How to Become an Expert Driver
Creating Your Own Conditions
“if the driver has the courage to create his own conditions, then the rain is simply rain.”
10 months have passed since I started a program developed by Doug Casey and my father.
The program, which we call The Preparation, is meant to create an incredibly effective individual without going the typical routes of college, the military, or a dead-end job.
It’s safe to say it’s going great so far.
This time last year I was lazy, discouraged, and angry with myself for the fact that I was so far from being the type of man I wish to be.
But, with the help of The Preparation, I have a stack of accomplishments which I have accumulated over these past 10 months.
I have gone through EMT school and become an EMT, improved my Spanish, reached 1000 ELO in chess, worked two menial jobs, taken BJJ classes, attended a wrangling school in Wyoming, completed a copywriting course, written over 40,000 words for various personal articles, and developed a better understanding of basic economics…
I’ve read 47 books, 35 historical speeches and texts, learned how to drive tractors, learned how to build and fix fences, learned how to treat cattle, shoed horses, completed a rope rescue course in South Dakota, improved my horsemanship skills, and learned horse/mule packing in the Colorado mountains…
Along the way, I’ve been able to meet a few good people who have lived incredibly impressive lives.
There’s one theme that continues to come up over and over again…
The Art of Racing in The Rain
If you haven’t seen the movie, The Art of Racing in The Rain, then you should cancel your plans and watch it tonight.
Yes, it’s that good.
The story follows a man named Denny Swift, and is told by his dog, Enzo.
Denny is a race car driver with a unique ability. He can drive through the rain like no one else can.
The knowledge of racing is shifted into metaphors for life when Denny’s world falls apart in a succession of 3 events which would bring any man to his knees.
The depressing weight of just one of these events would be enough to rip the willpower right out of the hands of most.
But, Denny is different.
There comes a point when he is given a choice. He can either defer personal responsibility and let events play out on their own, or he can take a conscious risk and create his own fate.
He took the latter choice, emerging scarred and broken, but as the master of his condition.
Life had brought the rain down hard on Denny. For a time - he lost himself - ready to give up. Then, something made him realize that he was behind the wheel.
“No one knows what curves life will throw at you, but if the driver has the courage to create his own conditions, then the rain is simply rain.”
Master of Your Fate, Captain of Your Soul
The way Denny transformed his life can is open to us all. But, it won’t happen by accident.
The saying, “The engine is running, but no one is behind the wheel”, applies to a whole lot more people than it’s usually meant for.
Few ever choose the direction of their life.
But, I’ve been lucky to have met a few people who have…
One man was a professional meat cutter at 16, open water diver at 12, he started his own distribution company, built his own technology company, hunted, worked as a horse/mule packer out west, started his own horse riding business in Colorado, built a house, became a hunting guide in Africa, and started a horse boarding business…
Another man was a wrestler, a farmer, he started his own rehab organization, built a fertilizer company from the ground up, he’s an artist, and he creates his own music…
Doug Casey is another great example.
Doug is both well read and widely read. He’s written 9 books. One of them, Crisis Investing, was a huge #1 best seller. He published a newsletter for decades. Doug is the OG International Man. He has travelled to over 175 countries and lived in 10. And, he’s a legend among those in the resource investing space.
He is an impressive man, a philosopher, and a genuinely good person.
“It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things.”
Leonardo da Vinci
When meeting these men and building my own list of accomplishments over time, the theme of persistent, self-directed action becomes clearer by the day.
We can all be the captain of our own soul, but we have to have the courage to create our conditions.
A Clearer Path
If it wasn’t for the freak opportunity I was given to start The Preparation, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
Who knows, maybe another year would have gone by and I’d still be lazy, discouraged, and disappointed with myself…
It’s far from easy to find your own path in life and to take it.
If you’re a young person like myself, it seems as though there are only a few directions to go in life.
That’s a lie.
You can create your own opportunities, your own path, your own conditions.
The Preparation makes it easier to do that. It acts as a guide or manual to how to go about learning skills, developing your character, and dealing with hardships you may face.
A book on the program, which will provide little known knowledge and valuable guidance, is being put together now.
I believe that anyone with ambition can use this program to achieve great things like those rare men I mentioned earlier.
More on The Preparation
If you want to know more about the program I’d recommend you check out this video I made where I try to explain the functions of The Preparation:
I am being used 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 40 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.
Here’s what I was able to accomplish last week:
What I did this week (Week 45)
My objective in sharing this is three fold:
Documenting my progress holds me accountable.
I hope these updates will show other young men that there is another path we can take.
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.
Great write up Max. The level of wisdom you have gained at your age will inevitably be worth more than anything of monetary value in your future. I am using your advice to guide myself in raising my own sons, allowing them to create their own conditions. Lastly, the Art of Racing in the Rain is a fantastic book!
Most do succumb to the circumstances, few only are able to be the creators of their circumstances.