I have a passion for self-reliance and self-improvement, because I believe that to be truly prepared for the uncertainties of tomorrow, we need to be living the principles of self-reliance every day. We need to be confident in who we are and how we can help those we love and ourselves. Becoming self-reliant must begin with an organized plan. It is a skill that should be practiced everyday, and must be tested over and over until one becomes master of that plan!

I learned this lesson at the age of ten, when my father was diagnosed with cancer. For nearly eighteen months he battled with this disease until he finally conquered it. Being self-employed, his income suffered as well. The thing that impressed me the most through that experience, however, was the peace of mind I felt, because my parents had prepared long before then for such an unexpected event. We were used to using our food storage and harvesting from our garden. My parents had saved money for such a rainy day as this one, and had not indulged in debt. So when we were compelled to be solely self-reliant, life still seemed to run normally - it was not a painful and stressful adjustment. Although we had a large family, my parents never had to ask for financial assistance, and there was always good nutritious food to eat. (Believe me, as a ten-year-old, food was always important!) I knew at an early age that I wanted to share this message of self-reliance with others, and that I wanted to provide this same kind of security for my own family one day.