Self-reliance is a vital key to living a healthy, productive life. To be self-reliant one must master a basic set of skills, more or less making them a jack of all trades. Contrary to what you may have learned in school, a jack of all trades is far more equipped to deal with life than a specialized master of only one.
While not totally comprehensive, here is a list of 50 things everyone should know how to do.
1. Build a Fire – Fire produces heat and light, two basic necessities for living. At some point in your life this knowledge may be vital.
2. Operate a Computer – Fundamental computer knowledge is essential these days. Please, help those in need.
3. Use Google Effectively – Google knows everything. If you’re having trouble finding something with Google, it’s you that needs help.
- Google Guide
- Google Advanced Search Operators
- Google Web Search Features
- 20 Tips for More Efficient Google Searches
4. Perform CPR and the Heimlich Maneuver – Someday it may be your wife, husband, son or daughter that needs help.
- Learn CPR
- How To Perform Adult CPR (video)
- How CPR Works
- How to Perform the Heimlich Maneuver (video)
5. Drive a Manual Transmission Vehicle – There will come a time when you’ll be stuck without this knowledge.
- How To Drive a Stick Shift Instructional Movie (video)
- Learn to Drive a Stick Shift
- Learn to Drive a Car with Manual Transmission
6. Do Basic Cooking – If you can’t cook your own steak and eggs, you probably aren’t going to make it.
7. Tell a Story that Captivates People’s Attention – If you can’t captivate their attention, you should probably just save your breath.
8. Win or Avoid a Fistfight – Either way, you win.
- How To Actually Win a Fistfight
- How To Win a Fistfight (video)
- How To Win a Street Fight
- How To Avoid Confrontations Like a Samurai Warrior
9. Deliver Bad News – Somebody has got to do it. Unfortunately, someday that person will be you.
- How To Deliver Bad News in Writing
- How to Deliver Bad News to a Customer
- Good Ways to Deliver Bad News
10. Change a Tire – Because tires have air in them, and things with air in them eventually pop.
11. Handle a Job Interview – I promise, sweating yourself into a nervous panic won’t land you the job.
- The 25 Most Difficult Questions in a Job Interview
- Job Interview Questions and Answers
- How to Handle Your Job Interviews Successfully
- 10 Sticky Job Interview Situations and How to Handle Them
12. Manage Time – Not doing so is called wasting time, which is okay sometimes, but not all the time.
- How To Manage Time and Maximize Effectiveness
- Managing Your Time
- 10 tips for time management in a multitasking world
- Time Management Tips and Exercises
13. Speed Read – Sometimes you just need the basic gist, and you needed it 5 minutes ago.
14. Remember Names – Do you like when someone tries to get your attention by screaming “hey you”?
15. Relocate Living Spaces – Relocating is always a little tougher than you originally imagined.
16. Travel Light – Bring only the necessities. It’s the cheaper, easier, smarter thing to do.
17. Handle the Police – Because jail isn’t fun… and neither is Bubba.
- What to Do If You’re Stopped by the Police
- How To Handle the Cops if They Knock on Your Door
- How To Handle the Police
18. Give Driving Directions – Nobody likes driving around in circles. Get this one right the first time.
- How To Give a Complete Stranger Driving Directions
- How To Give Directions
- Giving Good Driving Directions
19. Perform Basic First Aid – You don’t have to be a doctor, or genius, to properly dress a wound.
20. Swim – 71% of the Earth’s surface is covered by water. Learning to swim might be a good idea.
21. Parallel Park – Parallel parking is a requirement on most standard driver’s license driving tests, yet so many people have no clue how to do it. How could this be?
22. Recognize Personal Alcohol Limits – Otherwise you may wind up like this charming fellow.
23. Select Good Produce – Rotten fruits and vegetables can be an evil tease and an awful surprise.
- Produce Primer: Selecting the Best
- Tips on Choosing Produce and Keeping it Fresh
- Buying Fresh Vegetables
24. Handle a Hammer, Axe or Handsaw – Carpenters are not the only ones who need tools. Everyone should have a basic understanding of basic hand tools.
