Not tech?
My thought: it has somewhere to deal with fitness, clothing, and the human body
. Also, a lot of innovation to be made in the realm of types of exercises and workouts. For example, my rack pull innovation, as well as my squad walk innovation.For example, I think I’m the only guy at the gym who could rack pull over six plates that could do a really really good pigeon pose and birds of paradise pose.
Thinking about the Iliad, after the battle scenes, and the sunsets, when both sides go back to their camps, proceed to slaughter a bunch of oxen, roast the thigh bones, and then feast, sleep, and wake up the next morning to the rosy-fingered Light, and then continue to do battle.
Some thing I’ve discovered especially now that I am lifting so much, how well you eat your meat might be by far the most important recovery tool. That is, if you have the option to stay up a little bit later, but sure you have enough meat, it is better than going to sleep hungry, not having consumed enough meat.
Also, I’ve noticed that the nights where I feast like a demigod, I actually end up sleeping way deeper. Then perhaps the lesson is that it doesn’t matter how many hours you sleep, but how deeply you sleep. Ideally you would sleep a long time, and sleep deeply, and it seems that the critical ingredient to sleeping deeply is the nutritional density of your meat.
For example, the days where I have tons of bone marrow, beef ribs, heart, liver, innards, I sleep the best.
Perhaps the fact that it is sunny and warm all year around means that you could just spend more time outdoors, recording and filming, etc.
Also, all of the beautiful people all end up going to LA. Aspiring actresses all go to LA, and therefore the percentage of beautiful women is higher. Also, more interesting and handsome men go to LA, and search for some sort of fitness stardom, etc.
Also, in LA, the culture is around clothing fashion and the human body. People in LA don’t really care for tech, don’t even know if they really care about money that much. They care more for fame.
I believe that if your golden is to create some sort of solo media empire, LA is the place to be.
To become a street photographer means you like being on the streets, in public, outdoors, and you love human beings. Human beings are your art form, and also your artwork. The more connected you are with embodied reality, the happier you are.
The first simple thought is just go out and start shooting photos. You could just shoot with your iPhone, or preferably your digital Ricoh GR camera.
Any camera is good for street photography, as long as it is comfortable for you. Ideally, the smaller, lighter, more compact the camera, the better. Ideally the camera should be able to fit in the front right pocket. Why? This way you will spot more photo opportunities, and also shoot more.
It doesn’t matter. Whichever aesthetic you prefer. I personally prefer black and white, as aesthetically I consider it more beautiful. I personally prefer to just shoot on small JPEG, on my Ricoh GR 3X camera.
If you shoot with an iPhone, I suggest just shooting with the default camera app. Why? It is faster, and more easily accessible from your lock screen.
In today’s world, auto focus is easiest and best. Why? In the past, digital cameras were too slow in auto focus, and thus manual focusing was better.
I personally just recommend using program mode, P mode, and auto focus. And start shooting before you think.
In Street Photography, you can photograph anything. You can photograph people that you met on the street, candid photos without permission, even photograph trash and rubbish on the floor, urban landscapes, etc.
The beauty I think about street photography is that it is limitless. Essentially you could shoot anything outside your house and it is “street photographyâ€.
For me, what makes a great street photograph is a combination of beautiful aesthetics, and also the subject matter you photograph, whether you care for it or not.
This also includes adults.
What do you lack in modern day life? Physical challenge, combat, hand to hand things.
I cannot speak for women, but for at least us men — the modern day man is like a sick animal. Anemic, lacking sun exposure to the sun, none of chutzpah, balls, and reckless audacity, preaches notions of sexual equality and women’s rights, yet watches pr0n in private, and doesn’t even lift heavy weights at the gym.
Several reasons. First of all, ironically enough I think the Spartans were just happy. They lived a simple existence, full of martial training and combat, and they lived a simple ascetic life.
Also, anti-pampering. A soft lifestyle is bad, a hard lifestyle is good.
For example, let me talk to us tech nerds. What do we live for? We live for travel, exotic experiences, exotic foods, the newest Apple product which will revolutionize our lives, the new Tesla, buying a home, etc.
Yet, all of these life goals are superficial. They are soft. They don’t really require any sort of true innovation, they just require hard work and money.
An interesting thought is one thing that we could control is what we desire. That this is actually something which is dictated by you. You can desire to want the Lambo, want to buy a home or own a home, have a certain amount of money, etc. But are these goals actually good? I think not.
