Waking up this morning, and having some great ERIC KIM OMAKASE Coffee to get me going, some thoughts:
1. Innovate?
After being abroad, then coming back, the general thought I have is that perhaps at the end of the day, the most important and critical thing is in regards to innovation. How to innovate, why innovate, etc.
I think in America, we have a passion for innovation, however it is limited towards purchasing innovation. That is, we love innovation and the new, but the only way it seems accessible to innovate is through purchasing it. This means we purchase innovation by eagerly awaiting for new innovative products, whether it be the new iPhone, iPhone Pro, any Apple device, Tesla, electric car, something.
I think the big problem is that deep innovation cannot be purchased, it must be done by you.
2. Why do we feel so incapable?
Perhaps the reason we feel so incapable is that because the culture, modern-day culture, or culture in America or maybe high labor prices etc. is that things seem inaccessible to be done by us. We like the thinking or the concept that we can do things ourselves, and that we can be innovators.
3. Upcoming
Another turbo thought that I have this morning is regards to upcoming. For myself, I’m not interested in what already exists, I’m interested in what can be done.
For example, other day when I was just walking around my bedroom, I accidentally tripped the power cord for my iPad Pro, it fell to the floor, and the screen cracked a little bit more. Now that it is already messed up, I’m just gonna start taking it to the gym with me, and using it on the go, instead of buying a new iPhone.
I still think and believe, using an M series chip is at least 10,000 times more efficient than using any iPhone, iPhone pro, A series chip.
4. Insular or wide ranging?
The other day my brother-in-law Gabe showed me some stuff on Instagram, and he showed me some guy with 240,000 followers, and the video that had around 20,000 likes. A thought:
This is terrible, because this video, views, followers, etc. is only limited to those who are stuck in the Instagram bubble.
The promise of websites, the Internet in general is the fact that it can be wide-ranging and not insular. Anything which is insular is bad.
Therefore, this is additional encouragement for you to focus on creating and building your website, and also striving with all of your power and might to make it as wide ranging as possible!
5. The beauty of project cars
I remember when I was a kid, I watched all these TV shows on TLC about these guys who would take old cars, fix them up at the junkyard, etc. To see the progress of the before and after is what inspired me.
From an artistic perspective, I think I really like the idea of taking a really old car, and fixing it up, and modifying it and configurating and painting it and creating it in such a way which suits your own aesthetic ideals. Rather than purchasing an already impressive car, more fun joy and thrills to customize it yourself.
Also, I think there is also a Funny through all that I personally get from doing things in an unorthodox or uncommon manner. For example, for myself I am more interested in doing things in almost a black sheep Manor; for example, to do uncommon modifications, and to do things unorthodox and in a funny manner is what I love.
For example, taking my mom‘s old 2009 Hyundai Sonata, debadging it and putting on a Tesla sticker emblem on it, being the comedian and troll.
Also, what I realized about America, life in America is that we spend an inordinate amount of time thinking and fantasizing about cars. In America, our car is our external avatar. That means, the car you drive or purchase or drive around is in our minds, an externalized avatar of ourselves. This is why, assuming the person isn’t renting a car or borrowing a car, the car that they drive or choose to purchase is a strong reflection of their own inner ego and taste.
Tell me what you drive, and I will tell you who you are.
The same thing goes with clothes and fashion; what people decide to purchase wear and present themselves in is a strong indicator of their insides.
Considering that we are designers, artists, innovators and visionaries, let us design, modify, and create our own visions, rather than purchasing them.
For example, for a very very long time and even up to now, I’ve ruminated much on the “perfect“ car. For now my current thought is that a perfect car, certainly in LA or Southern California is some sort of white Prius, Hybrid, plug-in hybrid, etc.
6. Plug-in vs normal Prius?
How about hybrid versus plug-in hybrid, let’s say the difference between a normal white Prius and a plug-in white Prius?
In terms of price, the difference is nominal. Only a $5000 difference. The normal Prius starts at $27,000, whereas a Prius plug-in hybrid starts at around $32,000.
Ultimately the only pragmatic benefit I see of a plug-in hybrid or plug-in Prius over a normal one is that you can get those sweet specialty VIP parking spots at the local mall. Perhaps this is worth the additional money. For example, whenever I go to the Irvine spectrum on a busy evening, let’s say a Friday or the weekend, and having to hunt for a parking spot and there is one open parking spot which is EV charging only, I wish I had a plug-in hybrid or an electric car.
I think from an economics perspective, the money you would “save“ between a plug-in Prius versus a normal Prius is nil.
Therefore, in terms of money, the best way to optimize things is this:
The greatest benefit and leverage of money is how it could save you time.
Why? Time is life.
Transformed
After spending two months in Asia, this time about two weeks in Hadong South Korea, and about a month and a half in Vietnam, and coming back home to the states, I feel like a transformed man. How and why? The findings:
1. American thoughts
Lots of discoveries about America, coming back here with fresh new eyes. First and foremost, there seems to be this trend towards fear of other people, or strange antisocial behavior. This fear averse modern-day society of Americans is bad.
