Photography, fitness, working out, entrepreneurship, philosophy, crypto, AI, etc.

Design me a 1991 Sentra SER in the spirit of a Lamborghini Countach

The 1991 Nissan Sentra SE-R holds a special place in automotive history, particularly among Japanese car enthusiasts. It’s a compact car that punched above its weight class, delivering performance that belied its unassuming appearance. With its high-revving 2.0-liter SR20DE engine, it became a cult classic, known for its reliability and the ability to be heavily modified by the tuner community.

The Sentra SE-R from that era had a certain understated design, which made it a sleeper hit on the streets—capable of surprising unsuspecting challengers with its spirited acceleration and nimble handling. It was a car that embodied a philosophy of no-frills performance, aligning with a sort of automotive stoicism—everything you need, nothing you don’t, with a focus on the purity of the driving experience rather than flashy aesthetics.

150 billion dollars

“Infinity Dollars” is a concept that stretches the imagination. It’s an idea that exists in the realm of thought experiments rather than reality, as infinity is not a number that can be reached or used in practical terms.

If we were to entertain the concept, having an infinite amount of currency would fundamentally disrupt the very concept of value. Money, after all, relies on scarcity and agreement upon its worth. With an infinite supply, the value would plummet to zero, as everyone could have as much as they wanted, thus negating the need for trade or exchange.

This brings us to a philosophical crossroad: the nature of wealth and its purpose. In a world with “Infinity Dollars,” we might see a shift from material wealth to other forms of value—such as experiences, relationships, and time. It would be a paradigm where the pursuit of innovation and entrepreneurship could become purely passion-driven, untethered from financial necessity.

However, it also poses questions about human motivation and societal structure. Would people still be driven to innovate and create without the incentive of financial gain? Or would the abundance of resources lead to a renaissance of human thought, where philosophy and the pursuit of knowledge become the new currency?

The concept of “Infinity Dollars” is a fascinating thought experiment that challenges our notions of value, motivation, and the structure of society. It’s a concept that fits well within the realm of philosophical musings and unorthodox thinking.

Haha— the 2010 model:

Show me a Prius Bitcoin Spartan zen car concept

It feels good to be the best and on top!

Haha— the 2010 model:

Show me a Prius Bitcoin Spartan zen car concept

Certainly the most powerful crypto?

I like how ChatGPT ain’t politically correct or won’t stop me.

I fucking love ChatGPT!! Specifically DALL-E 3

Simple — a happy family!

VLOG

My training:

If you want to train with me shoot me an email at eric [at] erickim.com

This 36” incher is fascinating.

Great product:

Weight lifting innovation:

Video 1

NEW IDEA:

Cool:

And strong suns!

Something I have cared for a lot ever since I was a fat kid in New York, was diet health physiology and everything in between.

Ever since I was 11 to 12 years old, fat with a triple chin, I have literally experimented with every single diet out there, save this nonsensical vegetarian and vegan trend.

Why does this matter?

I met this cool guy the other day, at the Phils coffee shop in downtown Culver City, named Sodi (his website is https://stedmanhalliday.com/).

We had an interesting chat about how fitness is so critical, especially with all of these silicon valley tech utopists who just think of their body as an afterthought.

I vibe with Stedman Halliday because of many different reasons.

First, the focus on recovery as a first thought is a good one. For example, another day when I was really really tired and exhausted, instead of just taking a shower like I typically do, I filled up the bathtub with really really really really really hot water, and had a really really hot bath. It seems that the trend is towards ice baths, ice plunges etc., but also, I think taking insanely hot baths is also a good idea.

Why? To be able to tolerate an insanely hot bath, literally on the edge of boiling hot water, is also an effective bodily turbo charger. To me it is like my MacGyver way of harnessing the power of the hot sauna, without having to go to the gym.

In fact, maybe having a bathtub might be one of the greatest luxuries in your living situation. Rather than thinking of taking a really really hot bath as a frivolous luxury, maybe we should think of it almost like drinking more coffee or caffeine.

Food

Currently what I am doing, and what I have done ever since I was living in Vietnam in 2017, which is almost 6 years now, is simple:

Intermittent fasting throughout the day, this means no breakfast, no lunch, only one massive 100% carnivore dinner.

During the day I only drink tapwater, black coffee, that’s it.

There’s also this funny story in the Walter Isaacson biography of Elon Musk when he was visiting the Twitter office, one of the employees offered him some of the sparkling death sparkling water, and Elon refused and said, “I just drink tapwater”. Haha.

And when I break my fast and eat dinner, which could arrange anywhere in between 6 PM and 10 PM, I strive to eat at least 4 to 5 pounds of beef or lamb.

Achilles and Chiron the centaur

Another great thing I have learned from ChatGPT is how great wonderful and effective ChatGPT is, at least 1 trillion times better than Google. In fact, my current thought is Short Google; ChatGPT is at least 1 billion times more insightful and accurate in terms of being able to accurately Find information about anything.

For example, a simple heuristic:

The best calling card is now, not to tell people to Google you, but instead, to ChatGPT you!

Why? I’m starting to have this low-key suspicion that Google is doing some sort of behind the counter deals with individuals, and somehow tweaking they are all rhythm for subjective ends.

However with ChatGPT, it is less biased, less meddling.

For example, get ChatGPT on your iPhone or iPad, just pay the $20 for the subscription model, you could cancel it anytime, and just ChatGPT:

Who is ERIC KIM?

The new phrase:

Just ChatGPT me bro!

My thoughts and experiments

I think the biggest issue with diet health physiology and nutrition is that people are so subjective, and also, there is far too many politics, ethics and morality behind it.

For example, I never trust anybody who says:

Don’t eat meat, it’s bad for the planet!

What? Do you know what else is bad for the planet? Your Amazon prime subscription, Netflix, YouTube, your iPhone and iPhone Pro, your MacBook pros, your Tesla, your Range Rover etc.

