How to be prepared
- 1Know the risks — for your area, trip, or activity, ask "what could go wrong here?"
- 2Think it through beforehand — decide, in advance, what you'd do for each likely problem (B-P's "prepared in mind").
- 3Make a plan — communication, meeting place, and go-or-stay for a disaster.
- 4Build a kit and carry the essentials — so you have the tools when you need them.
- 5Learn the skills — first aid, calling for help, signaling, navigation, staying put if lost.
- 6Get fit and able ("prepared in body") — strong and capable enough to act.
- 7Practice, and prevent what you can — drills make the right response automatic; a buddy, a trip plan, and good judgment stop many emergencies before they start.
What "Be Prepared" means
- Prepared in mind — having thought out beforehand what might happen, so you know and are willing to do the right thing at the right moment.
- Prepared in body — being strong, active, and able to do it.
- "For any old thing" — general readiness, not preparation for one specific event; a plan, a kit, and core skills serve across fires, weather, injuries, and getting lost.
Common mistakes & safety
- Preparedness is built beforehand, not summoned in the moment. Panic — not lack of courage — is what fails people in real emergencies; a rehearsed response beats improvisation.
- "Any old thing" means general readiness — don't prepare for only one scenario.
- Preparedness includes knowing your limits — a prepared scout calls for professional help (911, rangers, adults) rather than attempting a rescue beyond their training.
- Prevention is the best preparedness — the emergency you avoid, with a buddy, a plan, and good judgment, is the safest outcome of all.
Going deeper
- B-P = Be Prepared. The motto shares Robert Baden-Powell's own initials — a small joke he was happy to point out.
- "Prepared for what?" "Any old thing." The most quoted line about the motto captures its whole meaning: readiness isn't for one disaster, it's a general habit.
- Mind before body. B-P listed the mind first — the thinking-ahead — because knowing the right thing to do is what turns strength and gear into a real rescue.
Official source
Be Prepared: the origin story behind the Scout motto — OnScouting →The motto's origin, dates, the "any old thing" exchange, and the mind/body meaning are from OnScouting. Baden-Powell's fuller definition is paraphrased, not reprinted.