Charlie “Tremendous” Jones once said that “You are the same today as you’ll be in five years except for two things: the books you read and the people you meet.”

In Part 1 of this topic I discussed the need to read.  Let’s take a few moments to discuss meeting people through taking a class and practicing what you learn, both involve meeting people. We will through in a little research too.

2. Take a class. Pay for the class. A 30 minute seminar is only to whet your appetite. You must invest time and money. When you are out of your own pocket and time, you will pay better attention and care more about the topic(s) you choose. I pay to go the Missouri SEMA conference every other year. I go to learn. I also pay for medical training, I attend firearms training every year, I take at least one self-defense class a year (defense against knife attacks, alternate force options et al).

The type of class again depends on what skills you are looking to improve or gain. The two day SonicWall training was great for me, as an IT guy that is a skill I needed, it might be worthless to you.
I have taken classes from “Student of the Gun University” and highly recommend them for Medical Trauma (Beyond the Band Aid) and less lethal (Force Options).

If you want to know how to defend your life and that of your family with a handgun I can recommend Matt Canovi’s R.E.A.L. Defensive training.

If you want to be competent with any firearm you own, I can highly recommend the training in Galena Missouri at APT Academy.
If you want to be a better leader, Dave Ramsey’s 1 day EntreLeadership event inspired me.

If you want to win with money, take the Financial Peace University class near you

There are numerous Personal Safety and Preparedness classes like CERT, DHS FEMA and SEMA courses that cover all types of topics.

The American Heart Association, Red Cross and American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons all have great basic (“First Aid”) to advanced (First Responder) and generic (CPR) to specific (Baby sitter first aid) classes that are a great investment of your time.

3. Research. I am the team leader for the Security and First Aid teams at my church, I set aside 2 hours every week to surf sites dedicated to Church safety, Security and first aid. I watch videos, I attend conferences (local and out of town – at my expense) yes this could go with #2 above.

While Google tracks you DuckDuckGo.com is a search tool that does not track you. I cannot speak for the NSA, FBI or any other government agency.

4. Practice. Though I cannot prove it, I once was taught that if you do something every day for 5 minutes, you will become a master of it. It is about steady practice, not burst of it. Draw your firearm from concealment 20 times a day (keep the 4 basic safety rules in mind). Exercise 15 (or 30 or 45) minutes a day. Practice speaking in front of the mirror or a blank wall. Do #3 (Research) above.

Some things you might not be able to do every day, say going to the gun range. If that is the case, do it every week. See the 1 box workout (50 rounds) from Student of the Gun or 100 round workout given to APT students.

So, read a book, take a class on a topic that interest you, research more on the topic and then practice that topic and you will be on your way to a better life.

But wait! There is more…