Flamma— to shimmer, to shine. Bel

Also, to roar, to bark. Also, shiny, white.

Also to blow, swell up.

To compliment others is a sign of strength, to criticize is a sign of weakness?

Perhaps a more effective way to leverage websites is to host your photos externally, not on your own server, but on another server.

To me, what is really important is my health, the health of my son, the health of Cindy, etc. Everything else comes second.

Also safety, basic things like making sure you have brand new brakes, a brand new ABS electronic braking system, and brand new tires.

Also, avoiding and engaging in any sort of reckless or dangerous types of driving, which can get you or your kid killed!

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

EK WORKSHOPS:

1. Conquer street photography in PHILLY
2. Level-up your creative genius in Seattle

---

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:

1. THE ENTREPRENEUR: Optimized to make you insanely productive, and think greater.
2. THE THINKER (what I am currently drinking): Optimized to help you think more and further.
3. 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 OMAKASE COFFEE >

---

EK THOUGHTS:

1. The difference between male and female physiology
2. Becoming a great man
3. 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!

EK NEWS >

---

Some current audacious life goals or thoughts

1. Having fun pimping out my new used 2010 Prius. Just ordered a black and yellow old-school vintage license plate from the DMV!
2. Gym thoughts; chasing and hunting the 15 plates!
3. 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

BOOKS BY KIM >

---

One of the things I want to combat is against this nonsense modern-day notion that somehow, human physiology is equivalent in males and females. From an objective, physics-based fact, this is false.

Let us first look at the animal kingdom. If you look at ducks, the male duck looks totally different from the female duck. Also, a rooster versus a hen; chickens, the male rooster cock is very different than the hen.

Some physiological differences between men and women:

1. The fact is a man does not have a menstrual cycle. A man does not have ovaries, and doesn’t shed his reproductive organs once a month.
2. A man has probably 1000 times more testosterone than a woman. Why? A man has testes, a.k.a. balls, whereas a woman does not.

Male vs Female “Rights”

I believe politically, men and women are equal and should be equal. For example, I am very happy with the women’s rights movement, allowing women to vote, to work, and occupy the same public spaces as men. If I had a daughter, I would want her to have all of the affordances and opportunities that I personally had and have.

What annoys me

Somethings that I find positively dangerous towards society:

First, hormone replacement therapy. I think anyone who takes any sort of artificial hormones to change their bodily physiology, this is not a good idea. However, I don’t think it should be illegal; if people want to do it, they should be able to do it. However, I think the dangers of it should be made more transparent and open.

In a similar vein, I think men who do a testosterone replacement therapy or take steroids or any other strange oral supplements, injecting things or drinking weird things— this to positively be a bad one.

How should men and women “treat each other?”

I think this is the tricky and contentious thing; given that men and women are different, have different physiology and preferences, how should men treat women, and how should women treat men?

First and foremost, I think perhaps the issue is that according to modern-day thinking, somehow woman would want men to be like woman, and also similarly speaking, men would have be man.

Therefore, a simple suggestion assuming you’re a man; don’t treat your female partner the way you would like to be treated. Why? She is not a man.

Male vs Female Goals?

Uncertain to say what our “natural“ desires of men versus women. The traditional line of thinking is that men lust for more power, dominance, and influence. And that women desire security, a home, safety.

Perhaps this is too oversimplistic of a concept. I believe there must be some sort of subtle nuances here.

I think to think to opine too much about male versus female matters is not a good use of our energy time or efforts. Rather I think ultimately, the most critical thing:

Discover your own personal preferences, and refuse to let anyone else mess with it.

Perhaps it is a greater sign of strength to not respond, rather than to respond and do all of this nonsensical, “open communication”. Or in other words, modern-day therapy, modern days couples therapy, or modern day communication tactics are poor.

Video

Know that you can dictate and craft your own ideal future:

VIDEO

AUDIO

MY HYPING UP TECHNIQUE:

A NEW CONCEPT?

VIDEO

REAL MEN FLEX THEIR PRIUSES!

