ERIC KIM

Category: Uncategorized

  • How to Become More Adventurous

    One of my favorite things to do with Sen and myself in general, is this notion of “adventure time“. That is, anything that involves getting out of the house!

    I first thing to consider is that the basic notion of adventure time is super simple; just getting your ass out of the house.

    Why “adventure time“?

    What is it that we desire? I think ultimately, we desire and hunger for more adventure, more escapades with danger, things to test or courage etc.

    However, I think modern day life has us much more cowardly. That means, one is not permitted to be adventurous.

    What is one permitted to do in modern day society? We are permitted to go to the mall and buy stuff, we are permitted to buy a new car, we are permitted to buy a house, and every once in a while we are permitted to go on vacation, or travel.

    It seems that the closest thing that we got to adventure in modern day times is travel. Traveling to foreign places is the closest thing that we got to adventure. Why is this? What is an adventure anyways?

    Adventure — “to arrive”. Advenio, toward + come.

    I think in the general sense, adventure, towards what I think is to go towards something. Ad + venture (venture, to attempt).

    “Venture” capitalist?

    What is a VC, a venture capitalist? I think a venture capitalist is somebody who wants to go on some sort of metaphorical adventure, in terms of attempting to build something. If you think about it, being a venture capitalist is very very positive and optimistic. Why? It insinuates some sort of potentially very good outcome, that’s the right investment in the thing will yield a positive return!

    Becoming more optimistic in life?

    Currently speaking, I think America and the world is going through a weird time. There is no optimism.

    For example, Joe Biden. Nobody likes Joe Biden. Not even liberal Democrats. I only voted for him because he wasn’t Donald Trump.

    I am still very very confused how Joe Biden even got elected. Conspiracy theories aside, I think honestly 99.9% of people just voted for him because he wasn’t Donald Trump.

    Maybe the reason why Donald Trump lost was because he caved in and also signed the stimulus bill. Maybe this was a sign of weakness?

    The future

    Some optimistic thoughts:

    1. Assuming that America continues to increase her debt ceiling, and also, as the US dollar inflation is getting out of control, I think there will be renewed interest in bitcoin and other crypto and crypto currencies. My personal target price for bitcoin currently in the interim is at least $100,000.
    2. At least one of the good things about TikTok is that it shows that there is still room for competition with Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, YouTube etc. Also the future of video podcast, super easy to do with anchor.fm which is currently owned by Spotify.
    3. Time to go all in on Tesla: every single day, here in Southern California, I see more and more Tesla‘s on the road. It is simple; Tesla is the only electric car. All electric other cars suck. Also considering that California is going to soon been purchasing of gasoline cars in the future, everyone is going to go electric. also, consider the power of over the air updates on Tesla; as time goes on, Tesla cars will keep getting better and better. And also day by day, the Tesla super charging network continues to grow. Also, I think ultimately people want a Tesla because it is like owning the new iPhone. in fact the truth is owning a Tesla is actually more inconvenient than owning a gasoline or hybrid car, but people want a Tesla for the sexiness factor. Because objectively speaking, I personally believe the ride quality in the Tesla model three to be very poor, and even though the minimalism of the interior is beautiful and sublime, the quality of the materials actually feel very cheap. I went to a Lexus experience center recently, and I was shocked; the materials in the Lexus feel at least 1000 times or 10,000 times better than any Tesla car, even when compared to the Tesla model S and Tesla model X plaid.
    4. Travel. Go to Mexico City, go to Roma Norte. Go to Phnom Penh Cambodia. Go to Hanoi Vietnam or Saigon Vietnam. Go to South Korea. Go to Seoul, and stop by and say hi to my mom in Hadong.
    5. Have a kid, at least one. The funny millennial trend is towards not having kids, but owning cats or dogs instead. Why this trend? My personal theory is that people see kids, having a kid as a net negative on their life and happiness; they are afraid that having a kid will limit their freedom, ability to travel, eat good food, etc. Yet having a kid can be by far the most optimistic thing you can do. Why? having a kid is naturally optimistic; every single day they continue to grow physically and mentally, and they learn new abilities and tricks. For example, Seneca is currently only two years and three months old, and he is a genius. He already knows how to make beats on the iPhone, iPad, GarageBand on the laptop as well. And he knows how to do computer programming with swift playgrounds on the iPad and even on the laptop. I think a simple life goal, assuming that you are a man, is to have at least one boy. Then after that, all the additional kids are just upside.
    6. The optimism of the gym and weightlifting. I personally believe that the upside of Jim, gym culture and gym life is that you see steady improvement and gains in the gym. For example, assuming that you go to the gym every single day, can you lift very very heavy, one rep max style, you will continue to see your muscles grow, and also your testosterone self-esteem etc. to go up. Also, assuming that you go to the gym at least once a day, even twice a day; you’re going to make new friends. And I think there is something very positive about being around other human beings, both men and women, both male and female. why? When you witness a beautiful woman, I think this increases your testosterone. Also, I think if you see other muscular men lifting heavy weights, this also increases your testosterone. Also the extreme joy of just chatting with strangers at the gym, making new friends. at worst, you can always just go to the gym and take a nap in the hot sauna, it is very rejuvenating and restorative. Also, just sign up for a local yoga membership, at a local yoga studio, whether it be CorePower or raw yoga, etc. I think being in a hot steamy and sweaty room with other human beings with hormones in the air is somehow good for us.

