Self Develoment - Modern Barbarian

Posted on October 8, 2024October 4, 2024 by barbarianadmin

Barbarian Book Club #2: Barbarian Fitness

8 Weeks to SEALFIT: An Expedition into Barbarian Fitness and Self-Reliance

I have used a variety of programs and fitness books over the years. I still will switch it up depending on the situation at hand. However in the realm of high level fitness and books that promise transformation. 8 Weeks to SEALFIT by Mark Divine, a retired Navy SEAL, is one that will not only boost your strength but your endurance and work capacity as well. If you can do it.

I will routinely return to this program to get back to basics or when I want to evaluate my ability after trying something else. With a mix of stern military discipline and a dash eastern philosophy. This is by no means the program that you start with if you are only starting your fitness journey. Though it is one that will kick you up to the next level if you stick with it. There is also a “run up” program for anyone that cannont quite complete the actual program yet, or that just want to build up and prepare you for it.

The Serious Stuff

Physical Preparedness: Divine doesn’t just throw you into the deep end; he teaches you to swim first. The book outlines a comprehensive fitness regime that includes strength, stamina, endurance, and even the less glamorous but crucial flexibility. Each week ramps up in intensity, but it’s structured in such a way that it is not over whelming.

Mental Toughness: Here’s where the book might be different then others you have read. With a blend of Zen and warrior ethos. He talks about “Kokoro,” the merging of heart and mind in action, which is as much about mental resilience as it is about physical prowess. You learn breathing techniques, visualization, help “stay in the fight” when your brain is screaming to quit.

For the Scouts

Adaptability: Divine’s training philosophy isn’t confined to the gym. It’s immensely applicable to outdoor enthusiasts. The exercises and mental training prepare you for unpredictable environments, from scaling a mountain to enduring a long hike. The workouts get progressively harder you may feel like you are making no progress. The first time that I ran through his program, I had no idea how much my level of fitness was increasing. Until I deployed on a roll out for a wild fire. Once we hit the line and started to get to work, I noticed that I was not getting winded or tired like I normally would. I moved with much more ease even with my ruck on than I had on previous fires. I went longer and harder with less needed rest and less overall felt stress.

Self-Reliance: The book subtly instills a sense of independence. By the end of it, you’re not just fitter; you’re more capable of handling yourself. This aspect should resonates deeply with those who love wilderness adventures and combat sports. As well as thoughs who want to be an asset in an emergency and not a liability.

Teamwork and Leadership: Even though the focus is on personal development, Divine never lets you forget the importance of team dynamics. Crucial for anyone planning group expeditions, is part of a team or is simply wanting to lead in their community or family.

Conclusion

The foundation of a free life is. healthy body. Without that you can do nothing else. “8 Weeks to SEALFIT” isn’t just a book; it’s a crucible in its own rite. How many people do you see getting old and can barely move becuase their muscles have deterioated to the point of no return. How many young people barely move to begin with and already have a list of health problems.

For those who love the outdoors, value survival skills, and strive for a self-reliant life, this book serves as both a manual and a memoir of what human potential looks like when pushed to its limits with a smile. It’s serious about making you tough both physically and mentally. Two traits that we will all need in the coming years.

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Posted on August 20, 2024 by barbarianadmin

Barbarian Scout

This be the start of the new Scout catagory .

The scout catagory will be content based around wilderness skills such as survival and preparedness, tracking, wilderness medicine, and other topics having to do with non urban environments.

Scout topics will also be posted under the barbarian tradecraft instagram and will have its own section on substack for the full length articles and as usual will show up to different degrees on all other Modern Barbarian accounts/pages.

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Posted on June 29, 2024June 24, 2024 by barbarianadmin

The Granite Mountain Hotshots

The Granite Mountain Hotshots got their start as a fuels mitigation crew for the city of Prescott. They would go and clean up and clear brush and burnable materials making the likely hood of large fires less so.

They then transitioned to a type 2 hand crew by 2004. Soon after the crews Superintendent Eric Marsh fought for the team to become certified as a Hotshot crew.

Marsh had become frustrated about the crew’s role or relative lack there of on numerous fires, In 2008, after a bit of a struggle the crew earned the distinction as the first municipal hotshot crew in the nation.

Hotshots are small crews of elite wildland firefighters trained to fight fires directly, and in remote back country terrain with limited resources limited by only what they can carry or have air dropped in when available.

The Yarnell Hill Fire

Started near Yarnell, Arizona was one of the deadliest U.S. wildfires since the 1991 Oakland Hills fire. Ignited by dry lightning on June 28, 2013. This is when a thunderstorm rolls through an area but drops no rain with it. Two days later on June 30, it overran and killed 19 members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots. Only one of the the crew members survived, posted as a lookout for the crew when he was forced to evacuate his own position due to fire activity, he was not with the others when the fire overtook them. His Instagram

McDonough hiked out on foot when he was located by Brian Frisby, superintendent of the Blue Ridge Hotshots, who was monitoring the radio communications of McDonough and his crew. Frisby and McDonough moved the Granite Mountains crew vehicles to a safer location. During this time is when radio communications were lost.

