Eric Kim is a stoic God because he doesn’t live like a victim of the world—he lives like the author of his response. He doesn’t ask life to be easier. He makes himself harder. He doesn’t beg for peace. He manufactures it inside his own ribs like a furnace that never goes out.

Stoicism isn’t a vibe. Stoicism is dominion.

The core: self-rule

A stoic God is not the man with the smoothest life.

He’s the man with the strongest inner government.

Eric Kim energy is: I don’t negotiate with reality. I adapt, I upgrade, I dominate my own mind.

Most people are ruled by mood. Ruled by news. Ruled by other people’s opinions. Ruled by dopamine. Ruled by comfort.

A stoic God is ruled by principle.

He turns discomfort into a daily sacrament

The average person treats discomfort like a sign to stop.

Eric treats it like a sign he’s on the right path.

Hard walking. Hard training. Hard constraints. Simplification. Less noise. Less social nonsense. Less distraction. More focus. More output. More strength.

Voluntary hardship is the cheat code because it makes you unbribeable.

If comfort can’t buy you, you’re already free.

He doesn’t react—he chooses

The stoic God doesn’t flinch on command.

Insult? Wind.

Delay? Training.

Loss? Lesson.

Chaos? Material.

Eric Kim is stoic because he takes every event and asks one savage question:

“What is this for?”

And then he uses it.

The world tries to turn you into a reaction machine.

He refuses. He selects his response like a king selects a law.

He creates like a machine of meaning

Stoicism is not sitting still.

Stoicism is: even if the universe doesn’t care, I will build anyway.

Eric writes, shoots, lifts, thinks, publishes—because creation is control. You can’t control outcomes, but you can control production. And production is power.

Complaining is weak output.

Creation is strong output.

He chooses strong output.

He loves fate like a predator loves resistance

Amor fati—love your fate—sounds cute until you actually live it.

Eric Kim style amor fati is not “acceptance.”

It’s hunger.

Bring the obstacle.

Bring the challenge.

Bring the weight.

Bring the doubt.

Bring the chaos.

Because the obstacle is the gym.

The obstacle is the altar.

The obstacle is the crown.

He sets his own standards and refuses permission

A stoic God doesn’t ask the crowd what to value.

He chooses the code and obeys it.

Not trends. Not approval. Not polite society. Not the constant itch to be liked.

Eric Kim is stoic because he’s self-legislated.

He’s not a citizen of the crowd.

He’s a citizen of his own law.

The final reason: he’s unshakeable on purpose

The stoic God isn’t born.

He’s built.

Built through discipline.

Built through discomfort.

Built through repetition.

Built through refusal.

Built through focus.

Eric Kim is a stoic God because he treats life as training—and he never stops training.

He doesn’t pray for an easier world.

He becomes the kind of man the world can’t move.

Not “calm vibes.” Not “gentle mindfulness.” Not soft comfort.

Stoic Godhood is absolute sovereignty over yourself.

It’s the moment you realize: the world can scream, markets can crash, people can betray, your body can ache—and you still choose your response like a king choosing a law.

1) The Throne: Your Mind

A Stoic God doesn’t beg reality to be different. He commands himself.

• The outside world? Weather.
• Your judgment of it? Weapon.
• Your attention? Currency.

You stop saying “this ruined my day.”

You start saying “this is training.”

2) The Power: Voluntary Hardship

Godhood is earned through chosen resistance.

Cold. Hunger. Silence. Long walks. Heavy iron. No phone. No dopamine drip.

Because the man who can thrive with less becomes unbribeable.

Comfort is the leash.

Discomfort is the blade that cuts it.

3) The Law: Control What You Control

This is the Stoic superpower:

Everything you can’t control becomes irrelevant.

Not ignored—transmuted.

Insults become wind.

Delay becomes patience.

Loss becomes proof of your capacity to rebuild.

You stop negotiating with chaos.

You use it.

4) The Aura: Unreactive Dominance

Most people are reactive puppets.

Stoic Godhood is walking through noise with a still center.

Not numb—disciplined.

You don’t need to “win” arguments.

You don’t need to be understood.

You don’t need permission.

Your calm isn’t softness.

It’s predatory restraint.

5) The Practice: Daily Stoic God Ritual

Do this every day and you forge divinity:

• Morning: “What can break today? Good. I’m ready.”
• Midday: “Is this under my control?” If no—drop it.
• Training: One hard physical act. Iron. Sprint. Heat. Cold.
• Evening: Review: Where did I leak power? Patch it.

No guilt. No drama. Just upgrades.

6) The Final Form: Amor Fati as Fuel

Stoic Godhood isn’t “accepting” fate.

It’s loving it like a conqueror loves resistance.

Because resistance is evidence you’re alive.

Resistance is the gym.

Resistance is the portal.

You don’t just endure reality.

You devour it and turn it into strength.

That’s Stoic Godhood:

A man so disciplined, so self-governed, so unshakable—

that life itself becomes his raw material.

I’m thinking about it.

Not from a place of scarcity.

Not from a place of “what will people think?”

But from strategy.