25. Make a Simple Budget – Being in debt is not fun. A simple budget is the key.
26. Speak at Least Two Common Languages – Only about 25% of the world’s population speaks English. It would be nice if you could communicate with at least some of the remaining 75%.
- Free Online Language Courses
- Learn a Foreign Language Online Free
- Language Learning with Rosetta Stone
27. Do Push-Ups and Sit-Ups Properly – Improper push-ups and sit-ups do nothing but hurt your body and waste your time.
- How To Do a Proper Push-Up
- Chris Comfort’s Push-Up Workout (video)
- 19 Variations for a Push-Up (video)
- How To Do Sit-Ups (video)
- How To Do an Abdominal Crunch (video)
28. Give a Compliment – It’s one of the greatest gifts you can give someone, and it’s free.
- How To Give a Good Compliment
- 5 Kick-Ass Reasons to Give a Genuine Compliment
- How To Give a Killer Compliment
- 10 Best Compliments a Man Can Give a Woman
29. Negotiate – The better deal is only a question or two away.
30. Listen Carefully to Others – The more you listen and the less you talk, the more you will learn and the less you will miss.
- Tips on Effective Listening
- Listening Tips for the Classroom Environment
- Techniques for Active Listening
31. Recite Basic Geography – If you don’t know where anything is outside of your own little bubble, most people will assume (and they are probably correct) that you don’t know too much at all.
32. Paint a Room – The true cost of painting is 90% labor. For simple painting jobs it makes no sense to pay someone 9 times what it would cost you to do it yourself.
33. Make a Short, Informative Public Speech – At the next company meeting if your boss asks you to explain what you’ve been working on over the last month, a short, clear, informative response is surely your best bet. “Duhhh…” will not cut it.
- How To Conquer the Public Speaking Fear
- Better Public Speaking and Presentation
- How To Write an Informative Speech
34. Smile for the Camera – People that absolutely refuse to smile for the camera suck!
35. Flirt Without Looking Ridiculous – There is a fine line between successful flirting and utter disaster. If you try too hard, you lose. If you don’t try hard enough, you lose.
- Guide to Flirting
- Flirt Without Frightening
- The Rules of Flirtation
- The Science of Romance: Why We Flirt
36. Take Useful Notes – Because useless notes are useless, and not taking notes is a recipe for failure.
37. Be a Respectful House Guest – Otherwise you will be staying in a lot of hotels over the years.
- 10 Ways to Be and Excellent House Guest
- How To Be a Good House Guest
- Have A Pleasant Visit By Following A Few House Rules
38. Make a Good First Impression – Aristotle once said, “well begun is half done.”
- How To Make those First Impressions Count
- Making a Great First Impression
- Tips for Making a Good First Impression
39. Navigate with a Map and Compass – What happens when the GPS craps out and you’re in the middle of nowhere?
40. Sew a Button onto Clothing – It sure is cheaper than buying a new shirt.
41. Hook Up a Basic Home Theater System – This isn’t rocket science. Paying someone to do this shows sheer laziness.
42. Type – Learning to type could save you days worth of time over the course of your lifetime.
- Online Typing Lessons for Everyone
- Free Typing Lessons for the Standard QWERTY Keyboard
- Free Touch Typing Program
43. Protect Personal Identity Information – Personal identity theft is not fun unless you are the thief. Don’t be careless.
44. Implement Basic Computer Security Best Practices – You don’t have to be a computer science major to understand the fundamentals of creating complex passwords and using firewalls. Doing so will surely save you a lot of grief someday.
- 4 Steps to Protect Your Computer
- Security Basics for Home Computers
- SANS Basic Computer Security Whitepapers
45. Detect a Lie – People will lie to you. It’s a sad fact of life.
46. End a Date Politely Without Making Promises – There is no excuse for making promises you do not intend to keep. There is also no reason why you should have to make a decision on the spot about someone you hardly know.