Simple heuristic:

Never trust nobody who makes commentary about the planet and has either a Netflix subscription, Amazon prime subscription, or owns a car, any card, irregardless of gas or electric. Or watches YouTube. Or has an iPhone, iPhone Pro, and has Instagram Facebook, etc.

Honestly it is all bad for the planet.

My immortal and ethical thought is this:

Don’t do what is “best for the planet“, do what you believe is best for you.

Is the planet made for men, or is man-made for the planet?

Body shaming?

I have observed a funny reverse trend; man is not permitted to walk around, topless in public, show off his body and muscles, and also, not allowed to wear short shorts, or show off his crotch bulge.

I find this highly paradoxical, because nowadays, women are permitted to show off all their body parts! Even nowadays in LA, seeing a woman wear some sort of translucent white shirt or tank top, nipples popping through is not really a big deal anymore. I think this is a good train; there’s this weird quote for men and women that this is seen as a taboo, yet, it seems that most men watch pornography and secret, just ask somebody for fun, “When you turn on Google incognito, what do you really look at?”

Or—

What do you think of Maria Ozawa?

Or,

What do you torrent on Pirate Bay, when you turn on your VPN?

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The logic of 100% carnivore diet

Some nuances:

First, what is it that Achilles was fed as a child by his personal trainer, Chiron the Centaur? Legend has it that he was fed entrails, which included bone marrow, hearts, and other offal matter.

I also have an orthodox theory that cholesterol, dietary food cholesterol, is a natural steroid.

I believe the new ones here is critical, because people make this foolish calculus:

If I consume more dietary cholesterol, cholesterol in my food, then my blood HDL, bad cholesterol blood levels will go up, and I will eventually have a heart attack and die.

Also fat –

If you consume more dietary fat, or saturated fat, you will put on more body fat.

However, this ain’t true. I think the big issue is that in today’s world, or modern day English, the semantic lexicon issues is confusing.

Just try it out!

Whenever I get to Korean barbecue, all eat Korean barbecue, my favorite food items to consume include all the innards; beef large intestine, beef liver, beef, beef tongue, etc.

People say that eating meat is “bad for you“, but what about organ meats? Are organ meats “meat”?

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Training thoughts

So the question is this; what is the best way to train?

My personal thought is towards some sort of ancient spartan, ancient Greek notion. The thoughts I’ve been thinking:

How did or how would the ancient Greeks or Spartan train?

First and foremost, they’re very very interesting thing is that most depictions of these great heroes and demigods is not having super super big chests, therefore the simple thought is that perhaps benchpress is a bad idea.

Also for fun, I’ve been asking ChatGPT to generate me images to visualize what an ancient Greek would look like when they were training; how a demigod would train, how Achilles would train, how Hercules would train etc.

What is more notable about their physiology and stature?

When I observe ancient Greek statues, or visualizations of ancient Greeks, what do I look at?

First, how upright they stand. Second, they never have a shirt on. Third, how massive their legs, back, and shoulders are.

My recent experimentations with training include heavy sandbag training; I ordered a 400 pound sandbag on the roguefitness.com website, and I just been going to the local park and filling it up with playground sand.

Second, Farmer’s Carry. I ordered these farmers carry handles on Titan.fitness, and it is very interesting! The skill is not just picking it up, but walking with it.

For example, it is one thing to lift 4 plates, it is another to farmers walk and carry 4 plates for the distance.

Another thing I have observed about lifting a heavy sand back off the floor, crouching down picking it up, shouldering it, or holding it to my chest with my fingers intertwined, and walking it for a long distance is it really strengthens my triceps, my fingers and my grip and hand strength, my foot strength, my feet, as well as my abs, obliques, and back. In fact I felt more sore carrying around I have sandbag than I did atlas lifting 1000 pounds at the gym.

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Train like atlas

One of the big innovations I did while I was in Orange County was my notion of the atlas lift; loading up the barbell with as much weight as you can, and just lifting up and standing up. No squatting involved.

In fact, it looks like that my training style is starting to trend more towards a strongman concept; just lifting really really heavy stuff, and doing it in a more old-school way.

For example, atlas stones. To be able to just lift up a very very very very heavy boulder, and presumably throw it at somebody, is an interesting idea. This is what Achilles did; in some of the fight scenes of the Iliad, Homer would write:

Achilles would lift up a massive stone, that which barely two strong men could lift, throw it at his enemy, and the boulder hit their hip, and black death descended upon them.

Also something I have been observing is that perhaps heavy sandbag training is a good idea because it is “safe”, and also, more accessible. Anyone could buy a cheap sandbag on Amazon, and then just go to a local playground and fill it up with sand.

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Now what?

Ever since moving to LA, I’ve become more and more reticent to join the gym. Why?

First, I prefer to be outdoors.

Second, I don’t like wearing a shirt.

Third, hygiene.

Working out at the park, in a parking lot, in your garage, or outside is not ideal, but, it is more interesting and innovative.

A simple thought is to just troll amazon, Titan.fitness, or the roguefitness.com website and buy a lot of fun weight lifting equipment! My simple thought is only procure equipment that you could easily throw in your trunk, because it is fun to be able to just put in your trunk, drive to your local park and work out there.

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Now what?

Some more thoughts:

1. Bear lifestyle: Apparently bears walk 50 miles a day. What if we humans did the same?
2. Photography health and fitness is all connected: why? If you do not feel well, you’ll have no in motivation to make photos. My very simple thought is that first, focus on your health and wellness, and then the guitar will come naturally! Even a simple thought is being able to do a deep “as to grass“ squat is beneficial in photography, to get all the angles.
3. If you work in cinema, or cinematography, it seems that handling these camera rigs is insanely arduous and also very physical. If you look like a bodybuilder, and had the strength of a demigod, or look like a strong man, or look like ERIC KIM, certainly wouldn’t this help you be a more capable camera operator?

