Go get yourself “a particular set of skills”

We recently watched the movie “Taken,” in which Liam Neeson plays an ex-CIA agent whose daughter is kidnapped while visiting Paris. He is able to speak with her abductor and warns him that he better release the girl. “I have a particular set of skills,” says spy-dad, that will allow him to find the man and get his daughter back.

The rest of the movie, of course, is about Neeson putting those skills into play. I won’t spoil it by revealing more.

Liam Neeson's character has "a particular set of skills...." So should you.

The point here is that we all need to acquire “a particular set of skills” to survive the End of Days.  I’m not saying those skils should be the equivalent of CIA training to become a spook, though I imagine Neeson’s character would account well for himself in those times.

Since we can’t really know what survival might require, the skills we need should cover a wide range of possibilities. What we can assume is that the normal course of civilization will break down. Which means there won’t be a need for cubicle drones or retail clerks or, for that matter, most skills that are in use today.

There should be a use for most manual-labor skills, however. So, if you’re an accountant, get yourself back to community college and take a course in welding, for example. Or go apprentice yourself to a local blacksmith. Find something you’ll like, so you’ll stick with it, but something that’s useful as well. Find a 100-year-old magazine and look at skills that were current in rural areas at  the time.

Perhaps you’ll enjoy carpentry with hand tools.  Or primitive medicine, using herbals. Or agricultural activities.  Watch a few movies about survival in the post-apocalyptic world. What’s going on in the background? What could you possibly contribute?

After you gain a skill — or two or three if you have time and inclination — practice your skill and acquire the basic tools needed to pursue it. (Maybe two sets; you might want to cache away a set.)

You might give some thought to the tools as you’re planning which skill to acquire. Can I afford the needed toolset? Will they work in the End of Days? That might be the difference, for example, in whether to study arc welding or gas welding. Will there be electricity? Will it be easier to store (or manufacture) oxygen or to create a supply of electricity? Or perhaps a more primitive form of this skill is needed.

If you are already a manual-labor craftsman, hurray. Now go get a separate set of survival skills. You have the advantage of being able to get a diverse skill base, with two widely-variety talents that take into account a range of End of Days scenarios.

When to start? Yesterday would be best, but certainly as soon as possible. The good news — even if the worst doesn’t happen, you’ll have yourself a useful and life-prolonging hobby, one which could make a few bucks in these bad economic times.