HOW TO

MAKE YOUR
HOME YOUR
PERSONAL
FORTRESS
Presents: SPY + Survival Briefing
 HOW TO MAKE YOUR HOME YOUR PERSONAL FORTRESS
AN IMPRINT OF AGOR A FINANCIAL

J IM RICKARD S ’

str ategic intelligence

Making the Complex Simple

How to Make Your Home

Your Personal Fortress
Dear Reader,
I want to take this opportunity to welcome you again to the
Jim Rickards’ Strategic Intelligence family.
Our goal is simple — to help you build wealth, achieve financial security
and protect yourself during bad economic times.
However, there’s also another type of security that’s important besides
your financial wealth…
That’s the security of your home and the personal protection of
your family.
That’s why I have asked Jason Hanson to join me in this bonus report
that I promised you.
As a CIA insider, I am well aware of Jason and his work within the
Intelligence Community for almost a decade.
This experience allows Jason to provide cutting-edge strategies that
will keep your family safe no matter the circumstance.
After leaving the CIA, Jason became the founder and CEO of Spy
Escape & Evasion, which teaches men and women how to be safe
using spy secrets that 99% of Americans will never know.
Besides writing books on survival tips to protect yourself in uncertain
times, Jason has created an online community offering safety and survival
products, online courses, blogs, newsletters and more.
He regularly appears as a keynote speaker at corporate events, conferences
and conventions worldwide.
1 w w w. ag or a fi n a nci a l .com
 HOW TO MAKE YOUR HOME YOUR PERSONAL FORTRESS

Jason has appeared on NBC’s Today show, Dateline, Rachael Ray

and Fox & Friends and has been interviewed by Forbes, NPR and
The Huffington Post, among others.
When I asked Jason what motivates him to continue his hectic schedule
to protect others, he answered simply, “My family.”
From intruders to natural disasters to even social media, Jason will give
you lifesaving tips that will keep your home and family secure in these
volatile times.
Today, Jason makes it his life’s work to teach people like you how to
protect yourself and not be a victim of any tragedy that could happen
in any of our lives.
I hope you enjoy this report and find his strategies helpful to protect
the things most important to you — your home and family.
Don’t forget to share this information with your loved ones and use it
as a personal reference when needed.
Please read on for Jason’s full report…
Regards,

Jim Rickards
Editor, Strategic Intelligence

Copyright by Agora Financial, LLC. 808 St. Paul Street, Baltimore, MD 21202. All rights reserved. No part of this
report may be reproduced by any means or for any reason without the consent of the publisher. The information
contained herein is obtained from sources believed to be reliable; however, its accuracy cannot be guaranteed.
 Part 1: Home Defense
Creating Your Personal Fortress

Get an Alarm System

In 2014, actress Sandra Bullock was the victim of a home invasion. She
heard noises in the middle of the night, peered out her bedroom door,
and saw a man walking down her hallway. She immediately locked the
door and called the police, who arrived about 13 minutes later, found
the man (a “superfan”/stalker), and arrested him.

According to the Internet (which never lies), Ms. Bullock has a net worth
of $200 million. Now, I’m no mathematician, but with that kind of
money, you can afford one heck of an alarm system. Perhaps Ms. Bullock
does have an alarm system and she just forgot to turn it on that night.

Either way, the entire situation could have been prevented.

You’d be amazed at the number of stories I’m told about people who
have break-ins because they forgot to turn on their alarm systems. I do
realize that people are lazy and may not want to get out of bed and
turn on an alarm.

However, these days almost every alarm system comes with a key fob
that you can leave on your nightstand to turn on the alarm while in
bed. What’s more, these key fobs have panic buttons, which you can
push to set off the alarm and have police notified.

Everyone ought to have an alarm system these days, because they’re so

inexpensive. It doesn’t matter if you use ADT or Brink’s or whomever.
They all do the same thing. Find out who gives you the best deal and
get an alarm system this week if you don’t already have one.

You can also avoid paying an annual contract by using SimpliSafe, a

DIY alarm system that you can install yourself. Visit their website at
simplisafe.com for more details.

Also, make sure that you get a system that includes motion sensors
throughout your house. If by some rare chance a burglar is able to
bypass your entry sensors, as soon as they step foot in your house, you
want the motion sensors to trigger and have the alarm sound.

HOW TO MAKE YOUR HOME YOUR PERSONAL FORTRESS 3

 How to Secure Your Windows and Doors
Having reliable locks for the doors and windows in your home is a
simple, vital step in home defense.

Let’s start with the locks. One of the most common brands of locks
used in the U.S. is Kwikset. They’re a go-to brand for contractors and
builders, and there’s a pretty good chance you use them in your own
home.

If you do, go to the nearest Home Depot and buy new locks immediately.

Kwikset locks are poorly made and easily compromised. I myself can
pick one easily, and so can most criminals.

Instead, I recommend buying Schlage or Medeco locks. You can get

Schlage locks at Home Depot or any other major hardware store. Mede-
co locks are a little harder to find. I’d recommend searching for a local
dealer using their website, www.medeco.com. Simply select “Dealer
Locator” from their home page and type in your ZIP code to find out
where you can purchase Medeco locks near you.

I also recommend having a reliable, solid deadbolt from either Schlage

or Medeco.

Getting a solid-core door is a good idea, too. One that’s made out of
sturdy, solid materials, like wood, steel, or iron.

It’s a sad fact that several types of doors can be kicked in with minimal
effort. In fact, as I’m sure you’re aware, most doors are hollow, and if
you have a teenage son, you know how easily these can be kicked
through. Purchasing a high-quality solid-core door, particularly for
your front door, is very important.

Many of us also have glass sliding doors in the rear of our homes.
Hopefully, if someone breaks these doors to try to get in, you will hear
the glass shatter and be prepared to meet the intruder. If you really want
to ensure you’ll hear them, I recommend putting a glass break detector
on your glass doors. If someone jostles these doors at all, a loud alarm is
set off. One example is the Doberman Security SE-0106-4PK
Ultra-Slim Window Alarm, available on Amazon for only $29.99.

It’s important that you reinforce the locks on these doors too. You can

4 HOW TO MAKE YOUR HOME YOUR PERSONAL FORTRESS

do so easily and cheaply by getting a wooden bar to put along the floor
track. This costs about $2.00 at any home goods store. Just cut it half
an inch shorter than the total track distance.

Now if an intruder wants to come in that way, they’ll have to break the
door. As I mentioned, the noise that creates will give you time to
spring into action, especially if you use a glass break detector.

I’d also recommend locking and reinforcing your windows. Smaller

wooden pieces similar to the bars for sliding doors can go in the
bottom of window tracks or along the inside of the frames.

Being Prepared on Every Level of Your Home

There’s one sound that makes even hardened criminals run in the
other direction during an attempted home invasion: gunshots.

