We are often told that life has much grey in between. But I don’t like the idea. I prefer the idea that life is binary — black and white, strong or weak, to keep or ditch, friend or not friend.

Consider with consumerist and purchasing behaviors as well — either you buy it, or you don’t.

Perhaps the further we can advance life as being binary, the better. Or simply put:

Avoid the middle, avoid the grey, avoid the boring and mediocre in life.

All or nothing. Barbell philosophy. Embrace the extremes.

PHILOSOPHY by KIM

PHILOSOPHY by KIM

Philosophical Essays

• OUR PHILOSOPHICAL WILL TO EXISTENCE
• Is Hope a Vice?
• MOVE MEAN
• Carte Blanche Ideals
• One Interesting Thought
• What Lasts? What Doesn’t Last?
• A WOUND STIMULATES THE RECUPERATIVE POWERS
• Children & Purpose
• Thoughts on Becoming a Parent
• Where Does Our Desire to Upgrade Come From?
• WE ALWAYS NEED SOMETHING FURTHER TO ASPIRE TO.
• Self-Task Yourself an Awesome Mission in Life
• Differentiation vs Equalization
• My Passion to *Become* Something More
• No Aesthetic or Ethos is Forever
• What is Your Higher Purpose in Life?
• IT WILL NEVER SATISFY YOU.
• How to Decide
• Things You *Want* to Do vs Things You *MUST* Do
• Towards a More Beautiful Mode of Existence and Future
• EXTREME GRATITUDE.
• AMAP (As Much as Possible) or None.
• Why or How Does it Matter?
• The Philosophy of Time and Events
• How *Not* to Resent
• FORWARD LOOKING
• DOMAIN FLEXIBILITY.
• The Miracle of Human Growth
• EXTREME ADAPTATION.
• Why Plan?
• You Don’t Need to Justify Yourself
• The Philosophy of Ego
• True vs False Passions
• How to Achieve Tranquility
• On Making Your Own Philosophy
• The Purpose of Life is to Create New Life
• Think On!
• The Wisdom of Doing Nothing
• Congruency
• My Thoughts on Meditation
• The Philosophy of Purpose
• Emulate Yourself
• Good Fear, Bad Fear
• For the Betterment of Humanity or Just Yourself?
• What you *really* believe in and care for is manifested through your actions (or non-actions)
• Why Culture is Your Enemy
• YOUR EXPERIENCES ARE KING.
• LIFE IS INHERENTLY GOOD.
• Artistic, Physical, and Philosophical Muscles
• All New Experiences are Good Experiences
• What is the Purpose of X?
• UTILITY.
• Philosophy is a Luxury
• The Attempt is More Interesting than the Result
• Joyfulness vs “Happiness”
• Effectiveness Over Happiness
• Self Actualization
• MAXIMAL ENGAGEMENT
• Life & Pain
• On Living Every Day with No Regret
• Learn as if you’re going to live forever, live as if you’re going to die tomorrow
• Live Every Day Like it Were the Last Day of Your Life
• Self-Determination
• FALSE GRATITUDE vs REAL GRATITUDE
• HOW TO LIVE MORE
• THE UPSIDE OF TRAGEDY
• Satisfaction is a Sucker’s Game
• Supreme Repose
• WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF LIFE? According to ERIC KIM
• STUBBORN, FLEXIBLE
• EVERYTHING HAPPENS AS IT *SHOULD* HAVE HAD HAPPENED
• Good Addiction, Bad Addiction?
• What is the Best Life?
• The Philosophy of Thinking
• The Philosophy of Conspiracies
• Conspiracies
• Growth
• Skepticism.
• What Do You Really Want Out of Life?
• Seem or Be?
• Learn Through Pain
• Respect Yourself
• In Praise of Elitism
• Why Independent Thinking?
• I Will Never Die
• Bitter is Better
• The Genesis of Nihilism and Existential Dread
• The Ethics of Personal Enrichment
• Good vs Not Good
• Punished by Privilege
• Abstinence Over Moderation
• Just Leave Others Alone
• You Can Only Critique that Which You Truly Understand and Love
• ERIC KIM Critique of Metaphysics
• Only Trust Philosophers Who Deadlift
• Heuristic: If Someone Talks Shit About Others Behind Their Back, Most Likely They’re Also Talking Shit About You Behind Your Back
• Virtue is a Privilege
• What Are Your Life Goals?
• Honesty
• Why I’m Anti Moderation
• No Spite, No Malice.
• Ascending Life or Descending Life?
• Double Edged Sword
