In the last chapter of Pivot Points, I created an executive summary of the key messages I hoped to convey to the reader. It occured to me this summary - sixteen points in all - represented the core beliefs the prepper community might follow to build a more resilient nation.

I will stop short of claiming we must agree on all sixteen core beliefs. I do think, however, that preppers inclined to help build a readiness culture will find most of these beliefs resonate with them. I hope you do as well.

1. Americans want to be better prepared.  They think it’s a good investment, but they often lack the guidance and leadership on how to take those first steps.

2. Improving your level of preparedness is mentally healthy and leads to a stronger sense of community.

3. Preparing for one peril often helps prepare us for all of them.

4. Good preparedness is good citizenship.

5. For people of faith in the Abrahamic tradition, scripture exhorts us to be prepared.

6. Preparedness is not about winning.  It’s about putting yourself and family in a position to help others, to help rebuild, and to be a leader in the post-disaster environment.

7. Various government initiatives can help promote preparedness.  We need to be objective when considering each of them to ensure that they will have the desired result in a cost effective manner.

8. Judicious ownership and use of firearms can help us avoid the effects of evil and provide a way to put food on the table during a crisis.  Second Amendment advocates should make sure their advocacy efforts don’t inadvertently discourage folks from getting into preparedness.

9. To create a culture of preparedness, we should study how others successfully changed the nation’s culture and attitudes to determine if we can use those same strategies for our effort.

10. The most successful cultural change efforts in America's past relied on one or more of the following strategies:
    a. Impressing the need for cultural change upon the youth
    b. Making the effort on a local level
    c. Utilizing common tenets of faith for aspiration
    d. Mobilizing local businesses to sponsor initiatives
    e. Setting expectations with consequences for compliance and failure
    f. Encouraging employers to urge employees to join the effort

11. No one will create a culture of preparedness for us.  It will require us getting into our schools and communities, building relationships, and investing our own time and money into the effort.  Sitting around hoping others do it for us is not an option.

12. To be a thought leader in the cultural change effort, we should not just increase our level of readiness.  We should be a resource to others who want to learn more about preparedness as well as leading our own preparedness projects in our community. 

13. Preparedness is a journey.  Most of us cannot get prepared with supplies and skills overnight.  We are always learning new skills and strategies.  We pay attention to the news and are up on current events.  We know the next day’s weather forecast.  We keep ourselves in good physical shape.

14. Fear of failure and ridicule is the only thing that will derail this movement.  No public interest group is going to lobby against our efforts to create a preparedness culture.  The time is ripe to make major strides in the level of citizen readiness in America.

15. Patriots are called to serve their country selflessly.  We should be willing to make a sacrifice of our time and resources in order to help create the change we want to see.

16. Find your pivot point to motivate you to create a culture of preparedness and then help others find theirs.