I have at least one gun stored on every level of my home. Because I

have small children, every one of these guns is in a rapid access safe,
made by GunVault or Stack-On or Console Vault. I’ve set it up this
way so that if someone breaks into my home, I don’t have to worry
about running all of the way upstairs (and possibly past the intruder)
to retrieve a firearm to defend myself.

But guns aren’t the only preparedness item that I have on every level of
my home. I also have a flashlight on every level so that they’re easily
accessible from anywhere in my home if the lights go out.

When it comes to flashlights, I have plenty of tactical flashlights that I carry

with me always. Tactical flashlights are very small, with a high-powered
beam, which makes them easy to use and reliable.

My tactical flashlights are made by SureFire and Nextorch. However,

in addition to my tactical flashlights, I also have larger (nontactical)
lights, which have batteries that will last for dozens of hours.

On the low price point of things is the 6V Eveready flashlight that can
be bought at hardware stores for about $7. This is the large yellow
flashlight that you’ve probably seen a million times. The beauty of this
flashlight is that it lasts 100 hours before you need to get a new battery,
and a new battery is only about $8.00. If you’re looking for a cheap,
no-frills flashlight, this is it.

HOW TO MAKE YOUR HOME YOUR PERSONAL FORTRESS 5

Recently, I got another larger flashlight that will also last 100 hours. The
light is the O2 Beam by Nebo. It’s a brand-new flashlight that has five
different settings, ranging from 85 lumens with a 100-hour battery life
to 420 lumens with a 20-hour life. It also has strobe and beacon settings.

I’ve been very impressed with this flashlight so far because not only
does it have five settings, but you can adjust the light beam to go from
being wide to a concentrated spotlight. Surprisingly, this flashlight isn’t
too expensive, only $80, which is a good deal for this type of flashlight.

In addition to flashlights and guns, I also have food storage on every

level of my home, in case we experience any type of flooding. I get all
of my food storage from the LDS Cannery, run by the Mormon church.
Don’t worry — you don’t have to be Mormon to qualify. Visit them at
providentliving.lds.org to learn how to order canned goods.

The bottom line is crazy events seem to occur every week in this country
that remind us about the importance of being prepared. So it’s important
to be prepared for any situation by gathering the correct supplies and
making sure that they are easily accessible from anywhere in your home.

Buy These Batteries

Have you ever taken a count of how many items you use every day
that rely on batteries? Electric toothbrushes, children’s toys, remote
controls, flashlights… in the technological age that we live in, batteries
are a necessity.

And because we rely on these devices and we want to be prepared when

the electricity goes out (even if it’s just for a few hours), it’s important to
have quality batteries. Sure, you can go to Wal-Mart and buy regular
Energizer or Duracell batteries, but if you use your flashlights as often as
I do, and if you use an electric toothbrush or any other item frequently,
you may want to consider rechargeable batteries.

Now, rechargeable batteries are nothing new, but like every other
product, you don’t want to buy poor-quality rechargeable batteries that
let you down when it counts. This is why I recommend you check out
the Panasonic Eneloop rechargeable batteries. These are the ones that
I personally use.

These batteries come pre-charged from the factory, which is an added

6 HOW TO MAKE YOUR HOME YOUR PERSONAL FORTRESS

bonus — you can immediately put them to use. They can be recharged
up to 2,100 times, which is not only convenient but will save you a
ton of money over the years.

Another good thing about these batteries is that they actually maintain
their charge when not in use. I have never left these batteries charged
for years on end, but according to the company, they can maintain up
to 70% of their charge after five years.

What’s more, they can work in freezing temperatures all the way down
to minus 4 degrees F without losing their charge.

The fact is these are tough batteries that will last. Even if they’re not as
glamorous as a gun or a knife, having high-quality batteries could
come in handy much more often.

If you decide you want to get these batteries, you can buy them on
Amazon.com by simply searching for “Panasonic Eneloop batteries.”

Where to Hide Your Guns

As with all of your valuables, it’s important to make your guns hard to
find. Never store guns and valuables in your master bedroom (with the
exception of your home defense gun, which should sit on your night-
stand in a rapid access safe). The master bedroom is the first place
burglars will look, as most burglars want to be in and out of your
house in eight minutes.

You want to keep your guns in a place like an attic. This often requires
a ladder to get to. In your attic, you want to store the guns in a box
marked “old clothes” or “child’s toys.”

If you have a large gun safe, consider getting a dummy gun safe too. I
know one guy who has his large dummy safe and then behind it, in a
wall, is his real safe full of guns.

Other good ideas are the safes that look like an electrical box or a vent.
A friend of mine owns a company called Console Vault. One of their
products is called the Red Herring Secret Safe. It looks exactly like an
electrical panel built into your wall but it is covered with “high voltage”
warnings and nobody in their right mind would ever touch it.

HOW TO MAKE YOUR HOME YOUR PERSONAL FORTRESS 7

Other places to consider are in your kitchen behind your pots and
pans or in a fireplace (that you don’t use) behind a stack of wood.

Wherever you decide to hide your guns, I do recommend having them

locked up in some type of gun safe, even if it’s just a small safe such as
the SnapSafe Lockbox or the GunVault NV200.

Stop Oversharing
A Texas couple returned home from vacation to realize they’d been
burglarized to the tune of over $200,000.

The burglars had broken into a safe and stolen 45 guns, ammunition,
gold coins, and jewelry. According to police, it appeared to be a well-
planned job that took several hours, and the thieves likely knew that
the couple was out of town.

Obviously, this is a terrible event for the couple, who lost family
heirlooms and lots of money. But let’s be honest here — it could have
been prevented.

First, it’s imperative to have an alarm system, especially if you have

over $200,000 worth of goods in your house. These days, alarm
systems are so inexpensive there’s no excuse not to have one.

Second, be careful of who you tell when you’re going out of town.
Make sure a trusted neighbor knows so that they can keep an eye out
for anything suspicious. But DON’T post on Facebook. Anyone with ill
intentions can easily see that post and get a bad idea. It’s an easy trap
that too many people fall for. If you must post pictures and brag about
your trip, save it until after you return.

What Are Your Concentric Rings of Security?

When I worked for the CIA, I was based out of headquarters, in
Langley, Virginia. What most people don’t realize (unless you live in
the D.C. area) is that the CIA has a sign out on the main road that
reads, “George Bush Center for Intelligence.”

In other words, the CIA headquarters isn’t hidden, and anyone who wishes
to can easily find it. This is why the CIA has a vast amount of physical
security and why they perfectly execute the concentric rings of security.

8 HOW TO MAKE YOUR HOME YOUR PERSONAL FORTRESS

But what are concentric rings of security?

In short, concentric rings of security are a layered defense system

around a certain object or place. As you pass through each “ring,” or
layer of defense, the security level increases.

Let me show how this applies to you and how you can use the rings in
your own life…

Let’s say you live in a single-family home, which many people in the U.S.
do. The first ring of security might be some type of fence around the
perimeter of your property. If you happen to live in a gated community,
the first ring would be the gate that must be opened for someone to enter.