My simple suggestion is be the change. Instead be insanely friendly, and say hi to everybody you see.
One of the great things about being in Vietnam is the culture is great. People are insanely friendly, happy, social, and jokesey. Coming back to the states, Americans tend to be reserved, brittle, strangely curmudgeonly.
Don’t act like the typical antisocial American. Instead, be insanely friendly and happy.
2. Car thoughts
I some new thoughts in regards to cars; the great thing about being in Asia, Vietnam, is that having a car is a bad thing. Better to not own a car and just ride a Grab taxi anywhere.
Therefore the general thought is this; put less care and attention in your car.
What is the best car? I think a used white Prius; I recently re-inherited our old 2010 Prius, and white, and I love it! Cindy‘s younger sister Jennifer was driving the car for a while, but unfortunately in the middle of the night they stole the catalytic converter, and she no longer wanted to deal with the car. She initially was just going to sell the whole Prius to the mechanic for only $2700, but I thought this was a great opportunity, so Cindy and I offered to pay for the new catalytic converter, around $3000, and we just took it to the shop to replace the ABS brake sensor, another $2700 USD, and $350 for a catalytic converter shield, to prevent or discourage a future theft.
So all in all, around $5000-$6000 for a brand new (used) and insanely great reliable Prius!
Interestingly enough, chatting with the owner Vallentine (he is the owner of Hybrid 911, which is specialized in fixing Priuses and hybrids), and he told me that he used to have the P100D Tesla MODEL S 2017 model, the refreshed model, but ultimately ended up selling it because the charging was annoying, especially with long road trips.
I still love cars from a metaphorical and design and aesthetic perspective; but, my new ambition is to drive this Prius to at least 350,000, 450,000 or 500,000 miles. And instead use and invest my money into myself, my body, my entrepreneurial ventures, And beyond.
The easiest way to become rich is not to waste money on a car.
Photo is all we need
When being stuck in LA, LA traffic, and having the privilege of shooting photos out the window, a turbo thought I had:
As long as we got photography, all of existence and being alive is justified.
Pure vision: lately I’ve been so inspired by Seneca, how he sees and shoots everything with a pure vision. No obstructions, only positivity, joy and curiosity.
Seneca is currently only two years and seven months old, yet he understands photography and photo opportunities. He does this finger trigger motion with his hand, whenever he sees abstract textures, he knows that it is a good opportunity for me to shoot.
How to more productively review your photos
Having around 1500 images to quickly review through some photos I shot in LA and recently, something I did on my iPad Pro was view the images buy a three column wide matrix, and reviewed the photos without my glasses on. This type of myopic vision was actually good for me; I was not distracted by details, but instead focused on the general composition and form of things.
To cross pollinate this idea and concept, there is a funny theory that a lot of the impressionist painters had poor vision, that is the reason why they saw the world so abstract and out of focus was because they had poor vision.
A simple technique you could do is apply Gaussian blur to your photos to better judge the composition, or, you can also view your photos or other photos without glasses on.
How to Get More Done in a Day
Walk more in order to get more done!
Also, spend maximal time outdoors.
Also, during the day drink as much ERIC KIM Omakase coffee as you want! The secret and intelligence of robusta coffee is that it has more caffeine, and lower sugar content— healthier for you!
A life after zen and no pain and suffering?
Bug thought; once you’ve made it, you have a Zen life, no pain and everything is perfect, then what?
I say:
Just pursue your passion, whatever it may be, not for monetary or social economic gains, but truly because it’s something you’re so insanely passionate about!
For me right now, coffee and photography and beyond!
Take your photography beyond
Other thoughts
Stimulate your thinking with ERIC KIM OMAKASE COFFEE — the thinker:
The great fun I’ve been having with ERIC KIM OMAKASE Coffee is creating three special blends for you to enjoy:
- THE ENTREPRENEUR: Optimized to make you insanely productive, and think greater.
- THE THINKER (what I am currently drinking): Optimized to help you think more and further.
- The Photographer (optimized to turbocharge your creativity)— a great stimulus before hitting the gym, before shooting photos on the street, or even before reviewing your photos.
To all of our life pursuits, coffee is key.
EK THOUGHTS:
- The difference between male and female physiology
- Becoming a great man
- Having the courage and chutzpah to attempt something is what I love the most
More on EK BLOG >
Forward the thoughts
Share the thoughts, feel free to forward this to a friend!
Some current audacious life goals or thoughts
- Having fun pimping out my new used 2010 Prius. Just ordered a black and yellow old-school vintage license plate from the DMV!
- Gym thoughts; chasing and hunting the 15 plates!
- Planning some new types of workshops in downtown LA, New York, maybe San Francisco. Some thoughts include becoming a visual artist, social skills, conquering courage, street photography master workshop, etc.
Let us conquer together!
The ultimate takeaway thought; let us conquer together!
ERIC