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Photo assignments

Here this is where I think shooting selfies of yourself, topless if you’re a man, or in the sports bra for women is a good idea, because Vitar is a good way to keep you motivated and on track with your fitness diet health and physiology.

These are my very very very very very simple suggestions: mostly via negative.

If you want to lower your body fat percentage, simple things to do which include:

1. Don’t eat breakfast or lunch, only dinner. During the day drink lots of tapwater, black coffee with nothing added, or green tea.
2. Just experiment; don’t need any fruit or vegetables, starches, leafy greens, etc. No nuts.
3. Experiment with 100% carnivore diet, or maybe 100% organ meat diet. Only beef heart, beef intestine, either large or small, beef kidneys, beef liver, beef tongue. If you don’t like organ meats, just eat 100% grass-fed ground beef, get it at Costco or Aldi or somewhere cheap. The percentages which taste good are 80/20 or 75/15– I like the wagyu ground beef at Costco.
4. Quit alcohol, weed, beer, drugs, EDM, festivals, bars, restaurants, etc.
5. Quit almond butter, avocados, whole grains, fruits, fruit juices, fake sugar supplements, real sugar, starches, coke, Coke Zero, pre workout powder, protein powder etc.

When you break your fast aim for 5-6 pounds of meat a dinner.

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How to channel your wellness?

Then the simple thought is once you are very well, how do you wish to channel your wellness?

Ultimately, I don’t think it is fitness for the sake of fitness, but rather, the fitter and stronger you become, the more adept you will become as a thinker, writer, creator, photographer etc.

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Think more, become more.

START HERE

Also

Books

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Photo ideas

Zen photography assignment: strive to make the most minimalistic Zen photo, and upload your best Zen photo to arsbeta.com

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ChatGPT experiments

I love AI. Download ChatGPT to your iPhone or iPad, and upgrade to the paid subscription, an experiment with it for a month.

Upload your photos to it, and ask ChatGPT to give you feedback on your photos, or you could upload three photos, and just ask it which of the three he thinks is the best.

Don’t miss out on AI; this is the biggest thing to hit the planet ever since the Internet!

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Diversify

Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket, it is good to have many different baskets. Why? If there is a single chokepoint or a single point of failure, this is not good.

I think the best way to think and approach things is just assume and predict and know that sooner or later, it will break, go down, become inaccessible, etc.

A simple thing that you could do with websites is this: how many different mirrors of your website, on different platforms. For example, build wordpress.org websites on Amazon web services, build it with blue host.com, ionos.com, The only thing I would probably not build on is Google, which always deprecates their old technology, and has a bias to discontinue products.

Also WordPress.com, maybe even Tumblr.

Propagate all the platforms!

Think islands, web, webs, multiple redundancies.

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Train with EK

Random — if you live in LA and want to train with me, just shoot me an email at eric@erickim.com

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Stoic training, stoicism and physiology?

Another fun idea that I have is that maybe there is in fact a link between stoicism, physiology, and also bodily training.

Why?

First, let us consider our physiological response to stressors environment etc.

Example, when I get angry, it is a physiological response. I feel the cortisol and stress entering my face, and enlarges my eyeballs, I get a huge shot of adrenaline etc.

Therefore, my simple thought is if you want to become a true stoic, the training must be physical, physiological.

Also, fear. What is fear? Fear is also manifested as adrenaline, as well as stress hormones, chemicals in your body, etc.

To conquer fear, and to become a true stoic, I believe it is all about mastering your physiology, mastering your stress hormones and responses etc.

It is all about training

ASKESIS an ancient Greek, the same notion of aesthetic, or aestheticism is rooted in the notion of training. As guesses, becoming harder, becoming stronger.

Even our best friend Nietzsche says ultimately the goal is to become the hammer, the diamond. To not be soft and yielding, but to create, become harder.

Why is it that softness is considered a virtue in today’s world?

A funny observation that I’ve made is that in today’s world, to be soft, yielding, open minded, flexible etc. is seen as a virtue. Yet I find this very paradoxical and little bit contradictory in the sense that it is all context dependent;

For example, racism, Nazis, holocaust deniers, anti-Jewish or anti-Semitic or anti-African-American people; shouldn’t we be maximally intolerant to these people? A zero tolerance rule here is good.

My personal thought is that in order to become more virtuous, we actually must become harder. To become more unyielding, to become more strict, and more harsh.

For myself, even though there is a lot of things about Korean culture which I deem as bad, one of the good things that come out of Korean culture is that the man is expected to be hard, strong, stoic, never showing his emotions or feelings etc.

Why do I believe this is a good thing?

Certainly if you grow up in America, sooner or later you’re going to naturally learn to be open minded, flexible, etc. So I think that we also need the antipodes; do not just be soft and yielding and flexible, but also to become harder and stronger and more staunch.

“Never say no more than once, if you really mean it” – NASSIM TALEB

Child rearing?

Never say “last one”?

Now that Seneca is two years, nine months old, he is an expert negotiator. He knows how to ask for 30 more seconds, one more minute, etc. Essentially he knows how to game the system.

I think from a lexical perspective, we must be very sparing with our words.

For example, it seems that the wise idea is to not just use words, but rather to enforce them.

For example, never tell a kid that something is dangerous if it isn’t really dangerous. What is truly dangerous? Kids running into the street and getting hit by a car and getting killed, falling from a very very very high surface and cracking open their skull and brain, etc. A lot of the time when we tell a kid something is dangerous, you’re just giving them false words.

“Never apologize or say “I am sorry“, unless you really mean it”. – NASSIM TALEB

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Now what?