And I think the ideal approach to things is a mishmash of stoicism, spartan, and zen.
That mentally, we have a stoic mindset to things. Which in short means we have a lofty insouciance to things, we are mostly unperturbed by things. That we take all of the good and bad in life in equal stride, and we realize that there is more in life we can control than not.
The spartan one is to become the overman. That means do not see yourself as a mere human being, but as something beyond. Certainly DNA wise you are just an ordinary human, however, your own ideals for yourself are so insanely lofty and beyond. That you set yourself insanely high standards, because you see yourself as different.
Zen in terms of our personal aesthetics. A Wabi Sabi aesthetic that the more used and worn something becomes the more beautiful it becomes. Also, to seek a sublime simplicity to things.
If you read a lot of the sayings of the Spartans, they are poetic, hilarious and deeply philosophical. For example, the saying in the movie 300, which was actually based on real life — when the Persians told king Leonidas and the spartan 300s that their arrows would blot out the sun, and then one spartan said then we shall fight in the shade. I find this to be so insanely beautiful as a thought, because it takes something that was seen as fearful, and transforms it into fuel and fire to become even more courageous.
Also, a philosophical thought; would you trust the thoughts of an individual who is skinny fat to philosophize and more lies on matters of beauty, bravery, courage, and masculinity? No. I would rather trust the thinking and saying of a spartan then a modern day male academic.
I think I am the most courageous street photographer that I know. That I love people, and I am really good at talking to people, and strangers. All of the other street photographers why have met in the past seem to be timid, soft, and anti-human.
What do I mean by that? A lot of these weak street photographers try to augment their own low self-esteem by trying to tyrannize their own personal aesthetic and approach to things. They are very close-minded. They think to themselves, “it is either my way or the highway!†They lack independent thought — they cannot even think that everyone could do things a little differently.
To bridge the gap, let us think about not just spartan philosophy, but also, the philosophy of risk.
Greater risk, greater futures. The greater the risk, the better.
Something I haven’t really heard people talk or write about is the philosophy of risk. What is risk, what is the significance of risk, and what are practical ways we can leverage risk in our every day lives in order to become more?
The practical thing I learned from the Nassim Taleb is that one should never take any risks in life which might cause possible death, or potential disfigurement.
For example, never in any circumstances text while driving. This can lead to your death, and also to the death of your child, your wife, or even cause you to kill somebody else in another car, their children, etc.
When I am in taxi cars, Uber’s, or have a private driver, something which I was on the fence about was when they would text while driving. I didn’t want to ruffle any feathers, so I would just stay quiet.
But now that I got a wife and a kid, and if they’re in the same car as me, I have a zero tolerance policy for people texting while driving. One of the proudest moments is when we were in Cambodia and we had a private driver drive us to Angkor Wat Siem Reap, and half the time he was texting while driving. I then mustered up the courage to ask/command him to not do that anymore. Why? Even if there was a one percent chance of potential death in a car accident, I need to muster the courage to defend my family.
Other risks I would never take include skydiving, bungee jumping, etc.
The most critical thing I learned from Boy Scouts was the notion of safety first. This is very true.
For example, I think the intelligent thing is to expect yourself to fail, or potentially hurt yourself or others, and therefore, the safe thing to do is create a double safety barrier, in order to prevent bad things from happening.
For example, when I am handling a very very sharp knife in the kitchen, I commend everybody to leave the room. Why? I do not want to accidentally stab or cut anybody.
Or, when you were attempting very very heavy squats at the gym, both have safety pins in the correct position and ask somebody to spot you. Why? When you’re handling a very heavy weight, let us say six plates on each side, or 605 pounds, your chance of not being strong enough to either move the weight, or re-rack it is very high. And therefore, having a spotter will give you 1000 times more security and safety. Once again, when it comes to powerlifting style one repetition maximum attempts, when should always expect to fail, and have a contingency plan.
How do you know if you are really alive? If your real life involves taking some sort of risks in real life. What does that mean? That means life, if you were just stuck in a virtual reality simulation would be boring. Why? There are not real risks involved with virtual reality.
For example, let us say that you are doing a rock climbing simulation in virtual reality. If you fail, slip and fall, there is no real downside. You just push a button and start over. However in real life, let us assume you’re doing free solo, if you slip, you’ll probably die. There is no restart button in real life.
However with matters with entrepreneurship, business, etc., the upside is that there aren’t that big risks involved, at least in regards to life and death. For example, let us say that you attend some sort of entrepreneurial thing, if it fails to takeoff, you’re not gonna lose a limb, or die. At worst, you might have difficulty paying rent that month.
