Moving on to the Next Thing

A Radical Alternative to College

Monday, April 20th, 2026

Writing to you from Uruguay

Rainbow over the ranch, Uruguay

It’s been a long time since things have been calm, steady, and peaceful. For the Fighter Cycle of The Preparation, I travelled to Japan for a few weeks before heading to train Muay Thai in the north of Thailand—Chiang Mai to be exact. Training in Thailand is unlike anywhere else. It’s intense, real, and taken very seriously. So, that was a difficult few weeks in of itself. Then, the series of infections and sicknesses I got while being there made the following months fairly uncomfortable.

Not to mention the travel back to Japan, driving around the states, and the 24 hours of travel to get back to Uruguay…

On paper, I have fewer accomplishments this to show for this first quarter of the year than I’d like. On the other hand, I did have a vast amount of new experiences that broadened my understanding of the world and was able to pick up the very basic foundations of Muay Thai.

I think that an inevitable fact makes itself clear at one point or another: the more you do, the more you accomplish, fewer things begin to be viewed as accomplishments.

If I look back at my old journals from a year ago—or even two years ago—I have double (sometimes triple) the amount of accomplishments written down for each month. Is it because I was actually accomplishing more? Not necessarily, but sometimes yes. There’s an ebb and flow to life—periods in which much in done in a short time and other periods that are slow. The reduction in those “on paper” accomplishments comes from the simple fact that those smaller things no longer seem like notable wins because of the sheer volume of things that has been done over 2.7 years…

That’s natural and to be expected, but I still need to try harder

So, there’s two points that I’m trying to make here—let me put it in simply:

1. In reality, so much has happened in this first quarter of the year despite the fact that fewer written accomplishments have come from it.

2. The further you progress, the more you manage to accomplish, fewer things begin to seem like accomplishments when stacked up against what you’ve already done. Understanding that and still trying to move forward to continue making lots of progress is the right thing…and it’s what I’m trying to do

Where I’m going from here

Things are always somewhat uncertain and up in the air, but with the world getting crazier and crazier by the day (and the increasing chances of large scale war and economic problems) the uncertainty is off the charts. I’ve felt as though I can’t make promises or even strongly imply to people that I will be anywhere specific at any designated time. The world is getting increasingly chaotic and dangerous—and sometimes the potential for danger is too high to be ignored. During those times the best thing to do is to be in one place where you’re surrounded by the people you love.

Ideally, that place also happens to be safe. Obviously, I’m lucky to be able to check all of those boxes.

The problem is, with the world moving in a bad direction, it’s hard to have anything set in stone. For example, I’ve said to just about everyone I know that I want to work on wildfires again this summer. I still need to get a few things in order and do the annual refresher training unfortunately, but that’s manageable. The question is…will it be wise to head back to the states in early June? We’ll have to see.

Working for Minuteman EMS on the 2024 Falls Fire, Oregon

I certainly want to work on fires for at least 30 days if possible. Plus, I feel an obligation (which only exists in my head, not in reality) to the man who first gave me the opportunity to join his wildland EMS company several years ago, Tyler Olson. He’s a good man, tough too, and I want to show appreciation for what he’s done for me by taking advantage of the opportunity.

Anyway…

As I said, the world is (on a large scale) more unpleasant by the day. When December of this year rolls around, myself, along with every other man 18-25 will be automatically registered for the draft in the states. These things usually don’t happen unless war, along an anti-war attitude, is expected. So, this will be a major problem going into the future.

Who wants to be part of the military—cannon fodder for those who hate you? Who could be so foolish as to go, whether by their own free will or force from another, to die a dishonorable death—in a pointless war—in a hellscape?

Personally, death by FPV drone for people who hung out with Jeffery Epstein doesn’t sound so glorious.

Moving on…

As things were getting a little iffy with the war in Iran recently, it was clear that being here for at least a little bit was the best option. While I’m here I will be completing the Investor Cycle of The Preparation. Then, I’ll make the decision of whether or not it’s best to head to the states.

What I did this past week

Well, for the most part I’ve been taking it easy: stacking firewood, reading a lot, writing, working out, and spending some time in the sauna twice a week.

The antibiotics I took to get rid of the staph infection I had caused some lasting effects. Yet again, this is the ideal place to be. We have raw milk from our own cow, yogurt, meat, plenty of space to walk around, things to do outside, a gym, and that sauna that I mentioned. After weeks of travel I was ready to take it easy.

I’m starting a little late, but this week will be the first official week in the Investor Cycle. Looking ahead, there’ll be over ten books I need to read, a few academic courses to finish, and additional study. I don’t think that it will take up too much of my time, so I’ll have to figure out something else to do while I’m here.

Vamos a ver, as they’d say.

Activities

• 1 hour of chess practice (5/7 days)

• Lifted weights/running/at-home muay thai (6/7 days)

Reading

• Finished reading Borden Chantry by Louis L’Amour

• Finished reading Hondo by Louis L’Amour

I picked these two Louis L’Amour books up from an old antique store in a town called Central City in Colorado. It was the right kind of place to find a bunch of Louis L’Amour westerns. The antique store building was from the 1870s, several floors high, all brick in that old western style. Central City was a mining town at one point, and it looks the part, but it’s all been taken over and converted into casinos. No bueno. Yet, these two books were great. If you’re unsure of what it means to be a man…just open one of Louis L’Amour’s books. The answer will be clear on each page.

• Started reading The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham

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Are these updates informative? Are they useful? Entertaining?

Leave a comment below if you’ve got any suggestions or questions for me.

And don’t forget to send this to someone who might benefit.

I’ll see you next week.

-Maxim Benjamin Smith

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I am acting as a guinea pig for a program which is meant to prepare young men for the future. This program is designed to be a replacement for the only three routes advertised to young men today - go to college, the military, or a dead-end job.

All of these typical routes of life are designed to shape us into cogs for a wheel that doesn’t serve us. Wasted time, debt, lack of skills, and a soul crushing job define many who follow the traditional route.

This program, which we can call “The Preparation”, is meant to guide young men on a path where they properly utilize their time to gain skills, build relationships, and reach a state of being truly educated. The Preparation is meant to set young men up for success.

What appeals to me about The Preparation is the idea of the type of man I could be. The path to becoming a skilled, dangerous, and competent man is much more clear now. I’ve always been impressed by characters like The Count of Monte Cristo, men who accumulated knowledge and skills over a long period of time and eventually became incredibly capable men.

Young men today do not have a guiding light. We have few mentors and no one to emulate. We have been told that there are only a few paths to success in this world. For intelligent and ambitious people - college is sold to us as the one true path. And yet that path seems completely uncertain today.

We desperately need something real to grab onto. I think this is it.

I’m putting the ideas into action. Will it work? I can’t be sure, but I’m doing my best. I’m more than 60 weeks into the program at this point. So far, so good.

You can follow me along as I follow the program. Each week, I summarize all that I did.

My objective in sharing this is three fold:

1. Documenting my progress holds me accountable.

2. I hope these updates will show other young men that there is another path we can take.

3. For the parents who stumble upon this log, I want to prove to you that telling your children that the conventional path - college, debt, and a job is not the foolproof path you think it is.