From Personal Apocalypse to Personal Revolution

[00:00:03] You're listening here to PBN. You will pay off back the stability here.

[00:00:33] From Personal Apocalypse to Personal Revolution. Welcome in. It's Friday. It is audio only day. But I thought I'd combine audio only day with this streaming audience. Good morning, Phoenix. Congrats on the younglings. Congrats on the new life to the homestead. Phoenix will return next Saturday to be live, ladies and gentlemen. Look forward to that.

[00:01:03] Jorate, welcome. Welcome in, Jorate, from the sunny seasides of Portugal. Yeah, I might lean a little heavily on you guys today. I'm not sure yet. If I will do a... I have one piece in mind from the economiccollapseblog.com that we'll look at. It's called The Middle Class is Collapsing. Nearly one out of every four Americans is now functionally unemployed.

[00:01:31] There's been a lot of that. I see Michael Snyder right now really has serious economic concerns. Well, being the author of the Economic Collapse blog, I think that makes sense. I used to, and still do from time to time, talk about the personal apocalypse, right?

[00:02:02] Right? People are prepared, but don't need or don't have the desire to prepare for the biggest and the baddest things. You know, pre-COVID, all that kind of stuff. Back when the world thought nothing could happen to it and it was protected from everything, right? So the idea was sort of the personal apocalypse. And it was this concept of, you know, the world doesn't have to end. Sometimes it's just your world that gets turned upside down. Sometimes it's an injury. Sometimes it's the loss of a job.

[00:02:31] Sometimes it's a loved one is dying, right? Getting sick, dying. And that's it. You know what I mean? And the financial implications that go along with that can feel like a legitimate apocalyptic scenario in your own life. I think a lot of people are facing that now for a number of reasons, right?

[00:02:54] There are a lot of personal apocalypse, apocalypsi going on in the world. And the other thing that I'm seeing a lot of is either people who are in the midst of personal revolution, big, big changes, big, like massive conclusions in their life coming to the realization that things need to change. Things need to revolutionize.

[00:03:22] I need to go in a different direction. I need to figure out a different way. I need to figure out a different person. I need to figure out, you know what I mean? Like big, big changes in people's lives. I received a message from a host last night. And I'll go over that later. That's a bigger conversation. But it just was another card on the deck of personal revolution that's happening. Some of it is out of necessity, I think.

[00:03:52] I think some of it is out of sheer economic necessity that these personal revolutions are coming to light. I talked about it in the members only podcast yesterday a lot. What's up, Andy Vedder? KK Jellerup. Thanks, everybody, for popping in over at Instagram. I do appreciate you guys. Who do we got over in the other platforms today? Born to Brap is with us. The journeyman toolmaker will survive. I'll tell you what. You're not wrong about that.

[00:04:24] Yeah, you're not wrong about that. So a lot of times, like, I don't know. Sometimes, guys, I feel like I am a... Well, I don't really know what I am. Sometimes, lately, I feel like I'm a health and wellness podcaster masquerading as a prepper or something like that. I don't know. I really enjoy podcasting, talking, talking to an audience. It's like, I really enjoy it.

[00:04:52] But things are getting so strange out there in the world anymore that it's... Like I said a couple weeks ago, it feels like PBN and prepping and homesteading have become an act of health and wellness rather than this sort of paranoid delusion that so many people said it was for a long time. And whatever. You know what I mean? Whatever. What I'm really getting at today is... I'm not trying to push you in the direction of personal revolution.

[00:05:21] I'm merely making an observation based on a lot of people in my life. A lot of people in my life are going through this moment. Not necessarily the youth as much. It definitely seems to be adults. Definitely seems to be adults with children and, you know, the burdens of life. But it seems to be a moment of personal revolution where people are changing things in their life in massive ways.

[00:05:48] Or they're adding something to their life. Or they're taking something big from their life. In a way... A lot of times, too, it seems like they're getting back to something they had wanted. Or something they had been for so long. A lot of times I see people who have clearly been playing a game that they weren't really that into.

[00:06:15] And they've decided it's time to flip the game board over and get back to being who I always have been. Or who I was. Or longing for who I was. To me, that is kind of this personal revolution that's happening. Now, the question is whether or not it's spurred by a personal apocalypse or not. Right? Because we don't... People don't usually take that sort of crazy leap without some motivation.

[00:06:46] I think you're going to see a lot more of this. And I tell yourself to prepare yourself. Because some people you might have thought were a certain way may change. Some people you might have depended on in a certain way may change. And I do really think that's just the nature of the times we live in. I think the majority of the change is good. You know? Now, I think the economics have a lot to do with it. I'm here at the economiccollapseblog.com.