Therefore, what is the most intelligent way to think about risk at least in the context of business and entrepreneurship? That is, it seems the only thing people really are afraid of is this fuzzy notion of “failure“, or some sort of social stigma or social ostracization that happens with “failure“.
Then my practical thought is in the context of risk, the only thing you gotta fear is the fear of looking like a fool, the fear of looking like a “failureâ€, or losing “face“.
For example, in East Asian cultures, which follow Confucianism, the greatest fear is the fear of losing face or prestige or rank in front of your peers or in society. This is a horrible concept, because your whole life is spent trying to get other people to “respect†you, or see you as “successful. It revolves nothing around doing what you really want to do.
First of all, watch the movie 300 by Zack Snyder. I think it paints a very vivid image of what true manliness looks like.
Or better yet, read the original 300 graphic novel comic by Frank Miller — Amazon.
What does it mean to become a philosopher? Becoming a philosopher simply means to think more critically, and to become what you desire to become.
It seems that Silicon Valley is full of subservient nerds, who know how to do good things with computers or email, and are good at collecting a high salary, in the range of $300,000 a year to $500,000 a year. Yet, what they lack is courage.
If I were still in tech, my personal strategy would be this:
Do the minimum amount of work necessary at your job to not get fired, and milk your company and your employer, and use all of your extra free mind space and time to do things you really care about.
The funny thing I’ve actually realize that in tech, even if you’re a horrible person, it is actually really difficult to fire somebody. I assume you’re not that much of an asshole, therefore, your likelihood of getting fired or laid off is actually quite low.
Let us say that you are going to get laid off. It’s not really that big of a deal, because you could just jump to another big tech company, maybe even get a raise and a promotion.
Let us consider all of these potential employers which include Apple, Google, Facebook, Netflix, etc.
So I would say go harder. Break out of the cubicle, and your house. Spend more times outdoors, chatting with beautiful people, and lifting heavy weights at the gym, getting loud and making a ruckus. Hypelifting.
What can you conquer in 2023?
Cinema by KIM
Pump it up! Feel free to share this with a friend, or family member who you like.
Never lose the new: ERIC KIM NEWS
Why? While you are fasted, you have more alertness, focus, and visual acuity of the environment around you.
Even with thoughts, I have zero interest in people with anemic thoughts — no blood.
Haima.
I am currently theorizing that a rack pull might actually be superior to a deadlift, in terms of overall muscle activation, and also Zen focus, fun, and also muscular gains.
What do we lack in modern day life? Physical challenge, combat, hand to hand things.
I cannot speak for women, but for at least us men — the modern day man is like a sick animal. Anemic, lacking sun exposure to the sun, none of chutzpah, balls, and reckless audacity, preaches notions of sexual equality and women’s rights, yet watches pr0n in private, and doesn’t even lift heavy weights at the gym.
Several reasons. First of all, ironically enough I think the Spartans were just happy. They lived a simple existence, full of martial training and combat, and they lived a simple ascetic life.
Also, anti-pampering. A soft lifestyle is bad, a hard lifestyle is good.
For example, let me talk to us tech nerds. What do we live for? We live for travel, exotic experiences, exotic foods, the newest Apple product which will revolutionize our lives, the new Tesla, buying a home, etc.
Yet, all of these life goals are superficial. They are soft. They don’t really require any sort of true innovation, they just require hard work and money.
An interesting thought is one thing that we could control is what we desire. That this is actually something which is dictated by you. You can desire to want the Lambo, want to buy a home or own a home, have a certain amount of money, etc. But are these goals actually good? I think not.
And I think the ideal approach to things is a mishmash of stoicism, spartan, and zen.
That mentally, we have a stoic mindset to things. Which in short means we have a lofty insouciance to things, we are mostly unperturbed by things. That we take all of the good and bad in life in equal stride, and we realize that there is more in life we can control than not.
The spartan one is to become the overman. That means do not see yourself as a mere human being, but as something beyond. Certainly DNA wise you are just an ordinary human, however, your own ideals for yourself are so insanely lofty and beyond. That you set yourself insanely high standards, because you see yourself as different.
Zen in terms of our personal aesthetics. A Wabi Sabi aesthetic that the more used and worn something becomes the more beautiful it becomes. Also, to seek a sublime simplicity to things.
