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Thoughts on Living the Best Life
Hype energy is the key?
What is hype energy?
My notion of “overhealth”. It is not enough to be healthy, you must be “over healthy“.
What is over health? My general thought is the night prior, having insanely great sleep. Maybe having a massage the night prior too.
Also, lots of time outdoors, in the direct sun, being well hydrated. Strong energy in your legs, elevated mood, and strong self-confidence and optimism for the future.
Heavy weight lifting is a necessity
Upon thinking about this for a long time, I am now certain that in order to be over healthy, one must lift weights. Very heavy weights. The good nuance is that you don’t need to go more than once or twice a week, the idea is to just focus on a one rep max deadlift, squat, or whatever lift you like.
I found the ideal is probably going to the gym twice a week— one visit to 100% focus on deadlift, as it seems to be the most physiologically challenging, and another visit to focus on squats and another arm or chest exercise (such as floor bench press, or heavy dumbbell press).
If possible, I recommend using a trap bar for deadlift, or a hex bar. Why? It is a more efficient movement, which will allow you to leverage more weight.
Also for squats, don’t worry too much about form. Just go however low you desire — I’ve discovered that going parallel or below parallel is nice, but not necessary to get your hype energy up.
Why is life in Cambodia so good?
I am very happy; I feel that my hype energy has returned to me, akin to 2017 Vietnam levels. Why? If you desire the best mode of living possible, I feel fairly certain that it is not in America. Why? Life in America is too basic. Too much time stuck in a car, at the local Costco, or killing time on Amazon prime.
I don’t think there’s any really good American city. Not New York, not San Francisco, not Los Angeles. Nowhere in America is life good, or allows you for maximum movement, in an interesting urban environment.
Why Phnom Penh? The city is very interesting and dynamic, with lots of upwards growth. Also for us Americans, it is very convenient to just use your US dollars anywhere, and everyone is pretty much bilingual in English. Also, Cambodia is currently open, and it is very easy to get a 30 day visa here.
In addition, certainly things are far more affordable here in Cambodia than it is back in the states or elsewhere.
Photography
My thought is that a life without photography is not a life worth living. Why? Photography is the most interesting way to spend existence; it is by far the most physical, fun, and interactive form of living and art creation. For example, painting and drawing is too sedentary. Street photography is the ideal fusion which allows for maximum walking, movement, and dynamism.
Street life is the best life
The interesting thing is that here in Phnom Penh there are lots of uber luxury hotels, sky rises, and places. However, upon touring these places, I am certain that the best life is street life. Literally being on the streets, as close to the ground as possible. Seeing the city from a Skyrise view, or a panoramic sky view is boring. When you are on the street, there is a certain level of danger, which allows you to be alert, open, and make photos.
The more photos you make, the happier you will be.
I love living in a hotel
Currently, I’m living here in a hotel in Phnom Penh. And I love it. It is good both for myself and also Seneca.
Why? It simplifies your living. You cannot really accumulate or buy stuff, as you’re living in a hotel, and you don’t have random closet space to just stockpile a bunch of things. Also, I love the hygiene aspect of it; always having somebody clean your room on the daily, clean the floors, and offer a fresh new towels is hugely uplifting.
Furthermore, the hotel I am at right now offers a swimming pool, which is great, because I’m giving Seneca daily swimming lessons, and he is only a year and a half years old. And I think there is something about undulating between being outside, in the hot sun, and also going into water; perhaps this change of substances invigorates our body and mind?
Also, I really enjoy interacting with the hotel staff. It is much more warm and friendly than just being stuck at home alone, which is often lonely and depressing.
Full stack creativity
Another thing: don’t just pigeonhole yourself into one form of creative output. What limits people? Labeling them self as “writer“, musician, blogger, vlogger, photographer, videographer, etc. Why not just do it all?
For example, although Leonardo da Vinci is mostly known for his paintings, it seems like painting was his side hobby; he seemed much more interested in engineering. Look at his drawing plans for war machines, and also his city planning.
Therefore, I encourage you to dip your toes into everything. Start a blog, start a podcast, start a Vlog. Use video, audio, text, photos, illustrations and drawings, sculpture, 3-D design, etc.
Some apps I like includes Zenbrush 2, Procreate, Nomad Sculpt, IA writer, Apple photos app.
What will you make next?
The best life isn’t the life with the most amount of pleasure or novelty. The best life is the one in which you are maximally creative.
CREATE ON!
ERIC
I’m going on an airplane
Embark on an epic ERIC KIM EXPERIENCE:
HAPTIC INDUSTRIES
Become all you can become:
Create more
Even a single creative idea?
If this sparked a creative idea within you, feel free to forward to a creative friend!