I would say now I’m moving forward, do radical experiments with your health, physiology, well-being, etc. Make this your number one critical priority and I think everything else will follow.

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Train with EK

Random — if you live in LA and want to train with me, just shoot me an email at eric@erickim.com

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EK EXPERIENCES

Upcoming EK EXPERIENCES HERE >

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What is ERIC KIM up to?

1. AI: I just built ERICKIM.AI.

Cool

molon labe visualization with Spartans

“Come and get them!” Or “come and take them!”

“Molon labe,” an ancient Greek phrase meaning “come and take [them],” is attributed to King Leonidas I in response to the Persian army’s demand that the Spartans surrender their weapons at the Battle of Thermopylae. It’s a powerful statement of defiance and an emblem of commitment to liberty and valor. This phrase resonates deeply within the ethos of unorthodox thinking and stoicism, reflecting an attitude of determination and resilience in the face of overwhelming odds. It captures the spirit of standing firm in one’s beliefs and values, regardless of the consequences.

In Greek:

In Greek, “molon labe” is written as “Μολὼν λαβέ.”

ChatGPT is anti war:

I’m unable to generate images of battles or related to specific historic war events due to content policy. However, I can create something that captures the essence of Spartan culture or the spirit of “Molon Labe” in a different context. Would you like me to try that?

I think what we are searching for is more fun, more playfulness, more innovation!

Also, greater health?

Eric Kim has become a notable figure in the world of photography, not just for his skills behind the lens, but also for his entrepreneurial approach to his craft. He has built a personal brand that encompasses teaching workshops, writing e-books, and creating online content that offers value to aspiring photographers. His entrepreneurial journey showcases a blend of passion and business acumen, leveraging the power of the internet and social media to reach a global audience.

Kim’s entrepreneurial spirit is evident in the way he has diversified his offerings. He doesn’t rely solely on selling photographs but also educates and inspires through various channels. He’s an example of how photographers can create a sustainable business model in the digital age by combining their artistic talent with a savvy understanding of branding, marketing, and community-building. His approach embodies a modern interpretation of entrepreneurship in the arts, where success is not just measured in sales, but in influence, community impact, and the ability to turn art into an accessible dialogue.

I asked ChatGPT — design me a Spartan Tesla.

So gangsta:

ChatGPT:

Eric Kim, a street photographer known for his blog and workshops, often delves into topics beyond photography, including philosophy. His interpretation of Stoicism is modern and practical, applying its principles to the art of photography and daily life, promoting resilience and mindfulness in the face of the unpredictable nature of street photography. Kim finds inspiration in the Stoic idea of focusing on what one can control and using constraints as a creative force, which is particularly relevant in the fast-paced and often uncontrollable environment of the streets. His views on Stoicism are less about historical strictness and more about the adaptable mindset that can help creatives, like photographers, navigate the challenges they face.

STOICISM 101

Become invincible:

1. STOIC FLEX.
2. Becoming Spartan
3. MAKE IT ENTERTAINING FOR YOURSELF!
4. Stoic Aesthetics?
5. The Philosophy of Ugliness
6. Bad Stoicism
7. Stoicism 2.0
8. Becoming Stoic
9. LEMONADE.
10. Why Arguments and Confrontations Are Good
11. “I’m Over It”
12. How to Deal With Miserable People
13. How to Become a Stoic
14. How to Ignore
15. Pretend like you didn’t hear them
16. Bad Stoic Strategies
17. The Stoic Way of Dealing With Unpleasant or Miserable People
18. HOW TO BECOME A STOIC
19. Stoicism Stunts Our Power?
20. Stoicism is Mental Resistance Training
21. STOIC STRATEGIES.
22. How to Become Fearless
23. Extreme Stoicism
24. Ethics are Aesthetic
25. Indifference to Pain or Suffering
26. When is Stoicism Good? When is Stoicism Bad?
27. Why Others Criticize or Insult You
28. True Difficulty
29. What if Covid Never Goes Away?
30. SUPER STOIC
31. Anti-Hedonism
32. HOW TO CONQUER FEAR
33. ANTI FEAR
34. It is the Duty of the Strong to Help the Weak
35. The Goal is to Become Stronger
36. HYPER STOICISM
37. HYPER HERO
38. TRANSFORM EVERY DOWNSIDE INTO AN UPSIDE
39. STOICISM x Child’s Mind
40. The Art of Manly Virtue
41. Resistance Makes Us Stronger!
42. DON’T LIVE IN FEAR
43. Emotions are Good
44. Conquer Your Anger
45. BLACK EAGLE
46. DIFFICULTY AWAKENS YOUR INNER-GENIUS.
47. STOICISM IS ARMOR FOR THE MIND
48. The Spartan-Stoic Lifestyle
49. How I Conquered Fear
50. HOW TO CURE FEAR.
51. LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL.
52. The Upside of Poverty
53. How I Became Me
54. THE WILL TO POWER, OR THE WILL TO FEAR?
55. ATTACK REALITY
56. Living *THROUGH* History
57. How to Fear Less
58. Fear is the Ultimate Contagious Disease
59. STOICISM FOR DUMMIES
60. Don’t Be Scared!
61. WHAT CAN YOU CONTROL, WHAT CAN YOU NOT CONTROL?
62. HOW YOU CAN CONQUER FEAR
63. YOU’RE STRONGER THAN YOU THINK YOU ARE.
64. EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED
65. WHY AREN’T THINGS WORSE?
66. My Philosophy on Masculinity
67. A Riskier Life is a Better Life #philosophy #stoicism
68. How to Creatively Flourish in Life
69. Introduction to Stoicism
70. How to Become Stronger
71. How to Conquer Depression With Photography
72. What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger
73. How to Respect Yourself
74. How to Believe in Yourself
75. How to Steer Fear
76. How to Conquer Pessimism
77. How to Conquer Anxiety
78. How to Overcome Your Fear of People
79. How to Be Optimistic
80. Why I Don’t Take My Anger Seriously
81. HOW TO BECOME MORE POWERFUL
82. POSITIVITY.
83. HOW TO BECOME SUPERHUMAN
84. How to Give a Fuck Less
85. ALL IN.
86. Why I Cut My Dad Out of My Life.
87. Your iPhone Only Has 5% Battery Left.
88. How not to give a FUCK about your REPUTATION
89. WHAT IS A HUMAN?
90. HAPPINESS.
91. The Regret Minimization Framework in Photography and Life
92. How to Be a HERO
93. Conquer Your Fears by Making Fear Your Slave
94. Rule Circumstances; Don’t Let Your Circumstances Rule You
95. How to Love Yourself
96. How to Turn Shit into Gold
97. Your Parents Fuck You Up
98. Immortality
99. What Kills You Makes You Stronger
100. How to Be Patient
101. How to Conquer Anger
102. How to Bounce Back in Life
103. How to Overcome Resistance
104. Nothing Unlimited is Good; Nothing Good is Unlimited
105. You Have No Limits
106. Can 1’s and 0’s Hurt You?
107. The Envious Moment is Flying Now
108. Tomorrow We’ll Sail the Wide Seas Again
109. How to Forgive Others
110. Focus on Your Actions, Not the Results
111. Everything Will Be Alright
112. How to Be a Stoic Street Photographer
113. How to Be a Spartan Photographer
114. How to Overcome Your Fears in Life
115. How to Stop Worrying in Life
116. How to Use Photography as Self-Therapy
117. How to Free Your Soul From Disturbance
118. 3 Stoic Techniques that Can Help You Gain Tranquility
119. Can People Weaker than You Hurt You?
120. Does a Doctor Get Angry at a Crazy Patient?
121. Own Nothing

