The only cardinal sin of the Internet: being boring. I consider myself a very interesting person, and also very interested in many different things. Also I’m one of the most hated people online, especially in the photography community.
Whether people love Eric Kim or hate him, you cannot deny that he’s not boring.Whether people love Eric Kim or hate him, you cannot deny that he’s not boring.
1. Go off script
Go off script. Or another words, go off the rails. People pay attention when you don’t follow a script, and what you do is random and unexpected. for example, everyone knows Eric Kim as the photographer, and yet nobody knows what Eric Kim is like as a fitness buff.
And because I’m always curious about fitness, I started to make videos and write blog posts on fitness because it’s actually something I’m very passionate about, and I actually think that there is a strong connection between physical fitness and artistic fitness.
2. Speak your mind
What is most lacking today? Honesty. Brutal honesty. I find that many Internet personalities are afraid to really speak their mind, because the fear of loss of sponsorships, advertising, or brand deals.
But the thing about honesty is this: the more brutally honest you are, the stronger a loyalty you will build. Better to have a small legion of very committed fans, than a grandmaster of slightly interested people.
3. Go deep
Contrary to popular believe, it isn’t that we have short attention span, but what we are really hungry for is more depth and profundity. for example, I find most books very boring, besides very deep philosophical books. It actually takes less effort for me to read a 500 page Nietzsche book then to read a five paragraph long business insider article.
Whatever you write or talk about, go deep. That means, take a certain idea and plumb the depths of it. The more philosophical you become, the better.
4. Break rules and conventions
There are a lot of prejudices in photography. I think the best way to thrive as a photographer in today’s world is to not allow yourself to be restricted by any photographic conventions. That is, purism in photography is bad for creativity.
5. The art of cross pollination
What does it mean to cross pollinate, or to cross fertilize? That is, the best ideas tend to be an interesting hybrid or mishmash of other ideas from the past. for example, even some of the best rap songs by Jay Z and Kanye West cite philosophy or religion.
Similarly speaking, Steve Jobs was highly influenced by Zen Kyoto aesthetics, and imputed his design principles into Apple products. Even Elon Musk and Tesla and SpaceX cross share technologies. For example, many of the Tesla cars have inherited lightweight construction concepts from the SpaceX rockets.
I feel that the most creative ideas aren’t the ones which are totally brand new or original. Rather, ideas that we see in plain sight, simply remixed or Upcycled in a novel way.
6. I’m never satisfied, can’t knock my hustle (JAY Z)
The day you’re satisfied, consider yourself dead. Satisfaction is actually the enemy of entrepreneurship, and creative risk-taking. For example, if we were all satisfied with gasoline cars, would Elon musk have innovated with Tesla and electric cars?
7. Don’t ask others what they want
The famous Henry Ford quote: if I asked other people what they wanted, it would just be a faster horse.
Steve Jobs was infamous and not trusting focus groups. Why? Because no great innovations are made by committee. It requires the stubborn genius of one individual to push forth a new idea.
8. Strive to satisfy yourself, rather than appeasing others
Who is the most difficult person to please? Yourself. I see social media is the enemy of creativity and individuality, because what ends up happening is you only create and share things which you think others will like, in order to maximize your like in follower account.
9. Via Negativa
I actually think the way to become more interesting is via Negativa. That is, stand out by not doing what everyone else is doing.
For example, Elon Musk as not wearing a watch, rather than all these rappers trying to buy the most expensive watch.
Or I find it more interesting for very rich and successful people not to own a car or not to own a home. You distinguish yourself by what you don’t do or what you don’t own, rather than the opposite.
For example, even in today’s world, the best flex is to not own a phone, rather than always having the brand newest iPhone.
Or think about famous successful people who don’t use social media, for example Jay Z not using social media, whereas all these other rappers do.
So rather than trying to figure out the daily habits or what successful people do or eat, best to figure out what successful people don’t do, what they don’t eat, and what they decide not to participate in.