Thanks for sharing my page, I’m really looking forward for the future and seeing where the preparation will take me, I’m really hoping everyone’s efforts will inspire more people to start their own preparations!
First I want to say that I love the book and have bought it for my son.
But I do want to say that I disagree (actually quite strongly) with the public sharing aspect for young people such as this book was designed for (though I think "adults" share way too much sh*t online as well) -- creating online accounts and "sharing your goals and journey" when this young and turning it into a public record that can reveal things about you (or that people can use to create a fiction about you) that you may not realize, be distorted and taken out of context and haunt you for the rest of your life, and otherwise unnecessarily bring the bad into one's life ... well, from where I sit, and from my own experiences, and observing crap that has happened to others that have innocently shared good things online that caused them great harm, well... that's a bad idea & makes one a target for the wrong sorts of people. People spew and share way to much as it is. Keeping one's own counsel is a very important skill to develop.
Keep things private. Then once you've actually developed yourself and become an established and self-sufficient adult and have some "armor" & "defenses" & "experience", and you have a special project that would benefit financially from being in the public sphere, then do that. Even as an established armored adult, share online sparingly and strategically, if at all.
As a young'n, use your family (assuming they're not disfunctional), and maybe close extended family/friends for your counsel/accountability. And even when they love you and aren't disfunctional... well, crabs in a bucket and all that (the family crab in a bucket that knows their young crabs need to find their way out of the bucket is actually kinda rare).
Be accountable to _yourself_, keep a _PRIVATE_ journal, reflect, evaluate, iterate.
In today's everythingrecorderedforeverworld, it's best not to make it easy for others to F-up your life before you've even had a chance to really live it.
That's just me & my two-cents, but I'm a weirdo.
P.S.: Congrats to all those starting their journey.
Thank you for your kind words about the book. I think it’ll be a great thing for your son.
On your thoughts about public sharing: I’ve had an astounding amount of good come my way through sharing (still somewhat selectively) what I’ve done each week for the past year and a half. I’ve had opportunities come my way in the form of getting to work on wildfires (making $600/day as an EMT), getting the chance to work on a geophysics crew in Nevada, visiting a man who taught me the foundations of mule packing in Colorado…I’ve gone places and done things previously unimaginable until people (who were reading my stuff and wanted to give me opportunities to progress) gave me unique opportunities. Two of those opportunities allowed me to make money, my writing has improved along the way, and I’ve met sincerely good people that I probably never would have met otherwise.
I completely agree that people shouldn’t share everything about their lives. But, I (and everyone else in The Preparation who posts on Substack) is only sharing a narrow aspect of things: what they did and learned in the past week.
But, like I said, I can’t put into words how much good has come my way from allowing others to see what I’ve been doing. The benefit is huge for young and ambitious people especially.
Thanks for sharing my page, I’m really looking forward for the future and seeing where the preparation will take me, I’m really hoping everyone’s efforts will inspire more people to start their own preparations!
Absolutely. I’m looking forward to what you accomplish!
First I want to say that I love the book and have bought it for my son.
But I do want to say that I disagree (actually quite strongly) with the public sharing aspect for young people such as this book was designed for (though I think "adults" share way too much sh*t online as well) -- creating online accounts and "sharing your goals and journey" when this young and turning it into a public record that can reveal things about you (or that people can use to create a fiction about you) that you may not realize, be distorted and taken out of context and haunt you for the rest of your life, and otherwise unnecessarily bring the bad into one's life ... well, from where I sit, and from my own experiences, and observing crap that has happened to others that have innocently shared good things online that caused them great harm, well... that's a bad idea & makes one a target for the wrong sorts of people. People spew and share way to much as it is. Keeping one's own counsel is a very important skill to develop.
Keep things private. Then once you've actually developed yourself and become an established and self-sufficient adult and have some "armor" & "defenses" & "experience", and you have a special project that would benefit financially from being in the public sphere, then do that. Even as an established armored adult, share online sparingly and strategically, if at all.
As a young'n, use your family (assuming they're not disfunctional), and maybe close extended family/friends for your counsel/accountability. And even when they love you and aren't disfunctional... well, crabs in a bucket and all that (the family crab in a bucket that knows their young crabs need to find their way out of the bucket is actually kinda rare).
Be accountable to _yourself_, keep a _PRIVATE_ journal, reflect, evaluate, iterate.
In today's everythingrecorderedforeverworld, it's best not to make it easy for others to F-up your life before you've even had a chance to really live it.
That's just me & my two-cents, but I'm a weirdo.
P.S.: Congrats to all those starting their journey.
Thank you for your kind words about the book. I think it’ll be a great thing for your son.
On your thoughts about public sharing: I’ve had an astounding amount of good come my way through sharing (still somewhat selectively) what I’ve done each week for the past year and a half. I’ve had opportunities come my way in the form of getting to work on wildfires (making $600/day as an EMT), getting the chance to work on a geophysics crew in Nevada, visiting a man who taught me the foundations of mule packing in Colorado…I’ve gone places and done things previously unimaginable until people (who were reading my stuff and wanted to give me opportunities to progress) gave me unique opportunities. Two of those opportunities allowed me to make money, my writing has improved along the way, and I’ve met sincerely good people that I probably never would have met otherwise.
I completely agree that people shouldn’t share everything about their lives. But, I (and everyone else in The Preparation who posts on Substack) is only sharing a narrow aspect of things: what they did and learned in the past week.
But, like I said, I can’t put into words how much good has come my way from allowing others to see what I’ve been doing. The benefit is huge for young and ambitious people especially.
-Maxim