If you read a lot of the sayings of the Spartans, they are poetic, hilarious and deeply philosophical. For example, the saying in the movie 300, which was actually based on real life — when the Persians told king Leonidas and the spartan 300s that their arrows would blot out the sun, and then one spartan said then we shall fight in the shade. I find this to be so insanely beautiful as a thought, because it takes something that was seen as fearful, and transforms it into fuel and fire to become even more courageous.
Also, a philosophical thought; would you trust the thoughts of an individual who is skinny fat to philosophize and more lies on matters of beauty, bravery, courage, and masculinity? No. I would rather trust the thinking and saying of a spartan then a modern day male academic.
I think I am the most courageous street photographer that I know. That I love people, and I am really good at talking to people, and strangers. All of the other street photographers why have met in the past seem to be timid, soft, and anti-human.
What do I mean by that? A lot of these weak street photographers try to augment their own low self-esteem by trying to tyrannize their own personal aesthetic and approach to things. They are very close-minded. They think to themselves, “it is either my way or the highway!†They lack independent thought — they cannot even think that everyone could do things a little differently.
To bridge the gap, let us think about not just spartan philosophy, but also, the philosophy of risk.
Greater risk, greater futures. The greater the risk, the better.
Something I haven’t really heard people talk or write about is the philosophy of risk. What is risk, what is the significance of risk, and what are practical ways we can leverage risk in our every day lives in order to become more?
The practical thing I learned from the Nassim Taleb is that one should never take any risks in life which might cause possible death, or potential disfigurement.
For example, never in any circumstances text while driving. This can lead to your death, and also to the death of your child, your wife, or even cause you to kill somebody else in another car, their children, etc.
When I am in taxi cars, Uber’s, or have a private driver, something which I was on the fence about was when they would text while driving. I didn’t want to ruffle any feathers, so I would just stay quiet.
But now that I got a wife and a kid, and if they’re in the same car as me, I have a zero tolerance policy for people texting while driving. One of the proudest moments is when we were in Cambodia and we had a private driver drive us to Angkor Wat Siem Reap, and half the time he was texting while driving. I then mustered up the courage to ask/command him to not do that anymore. Why? Even if there was a one percent chance of potential death in a car accident, I need to muster the courage to defend my family.
Other risks I would never take include skydiving, bungee jumping, etc.
The most critical thing I learned from Boy Scouts was the notion of safety first. This is very true.
For example, I think the intelligent thing is to expect yourself to fail, or potentially hurt yourself or others, and therefore, the safe thing to do is create a double safety barrier, in order to prevent bad things from happening.
For example, when I am handling a very very sharp knife in the kitchen, I commend everybody to leave the room. Why? I do not want to accidentally stab or cut anybody.
Or, when you were attempting very very heavy squats at the gym, both have safety pins in the correct position and ask somebody to spot you. Why? When you’re handling a very heavy weight, let us say six plates on each side, or 605 pounds, your chance of not being strong enough to either move the weight, or re-rack it is very high. And therefore, having a spotter will give you 1000 times more security and safety. Once again, when it comes to powerlifting style one repetition maximum attempts, when should always expect to fail, and have a contingency plan.
How do you know if you are really alive? If your real life involves taking some sort of risks in real life. What does that mean? That means life, if you were just stuck in a virtual reality simulation would be boring. Why? There are not real risks involved with virtual reality.
For example, let us say that you are doing a rock climbing simulation in virtual reality. If you fail, slip and fall, there is no real downside. You just push a button and start over. However in real life, let us assume you’re doing free solo, if you slip, you’ll probably die. There is no restart button in real life.
However with matters with entrepreneurship, business, etc., the upside is that there aren’t that big risks involved, at least in regards to life and death. For example, let us say that you attend some sort of entrepreneurial thing, if it fails to takeoff, you’re not gonna lose a limb, or die. At worst, you might have difficulty paying rent that month.
Therefore, what is the most intelligent way to think about risk at least in the context of business and entrepreneurship? That is, it seems the only thing people really are afraid of is this fuzzy notion of “failure“, or some sort of social stigma or social ostracization that happens with “failure“.
Then my practical thought is in the context of risk, the only thing you gotta fear is the fear of looking like a fool, the fear of looking like a “failureâ€, or losing “face“.
For example, in East Asian cultures, which follow Confucianism, the greatest fear is the fear of losing face or prestige or rank in front of your peers or in society. This is a horrible concept, because your whole life is spent trying to get other people to “respect†you, or see you as “successful. It revolves nothing around doing what you really want to do.