    Adventure with EK

    1. Tomorrow is the last day for the early bird cutoff price for the all-new DOWNTOWN LA CONQUER YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY AND LIFE WORKSHOP
    2. If you desire to embark on the adventure of a lifetime, join me in Saigon Vietnam this summer
    3. October 14th: CONQUER THE STREETS OF PHILLY WITH ME

    EK WORKSHOPS >

    The gym as an adventure

    My personal theory behind weightlifting and the gym;

    It is only fun and worthwhile yes there is a great deal of risk, danger, and courage required.

    For example my insane 940 pound atlas lift. 99.99999% of the population has never even seen over nine plates on a bar.

    Once I hit over 1000 pounds, I’ll have a little celebration. Then continue onto 1200 pounds.

    I personally believe that physical danger, physical courage is the only real type of courage. Sure, we can be metaphorically courageous in regards to our thoughts, beliefs, freedom of speech etc., but I think when it comes down to it, you cannot fake physical courage at the gym.

    Also the nice thought is that ultimately, it doesn’t even matter whether you can successfully lift it or not. To me, if you even have the courage and the hype and the self-confidence and the audacious insanity to even attempt it, you are a hero.

  • The Stoic Masters

    Marcus Aurelius statue
    Marcus Aurelius

    Learn from the master stoics:

    See all philosophy >

  • Social Skills

    How to improve your social skills:

    FLEX AT AN UPCOMING ERIC KIM EXPERIENCE >

    Why?

    Something I believe deeply in is the future for social skills. Why? First and foremost, the prime consideration for humans is social. Without having other embodied humans around us, nothing is worth it.

    This is where modern day capitalism and consumerism is weird; rather than putting the emphasis on other human beings, it puts the emphasis instead on objects, nonhuman things. For example, we become obsessed with watches, cars, clothes, homes, etc. But the ultimate goal is instead, direction maximize our real life face time with other humans.

    Even zoom is bad. Why? To communicate with another human being that is not facilitated in the flesh is jarring.

    Even something that is interesting in regards to other human beings men and women, when I see them on the screen, versus in the flesh. Why in the flesh you could see subtle things like height. Height matters.

    For example, you could see pretty girls on Instagram or social media, or showing off their body parts. Yet, if you see them in real life, and they are very short and small, like 5 feet tall, or 4 foot 11, it is different. Even Aristotle once said, ”Is there such thing as a beautiful small woman?” Or for men,

    Short men are never a threat.

    For example, I am very fortunate that I am quite tall, around 5 foot 11 if I exaggerate. Realistically I’m more 5 foot 10, maybe 5 foot 10 1/2. But I always like to round up. I think in Korea I’m 180 centimeters, the golden standard.

    At the gym, I don’t really care if anyone is more buff or muscular than me, as long as I am taller than them, I still feel dominant.

    Why does height matter?