[00:07:14] And the story that caught my eye in the midst of all of this was the middle class is collapsing. Nearly one out of every four Americans is now functionally unemployed. That's a word I don't know. I see a word like functionally unemployed. Yeah. Phoenix Survival says, I'm glad to be me again. She... Yeah. I don't want to go into your personal too much, Jay Ferd.

[00:07:43] But you followed this path for sure. You followed this path for sure. Yeah, it's... Sometimes it takes a collapse. Sometimes it don't. But I think the lesson that I learned from the Phoenix in chat most of all is... Who was it? Hmm. Might have been Churchill. Max Preppers, what is up?

[00:08:13] Churchill said, never, never, never. Under any circumstances, never give up. And... If I were you, Phoenix, I'd probably tattoo that on my back. Because that's your story, girl. That's what you... And you've made it. You've made it back. And that's a beautiful thing. So... The article starts, do you ever feel you are functionally unemployed? If so, are you definitely not alone?

[00:08:43] Or you are definitely not alone. There are lots of people out there who cannot pay bills each month even though they have jobs. So the functional unemployment... I'm sure this word's going to pop up everywhere now because it's... It is a little victim-y. You know what I mean? Um... Yeah, it is a little victim-y. Oh, that's right. What am I thinking? I knew that. It's the concept, right? That you're working. You're working 40, 50, 60 hours a week and you have no money.

[00:09:13] Functionally unemployed. Now, a lot of this functionally unemployed business does have a lot to do with people. And this is part of that revolution. It has to do with people's bad choices. My wife and I were laying in bed the other night watching television and we saw that there was a car. I don't even remember the car. The ad, irrelevant. The car, irrelevant. But the vehicle was leasing for $900 a month. What the fuck are you talking about? Who is sitting around? I don't care how much money you have.

[00:09:43] Who is sitting around going, Yeah, I got it on lease for $900 a month. I got it on lease. My sedan? Yeah, I got it on lease for as much as an apartment. My car costs as much as a small apartment. What's going on? You know what I mean? People do this.

[00:10:08] People enter into these kinds of terrible situations where they're just putting themselves in a hole. And I don't discount it, man. I know it's legit. I know it's part of the deal. I know it's the way people are living. They're making terrible decisions with money. So when I read about the middle class crumbling and falling into functional unemployment, I know it's not everything is the fault of the government or prices are rising or so on and so forth.

[00:10:38] But I do see a lot of people who are saying, We don't need out anymore. We don't buy this anymore. We don't do that anymore. You know what I mean? Because it's just reached a level of absurdity that you can't deal with in terms of the money going out of the house and for what you're getting back. You know, like what you're spending your money on and what you're getting back.

[00:11:03] Like this thing, I got to make this like smaller because this whole article is just. It's a little heavy on the ads over at the economic collapse block. According to a report that was recently released by the Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity, the true rate of unemployment in the US was 24.3% last month. It's a lot.

[00:11:31] Yeah, but the unemployment rate is not the thing, right? That's the weird thing about all this. It's not the unemployment rate that matters right now. What matters is even if you're gainfully employed, you're suffering. You know what I mean? Like we're doing this dance where even if we're gainfully employed, we're like, I don't know. It's a lot of people struggling.

[00:12:03] Now, the personal apocalypse isn't even just about finance. You know what I mean? It's not even just about finance. I do think it plays a large role just like anything else. I do think it plays a massive role. But I also think social situations. I do think societal norms. I do think relationships. All this kind of stuff I think has bearing on lots of people.

[00:12:31] Arrive warfare. Arriving at this moment of personal revolution. I do think the wars are having an effect. You know? As much as it seems like people on my side of things are kind of really blasé about the wars. Right? It's because it's a counterstrike to the fact that everyone is, you know, kicking Trump around because he hasn't stopped any wars yet. Yeah, he said it. You know, it's on him.

[00:13:01] He's the guy who brought it up in the first place. So I don't have sympathy for him very much. But I think the counter response to that is that, you know, we kind of brush it off and be like, oh, you know, it's their war anyway. It's not ours to stop. Which, you know, in some ways is right. True. When you really sit down and think about it, it's like, what? Why do we have to come to the rescue all the damn time? Right.

[00:13:28] So all of these sort of radical situations are giving way to people who are. And here's my take on the personal revolution. Like, you're talking to the guy who revolted a long time ago. And I know people who revolted and it didn't go so well and they're still glad they did it. You know, and that's an interesting one.

