Survival is based largely on two things: a positive mental attitude and knowledge. With those two covered, you can make up for any lack of tools. Knowledge doesn’t break, wear out, and short of forgetting a thing or two, you generally can’t lose it.

Below, I’ve compiled a list of skills I think everyone should know. This is by no means a “complete” list because there is always room to learn more, and the more you know, the greater your chances of survival. But this will give you a solid foundation and a far broader skill set than most people. Everyone should know how to:

1. Drive a stick shift
2. Swim
3. Start a fire without matches or a lighter
4. Build a garden
5. Use herbal remedies
6. Produce beer/wine
7. Build your local community
8. Tan leather
9. Cure/smoke meat
10. Make soap
11. Construct animal/fish traps
12. Make activated charcoal
13. Survive hypothermia
14. Properly load a backpack
15. Conduct basic repairs (home, auto, equipment, etc.)
16. Operate a ham radio
17. Defend yourself without a weapon
18. Identify surveillance
19. Build a rainwater collection system
20. Weld
21. Accurately fire an arrow
22. Dehydrate food
23. Construct snowshoes
24. Build a raft with a tarp
25. Navigate using the stars
26. Right an overturned raft
27. Build with stone/brick (basic masonry)
28. Cut down a  tree with an ax
29. Forage for food
30. Sew and/or make clothing
31. Pilot a boat
32. Shoot a firearm accurately
33. Find water
34. Utilize camouflage
35. Construct a pond
36. Can food
37. Ski
38. Dig a latrine
39. Build with wood (basic carpentry)
40. Determine authenticity of gold and silver
41. Rappel
42. Follow a trail/tracking
43. Use less-lethal weapons (baton, stun gun, pepper spray, etc.)
44. Metal working (blacksmith)
45. Lose a tail
46. Operate power tools
47. Construct a splint
48. Open a can without a can opener
49. Drive a motorcycle
50. Construct a net
51. Identify animals by tracks and/or scat
52. Patch a tire
53. Reload ammunition
54. Build a bow and arrow
55. Administer first aid
56. Identify venomous snakes
57. Accurately fire a slingshot
58. Make candles
59. Raise fish (for food)
60. Distill water/alcohol
61. Hot wire a car
62. Cook without a stove
63. Survive heat injuries
64. Raise livestock
65. Find tinder
66. Create fertile soil
67. Make charcloth
68. Properly store food
69. Survive a riot
70. Sharpen a knife
71. Butcher livestock
72. Purify water
73. Make leather products (sheathes, holsters, boots, etc.)
74. Hunt and fish
75. Cast bullets
76. Maintain a bee hive
77. Use hand tools
78. Tie a knot

Are there any skills you think should be on this list? Let me know in the comments below.

Source:howtosurviveit.com