First of all, watch the movie 300 by Zack Snyder. I think it paints a very vivid image of what true manliness looks like.
Or better yet, read the original 300 graphic novel comic by Frank Miller — Amazon.
What does it mean to become a philosopher? Becoming a philosopher simply means to think more critically, and to become what you desire to become.
It seems that Silicon Valley is full of subservient nerds, who know how to do good things with computers or email, and are good at collecting a high salary, in the range of $300,000 a year to $500,000 a year. Yet, what they lack is courage.
If I were still in tech, my personal strategy would be this:
Do the minimum amount of work necessary at your job to not get fired, and milk your company and your employer, and use all of your extra free mind space and time to do things you really care about.
The funny thing I’ve actually realize that in tech, even if you’re a horrible person, it is actually really difficult to fire somebody. I assume you’re not that much of an asshole, therefore, your likelihood of getting fired or laid off is actually quite low.
Let us say that you are going to get laid off. It’s not really that big of a deal, because you could just jump to another big tech company, maybe even get a raise and a promotion.
Let us consider all of these potential employers which include Apple, Google, Facebook, Netflix, etc.
So I would say go harder. Break out of the cubicle, and your house. Spend more times outdoors, chatting with beautiful people, and lifting heavy weights at the gym, getting loud and making a ruckus. Hypelifting.
What can you conquer in 2023?
Cinema by KIM
Pump it up! Feel free to share this with a friend, or family member who you like.
Never lose the new: ERIC KIM NEWS
More and more people hungry to travel again, and the desire to be in embodied reality, interact with other human beings, and also make art. Simply put, photography makes you happier.
The Apple Store is practically empty. Also the new iPhone Pro in purple is not that impressive in real life.
Also, the new midnight blue color on the MacBook Air is really ugly.
Greater risk, greater futures. The greater the risk, the better.
Something I haven’t really heard people talk or write about is the philosophy of risk. What is risk, what is the significance of risk, and what are practical ways we can leverage risk in our every day lives in order to become more?
The practical thing I learned from the Nassim Taleb is that one should never take any risks in life which might cause possible death, or potential disfigurement.
For example, never in any circumstances text while driving. This can lead to your death, and also to the death of your child, your wife, or even cause you to kill somebody else in another car, their children, etc.
When I am in taxi cars, Uber’s, or have a private driver, something which I was on the fence about was when they would text while driving. I didn’t want to ruffle any feathers, so I would just stay quiet.
But now that I got a wife and a kid, and if they’re in the same car as me, I have a zero tolerance policy for people texting while driving. One of the proudest moments is when we were in Cambodia and we had a private driver drive us to Angkor Wat Siem Reap, and half the time he was texting while driving. I then mustered up the courage to ask/command him to not do that anymore. Why? Even if there was a one percent chance of potential death in a car accident, I need to muster the courage to defend my family.
Other risks I would never take include skydiving, bungee jumping, etc.
The most critical thing I learned from Boy Scouts was the notion of safety first. This is very true.
For example, I think the intelligent thing is to expect yourself to fail, or potentially hurt yourself or others, and therefore, the safe thing to do is create a double safety barrier, in order to prevent bad things from happening.
For example, when I am handling a very very sharp knife in the kitchen, I commend everybody to leave the room. Why? I do not want to accidentally stab or cut anybody.
Or, when you were attempting very very heavy squats at the gym, both have safety pins in the correct position and ask somebody to spot you. Why? When you’re handling a very heavy weight, let us say six plates on each side, or 605 pounds, your chance of not being strong enough to either move the weight, or ReRack it is very high. And therefore, having a spotter will give you 1000 times more security and safety. Once again, when it comes to powerlifting style one repetition maximum attempts, when should always expect to fail, and have a contingency plan.
No success or failure. Simply your ambition, and appetite for risk and greatness.
A big thing I realized at the gym is that a lot of guys do not attempt one repetition maximums because they are afraid of failing in front of others. For example, if you attempt a very very heavy squat, and you fail and you ditch the bar behind you onto the safety pins, it is somehow seen as embarrassing.
Or, it seems that a lot of guys are reticent to ask other people for a spot. Why? I see it as a positive experience, and opportunity to create a new bond with somebody, putting your life and your safety in the hands of others. To ask for help or for a spot is actually a positive act of courage.