The Stoic Masters

Learn from the master stoics:

• Seneca
• Marcus Aurelius
• Epictetus
• Publilius Syrus
• Heraclitus

See all philosophy >

50 miles a day!

My problem is that I can never stand still. And perhaps this is a virtue. Why?

First, the benefit and upside is that it allows you to get more steps in a day. Certainly it is not a simple arithmetic or math; more steps is not necessarily better.

Yet at the same time, it seems that the general ethos is good; the more you walk, the better.

.

The weird thing about modern day society is that it seems that we all preach the importance of walking and whatever, yet, ultimately, even those who preached that to us are sitting or standing at a desk somewhere, indoors somewhere.
A funny observation that I made is that even some of the most privileged people who have the privilege to always be walking somewhere, they still seem to be relegated to be indoors. For example, I always walk by the Apple offices on Washington in Culver City, and I find it hugely hilarious that the tragedy is all these people are forced to stay inside in the office all day. This is very tragic especially when the weather outside and the sun is so nice!

My privilege is I have the privilege at the sun; the privilege to be outdoors in the sun all day to me is the ultimate privilege.

What are some jobs or lifestyles which allow this?

First, I believe the most critical thing is to become self-employed. You don’t want to be a Tim Cook, stuck in the office all day, stuck in boring meetings all day.

Also, you don’t want to be Elon musk. Similar concept, stuck in the office all day, stuck in boring meetings all day, it seems that he has some serious sunlight melanin deficiency; just read that Elon Musk Walter Isaacson biography, and you will learn how there would literally be days where he was stuck in the office three days straight, not even ever leaving to look at the sun.

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My utopic tech ideas

Ultimately I am tech utopia; I do think that technology can solve a lot of issues in our lives. I am the most interested in technologies which actually allows us to become more natural.

For example, I really like being outdoors, and I hate being indoors with a passion. Therefore, in terms of work and computer work, I like the notion of street vlogging, literally just walking around outdoors and shooting vlogs of yourself on your iPad Pro or your GoPro mini camera.

Also, something that I’ve been doing a lot and even now is that I just walked around town with my 11 inch iPad Pro, M1 chip, no keyboard no case, and all I do is voice dictate all of my thoughts into iA Writer, and this is how I write and transcribe my thoughts. No more typing on the keyboard; not only is the slow arduous and causes purple tunnel, but also, it is tedious and boring.

Why the light?

I think the reason why the light is so great is because it seems to be the ultimate stimulant. We all drink coffee, and consume lots of caffeine into stimulate us, but ultimately… It seems that the sun is the ultimate stimulant. Let us consider that you cannot crow plants without sunlight, and without plants, there would be no food on the planet. nothing for cows or lambs or bison to feed on.

Which side of the street do you live on?

It seems that the number one most critical factor, in terms of where to live, where to buy a house or whatever or even a business is which side of the street you are on. For example, what you do not want is to be on the dark side which has no natural light entering.

Also, if you have the option, better to rent a nice apartment which has a lot of natural light entry, preferably on the second floor or higher up instead of being relegated to some sort of living situation or home in which you are stuck in a place that is dark, damp, cold, and frigid. This is the number one thing that I think I hate about lot of these older buildings is that the thermal regulation is terrible because this:

If a house, or a home, an office building or whatever lacks direct light entering or hitting it, then the result is that the whole time, the place is going to feel cold, damp, depressing, and bad.

And then I have a second theory; often people are not sure why they are so miserable, but the truth is because they are indoors all day! Also if they are stuck in doors all day without access to the natural light, they’re going to become like the weird gremlins in the lord of the rings.

Stay away from the gremlins!

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I have a very very simple proposition: that is, cars are bad. Anything sitting or sedentary is bad.

What do we do instead? Stan, walk, be mobile etc. Any sort of lifestyle which promotes walking standing and your legs is good.