[00:13:53] People who struck out and started businesses, the businesses didn't work out and closed down and all that kind of stuff. And still happy, like happy that it went that way, happy they went for it. But it isn't even the personal revolution isn't even just about. You know, I'm going to quit my job, start a business. It's a whole it's it's very personal. It seems to me that it's a very personal thing. Do you know what I mean?

[00:14:23] The personal apocalypse. Whatever the situation is that breaks you down to the bare minimum like that, you can't choose. And maybe that's part of the deal, too. Maybe people have the ability to choose their struggle when they when they get into this sort of personal revolution thing. You know, maybe they get to choose. You know what? I'm going to do this, this and this to have an effect. I'm going to I'm going to start saving money. I'm going to stop drinking.

[00:14:53] I'm going to whatever it is. Right. We're going to have this effect on the world that's going to change on our world. That's going to make big change. Do you guys feel it? Does anybody out there listening feel that. Lots of people in their immediate area are making different extreme. Changes or decisions in their life. I see this. I see this a lot.

[00:15:22] I think it's a beautiful thing personally. Personally, I think it's sort of like fishing. You know what I mean? There's in my head, there's always this countdown. And I tried sometimes to get hung up, but literally and metaphorically. But when I'm out fishing, I always try to do about 15 to 20 casts max with the same bait in the right situation. And if I don't catch a fish, then it's time to change the bait.

[00:15:52] Do you know what I mean? It's time to change the lure. If I'm out there, sometimes I'll bomb around certain spots. Now, the conditions in this and the fishing holes have to be right. Right. You got to have cover. You got to have something there in the water on the water that tells you there's a fish here. And if I'm casting to that spot. And I'm using the same lure over and over and over, that's time to change the lure.

[00:16:22] And it just seems like people are in that mind frame now. And it also has to do with the learning. There's a level of learning happening that no one really talks about. I mean, nobody. I don't hear anybody talk about it. There's a level of learning going on because of the internet and people's access to YouTube. Fundamentally, it's YouTube and podcasts.

[00:16:51] But there's a level of learning going on that has never been. It's never been a situation where the masses, the masses are just dialed in on entrepreneurial content, self-help, wellness, fitness, marital stuff. Right. The whole thing. Personal growth. All this. You know, you can listen to a playlist of this stuff every day of your life for the rest of your life.

[00:17:21] And you could hear new content every day. I think this is another reason why people, you know, in other words, in the years past and the decades and even the millennia past, it was like you'd look around and say, well, this is my situation. So I guess I better make the best of it because, I don't know, I ain't taking a ship to America or I ain't, you know, whatever. But now everything's open wide up. Right.

[00:17:52] Everything's open. Every opportunity is open. People look around. They see just just constant everything. It is sort of a death spiral, too. I mean, at the end of the day, I do think it's a little bit of a death spiral, but it is what it is. You know, there is something beneficial to it. I think it pushes people towards change. Right. Life is pain and suffering and.

[00:18:19] And it can become monotony on top of all of that. So at least you break up the monotony. You know. Maybe all these years, folks, this is why. Prepping and survival and homesteading have been such a big hit in my life. Because they are kind of the fast track to this personal revolution. Truly. I mean, they truly are like the fast track.

[00:18:49] You get yourself into prepping and survival and homesteading and craftsman skills and that kind of stuff and herbalism and foraging. And you are thrust out of the real world into a world that is as foreign to you as if you were on an alien planet. I mean, it is a lot like it's almost the exact same sort of experience. Once you jump into the woods and start looking around and identifying food and medicine.

[00:19:19] With a book in your hand and you're looking around at pictures. And is that that leaf? Is that scalloped? Is that you know what I mean? Once you get in that situation, it is a lot like you're exploring a new world. Because places you've gone to and where you've walked and what you've done. And even right outside your own window. For years and years and years, you looked out that window and you saw like. There's a bunch of green shit out there. I got to trim it. You know what I mean?

[00:19:49] Like a bunch of green. A bunch of stems and stalks I got to take care of at some point here. Pain in the ass. And then all of a sudden you get into foraging and herbal medicine and that kind of stuff. And you start to actually see the world. You start to go like, oh, look at that. A little patch of plantain down there. Oh, look at that. That's a willow tree. I better not cut that one down. We can make medicine out of that.

[00:20:20] Because I've been fishing my whole life. When I walk up to a body of water. I see it differently than most people see it. Because I know where the fish are at. I can see what's under the water by looking at the water. You know what I mean? I can see the way the water is moving. It just is. If you're a fisherman, you know. And if you're not a fisherman, you probably have something like this in your life. You walk into a room. It's disorganized. You know why. You know how to fix it. Whatever.

