Former CIA Spies: "The CIA Tried To Ban This Story!" We're Leaving The US by 2030!

1. Prioritize Present Joy

Don’t postpone pursuing your passions, spending time with loved ones, or enjoying life until retirement, as opportunities and physical capabilities may diminish. Maximize the joy you get right now, as these moments may not return.

2. Trust Founder’s Intuition

As a founder, your unique passion and understanding of your company are irreplaceable. Don’t let external executives or conventional wisdom gaslight you into inaction when your instincts signal a problem, even if they have more experience.

3. Assume Digital Privacy Lacks

Recognize that technology offers limited true privacy; if you become a target, your devices can be compromised. Manage your digital footprint with the understanding that nobody can ever truly look at your stuff, as it’s not really private.

4. Combat Stress with Breathing

Use techniques like box breathing (inhale 4, hold 4, exhale 4) and visualization to lower heart rate, reduce cortisol, and regain cognitive control during high-stress moments or when dealing with ‘head trash’.

5. Prioritize Self-Rescue First

In critical danger or escape scenarios, assume initial efforts are solely your responsibility. Do not rely on immediate external extraction or rescue teams, as these are often not available.

6. Create Compartmentalized Initiatives

If you suspect an insider is compromising existing operations, launch new projects with restricted access. This forces the threat to take risks to gain access, making them traceable and exposing their activities.

7. Adopt Unconventional Strategies

If traditional methods fail against a persistent opponent, analyze their successful tactics and adapt them to your own operations. This can provide a competitive advantage by using methods your adversary is not prepared for.

8. Revert to Foundational Principles

In any field, when advanced solutions fail, focus on mastering basic, fundamental tools and strategies, referred to as ‘sticks and bricks.’ These often prove more resilient and effective over time than complex technologies.

9. Anticipate Adversary Moves

By reverse-engineering how an enemy might discover or counter your operations, you can stay one step ahead and design strategies to foil their efforts. Thinking like the enemy helps you predict and prevent their actions.

10. Avoid Societal Complacency

Recognize that drastic societal changes or conflicts can happen anywhere, even in seemingly stable nations. Stay aware and prepared rather than assuming ’that can’t happen here,’ as history shows rapid deterioration is possible.

11. Understand Nationalism’s Roots

Recognize that intense nationalistic sentiment often stems from a fear of losing what one has, rather than genuine pride. Being driven by fear hinders true happiness and can lead to unproductive infighting.

12. Employ Interrogation Techniques

In difficult conversations or negotiations, mirror the other person’s body language and use silence after answering questions to encourage them to reveal more, while providing minimal information yourself. This is called counter-elicitation.

13. Establish Coded Messages

Use seemingly innocuous phrases or actions as pre-agreed signals to communicate critical information (e.g., danger, compromise) without alerting potential eavesdroppers. This ensures discreet emergency communication.

14. Use Draft Emails for Security

To exchange sensitive messages anonymously, create a draft email in a shared, non-attributable account that is never sent. Another party can then log in and read it, ensuring the message never travels over the internet.

15. Execute Surveillance Detection

Use a pre-planned route through varied locations to deliberately draw out and identify individuals or vehicles consistently following you. Note specific details for later analysis to confirm and identify surveillance.

16. Drag Surveillance, Don’t Ditch

When under surveillance, move slowly and predictably in public areas to allow time to observe and collect information about your followers. Trying to escape immediately can alert them and escalate the situation.

17. Avoid Eye Contact with Threats

Making eye contact with someone you suspect is surveilling you can be perceived as aggressive or a sign of recognition. This can alert them that they have been identified, potentially escalating the danger.

18. Maintain Normalcy in Escape

When attempting to leave a dangerous situation, act like an ordinary, law-abiding citizen to avoid drawing suspicion. Making overtly evasive maneuvers can confirm you are a target and trigger apprehension.

19. Create Short Codes for Recall

When needing to remember sensitive details (e.g., surveillance profiles), use personal, non-obvious nicknames or codes that can be expanded later in a secure environment. This aids memory without revealing sensitive information if notes are compromised.

20. Air Gap Sensitive Data

For critical information, store it on devices or servers that are physically disconnected from the internet or cloud. Only connect them when absolutely necessary for transfer to maximize security against remote access.

21. Consider ‘Easy-to-Crack’ Devices

Using less secure devices might make you appear less clandestine, reducing the likelihood of adversaries expending significant resources to break them. This can also prevent device shutdown upon penetration, maintaining functionality.

22. Prioritize Logistical Support

Ensure a robust supply chain for necessary tools (e.g., encrypted devices, funds) and incentives (specialized gifts) to facilitate operations. This ensures that critical tasks can be executed without interruption.

23. Establish Cleansing Routes

When moving between sensitive locations, travel through a neutral intermediary location to change identities or covers. This makes it harder for adversaries to track your true starting point and origin.

24. Consistent Identity Swaps

Regularly use the same neutral intermediary for identity changes (e.g., passport swaps) to create a false but consistent pattern of life for adversaries. This makes your true origin untraceable over time.

25. Structure Compartmentalized Teams

Build a dedicated team (cell) where members have primary duties but contribute to a shared objective. Use secure, soundproof environments for sensitive discussions to prevent external monitoring and maintain operational security.

26. Implement ‘Need to Know’

Only brief individuals to the minimum information they require to perform their tasks. This reduces the risk of sensitive information being compromised by a wider circle, adhering to strict compartmentalization.

27. Understand Adversary Structure

Knowing who’s who and how an organization is structured allows you to identify key individuals and pathways to reach different people. This is more effective than just trying to target the top person directly.

28. Recognize True Capabilities

Be aware that organizations might foster loyalty by conditioning you to seek their validation. Realizing your own resourcefulness and capabilities can empower you to pursue opportunities beyond their confines.

29. Weigh Career Consequences

In highly competitive or specialized fields, refusing a significant opportunity, even if risky, can be seen as career suicide. Carefully consider the long-term impact on your progression if you decline such chances.

30. Date Within Your Field

When your job requires extreme secrecy, dating someone outside your field can lead to constant lying and relationship breakdowns. An insider, however, understands the demands, fostering a more honest relationship.

31. Maintain Mobility

In uncertain times, being mobile (e.g., renting instead of buying) allows flexibility and prevents being tied to a system that might deteriorate. This provides options if circumstances change rapidly.