There are 5 basic survival skills EVERY person on the planet needs to know. No matter what the crisis, this knowledge will save your life.

1.) Food and Water

You probably will not be able to get them like you normally do, so it is important to be able to procure these items on your own. This is the hardest part of the list. Two days without food and water and your body starts to be effected, quickly falling into weakness, confusion and death. Nature does provide though, even in the harshest of climates. The biggest thing is to start working right away. 

2.) Fire

It has so many uses. Cauterizing, cleaning, heating, purifying, drinking, cooking, mood calming, defense, light, sterilizing, drying, signaling. Always carry something to make fire with. Matches, lighters, a small, pocket torch. Even if it is just a flashlight. Don’t know how to start a fire with a flashlight?

3.) Shelter

Hard to always carry a tent. So instead, take the things you would need to fashion one out of tree branches and leaves. A basic lean-to involves leaning a thick, long tree branch against a tree or sturdy shelter and then draping branches and leaves over it until it is thick enough to keep out the weather.

4.) Medical Care

Accidents have a way of happening when we are not prepared. If you carry a travel pocket kit, you will have what you need, when the situation calls for it. Things you should always carry:

Any medication you take regularly or need in order to live.

A knife

A roll of gauze

Gauze pads

An antibiotic ointment

Bandages

A needle and thread

Aspirin/Tylenol

2 large rubber bands

Matches

How do you carry all that? Easy. A travel pocket survival kit takes up the same amount of space as a thick wallet. 

5.) Communication

This is the most important thing you need to know. If you are hurt or need help, being able to call for it can mean the difference between life and death. Cell phones and those clever walkie-talkies are great but after a couple days, their batteries die and you are left with no way to summon help. Always have a backup plan. Alternate methods of communication:

Smoke

Lights

Fire

Sound

Drawing/Writing

Pictures/Signs

Motion

Color

Destruction

To learn a two minute method of recharging a cell phone battery using only a pack of cigarettes and a lighter, visit this YouTube video. Amusing Video will show you how to make a fire using just a flashlight: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umeUzrcKpJA