After moving the vehicles, Frisby and members of the Blue Ridge Hotshots attempted to rescue the Granite Mountain Hotshots, but were forced back by the fire. Driving through the streets of Yarnell, the Blue Ridge Hotshots was able to evacuate several residents who had failed to evacuate. At approximately 4:42 p.m., the fire overtook the Granite Mountain Hotshots.

The Yarnell fire killed more firefighters than any incident since 9/11, is the sixth-deadliest American firefighter disaster in history, and the deadliest wildfire ever in the state of Arizona.

The tragedy is primarily attributed to an extreme and sudden shift in weather patterns, that caused the fire activity to rapidly increase and cut off the firefighters route as they were escaping. As well as the terrain surrounding the escape route, which may have blocked the crews view of the fire limiting their situational awareness and problems with radio communications.

The Workout

My department/crew had a couple of members that worked very closely with the Grainte Mountain Hotshots that helped them along their path to gaining their certification. So this fire hit close to home for us.

Crews always have there own ways of remembering those they have lost and ours was always workouts. Crossfit has a long history of dedicating workouts to those deserving of it and the Granite mountain 19 are no exception. Though I had not seen one until checking again recently I am not sure when this work out was dedicated to them.

You can find more info and scaling info HERE

6 Rounds For Time (Goal of < 40 Minutes)
30 Air Squats
19 Power Cleans (135/95 lb)
7 Strict Pull-Ups
400 meter Run

With a running clock, as fast as possible perform 6 rounds of the work in the order written: 30 Air Squats, 19 Power Cleans, 7 Strict Pull-Ups, and then a 400 meter Run.

Score is the time it takes to complete the 6 rounds.

Movement Standards

Strict Pull-Ups: Begin with your hands on the pull up bar just outside your shoulders, arms fully extended. Without any help/momentum from the lower body (no kip), pull so your chin gets higher than the bar. Complete at full arm extension.

Good Score for “Hotshots 19” (estimated)
– Beginner: 35+ minutes
– Intermediate: 30-34 minutes
– Advanced: 25-29 minutes
– Elite: <24 minutes

The reps may seem arbitrary but every number has significance.

June 30th — 6 rounds/30 Air Squats

19 hotshots — 19 Power Cleans

7:40pm — 7 Pull-Ups / 400m Run

It’s not about finishing or times or records, it’s about enduring the struggle. No matter what hurts, no matter how strenuous. It’s nothing compared to what the fallen and their families have gone through.

I have no one to do the work out with anymore so if you do the work out tomorrow, lets compare our times.

Posted on May 20, 2024May 15, 2024 by barbarianadmin

Barbarian book club #1 : A Chase Hughes two-fer on human behavior

I learned more about human behavior and psychology in reading this one book than I did in two semesters of college psych courses. Its in depth but still understandable by the average person.

The second book Six Minute X-ray that is a great add on to Ellipsis if you start there, or its a great place to start for those starting from scratch.

While Ellipsis has everything from human behavior, profiling, influence, and much more. Six Minute X-ray focuses entirely on the profiling system Chase Hughes developed.

Why is all this important?

Having an understanding of human behavior can be a game changer in just about any aspect of life……

From the business stand point it can improve your sales or negotiations by being able to gain some more insight into what might be going on in the head of the person sitting across the desk from you, as well as giving you some skills to influence people to direct them toward your way of thinking, to get them to help you accomplish your goals or simply improve your team management.

From the security and tradecraft stand point, it will help you be able to under stand the baseline of the world around you so that you can more effectively figure out when something is off. You will be able to more easily identify threats and or deception.

Deception detection is also very important for doctors in order for them to decide if a patient is truly in pain or just trying to scam drugs.

If nothing else The Ellipsis Manual will pry open your eyes as to how easy a human being can be manipulated with out their knowledge and on a wide scale. It can be quite frightening but by simply becoming aware to that fact, it sets you up in a better place to defend against it. You can’t defend against what you don’t know about.

So what is the book that is better than these for human behavior? I was able to get my hands on a limited release book from Chase Hughes called the Ops Manual that you could call the Bible of human behavior and influence. It is as thick as a phone book and I am still reading through it so I will cover it its own post when I actually get al the way through it.

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Posted on May 10, 2024April 29, 2024 by barbarianadmin

Barbarian Networking

Your network is your tribe, and networking is how you grow that tribe.

The word networking has gained a bad name over the years that stems out of networking events where people show up and throw business cards at each other and/or try to sell to each other. Neither of that is what networking is. Networking is essentially just relationship building. This seems weird for many as building relationships has always been a secondary or unintentional consequences of other activities such as work and school. You go to work you get relationships with your coworkers. You go to school, you get “friends.”

Networking just takes an intentional approach to building and maintaining relationships in your life. For many this is natural but for just as many it is not. Whether they are more introverted or shy (not the same thing), or they are just a busy person, they need to take a more intentional view at it to make sure it gets done.

This relationship building is one of the corner stones that HUMINT (Human Intelligence) operations are built on. whether it’s an intel operative in a foreign country or a patrol officer working his own city. One of the first things they do is start developing relationships. These relationships allow them to keep a finger on the pulse of the area they are working. For a homesteader this could be meeting and becoming friends with other people at the farmers market so they can trade produce, or other products but whether it’s for business, intelligence, or your personal life, if you want to be successful at anything you need to be deliberate in your actions.