The thing is a criminal can easily jump a gate or a fence, which is why
the outer ring is typically the weakest.

For the average homeowner, the second concentric ring is the exterior
of your home. Do you have security cameras? Do you have lights or
motion sensors? Do you have an alarm sign in your front yard? Do you
have an alarm sign sticker on the sliding glass door into your home
from your deck?

Continuing with the second ring... is your front door locked? Do you
have a solid deadbolt? Do you close your garage door even when
you’re at home? Are all of your windows locked?

The third ring of security for your home is your “safe room.” In other
words, if someone jumps your fence and kicks down your front door,
where do you go with your family? Do you have a room that everyone
can huddle in that has a cellphone to call police and, more importantly,
a firearm that can be used to protect your family?

Remember, as a criminal passes through each ring of security, it’s

supposed to get tougher on them to accomplish their task (whatever
task that might be).

So if their task is a home invasion and they’ve jumped the fence, kicked
in your front door, and are about to kick in the bedroom where you and
your family are hiding, then in that room, you need to be prepared to
meet them with ultimate force.

After all, if they bash down the bedroom door and your wife and kids

HOW TO MAKE YOUR HOME YOUR PERSONAL FORTRESS 9

are there but you’re unprepared, you may have just let your whole
family get murdered. (It may sound harsh, but it’s true.)

This is why, in my opinion, the final ring of security should always

include a firearm. The firearm is the great equalizer, and it’s the only
thing that gives the 18-year-old girl a chance against the 32-year-old,
200-pound, knife-wielding rapist.

Of course, the final ring of security can also include a solid wood door for
your safe room to help you avoid having to use a firearm in self-defense,
which should be everyone’s goal — avoid if you can, but be prepared to
fight back if you have no choice.

So if you’ve never given thought to the concentric rings of security and

how they apply to your own home, give it some thought today. Think
about how many layers of defense you have and how you plan to stop
a criminal if, heaven forbid, they make it through every single layer
and are standing in front of you and your loved ones.

Family Emergency Plan Steps·

One question that I’m often asked is what you should do when a crisis
actually hits. If you’re at work when a terrorist attack or a terrible
natural disaster occurs, what should you do to get to your family?

When these things happen, it causes mass chaos. That’s why it’s vital
to have a family emergency plan in place, which all of the members of
your family are aware of.

The first thing you want to do is go get the youngest and weakest
members of the family. For me, this means going to school and getting
my kids, starting with the youngest child.

Also, if you are unable to get in touch with one another, it’s important
for both you and your spouse to go to get the kids. In a crisis event,
you hope for the best but always assume the worst. So I have to assume
my wife is dead and that I need to go pick up the kids. My wife has to
assume that I am dead and that she’ll have to go pick up the kids.

Whoever gets to the first child leaves a note for their spouse. This is
critical to do. In the bag in my car, I have some Rite in the Rain paper
and an Inkzall marker. This marker can write on all types of wet and

10 HOW TO MAKE YOUR HOME YOUR PERSONAL FORTRESS

oily surfaces. I also have Gorilla tape to tape the note to the preschool
door or in some other easy-to-see place.
On this note, write something such as “Sandy, I got to the school first
and picked up Lucy. I am headed to get Tom. Love, Jason. 10-13-15,
9:05 a.m.” (Always put the date and time so your spouse knows when
you got there.)
Once you have gotten your kids, then you head home or to the desig-
nated place you’re supposed to meet the rest of your family (have two
of them). Obviously, if your home or first designated meeting place is
no longer standing or safe to enter, then you’ll go to the secondary
meeting place, which can be anything from a church house to random
parking lot or park. And if the secondary meeting place isn’t safe, you’ll
go to a third place.
This is an incredibly simple plan that I recommend you talk with your
spouse about tonight. In a true disaster, the chaos is going to be ex-
treme, and you’ll be grateful you know exactly what to do and the places
to meet your loved ones. Plus, don’t forget the paper that you can write
on in the rain, the Inkzall marker, and the Gorilla tape.
You should also have a well-developed family emergency plan within
your own home. Just as in the plan I just described, you’re going to
want to get to the weakest or youngest members of your family first.
Once you’ve established they are safe, clear your home, room by room,
to look for intruders. I go into details on how to do this safely in the
“Personal Defense” section of this protocol.
But the first thing that you should do to get started on your home
defense family emergency plan is to create a panic room. Here’s how…

How to Build a Panic Room Without

Spending a Fortune
It was about 1:30 a.m. when the large crash awoke me. I looked to my
right at my wife, who immediately sat up too, and then I looked to the
left to grab my flashlight and open up the gun safe on my nightstand.
The safe was open in less than three seconds, and I retrieved my Glock
19 loaded with 124-grain Speer Gold Dot rounds. I then made my way
to the top of my staircase to ensure that nobody would come up the
stairs past me as my wife got our kids to our “panic room.”

HOW TO MAKE YOUR HOME YOUR PERSONAL FORTRESS 11

As I was standing at the top of the stairs with my gun pointed down-
ward, I was listening intently to hear who was in our house and what I
needed to be prepared for. The thing is I didn’t hear a peep. I stood at
the top of the stairs for what seemed like an eternity but heard and saw
no other signs of an intruder. Finally, I began to slowly make my way
down the stairs to clear my home. After opening a number of closet
doors, I was relieved to find the culprit of the noise that caused me to
almost jump out of bed. We had an AeroBed on the top shelf of one of
our closets. It happened to fall off and come crashing down on a bunch
of kids’ toys. Since the AeroBed weighs a ton, it caused the significant
noise that woke my wife and me up.

Thankfully, it wasn’t an intruder, but it was a great “dry run” to show

that my wife and I were prepared for a home invasion and that we can
react quickly to protect ourselves. So even though we didn’t have to
utilize our panic room that night, I was glad that we had it.

Let me quickly dispel some myths that have been created by Hollywood
to sell movie tickets. A panic room isn’t only for billionaires and multi-
millionaires, it doesn’t have to cost several hundred thousand dollars,
and it doesn’t involve a bunch of fancy gizmos and sliding doors that
move at the push of a button. In other words, it doesn’t look like a room
right out of a Jetsons cartoon. It’s just a normal room in your house that
has been prepared for an emergency.

The first step is to know where your panic room should be located. A
lot of people mistakenly think that the panic room should be in the
basement or that it should always be the master bedroom. The fact is,
the location of the panic room should be the location of the member of
your family that is the weakest or slowest. So if you have your 98-year-
old mother living with you and she can’t move very fast, then her room
needs to be the panic room. Or if you have a 1-year-old child in the
house, their nursery would be the panic room. If you think there’s a
home invasion taking place, you need to get your family in the panic
room as quickly as possible. Having the room located in the “slowest”
family member’s room saves a lot of time.
Once you’ve identified the room, it’s time to start fortifying it. Like I
said, this doesn’t mean spending six figures. It simply means getting a
solid-core door made of metal or wood. Most people prefer a wood
door because it looks better indoors. That’s fine, because a wood door

12 HOW TO MAKE YOUR HOME YOUR PERSONAL FORTRESS

is going to stop bullets and buy you time if someone is trying to get in.