PODCAST

AUDIO

MY PRIDE– MY COURAGE:

I ONLY CARE FOR THE COURAGE AND ATTEMPT!

THE ATTEMPT IS WHAT I AM PASSIONATE ABOUT.

ON THE ROAD TO 15 PLATES AND BEYOND!

AUDIO

NOW WHAT?

Ever since I was a kid, a teenager, I’ve always had a passion for cars. In particular, I’ve always been into the idea that it is far superior to take an old car, to modify and fix it up then to simply buy an already fast or great car.

For example, my recent project car; taking my mom’s old 2009 Hyundai Sonata, and fixing it up. Taking it into the mechanic, maybe spending around $2000 on parts and labor, spending around $600 on new tires, and the rest of it was simply fun for me; the debadging all of the Hyundai and Sonata emblems, and covering up the emblem hole with a funny black Tesla sticker I got at the Tesla dealership. And also painting the rims matte black, and the grill matte black. Funny enough I think fixing up that car brought me more joy than purchasing an already great car.

Currently speaking, I read inherited our old 2010 Toyota Prius, and I have some fun plans for it.

However, with a common person doesn’t seem to understand is this;

Why would you dump money or waste money for parts or labor into an already old car?

My personal thought is a lot of it is a pride thing; it brings me far more pride knowing that I took something old, and refurbished it and made it brand new.

To me then, it almost becomes like some sort of artistic project. How are you could create and tailor something to your own artistic liking.

Even more important than art?

Beef and confidence? Beef and beefing up your confidence and chutzpah and audacity?

Galaga— two fighters?

OMAKASE COFFEE CONCEPT.

The general concept is cross pollinate other forms of photography to photograph your kids. For example a Street Photography aesthetic to photograph your kids, capturing layers, focusing on composition minimalism dynamism etc.

Also one of the great upsides of taking your kids to the park is that it is a place rife for great compositions. Lots of leading lines, different levels and elevation, etc.

When I am getting ready to Atlas lift over 10 plates, I get into such an interesting Zen mode. Part demigod, part monster, part dragon breathing fire.

Am I the first person to actually prefer a Prius over a Tesla?

For example I notice everyone low-key staring at me?

Better than ever!

For example, after my international travels, having the hype and the courage to attempt over 10 plates on my atlas lift. It looks like I lost strength, but no matter, I’m on the road to 12 plates!

Famous means powerful? Or influential, or of value?

Go full force, 100%, otherwise maybe it is best to just rest up!

For example, one of the most formative things that I’ve discovered at the gym is asking the best at the gym in regards to their warm-up, stretching mobility things etc.

1. Go to the gym, immediately hit the hot sauna. Leave when you’re no longer feeling it. To sweat a bit motivates and stimulates us!

2. Hot sauna speeds up our recovery, growth, strengthening?

3. The upside of public sauna, the gym — the social life! We like the ancient Romans or Greeks again!

4. Also the upside of the gym — the new modern day open air gymnasium of the ancient Greeks and Spartans! The ancient Spartans were not antisocial nor stayed at home!

5. If anything just go to the gym to clear your bowels! Funny thought, I go better when at the gym than at home?

No more apps.

Also, no more ugly icons.

Future humans:

I’m not interested in what already exists, I’m only interested in what is upcoming, what is next.

No home gym. Gym life, social life, the best place to maximize your stimulation and also your creative ideation?

Also hot sauna — part meditation chamber, part recovery and healing and speeding up of your metabolism?

Immediately starting off the day with the hot sauna I already feel my body strengthening and hyping up?

The hot sauna.

Sony owns Spider-Man?

There seems to be this new weird trend that somehow being more flexible, having better mobility, etc. is seen as more virtuous. I find this to be a bizarre concept.

Once you’re dead, you’re dead forever.

Save time, save life

Treat the gym as your own office commute?

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.

New designs stimulate me

Asia and America crossover as the future:

Unlimited infinite horizons!

Sales optimized.