    Something that I have realized is there is a link and a connection between height and social class. Richer and more affluent people, higher class people tend to be taller. More poor working class people, or recent migrants are immigrants tend to be short.

    Why is this? My theory:

    In the past, there was an evolutionary benefit to height.

    For example, not always but often times taller men tend to be bigger and stronger. Therefore, a woman would find a tall and strong man as more powerful and strong and beneficial.

    Even for men, a trend that I see is that shorter men, or even medium sized men like the idea of marrying and having children with really really tall supermodels.

    Therefore my theory:

    A lot of short men tend to have a lot of money, and have the ability to attract really really tall super model women, and therefore their children and future generations of children keep getting taller and taller.

    How to stand taller

    You cannot change your height, but, you can change your posture. To stand upright, tall, shoulders back, chest up, chin up.

    For example, even a lot of taller guys who are very very tall I see hunched over, with very poor posture. This looks very unattractive.

    I also have another theory is that naturally, when your testosterone and muscle mass is high, and your body fat percentage low, your body will actually naturally assume a more dominant, upright posture.

    Even another funny thing that I say is in regards to ego; when I see my testosterone insanely high, when I’m about to hit myself up before a one rep max, let’s see my 940 pound atlas lift, and my half legging compression short short tights are rolled all the way up, exposing my bare demigod thighs, and also my compression shirt is rolled up showing off my midsection and my nipples, and I am in the zone, other men around me… I see their egos deflating. When your testosterone and ego is high, and other men witness this, maybe it is a zero sum thing in which their ego also deflates.

    Actually, maybe this is false. Instead, maybe only insecure men find me as a threat to their own masculinity. My new friend at the gym Taylor, insanely buff dude, always congratulate me after a successfully heavy lift. Theory:

    If you are a self-confident man, and you witness great feats of strength from other men, you will always congratulate them, rather than feeling small.

  • How to Become a More Powerful Photographer

    At the end of the day, perhaps it is photography which is my Archimedes lever. I am just so insanely good at it, it is intuitive to me, and also, I am endlessly fascinated by it.

    A random musing on my mind when I was just randomly driving, what is this:

    It isn’t more money, more wealth that we desire, but more power.

    For example, whenever you see somebody in some sort of really big SUV, the sports edition, let’s say a BMW X6M, what they are trying to really do is assert their power and dominance. However, does driving a powerful car make you more powerful? It might make you feel more powerful, but does it make you more powerful? No.

    I think I got it figured out; the reason why Americans love cars so much is because they are democratic. A car is like your external avatar, and you could assume any sort of avatar you desire, as long as you’re willing to spend the money on it, whether it be purchasing it in all cash, financing it, leasing it, renting it, etc.

    For example, when you see people in some sort of high end muscle car, what is it that they desire to assert? Their manliness, their dominance, etc. However, a fun activity I like to do is whenever I see some people driving a high end sports car, I’m always curious to see who the driver is. Typically, I see them trending to be kind of younger men, trying to look hard. Or sometimes old fat dudes.

    The reason why I think cars are so cowardly is because typically, even if you drive a really really loud sports car, a hyper car, a Lamborghini, a Porsche 911 GT3 RS, some sort of high-end muscle car, it looks like the trend is that everyone tints their front windows so dark, almost to limo. Therefore you cannot even see who the driver is. And they also tend to drive with sunglasses on, and often a hat. So you really cannot determine their identity.

    I asked my friend Don Dillon, whether we are more interested in the car or the driver, and he laughed and told me, “of course the car!”

    Be hidden or be seen?

    Thus the strange paradox:

    We want to show off, be loud, assert ourselves and our ego and our dominance, yet, we want our identity to be anonymous? And we don’t want other people to look us directly into the eyes?

    Murdered out Teslas?

    Another trend I’ve seen a lot in Southern California is people buying black on black on black Teslas. It could be a “murdered out“ Tesla Model Y, 3, X, S, etc. also a new trend with the black license plate with a yellow lettering, and also the trend for people to apply a matte black wrap to their cars, making it look like some sort of stealth bomber.