The truth is, if you have cheap, hollow-core doors on your bedrooms
like most people do, then an intruder can smash through one in
seconds. A solid wood door is going to give you time to get ready to
defend yourself before they break it down.

In addition to the solid-core door, install a quality deadbolt such as

Schlage or Medeco in the inside of the room so you can keep the
intruder out.

Once you’ve got the door and deadbolt installed, then it’s time to get to the
most important factor of all when it comes to the panic room: the “crash
box.” A crash box is a safe located in your panic room that contains the
necessary supplies to fend off an intruder. A crash box is typically a
medium-sized safe such as the SentrySafe model SFW123DSB or the
First Alert model 2096DF. Both can be purchased on Amazon.

Look for something small and easy to access, not a gigantic gun safe
that is going to take you forever to open. Once you have your crash
box, it’s time to fill it with the items you need. These include a handgun
and ammunition (I like Glock, SIG Sauer, and Springfield when it
comes to guns and Speer Gold Dot and Hornady for ammo), extra
loaded magazines, a spare cellphone, a flashlight, medical items such as
QuikClot and a Combat Application Tourniquet (CAT), a fixed-blade
knife, and whatever other items you choose to put in it.

If you ever do find yourself having to hunker down until police arrive
(remember, average police response time can vary, so make sure you
know what to expect in your area), then you should be prepared to
fend off attackers for a good amount of time. The good news is unless
you’re a politician or celebrity who is more likely to face a coordinated
attack, a home invasion will most likely involve some local thugs who
are looking to get drug money for their next fix. Once they see you’re
well-armed and prepared to stop them, they’ll probably flee your house
and go looking for an easier victim.

While none of us wishes to ever experience a home invasion, the

people I know that have gone through it were grateful they were
prepared. In other words, this weekend, take a few minutes to desig-
nate a panic room, begin looking at solid-core doors, and start writing
down the supplies you’re going to have inside your crash box.

HOW TO MAKE YOUR HOME YOUR PERSONAL FORTRESS 13

How to Prevent Your Door From Getting Kicked In
Criminals aren’t usually the brightest bunch, which is why the majority
of home invasions occur through the front or back door. To ensure that
your door isn’t easily kicked in and to give yourself extra time to get to
your panic room, you may want to consider using a door barricade.

While it might sound like a big piece of equipment, a door barricade is

actually quite small and you’ll barely notice it. It’s simply a metal plate
that is secured to the floor directly in front of your door. This metal
plate has a groove down the middle that allows you to insert a second
metal plate, which goes perpendicular and blocks the door from open-
ing. The door barricade that I like is called the Nightlock, available on
Amazon. If you install one of these at home, it will be nearly impossible
for someone to kick in your door.

The 6-Step Planning Process

I recently attended a three-day leadership retreat by a company called
Becoming Your Best. The owners of the company are Steve and Rob
Shallenberger.

One of the topics we covered during the three days was a six-step
process to make sure you accomplish your goals and take action on
priorities in your life.

Safety and survival is one of our top priorities, but far too many of us
don’t end up where we need to be. We talk about getting food storage
or water storage or extra ammunition, but we often never get around
to doing it.

So to help you become better prepared and take the necessary steps to
ensure you survive a crisis, whatever it may be, let me share with you
this six-step process.

Let’s assume our task is to get a year’s worth of food storage but we’re
overwhelmed because we’ve only got two weeks’ worth of storage at
the moment. The first step is to identify the vision: We want a year’s
worth of food storage.

The second step is to identify our current reality. Our current reality is
that we have two weeks’ worth of food storage but we want to have a

14 HOW TO MAKE YOUR HOME YOUR PERSONAL FORTRESS

year’s worth, so we need 50 more weeks of food. Since our current
reality doesn’t match our vision, we continue through the steps.

The third step is to clearly define the real issue. Ask “why” here until
you really get down to it. Our real issue is that we don’t know how to
go about getting 50 more weeks of food storage.

The fourth step is to identify the options to achieving our goal. For
example, we could go online and buy a year’s supply of food all at once,
which is commonly sold in the buckets by many survival companies.
Another option is that each week when we go grocery shopping, we
could buy an extra week’s worth of canned food, so that each month,
we would add a month to our food storage.

Also, we could buy No. 10 cans of wheat, rice, pasta, potato flakes,
beans, etc. (I recommend the LDS Cannery for the No. 10 cans. Just do
a Google search.) We could take the number of cans we need for our
entire family and divide that by 12 and buy that specific number of
cans each month.

Now that we have our options, we pick the one that looks to be the
best. The final and most critical part of this step is to have someone else
review the plan to look for pitfalls that you couldn’t see. Once they
check it out, you can incorporate their suggestions or not as you see fit.

The fifth step of this planning process is to implement your plan. For
instance, if you picked buying the No. 10 cans and you figured out you
needed 200 cans for your family, you would buy 17 cans each month.
Or if money is not an issue, you could buy all the cans at once.

It’s important to set a deadline for all of your goals. A good deadline
for our example above would be to say that starting Jan. 1, 2016, you
will buy 17 food storage cans a month and that by the end of 2016,
you will have a year’s supply of food for your family. (It will actually be
a year and two weeks worth of food, since we started with two weeks,
but it’s better to have more than less.)

Make sure all the key players to the plan (the person that does the
grocery shopping, for example) are aware of the plan and what their
part is in making it happen.

The sixth and final step of this process is to evaluate your results.
Remember what was your vision. Is the vision the same as the current

HOW TO MAKE YOUR HOME YOUR PERSONAL FORTRESS 15

reality now? At the end of the year, if you don’t have a year’s supply of
food, you would evaluate why not, decide what you need to change to
reach your goal, and start the process again.

The good news is this six-step process can be used for all of our prepara-
tion goals. We all know that when we write it down on paper, there’s a
much better chance of accomplishing our goal and getting where we want
to be. So use this six-step process to accomplish one of your goals today.

While it can be applied to anything in your life, it’s also great to apply
to your home safety goals and holds you accountable to getting your
home in top order for the protection of your family.

Part 2: Night Defense

Stay Protected Even in Your Sleep
Lights for Home Defense
These days, it’s so simple to make your home less appealing to a
potential intruder.

Alarm systems are affordable, and there are DIY alarm systems you can
install yourself if you don’t want to go with a major company. The same
goes with camera systems. You can get a wireless camera system and install
it yourself. The only real knowledge you need is how to use a screwdriver
and how to log on to a company’s website to set everything up.

