Economic Immortality

Some more thoughts about economics, and you:

Economic immortality 

I think why this is such an important thing to think about and consider is that when it comes to money and economics, this affects any single and every single human being on the planet, all 8 billion of us.

There is no society on the planet that does not rely upon money in order for us to pay rent, purchase food, pay for electricity and Wi-Fi etc.

Now I think the bizarre carrot and stick we are fed in America is to get super super rich, in order to purchase certain things. For example, to one day be able to purchase a Lamborghini, Ferrari, whatever.

But the issue here is thinking about maintenance cost, and the productive half-life of something.

So for example, let’s just say you buy the new Porsche Lamborghini or Ferrari whatever, I think initially… It will bring you a huge wave of exhilaration and excitement! Maybe the same feeling of the excitement of being able to bed and insanely beautiful woman!

But… The second that you bet her, and you blow your load, boom time to go to sleep. And let us say that you are with this insanely beautiful supermodel babe days weeks months and years… It seems that this playboy man, eventually his enthusiasm may change. 

I think thing with beauty, in the context of vehicles homes cars women etc.… Man is ever fickle, he always seeks novelty. 

Now the unsustainable model is this guy just keeps working himself to death, attempting to stack his billions on billions, kind of like the Jay Z model, in order to purchase all these things he desires.

“I bought every V12 engine, I wish I could take it back to the beginning.” – JAY Z, THE LIFE OF OJ

In this line from the life of OJ, I find it a really fascinating thought… he says he has already amassed enough wealth to purchase every single automobile car with a V12 engine. So when he says that he wants to take it back to the beginning… What does he mean to say? Does he mean to say that he wishes that he didn’t waste all that money on all these V12 engine vehicles, and had invested that money instead? Or, he wishes that he could take it back to the beginning before he was super rich and successful, in order for him to feel hungry and scrappy again like he was in the beginning? Or maybe both — a double entendre — what rappers are masters at?

Regardless, there are some fools who seek biological life immortality, these weirdos and Silicon Valley guys who want to live 100,000 years or whatever by uploading their consciousness to the cloud whatever. I personally find this to be a very poor poor idea,  and also very bizarre… I found a lot of men who does actually do this, practically no women.  Maybe women are more wise; they know that if they become 300 years old or whatever… No amount of plastic surgery, Botox, fillers, or cosmetic aesthetic surgery or whatever could make them forever look like a sexy 26-year-old babe or something. In fact, being here in LA, I see this a lot… Women, who are still beautiful and sexy, but beyond their prime… Maybe in their mid 40s, 50s, 60s… Who might have had Botox or some sort of facial surgery somewhere in the past… And it doesn’t age well…

I’ve also noticed this issue with any sort of facial injections or Botox or plastic surgery; especially with Koreans, Korean women, and now even Korean men! If you see them in the flesh, in the dark sunlight… It really does look like plastic, and all that white stuff looks caked on… a little bit frightening almost like the joker? 

This is why you should never judge anybody until you have met them in the flesh, face to face, standing next to them, in the direct sunlight, outside. There’s only so much you could take behind an iPhone camera and selfie mode, with nice indoor lighting.

Better for economic immortality, and be Spartan… than to live like a Persian slave? 

What is the ultimate asset that you have? Your attention, your time, your focus. If you wake up, with your iPhone charging next to you, and the first thing you do is check your email… You are a slave. Or, if by not taking your email you can get fired… You are also a digital slave.

Or, if you cannot delete your Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube channel, Twitter without economic impoverishment… you are not free. 

What is economic immorality?

I think the general idea is for your capital to outlive you. That as time goes on, your pile of capital continues to accumulate indefinitely, kind of like a tree that ever grows taller and taller overtime, gradually but surely, and continues to expand her branches and leaves… Sprouting new seeds, propagating herself etc.

The reason why I like this metaphor is that the funny thought is perhaps we human beings… We’re not that different from trees. What we seek is dominance! Apparently in the rainforest… Only the tallest trees, that can outgrow the competition, and get to the highest height, can capture the sunlight, which allows it to produce seeds. If you’re in the rainforest, And you’re not tall enough, and you cannot access sunlight… You’re not going to produce any seeds.