    The hilarity is whenever I see people step out of their Teslas. I’ve actually seen a lot of men with murdered our Tesla model Y’s, complete with the black license plate and yellow lettering, typically they tend to be skinny fat Asian American men, often with a baby or some kids. And also I think it was my friend Elsa Morgan who told me that in the bay area and in Silicon Valley, a Tesla model X is essentially a glorified minivan for men, who still want to feel masculine, without the stigma of driving a minivan.

    My funny thought is better to just fully lean into it; if I buy a new car, it will just be a white Honda Odyssey.

    Back to photo

    Let’s take it back to photography. What is it that we desire in photography, and out of our photos?

    The first I think is we want more power and potency in our photos. The photos we make is our artwork. And what is our artwork? Or artwork or almost like our children; they are some sort of external manifestation of ourselves.

    Show me your photos, and I can see who you are.

    The aesthetic of the photographer is often a reflection of themselves

    For example, my aesthetic. I much love extremely high contrast, black-and-white photos, complete with a lot of grit and grit. Perhaps this is some sort of reflection of my own personal mentality of things.

    Crush the blacks.

    Physiological power and photography

    Another big thing that I’ve noticed; I can only effectively review my photos, when I am in great superabundant physiological health. For example, if I only slept two hours last night, certainly I would have no power nor desire to review my huge backlog of about 10,000 photos. However, today, I am great physiological health, I have lots of energy and power, and therefore I was able to quickly review through around 7 to 8000 photos.

    Therefore, I think it is critical for us photographers to gain more physiological power. This includes going to the gym, going to yoga, doing hot sauna, taking icy cold showers, sleeping 10 to 12 hours a night, and during the day, allowing yourself to drink both green tea and black coffee. I like green tea from Hadong South Korea, and either arabica coffee from Ethiopia or just robusta coffee from Vietnam.

    Also, I think the best way to gain a much bigger physiological rush is through one rep max lifting. Do this with atlas lift, rack pull, one rep max farmers carry’s.

    Photo assignments

    1. A new discovery that I found is that you could actually build a very robust WordPress.org blog through Amazon web services, through Amazon lightsail. I did this after my website went down as an experiment, successfully registering erickimphilosophy.com — and apparently you can also do this through Google cloud too.
    2. Get an iPad Pro, the 11 inch, and just review all your photos as small JPEG‘s.
    3. Upload your best photos to arsbeta.com
    4. Take your camera with you everywhere you go, and always have it in your front right pocket. Also shoot photos from your car, safely when at a stoplight, when at a red light.
    5. The other day Cindy showed me this interesting new Photoshop AI completion image tool. I thought it was very cool. However, ultimately I discovered that at least for us photographers, we just like making photos! There is no end of photography.

    Power up your photography

    Become a more powerful photographer:

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    Other things on my mind

    1. Ultimately, I think it is health and well-being that we seek. Not to own or drive a more expensive or a luxury car. When in doubt, just hit the gym.
    2. The more I think about it, the more I think that homeownership is a scam. For example, even if you fully pay off your house, or, you buy it 100% in cash, often times in California property taxes can still range from $1500 a month to $2000 a month! Also, I am starting to think that condos are also a strange thing; having to pay an HOA, a homeowners association fee, every month forever, also seems like a trap.
    3. My personal pride is that I have never spent more than $2500 USD on a car. Even my last car, the one I currently drive, a 2009 Hyundai sonata which I inherited from my mom for free, I got it for $0 and 00 cents. It cost me about $2000 to fix it up at the mechanic, and another thousand dollars and registration fees, and more or less I have a brand new car for only $3000! I think that anybody who buys a brand new car, seems like a foolish decision. Considering that even a basic car nowadays cost $30,000 USD, doesn’t it make more sense to simply use your money on going to the gym, lifting weights, and buying meat?
    4. I have a theory that it is not protein, but consuming dietary cholesterol, like the dietary cholesterol in beef liver and beef organ meats, which acts as a natural steroid to promote your muscle growth.

    Things to ponder

    ASK WHY ZEN OF ERIC KIM APP?

    1. Why Money?
    2. Why Save Time?
    3. Why Manliness?

    More constant questioning on EK BLOG

    Share the turbo!

