In four decades and thousands of transactions with my fellow man I’ve neither initiated nor accepted force as a means to accomplish anything. And yet, I’ve decided to become more skilled in the use of a gun to keep force, violence, crime and tyranny out of my life where they belong.

 

Even with a perfect record of non-violence my intuition tells me I’ve got some gun work to do – to keep it that way. And like car insurance, wearing a seatbelt or taking vitamins the most it will do is keep things the same, because:

Investments in self-defense return a maximum of keeping what you already have.

 

Most of the efforts of arming myself have been spiritual and intellectual. In fact, I’ve put 1000 times more effort into avoiding violence than on fighting skills. That seems low but 1000-to-1 is probably normal. My job doesn’t involve teaching karate or any kind of self-defense training. This article is about increasing the "1" side of this ratio to "2" and I’ll give 76 reasons for doing so.

 

Preferred areas of focus for optimal living are: Values, Goals, Strength, Talent, Education, God, Health, Family, Prayer, Money, Intuition, Liberty, Barter, etc. Any plan that emphasizes a gun instead of these is doomed from the start.

 

I’m adding gun skills on top of the cornerstones for optimal living. Most countries don’t have this luxury, even in 2009. They have to use sticks and clubs and will be in trouble with the state for using even these. Of course, their predators will be using all the latest weaponry without a care in the world of legal consequences. That’s just how governments and criminals roll everywhere in the world except Switzerland and parts of the U.S.

 

Luckily for me, the valiant work of my ancestors guarantees me a right they didn’t have: To use a gun to protect my family. The stabilizing peace that follows in the wake of private gun ownership enables my family to continue focusing almost completely on the ideals of a purposeful life.