130: We Fight Monsters with Michael Kurcina

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In this episode, Brian talks with Michael Kurcina, host of the We Fight Monsters Podcast and YouTube channel and founder of Spotterup.com. Mike shares advice from personal stories and experiences that have changed the course and quality of his life.

Who is Michael Kurcina?

Mike is a former Marine and security specialist and is very active in the veteran's community. While in the Marine Corps, he suffered an injury. He was hurt, and his leg swelled up, but he still pushed through the pain and kept going. He later found out he had a torn ACL. The injury caused him to take a 20-year break from the Marine Corps, but he decided to go back in at the age of 38 ½.

We Fight Monsters

Mike is the author of “We Fight Monsters,” “We Make Ghosts,” and “We Wrestle Silently.”

He received a suggestion to put together a collection of his thoughts. From that suggestion, he wrote his first book, “We Fight Monsters.”

“We Fight Monsters: Wisdom and Inspiration that Speaks to the Warrior's Soul” is a collection of quotes and thoughts posted on Instagram over a four-year period. His followers stated that his writing “got me through some very hard times”.

His next book, “We Make Ghosts: Warrior's 365 Devotional,” was written for warriors that want to live in the moment and escape the hurts of their pasts.

His final book, “We Wrestle Silently: Quotes for the Warrior's Soul,” is a book of quotes to help anyone battling something in their life and want to take their life lessons and use them to become a better person.

Everyone has different monsters. We are all fighting them. The We Fight Monsters Podcast is about different people fighting different monsters and sharing what they are doing to deal with it.

The “Whole” Man

Mike's website, Spotterup.com, is more than just a site to purchase really cool gear. It's also a site for learning.

When Mike was young, he became very interested in Greek and Roman history and Western Civilizations in school. He learned about the “whole” man. This is the idea that man should be trained in everything and should be well-rounded.

Spotterup.com focuses on the five components of health: Heart, Body, Social Circle, Mind, and Spirit. Mike understands that we need all of these to survive, especially in an SHTF situation. His website offers information and training to promote improvement and balance in all of these areas.

Take Control

Remember that life is about stimulus and response. Our response is the only thing we can be responsible for. We can't control what others do (stimulus), only how we respond to it.

• Find what you believe to be right, then immediately try to prove yourself wrong. The more you find that you're wrong, the more you will find that you're right. But you have to leave emotion out of the situation. Look at it from all points of view, not just your own.
• Remove the distractions. Don't just focus on what is immediately in front of you. Focus some of your attention on the other things happening as well. Imagine being in the store with someone screaming in your face. Don't concentrate just on that. Take some notice of the person standing behind him holding the knife.
• Keep looking around you and be mindful. Live in the moment and live outside the moment at the same time. This will only come from conditioning and experience. Growing up, you may have imagined yourself in bad situations and how you would handle them. Your life is a result of your lived experiences. How big is your horizon of experiences? If you limit your horizon of lived experience, you will only focus your mind in one way, limiting yourself. And believe in your hunches because they are based on your experiences.
• There are some nasty people out there. Try to find a balance between good and bad. You need to have values and be able to look at other people and make fair judgments about whether their values align with yours.
• Also, don't just learn the skills. You need to practice those skills to make sure they work for you. You need to practice and make sure you can actually do what you think you can do. When you notice what is happening around you, do you do something about it? Or do you freeze? This is important to know ahead of time and work on.
• Everything has the potential for a bad outcome, so seek the wisdom and counsel of many. In any community, you have people that you can learn something from. Resiliency, hope, a sense of humor, and a desire to learn and teach are qualities that are prevalent in the prepper community. We are all at different levels of these qualities. We only have so much time and energy we can give, and we spread ourselves too thin. Draw boundaries and try to be more cognizant of what you are willing to accept within your boundaries and what you are willing to put energy into.

Run a Risk Assessment

We are preparing for very bad events. Preparedness is more than beans, bullets, and bunkers. Look at your possible situations and outcomes. Do a risk assessment. Understand what your risks are and the possibility of those events happening. And realize that not every choice is a great choice, so make sure the decisions you make are in alignment with your values.

The way you let some people into your life isn't the same as how you let other people into your life. You don't have to cut people off, but you should evaluate how you allow them in. Learning to spot the indicators you see in other people helps. Body language and breathing can tell you a lot about a person and clue you in to how to handle a situation.

If you want to get to the top of the hierarchy, there is a key. The key is struggle. If you don't go through the struggles, you will never get to where you want to be. Look at the things that come your way as opportunities. If an opportunity comes to you, look at it, examine it, run with it. And believe in your hunches because they are based on your experiences.

What is the Goal of Preparedness?

The goal of preparedness is to live your best life. Your survival isn't just based on your strengths and your skills. It's also going for your dreams. Your mindset and your ability directly impact your capability to do something. The world won't cry for you. So don't sit back and expect it to.

Additional Resources:

• Listen to Michael Kurcina's podcast here.
• Visit his website at SpotterUp.com.
• You can purchase Mike's books, including “We Fight Monsters,” here
• Learn to improve your situational awareness here.