Is the reason people don’t want to have kids because they’re not rich enough? 

I don’t think so. I think part of it is a strange brainwashing from these tree hugging childless liberals who seek to help serve “the planet”, over humanity.

For example, the bizarre thought that having kids is bad “for the planet”…  this is one of the most weird thoughts of all time… The question:

Are kids made for the planet… Or is the planet made for kids? 

You fools! Don’t you know, if suddenly every single human being on the planet stopped producing children, stopped having kids… Though within a generation or two the entire human race would go extinct?

If you had the scenario… What would you prefer–

1. The death of humanity

You are supreme dictator of the planet, and you force sterilize every single human being on the planet, which makes it impossible for any single human to give birth to a new child, and therefore it is guaranteed that no more children will be produced on the planet.

As a consequence, you have “saved” the planet and the earth and the environment – but within a generation or two, let us say 200 years, every single human being on the planet parishes, and the human race goes extinct. Then would you be happy?

2. “Carbon footprint”?

It is certain that humans burning coal and creating emissions is doing something to the planet, it is certainly changing it, my friend calls it “global weirding”. Weather patterns are becoming more and more weird. But the idea that one day the planet will become in inhabitable is false.  I believe is that more and more extremes will happen; maybe in Los Angeles, the summers will keep getting hotter and hotter, maybe eventually making it to the point that it is not uncommon to have whether in the 90s, mid 90s, even the hundreds, or the low hundreds kind of like Arizona or Nevada. And then in the winter, getting really really cold, like the 30s or something. Or maybe even the 20s?

I suppose here is we’re buying beachfront property is a desire or a strategy for some people, like purchasing property in Santa Monica, Venice, Venice Beach, Miami Beach etc. Even in Orange County, Newport Beach or Dana Point is the most highly sought after. Why? Maybe if in the next 50 years, the planet will keep getting hotter,  then being closer to the water and feeling the ocean breeze might be a good thing.

Certainly if the planet gets really really cold, this is also very very bad, but I suppose here is where humans are better adapted, if it is like 20° or 30° in LA, it sucks but at least you could buy a Canada goose jacket. If it is 120°, Like in Saudi Arabia or Dubai… At this point, is it literally impossible to just leave the house? Without air conditioning?

Simple ideas

If you think about thermodynamics, the simple strategy is to prevent heat loss. For example, if you think about the human body, technically we actually have enough heat in our body to keep us warm wherever we are or go.

So if we apply thermo dynamic principles to money and finances,  the similar principal applies: the goal is to prevent yourself from heat loss, or economic energy loss, or money loss, or financial loss.

A simple one is delete or unsubscribe from all of your subscriptions. All of your media streaming music services, your gym memberships etc. Get rid of Spotify.

Also as a simple filter, consume no media which is advertising supported, this includes Joe Rogan, or your favorite media personalities. Why, err regardless of how much you love them, as long as they are getting paid a check, to promote some sort of service or product, they and you are not 100% free.

In fact, even advice for people like Tim Ferriss, of who I am a big fan… Tim, you’re original, why don’t you just privately finance your podcast and books, you don’t have anything left to prove to anybody? You have already achieved all of the success you really need, Just give it away for free, without annoying advertisements, and just do a pro bono because it is your passion?

Creating new media hosting platforms 

OK something insanely annoying… My video press.com account, prevents me from uploading videos anymore. Maybe I’ll just start posting it myself, and providing direct links instead?

I suppose this is where it is useful that I got into the Internet in the 90s and the early 2000s… I have good knowledge about FTPs, and online storage. And websites.

I met a lot of aspiring filmmakers and creators, who still don’t have their own self hosted website, are they fools?

Simple:

  1. Ionos.com or bluehost.com, and just sign up for the cheapest self hosted server plan, which gives you access to your own FTP server, in which you could directly upload your own video files or whatever, and provide direct download links for people.
  2. Use WordPress.org we’re only trust open source things. Why? Open source lasts longer; because typically when people create open source stuff, they do it because it is their passion not because there is a financial motive. Therefore as a consequence, it typically lasts.