Pretty simple in theory

Build relationships right? Most of us can do this naturally if all the conditions are right or the situations are forced on us like work or school but for most, when they set out to do it deliberately, if they ever do, it tends to not work out as well.

This is because most people don’t fully understand the patterns and behaviors that are established in our instincts when it comes to building relationships Or they try to build relationships with the wrong people.

Like so many things it starts with research and planning. Map it out if you have to and start there, write down the people you know, how many of them do you consider friends, and how many family, Then You need to know what your goals are for your network, which of these people line up with that goal, have a similar goal themselves, or might be able to help you out in some way?

If your goal is just to expand your personal network this makes that easy as the only requirement may be they share at least one interest or view point or maybe you have more requirements for your personal network, but that would be the bare minimum.

If it’s for business what are your business goals, who can help you achieve them and if you don’t know the people who can help you, who do you know that knows those people?

Now if its simply for friendship and personal networks, What are your interests, who do you know that shares those interests. If you don’t already know anyone that is similarly minded to you or shares interests, where are some places those type of people frequent(Where do you frequent is a good place to start.) or where could they frequent? Are their stores for your interests, or clubs, or businesses offering services to your interests in your area? Think gyms, martial arts schools, hobby related stores and so on.

Now whether your trying to expand your business network or make friends go into it trying to make friends. Even if your goals are business related. Start from the mind set of starting a personal relationship, the business can/will come later. Just have a conversation. It might seem like dating and in a lot of ways it is which is what makes it feel weird or some people but building relationships takes the same things whether its romantic, or plutonic.

A network is not a digital asset

Now that is not to say that the same principles and tactics don’t apply, or can’t be used on social media, because they can and you can always use social media to find local groups or individuals but it should not stop there.

You could have the max number of friends on social media and still not have a network. Social media facilitates communication, but it is not the network it self. You still need to have coffee with people, meet up in person, take interest in their lives beyond just what you need or want out of them, otherwise you are just a user.

Many of the problems people face today can be traced back to disconnection and that is facilitated by social media and online pseudo relationships, get back to meeting and hanging out with people in person. You cant hug someone thought he internet. You cant pull them off the ledge through facebook. Human beings need in person contact.

Barbarian Networks

You are likely to have multiple networks, at the minimum you will probably have a work network and personal network, regardless most networks no matter how they are categorized by you are going to consist of three kinds of people.

The inner circle

Your most trusted friends, your long term and vetted contacts. People that will look out for you and you them. Your kindred spirits and those with common goals. This is where your brothers, those you consider family, and at least some of your tribe will be, this might be your whole tribe if it is small. They go here because your inner circle needs to be guarded and exclusive. Only the best of the best that you have vetted, and trust with that which is most important to you. These relationships need to take priority.

The outer circle

Your friends, relatives, acquaintances and other short term contacts are here these are those you have partially vetted and given strategic positions in your network. They may be business partners, friends, and relatives. Some of your tribe will likely fall here such as wives of brothers or kids of brothers, relationships like that. These are the people that you have recently met, maybe they are not the type of person you are looking for or you just don’t know them well enough or haven’t vetted them completely enough to bring them into your inner circle.

You wont spend as much time or effort maintaining the relationship with these contacts but they are good to keep in some contact with as you never know when you might have a need they can help you with, vice versa, or how they could wind up as a long term contact someday.

Outsiders

Everyone that you don’t know or know minimally. There is obviously no relationship to maintain here but you should always be looking for people who fit your goals, tribe, potential friends what ever your network goals may be. People today are far to disconnected from each other and that needs to change.

Don’t forget to branch out

Don’t stick to just your industry or circle. If you are a programmer, make sure your network consists of more than other programmers. You never know when you might be able to help someone by knowing someone else in another industry.

A sales guy could have a potential sale walking out the door that mentions they are hungry. Maybe he refers them to a local restaurant thats hard to get into where he knows the hostess and tells them to mention his name and she will get them in. He didn’t make the meal but the client will remember he facilitated it if he comes back later to make the purchase. If he didn’t know the hostess and only knows sales guys he wouldn’t be able to do that.

Super Connectors

You should always be on the look out for and strive to have at least one super connector in your network. Especially when you’re growing a business network. Super connectors are people that either intentionally or as a side effect of their situation (profession or socially) are connected to a large number of individuals in a variety of bubbles (industry or location), professions, or social circumstances.

A prime example that can be both personal or business related is a bar tender, if the bar is an “industry” bar. You may have heard someone talk about thats a cop bar, or fire fighter bar or lawyer bar and so on. Bartenders have to be social for their job, and they meet a lot of people both on the customer side and the vender, service, business side. You never know who they could introduce you to if you need them to.

Another example could be an instructor at a course for one of your interests. They spend their whole days with people related to your interests or profession and can probably introduce you or at least point you in the right direction of people who you might want or need to meet.

Mindset shift

The best mindset shift you can make for intentional networking is adopting a mind set of generosity. An easy way to look at this is anytime someone does something for your find something you can do for them. Whether thats a thank you gift, or doing them a favor in return.