• Ignorance.
• Why I Don’t Trust “Nice Guys”
• Why You Must Share Your Opinion
• Selfish Isn’t Evil
• Wisdom is the Goal
• YOU ARE KING.
• MASTER YOURSELF
• What is “Good” for You is Often what is Bad for You
• Care.
• BITTERSWEET
• ONE REP MAX
• Morality and Ethics is the Snare
• BY HELPING YOURSELF, YOU BEST HELP OTHERS
• Insanity is Good.
• Think Deep.
• PHILOSOPHY IS THE FUTURE.
• Open Mind vs Closed Mind
• ENTHUSIASM IS GENIUS
• Towards a More Critical and Rigorous Line of Thinking
• How to Encourage and a Foster Independent and Free Thinking
• What is the Purpose of Life?
• WHY PHILOSOPHY IS SUPREME.
• Elitism.
• I Cannot Form an Opinion About Somebody Until I’ve Met Them in the Flesh
• ALL GENETICS ARE GOOD GENETICS.
• Happiness vs Freedom
• The Birth of a Hater
• My Way Isn’t the Right Way
• Walking as an Existential Thing
• Why I’m So Tolerant
• Mortal Gods
• THE HUMAN SPECIES
• Why I’m So Skeptical
• Just Follow the Money
• Why Selfish?
• WHY WE CANNOT BLAME OTHERS
• Why Are We So Anti Elitism?
• What Actually Interests You?
• How to Become Yourself
• SELF HATE
• Optimistic Fatalism
• Death is the Ultimate Creative Constraint
• FLUX.
• How to Think for Yourself
• FLESH
• How to Live the Best Life
• Why Live a Life Without Regrets?
• Why Plato Ruined Art and Aesthetics for Us
• Self Respect
• Hypocrite vs Contradict
• Ideals vs Reality
• Spaceship Philosophy
• What is Your Ideal Life?
• MY EXTREME GRATITUDE TOWARDS LIFE AND BEING ALIVE!
• Critique of Utilitarianism
• Don’t Treat Others the Way You Want to Be Treated
• The Eternal Recurrence of Tragedy and Joy in Life
• Elite Asceticism
• Why I Don’t Like Numbers
• Action and Reaction, Cause and Effect
• The Antidote to Nihilism: The Philosophy of Nothingness
• ERIC KIM Notes on Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
• EXPLOIT CHAOS.
• WHY I DON’T BELIEVE IN GENETICS
• Self-Wisdom
• The Future Belongs to the Fearless
• INDIVIDUALISM
• Why Live Forever?
• THIS TOO WILL PASS.
• Why Education?
• How to Become Yourself
• Things Shouldn’t Go Back to the Way They Used to Be
• Why Am I So Cruel?
• The Great Joy of Existence
• Virtue for the Sake of Virtue
• NO DISDAIN.
• INTELLIGENT IGNORANCE
• A LIFE WITHOUT PAIN, DIFFICULTY OR TRAGEDY ISN’T A LIFE WORTH LIVING
• BITTER IS BETTER.
• EXPLOIT THE BEST FROM TRAGEDY AND LIFE 
• DISREGARD FOR SELF-PRESERVATION
• PAIN.
• WHAT IF EVERYTHING IS NOT GONNA BE ALRIGHT?
• Tomorrow is Never
• Life is the Ultimate Creative Constraint
• EMBODIED REALITY
• BLACK SWAN
• THINGS WILL NEVER GO BACK TO THE WAY THEY USED TO BE
• What are you *really* afraid of?
• HAPPINESS ISN’T THE GOAL
• Philosophy is King
• Why is Selfish Evil?
• YOU’RE CONSTANTLY IN A STATE OF BECOMING
• ENTITLEMENT A SIN?
• NARCISSISM
• BE BRUTALLY HONEST WITH YOURSELF
• WHY FREE WILL?
• OBEY YOUR OPINION
• EGO IS GOOD.
• WHY IT IS GOOD TO BE INTO YOURSELF
• Seek the Good Pain
• Anti-Perfection in Photography, Art, and Life
• Can You Become an End into Yourself?
• WHY I LIVE
• Why I Hate Decline
• Why I Eat
• Why am I So Positive and Optimistic?
• EFFORT IS ENJOYMENT
• Never Stop Gaining
• TRUST YOURSELF
• A Life of Maximal Personal Independence
• What Do You Desire to Become?
• What Do I Want from Technology?
• Stratified Society
• Do You Love or Hate Reality?
• On the Brian, Body and Mind
• I’m Maximally Happy, Now What?
• Care over Fame
• ACTIVE NIHILISM
• Never Stop Subtracting
• How to Live a Happier and More Epic Life
• A Risker Life is a Better Life
• Only Work on Things You Can Imagine Doing for Eternity
• How to Maximize Your Happiness
• Influence
• The Gladiator Makes His Plans once He Enters the Ring
• Meditations on Meaning in Life
• There is Nothing More Interesting than Human Beings
• Is Hope a Vice?
• EGO
• Why Be Unique?
• Happiness is Metabolism Health and Strength
• You’re the Hero
