Dear friend,

A philosophical idea: to live a more epic and fulfilling life, never seek an “end”; instead, seek to create, produce, and make stuff, forever, until you die!

So the biggest mistake I made in my photography, life, philosophy is this: Thinking that there is somehow some ultimate/perfect “magnum opus” creative-art project I needed to make before I died. And in philosophy, trying to discover some “ultimate truth” that would solve all of my life answers, and to be happy forever.

But thinking like this detracted me. I just ended up hitting dead ends.

I think right now, my thinking is simple:

Never stop making stuff until you die.

What do you want to do with your life?

I think to live a happier and more satisfying/fulfilling life is simple: just make more stuff.

Making more stuff means:
– Make more photos,
– Write more stuff
– Make more videos or films
– Make more ideas
– Make anything!

Then, of course it is beneficial to share/publish whatever you make. You don’t need to, but when you share what you make, it feels good. Your work feels more purposeful, when you’re sharing it with people who will appreciate it, and also when your work can help inspire/motivate/amaze them!

Now, the great thing is that whatever you make is art. There’s no such thing as good or bad art. If you’ve made something and you’re proud of it, your artwork is good. Photos is art, poetry is art, sculpture is art, dance is art, film is art; anything and everything cam be art, as long as what you make is purposeful.

Assuming you don’t die in a texting-while-driving accident, you’re probably going to live a a long time. Maybe into your 90s or to 100+ years old. Assuming this is the case, don’t you want to avoid boredom, well into your old age?

Picasso painted or made (on average) 1-2 art pieces a day, everyday, until he died at age 91! He experimenter with everything: painting, sculpture, prints, ceramics, stage designing, poetry, and plays. Here are Picasso self-portraits from age 15 until age 90:

Lesson 1: Don’t cage yourself into a single category. See yourself as a “full stack” artist/photographer/visual artist, etc.

Keep growing your creative tree

The more you experiment, the more interesting your life will be as an artist.

For example, I’ve been feeling super lifted by experimenting with all forms of digital creation: making my own beats in garage band, making slideshows, making music videos, making short films, writing poetry, making photos, doing freestyle rapping/poetry, sketching, and tracing.

The analogy is this: you’re a tree. Your branches keep growing taller and taller, and they also spread out horizontally. And your roots keep growing deeper and deeper.

Kyoto flash diagonal

Kyoto orange Golden triangle

Orange Kyoto abstract

And the epic thing is this: you start to “cross pollinate” your various interests, and thus you benefit from things which seem unrelated.

For example, studying cinema has improved my photography, because I experiment more with low and high angles, and I’ve been incorporating more layers into my photos.

Making my own music has helped me make more photography slideshows, and has also helped perhaps activate another creative part of my brain.

Lesson: Don’t categorize yourself as an artist. Give yourself permission to pursue any form of art or thing you’re interested in; avoid “self-tyranny” at all costs!

Never Stop

Can’t stop, won’t stop!

Never stop writing, making videos, making photos, whatever.

This blog has been alive since 2010 (8 years so far), and I’ve written on average 1-2 blog posts everyday (4,000 blog posts in total), I got 1,000+ videos on my YouTube channel, and I’ve probably shot millions of photos.

But the fun thing is this: I’m still learning, evolving, and having fun! Philosophically, I think we’re always in a state of flux as photographers and visual artists. So never stop making!

ERIC