Rules of Wisdom
PSYCHOLOGY/PHILOSOPHY
1) Always watch the eyes, they give the first indication of imminent action.
2) "If you see the head guy running, run faster. Whoever survives will be the next boss."
3) "I don't have to outrun the bear, I just have to outrun you."
4) “When you choose an action, you choose the consequences of that action."
5) Just having stuff doesn't mean you are ready. Know how to store/move/use it properly.
6) Age and Treachery will overcome Youth and Enthusiasm
7) All of this will happen before. All of this has happened again.
8) Depend on yourself, help those who are not able, and teach those that are.
9) Some people try to turn back their odometers. Not me, I want people to know "why" I look this way. I've traveled a long way and some of the roads weren't paved
10) Do not follow where the path may lead...go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.
11) "Never marry an ugly woman, it'll take the life right outta ya"
12)
MILITARY
1) The first casualty of war is... all of the pre-war planning.
2) The first casualty of peace is... the truth.
3) Any decision, even if it is flawed, is better than no decision. (decision errors will usually become apparent with enough time to adjust/correct)
4) "The pointy end goes in the other man!" - The Mask of Zorro
5) Never share a foxhole with anyone braver than you are.
6) No battle plan ever survives contact with the enemy.
7) Friendly fire ain't.
8) The most dangerous thing in the combat zone is an officer with a map.
9) The problem with taking the easy way out is that the enemy has already mined it.
10) The buddy system is essential to your survival; it gives the enemy somebody else to shoot at.
11) The further you are in advance of your own positions, the more likely your artillery will shoot short.
12) Incoming fire has the right of way.
13) If your advance is going well, you are walking into an ambush.
14) The quartermaster has only two sizes, too large and too small.
15) If you really need an officer in a hurry, take a nap.
16) The only time suppressive fire works is when it is used on abandoned positions.
17) The only thing more accurate than incoming enemy fire is incoming friendly fire.
18) There is nothing more satisfying that having someone take a shot at you, and miss.
19) Don't be conspicuous. In the combat zone, it draws fire. Out of the combat zone, it draws sergeants.
20) If your sergeant can see you, so can the enemy.
21) Never let anyone closer that your comfortable shooting range with out knowing there intentions.
NAVIGATION
1) The 2 outside stars of the Big Dipper's cup generally point towards the North Star.
2) The scabbard hanging down from Orion's Belt, always points South.
3) When in an area of many open iron ore mines, question what your compass says.
4) If something is in your way, like a fallen tree, go around it. Don't blindly climb over or try to navigate everything in your path. Going around obstacles saves injuries. I have seen more stupid accidents by people trying to go over, under or through obstacles, rather than simply going around them.
5)
WOODLANDS/URBAN SURVIVAL
1) A practiced Tracker is always aware of the previous week's weather.
2) Priorities in the wilds: shelter, water, food, warmth.
3) If you are in town, always have a dollar per mile between you and home. In cash.
4) In the field, always carry twice as much water as you think you'll need between refills, gather five times firewood as you think will be enough for the night, and carry meds and food for at least a third longer than you planned to be out.
5) Don't try to travel in the dark unless you're used to it, or possibly if you're in the desert.
6) Don't wait until dusk to find shelter. Try to get everything you need to do done in daylight.
7) Don't be afraid of wolves or coyotes, they aren't a danger unless they're rabid. Bears and cougars are something else.
8) Pay attention to your surroundings. Look back frequently in case you have to backtrack -you'll know what it looks like. Don't be one of those airheads that travel the woods listening to music.
9) Don't signal for help and then keep moving.
10) The Golden Rule: If you think you're lost, STOP! Unless you need to take shelter from the sun/heat, park yourself out in the open during the day, where you can be seen from the air.
11) If your situation changes, you have to change your plans to fit what is happening now. Don't try to force the new situation to fit the old plan.
12) "Learn survival skills when your life doesn't depend on it."
13)
COMMON SENSE
1) Buying a car is not a question of how much money you did or didn't save, it's actually a question of how BIG or how LITTLE of a screwing you actually took!
2) If it sounds too good to be true, then it is most likely, FALSE!
3) Always cut with the knife moving AWAY from you.
4) Never lick a steak knife
5) Never drink anything blue
6) Trust everyone, but cut the cards
7) PPPPPP Proper Planning Prevents [censored] Poor Performance
8) "Nothing is foolproof, because fools are so ingenious."
9) The best luck is that which you make yourself
10) If you live poorly, die properly, as that is all that will be remembered in a generation's time. If you can neither live nor die with honor and dignity, then it is better to have never lived at all.
11) Our most important survival tool is our brain, and for many, that tool is way underused!
12) If you feel cocky, worry.
13) Advertising is just advertising. Truth often doesn't have anything to do with it. If Madison Ave. told me the sun came up this morning, I would step outside and check.
14)
_________________________
QMC, USCG (Ret)
The best luck is what you make yourself!