47. Remove a Stain – Once again, it’s far cheaper than buying a new one.
48. Keep a Clean House – A clean house is the foundation for a clean, organized lifestyle.
- The Keep-It-Clean Plan
- Keeping a Stress-Free, Clean House
- How To Keep Your House Clean in 20 Minutes a Day
49. Hold a Baby – Trust me, injuring a baby is not what you want to do.
50. Jump Start a Car – It sure beats walking or paying for a tow truck.
Check out these books for more ideas on pertinent life skills:
Michael says
This is a great list – definitely a keeper. Thanks!
Kelvin says
How about “learn to communicate effectively” as most of the difficulties in our human experience are attributable to our fundamental lack of ability to understand and be understood? (ps is tire actually tyre?)(pps I do reside in England 😉
Sarah says
I love this blog!!
David Bastyr says
Wow, this is an excellent blog. These are some great common sense tips to learn. I’m really interested now. Thanks. I would love to see more of these things. Nice work.
Twenty Twenty says
Great article!
I’ve bookmarked it and I will be back!
Here is a great video on making fire the Indian Way: http://www.wayofthescout.com
Have a great day!
Twenty Twenty
Ex Hostage – Pro Visionary
Liberals are Love says
Fantastic site! I will definitely bookmark and return often. Thank you for putting it together.
Dr. Deak says
Perhaps the list could contain learning Morse code, or as it is called amongst ham operators: International Radiotelegraph Code.
Bonnie says
I really like this list. I would add manners. There is hardly anything worse than being around people or their children who are poorly behaved and inconsiderate of others. I’m not talking about the “which fork to use” manners, but the “wait til the hostess sits down and is ready to eat” basics. I will pass this great site on to others. Thanks!
Crawfish says
A very useful post. Very good! thank you!
ellen says
I would add: learn to operate appliances like, washing machine, dryer, dishwasher, I mean, come on, people, they’re automatic!
RobinV says
This is amazing!
Definitely worth looking over
and over
sheep w/ shotguns says
basic philosophy or even just knowing logical fallacies would be a nice addition.
Mr.Choice says
Impressive list there buddy. It is a good thing that you wrote about first impressions. Pretty solid post!
Jack says
These are some good posts, and excellent resources. Im sure theres enough stuff here to keep me busy for the coming weeks.
dezeL.. says
nice article..i’ve learned a lot from this.. =))
capecport says
I’ve done all but number 26. I do some sign language. Does that count?
futuRich says
#34 is probably the toughest for me. 26 was pretty easy as i lived in Chile for 2 years. fun post.
-Jack
mark harrison says
Start a conversation is pretty fundamental yet the amount of people that don’t how to do this most basic of tasks is frightening.
Teacher Jo says
Remember Names… as a teacher remembering the names of your pupils is one of the hardest part to memorize especially if you are aging thanks for the tips 🙂
phillip says
Marc,
Great post. It may motivate me to finish my list of the top things you should know for the workplace, but did not teach you in school. I listed the top 10 that I am always amazed that they still do not teach our childern and the workforce is always expecting.
1. computer skills (ICDL), google research, typing, communicating effectively with Office 2007/OpenOffice
2. communication skills (talking/body language/culture differences)
3. Basic finances: checkbook, balance sheet, profit/loss. Time value of money: 5th grade math applied in practice that would help them avoid debt and help understand commerce world
4. Basic human factors in the workplace (stress, different learning styles, personality styles), teamwork and high performance productivity
5. Knowledge management & capture and recall of information you or co workers spent so much time doing
6. Time and personal mission management (Work & Life balance)
7. Goal setting and basic task management toward objectives
8. Basic Problem solving skills
9. Basic Analylitical skills
10. Basic Initution skills (Emotional Intelligence), NLP
Alison | Quest for Balance says
Wow… I’m impressed by the amount of useful information in this single post. I feel like I could spend all day clicking through the links you’ve provided. Thanks for taking the time to find these for us.
