Detailed show notes are found at https://www.everydaymarksman.co/marksman

Today I want to talk a little about something I call The Marksman’s Path. No, I’m not referring to myself. One of the stated goals of this website is to build a better kind of citizen. I wanted to take a moment to discuss what that looks like. So settle in, press play, and let’s get to it.

Universal Military Training (4:17)
One of the underlying themes in this episode is Universal Military Training. The idea surfaced in the late 1940s as we transitioned from WWII into the Cold War. Army Chief of Staff turned Secretary of State believed it was impractical to maintain a large warfighting force like the one we raised during WWII.

Knowing vs Doing (7:03)
I can’t remember when I first came across this idea, but it stuck with me. It’s become too easy for us to access unlimited information and “know things.” In one regard, this is amazing. On the other, it makes us lazy.

“The more I learn the more I realize I don’t know” - Albert Einstein

The trouble is that we’ve become spoiled by all of this information. We’ve become afraid to take action when we have imperfect information. However, that’s often how life’s most important decisions are going to come at us.

Fear Setting (8:50)
I first heard about this from Tim Ferriss.
The idea here is to think deeply about the things you’re afraid of. Pick some negative outcome that you are trying to avoid with your need to “get more information,” and really consider if it’s as bad as you think it is.

Taking Action (9:50)
Now we get to the heart of it: where we go from here. The tagline of this site is, Tactical Skills for an Adventurous Life, so you can imagine where I’m going with this conversation.

In the theme of Universal Military Training, I advocate that we study and practice those skills which contribute to our personal and communal survival and defense. This helps us develop confidence in our own abilities, and inspire those around us to the same.

“Train the mind and the body will follow” - Keith Cunningham

Build a Tribe (13:43)
You can’t go at this alone.

Humans are instinctually social animals. We need a gang to back us up. In fact, loneliness is more dangerous to our health than smoking or obesity. Too many of us think that we’re going to face hard times all by ourselves. But in the entire history of humanity, that’s never worked out.

The simple truth is that you can’t master all of the skills. You can learn a lot, but everyone is going to be better at some things more than others. By growing your posse, you add more and varied skills that improve your survivability.

Examples to Follow (14:40)

If you’ve never heard of Rick Rescorla, that’s too bad. In this episode, I tell his story, and how he employed the principles I’m talking about here to save over 2700 people on September 11th, 2001.

Another example is that of Billy Dixon, a civilian American frontiersman in the mid to late 1800s. He’s perhaps most famous for landing a 1-mile shot with a 50-90 buffalo rifle during the Second Battle of the Adobe Walls. Later that same year, he earned the Medal of Honor for heroic actions during the Battle of Buffalo Wallow.