The leader of the free world has a cabinet of experts that he or she turns to for critical advice. You should too.
As you begin to evaluate your plan, you will start to tap inspirational and objective resources around you for wisdom and advice. Sometimes these resources will be authority figures in your life, like mentors, parents, or friends. Other times they will be more remote, like role models and survivors you have never yet you would strive to emulate.
Building a survival taskforce—a “Survival Cabinet,” if you will—of the people best qualified to help you is a key element in your journey. You probably already have some kind of cabinet; just think who you go to when you have a problem you need help solving. You aren’t obligated to follow all the advice your team gives you. In fact, some may even go unused, but you want a multitude of perspectives so the most objective strategy can be chosen among the plethora of possibilities.
It is unfortunate that people in tough situations are often reluctant to ask for help. They are either worried about imposing on others or inviting judgment upon their head for the mess in which they have found themselves. They might even be worried that other people don’t want to help them. These fears are common, but they must be overcome them if you want to succeed in your survival journey.
Most people are honored to be asked for help. Why shouldn’t they be, because in asking for help, you are acknowledging that you respect them. You are embracing humility and giving value to someone else’s input. You have set aside your pride and are open to listening.
Fear of judgment should not hold you back. If there is one lesson you take from this book, it should be that everyone has a survival journey they must go on. Everyone hits a low point where they need help to get to the next step. Swallowing your maverick pride is the mark of a true survivor, not someone who lacks direction.
The role of your cabinet is not to make survival decisions for you. You are still in charge of your own fate. Your advisers are there to act as a source of wisdom and a sounding board for your thinking. is is why you want the opinions of a wide range of people who know you in different capacities.
How you build and use your Survival Cabinet will have a significant impact on your survival. As the person in charge of your survival, it will be your job to weed the good advice from the bad. is is an important task, of course, as trusting the wrong person can be fatal. Sometimes your best resource is you. If you are being given advice that does not seem right, make different plans, even if it means disregarding someone whose opinion you respect. The responsibility is ultimately yours.