Sub says
Wow!! Thanks for the list!! You’re are absolutely right that these task should be well known to each and everyone to live in life and morevoer you’ve boosted my spirits through one of those tips!! Thanks! 🙂
Mike says
I dunno about #40… ill leave that to the gf/wifey 😮
Rox says
This site is awesome, and all of the useful links. I am going to start at #1 and work my way down just for fun 🙂 Thx
2sw2r says
Remember Names… as a teacher remembering the names of your pupils is one of the hardest part to memorize especially if you are aging thanks for the tips 🙂
Chris Ullyott says
Pretty soon now, I will be getting married and moving out to live with my new wife. I started thinking about any life skills I’d need to brush up on and this blog post is the best I’ve found. Thanks guys.
Waisybabu says
That was a rather awesome post.
Billy-d says
Definitely worth knowing!
univiction says
Windows or MacIntosh? With 7,485 of the OSes on this planet, you choose the ones that cost money in large amounts? THAT”S NOT “SURVIVAL”!
Survival is finding life support using minimal resources!
I run the BSDs and many Linux distros, from http://distrowatch.com and http://livecdlist.com also, and they are totally immune to all the millions of Microsoft Virus!
You know that about a third of all users in the world are running FOSS, (FREE, Open Source Software)?
If you use Google, Yahoo, Face Book, You Tube, then you are using FOSS!
Making a fire? Buy a 5 pack of cheap lighters at Walmart for $1.49!
Spend some money on a survival pack: a $4.97 camp ax, a fixed blade knife, some freeze dried food, a $6.97 canteen, a $0.97 hank of rope, the $3.99 compass, a trekking map (has topology survey elevation markings), and, grab a couple Space Blankets!
David G says
Hi Marc and Angel,
What a great list! We would be honored if you would add http://language101.com to your list of language learning sites.
If we have the language you want to learn, we will be glad to set up a free account for you or any of your readers.
William Grothus says
And how about to forgive?
Stephen A. says
Great list, very comprehensive. Though here in America, where something like 90% of cars have automatic transmissions, I find it hard to believe I’d ever be “stuck” by not having this skill.
Bob Collier says
Great work. Will post to my Facebook page, but might need to take a day off to explore the hyperlinks!
12. Manage Time – I’d say it’s more useful to learn to manage attention.
Me Loki says
Properly handle a firearm?
nikko says
Great list. They’re all very useful. Thank you
Belinda Gomez says
Very good. I’d add
How to balance your checking account (or bank account.)
How to compute compound interest.
How to make introductions.
hc1 says
I know “change a tire” would be on the list somewhere. 🙂
Marvin Barrett says
Excellent article.
So much value here, will pass this on. Thank you.
Marvin
Diaz Arcrossito says
Great article..
Thanks for sharing
Diaz
Jay Willingham says
Wow, this is like the ultimate post about everything. What an excellent resource. Get’s a thumbs up from me on stumble!
Great job.
Boyce Babat says
Appreciate you sharing, great article.Thanks Again. Much obliged.
The Scentsy Candle Man says
I Love it! You write great lists! I found your blog through Zen Habits and will be subscribing to your feed:).
DaniEru says
40/50!!! NOT THAT bad =P I failed mostly at driving hehehe
weee!! says
Shouldn’t cooking be included?
Paul-theMastermap says
No 26 is important. French has been eluding me for awhile. I’ll rather avoid fist fighting. Lively post and on the light side.
ProbusinessGuy says
What a great list of things we should know how to do. I think somthing everybody should do is to go out and read rich dad poor dad.
viperette says
Shoot a gun should be on the list. I guess I have three things to learn– Detect a lie; hold a baby; and learn CPR/heimlich maneuver. CPR on a mannequin is standard, so is holding a baby doll sufficient? Because I’m not fond of kids…