The Prepared Mindset Podcast

Personal Accountability. In my experience, it is the single greatest characteristic that I've seen in high performing individuals. While many folks claim they desire to be a highly capable individual with a high level of preparedness, the truth is that many simply fall flat. Accountability is at the crux of that issue more often than not. In a discussion that hits very close to home for me persona...

Understanding your tools and how to use them to solve problems effectively is probably the best way to summarize much of what our training is about. Just as with any skillset or trade, if you don't know to use those tools, or understand the entire purpose of having them, you're going to run into issues, and certainly will be less effective. This is why it becomes so frustrating for many, seeing th...

The fallout from the assassination of Charlie Kirk has weighed heavily on everyone's minds. What is next? What will we do? Why do we feel this way? To do my best to tackle those questions as well as bring insight on how to honor his memory, I sit down with Jeremiah and Brandon to break apart everything that's gone on over the last several days. Specifically we talk about faith, and the inherent mo...

Unfortunately, I'm releasing this SITREP out of cadence, but in light of these events it's something that is needed. Charlie Kirk, the co-founder of Turning Point USA and a major political voice in our country, has been assassinated. During his stop at Utah Valley University to kick off a public speaking tour, he was shot. This comes as a major blow to many, and serves at least as a shocking remin...

Night Vision. The super power that we all want, and the only capability which can be purchased. Unfortunately, to many, it's perceived to be unattainable due to the financial constraints which surround it. What many folks don't realize though, is that you have more options available than what you might think. To explore the options, and talk in depth on used and surplus options, I'm sitting down w...

Watches are an essential piece of field kit, and something that many of us take great pride and interest in. Understanding what goes into making a quality watch, what to look for, as well as why it's important, is critical in making a good selection. It's even more important if this is a functional tool that you'll depend on in either the military or law enforcement, out in the field. To discuss t...

Kevin Estela is a former History teacher and life-long outdoorsman, as well as an author, and talented educator. For me, Kevin was one of my earliest inspirations as a podcaster, and I couldn't be more excited to have the opportunity to sit down with him. We dive into history and fieldcraft, his transition from public school educator to full time instructor, as well as the importance of mindset in...

As long as we've been chasing self-improvement and trying to run a gun faster and more accurately, there have been men trying to develop ways and means in which to do so with less effort, and more quickly. Certainly at the top of that list is the handgun compensator. A device which when attached to the end of the barrel, vents the gasses in various directions, helping to mitigate felt recoil to th...

I think it's a safe statement to make, that we all are, or have at least at some point, struggled to understand the balance that exists between the three pillars of overall preparedness. Heck, at some points, I'm sure many of us didn't even realize that they existed. That's alright, it's part of the journey, and to a large degree, that journey never stops. You simply have many encounters along the...

Chris Costa is a man who truly needs no introduction. His early work with Magpul Dynamics helped to inspire thousands of us to pick up the rifle and start training, and his continued influence on the community is at best, difficult to measure. This week, I have the opportunity to sit down with Chris, one of my earliest influences in training, and pick his brain. We started by getting into Chris' e...

August is here, and we're two-thirds of the way through the year. For this iteration of the SITREP, rather than stepping into political news, or global developments, I have a update on our own training here in Michigan to share with you. Pulling together a diverse group from across our state, with backgrounds in Military, Law Enforcement, and obviously trained Civilians, we are fresh off our first...

In 2025, let's be honest, there's threats that we face in our daily lives that we can realistically prepare for. However, in the same token, there's a limit to how far that preparation can carry us. From emerging technologies, geopolitical turmoil, to the potential for civil unrest growing seemingly by the day, there's a lot out there. Far more to account for than certainly any one of us can alone...

While it's pretty well noted that I don't have a ton of knowledge or experience out in the wilderness or in the survival community, my guest this week, has more than enough to make up for what I lack. Craig Caudill is the owner and founder of Nature Reliance School, and has dedicated his life not only to teaching survival, bushcraft, and sustainment, but to continuously seeking out individuals who...