The next step is to start helping people with no expectation of reward. Do the favors first and keep in contact. More than likely it will come back around to you in someway later on. You help someone on the side of the road and turns out they are the hiring manager at a company you applied for. Events like that happen every day. Could be as small as letting someone bum a cigarette or recommending a product or person to someone you met on the subway.

At a minimum if you meet someone, and don’t get their info but you are likely to see them again at least remember their name so you can strike up a conversation when you see them again.

Environment is key

Join clubs, go to specialty venues, conferences related to your interests, goals, or industry. If you looking for farmers go to the farmers market not the grocery store. If your looking for high end clients don’t go to McDonalds, this is even more important for business.

Bottom line

What is your networking goal? Where will those people hang out? Now go there and Strike up a conversation. If there is events or classes that are applicable go there first as it will be easier to meet people under those situations. Then if you meet someone set up another meet up or something and just try to stay in contact and maintain a relationship. Now I will say that it sounds easy on paper, but the reason i say go to classes or events more so then just going to stores is that if you go to a store built around your hobby or where the people like you go, they are less likely to able to take time to just talk they are probably busy and have other errands to run. People going to events plan to be there for a longer time frame and are more in the proper mind set.

A side note for employees and job seekers

This all still applies to you. You are not hired by a company, you are being hired by a person. If the person doesn’t like you your not getting hired. All opportunity flows through people, being able to network as an employee is just as important as it is for business owners.

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Posted on May 3, 2024April 22, 2024 by barbarianadmin

We need to become wolves again

Wolves are all around us. The Military (and Intelligence agencies), Law Enforcement, Cartels (and other criminals) and large private organizations are all fighting each other as well as preying on the civilian population. This is the game that they all play and everyone is a part of it whether they want to be or not and the stakes are high and are getting higher. Civilization or what people see as civilized society, is just a facade and its collapsing. We will soon be in a place where we have to watch over our own communities and not rely on third parties for that task. If you don’t have warriors around you, your not gonna make it through.

We must become once again a warrior race, something many of us haven’t in generations. And why can’t you? Because you never went to basic training? Nobody gave you a badge or a uniform? That is very much beside the point.

~ Clay Martin @wayofftheres

The majority of the world are sheep. The NPCs, the random characters from the city streets of GTA, the civilians who don’t even know the game is being played often times just out side their perceived world. The ones that don’t know the house down the street is drug house or that they just walked into a mob bar and disrespected the hostess. They either don’t under stand how dangerous the real world is because of their sheltering within “civilization” or they willfully ignore the game entirely. They outsource to and rely on a third party for their protection and security. Most of which have no intention of protecting them when the shit really hits the fan. The sheep will always be targeted, oftentimes victimized, and sometimes caught up in the crossfire as collateral damage resulting in their remaining time in the game much more difficult, or ending it entirely.

“Military, cops, cartels and prepared citizens are all in the game and if you are not you are the target”

~Ed Calderone @manifestoradiopodcast

Many of us have all been consumed by social media, tv, video games or one of the other forms of bread and circus for far to long and that needs to change. Many need to wake up to the fact that no one is coming to save you. If the police force was going to save you which is debatable at this point, See our article HERE, they are not going to now. Their staffing is in the toilet and the good ones are gone or leaving.

There are civilians that understand the game is being played and conduct them selves as such, by preparing the best they know how. Whether or not they are actively playing, they know the game is being played, they have evaluated their situation and judged what level of threat they face and understand that the could be thrust into the game at any moment. Though they typically focus too heavily on buying things when what they really need to do is….

Becoming wolves again

You have to be a sheepdog Ed watch out for the flock….Sheepdogs get eaten where I am from, you want to be a coyote or a wolf.

~Ed Calderone

While coyotes are sly like the fox, seen as the tricksters, and they will survive, they are never honored by warriors but are more respectable than most other metaphors, though they will never be top of the food chain. So what does that leave?…….. Wolves

Why not bears, tigers, lions or any of the many animals often associated with warriors? While some of them have warrior qualities, most of them still perform in the circus. Few of them have tribes or pack, and most of them have qualities that are left unexamined.

Bears are brutes but they are primarily scavengers and loners. All big cats except the lions are loners and are more likely to run than fight. Lions have a pride but the males sit around waiting for the females to do the hunting. Thats why the lioness is popular metaphor for female warriors.

Men with a taste or talent for violence who want to be “good guys” often refer to themselves as sheepdogs, sheepdogs have a deep love for and fights to protect sheep defined as as healthy productive citizens with no capacity for violence. From the wolves who have a capacity for violence but no empathy for their fellow citizens. What is a sheepdog if not a domesticated wolf who as the result of his breeding training and conditioning does exactly what he is told. A sheep dog is a pet a sheepdog has a master his master owns him. The sheepdogs master is not the sheep. His master uses the sheepdog to control the sheep. Who are his assets with which he hill do as he pleases. One wonders if theses so called sheepdogs will ever wake up screaming knowing they aided in the slaughter of their charges or if they will simply block it out and move on barking the wolves are coming perhaps then a sheepdog isn’t such a noble thing to be after all.