Also, the more you fail, the greater your progress towards insane greatness. For example, I haven’t done a heavy dumbbell press in a long time, and today I just did it for fun, and I noted that my strength has gone down considerably. A little bit annoying, but in the grand scheme of things, not a big deal. Why? Currently it is just an unfamiliarity thing, I’m just not used to the weights. In fact, holding the dumbbells felt really heavy, some thing that my body, and my wrists need to just get accustomed to.
I started off by climbing up from 50 pounders to 60 pounders to 70 pounders to 80 pounders to 90 pounders. Because I have easily done 100 pound heavy dumbbell press in the past, I just went up and tried to shoot for 105 pound dumbbell press off the floor, in order to get more leverages. I wasn’t able to do it, so I tried 100 pounds instead. I couldn’t get the 100 pound up. I’ve then tried 95 pound and couldn’t get it up either.
Technically, I failed three attempts in front of a bunch of guys, but it didn’t bother me. Why should I bother me?
I was randomly scrolling through the top paid apps in the App Store, and one interesting app that popped up was this one that promoted the idea of spending 1000 hours outside.
I then thought to myself, this would be great for everybody. For entrepreneurs and thinkers, street photographers, photographers, and anybody who wants to get more out of life.
To walk as much as humanly possible, and to optimize your life in order to walk more. A life of maximal walking and time outdoors is superior than owning any single Lamborghini or Tesla.
Once you’re rich, the goal is then to focus on philosophical pursuits, weightlifting at the gym, innovation, and epic experimentation.
Don’t just be a commentator, be the doer.
For example, everyone likes to be a commentator on the most recent controversial thing that Kanye West said, but does anyone out there actually have the guts or the balls to actually say what is really on their mind?
To be a commentator, the only thing they have is knowledge of history, but that is it. To commentate on somebody else takes no balls, no skills, and no courage
.
Just “normal†small JPEG for RICOH GR IIIX— optimal for viewing photos on IPAD PRO.
What do you lack in modern day life? Physical challenge, combat, hand to hand things.
I cannot speak for women, but for at least us men — the modern day man is like a sick animal. Anemic, lacking sun exposure to the sun, none of chutzpah, balls, and reckless audacity, preaches notions of sexual equality and women’s rights, yet watches pr0n in private, and doesn’t even lift heavy weights at the gym.
Several reasons. First of all, ironically enough I think the Spartans were just happy. They lived a simple existence, full of martial training and combat, and they lived a simple ascetic life.
Also, anti-pampering. A soft lifestyle is bad, a hard lifestyle is good.
For example, let me talk to us tech nerds. What do we live for? We live for travel, exotic experiences, exotic foods, the newest Apple product which will revolutionize our lives, the new Tesla, buying a home, etc.
Yet, all of these life goals are superficial. They are soft. They don’t really require any sort of true innovation, they just require hard work and money.
An interesting thought is one thing that we could control is what we desire. That this is actually something which is dictated by you. You can desire to want the Lambo, want to buy a home or own a home, have a certain amount of money, etc. But are these goals actually good? I think not.
And I think the ideal approach to things is a mishmash of stoicism, spartan, and zen.
That mentally, we have a stoic mindset to things. Which in short means we have a lofty insouciance to things, we are mostly unperturbed by things. That we take all of the good and bad in life in equal stride, and we realize that there is more in life we can control than not.
The spartan one is to become the overman. That means do not see yourself as a mere human being, but as something beyond. Certainly DNA wise you are just an ordinary human, however, your own ideals for yourself are so insanely lofty and beyond. That you set yourself insanely high standards, because you see yourself as different.
Zen in terms of our personal aesthetics. A Wabi Sabi aesthetic that the more used and worn something becomes the more beautiful it becomes. Also, to seek a sublime simplicity to things.
If you read a lot of the sayings of the Spartans, they are poetic, hilarious and deeply philosophical. For example, the saying in the movie 300, which was actually based on real life — when the Persians told king Leonidas and the spartan 300s that their arrows would blot out the sun, and then one spartan said then we shall fight in the shade. I find this to be so insanely beautiful as a thought, because it takes something that was seen as fearful, and transforms it into fuel and fire to become even more courageous.
Also, a philosophical thought; would you trust the thoughts of an individual who is skinny fat to philosophize and more lies on matters of beauty, bravery, courage, and masculinity? No. I would rather trust the thinking and saying of a spartan then a modern day male academic.
I think I am the most courageous street photographer that I know. That I love people, and I am really good at talking to people, and strangers. All of the other street photographers why have met in the past seem to be timid, soft, and anti-human.