The Red Letter Project is a unique company that takes the traditional approaches we see to skills like firearms safety and proficiency, force on force training, and individual capability, and builds on them through personal focus, and faith based principles. Maddy Scholar is the owner and founder of The Red Letter Project, as well as a avid shooter, as well as a student of business and faith. We s...

The first major piece of legislation for the new Trump Administration has passed, and it's been dubbed "The Big Beautiful Bill" by many. For me, I think it's more cheeky to simply refer to it as the "T Triple B" for reasons only a few of you will understand (but shouldn't). In this bill, which numbers somewhere between 1,000 and 1,1000 pages approximately, are a number of very impactful changes to...

We're officially kicking off the second half of 2025 with the July SITREP! It's Fourth of July weekend, and with that, comes obviously the fantastic celebration by all Americans (mostly) of our fight as armed and well regulated civilians fighting for independence and to defeat tyranny. Now, in the last several decades, that notion does seem to have faded a bit over time, but it's an ideal that is...

A discussion many of you have asked for, I finally had the opportunity to sit down with Kevin, of Custom Night Vision fame, and cut it up. While our time together was shorter than I would have liked, we were able to dig in to a whole lot. From hearing the story of how Custom came to be what we know it to be today, to discussing the mindless postings and arguments on reddit, and beyond. Kevin has a...

In a carry on discussion from Episode 313, JT and I sit down to get his perspectives and opinions on the question at hand. What really, if anything, is the difference between teaching, and sharing knowledge? Right off the rip we dive in, talking about the relevance of prior service, both in the Military and Law Enforcement, as well as what the expectations for maintaining that relevance could be,...

We have some very strict, and oddly defined "rules" within our community around who is allowed to "teach" a skill, and even further, what skills they're "allowed" to instruct. However, in the scope of simply sharing what one has learned, regardless of who you are and what you've done, that's deemed as acceptable. In the context of this conversation, it does appear that to most folks, the line of d...

Drones. They've become a fascinating and popular topic as more and more battlefield video leaks out of the conflict in Ukraine. Over the past several years, this has taken a strong interest in the community, and helped it grow exponentially. To get a perspective on what we're seeing not only on the military front, but the civilian space as well, I'm sitting down in this episode with Rob from Const...

This community, our way of life, the goals and missions we have for ourselves, can be all consuming. So many of us define our entire personality and daily life around training, and developing our skills. However, there's a huge miss in the one-dimensional nature of this over-dedication. It can lead to rifts, it can trigger failures in relationships, and cause waves of adverse impacts all around yo...

Hard to believe that June is already here, and summer is in full swing. But with the new month, comes a new SITREP. There's only a couple topics in this edition, but both I think are very impactful to those of us in the Second Amendment community. We have some community developments to discuss, involving one of the most influential brands and individuals of the last decade or so, and some changes...

Night vision for years was considered to be one of, if not the greatest, capabilities that the modern American warfighter had at their disposal. Having the tool however, is only part of the discussion. To dive further into this, I'm joined once again by Rick Hogg of War Hogg Tactical, to talk about Operating behind the tubes. While there's certainly been leaps and bounds of technical development o...

Fresh out of the two day CQB Fundamentals course here in Michigan, I share my debrief on the class, what I learned, what I liked, and why it's all so important. As civilians, we're constantly told and reinforced that we can't or shouldn't learn skillsets like structure clearance, or CQB. Either we'll never use it, other than as a singleton, or that knowledge in the hands of "folks like us" is a un...

Joe Dawson is the owner/founder of Bruiser Industries, and a former Navy SEAL who has made it his life's work to teach and mentor others. Going back even to his time prior to serving in the Navy, from a young age, Joe had a interesting in counseling and helping others learned. Progressing through his military career, additional opportunities for instructing and educating others helped bring about...