The will is not everything, but it does count for a great deal. Without it, you will not survive. Some stories of survival which have not been mentioned are the stories of Prisoners Of War (POWs). Some have survived not only the elements but brutality most of us can't truly comprehend. You will find that the will is important, but as the author of the book "Deep Survival" states, having a purpose matters a great deal as well.

The "rule of threes" is not useless. Humans have not changed physically over the thousands of years, only our knowledge has. The "rule of threes" is very good for teaching basic survival and planning. You can't stop there though. As is taught in all of the military survival schools, it is important to never give up. Never stop trying. There is always a chance, unless you quit. Take every morsel of food, every drop of water; it will all help. Training helps, and having some good equipment helps, but if you stop trying, it is all useless.

Military survival training is certainly there to teach skills; but it is more about placing the student in a stressful situation as an inoculation. If you have been in it before, even in training, when it happens to you, the stress of it is not overpowering. You have confidence and the emotional strength to not let the stress of the circumstances kill you.