

1. Perceive, believe (look, see, believe)
2. Stay calm (use humor, use fear to focus)
3. Think/analyze/plan (get organized: set up small, manageable tasks)
4, Take correct, decisive action (be bold and cautious while carrying out tasks)
5. Celebrate your successes (take joy in completing tasks)
6. Count your blessings (be grateful-you're alive)
7. Play (sing, play mind games, recite poetry, count anything, do mathematical problems in you head)
8. See the beauty (remember: it's a vision quest)
9. Believe that you will succeed (develop a deep conviction that you'll live)
10. Surrender (let go of your fear of dying; "put away the pain")
11. Do whatever is necessary (be determined; have the will and the skill)
12. Never give up (let nothing break your spirit)

That said, I do agree with SeekinTruth who said:

Another thing, I think, is important to keep in mind in surviving when TSHTF, is that physical survival is important, but should not be the one and only thing to strive for because, no matter what, the physical body will die at some point. So it's important to keep things in perspective and strive to be useful to the Universe in every situation.

Thanks for the lists!