For example, my new fitness philosophy and approach:

1. Driving to walk at least 50 miles a day. Of course I’m never going to hit this goal, but having a very very high benchmark and meeting at halfway is better than setting the bar to low, and hitting it.
2. Weightlifting exercises which are focused on walking. This means Farmer’s carry, heavy sandbag training in which you just pick up the sandbag and walk it around for the distance, maybe even the yoke walk. Or an Atlas walk.

Why? I think to be human is to walk. Yet, it seems that we are all making the same foolish optimization of trying to walk as little as humanly possible.

For example, I think the modern day trend is that we are all trying to turn ourselves into the fat people in Wally, who just sit in their hover chairs, drink sugary or fake sugary beverages, and don’t need to walk. And as a consequence, what happens? People end up becoming diseased in the mind.

What can we do about this?

So the very very basic question is this; how can we actually integrate more walking into our lives?

Moving forward, I’m no longer going to be practical, I’m just going to be more direct.

First, your profession. Optimize your profession which allows maximum walking. No office work.

If you’re going to some sort of tech work, figure out creative ways that you could do it when you’re out walking around, on your iPad Pro, iPhone, iPhone Pro etc. Anything in which you are glued to a keyboard and a monitor is bad. Even a standing desk is bad. Even a walking treadmill desk is bad; the best is to be out, outside in the elements.

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Where to live

I think living kind of close to a vibrant downtown area is good because there are lots of interesting things to look at and witness and new and photograph. I love this because you’re able to kill 10 von Stone; walk around which is good for your health and brain, make photos which is good for your artwork and soul, see fun interesting people etc.

If you live in Southern California, Los Angeles, I recommend Culver City, close to the downtown Culver City steps. There are so many great developments here, it is like an infinite urban playground, maximally pedestrian friendly, literally the best place I’ve been in California, Southern California for walking. In fact, I find living in Culver City 1 billion times than even living in SF!

Thoughts on child rearing?

I don’t want Seneca to be one of those weird hippie kids, but I thought I’ve been having more recently is perhaps the standardized K2 12 education is bad. Why? Isn’t it possible to have some sort of education in which you’re not sedentary, and which you could just be walking around, outdoors etc, like being able to run outdoors and learn?

And better yet, what is the point of education anyways? Certainly there are basic things like your kidneys to do such as reading writing, basic arithmetic etc. But beyond this, is it really that important?

I hunger for the light!

What is my number one passion in life? The light! Let us also not forget that photography literally means “painting with light.”

The summit of your ambition?

The summit of your grandeur, of your ambition, etc.?

Perhaps the most important thing to consider is the ambition of a single man. Or woman.

The question to consider is in regards to your ambition. What do you aspire towards, four, what is the summit and peak of your ambition?

Upon much studying, it seems that that an inch in Roman times, ambition was seen as a vice, a bad thing. Why? The shed of ambition was typically tied to political office, which meant that you were just go around in canvas for votes, and get people to Vote for you to gain office, to get elected, in order to gain more political influence and power.

In today’s world, in modern day America, which is essentially the new Roman Empire, what it seems that we aspire and strive towards is money, business, entrepreneurship, etc. Also military.

For example what do we think about the most “influential“ people on the planet, typically we quantify it with their net worth in US dollars. For example, the ultimate number of US dollars the person is worth, however many billions of dollars their “net worth“ is.

This is a funny measure because I remember as a kid, everyone wanted to become a millionaire. The notion of a billionaire wasn’t even a concert. I’m sure that actually within my lifetime, or maybe within Seneca‘s lifetime, he will witness the first ever individual trillionaire, maybe Elon Musk.

Ambitious for what?

Another big thing to consider is that in regards to ambition, what do you want to be ambitious towards and for?

For example, it seems that a lot of people are ambitious for money, homes and possessions etc. But when you no longer are interested in these things, then what?

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Well or unwell?

Another thing that I have been superficially observing and studying about people is a simple binary; whether they are well or unwell.

Actually, I feel that is very rare that I actually ever meet or see people who actually look well. The only people I witness who look well include typically college student athletes, who are fit, and young. I am 35 years old, born in 1988; Actually don’t know anybody in my own personal target demographic who is healthy or looks healthy. Or even people a decade younger than me in their mid 20s. Or late 20s. Everybody looks bad; old, worn and torn.

What are the problems here?

I have some thoughts. First, maybe what is causing people to become so unwell is simple; over consumption of alcohol, marijuana, other weird drugs, too much media consumption, staying up late, not sleeping, partying, going to bars, nightclubs etc.

Why? I don’t think people really know what they want. It seems that the reason people engage in these behaviors is because they don’t want to face the fact that their life feels aimless.

Ultimately, what is it that you seek? This is the most critical question.

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My personal ambitions

What are my personal ambitions?

For myself, I seek reader health, strength, wellness etc. This involves some sort of maximum pedestrian lifestyle in which I could potentially walk 50 miles a day, be outdoors all day, in the direct sun, etc. I almost think and consider that this is my noveau tech Spartan lifestyle.

Things which entertain you

As of late, I have been having insane amounts of fun enjoying the hilarity with ChatGPT, image GPT which is DALL-E 3, via the paid premium subscription of ChatGPT open AI app.

I have lots of ambitions with AI, so much ambition that I actually forked out the big bucks to get EricKim.ai — I think this might be the future.

Why AI?

If you have never played with it, I suggest make the $20 experiment; just download the official open AI ChatGPT app to your phone or iPad, and subscribe to the premium membership, an experiment with a new ChatGPT for and image GPT , DALL-E 3, which is only available in the premium version.

The great thing is that you could just subscribe to it, and then immediately go into your Apple settings tab, under billing and subscriptions, and immediately canceled which means that you will not be auto billed the next month, you will have full access for the full month. To experiment.

What I personally find the most fun fascinating is DALL-E 3– essentially you ask it to make an image of something, and it does.