~Jack Donovan @ph2t3r

That brings us back to the wolves

Why insult yourself or your tribe by associating them with domesticated pets. Why fight like a sheep dog when you can fight like a wolf. Men need to become the wolves of their tribes again. Our tribes need to raise wolf pups again, because the other wolves are all circling and moving in for the kill.

The empire likes to show wolves as evil, dangerous, violent, typically the villain characters of children’s stories targeting the weak and defenseless. However while wolves were feared they were also revered by the northern tribes.

You don’t see wolves performing in the circus. Wolves are the kings of the north. Wolves protect their own even from other wolves. They live in a pack, work in a pack and hunt as a pack. Up and hunting year round they don’t take a season long nap. They take care of their own including their elders. Being fierce predators no matter the sex there is not an animal in their kingdom that they cannot take down.

The men of tribes have always passed down the warrior skills to their sons. This is the natural way of things. Every man is a warrior for the tribe even though it was not their primary profession.

Professional armies are a more modern invention that sprouts up as people grow soft from the convince of civilization and grow farther and farther from having to survive on their own.

Becoming a wolf will be a journey, take it one step at a time, you just have to prioritize it. Get fit, take classes, learn the skills a little bit at a time in between your other responsibilities. We cover a wide range of info in our paid section Barbarian Tradecraft that will get you started and help guide you to the right topics, information, and experts to search out and learn from.

The longer you wait the more you will have to learn on the fly and the less likely you will be to succeed. Then start teaching your children. Sons and daughters. While they have rarely been the primary warriors there has always been shield maidens and female warriors throughout history. Your wife and daughters should know how to defend them selves and protect their families just as much as the fathers and sons, even if ideally it would be a last resort for them.

Will you become a wolf

There are groups out there that want no other end than your extermination or enslavement. The age old battle of good and evil is making its way back into the foreground for everyone and which side is which is not clear for most people. The facade of civilization is collapsing, and the realities of the world are making their way back into everyones lives. Those who do not want to become prey will need to become wolves. The first step is step is simple decide not to be the victim and become the wolf if you don’t…..

You will not survive here. You are not a wolf, and this is a land of wolves now.

~Alejandro – Sicario

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Posted on April 26, 2024April 18, 2024 by barbarianadmin

Barbarian War Bands

Your tribe needs a war band, your raiders. Back in the day empires and tribes would raid each other for resources, now your war band needs to do business. It is not uncommon for homesteaders to want to sell eggs, or vegetables, or other products that the homestead produces. While there is nothing wrong with this, you are not going to be able to sell enough to make ends meet in this day and age. It can certainly be part of your tribes income if you or some members wen the homesteading route, (which I think we all need to even if its only for producing your own food. Anything you can make your self frees up capital for other things.

But if you ignore the digital landscape and all the business opportunities that it can offer, your not setting your self up for success. There is so many different products and business models that you can set up online that require very little input once they get going that they can make money for you while you do other things. This is called passive income, and while its never truly passive, you can get money coming in from relatively low amounts of work allowing you to have other time to make more money in other ways.

When you have multiple people doing this you multiply the income streams and thus the potential income for your tribe. This is where the War band comes in

War band vs your brotherhood

While your brotherhood should be more exclusive, your war band need not be. There were shield maidens in the past and now there is women in business now. Your brothers can certainly be in your war band, and if they are business minded they should be but other members of your tribe can participate as well even the children. As long as they are in the tribe, and business minded, or even if they are not but they are bringing in significant income for the tribe. They can and should be in this group. They could be a lawyer but work for a firm instead of their own. It doesn’t mean they can’t be you or your tribes lawyer. Specialist such as this could and should be part of your tribes war band if you have have members like that. They might be able to contribute important information to your bands projects you other wise would have to go outside the tribe for. Think CPA’s, bookkeeping, tax professionals, lawyers, engineers etc.

A rising tide lifts all ships

Pooling your resources with your tribe isn’t just for paying the bills, taking shifts in the garden or with the kids for schooling. Get your entrepreneurs together, brainstorm, come up with products, content idea, business ideas, figure out how you can help each others business and where you can collaborate.

Have extra eggs? Sell them, same goes for vegetables, or even ornamental plants your homestead might be growing. Let the kids work the stand instead of a lemonade stand. Or maybe you have a digital marketer, let him market your other businesses online. Or maybe you have content creators, Help them get content created or find ways that they can collaborate. Cross market each other products in each others store, digital or brick and mortar. This is how wealthy families got wealthy. They knew the whole family had to be participating and it couldn’t hurt them but only help them as a whole to help everyone get prospering. In your case your tribe might not be family exclusive but the concept is the same.

Precautions

Remember the overall goal of bettering your tribe, and don’t let it ruin your relationships. If something is not going to work let it go and move on to the next project. Offer opinions when asked and when its in your wheel house, but don;t try to tell others how to run their projects. Golden rule applies within your tribe. In fact its the only place that its still safe to abide by it.

Just like doing business with anyone outside the tribe, talk to an expert on structures, laws, regulations, taxes etc. and make sure everyone is on the same page when it come to goals and expectations. If you take care of this up front, it will save you lots of headaches later on. If they are both tribe members and in your war band it should be because you know them and they are hard workers and business minded. This is already two big hurtles that cause problems but that does not mean that there is not going to be head bumping. It is inevitable whether your working with friends family or strangers.

