Welcome to My World of Self-Imposed Challenges
When it comes to genuine preparedness, an important mental game you can play is pretending no one is coming to save you when something breaks. Not the government. Not the utility company. Not the repairman. Not the “experts” who were supposed to have a plan. I play this game all the time, and it has forced me to learn a vast array of self-reliance skills.
This weekend proved it again: my AC unit died at 4 a.m. in the Texas heat, a tire on my ranch buggy failed beyond repair, and my backup software failed at the worst possible moment. In line with my preparedness game of self-reliance, I forced myself to fix all these things with no outside help.
Here’s why this matters: in a real crisis, the experts won’t show up. If the grid fails, if supply chains snap, if the dollar collapses, the cavalry isn’t coming. I’ve said it before: survival will hinge on your preparedness and adaptability [1]. A single electromagnetic pulse from a nuclear detonation or solar storm could instantly cripple power grids, communications, and critical infrastructure, leading to societal collapse [2]. The people who make it through are the ones who already know how to fix, build, and improvise.
The Rules of the Game
Living in rural Texas for over a decade, I have forced myself to solve problems with my own hands. The rules are simple: I allow myself any tool, and I use local AI as a consultant to diagnose problems, but I almost never allow myself to outsource the actual repair. I buy what I need, and I finish the job. It’s not about being a genius. It’s about being stubborn enough to learn.
The game has one hard rule: you cannot call for help. When I started playing, I failed constantly. Air conditioners that still refused to turn on. Tires that leaked. Software that crashed. Plumbing leaked. But failure is how you learn. Every mistake taught me something new, and now I trust my own hands far more than I trust the promises of any service company.
The point is not to save money, though that happens, too. The point is to build the knowledge, skills, and tool collection that make self-reliance real. As Logan Wilder writes in No Grid Survival Projects, “hands-on experience is invaluable” because “flexibility and adaptability are key to survival” [3]. You don’t get that experience by watching videos. You get it by getting your hands dirty, making mistakes, and learning from them.
The Weekend Test: AC, Tires, and Vibe-Coded Backups
Mounting a side-by-side tire on a rim is no small task, but I had to do it. One of my tires got sliced (probably by running over a deer antler) and was unrepairable. Instead of driving to a shop, I broke the bead by hand (with pry bars), lubed it with homemade xanthan gum, seated a new tire with an air compressor, and wrestled it back onto the vehicle. It took a lot of effort and wasn’t easy (especially the last step of getting the lip of the tire over the rim). But practicing this skill is valuable. Self-reliance is priceless.
And the backup software? Off-the-shelf tools were useless for my LTO-10 tape drive, so I wrote my own with AI, parallelizing the workflow to hit full throughput on the 10G NIC cards and the throughput to the LTO drive. It worked beautifully and doubled the overall throughput.
That’s what I call vibe-coded resilience: the machine helps you iterate, but the knowledge and the decisions are yours. You have to direct the AI what to do, and you have to understand the technical side of things to know how to direct the AI on what code to write.
These games I play on self-sufficiency are not chores. They’re training for the collapse that could come from war, supply chain failure, financial crisis, or any other breakdown of society. U.S. electric utilities have admitted they need new tools and regulatory authorizations to protect the power grid from drone attacks [4]. When the grid goes dark, “water is the top priority when SHTF” [5], and the skills you’ve practiced become your lifeline.
Strength Is Part of Preparedness
Fixing things also requires functional strength. Lifting 80-pound air conditioners, wrestling tires, and working with your hands without injury all demand a body that is capable. I train with kettlebells to maintain that strength, and I use BPC-157 (a healing peptide your body makes naturally) to recover from old injuries. Being physically capable is just as important as owning tools, and the ability to lift and manipulate heavy objects without injury is a critical survival skill.
Lisa Bedford put it well in Happy, Healthy and Prepared: we all have a job to do “if our current life of ease and luxury is interrupted for whatever reason” [6]. A real man or woman should have calluses and practical skills, not just keyboard fingers and screen-swiping thumbs. When the system breaks down, the person who can lift, build, and think is worth ten who can only scroll and complain.
Why This Matters Now
Institutions cannot be trusted to rescue you. The grid is fragile. The supply chains are cracking. The financial system is teetering. I’ve warned that “the era of easy money and affordable goods is drawing to a close” [7], and that we are headed toward a new war escalation [8]. The people in charge are not coming to save you; many of them are the ones who created the mess.
Whether it’s a personal emergency or a societal collapse, the survivors are the ones who know how to fix, build, and improvise. Self-reliance is not just a lifestyle. It’s a form of resistance against a fragile, controlled, and increasingly untrustworthy world.
Start Playing the Game
If you want to play the same game and you feel intimidated by it, start small. Change a car battery. Replace an appliance. Learn to fix a flat tire before you actually need to. As the practical guides remind us, “prepping” is not about fear but about foresight [9]. Right now as the world is headed toward a supply chain crunch, it’s a critical time for preppers to audit supplies, refresh skills, and update contingency plans [10].
Buy the tools. Use local AI to guide you. Embrace the difficulty, because every skill you learn is a victory in the game. No one is coming to save you, and once you accept that, you’ll be freer, stronger, and ready for whatever comes.
Know how to do real things in the real world, and you won’t panic when infrastructure fails all around you.
References
- Health Ranger Report – How to Survive the First 180 Days. – Brighteon.com. Mike Adams. May 2, 2024.
- The Silent Storm: How to Prepare for an EMP Catastrophe That Could Rewind Modern Civilization. – NaturalNews.com. Evangelyn Rodriguez. January 19, 2026.
- No Grid Survival Projects Book 2024: The Ultimate Off-Grid Guide With 75+ Projects for Water, Food, Shelter, Power and Security. Logan Wilder.
- Drone-Attack Simulation Exposed A Grid Vulnerability. – Zero Hedge. Robert Walton. March 24, 2026.
- Thriving Without Electricity: Essential Survival Tips for Any Situation. – NaturalNews.com. Zoey Sky. June 17, 2025.
- Happy Healthy and Prepared: Top Tips From the Hosts of the Survival Mom Radio Network. Lisa Bedford.
- Health Ranger Report – EASY MONEY ENDS NO. – Brighteon.com. Mike Adams. September 19, 2025.
- Health Ranger Report – World War HR. – Brighteon.com. Mike Adams. April 24, 2025.
- Emergency Preparedness: A Practical Guide to Self-Sufficiency in Uncertain Times. – NaturalNews.com. December 8, 2025.
- Spring Survival Prep: Why Preppers Should Embrace Seasonal Readiness. – NaturalNews.com. Evangelyn Rodriguez. April 13, 2026.
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