While I definitely recommend everyone have an alarm system and

video cameras, one of the most overlooked security measures is having
motion-sensor lights around your home. Maybe this is because mo-
tion-sensor lights aren’t a “super sexy” topic, but it’s critical that you
don’t have dark areas around your house where a criminal can hide as
they try to break into your house through a door or window.

Even though you’ve got a front porch light and a back porch light, there
are likely still areas around your home that don’t receive any light and
are pitch black. Most people focus their lights, locks, and security
systems on the front of their homes, but the truth is that most home
invasions occur somewhere else.

To discover where these “blind spots” are, take a walk around your

16 HOW TO MAKE YOUR HOME YOUR PERSONAL FORTRESS

house when the sun goes down today. Identify these areas and then
purchase a motion sensor light or two. Since these lights have no
wires, you can install them in unconventional places such as on a tree,
fence, or shed. It doesn’t have to be attached to your house to light up
your yard.

You can go to Home Depot and most hardware stores and get mo-
tion-sensor lights. I prefer a motion-sensor light that simply runs on
batteries and is about as easy to install as it gets. All you need is a
Phillips-head screwdriver and the ability to screw in three screws. With
those tools and just a few minutes, you can install these motion-sensor
lights all around your home.

My choice is the Mr Beams 300-lumen spotlight. If you go to Ama-

zon.com and do a search for that phrase, it will be the first item that
comes up on your screen.

As mentioned in the name of the product, this light puts out 300
lumens, which is bright enough to light up any lawn. The advertised
coverage area of the light is 400 square feet, and I’d be willing to say
it’s a bit more.

The 300 lumens are powered by four D batteries, and the batteries seem
to last forever. That’s because whenever someone crosses in front of the
light and sets off the motion sensor, the light stays on for only about 10
seconds, which prevents the batteries from getting drained too quickly.

The best part of this light, besides it doing exactly what it’s supposed
to, is the easy installation I mentioned earlier. You just install the four
D batteries and then mount the light with the three screws to whatever
location you wish.

By the way, these lights aren’t too expensive. You can purchase three
of them for $80, which means they cost only about $27 a piece. And
depending on the size of your home and how many areas you need to
cover, three of these lights may be all you need.

Solar Lights
If you want to avoid batteries altogether, you could get solar
motion-sensor lights instead.

HOW TO MAKE YOUR HOME YOUR PERSONAL FORTRESS 17

The solar light I like is made by a company called Swiftly Done.
Swiftly Done makes motion-activated lights just like the Mr Beams
that I described above. The Swiftly Done lights can provide up to 12
hours of light after a day’s charge in the sun. But since they’re motion
activated, you obviously won’t be using anywhere close to that amount
of light each night.

What I really like about these solar motion-sensor lights is how easy
they are to install and the number of unique places you can put them.
There is the option of screwing them into place, but they also come
with a sticky backing that you just peel off so you can quickly stick
these lights anywhere you want.

And of course, since they’re solar powered, you never have to worry
about changing the batteries. If you don’t have any battery or solar
lights on your home, consider changing that today. But before you
purchase lights, take a walk around your home at night and locate all
of the “dark spots” so you know how many lights to buy and the
places you need to put them.

Moving Undetected at Night

Most of us will never be trapped behind enemy lines and have to make
our way to safety while eluding those who are searching for us. Howev-
er, depending on what the future holds, there may come a time when
you have to sneak out of your house at night to get food or water for
your family while avoiding looters, gangs, or government thugs.

This is why I want to share with you some brief tips about moving
undetected at night.

First, remember that you don’t want anything on your body that jingles
or makes noise. If you’ve got change in your pocket rattling around, get
rid of it before you go out at night. Do not wear flip-flops (or any
shoes) that have that “whooshing” sound every time you take a step.

Before you head out in the night, walk around your house to see if
anything is making noise. Also, have a family member help you with
this in case they notice a small noise that you missed.

Next, ensure that you don’t have anything shiny or reflective on you. If
you’ve got a shiny bald head, cover it up. If you wear a wedding ring,

18 HOW TO MAKE YOUR HOME YOUR PERSONAL FORTRESS

watch, or other jewelry, remove these items before heading out. If you
happen to wear glasses, put in contact lenses.

Also, don’t forget about any items that glow, such as a cellphone or
digital watch. If you always carry a gun, like I do, and you’ve got tritium
night sights that glow, those can easily give you away. Hopefully, your
gun is always concealed so you don’t have to worry about that, but if
you open carry, don’t let your night sights give away your position.

Another critical thing to remember about night movement is to not let

your smell draw attention to you. I’m sure you’ve been on an airplane
or sat next to someone who it appeared took a bath in cologne. Do not
go out at night wearing cologne, perfume, or even deodorant that gives
off a heavy scent.

Don’t forget to move slowly at night. If you do everything I’ve already

mentioned above but you’re moving too fast, you’ll still draw attention
to yourself.

Fast movement catches the eye of others and also causes you to make
more mistakes. For instance, if you’re moving too fast, you might not
realize you just walked past a street lamp and your shadow was project-
ed onto the side of a building that could be seen from a long distance.

Another reason to move slowly is so you don’t disturb the area and
leave a trace as to where you are going and what you are doing. For
example, if you have to go get fresh water for your family at night, you
don’t want to break tree branches and smash down a ton of grass,
making it obvious that someone has been there. If the “enemy” notices
this, they may lie in wait for you the next time you go and retrieve
fresh water. So disturb as little of the area you’re going through as
possible and you’ll hardly leave a trace.

How to Protect Yourself at Night

It’s no surprise that more people get attacked and more crimes occur
during the night, because criminals try to use the darkness to their
advantage. According to the Department of Justice, 63.2% of rapes and
sexual assaults and 71.7% of motor vehicle thefts occur at night. And
criminals who commit violent crimes at night are twice as likely to use
a gun as they are during the day.

HOW TO MAKE YOUR HOME YOUR PERSONAL FORTRESS 19

For this very reason, it’s critical that you increase your situational
awareness at night and that you don’t take anything for granted.

For instance, I was born and raised in Fairfax County, Virginia. It’s a
suburb of Washington, D.C., and I’d like to think it’s a rather safe place
to live. But several years ago, there was a serial rapist in the area. He’d
target women who were alone at night, out on a run or walking
through a parking lot. One 29-year-old woman was sitting at a bus stop
waiting for the bus to come when he attacked her, dragged her into the
woods, and raped her.

And of course, it’s not just women who are vulnerable. There are plenty
of stories about men who are out alone at night and are “jumped” by a
group of criminals who rob them of all their possessions.

To help keep you safer at night and to ensure none of the horrible acts I
mentioned above ever happen to you, here are a few things I recommend.

First, wear clothing that will allow you to run. If you think someone is
following you and they keep coming even after you warn them that
you’re on to them (which should deter most people), you need to be
able to run. Obviously, stilettos and other similar types of shoes don’t
make it easy to flee quickly. So if you must head out alone at night
(always try to go in a group), at least think about your attire and how
easy it is to get around in.

