Saturday, June 6th, 2026
Speaking to you from Escalante, Utah
A reader came to me with a few questions that he and his family had about The Preparation. Ultimately, they were unsure about two things:
How do you know you’re actually making progress instead of just keeping busy for 4 years?
How do you know whether or not you’re actually becoming capable instead of delaying committing to one path?
Similar questions, but each required its own answer.
Well, after sending my response to the reader, I figured this would be a great topic to speak about to you. These are the kinds of questions I get a lot about the program. Parents are apprehensive to give approval to their kids to walk down this path because there has yet to be someone who has completed the full 4 years. On top of that, the core philosophy of The Preparation counters our society’s current view of life to such a degree that it takes time and personal experience to see the beauty and value in it.
Of course, it’s not the fault of the parents. Not at all.
They grew up in a world where the best thing to do was to follow a linear life path: get through high school, go to college (or military or trades), get a “good” job, and eventually retire after a long career. That system worked for a time. In today’s ever-changing (and rapidly changing) world, it doesn’t.
The Preparation is the solution.
I go over all of it in the video—the philosophy, the benefits, the problems, and the comparisons between traditional paths vs. The Preparation.
-Maxim Benjamin Smith