    If this gave you any interesting turbo thoughts, feel free to forward this to a friend!

    ERIC KIM NEWS

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    Power ideas

    1. Power Photography
    2. Dynamic Composition Manual

    Learn more: BOOKS BY KIM >

    Philosophy by KIM

    1. Becoming Antifragile
    2. Stoic

    Stoicism 101 >

    Greater dangers and risks, the more beautiful and glorious life!

    Lessons from Heraclitus >

  • How to Become a More Powerful Photographer

    At the end of the day, perhaps it is photography which is my Archimedes lever. I am just so insanely good at it, it is intuitive to me, and also, I am endlessly fascinated by it.

    A random musing on my mind when I was just randomly driving, what is this:

    It isn’t more money, more wealth that we desire, but more power.

    For example, whenever you see somebody in some sort of really big SUV, the sports edition, let’s say a BMW X6M, what they are trying to really do is assert their power and dominance. However, does driving a powerful car make you more powerful? It might make you feel more powerful, but does it make you more powerful? No.

    I think I got it figured out; the reason why Americans love cars so much is because they are democratic. A car is like your external avatar, and you could assume any sort of avatar you desire, as long as you’re willing to spend the money on it, whether it be purchasing it in all cash, financing it, leasing it, renting it, etc.

    For example, when you see people in some sort of high end muscle car, what is it that they desire to assert? Their manliness, their dominance, etc. However, a fun activity I like to do is whenever I see some people driving a high end sports car, I’m always curious to see who the driver is. Typically, I see them trending to be kind of younger men, trying to look hard. Or sometimes old fat dudes.

    The reason why I think cars are so cowardly is because typically, even if you drive a really really loud sports car, a hyper car, a Lamborghini, a Porsche 911 GT3 RS, some sort of high-end muscle car, it looks like the trend is that everyone tints their front windows so dark, almost to limo. Therefore you cannot even see who the driver is. And they also tend to drive with sunglasses on, and often a hat. So you really cannot determine their identity.

    I asked my friend Don Dillon, whether we are more interested in the car or the driver, and he laughed and told me, “of course the car!”

    Be hidden or be seen?

    Thus the strange paradox:

    We want to show off, be loud, assert ourselves and our ego and our dominance, yet, we want our identity to be anonymous? And we don’t want other people to look us directly into the eyes?

    Murdered out Teslas?

    Another trend I’ve seen a lot in Southern California is people buying black on black on black Teslas. It could be a “murdered out“ Tesla Model Y, 3, X, S, etc. also a new trend with the black license plate with a yellow lettering, and also the trend for people to apply a matte black wrap to their cars, making it look like some sort of stealth bomber.

    The hilarity is whenever I see people step out of their Teslas. I’ve actually seen a lot of men with murdered our Tesla model Y’s, complete with the black license plate and yellow lettering, typically they tend to be skinny fat Asian American men, often with a baby or some kids. And also I think it was my friend Elsa Morgan who told me that in the bay area and in Silicon Valley, a Tesla model X is essentially a glorified minivan for men, who still want to feel masculine, without the stigma of driving a minivan.

    My funny thought is better to just fully lean into it; if I buy a new car, it will just be a white Honda Odyssey.

    Back to photo

    Let’s take it back to photography. What is it that we desire in photography, and out of our photos?

    The first I think is we want more power and potency in our photos. The photos we make is our artwork. And what is our artwork? Or artwork or almost like our children; they are some sort of external manifestation of ourselves.

    Show me your photos, and I can see who you are.

    The aesthetic of the photographer is often a reflection of themselves

    For example, my aesthetic. I much love extremely high contrast, black-and-white photos, complete with a lot of grit and grit. Perhaps this is some sort of reflection of my own personal mentality of things.

  • Stoic

    One of my current interest in passions, actually for a long time, is regarding stoicism, philosophy, etc.

    Why? I think in the realm of philosophy, stoicism may be the only school of thought which actually is useful in every day living. For example, conquering fear doubt and hesitation, how to advance through setbacks, how to deal with other people etc.