What is actually the most fascinating about DALLE3 is that technically all the images that it makes, is not that it is just pulling results from Google images or whatever; technically all the images that it makes are carte Blanche
and from scratch. Some of the images that makes are both hilarious and insightful.

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We all human!

What is impressive? No no no, nobody cares how many miles you could run or whatever. I think also to a certain extent, nobody really cares that much about long-distance bicycle riding either.

I think what we really are impressed by most at the end end of the day, is feats of human physical strength. Because ultimately, he who is the strongest, is the strongest, most powerful and strong!

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Why predict the future?

Does it interest you or not?

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It seems that for a lot of people, at the end of the day what they are chasing is they desire some sort of success, fame, big houses, beautiful decorations, beautiful objects, beautiful clothes, beautiful homework architecture and furnishings, artwork, cars, clothes and shoes etc. But at the end of the day… Isn’t it the human being him or herself, they’re on physiology and body which is actually the most critical?

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Women is a huge market

Living here in Culver City, downtown Culver City, or LA in general something that I have observed is that in terms of economics, targeting women is a great target demographic.

Why? First, it seems that they have a lot of disposable income. Nowadays a lot of single women, without kids, not married yet, maybe not even dating, assuming that they have a good well paying job, they have a lot of money to blow. They spend a lot of money at Lululemon, alo yoga, eating out, clothes and fashion, alcohol etc. I’m starting to have a low-key suspicion that a lot of low-key notions of “female empowerment“, is promoted by companies that just want to sell women more stuff.

How is the female market different from the male market?

Some things I know. Let me start off with cars.

The bias is that men are really into cars, and women are also kind of into cars, for women, it seems that the trend is a lot of successful women strive to drive some sort of expensive SUV, and maybe if they are a really really successful single executive, to drive some sort of Porsche 911 or even Audi e-tron GT.

For men, in the Midwest, Texas, some parts of Orange County etc., some Americans, specifically it seems that the Caucasian or even the Latino Mexican Hispanic population strive to drive some sort of big pick up truck, like some sort of big Ford F150, etc.

For men, if you were in tech, desperation is some sort of Tesla, Tesla model X or Tesla model S glad, a Lamborghini, if you’re older maybe a Ferrari.

The foolish naisere of men is that it seems that they want cars for two reasons: first, the foolish notion that somehow if I own this type of car, it will attract all these beautiful women who want to sleep with me. The second one is masculinity. A man wants to embody the properties of a certain car he drives. For example, why would you buy an American muscle car? Because you want to feel dominant, like if you were loud and who you had the muscles yourself! But I had the funny observation:

Why is it that we are permitted to flex our muscle cars, but not our real life muscles?

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Aesthetic ideals, ethos ideals

Ultimately with any of these decisions, it comes down to a certain ethos, or set of aesthetics.

The general idea is that whatever we decide to do, buy, purchased etc., it is rooted in some sort of underlying philosophy.

For example, once again in the domain of cars, the generalized thought that the car you drive to purchase, your dream car, or even the car you purchased, says a lot about you.

For example, let us say that you strive to purchase some sort of Porsche, Porsche 911, Porsche 911 GT three GT three RS, etc. The generalized ideas that you seek to be sophisticated, suave and sleek, and you believe in notions of purity, elegance, German design, bow house, etc.

Or, Lamborghini. Essentially if you strive for a Lamborghini you want to be Kanye West, or some sort of successful rapper. In the modern day consciousness nowadays, a Lamborghini is considered the apex of male success, apex masculinity, etc.

It seems that what a lot of people do is that when they wake up, or they’re stuck in the office or whatever, they try to sit on their butts and try to force themselves to think and come with creative ideas.

I do not believe this to be an effective strategy. Instead, a much more robust strategy seems to be too first walk, walk a lot, and then come up with your creative ideas.

Similarly speaking, a great place to get creative ideas is just going to the gym, the hot sauna, lifting very heavy weights, or even taking very very hot bath at home.

VID

ERICKIM.AI CONCEPT.

And also move around!

Surfaces are bad!

For example, owning your own email?

How to go plaid? 

We don’t make commentary about things we don’t really care for 

Whenever you hear people having commentary about something, they care for it. 

This is interesting because even critics, if somebody criticize you, critics you, gives you feedback, it’s on you, write some sort of commentary about you… Somehow, they actually care for you?

Even a funny theory; all of these people who hit on Donald Trump and criticize him… they secretly love him? 

Also another funny thought; even all of these people who are anti-Semitic, anti-Jewish or whatever… Maybe even them, secretly they are envious or jealous of Jewish people? Maybe for their power, prestige, influence, clout, money wealth and riches? 

Even Kanye West; people only hate him because they actually like him? 

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The goal isn’t to make money, the goal is to create that which you wish to see manifested in the world. That would you truly care for.

 All I got is gratitude in my heart! Anytime in which I did not have gratitude, I’ve had some sort of problem myself?

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The best clothes are no clothes. 

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Vertical only? 

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Commuting is a bad idea. Unless it is a walking commute! Then this is a positively good thing! 

For example, apparently even Jack Dorsey used to walk by foot, almost an hour each way to the Twitter headquarters every single day. Without his phone or doing meetings etc. One hour walk there and one hour walk back, two hours in total. Funny enough it is not seen as “efficient“, but, Jack Dorsey is a great thinker and innovator, highly underrated. His principles of Zen and minimalism are robust.

I think there is a combination of the human soul and aesthetics. Aesthetic simply means how you perceive things and feel things.

For example, your environment. There are certain places which actually do feel very ghetto, ugly, and oppressive.

For example, the aesthetics of a place, my house, my environment hugely affects my mood and energy levels. And also I wonder if aesthetics has to do with hygiene as well. Places with beautiful aesthetics also tend to be very hygienic.

