Follow the Fear

A Key to Serious Progress

If you don’t already know, I’ve been acting as a beta tester for a program created by Doug Casey and my father for over 54 weeks now.

A huge amount of personal progress has been made in that time. I’ll leave a list of my most notable accomplishments at the bottom of this post.

My life has changed completely because of this program…

Over the course of this past year I have always believed that there are two aspects of education. One aspect being your character: who you are, how you conduct yourself, how you speak, think, act…how you live.

The other aspect is solely based upon what you manage to do in the world. For example: Learning new skills, learning how to apply those skills, and crafting a clear understanding of how the world functions through real personal experiences.

The easy way to think about these two aspects is to view them as the internal world (character, who you are) and the external world (what you do).

They are intertwined and inseparable from each other, but one lays the absolutely necessary foundation for the other…

The internal world is the backbone to it all. It is the roots of the tree which, if made a priority in your life, will grow deep and wide to sustain an ever more meaningful (holy?) life.

Character above all.

I cannot say that one is more important than the other. Sure, we could go down the path of talking about the internal world as the soul, which in that case is absolutely more important, but while your soul is attached to this world it must act in harmony with it. Development of the internal world requires action in the external world. And, good action stems from the developed internal world. 

They rely upon each other always. 

What I can say however is that the internal world most definitely has the greatest impact on all of us. No matter where we go or what we do, we cannot escape it. Emotions and thoughts flow constantly through us and, if we don’t craft ourselves, they overcome us.

Oftentimes too, it isn’t pleasant thoughts and emotions which overcome us (that would be nice wouldn’t it?). You and I know all too well that what overcomes us are thoughts and emotions that make us feel small, anxious, weak, jealous, fearful…

It’s unpleasant to say the least, but I’ve come to believe that fear, the most overwhelming negative emotion, is actually the greatest indicator that action is needed.

“Where your fear is, there is your task.”

-Carl Jung

The truth of this quote can only be understood when you willingly and consciously choose to do something that scares you for one reason or another. Every time I have tried something new in The Preparation I have felt fear.

From the beginning of the program when I started EMT school, to getting my first job, to working on the ranch, starting BJJ, or working on wildland fires…I have always felt some degree of fear in everything I do.

Unfortunately, there have been moments where I allowed fear to stop me. I came up with reason after reason as to why there were a variety of roadblocks in my way anyways. One of the things I regret most within this past year was not starting scuba training and BJJ in Uruguay.

I could have done both, and if I did I would have been miles ahead of where I am at now.

That’s out of my control now, but all of this has taught me a great lesson. Follow the fear. Anytime you think about doing something you know you should do and you get that dense feeling in your stomach and the quick excuse that comes to your mind, it is the best indicator that that is what you must do.

Maybe you’ve only got to do it for the sake of overcoming the fear itself. Who knows? 

But, the likelihood that serious benefits in the form of progress, friendship, skills, and money lie beyond a few moments of fear is unbelievable.

Going through EMT school is the best example I have for this.

I was truly afraid to start EMT school, probably for the reason of looking like a fool. Yet, if I wouldn’t have done it I would not have become an EMT, gained skills, met Tyler Olson from Minuteman EMS, attended a rope rescue course in South Dakota, or gone to wildland fires and met great people.

What is possible isn’t imaginable.

“Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear.”

-George Addair

My most notable accomplishments over the past year:

- Learned basic conversational Spanish (and still improving)

- Became a Certified EMT

- Became a certified wildland firefighter

- Read dozens of books on economics, philosophy, sales, marketing and personal development along with essays and historical speeches

- Attended a Wrangler school in Wyoming

- Worked as a ranch hand on a regenerative cattle ranch

- Learned to operate farm equipment

- Learned to shoe horses

-Learned the basics of horsemanship

-Learned how to inspect and treat cattle

-Learned basics of accounting

- Completed Copywriting Course

- Worked for 26 as an EMT on the 2024 Falls Fire in Oregon earned $600/day

- Wrote 

- Regular practice of Brazilian Jujitsu and recently added Muay Thai

- Climbed 3 Fourteeners in Colorado

- Learned how to pack mules and lead them into the back country

- Finished closed-water scuba dive

- Did my first (tandem) skydiving jump

- Wrote 40+ essays

- Spent 100s of hours practicing to be competent in chess. Had private lessons with a chess master

-Completed a REMS (Rapid Extrication Module Support) course in South Dakota (Learned how to rappel, create raising systems, build lowering systems, and give and receive coordinates)

-Learned how to tie a variety of knots and hitches

-Became a public notary in Colorado

-Rock climbed for the first time

-Completed a motorcycle driving course

-Worked 2 menial jobs (Office Depot and Westside Pizza)

P.S.

I highly recommend checking out this another article I posted about some lessons I’ve learned from The Preparation program:

https://www.greatman.com/p/lessons-from-the-preparation

As time goes on I’ll post more lessons I learn from the program.

-Maxim Benjamin Smith