Its not that complicated

This can all be as simple as just knowing what everyone is doing so that you can refer people to them as the opportunity arrises or seeing if any tribe members need a job before hiring outside. Only in recent times has it been deemed immoral but society to help those you know when it comes to business or job opportunities and most cultures still will take care of their own before outsiders. As long as they are qualified and nothing is illegal then why would you hire someone you don’t know over some one you do or is vouched for by someone you know.

Now get out there and bring home that plunder for your tribe.

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Posted on April 19, 2024April 12, 2024 by barbarianadmin

Becoming a barbarian

Looking back I have been a barbarian from birth, at least in part. Up until my parents divorce I was home schooled and lived rurally, after that I had to start my journey through the system from the second grade on but I never truly fit it, though I was good at blending in. Never the outcast but never the popular kid, I was never big on having a bunch of sub par friends and the things that were important to the kids around me were never important to me. Now I realize that those of us that were in this position in school were naturally though unconsciously fighting the programming.

I didn’t care about dances, or school politics, events, or grades. What I wanted to learn was either dismissed as false, not taught in schools to begin with, or was systematically being removed from the curriculum. Zero tolerance for fighting was being rolled out and you were no longer allowed to defend your self. Cell phones were just becoming smart at the end of my high school career and people were still able to be social in person with out some digital interface. Things you sometimes don’t pay attention to or understand when your in them but click all at once later in life when your looking back on it. It was the pivot point for the education system the tail end of what could be considered a normal educational experience, at least compared to now.

Becoming a barbarian

This continued after high school, While everyone prioritized drinking and partying, or SATs and college, depending on the person, I prioritized fitness, and practical education. I went straight to EMT school and joined a fire department as a volunteer while I was getting a tattoo removed that was to low on my arm so that I could join the military. The rules kept changing and I ultimately just stayed at the fire department and went for law enforcement when I became the right age.

While I was at the Fire department the majority of the other guys at least cared about fitness but they were all still overly obsessed with sports and other trappings of the system that I couldn’t care less about. So just like high school I was never fully in the group. Just like school I always had a couple people I could call friends at any one time that did have some similar interests. Even then I knew a lot of people and could get along with most groups, but I was never really a part of any of them.

This was unique position to be in. Many feel comfortable talking to you or around you and forget to mind their tongue. They will talk shit or gossip like they would normally but you get to see all sides. A will talk to C behind B’s back and then talk shit about C to D. You get a front row seat to how fake and disloyal 99 percent of the population is. This is hard lesson learned at a young age but a valuable one as you get older.

Loyalty is a very rare commodity

This continued through my adult life and while most people would call that a loss, I do not. It is why it was made blatantly obvious to me that the “brotherhood” at my fire department was a bull shit. The same lesson and learned the same way that learned at the police department as well. Though the police department was worse. The fire department at least showed up with lip service when some one died or was killed. At the police department, there was a line of duty death shortly before I arrived. One detective was trying to do something nice for the kids that he left behind and the other officers couldn’t be bothered to help out with either their time or some money.

Most people classify people as friends that have no business being called that. They do this out of a superficial desire/need to be liked and included. I am not saying that I don’t have that need too though I am not going to change who I am at my core just to be part of some group. I would rather be on my own than around fake people.

Moving on

Once I Turned 21 I left the fire department, and never heard from any of them again. I went to police academy and got my biggest taste of pseudo brotherhood I had experienced. The whole class clicked and meshed extremely fast and it was a great year. I then graduated and moved across the country for a job. Never to hear from most of them again despite reaching out. Hence pseudo brotherhood, though there was two that did keep in touch and one I have mentioned before who is still in law enforcement. The other Like me is not. They are two of the few people I call friends.

My time in law enforcement was short

It was rough start from the jump, I showed up day one and no one that needed to know knew I was coming. They had no gear for me not training officer for me nothing. They didn’t know what version of the computer system I would end up using so I had to learn two of everything in a shortened amount of time. Before even getting assigned to a trainer.

My first field training officer was on the way out, over weight, sloppy, hadn’t upgraded his uniform in 10 years, of course I didn’t even have one yet at this point. He slept in the passenger seat more nights then he was awake and I ultimately didn’t learn anything. Then came phase two where I was supposed to know everything and didn’t as well as some of my academy training not meshing with the new department mainly arrest control (handcuffing techniques) yet no one was willing to teach me how their department Wanted it.

It was around this stage that my health problems cropped up and I was forced to resign. Though that would be a saving grace later. After the department tv shows, and multiple scandals hitting the department, I was glad to have dodged the bullet.

Healthcare

The end of my short law enforcement carrier was the mark of the beginning of learning about the health care system. I was told I had an auto immune disease that was causing issues that needed surgery. So I had the initial surgery, and then was told I needed to go to a specialist to fix auto immune issue before they could do the second surgery. The specialist told me I needed to have the second surgery before I could Fix the Immune issue.

This last 18 months back and forth when the second surgery was supposed to have been done no more than 3 months later. After which time I found my Functional MD who changed my diet for 6 months reversed the actual issue which was not the issue the hospitals said I had.