Also, I highly recommend having a small tactical flashlight with you at

night. There are plenty of companies that make these lights and some
of the ones that I own are made by SureFire, Fenix, Nextorch, and
Olight. These small lights are so powerful that you can blind someone
who is pursuing you and give yourself a chance to escape.

I train a lot of college women, many of whom have jobs at the mall. I
tell them to always try to leave in groups or have a security guard escort
them to their car. But if they must go alone, they should have a flash-
light in their left hand and a tactical pen in their right hand as they’re
walking through the parking lot.

If they see someone who makes them feel uncomfortable, they should
“light them up” and run to a safe location. Don’t hesitate. It’s better to
risk the “awkwardness” of shining a light on an innocent person than
to be attacked by someone who you gave the benefit of the doubt.

20 HOW TO MAKE YOUR HOME YOUR PERSONAL FORTRESS

You can also use a flashlight and an air horn. A few blasts on an air
horn will scare the heck out of anyone following you and likely get
them to flee quickly.

If you can and feel comfortable, I’d also recommend carrying a gun.
Just be sure to use your flashlight as well, so that you can be 100%
sure of a threat before using it.

Don’t forget other important security measures such as not parking next
to a panel van or not parking next to a row of bushes where someone
could hide. Also, when walking around corners of a building, make sure
to walk wide (instead of walking right along the building wall) so
someone can’t immediately grab you if they are hiding around the corner.

Remember to start thinking more at night. If you don’t have a tactical

flashlight along with a tactical pen or air horn or gun, make sure you
get some of these items so you’re better protected from now on. And if
you have children, especially if they’re in college, you’ll definitely want
to get them some of these items too.

Part 3: Personal Defense

Fight Like a CIA Officer
Why Self-Confidence Could Save Your Life
It seems that some people are born with self-confidence, but I think
most of us aren’t. Most of us learn to develop self-confidence just like
we learn any other skill.

Things like positive affirmations can help to build personal self-confi-

dence, which is important, but today, I want to focus more on keeping
yourself alive thanks to self-confidence.

You see, if you tell a brand-new shooter that they need to draw and fire a
handgun in two seconds or less at a target 7 yards away, they’ll probably
think you’re nuts. If they’ve never fired a handgun before, they probably
won’t believe that they can do it, and when they try, they’ll most likely
miss the target.

Since most self-defense shootings occur at distances of 7 yards or less,

and they happen lightning fast, it’s important to develop the skills and

HOW TO MAKE YOUR HOME YOUR PERSONAL FORTRESS 21

confidence to protect oneself in this scenario.

What’s the best way to do it? It’s simple and it doesn’t take much time
at all. The first thing you want to do is practice 25 dry-fire trigger pulls
on your handgun each day. This is simply practicing smooth trigger
pulls with a safe and empty handgun. For example, in my office, I
practice pulling the trigger on an empty gun. It helps to build muscle
memory and ensure a smooth trigger pull if you do ever need to shoot.
This will take you less than 15 minutes to do and will significantly
increase your shooting ability.

You also want to get a timer to time yourself on how quickly you can
draw your gun from the holster and get it on target. I use the Pocket
Pro II timer, but any timer will do. You want to spend a few minutes
each day drawing from the holster and getting it on target in two
seconds or less.

After you’ve practiced for two weeks, it’s time to head to your local
shooting range. Bring your timer with you and do some live-fire drills.
See if you can draw and fire in two seconds or less.

If you can’t, don’t worry about it. Just keep practicing daily until you’re
confident in your ability to draw and fire in the allotted time frame. What
I don’t often share with people is that when I first joined the agency, I
wasn’t a great shot. In the beginning when we would go through the
shooting drills and training, I was often nervous that I wouldn’t pass the
qualification and that I would fail certain shooting portions.

I then started dry-firing and practicing my handgun skills. Soon after,

my confidence in my shooting ability skyrocketed, and today, I know
that I can draw and fire from concealment and hit a target in two
seconds or less.

As I mentioned earlier, if you don’t have this confidence level yet, it’s
no problem. It just means you haven’t practiced enough.

That’s the beauty of handgun shooting. There are few natural shooters.
Most of the top shooters in the world have simply put in more training
time than everyone else. Obviously, these top shooters do it full time,
and most of us can’t devote eight hours a day to training.

But if you’re willing to devote 15 minutes a day, you will develop the
confidence to know you can handle yourself if you ever find yourself

22 HOW TO MAKE YOUR HOME YOUR PERSONAL FORTRESS

in a situation when you need to draw your gun to save your life.

How 2 Seconds Could Save Your Life

The first two–three seconds after someone attacks you are imperative.

There’s only one thing you need to remember — do not hesitate.

Most attacks end poorly for the victim because it’s our natural instinct
to freeze up when we’re caught off guard. It’s easy to understand. We’re
terrified, our minds go blank, and in those split seconds of hesitation,
we allow the attacker to take advantage of it.

Instead, the goal should be to train yourself well enough that you can
take your attacker off guard. They are not expecting you to fight back
or resist. Doing so will put them at a disadvantage.

I realize this is easier said than done. People die in home invasions,
plane crashes, active shootings, and other incidents because they panic
and freeze. This doesn’t happen to everyone, but it does happen to
many people.

If you are with family members who freeze, you need to grab them and
move them along and try to quickly “snap” them out of their panic. If
you happen to be in a closed-off room when a burglar enters and there
is no escape, then you need to be ready to fight back. Most bedrooms
only have one entrance and exit after all, so this is a situation you
could very well find yourself in.

If you find yourself in an enclosed space with nowhere to go, you need
to either rush the shooter or use your gun (or any other weapon you
have on you at that time) to stop him. I realize this is not the natural
reaction for the vast majority of people, but rushing and stopping the
shooter will no doubt save your and your family’s lives.

You should also be sure you’re always prepared to defend yourself with
at least a gun, a knife, or a tactical pen. Most likely, if someone has
broken into your home, it will be an up-close and personal attack.

The bottom line is that each break-in is different. Remember to know

ahead of time where the exits of your home and room are and what
you plan to do. Don’t hesitate if the time for action comes. And if you

HOW TO MAKE YOUR HOME YOUR PERSONAL FORTRESS 23

find yourself in the unfortunate circumstance of being close to the
person breaking in, do everything you can to stop them.

What to Do Once They’re Inside (Home Invasion)

We’ve already covered how you can make your home as undesirable as
possible to an intruder.

But I also want to cover what to do once an intruder is in your home.

The fact is no matter how good our security is, there’s always the
possibility of a home invasion. And if you react to a home invasion
incorrectly, you or a family member could pay the ultimate price.

First, it should go without saying that you need to have some way to
defend yourself if you hear your front door getting kicked in and
people walking through your home.

My choice of weapon is a gun, which I believe is the best self-defense

tool. That’s why I keep a gun (in a rapid-access safe) on my nightstand.
The current gun I have in the safe is a SIG Sauer P226 with a Viridian
flashlight/laser combination.

