At the company where I work, we talk a lot about ‘inhaling and exhaling.’ The idea is that a) you’re continuously learning, and b) you’re sharing that knowledge.

This definitely applies to prepping! When people share their knowledge, the entire community benefits. I routinely read the prepping-related subreddits and I’m always amazed at the wealth of information that’s out there.

Photo by Leon Contreras on Unsplash

I think there are several related concepts here, so I’ll break it down into a few areas, starting with…

Take Ownership

This is something that I try to teach new staff at our company to do early on in their careers. It’s a great way to start building your expertise, and it’s often as easy as volunteering for an area that needs an owner.

In a prepping context, taking ownership can mean that you’re stepping up as the person who’s making sure you and/or your family are prepared in the event of an emergency. That’s a role I play in my family: I’m the one who makes sure the bug-out bags are packed and ready, I’m the one who keeps track of the food storage, etc. It’s a role that I love to play, and my family is supportive of my efforts.

In addition to taking ownership of prepping in general, it’s also good to take ownership of educating yourself. There are tons of resources out there – survival classes, books, videos, articles – so take advantage of them! This advice applies to experienced as well as brand-new preppers: it’s always good to stay on top of the latest information and treat your mind like a tool that must be honed to stay sharp.

Become an Expert

First, it’s important to remember that developing expertise takes time, so please be patient with yourself. That being said, I think there’s room for different kinds of expertise in the world.

Have you heard of the fox and the hedgehog? The idea is that the fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one thing really well!

In my life and at work, I’d say I’m a fox-type person. I haven’t built a career (or a life) on deep expertise in any one area; instead, I try to stay curious and learn about as many different things as I can. We don’t all have to be hedgehogs (although of course, deep expertise is incredibly valuable) – there’s room in the world for foxes, too. Foxes can be experts too, but their strength is in connecting the dots. Hedgehogs’ strength is in going super deep on their one thing. The world needs both of them.

You can pick an area of expertise to develop as you get more into prepping, or multiple areas. I’ve focused on stockpiling food and survival items, but you could become an expert in canning food, self-defense, going off the grid…the possibilities are endless.

Maybe we need to rethink how we define being an ‘expert’. Compared to a lot of people in the prepping world, I’m no expert on many things. But I do know more about some areas than the average person, and I started this blog because I wanted to share my love of prepping with others who might be curious.

Teach Others

That leads us to our third idea: teaching others. I feel a great sense of responsibility, as I learn more about being prepared, to share what I’ve learned with others. I’ve taught a couple of classes at my work about survival skills, even though again compared to some other people, I might not be an expert. At first I was nervous, maybe even a little embarrassed, to unpack my bug-out bags and let people go through them, but when I saw how excited they were, I started to feel like I was really able to help them. I’ve also taught fire making with a ferro rod, and of course I have this blog now too!

The point is, you have something valuable to contribute too. It can be scary to put yourself out there – to comment on a post, to teach a class, sometimes even to tell someone you’re into prepping – but I strongly encourage you to try. Like I said up top, the entire community will benefit.

One last thought: Don’t be afraid to ask for help along the way. I think it’s critical along your journey to becoming an expert. Also, don’t assume that if you can’t do something, it can’t be done. It’s scary to ask for help – it means we’re not perfect and all-knowing – but there will be times in your life when it’s the right thing to do. I guarantee you all the experts you know today asked for help at some point. And you can consider me a resource if you need one.