I went to a new hospital to get the second surgery done and their testing showed that I had none of the issues the original hospital said that I did. In fact I later learned the original hospital gave test prep advice that made the situation appear worse then It was on testing results. This was the point that I swore off the medical system, at least in respect to general health and minor illness/ injury. Major trauma is the only thing that the medical system seems to do well.

Then came 2019

We all know what happened then, This was a defining time where I was thrown into becoming a barbarian. I was out cast by most of my so called family. Though I cannot look at it completely in a bad light. I showed who my true family was, I know understand the rest were only relatives. I found many of the “light bulb moment” books and individuals that have been game changers for me. This time shaped my current views of law enforcement, and did not help my views of the medical system. It revitalized my interest in homesteading and entrepreneurship out of a feeling of need and not just desire and It brought me back more fully to spirituality.

Though I currently find my self in a kind of purgatory. Stuck in progress waiting for things out side of my control to fall into place. My plans and path for the future are more refined and and inline then I think they have ever been. This is where you find this writing, at the calm before the storm. Hopefully you will come along for the ride and learn with me as we go.

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Posted on February 2, 2024January 29, 2024 by barbarianadmin

Nomad Barbarians

Historically most tribes started out nomadic because they followed their main food source around by the seasons. This was a necessity. Now a days it is not a necessity in the survival sense to be a nomad but it is becoming more and more so in an economic sense.

This is how you might survive the criminal life, but this is also how you survive In the current economic environment. You have to be flexible, and able to pivot and move when opportunities present themselves. Now that doesn’t mean have no attachments, don’t get pets or don’t have relationships but it does mean be strategic about it.

“The things you own end up owning you”

~Tyler Durden

The more shit that you own and the more financial burdens you saddle your self with, the more stuck you will be. If you go out and buy a $800k home you will not be able to up and move if your dream job shows up in another city. There is a reason that people like Grant Cardone recommend not buying a house, but exclusively renting, when you are trying to build your self up. Say you get an offer for your dream job but its two states over. If your stuck in a mortgage for an $800k house, you might not be able to take the job and risk getting stuck with that house if you cant sell it for anything other than a loss.

Digital Nomads

Now lots of people choose the fully nomadic life these days, also called being a digital nomad. The increase in technology in recent years has allowed people to work from anywhere making it possible for people to maintain a steady income and move around the world where ever they might want to go, even if they don’t own their own business.

If that doesn’t sound like it’s for you, don’t worry you don’t have to do that to be successful but you can take some lessons from it regardless. Setting your life or business up even partially as a digital nomad has its benefits. Its teaches you minimalism, how leverages automation to name a couple.

Minimalism

in short teaches you to evaluate whats really important. Both in life and when it comes to personal possessions. Most people not only buy way to much house than they need, since most people less time in their house than they do any where else. But they also fill it with way more stuff than they need. There is a reason that public storage facilities are one of the largest growing industries, at least in the United States.

If you stay within your means, and stick to the necessities, at least most of the time, you will free up more capital for your business pursuits, or investments in order to free your self faster than you would otherwise. This allows you to be lite weight and mobile which allows you to seize opportunities that others cannot.

Leverage Automation

Digital nomads are great at leveraging automation and 3rd party services to facilitate and scale their businesses. This is something that is a necessity for them due to the nomadic nature. However you can use these same techniques to simply streamline and lower the over head of your business. For instance print on demand services for anything from shirts and other merch to full Length books. Or if you want a better turn around time, there are warehouse services that allow you to store your products and they handle the shipping.

You can also hire free lance accountants artists and just about any other service you could possibly need. Working from the other side of this equation and free lancing in a skill that you posses can also be a very lucrative opportunity for you whether you are a nomad or not.

Life is Probabilistic

Nothing in life is certain for better or for worse every event has a certain probability for different outcomes. Every action you take or circumstance that you are in either improves or detracts from the likely hood of those outcomes. This is how you have to evaluate life and your goals. For example…

If your goal is to get rich, and you currently are not rich and you take no actions toward that goal, the likely hood of it happening are practically zero. You can’t completely rule out the chance a billionaire will drop out of thin air and offer to give you his fortune, but that is not the smart money bet. Even if you are a beautiful women, unless you bring other things to the table the chance of that is still practically zero.

Now from this starting point, you can evaluate what options will better your chances of achieving that goal. Does going out drinking every night give you a better chance of becoming rich? How about finding a mentor in business or getting into an entrepreneur class with someone who is already successful? Does only working your 9-5 increase or decrease your chances? How about starting a side hustle as a freelancer while you work that same 9-5?

This way of thinking can and should be applied to your evaluation process of any goal you have whether its financial or business related or romantic or personal goals. The more nomadic you are able to be, the better your probability of being able to seize opportunities. Even if you do not actively move around currently.

Conclusion

You should never rule out any source of information that you can learn from. It may not always apply to your situation but you never know when your situation will change or how you might still be able to apply that information to your current situation to better yourself. Digital nomads are no different. They can offer a breadth of knowledge from business, and automation, to travel tricks and minimalism. Don’t write that off just because you don’t want to live over seas. The same knowledge that could let you run a successful business in the US from a hotel in Dubai can just as easily let you run a business from a rural off grid farm in Montana. If that’s your tribes plan.