But because you should always have a backup, I have an additional

firearm in case something happens to the first one. I also have three
flashlights sitting on my nightstand just in case the first one I grab to
open the safe doesn’t work (even though I test them often).

If you or a family member doesn’t like guns, then you need to choose
something else, whether it’s a knife, baseball bat, or golf club. Howev-
er, you should be aware that choices like these require you to be very
close to the intruder before you can use them, and that, obviously, puts
you at risk. You also need to be prepared to react fast with whatever
weapon you choose.

Many burglars who are interviewed in prison say that the first place
they go during a burglary is to the master bedroom. This is because
they know the bedroom is where people keep their jewelry, money,
rare coins, and other valuables.

So if you hear your door getting kicked in at 3 a.m., the intruder is

mostly likely headed right for you. This means you better get that

24 HOW TO MAKE YOUR HOME YOUR PERSONAL FORTRESS

weapon out quickly, and you can’t hesitate in using it. (Do dry runs to
test your reaction time and make sure your weapon is easy to access in
three seconds or less.)

But let’s assume a worst-case home invasion scenario.

Let’s say that somehow you are completely caught off guard by home
intruders, they’ve got your family surrounded in the living room, and
you’re looking down the wrong end of a gun.

Human nature will tell you to comply with these intruders and do
exactly what they say so that they will let you go unharmed.

This is what happened to the Petit family (the horrible Connecticut

murders that took place several years ago). They were held for around
10 hours before the mother and two daughters were killed.

I realize that all of us want to be hopeful and want to believe the home
intruder when they tells us they won’t hurt us as long as we do every-
thing they ask. But remember, a criminal is the one promising you
this. After you’ve seen their face for hours, they’re going to want to
dispose of you rather than risk getting caught.

In the case of the Petit family murder, the criminals chose to set the
house on fire to kill the family and leave less evidence.

In a home invasion, you do not want to sit there with the criminals
and do nothing, taking their word that they are only going to ransack
the house and then leave you be.

I don’t care if they’ve got a gun on you or if they’re carrying a machete.

If you do nothing, the chances of you dying when they are done are
extremely high. But if you fight back as soon as you can, you have the
chance of saving your family’s lives.

Please take some time to think about this. It’s a mental decision you
need to make now so that you don’t question yourself or hesitate if
you (heaven forbid) ever find yourself in this position.

You need to be aggressive. You need to fight back… You should not be
an easy victim and let the criminals have their way with you, because
it will probably cost you your life.

HOW TO MAKE YOUR HOME YOUR PERSONAL FORTRESS 25

 How Would You Handle These Four Intruders?
Every day, I scan the Internet looking for personal safety stories that I
can learn from. After all, there’s so much going on in this world that
we can always learn something from a natural disaster, mall shooting,
or a home invasion, to name a few.

When thinking about home invasions, some people probably believe

it’s going to be a lone intruder or maybe two people at most. But
recently, a woman in Alabama had to defend herself against four
people trying to bust their way into her home.

Earlier in the day, the four people knocked on the woman’s door and
asked to use her phone. The woman told the group no and refused to
let them in.

This was obviously a smart move. It’s never a good idea to open the
door to a stranger, especially when there are four of them. It’s also
important to remember that a significant number of criminals case
homes before they break into them. They’ll pretend to be a vacuum
cleaner salesman or to work for a pest control company.

Again, don’t open the door to these guys, and let them know in a firm
voice that you won’t open the door. The last thing you want to do is
sound weak or scared, because then the criminal will think you’re
going to be an easy victim.

Here’s an easy way to tell right away if someone’s lying about their inten-
tions. If someone comes to your door, ask them a very direct question
related to why they’re claiming to be there. How long have you worked for
the company? Could I speak to your manager? Something like that.

Truthful people will immediately respond, but if someone’s lying,

they’re going to need to buy some time to think of a response. If the
person starts stuttering, avoids eye contact, begins to act jittery, or isn’t
able to immediately respond with a cohesive story, they’re lying. The
first few seconds after you ask them a question should be enough time
to gauge this behavior.

Unfortunately, the group of four wasn’t deterred from the woman refus-
ing to open the door. Later that evening, at around 9:30, they went back
to the house. But this time, instead of knocking on the door, they began
kicking the door down, and eventually forced their way inside the house.

26 HOW TO MAKE YOUR HOME YOUR PERSONAL FORTRESS

The woman was armed with a gun and opened fire as the four came
into the house. The first criminal was shot several times and ended up
dying at the scene. The other three home invaders fled on foot and
were eventually caught.
Thankfully, the woman wasn’t injured. Thank goodness she had a gun
and was prepared to use it.
After reading this woman’s story, the important question we should all
be asking ourselves is this: Would we survive if four people kicked
their way into our home?
I’ve already explained that I keep a gun locked in a safe on my bed stand.
If four people bust through my door, I’m confident that I’d be prepared
with my current setup. Plus, my wife also has her Glock 19, which
holds 15 rounds plus one in the chamber.
Most likely, since criminals aren’t too intelligent, they’ll all come
busting through the same door, making it easier to defend yourself.
But what if you were dealing with highly sophisticated criminals who
all entered through different doors?
Well, you could secure yourself in a bedroom, call police, and open
fire only if they kick their way into the bedroom. However, if you’ve
got kids or guests living in a basement, then it may not be possible to
quickly get everyone into the same room.
In this case, you’d have to move and shoot and deal with each intruder
as they presented themselves. This is why if you have a gun for home
defense, it’s critical to take firearms training, where you practice
moving and shooting and dealing with multiple threats.
Also, if your spouse has a gun too, each of you could take a different
exit, but you would obviously want to train together to make sure you
don’t accidentally shoot each other.
The bottom line is every home invasion is different, and it may be one
person or five people who are high on drugs and willing to do whatev-
er it takes to get valuables from your home.
So take a few minutes today and play the “what if” game. What if four
people kicked their way inside your home at 9:30 p.m. tonight? Would
you become a victim, or would you be able to defend yourself?

HOW TO MAKE YOUR HOME YOUR PERSONAL FORTRESS 27

How to Safely Clear Your Home When You Think
There’s an Intruder
My lazy beagle Toby was barking as loudly as I’d never heard him
before. Usually, I would have waited a minute or two to see if I heard
any footsteps, strange noises, or a window breaking, but I didn’t have
time to spare. My mother, who had cancer, was bedridden on the
couch on the main floor of our house, and I needed to get to her
before a potential intruder did.

I cleared the house as quickly and safely as I could, and my mother

was fine. I never found out what Toby was barking at that night, but
I have no doubt he scared away a burglar.

Having my mother restricted to the main floor of the house made it

necessary to leave my bedroom that night and make sure she was OK.
However, if it’s 3:00 a.m. and you hear a window break or you know
someone is trying to enter your house, the last thing you want to do is
leave your bedroom to go and confront the person. In the ideal world,
you would get your family together into your designated safe room
(such as your master bedroom) and wait there until the police arrived.