• Is Productivity a Virtue or Vice?
• Why Do We Prize the Rare?
• The Joy of Uncertainty
• How Should I Best Use My Time and Life?
• A Life Without Pain or Suffering Isn’t a Life Worth Living
• Free or Unfree?
• What Do You Really Care For in Life?
• Anti-Satisfaction in Life
• Why Think?
• The Eternal Return
• Only Do What is Best for You!
• Truthiness
• Why Be Happy?
• Permissionless Living
• In Praise of Unconventional Wisdom
• Become the Change Which You Wish to See in the World
• Happiness
• Beyond Freedom
• Idolize People, Not Stuff
• What Makes You Stronger? What Makes You Weaker?
• Why Hate?
• The Secret of Happiness
• You’re Constantly in a State of Becoming
• Life is about Choices, Not Obligations
• Anti-Nihilism
• First, Do What is Best for You.
• Live Dynamic
• How to Prosper
• Is the Point of Life to Be Satisfied?
• SUPREME EFFORT OF WILL.
• How to Become more Idealistic
• Thrivival 101
• Create Yourself
• Non-Small
• Inspiration
• How to Live a Heroic Life: Dare the Heights!
• Human Augmentation
• Prune
• Happiness: Do What You Want to Do (And Don’t Do What You Don’t Want to Do)
• Avoid Vain (Empty) Pursuits in Life
• Modern Slavery
• Kill the Leeches
• Wisdom Augmentation
• Why We Need Friction in Life
• Straight Line Philosophy
• What’s Your End-Game in Life?
• Create Your Own Happiness Today
• Desire Both Pain and Pleasure in Life
• Try the Impossible
• SELF-RESPECT
• Anti-Social Extrovert
• Never Blame Anybody But Yourself
• Human Flourishing
• Simpler, Not Better.
• How to be Free
• Embrace the Extremes
• Cultivate Your Own Culture
• COURAGE.
• Thrivival
• Inner Power
• How to Live a Purposeful Life
• My Definition of Happiness
• Why Change is Good
• Why Work?
• How to Live the Happiest Possible Life
• The Two-Pronged Approach to Maximize Joy in Your Life
• You Always Have Another Option!
• INFINITISM
• Never Stop!
• What is Your Self-Directed Purpose in Life?
• Live Today Like it Were Your Last
• Do You Photograph to Live, or Live to Photograph?
• ARTIST-PHILOSOPHER
• Live Life to the Fullest!
• In Praise of Selfishness
• Why You Must Be a YAY-SAYER to Succeed in Entrepreneurship and Life
• Why I Love Walking
• Live Life Like a Video Game!
• Simple Luxuries in Life
• Treat Your Life Like a Fun Experiment!
• Only Prove it to Yourself
• You Don’t Always Need to Feel Joyful to Live a Fulfilling and Meaningful Life
• Life is Too Short to Be Bored!
• Money Cannot Destroy Boredom
• How to Find Inspiration in Life
• Why You Must Ignore Haters to Succeed and Win in Life
• An Active Life is a Happy Life
• My Simple Joys in Life
• Never Stop Striving
• How to Motivate Yourself in Life
• How to Be Optimistic in Life
• How to Dictate Your Purpose in Life
• In Praise of a Dynamic Life
• PURPOSE.
• How to Enjoy Life
• Photography Therapy
• How to Conquer Regret
• Take Your Play Very Seriously.
• How to Prosper
• Memento Vivere
• Destroy in Order to CREATE
• Trust Your Body More Than Your Mind
• Make Photos to Make Meaning in Your Life
• Seek Knowledge, Not Information
• The Purpose of Human Life
• How to Overcome Impedence
• Why I Love Death
• How to Be Centered in the Eternal Now
• How to Be Happy
• Why Do You Care What Others Think of You?
• Why I’m Happy
• Why?
• Why I’m So Prolific
• How to Reduce LAG in Life

Masters of Philosophy »

• Seneca
• Marcus Aurelius
• Publilius Syrus

Personal Philosophy »

• You Are the Light of the World
• Your Soul is a Diamond in the Rough
• Why Live?

Stoicism »

• How to Be a Stoic Street Photographer
• How to Use Photography as Self-Therapy
• How to Free Your Soul From Disturbance

Zen Philosophy »

• How to Be a Zen Street Photographer
• Zen in the Art of Street Photography
• How to Find Tranquility in Your Photography

Life Lessons »

• How to Conquer Your Fears in Life
• Conquer Yourself
• How to Focus

Learn more: Start Here >