As you can imagine, I cover a lot of ground each week. In those travels, I come across all sorts of people with all sorts of ideas and positions. The one topic that is on top of my mind is the statement 'for whatever comes our way'.
Our recent trip to Washington State brought me to an area that is known to be a hot bed for the 2012 theory. This is the theory where the Mayan Calender ends and things start happening to the Planet. There are several theories as to what is going to go down. On the lighter side, 2012 will be the beginning of something that happens globally that will start a global climate change that will get increasingly worse for years to come. On the scarier side, some say that the new Planet X that was recently discovered will enter the Earth's orbit around the Sun..that does not sound good at all. Regardless of the severity that some think will occur, many are planning for this event in December of 2012.
Before I let you all know how I feel about these issues, lets explore other 'things' that Humans have gone through in the past.
The most memorable 'thing' in the past was the "Y2K". My family prepared for this event with food storage, stock piling fuel, gathering blankets, paying off the house, and so on. I did not live at home with my parents at the time, I lived in my own house, where we through a huge New Years Eve Party incase it were our last. In my own house, I stock piled a lot of cash and the one thing that I thought would be most beneficial if things went down, ammunition. I figured that I would use the ammunition to trade for other things and to get game and defend the 'safe house'.
Was I considered a radical? Maybe, looking back and seeing that nothing happened, but at the time, it was a smart way to position one's self 'just in case' something happened. My Mom's house was the rally point for a push up north. Yes, we had a game plan in place.
Growing up, my Mom always prepared us for bad things to come. We learned how to survive out in the wild, we spent time with different relatives learning how to hunt, fish, read maps, work out, and prepare to be leaders. It was a fun and exciting childhood, and all that experience is something I pull from everyday as I build this company. I was running a bulldozer the other day, and you know what, I learned how to do that when I was 14 years old up in the U.P. at my Uncle's Camp. At that camp, my cousin and I would run through the woods and have a blast learning survival skills.
Do you think that is weird? Well, it was not too long ago where there were bomb shelters everywhere as many Americans feared the Cold War and all out nuclear war. I get a little scared just thinking about that, and that we have let our guards down now that the media says the Cold War is over. Do you remember the bomb shelters around your town? Remember the movie "Red Dawn"? (R.I.P. Patrick Swayze), how about "War Games" and the list goes on. People were quite concerned about the COld War back then.
Ok, are you tracking? One more thing to think about. About 20 years ago, I saw on the news and in a few magazines that countries in eastern Europe were burning anything they could get their hands on to keep warm. The pictures still stick in my mind after all these years. People were digging up stumps from under trees in parks that they cut down. There was not one thing left standing there that could be burned. Park benches, trees, bus stops, trim in their houses, furniture, and even clothing were burned for heat. All that because their government withheld fuel oil from them, for whatever reason. Now, this is not end of times kind of stuff, but it could feel like it to those that lived in that country at the time. It's tough to say how they could have prepared for that, but it happened.
To answer your question, "Is this guy a radical?" The answer is no, I am a realist. I can hunt and fish circles around most people from doing it so much in life. I fill my belly from time to time and even live on venison during the monthes I have it, not because I have to, but because I like it and how lean it is. I feel that things are going to continue to get worse in this country, but I don't dwell on it everyday. If I did, then I would not be doing so well in my business. There are so many people in the State now that are upset, scared, and don't know what to do because there are no jobs. I say, make yourself valuable, or start your own business doing what you are good at. I would rather be scared to death running my own business then being scared about losing my job working for someone else. Realistically, the odds are in my favor being a business owner versus an employee.
You may wonder what I think of the theories of 2012. To tell you the truth, I had not even heard of 2012 until I went to Washington State. It is interesting, no doubt. My personal opion. If it happens, it happens. I am confident that those I have built for or will build for stand an incredible chance of surviving anything bad if they stay in their homes.
From a business stand point, I have talked with my employees and subcontractors, and this is my official statement as the president and CEO of Hybrid Homes, LLC. "It is not our job to predict bad things that might happen, it is not our job to judge those who may have opinions for or against such events occuring in the future, however, it is our job to put our all into whatever we build, it is our job to help people lessen their load in this planet, it is our job to treat all people with respect, and it is our job to do what we are paid to do, and then some. Helping people prepare for the future is our passion and has been for a long time...."