Of course, we don’t live in an ideal world. Perhaps you’re like I was and
you have a family member living on the first floor or even in the base-
ment. If this is the case, you have no choice but to leave your bedroom;
therefore, it’s necessary for you to know how to safely clear your house.

If you’ve ever seen the police clear a house, you know they always go in
with a minimum of two people. But you and I likely won’t have the
choice to grab someone else at 3:00 a.m. to come help us, so here’s how
you properly clear a house by yourself, even though it’s a dangerous
situation you want to try to avoid at all costs.

First off, if you hear a noise in the middle of the night and you need to
clear your house, you had better be able to take one or two steps from
your bed and have access to your gun, which should be “cocked and
locked.” In other words, the gun should have a round in the chamber
so all you have to do is pull the trigger to shoot. Right next to your
gun should be your flashlight.

Many houses have enough ambient light for you to maneuver around
without needing to have the flashlight on all of the time, so just use it

28 HOW TO MAKE YOUR HOME YOUR PERSONAL FORTRESS

for target identification purposes so you don’t accidentally shoot the
wrong person.

Once you’ve got your gun and light, it’s time to leave the bedroom. If
you’ve got a traditional house, you’ll likely end up entering a hallway.
Stay close to the wall on the one side of the hallway and avoid walking
down the middle, so you minimize your outline and make yourself
less of a target.

As you slowly move down the hallway, you’ll probably come across a
bedroom or bathroom door. What should you do? If you’ve got a family
member living in the basement and time is important, and you’re pretty
sure nobody made it upstairs, then just move on past the door. I know
this isn’t tactically correct, but we’re talking about a real-life scenario
here. If you’ve got your daughter sleeping in the basement, then no
parent is going to take the time to clear every upstairs bedroom when
they hear an intruder on the first floor or proceeding down the base-
ment stairs.

However, if you don’t have to rush downstairs, you’ll certainly want to

check the room ahead. Before you attempt to open the door (or any
door in your house, for that matter), you need to pull the gun close to
your body so the inside of your wrist is practically touching your rib
cage. In other words, instead of having your arm fully extended, your
elbow should be bent about 90 degrees. This position gives you more
control over the firearm in case someone tries to reach for it. Another
reason you bring the gun in close is so that you don’t accidentally
point the gun at your other hand while it’s opening the door.

Assuming the door you’ve approached is on your right, you’ll want to

stand against the right side wall, with your gun close to your body,
while reaching for the doorknob with your other hand. (Do not stand
in the doorway. You should be reaching across while remaining against
the wall.) If the door opens away from you, then turn the doorknob,
give the door a solid push, and immediately take a step backward
against the right-side wall again. If the door opens toward you, pull
the door swiftly toward you and again take a step backward.

Once you’ve opened the door, it’s time to “slice the pie.” This is a
method used to clear corners and doorway entrances by clearing each
area in small slices. For instance, if you had just pushed your door
open and stepped back, you would be standing against the right side

HOW TO MAKE YOUR HOME YOUR PERSONAL FORTRESS 29

wall. From this position, you can’t see into the entire room, and you
certainly don’t want to take a step into the doorway and fully expose
yourself.
So you would begin to take small side steps in a semicircular motion.
In other words, if you’re on the right side of the door, you’ll end up on
the left side by going in a wide semicircle around the doorway en-
trance. Each time you take a side step, have your body lean slightly in
the direction you’re headed. That way, if an intruder is in the room,
they will see the muzzle of your gun first, and the rest of your body
won’t be exposed.
Each time you take a step, give a brief pause so that you can scan as
much of the room as possible and determine if that part of the room is
clear. Once you end up on the left side of the door, you’ve done as
much as you can to clear the room from the outside.
Now that it’s time to enter the room, quickly step through the doorway
and move to the opposite corner. For instance, if you’re entering the
doorway from the left side, move to the right corner and give a quick
look over your shoulder to make sure nobody’s hiding in the left corner.
Don’t forget to check all places an intruder could be hiding, such as
under a bed, in a closet, under a desk, or under any other large object.
Once you’re satisfied the room is clear, it’s time to continue moving
through your house. The next obstacle you’ll run into is the stairs. But
before you just stand at the top of the stairs and make yourself an easy
target, you’ll want to slice the pie just as you did with the doorway so
you can make sure nobody is waiting at the bottom of the stairs to
attack you. Again, start on one side of the wall and take small steps in
a semicircle so you can see a little bit more of the stairs each time.
Once you do a full scan of the stairs, make your way down while at the
same time scanning everything you can see. The stairs are a nightmare,
because you’ve likely got a room entrance at the bottom of the stairs to
your left and a large hallway to your right with a number of openings too.
Since there is no way to see into the room on the left while going
down the stairs, try to scan as much of the hallway to your right as
possible. Once you get to the bottom, slice the pie for the room on
your left while constantly glancing over your shoulder to see if anyone
is approaching on your right.
You’ll clear the rest of your main floor just as you cleared your top

30 HOW TO MAKE YOUR HOME YOUR PERSONAL FORTRESS

floor when first leaving your bedroom. Every time you come to a
corner or a door, you’ll want to slice the pie so you’ll hopefully see the
bad guy before he sees you. If you have a basement, you’ll systemati-
cally clear it the same way too. Also, remember to have patience
throughout this entire process. Each time you take a semicircular step
around a corner or doorway entrance, pause and scan the area from
the floor to the ceiling.
Perhaps most importantly, since clearing a house is such a dangerous
activity, you need to practice it as often as you can. For example, last
month I got back from a 10-day vacation in Utah. I knew my house
was secure and no alarms had gone off. However, when I got back to
my house from the airport, I didn’t just rush in and plop myself down
on the couch.
Instead, I opened my front door and took a step back and sliced the
pie. Next, I cleared my entire house to make sure it was empty. Not
only is this good practice, but I had been gone for 10 days, so it’s
always possible someone could have been hiding in my house.
Another good activity is to practice clearing the house with your spouse
or kids. Tell them to go hide somewhere and play a fun game of hide-
and-seek. When you’re searching for them, you’ll want to pay attention
to see if they see you first or you see them first. Also, if you’re slicing
the pie, have them point out the moment they see you or what body
part they see first. This will help determine if you’re doing it correctly
— the muzzle of the gun is the first thing they should see, not your
legs. Obviously, if you do play this game, don’t go around with a real
gun. Use your finger or a plastic training gun instead.
Again, I can’t emphasize enough that clearing a house by yourself is
the last thing you want to do. If you still don’t believe me, and you’re
the macho type with a huge ego, then play the hide-and-seek game I
mentioned above. After your spouse has surprised and “killed” you for
the 10th time, you’ll fully realize that if possible, waiting in your safe
room while the police clear the house is the much smarter option.