Month: February 2020

A thought: Perhaps life is more interesting and enjoyable when we strive towards infinite gains, in a slow and steady manner. For example when it comes to powerlifting, I love the idea that as long as I keep eating, training, and giving it all of my courage, my “one rep max” will continue to grow…

A good way to live life: Simply avoid being a sucker (however you define this for yourself). For example, when it comes to economic matters or purchasing decisions– don’t get suckered. Don’t get suckered into buying things which are contrary to your own personal preferences. What does it mean to get suckered? It is all…

I love faces:

Share YOUR THOUGHTS, YOUR IDEAS, use the word “I” more often.

Focus on you:

Who are the best people to surround yourself with? Your equals.

Don’t let others lord over you; lord over yourself!

Media and entertainment is good when it empowers and motivates us to do stuff. Entertainment and media is bad when it pacifies us.

Creating is good for ourselves, our ego, and our sense of changing and altering the world. Creating as the ultimate joy!

If you want to achieve your most epic self, you MUST become self-employed.

How strong can you become? Test your own strengths as a point of personal curiosity for yourself.

Don’t let anyone talk down on you, or discourage you from attempting your own epic life goals:

For more joy, create more!

This Taoist notion that I follow and love: Never do anything that your body, gut, or instinct doesn’t do intuitively.  This means, more faith in yourself, your instincts, and your own animal like predilections than to force yourself to do what is “responsible”, “necessary”, and “productive”.

Striving for perfection is paralyzing. Better to produce and make a lot (quantity) rather than aim for ‘quality’.

I’m so motivated because I’m in hyper-health, physiologically thriving, through powerlifting and sleeping a lot, through intermittent fasting, and eating lots of meat. Also, the child-like curiosity in creating new things!

Creativity isn’t this superpower you’re born with (or not). Creativity is having the DESIRE or the motivation to CREATE and make stuff! Also, creativity is something which can be trained (like our muscles)!

To conquer photography, we must kill all prior notions of photography, and declare to ourselves: I shall become the most epic photographer of all-time, and build up all my creative/visual faculties to the maximum!

The future of art and philosophy: photography.

What is the best camera? Currently it is the RICOH GR III, then probably iPhone Pro. Let me explain:

“Unless you expect the unexpected, you will not find it, for it is hidden and thickly tangled.” – Heraclitus This is what makes street photography so fun — discovering compositions which are hidden — in plain sight, in everyday life. Your challenge as a street photographer is to find it! With sketches: Side by side:…

An image is something you see. An idea is also based on the notion “to see”. Thus as a photographer, you’re both an image maker AND an idea maker.

Sad thing — I’ve seen a lot of street photographers come and go. It seems they’ve run out of inspiration or motivated. Here is what has been my secret to keep going!

Better to be misunderstood than understood. People who aren’t easy to read are more interesting?

Epic attempts are more interesting than how much you can ultimately lift or do.

An idea as image:

My thought: To maximize your impact and change in the world, embrace MAXIMUM SELFISHNESS, and barbell ‘maximum altruism’ on the other end.

What is the best life? The life of the maximal self-independence, and maximal self-augmentation.

My thought: In life, we always want to feel that our power, influence, and strength is ASCENDING. It brings us great dismay when we feel our power is descending. 

There are no ultimate morals or ethics in street photography:

In order to MAXIMIZE your productivity, you must SIMPLIFY your life to the maximum as well!

The point of simplifying your life isn’t in order to become a more ‘virtuous’ person. To simplify your life is a highly pragmatic matter: The more you simplify your life, the more you can maximize your personal creative productivity.

Practical tips on how to become a more productive artist and creator:

To blog, vlog, and log yourself on the internet — To share your stream of constantly becoming with others.

To photograph yourself means: Select a certain aesthetic to convey your personal aesthetic tastes, moods, or attitude towards life. Only photograph what you consider beautiful. Or if you want to photograph what you consider ugly, do it with intent. Don’t strive to make “good” photos. Strive to make HONEST photos that reveal part of yourself…

There is the saying “You are what you eat” which means: If you consume nutritious foods, you shall become powerful. If you consume bad foods, you shall become weak and fat. Perhaps we can approach this attitude to photography — If you are what you photograph, by photographing what brings you joy will make you…

What is the worst thing holding us back? This obsession for views, likes, and followers. To truly thrive as a photographer and visual artist, you must learn to DISDAIN views, likes, and followers.

My thought: The perfect conditions of existence is the optimal circumstances you need to maximize your artistic and philosophical output.

Notions of “cheating” or “unfairness” are only problems or issues if you’re competing with others. A thought — perhaps it is better to live a life that is ANTI competition? You are only competing against yourself. No competition with anyone else means you don’t need to feel jealous or envious towards others. Also, you don’t…

I am a pessimistic optimist— I love and accept all the cruelty, tragedy, and unfairness in the world, yet I am optimistic about our individual ability to change ourselves and change the world.

Apparently there is a saying in Chinese: Health begins from your feet upwards. Which made me think: The source of all photography begins in your feet!

A new aesthetic — black and red (beyond black and white):

The best person or group to conquer? Yourself.

The upside of becoming yourself: Increased joy, self confidence, and motivation to live!

I love black and white because: Black and white SIMPLIFIES your compositions Black and white is challenging: A ‘creative constraint’ of monochrome is interesting because it begs the question, “How can you make an interesting image without adding the interest of color?” Black and white is simpler, more minimal — which follows my personal aesthetics.…

The great thing about having a unique perspective: Nobody can refute your perspective as being ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. All perspectives are subjective — the great liberating thought!

Your goal in life, not to become anyone else, but become MORE YOU!

Anti-perfection in life:

What lies latent within you? What hidden powers do you have, that you haven’t discovered yet, or let out yet?

Why this cult of productivity? My theory– we want to become more productive (in order to make more money), in order to gain our personal freedom in life.