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Posted on January 5, 2024 by barbarianadmin

Barbarian Spirituality

I was raised Lutheran but it never felt right for me. I rarely went to church unless back east with my grandparents but even then it felt like it was just missing something for me. Like many society and the system pushed me into a state cynicism toward Christianity specifically but spirituality as whole. This went on for years until recently when I felt a pull back to spirituality. Though not back to the Lutheran church.

Now. The Empire today likes to push you towards no religion or spirituality if it can. This is because it makes it easier to assimilate into the system as one of its cogs, if your not going to grind gears with the other drones over religion. Second only to that it wants you into one the typical religions that doesn’t offer any disruptions to their systems while it deteriorates them into just another marketing demographic to make money off of. Just look at the mega churches these days for an example.

Now if you look in the liberty community or masculinity sphere of social media today your going to get the impression that in order to be a man you need to be christian. But that is not the case, there is no one set path to spirituality, and no one means you are a man and other that you are not. No one knows if one religion is right or wrong until you die. No one can know for sure any other way.

I am not going to go into my specific religion/spiritual practice because really it doesn’t matter its a personal choice and preference. However I do believe every man needs a spiritual practice of some kind in his life. It can give a man someone to talk to when there is no one else, it can give a man confidence, or just some needed reassurance in a very dark and turbulent world.

Now that does not necessarily mean a man needs religion. Those things are two different concepts In my opinion, they do relate to one another, but you can be spiritual without being religious. Religion implies dogmas and a set structure that you must adhere to. Now there is nothing wrong with that, some men need that structure in their life. Its the same reason that some men thrive in environments like the military, university, or prison for that matter. But that also makes you vulnerable to deception and control From those who form and hand down that structure. And lets be fair that is exactly what religions have been for through out time. For good and for bad, they have been control systems, and many evils have been done through the centuries in the name of one religion or the other.

You also need to remember that all regions were made by man. Men had to physically write or transcribe the holy books no matter what the source material came from, and in many cases man edited the holy books. For instance the King James Bible that many people keep as THE Bible. Is called the King James Bible because it is the Bible that King James AUTHORIZED for the peasants to own and read. Now does this mean that he removed or changed info or section of it? no, but It is a red flag that he may have and many religions scholars who have compared the King James to older versions have testified to that fact.

This does not mean that what these holy books teach and talk about is wrong or inaccurate, but the religion it self and the books were made by a human being that is capable of fault and/or corruption, and therefor is a something you need to consider. You only need to look at modern religions themself as proof of that. How many forms of christianity are their? It has changed and split multiple times over the centuries as culture changes and today barely resembles anything I remember it as in my childhood.

What does this all mean?

Find and follow the religion or practice that speaks to you. You will often feel pulled to one or another or one may present it self at the moment you truly need it. Some will require more of you than others and some will make you sacrifice more than others, mentally, spiritually and sometimes physically. If you have no idea where to start, then start with your culture and heritage, but remember to keep an open mind toward other faiths as well.

Has your culture historically followed one practice or another?
How about your family/bloodline specifically?
What are faiths of people you know? It can sometimes help to know people in the faith when you enter it. Start there and see what it turns up.

You want to make sure that your values and code if you have already developed them match or at least mesh with your spiritualities values, or vice versa if you have your spiritual values and are working on your code. Other wise you will always be conflicted and it will hinder you ability to make decisions, and move forward.

If family is important to you then your spiritual practice should emphasis family or at least not hinder it. If your trying to build wealth then your religion shouldn’t always be telling you that money is evil as a couple examples. This could simply be difference between churches of the same faith as well as difference between faiths.

Keep in mind your spiritual practice is meant to better yourself, protect you, bring you a more full life. Not take anything from someone else, so remember these principles when your evaluating spiritual paths or even just deciding between churches or sects, If they go against these principles or require that you violate them against someone else, than you should consider another option.

1 – All people are created equal.

2- All people have individual rights.

3 – All interactions between people should be voluntary

No one has the right….

1 – To harm you.

2- To threaten you,

3- To steal from you.

4- To violate your rights

Nothing says that you cannot give up any of these rights that follow in order to adhere to the faiths code or be part of the organization if you want to but the organization should not call on you to force others to make the same decisions. All should be voluntary.

Everyone has…

1 – The right to liberty – We can do what we want, as long as we do not

violate the rights of others.

2 – The right to self-defense – We can defend ourselves, our property,

and our individual rights,

3- The right to own and carry weapons – So we have the ability to

defend ourselves, our property, and our rights.

4- The right to self-ownership – We own ourselves. No one can claim

even partial ownership over you without violating your rights,

5- The right to free speech – We can communicate our opinions and

ideas without fear of government retaliation or censorship.

6- The right to privacy – No one has the right to violate our privacy.

Any law that violates our rights is null and void. Anyone that violates

our rights is a criminal.

As a final note

Always trust your gut if something feels off to you. It could be small it could be big but if something feels wrong then it probably is And you may want to keep some distance. True cults and extremest groups are dangerous and you don’t want to get tied up with them or what they bring with them.