What do I mean by that? A lot of these weak street photographers try to augment their own low self-esteem by trying to tyrannize their own personal aesthetic and approach to things. They are very close-minded. They think to themselves, “it is either my way or the highway!†They lack independent thought — they cannot even think that everyone could do things a little differently.
Towards a more open minded approach to street photography:
The overman — beyond man.
First of all, become insanely strong. The gym is essential for this, as it is very expensive to build a serious gym in your garage, and having to buy over 600 pounds of weights.
Second, philosophy. That means gain new lofty thoughts and insights to life and to think at least 300 years beyond yourself.
How to go insanely hard:
What type of innovation is interesting to you?
For example, purchasing stuff isn’t real innovation. Deep innovation is pioneering a new thought process, approach, or methodology or mind state or philosophy to things.
For example, getting a “Dyson Outlet†(refurbished) cordless vacuum — it is phenomenal!
This is my passion, my love.
Pay insanely little rent. $500 USD a month.
First, get insanely strong.
Second, no more fear.
Third, have a kid and train your kid to become the over man, the superman, the ubermensch.
WE ARE THE NEW SPARTANS //VIDEO
What can we conquer?
What do we lack in modern day life? Physical challenge, combat, hand to hand things.
I cannot speak for women, but for at least us men — the modern day man is like a sick animal. Anemic, lacking sun exposure to the sun, none of chutzpah, balls, and reckless audacity, preaches notions of sexual equality and women’s rights, yet watches pr0n in private, and doesn’t even lift heavy weights at the gym.
Several reasons. First of all, ironically enough I think the Spartans were just happy. They lived a simple existence, full of martial training and combat, and they lived a simple ascetic life.
Also, anti-pampering. A soft lifestyle is bad, a hard lifestyle is good.
For example, let me talk to us tech nerds. What do we live for? We live for travel, exotic experiences, exotic foods, the newest Apple product which will revolutionize our lives, the new Tesla, buying a home, etc.
Yet, all of these life goals are superficial. They are soft. They don’t really require any sort of true innovation, they just require hard work and money.
An interesting thought is one thing that we could control is what we desire. That this is actually something which is dictated by you. You can desire to want the Lambo, want to buy a home or own a home, have a certain amount of money, etc. But are these goals actually good? I think not.
And I think the ideal approach to things is a mishmash of stoicism, spartan, and zen.
That mentally, we have a stoic mindset to things. Which in short means we have a lofty insouciance to things, we are mostly unperturbed by things. That we take all of the good and bad in life in equal stride, and we realize that there is more in life we can control than not.
The spartan one is to become the overman. That means do not see yourself as a mere human being, but as something beyond. Certainly DNA wise you are just an ordinary human, however, your own ideals for yourself are so insanely lofty and beyond. That you set yourself insanely high standards, because you see yourself as different.
Zen in terms of our personal aesthetics. A Wabi Sabi aesthetic that the more used and worn something becomes the more beautiful it becomes. Also, to seek a sublime simplicity to things.
If you read a lot of the sayings of the Spartans, they are poetic, hilarious and deeply philosophical. For example, the saying in the movie 300, which was actually based on real life — when the Persians told king Leonidas and the spartan 300s that their arrows would blot out the sun, and then one spartan said then we shall fight in the shade. I find this to be so insanely beautiful as a thought, because it takes something that was seen as fearful, and transforms it into fuel and fire to become even more courageous.
Also, a philosophical thought; would you trust the thoughts of an individual who is skinny fat to philosophize and more lies on matters of beauty, bravery, courage, and masculinity? No. I would rather trust the thinking and saying of a spartan then a modern day male academic.
I think I am the most courageous street photographer that I know. That I love people, and I am really good at talking to people, and strangers. All of the other street photographers why have met in the past seem to be timid, soft, and anti-human.
What do I mean by that? A lot of these weak street photographers try to augment their own low self-esteem by trying to tyrannize their own personal aesthetic and approach to things. They are very close-minded. They think to themselves, “it is either my way or the highway!†They lack independent thought — they cannot even think that everyone could do things a little differently.
To bridge the gap, let us think about not just spartan philosophy, but also, the philosophy of risk.
Greater risk, greater futures. The greater the risk, the better.
Something I haven’t really heard people talk or write about is the philosophy of risk. What is risk, what is the significance of risk, and what are practical ways we can leverage risk in our every day lives in order to become more?