It is not guaranteed that a passion project will last, we have good duration, but, perhaps the true indicator is this:

If you were offered a financial incentive or motivation to publish somethunf with a publisher, but you refused and you gave it away for free instead… you are true.

100 Lessons From The Masters Of Street Photography — this will last forever.

Why bitcoin will last forever

Even if you think about this, ultimate generous act; to create something invent something, anonymously, to give it away for free and then disappear forever… Isn’t this the ultimate generous act?

Satoshi did this. It is probably doubtful that he is Japanese, his English is too good. Probably after some Caucasian American man, slightly anti-establishment, anti-beings, a programming whiz, really believed in this. Kind of like the founder of Linux, etc. 

This is where you should never put any faith in any sort of corporation, product, security, or crypto crypto acid which has had a general founder. Why? When the founder dies, and there is no more vision… The whole thing will probably go under.

Steve Jobs vision was to create a company imputed with so much creative passion that it would outlive him. It seems like he has won here. Procreate wasn’t invented or created yet when Steve Jobs was alive, and if you think about it… The true ultimate vision of Steve Jobs was to create iPad, no stupid stylist, no stupid keyboard. This is why if you are a true fanboy, a true acolyte of Steve Jobs, what you would do is just use the 11 inch iPad Pro, no stupid accessories. You are a true innovator this way.

A true and grand man with real vision?

To become a true visionary is to see beyond well, monetization, even your own financial well-being. A true visionary doesn’t really care for money; Elon Musk doesn’t care about money, Jeff Bezos doesn’t, Peter Thiel doesn’t, Steve Jobs didn’t.

Maybe this is where we have to ask Jay Z and Kanye from our economic minds; I think the pernicious thing in the African-American community is around money. Why? It makes sense; even in America, talking to my friend Ray.. racism is still alive and well, and I don’t think it’s necessarily gotten any better. Certainly there is more access, there is no more legal laws which prohibit a certain race a person to purchase property, but still, people are still going to be racist towards you towards the pigment of your skin, your morphology, your genetic heritage etc., assuming that you are not Anglo-Saxon protestant Caucasian man in America.

Even Jewish people, they are not white. They are closet white, or “white passing“, — as long as America never elect or votes for a Jewish American president, Jewish people in Jewish businessmen will always be at a disadvantage, lower on the totem pole.

Even a Donald Trump… Certainly he is not Christian or religious or whatever… But he is certainly not Jewish. 

Even Catholics, Catholicism… Besides John F. Kennedy, Catholicism and being Catholic is still the weird sub-sect.

so what are we to do?

First, stop the heat loss, stop the oxygen loss, stop the bleeding! The most critical thing to consider in regards to economic policy for yourself, is to stop all debt, stop bleeding, and don’t leverage any debt or bad things!

Mortgages?

If you live in California, the taxes will bleed your dry. Even if you live somewhere like Florida, which has a lower tax jurisdiction, there are still taxes!

Which means, with property, you never really own the property, you simply have a lease from the government to borrow it. Do you have more privileges like building stuff on top of it, but still, as long as you have to pay a forever home owner city tax, you don’t really own it. 

Perhaps this is where people get tempted by certain things like clothing or cars, if you purchase it in all cash, technically you do own it. 

Avoid the indoors like the plague 

A lot of people coughing now, indoors. Maybe then the wise ideas to avoid indoors like the play, kind of like early Covid days. And also, maybe starting to become wise again to wear a facemask when going anywhere indoors?

–> always live life like it is COVID?

Because the issue here is not even catching Covid is just getting sick! I don’t want to catch the common cold; which has no vaccine. 

Every day is different

Each and every day is different… Never planned the night before. Just do what you feel like morning of. 

Bitcoin is digital cash

I think Satoshi wrote this in the bitcoin white paper, and also this is interesting because the notion of cash, because the simple ideas with a home or property or whatever… Either 100% all cash offer or nothing.