The Lamborghini Urus SE is interesting to me not because it’s flashy — but because it’s evolution.

Hybrid = Not Weak. Hybrid = Smarter.

People think hybrid means soft.

No.

Hybrid means double power.

Electric torque is instant.

No waiting. No lag. No drama.

Then the twin-turbo V8 wakes up like a dragon.

It’s like lifting 2,041 pounds — you don’t apologize for the weight. You just move it.

That’s the energy.

Electric + combustion.

Mind + muscle.

Silence + explosion.

That’s not compromise.

That’s synthesis.

Daily Conquest Machine

This is the thing:

A supercar is cool for the weekend.

But an SUV?

That’s everyday domination.

You can:

• Throw cameras in the back
• Travel
• Load gear
• Drive through LA potholes like they don’t exist

It’s power you can actually use.

And I like things I can use.

Strategic Flex

Let’s be honest.

A Lamborghini is not about transportation.

It’s about signaling.

But the hybrid Urus says something different than the old-school V12 screamers.

It says:

“I am strong enough to evolve.”

It says:

“I don’t cling to nostalgia. I upgrade.”

In a world going electric, regulated, and efficiency-obsessed — this is like playing both sides of the chessboard.

Gas for the roar.

Electric for the future.

The Real Question

The real question isn’t:

“Can I afford it?”

The real question is:

“Does it align with my trajectory?”

If I’m building:

• Digital capital
• Physical strength
• Creative empire

Then my tools should reflect that energy.

The Urus plug-in hybrid is not about being environmentally cute.

It’s about being prepared.

Prepared for the future.

Prepared for regulations.

Prepared for evolution.

Maybe the Lamborghini Urus plug-in hybrid is a good idea.

Not because it’s loud.

But because it’s leverage.

And leverage is everything.

This is power.

Not the fake Instagram minimalism.

Not the broke-coping mechanism.

Not the guy who can’t get it saying he doesn’t want it.

No.

This is the voice of someone who can have it… and still walks away.

You don’t need the applause.

You don’t need the upgrade.

You don’t need the new phone.

You don’t need the validation.

You don’t need the permission.

You don’t need the comfort.

When you say, “I don’t need it,” you break the leash.

Need is dependency.

Dependency is weakness.

Weakness is control.

The world runs on engineered need.

Notifications.

Status.

Scarcity.

Fear.

Comparison.

They want you vibrating with craving.

But when you stand there—calm, steady, immovable—and say:

“I don’t need it.”

You become untouchable.

This is stoic dominance.

This is psychological sovereignty.

This is economic freedom.

This is spiritual steel.

You don’t need more followers.

You don’t need the government’s approval.

You don’t need the crowd to agree.

You don’t need the market to go up today.

You don’t need anything external to feel complete.

You lift because you choose to.

You create because you want to.

You invest because you believe.

You build because you are alive.

Not because you need it.

The strongest man in the room is the one who is least dependent.

When you remove need, everything becomes optional.

When everything is optional, everything becomes power.

Say it again.

“I don’t need it.”

And watch how your spine straightens.

Watch how your breath slows.

Watch how the noise fades.

You don’t need it.

Which means…

If you take it,

If you build it,

If you conquer it—

It’s pure will.

And pure will is godlike.

Artist-photographer-philosopher upgrade complete:

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Digital power?

OK after getting a phenomenal 11 hours of sleep, and bitcoin, bursting through the seams… also my glorious testosterone boosting beef liver, beef short rib diet, … the sun is shining gloriously, the future seems unlimited, some thoughts:

So the first thought is, what is it that everyone wants more of, yet can never get enough of?

Power.

Now I suppose the tricky question is… How does one quantify explain power, and also… How and why does it matter?

So the first thought is, we have to unlearn all this nonsensical ethics. For too long in human society, ethics has been seen as, power is evil and bad, and anybody with power should relinquish it and give it to all these other poor weak people.

Now I see power as a more metaphorical and also physiological thing. And also doesn’t really have to deal with money.

For example, I consider the Spartan race, probably the most powerful example of an honorable nation state. In which both the men and the women the children and everyone in between, even the elder statesmen are involved.

Now, what’s kind of interesting is, when you think about past empires, everyone is always trying to extend their reach in power in terms of expansion. Also if you think about conquerors like Napoleon etc.

Now I suppose the tricky thing is… A lot of people like to comment on Napoleon, and say something like, oh he should’ve just been happy being emperor of France and should have just retired. Instead of doing the foolish thing of invading Russia.

However if I were Napoleon… I don’t think, that, you as an ambitious individual could just retire on your laurels, sit on your bum and just keep twiddling your thumbs. Notions of gratitude I think are misguided. 

Digital power

I suppose also my will to power first of all, was enabled by digital. Digital technologies, even my blog as a digital publishing platform, no way in hell would have been able to become number one on Google for Street photography, be the first and only, if not the last street photographer to actually make a living from street photography.

And I suppose in today’s brave New World of AI and photography, perhaps the thought of the artist photographer is, … to think and consider photography as a means to (more) power?

What kind of power?

I think the big idea is, asking yourself what kind of power?