    EK WORKSHOPS

    Conquer it all:

    1. CONQUER DOWNTOWN LA PHOTO AND LIFE
    2. CONQUER SAIGON VIETNAM
    3. CONQUER THE STREETS OF PHILLY

    Stoicism 2.0?

    I think ever since Nassim Taleb, stoicism has gained a new renaissance. Stoicism is now quite mainstream, and interesting to a lot of people.

    First and foremost, we must interact with other people. No no no, even if you were a monk in the mountains, you will still make friends with villagers etc. No man has his own island.

    I think it is a good idea to be honest here — and we love people. Everybody loves people. The new ones is which types of people we like and we don’t like.

    Why?

    Having the courage to ask why I can be one of the most courageous things we can ask in modern day times. Why? I think in modern-day times, to ask people why is seen as a threat. Or like you’re being critical or judging them in a negative way.

    However for me, I am simply curious. I’m curious why people engage in certain behaviors and activities, and it really isn’t from a space of judging, it is more my personal curiosity about human nature, society, sociology etc.

    Even in Vietnamese, one thing I learned which was insightful was that the question, “Tại sao?“, (在牢?) is seen as an affront.

    tại (“because of; for; to blame”) +‎ sao (“why; how”)

    Therefore, when you ask somebody “Why?” You’re seeking someone to blame?

    Also in Korean, the funny thing, when a parent calls upon their child, and the kid is slightly annoyed, they respond by saying, “왜?” Weh (왜) means “why?” or “what do you want?” When I was in college, and I would teach English to kids in Korea over the summer, I remember finding it so striking that when I will try to call the attention of a Korean kid, they would respond by saying, “Why?” Instead of the standard English, “What?”

    Tai can also mean “…because”.

    Why is to exist?

    I think sooner or later, a lot of people, once they retire, achieve all these accolades in life, etc., will often meditate on the meaning of their existence, why they exist, the purpose of their life, etc.

    However, to meditate on the purpose of your life is simply a steppingstone. It is not the final goal. The final goal is to gain some sort of deeper clarity about the purpose and why of your life, and then, dedicating all of your strength, balls, chutzpah, audacity and courage to attain those goals.

    “For the man who knows the why of his life, he will easily discover the how.” – Nietzsche

    Being disliked or hated?

    The funny thing is in life, it seems that everyone desires to be liked. Yet, what if actually, the opposite word to be desired? To become more heated, fear, or disliked?

    For example, I might be one of the most hated photographers, street photographers, or photography personalities on the internet. Why? People are befuddled by me. People ask me, “what is up with all of these flexing videos?”

    The funny thing is people become indignant when you publish things which are not to their liking. However, this is a funny thing,

    It is all free. Also, you have the power to unsubscribe, or just not click on it or look at it.

    This is this bizarre sense of entitlement people have with the internet:

    “How dare you do things which are against my own personal interests!”

    The simple strategy is to stoutly proceed, and keep marching on, just imagine like juggernaut from the X-Men movie, busting through the walls.

    Or, another visual is imagine the spartan 300, in the movie 300, pushing the Persians off the cliff.

    Why is this all so critical?

    A lot of people follow me and look up to me. A lot of creators look up to me. I feel like it is my duty, my mission, my missionary duty to empower other people and creators.

    I was randomly musing this morning, currently I am 35 years old, born in 1988. When I started traveling the world and doing all this street photography stuff, back in 2010, 2011, I was only 21/22 years old. This means if I do the math, I’ve been in the game for almost 14 or 15 years. Soon this will be 20 years plus.

    Also funny enough, I am lucky enough to see the Internet change and evolve. For example when I was just in high school, a sophomore junior in high school, it was all about Xanga in my space. Then I saw the rise and fall of Flickr, and now, The Fall of Facebook, and the overshadowing of TikTok over Instagram.

    I was in the car with Cindy, and I was randomly thinking, besides Facebook and Instagram, where else can people share their photos?

    arsbeta.com was my first grand mission—

    Creating a proof of concept, a double blind experiment in the realm of photography, that is, if the poster of the photo is anonymous, and the commentator is also anonymous, what type of behavior will this facilitate?

    What I discovered is that it actually promotes good behavior. Why? People are more genuine and honest.

