Survival Skills Modern Business People Lack And Why They Matter More Than You Think

In today’s hyper-connected and fast-paced corporate landscape, modern business people have never had more tools, ranging from data analytics skills, digital communication strategies, and strategic planning capabilities. However, while there is plenty of chatter in boardrooms or on Zoom calls, many lack some basic life-saving skills that mankind has used throughout history: survival skills.

They are not a thing of the past because in an unpredictable world filled with natural disasters, blackouts, and outdoor activities that didn’t go as planned, knowing how to survive when everything goes to custard becomes important and relevant to everyday business professionals.

Let’s examine the essential survival skills that many business people leave out—and why learning how to start a fire without firelighters should be first on the list.

1. How to Start a Fire Without Firelighters

One of the most vital and nearly lost skills in our modern age is simply starting a fire by not using firelighters, and we tend to lose weight loss every moment in history where fire was meant for survival and to survive. And do it all by trial, error, and instinct. All through our evolution, fire meant survival, warmth, security, and cooking.

However, after centuries of survival by simply starting a fire, we have made fire starting irrelevant by relying on lighters, firelighters and the bevy of modern conveniences. The average businessperson may be able to pitch a startup business idea, well, could they pitch the flame of a fire in the wild? Don’t let this put you off, the method involved is not as complicated as it sounds.

With dry kindling, a flint, or a simple method of friction using sticks, someone could start a fire properly with practice. It is also important with a survival fire, to know how to properly build a fire, whether in a teepee shape to embrace airflow, also makes a huge difference. If you would like more advice, follow this guide on how to start a fire without firelighters and keep the skill alive.

2. Identifying Edible Plants and Clean Water Sources

Would you know what berries are actually edible if, hypothetically, you found yourself in a survival situation? The other thing, would you also know how to identify water, or purify water to drink it safely?

For most organization workers, the answer is a definite no. As a result of bottled water and packaged meals, we have gotten complacent. If one day supply chains break down or you find yourself in a backcountry setting, being able to identify food and water sources will become a life-or-death situation.

Making your eyes good at seeing edible greens, and subsequently learning how to purify the water with a filtration method, or a boiling method – all key survival skills.

3. Navigation Without GPS

A dead phone battery can leave the modern executive feeling lost — literally. GPS has taken such an integral part in our daily lives that many people no longer know how to read a paper map, use a compass, or find their place on the earth.

Unfortunately, Mother Nature does not come with a Wi-Fi signal. In any outdoor or survival situation, learning some basic orienteering skills could help you find your way to safety, and understand how to read topographic maps, how to use compass directional markers, and even how to use the sun and stars to guide you.

4. Firewood Storage and Fuel Knowledge

Even if you can get a fire lit, will the fire burn? Most people don’t understand how important seasoning firewood and drying it properly is. If you try the same method of lighting a fire with damp logs that haven’t been stored correctly, you will wind up with a fire that produces nothing but smoke and is largely impossible to maintain, or which does nothing for warmth and cooking.

Firewood storage plays a crucial role in ensuring your wood is dry and ready to burn. The best way to store firewood is in a covered location that allows for airflow, on a platform raised off the ground, and which is kept out of the rain, snow, or direct contact with wet surfaces.

Knowing the different types of wood—for example, using hardwoods that burn slower with softwoods that ignite quickly—will aid your opportunities for survival in the wild and provide food or warmth during a blackout or long power loss.

For more detailed information, you can also check out this firewood storage guide to learn the best practices for keeping your logs dry and ready to burn.

5. First Aid and Emergency Response

Many of us spend at least part of every year in a class conducting annual CPR or fire drill training, yet few business people have practical experience when it comes to providing actual first aid. Can you stop a bleed? Dress a wound? Identify hypothermia or heat stroke?

First aid is yet another survival skill that may save a life – not just your life, but the lives of others. Today, every professional should know how to put together a basic first aid kit and know how to operate its parts.

6. Building Shelter with Minimal Resources

When was the last time you thought about building a shelter—without a tent or hotel?

When a storm strikes unexpectedly, or you need protection from the extreme sun, knowing how to improvise using natural materials (branches, leaves or even snow) to create a makeshift shelter can be critical. It can be the difference between a nice night’s sleep and becoming hypothermic.

7. Mental Fortitude and Calm Under Pressure

Mental resilience isn’t a skill in the true sense of the word, but it’s one of the most important survival tools you can gain. In corporate life, we often think of stress management in terms of stress about deadlines, meetings, or other workplace challenges. But survival stress—being cold, hungry, and alone is a whole different experience.

You can improve your resilience and develop your psychological toughness by practising mindfulness, using breathing techniques, and exposing yourself to stress (controlled forms of stress such as cold water immersion or fasting).

Why These Skills Matter Today

You might be asking: “Why should a contemporary executive invest their time in these obsolete skills?” The very answer is embedded in life’s unpredictability.

From extreme weather conditions and travel mishaps to societal discontent, consider your self-reliance your own personal security blanket; the security that money cannot purchase.

Learning these skills will actually breed attributes such as confidence, discipline, and awareness; traits which not only help one survive the elements throughout life, but also directly correlate to one’s success in the boardroom.

Now, imagine not only impressing the board with your PowerPoint pitch deck, but also your ability to survive overnight in the wilderness. That’s a power shift.

Reclaiming Primitive Skills in a Digital World

Reengaging with primal survival practices is not just for emergencies; it’s also for balance. It’s about getting away from screens and being in the land; it’s about remembering where it is that we came from.

Igniting a flame from nothing, mastering an edible plant or reading starlight; it is awakening the ancestors. And for business people who often spend the majority of their lives moving around the virtual world, earthly experiences can be grounding, revitalising and sometimes life-changing.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, the knowledge of how to start a fire without firelighters and properly store firewood, as well as a few other basics of survival, is not merely preparing for a worst-case scenario, it is a rediscovery of human fundamentals. These skills build resilience, confidence, and autonomy.

So while you are perfecting your latest business pitch or working on your KPIs, take a weekend to learn how to make a shelter, start a fire and purify water. Your ancestors did it to survive; you can do it to thrive.