With all the talk about another World War brewing and that we might even be at the start of one now, it’s enough to make one’s hair stand on end if it hasn’t already fallen out with worry.

And though I jest with tongue in cheek, all the signs are there, notwithstanding Iran’s hissy fit over the last 24 hours, warning the US of a nuclear attack if they dare retaliate over the US soldiers who lost their lives yesterday due to an unmanned Iranian drone.

The Fourth Turning is perhaps upon us, folks! And if you’re unsure of what I mean by that term, I highly recommend the interesting though albeit dry read by Strauss and Howe (1997). If you’re not convinced of the changing of eras and humanity, you will be after reading this, I assure you. In a nutshell, we’re in the Fourth Turning, a cycle of history unavoidable and destined to repeat as it has always done. It’s a “provocative” theory based on the last five centuries of history and the patterns or “turnings” of “seasonal growth, maturation, entropy, and rebirth.”

Dating back to the 15^th Century, there have been six crises prior to the Fourth Turnings, with some of them being the War of the Roses (1459–1487), the French Revolution and/or American one (1773–1794), and the Great Depression and World War II (1929–1946).

With all this ramble, what I’m trying to say is we’re in the next era of crises, and we should all be preparing.

But what can you do on an individual basis?

HERE’S THE LIST FOR THOSE WITH SHORT ATTENTION SPANS

1. First, you need to consider some seriously pertinent questions, with the first one being, are YOU willing to fight the next war, and will YOU allow your children and grandchildren to be drafted?

Pause for a moment. Follow your instinct. Stick to your principles when that letter arrives because it’s coming. Don’t believe me? Just type in “UK”, “draft,” and “2024” into Google. NATO’s also warning (not talking of it). Now, do you think you’re safe in a place like Australia? Meh!!! We’re still a monarchy, so King Chuckles has the legal right to call upon the Aussie minions to do his bidding for the UK.

• Second step: Plan your escape route if the answer to the first question is no. Where will you go? How will you get there? At what point is it too late to leave? Have you enough fuel, support, etc…

Hopefully, hopefully, it won’t come to that, but if you’re firm in your “No,” then you’ll need to leave when the time comes, hide, or prepare for prison, or, if it’s like a certain Eastern European nation, they’ll just drag you to the frontline, no matter your words and tears.

• The third consideration is that regardless of whether you’re going to fight or stay, whether you’re too old to fight or your kids too young, you need to put food back, learn to grow your own food, and cook over an open fire. You also need to understand that with cooking over an open fire, the smell of the food will attract those who are starving, and then you’ll have to defend yourself.

Dramatic much? The government isn’t your friend—they’ll seize your stockpiles for “the greater good” the moment they know of them. Never forget “the greater good” chants to the mountains in 2020–2022. The government, during war, will be ferocious this time around. Especially the 21^st Century government, with surveillance and censorship at their disposal.

•  The fourth thing to do is a hack I utterly love and live by. It’s almost free, too.
• Right now, after you finish reading this, go down to your supermarket and get yourself a kilo of potatoes. Yep. Correct. Get some of those tatters. Sweet ones, standard ones, whatever floats your boat. Then, stick them in a dark cupboard for about a month and forget about them.

The reason for the potatoes is after a month, they’ll sprout—the longer the sprouts, the better, but no fuss if they’re only a few centimeters. Now, pull those sprouting buggers out of the bag and plant them in any free soil around your property. Dig holes (no need to prepare the soil and no need for fertilizer) just deep enough to cover the entirety of the sprouting potatoes, cover the long roots, and wait.

If you live in an apartment, sorry—no excuse this time. These things will grow like weeds in pots and even in large Heshan bags if you cover them with enough quality soil. Water them periodically. When the green stalks flower and turn brown, start digging those babies up. For each one planted, you should get at least four (if not more) good-sized potatoes. For sweet potatoes, cut them into thirds after they’ve rooted so that you get three to plant per potato.

It’s bang for your buck; they cook up beautifully and if you keep a small one aside from each plant, replant it. Rinse, wash, repeat.

• The last one is to put some quality seeds away. Tomatoes are easy to grow in pots and will give you enough Vitamin C per plant to keep scurvy at bay. All they need is a sunny window, some water every three or four days, and love.

Another fav to grow inside by the window is fresh basil, rosemary, thyme and oregano.

These are just a few minimal-time, minimal-cost things to start on. There’s plenty more but start small. It’s never too late, and now’s the time to get moving.

Can’t you already feel it?