If you have to finance it, just keep stacking your money until you do it all cash.

But also the issue… If you think like a real investor, and you think about 10, 100 X, 1000 X gains… There’s almost nothing worth purchasing.

For example, at this point I could technically purchase anything I want. As long as it is less than $1 million. But the thing is… There’s nothing worth purchasing, nothing I value purchasing considering if my bitcoin can 10x, 100x, 1000x or even 10,000x from here.

Never spend money on yourself only others

Besides purchasing some weightlifting equipment from Titan.fitness from my remaining PayPal balance, I haven’t spent money on anything perhaps the last year?

I think the big thing is not because I’m doing it out of a sense of virtuality, but instead, ethos is that there is just nothing worth it?

And also, I’m starting to understand that I like the idea of things rather than actually owning it. Even my friend Don Dillon told me this about his Porsche 911 GT3: maybe we like the idea of something more than actually owning it.

This is where I love marketing, marketing materials, marketing copy images videos etc.; it is also inspirational, motivational, and interesting to me! For example, I do not wish even my worst enemy to own a Ferrari, the maintenance costs on these things are insane; at least a Lamborghini is just an Audi or a Volkswagen with a body kit; so if you’re going to fix your Lamborghini Huracan V10 engine… You could presumably use Volkswagen or Audi parts. But with Ferrari… You’re screwed. Do you want to fix your suspension, or your engine? Say goodbye to $200,000. And even if you’re super rich… Even a billionaire… To spend $200,000 to fix your car is always going to be annoying. And will irk you in a bad way.


“Finance”?

So studying some etymology for the word finance, the general idea is that finance literally means to hold someone at ransom? 

Very bad apparently, 99.99% of people finance their homes, which means that they take out a 30 year mortgage or whatever. And also even worse, apparently talking to some guys at the Toyota dealership, most people also finance their cars. This is horrible idea for many reasons:

  1. First, if you’re going to take any APR that is above 0%, you’re in the red. Even 1.99% APR… That is lost money.
  2. If you have to do a down payment on a car, and finance it, that is money you could’ve put into bitcoin, and 1000x’d — a $5M mistake, assuming that the average down payment on a car is $5000 USD.

Even more foolish is to Lisa vehicles; because once again, after three years you have to give it back! So you have literally pissed your money down the drain.

How to know whether people are really rich or not rich?

  1. If they have not paid off the mortgage on the house in full, then they are not rich.
  2. If they drive a Tesla, they are not rich
  3. If they have a job they are not rich

Richness, is absence. The absence of having to have a job, the absence of having to “work“.

Does it matter?

I’m more critical thing to consider, which is even beyond my personal scope: does it matter? 

For example, why do you care to see or know how rich somebody is, in comparison to you?

I don’t think it really matters.

Maybe it comes out of a sense of insecurity; do you have to always weigh yourself according to others, maybe it is simply lack of self-esteem? And also, is this a socialized thing?

Because for example, if you were Achilles, you would not care about how rich somebody wasn’t comparison to you. I’ll Achilles was weary of just conquering towns for the sake of king Agamemnon. He just wanted to take Breisis his prize, and just retire to his fertile lands. And of course, after Hector kills Patroclus, on accident, thinking that it was Achilles… Achilles’ sole objective was to enact revenge by killing Hector. He had no use for golden tripods, more cattle in the like. Even the whole period of time in which he is trying to get his revenge, he actually forces his self not to eat– and of course the gods infuse him with ambrosia so he won’t starve to death, but still technically… he is technically “intermittent fasting“ the whole time.


Live like Achilles

Maybe the secret to economic immortality is to just live like Achilles. Your only joy is through combat, physical valor, strength, muscle.

My very very simple suggestion is quit your gym membership cancel your gym membership, and use that money to buy your own barbell and weights. If you want to do it super cheap, just purchase a sandbag, and buy some cheap place and from Home Depot, only about five dollars for a 50 pound bag.

Also, armor. 60 pound weight vest from Titan.fitness. 

And then, your joy is just maximum time outside, in the direct elements, training, for life.

ERIC