[00:20:51] When you start prepping and getting into bushcrafting and all that kind of stuff, the same thing happens. The same thing happens. You stare at a forest and you go for most of your life and you go, oh, trees and vines and where's the poison ivy and, you know, that kind of stuff. But once you start to understand what is lurking in all of that, well, then you see the world for what it is. Then you actually get to see the world.

[00:21:23] And it calls into question everything else you don't see. You know what I mean? But then you really get to see. You get to see. What is that plant? What is that vine? What is that tree? What is that shrub? What can I do with it? Maybe I can't do anything with it. But you start to see things for what they are. I think that's what people are after.

[00:21:44] I think to avoid the personal apocalypse of whatever terrifying thing they're worried about, warfare, tariffs, losing their job, not having enough money, you know, whatever the situation is. They're looking to make some kind of radical improvement, have some kind of personal revolution. I mean, is it something that you're experiencing personally?

[00:22:11] Or is it something that I guarantee you, you know someone in your life who you look at and you go, oh, God, they're really on a quest all of the sudden. They're really on a quest all of the sudden. And I think it's a beautiful thing. All I would say is you can fast track it, I think. I think by really just taking a look back about 50 to 100 years.

[00:22:41] If you're feeling stuck, if you're feeling like this life doesn't work the way I want it to work. Do you know what I mean? Like you have a life laid out for you, laid before you. Maybe it's a survival situation in and of itself, right? If you have a life like that, that's laid out before you and you're thinking, this is not for me. Like this isn't working. I know why it's set up this way. I get it.

[00:23:09] I have to wake up and do these things and go to this place. I have to pick these kids up at this time. I have to go see this guy or this girl. I have to do whatever the situation, right? And you're looking at your life and going, I don't know if I can do this for another 50 years. I tell you to look to the days of old.

[00:23:35] To look to the days of old, to get out of mass consumption, to get back into creation, whatever that looks like for you, right? To look back about 100 years and see how people lived their lives. Where did food come from 150 years ago? Where did the fun come from? How did people have fun? You know, you'll quickly find out. One of the things that's beautiful about 150 years ago is nobody made good money. Very few people had any money. You know what I mean?

[00:24:01] So you can cut that out of the equation because that's clearly, clearly killing people. This mad dash for money, this mad rush to make 100K, 200K, 300K. I want to be a millionaire. I want to be a billionaire. I want to be a billionaire before I'm 25. I want to, right?

[00:24:23] And what you shovel dirt over is your time when you're thrust into that. Do yourself a favor and just jump back in time. Think about what things can I make rather than buy?

[00:24:48] What things can I buy secondhand that are likely better than if I buy them brand new anyway? You know, that's one of the real secrets right now. It's like you can buy secondhand stuff from 20 years ago. That's 150% better than anything you're going to buy new, right? It's just the nature of how things are made today. They're made cheaply and overpriced. $900 to lease that vehicle.

[00:25:17] It's made out of plastic. Plastic and computers with wheels. How's your wheeled plastic computer today, sir? Oh, it feels good at $900 a month. I'll tell you that much. What is a car anymore, right? Listen, I've gone on and on long enough. I do appreciate you all out there on the various platforms. Thank you for joining me today.

[00:25:43] In the audio podcast, I don't have to smile and wink at you so I can get a little more esoteric. You know what I mean? I don't have to give you the smile and the wink and do a little jig and make sure you're entertained like that. But I thought I'd share this audio podcast with you all, with the larger streaming audience. Typically, I do it on Fridays.

[00:26:05] I do a really powerful Thursday podcast full of prepping and cool stuff every Thursday. Thursday, we largely go silent on my end. I do one podcast for the members only on Thursday. If you're into that, if you really want to get your hands on that, go to pbnfamily.com and become a member.

[00:26:32] Yeah, I mean, there's a hell of a lot more than just a members only podcast, but wrap your head around that. And if you want the peace of mind that comes with packing up food storage, you can buy food storage. You can do it that way if you want to. But if you want the peace of mind of packing up your own food storage, I'd highly recommend you check out our friends at packfreshusa.com. Phenomenal sponsor here at the Prepper Broadcasting Network.

[00:27:01] And really, they create about the best DIY food storage mylar bags and oxygen absorbers on the market. So go get your hands on some. Are you waiting for a personal apocalypse or are you planning or even living your own personal revolution? It's my question to you.