LIFE IS NOT FAIR

Cindy mask. Nyc, 2015
Cindy mask. Nyc, 2015

Life ain’t fair… are you gonna sit, mope, and complain, or do something about it?

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But I wasn’t asked to be born!

Contact sheet. Cindy mask. Nyc, 2015
Contact sheet. Cindy mask. Nyc, 2015

Primo, life is not fair.

We were put in this world without our own permission. For example, we cannot control that our parents gave birth to us. First principle:we were put on earth against our own will, and without our own power.

Then we are put into school (also against our will). Consider, no child wants to go to school. We would rather play, maybe read books, and have fun.

We get older. Our teachers suck the creativity, rebelliousness out of us. They make us passive. They either do it through “discipline” or by drugging us with Ritalin to “focus”. What if BEING DISTRACTED was the source of creativity and innovation?

Anyways, our parents force us to study. Force us to study a “profitable” major in college. We then are pressured to get a job we hate, to earn money, to gain “respect”, and work hard…and maybe one day buy a house, a BMW, and travel the world, and retire at age 65, and you can be a passive cow and “not have to work anymore” until you die (maybe age 80).

Life is fucking cruel.

Ok, what can we do about it?

Man at jukebox. The old colony, Provincetown 2016
Man at jukebox. The old colony, Provincetown 2016

Some inconvenient truths, which you can exploit to help you get ahead in life:

  1. It isn’t what you know, it is WHO you know:They also call this “social capital”. If you want to succeed in life, build the right connections. For me, the biggest benefit going to UCLA was curating a network of ambitious, talented, hard working, individuals. I met Cindy at UCLA (she’s phenomenal, probably modern day Renaissance woman), friends who are innovators who went to Google, Facebook, and are entrepreneurs and hustlers. Therefore, know that the social milieu in which you interact is very important. It is true that you are the average of the 5 closest people in your life, just like your 5 fingers. Therefore, to succeed, go to a prestigious college to meet the right people. Or seek to gain access to influential people.
  2. Cut negative folks from your life: If you have friends and family who are negative energy, nay sayers, or talk down on you… be brutal. Cut them out of your life. My dad was a black cloud, a cancer consuming me. I cut him out of my life, and finally I have shed off his rusty shackles, and now I can fly to the heavens with my golden wings.
  3. You cannot control the social conditions in which you were born in, but you can change your life: Some of us were born in life like an RPG— some of us with advantages(born rich, like being born at level 50). Some of us are born at level 0 (middle class). Some of us are born at -10 level (poverty, poor). Don’t let your starting level in life decide your final outcome. You can grind hard, and level up… and make it to level 99. Then, like Pokémon (missing No. hack), you can find a glitch in the game (reality) to make it to level 255+ (I remember having a level 260 Snorlax).

My life story

Heart tattoo. Downtown La, 2011
Heart tattoo. Downtown La, 2011

To sum up, life is fucking cruel, and doesn’t give a shit about you or your happiness.

Life doesn’t care that you were born with an abusive rather, who gambled away the rent money, and mentally abused your mom for decades.

Life doesn’t care you were born poor.

Life doesn’t care … but do YOU care about YOU? Do you want to actually take your own power in your own hands, and make a real change in your life?

Personal remedies

Sweat. Downtown LA, 2016.
Sweat. Downtown LA, 2016.

If so, here are some things that have helped me. They probably won’t help you:

  1. Hustle for side jobs, little freelance jobs, or extra shifts, or another job. Make more money. More money means more options and freedom in your life.
  2. Don’t hang out with leeches, or unambituous people. Slowly distance yourself with these individuals.
  3. Seek mentors in real life or books: Find people you want to emulate.
  4. Know you can create a “reality distortion field” like STEVE JOBS to control your own future and reality.
  5. See yourself as an underdog— this will make your life story or movie more exciting. Pride yourself in being an underdog, and you will NOT self-pity yourself. You will have pride in your humble beginnings, and use that to DRIVE YOI FORWARD AND UPWARDS!

And never talk down on yourself. No, your gender, sex, family background, or culture does NOT AFFECT your potential or how high you can rise.

How to change your future

Empty space. Marseille, 2016 #cindyproject
Empty space. Marseille, 2016 #cindyproject

Your future can be dictated by:

  1. Taking more (calculated) risks.
  2. Not giving a fuck what others think of you.
  3. Starting your own business and becoming an entrepreneur.

POEM: YOUR LIFE IS SHORT.

Cindy at the beach. Fort Bragg, 2016
Cindy at the beach. Fort Bragg, 2016

Your life is short,
Why sit around, and mope?

Why not take power into your own hands and HOPE
that a few years from now, your life will DOPE

Always rebound from losses, Jack Dempsey ROPE A DOPE
know that you got God on your side, HOLY POPE
The grim reaper has his scythe against your THROAT,
hustle hard in life and you’ll never choke.

My wedding ring with Cindy’s hand. 2016
My wedding ring with Cindy’s hand. 2016

BE STRONG,
ERIC