    For example ARS COIN, and ARS BETA RELEASE.

    WHY BECOME A MISSIONARY?

    One of the great ideas that I got from Peter Thiel from “zero to one” — this notion, missionary or mercenary?

    A mercenary mean somebody who works, fights, or labors for some sort of market-determined price for labor. A missionary is somebody who is on a mission, it doesn’t have to be religious. And you don’t have to be some sort of Friar monk with a bald shaved head.

    One of the things which is really inspiring of watching Sergey Nazarov when it comes to his lectures and interviews and presentations is he really doesn’t seem to care for money, he really does care to create something that will change the world for the better.

    Compare Sergey with a lot of these other fake entrepreneurs, who simply want to cash out, buy a Lamborghini, and retire on some sort of desert island.

    My mission?

    Life goals I have had, and done did —

    1. My curiosity ever since I was a teenage kid, not to “work for the man“, become “my own boss“, and earn $100 an hour… and just work a few hours a week (my desire as a 16 year old kid)
    2. When I was around 20, 21 years old: would it even be possible for me to transform my passion, street photography, into a living?
    3. Gain financial independence — FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE RETIRE EARLY, also, gain location independence, becoming a digital nomad. Traveling the world, becoming famous, having solo exhibitions and books etc. Purchasing your freedom. Life post-retirement?
    4. Make money through bitcoin and crypto — three Lamborghinis in the bank.
    5. Have a kid
    6. Atlas lift 935 pounds — 9 plates and a 35 on each side, and rack pull 815 pounds — eight plates and two tens. For reference, I am certain within a short period of time I shall be able to atlas lift at least 10 plates. Can you imagine seeing somebody on the squat rack, getting ready to squat 10 plates on each side? Also, my mythical rack pool; can you imagine seeing somebody about to deadlift eight plates, and 210s on each side of the barbell? I am certain within a year, I will be able to successfully rock pull over nine plates.
    7. Now what?

    ERIC KIM WORKSHOPS

    WHAT CAN YOU BECOME?

    1. DOWNTOWN LA — CONQUER YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY AND LIFE
    2. CONQUER SAIGON VIETNAM
    3. CONQUER STREET PHOTOGRAPHY IN PHILLY

    Stoic training

    1. For the next month, only take icy cold showers. The best way to do this is start off by taking a really really hot shower, until you get really really hot, and then finish cold. Slowly overtime adjust the duration and tempo, until you go only go cold full-time. I’ve been doing this religiously for the last seven or eight years, ever since the cold Michigan winters in East Lansing.
    2. Whenever something bad happens to you in life or you gaining some sort of setback, just say to yourself, “Fuck it!”, then hit the gym, and churn out a new one rep max for your atlas lift or rack pull
    3. For an entire month, whenever you randomly cross paths with somebody in the street or sidewalk, make eye contact, smile and just wave at them.
    4. Don’t use headphones, AirPods, air buds for a month. This includes the gym.
    5. Practice driving without any music, radio, podcast, on. Drive mute.
    6. As a nighttime routine, don’t read nothing but stoic philosophy. Read the meditations by Marcus Aurelius, and also the letters of Seneca.

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    Stoic Films?

    1. The godfather
    2. John Wick
    3. The movie 300

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    A stoic platform?

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    Thoughts, ideas, random stuff on my mind

    1. What does it mean to gain more power? Is feeling more powerful the same as actually being more powerful?
    2. How to deal with bullshit: just ignore?
    3. The market is stupid. Otherwise, how does Pepsi sell Mountain Dew?
    4. To improve your website, disable bullshit
    5. An upgrade means having less
    6. Don’t do anything to “benefit others“, rather, only do things to benefit yourself.
    7. People want to murder out their cars, but instead, better to just murder out yourself.
    8. Real masculinity versus fake masculinity?
    9. Just do as you please, deal with the consequences later.
    10. Just buy a cop car: for example, the Ford explorer ST?
    11. A good reason to wear all black clothing; let’s distracting to yourself when you drive?
    12. Visibility is critical in cars
    13. Patience.
    14. Always anticipate the worst case scenario traffic.

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