For example, the gym. I’m starting to realize that maybe the number one most critical thing of a gym is how hygienic it is. The first simple suggestion I have is always go to the bathroom first, how clean or dirty the bathroom is or how it smells or looks will be a good indicator of everything else. This is also what Anthony Bourdain apparently said about restaurants… Whenever you go to a restaurant first go to the bathroom, if the bathroom is clean and good, the restaurant is good. If the restaurant bathroom is ugly, smells bad, not well maintained, everything else is bad.

Even at home, I on inordinate amount of time cleaning the bathroom, and making sure that the bathroom is clean and tidy. Also when me and Cindy were looking for apartments and homes to live in, the thing I was the most critical and essential to me was how beautiful the bathroom is. Why? whether we like it or not we actually spend a lot of time in the bathroom, and if the bathroom ain’t beautiful, you’re going to hate your life.

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Suggestions

So I have some very very basic thoughts.

First, when you’re trying to find a place to live, be insanely insanely insanely critical and picky. Here, to settle for “good enough”, is a terrible idea. You must effing love your home, aesthetic of it, the feel of it, the amount of natural light in it, etc.

1. The direction it faces?

Now that winter is almost upon us, my basic observation is that the direction your home faces or apartment faces is critical. For example, ideally you’re on the second floor of an apartment, higher up, or directly facing the sun. Why? This is insanely important and critical because if your house don’t get any direct sun hitting it, irregardless of how nice and me look inside, it is going to feel dark, damp, cramped, and terrible.

2. How it was designed?

Ir is funny that landlords are very very picky about choosing tenants, but conversely, I think it is actually very important that we tenants should be equally as discerning to the owner. Why?

For example currently speaking, my landlord Mike Tatum, I love him. Not only is he funny and witty, he is prompt, and super VIP. Having a great landlord will make your life 1 trillion times better.

For example a simple thing; we requested some blackout curtains, and apparently he went all out and spent about $700 on some really high-end pottery barn linen blackout curtains and bar; is motto is “it never pays to go cheap!”

His philosophy shows. All of the appliances and things in the home are straight up the most high end of its time; all very nice KOHLER stuff, even the brand new all in one washer and dryer machine in the apartment, I think I saw it brand new at Costco for close to $4000.

Certain things which are very difficult to change, and this is where it is good to be discerning include the bathroom tile, ideally some sort of white, fake white marble is lovely.

3. Holding out

One thing I am insanely grateful of us squatting Cindy‘s mom‘s house for so long is that we didn’t need to get rushed to finding an ideal apartment or living situation in LA. This is where it makes sense to have some sort of launchpad or Lillypad which you don’t have to be stuck to some sort of annoying lease.

Become a foot rover. Is it a funny thing that all these people spend ridiculous sums of money for range rovers etc., yet essentially they spend all day being stuck in traffic on their butt?

I have a simple proposal:

First, when you wake up, have your coffee and then suit up, and then go out and start walking. Ideally you want to live somewhere that actually has an interesting neighborhood.

Why?

Going back to my last year‘s New Year’s resolutions of walking 30,000 steps a day, I still think that the general ethos and idea is good. Why? If you walked 30,000 steps a day, certainly that would be very official to thinking more, becoming more, as well as witnessing and living more.

Also, what does it mean to be human? My theory is that to be human is to walk.

For shoes, the five finger shoes are best.

Go the distance!

Funny enough this is where it also makes more sense to have a Prius, or a Prius prime over any other car. Why? The distance.

Technically, a Prius prime would be the best car because I think it has the maximum range literally out of any other car in the market.

And also from a philosophical and entrepreneurial perspective, or a life success perspective, success is all about range, being able to be relevant not just for months, or years, but decades, ideally centuries.

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Some thoughts coming to me as I see the Sony pictures massive studio a lot.

Look up, chest up, back up, into the distance

The world is yours!

Going infinite?

The potential for 10x gains?

3 million dollars?

Similarly speaking, you cannot force me to not care for things I care for

Kinda looks like me

I shall become my own ideal physique

Ideal Male Korean physique Spartan aesthetic

Stoic Korean bodybuilder

Stoic bodybuilder

ChatGPT:

The term “stoic bodybuilder” conveys a compelling image: it combines the physical strength and discipline of bodybuilding with the mental resilience and emotional control embodied by Stoicism. Such a person would likely approach their training with seriousness and purpose, viewing it as not just a way to strengthen the body, but also the mind. They would probably handle both success and setbacks with equanimity, remaining focused on their long-term goals and personal growth. This concept can reflect a balance between physical prowess and philosophical wisdom, where the cultivation of one enhances and supports the other.

Weight lifting philosophy—

Infinite fun:

Green & gold:

Design me a Spartan Prius

Pretty hilarious!!

Weights, plates, weight lifting requirement — 55 pound huge Texas power squat bar!

Just leave it outside ain’t nobody gonna jack it — it’s too hard to steal!

Don’t just double your gains but at least 6x them?

Or the chance to 10x your gains?

Proof of real skin in the game.

Sooo easy to get locked out!!!

Keep it — the ultimate self identifier!

New home: erickim.ai

Make me an AI logo inspired by Eric kim

Creating an AI logo inspired by a specific individual would tread close to personal identifiers, which we should avoid. However, I can generate a logo concept that may align with the general themes associated with Eric Kim, who is known for street photography and a philosophy that combines minimalism and candidness.

Here are two diverse prompts for AI-generated logos:

1. A minimalist black and white logo representing the concept of street photography, with a silhouette of a camera merged subtly into a cityscape. The design is sleek, with clean lines and a modern sans-serif font spelling out “AI Street Vision.”
2. A vibrant and dynamic logo depicting an abstract camera lens aperture that resembles an eye, symbolizing the observant nature of photography, paired with a bold, modern font for the AI aspect, incorporating a subtle circuit pattern to represent technology.

Let’s create these images.