The practical thing I learned from the Nassim Taleb is that one should never take any risks in life which might cause possible death, or potential disfigurement.
For example, never in any circumstances text while driving. This can lead to your death, and also to the death of your child, your wife, or even cause you to kill somebody else in another car, their children, etc.
When I am in taxi cars, Uber’s, or have a private driver, something which I was on the fence about was when they would text while driving. I didn’t want to ruffle any feathers, so I would just stay quiet.
But now that I got a wife and a kid, and if they’re in the same car as me, I have a zero tolerance policy for people texting while driving. One of the proudest moments is when we were in Cambodia and we had a private driver drive us to Angkor Wat Siem Reap, and half the time he was texting while driving. I then mustered up the courage to ask/command him to not do that anymore. Why? Even if there was a one percent chance of potential death in a car accident, I need to muster the courage to defend my family.
Other risks I would never take include skydiving, bungee jumping, etc.
The most critical thing I learned from Boy Scouts was the notion of safety first. This is very true.
For example, I think the intelligent thing is to expect yourself to fail, or potentially hurt yourself or others, and therefore, the safe thing to do is create a double safety barrier, in order to prevent bad things from happening.
For example, when I am handling a very very sharp knife in the kitchen, I commend everybody to leave the room. Why? I do not want to accidentally stab or cut anybody.
Or, when you were attempting very very heavy squats at the gym, both have safety pins in the correct position and ask somebody to spot you. Why? When you’re handling a very heavy weight, let us say six plates on each side, or 605 pounds, your chance of not being strong enough to either move the weight, or re-rack it is very high. And therefore, having a spotter will give you 1000 times more security and safety. Once again, when it comes to powerlifting style one repetition maximum attempts, when should always expect to fail, and have a contingency plan.
How do you know if you are really alive? If your real life involves taking some sort of risks in real life. What does that mean? That means life, if you were just stuck in a virtual reality simulation would be boring. Why? There are not real risks involved with virtual reality.
For example, let us say that you are doing a rock climbing simulation in virtual reality. If you fail, slip and fall, there is no real downside. You just push a button and start over. However in real life, let us assume you’re doing free solo, if you slip, you’ll probably die. There is no restart button in real life.
However with matters with entrepreneurship, business, etc., the upside is that there aren’t that big risks involved, at least in regards to life and death. For example, let us say that you attend some sort of entrepreneurial thing, if it fails to takeoff, you’re not gonna lose a limb, or die. At worst, you might have difficulty paying rent that month.
Therefore, what is the most intelligent way to think about risk at least in the context of business and entrepreneurship? That is, it seems the only thing people really are afraid of is this fuzzy notion of “failure“, or some sort of social stigma or social ostracization that happens with “failure“.
Then my practical thought is in the context of risk, the only thing you gotta fear is the fear of looking like a fool, the fear of looking like a “failureâ€, or losing “face“.
For example, in East Asian cultures, which follow Confucianism, the greatest fear is the fear of losing face or prestige or rank in front of your peers or in society. This is a horrible concept, because your whole life is spent trying to get other people to “respect†you, or see you as “successful. It revolves nothing around doing what you really want to do.
First of all, watch the movie 300 by Zack Snyder. I think it paints a very vivid image of what true manliness looks like.
Or better yet, read the original 300 graphic novel comic by Frank Miller — Amazon.
What does it mean to become a philosopher? Becoming a philosopher simply means to think more critically, and to become what you desire to become.
It seems that Silicon Valley is full of subservient nerds, who know how to do good things with computers or email, and are good at collecting a high salary, in the range of $300,000 a year to $500,000 a year. Yet, what they lack is courage.
If I were still in tech, my personal strategy would be this:
Do the minimum amount of work necessary at your job to not get fired, and milk your company and your employer, and use all of your extra free mind space and time to do things you really care about.
The funny thing I’ve actually realize that in tech, even if you’re a horrible person, it is actually really difficult to fire somebody. I assume you’re not that much of an asshole, therefore, your likelihood of getting fired or laid off is actually quite low.
Let us say that you are going to get laid off. It’s not really that big of a deal, because you could just jump to another big tech company, maybe even get a raise and a promotion.
Let us consider all of these potential employers which include Apple, Google, Facebook, Netflix, etc.
So I would say go harder. Break out of the cubicle, and your house. Spend more times outdoors, chatting with beautiful people, and lifting heavy weights at the gym, getting loud and making a ruckus. Hypelifting.
What can you conquer in 2023?
Cinema by KIM
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