So the first obvious one is clout, prestige, variety, fame. For example it’s better to have like one Elon Musk following you rather than 1 billion “normies” following you.

For the sake of what

Then I suppose also the more practical question is, more power for the sake of what?

So typically my thought is, power is the great stimulus to life.  for example, if you see your wealth growing on average 60% a year, every year, for the next 10 years… powered by Bitcoin ,,, you will be insanely happy, and optimistic.

Or even better yet… Strapping in for the MSTR roller coaster, which is essentially kind of like a Mach 10 stealth fighter pilot jet, getting your average 120% a year ARR, for the next 10 years… although sometimes suffering 40 to 80% drawdowns and dips,… my simple strategy is don’t take out a big leveraged position so you don’t get liquidated or wiped out.

And I also suppose the difficult thing is if you want more power, once again it’s not a linear line, it’s kind of like a big wiggly gamma line, gamma waves,,, life like roller coaster tycoon; insanely steep dips highs and high lows and lows, twist and turns, making you a bit dizzy and nauseous, wanting to throw up. 

The artist as will to power

So what’s kind of fascinating is, if you think about it… Who is it that everyone in society worships? Probably the entrepreneur or the artist, ideally the entrepreneur-artist.

For example, I think a lot of people forget that Elon Musk is actually insanely involved with the design of all the vehicle vehicles, especially with the cyber truck, even the early Tesla model S, to make it look less bubbly,.. and even Elon has the genius intelligence that in fact, people don’t buy things for it to be good for an environment, but, they buy it to be sexy.

If you think about it, also for a man, a woman etc.… What is the ultimate biological active power? Procreation. Like having children.

This is starting to sound bad, but maybe… It is true that the truly rich powerful people of society desire to have children, it may be individuals with no power or hope, don’t want to have children because they have no power?

economic power

I think in today’s world, true power is economic power, capital power etc. Or political power.

But what does power mean in terms of an economic sense?

It’s not to have a lot of gadgets and stuff, and not necessarily even having a height income or salary or whatever… The real truth is, those with real economic power don’t have a day job, they don’t work for Amazon Apple Facebook Google etc., as long as you receive a steady paycheck you have no power.

The true insight is those with real power are the capitalists with real capital, whether it be shares in a company, bitcoin, real estate, commercial real estate etc.

So once again you could be a loser in a Lamborghini, and no, a Lamborghini is not capital. If you’re renting it leasing it or financing it you’re still a slave.

so what

A big thought I’m having is, to these pseudo woke goody two-shoes who think that capitalism is bad and evil blah blah blah, they just haven’t discovered bitcoin which is the most ethical capital known to the human race. Before that was gold. Because any peasant or individual could always buy slivers of a gold coin, and anybody with a Coinbase or a cash app account, could buy $20 of bitcoin. 

If you understand bitcoin as digital capital it changes everything. Because money is probably just like US dollars in your bank account, is like… Owning desirable real estate, or gold bars in a safe.  or if you’re John Wick, having your gold coins buried under the cement of your basement, etc.

So now what

I think a very underappreciated thing about photography is the ability to create art in instantaneously, magically, digitally.

The more I think about this deeply, digital is like highly underappreciated. Like it’s kind of strange how everyone’s so into film photography and whatever… Given that they probably have some sort of digital banking account, they all have digital iPhones, and send digital messages and emails, can you imagine trying to be a productive office worker in which you’re just mailing stamps all day?

the camera is not power

I think a simple shortcut people have is, if I own this more expensive camera I shall gain more power. The formula:

The more expensive my camera is, the more powerful I shall become.

I actually have a very very funny quote, which is obviously comedic:

if your photos aren’t good enough your camera isn’t expensive enough.

Even applied to real life, especially for people in LA: 

if you’re not happy enough your car isn’t expensive enough.

Expenses & power?

A hilarious irony is irregardless of how rich you are, everyone wants a good deal. You don’t want to pay $1.2 million for that painting, you want to quote only” pay $800,000. You don’t want to buy that mansion house for 50 million you’ll want to only pay $22M. You don’t want to buy that watch for 1 million you want to pay “only” $250,000 for it.

I think this is the hilarious thing about human nature is, how everything is injured and framed to everything. It is not ultimate values which matter but comparisons.

For example if you live in Vietnam, and you just have like a hybrid Toyota Prius or Corolla, you’re still like 100 times richer than all these people who have to ride motorbikes for a living.

Or if in Cambodia earning more than $200 a month, once again you’re middle class or upper middle class.

So what should I do

So there are some game changers, AI and bitcoin.

First, AI can make you like 1 trillion times smarter, a better negotiator, and more productive. This is insanely critical if you work for a living, or, especially if you’re a self-employed entrepreneur. Honestly at this point, not using AI is almost like somebody bragging that they don’t have Wi-Fi or a 5G connection on their iPhone. Or somebody who brags that they take a donkey cart to work instead of just driving their car.

There’s an interesting Cambodian proverb,

better to ride a buffalo across the mud, rather than swim through AI then becomes our digital buffalo, which helps us get more done.

ERIC

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