Time to start importing and exporting this stuff! Hadong-gun
Author: ERIC KIM
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Ideal Physique?
What is your own ideal physique for yourself?
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it is the intensity in the strength of the pull which matters
Something I’ve learned about lifting, it ain’t really about whether you can successfully lift it or not, but rather, the strength and intensity in which you pull it.
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Why do we care for the “legitimacy“ of others?
Or “credentials“?
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Our environments are insanely important
For example, the quality of your thoughts and thinking will be different if you’re in a space with 100 foot ceilings versus 5 foot ceilings.
Also, your thoughts and feelings are different when you’re in a space with floor to ceiling windows, with insane amounts of natural light versus being in a dark dungeon, with ugly green fluorescent lighting.
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Don’t look the part?
For a long time, I was very curious why there was a certain “look“, to weight lifters, bodybuilders, or powerlifters; it seems that the trend is if one wants to be perceived as a “serious“ weightlifter, one must use the wraps, a weightlifting belt, wrist wraps, and other paraphernalia.
Perhaps the reason why people are so confused by me, and how insanely strong I am is because I do not look the part.
Nassim Taleb said something very very funny in antifragile; better to trust the surgeon who looks like a butcher, rather than the surgeon in the lab coat. Peter Thiel said something similar; better to trust a businessman entrepreneur who wears a T-shirt and jeans, rather than the empty suit who wears a full on suit and tie.
Why? The individual with real potency, capability and skills who doesn’t look the part, but can still do the thing is probably more effective and shows some sort of deep mastery.
For example, it seems that at least for women who want to be perceived as “serious and committed“ yogis, they must wear Lululemon — the legging tights etc.
Or also how people are insanely confused seeing me doing such epic yoga poses, and then proceeding to lift over nine plates on the squat rack!
Also, maybe this is why there is a trend in rap and rap music to “look“ like a rapper, which means having lots of tattoos, fancy chains and jewelry, etc. It is difficult to imagine a rapper who doesn’t look like a rapper.
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Flash without the Fire?
A lot of exercises in the realm of fitness; it looks flashy, and looks good, but it isn’t effective? For example, battle ropes.
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Fit?
Fit? Fitness? Possibly from “an adversary of equal powerâ€.
Then the question; what is it that we seek out of fitness? Assuming that the notion of fitness comes from fit, and assuming that fit means an adversary of equal power, are we simply training ourselves in order to fight and combat our “adversaries�
What if you do not see anyone else as your adversary, and also, you don’t see anyone else as having equal power to you?
Then, is the goal to go out and seek ever more powerful adversaries? Maybe.
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Don’t rush yourself.
Take your sweet f’ing time!
The greatest leisure in life is being unrushed, unhurried, taking your sweet sweet time!
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Anti Productivity
The ironic lesson; trying to force yourself to be productive, you are actually less productive.
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Gym Thinking
Going to the gym to think.
One of the greatest benefits to going to the gym, the public gym, is that I think the space is very conducive to thinking, and fleshing out your thoughts.
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Does woman care to impress or attract men?
For example, when women show off their body parts publicly at the gym, why do they do it?
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Ignore Women *AND* Men Alike!
There tends to be this antagonism against women, but I believe this antagonism should be towards both men and woman!
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Self-Impress
Never seek to impress her. Also should men seek to impress other men? No.
Rather, just seek to impress yourself! Amaze yourself!
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Never do anything to please or impress anybody else
For example, never purchase or keep things that she may like, as a means of impressing her?
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PRIDE.
Self pride is the best pride. The only pride?
Better to have pride in yourself, your own self innovations, rather than purchasing external innovation!
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Man & Space
It isn’t about men needing his “own spaceâ€, but rather … avenues for domination?
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Real man never blame anybody else
Never blame or even mention your wife, your kid, etc. Also never even blame yourself. You just do as you do!
For example, non-manlike to say — I didn’t do or purchase X because she said she didn’t like it!
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OBEDIENCE IS FOR SLAVES
The real man as unable to be obedient.
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INNOVATOR
The passion of the innovator:
The insane desire to create it!
Not for the sake of becoming rich, but instead … the sublime self curiosity that the innovator has, and the desire to see it manifested in the world?
Even to sell and market the product is an offshoot of the innovator who thinks:
Wow, this thing I created is so great and sublime, I *MUST* share it with others and the world!
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I hate big houses
It takes too long to walk around!
Better instead … smaller, but more luxury!
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Nobody cares for pricing
We don’t care for the price, we care for the thing.
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Market research is bad
Consumers have no taste. The creators and innovators must be the taste makers!
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How *should* a man act and behave?
The genesis of philosophy and virtue.
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My triceps are super sore after the 940 pound atlas lift?
What does it feel like the day after I atlas lifted 940 pounds on my shoulders successfully?
Interestingly enough, I don’t really feel it at all in my back, not even my legs or hips. Instead, I felt it a lot in my triceps? Not even my shoulders or neck?
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All the “-isms†seem like marketed and consumerist things and trends?
For example feminism seems like to be a marketed and consumerist notion to get women to stay single, to stay consumers longer.
Also for men, “manliness†and notions of masculinity… also marketed notions? Note all these muscle cars and sports cars marketed to men to become more tough, rugged. Same goes for these trucks and SUV’s.
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LIFE THOUGHTS
- Your personal health (you, yourself, you as the individual) is the most supreme and critical. Never go a single day without working out. The night before, I skipped going to the gym, but as a consequence, it took me around 2 hours to fall asleep. Ironically enough then, going to the gym may seem like a ‘waste of time’, but if it helps you sleep, and *stay* asleep, it is critical.
- Never do anything to make other people ‘happy’. Typically it will lead to your own personal dishappiness. Also, other people tend to be implacable anyways (yourself included). So seeking ‘happiness’ for all parties seems like a foolish path.
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HOW MEN AND WOMEN ARE AT ODDS
Man is befuddled why woman doesn’t act and think like him. Women, the same.
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UNLIMITED POWER
My goal.
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INSANELY HIGH CEILINGS
Better for our thought, thinking, ambitions?
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ALL LUXURY EVERYTHING.
- Only luxury fabrics and clothes.
- Luxury disposable products?
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WHY THIS ANTI MASCULINITY TREND?
Theory, because masculine men cannot be controlled. Men who are unpredictable and independent and free spirited aren’t good for consumerism, capitalism, modern day society.
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Male vs Female Writers
There is a difference.
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THANK GOD FOR THE CHINESE.
Got this random ingrown toenails fixer, replete with these stainless steel sprinted extenders … only the Chinese would be smart and clever enough to actually come up with this, produce it and sell it to the American market! So smart.
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MEAT, POWER, & PRODUCTIVITY
The more meat you consume, the more powerful and productive you shall become?
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Social Experiments
The social scientist.
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Social Skills
How to improve your social skills:
FLEX AT AN UPCOMING ERIC KIM EXPERIENCE >
Why?

Something I believe deeply in is the future for social skills. Why? First and foremost, the prime consideration for humans is social. Without having other embodied humans around us, nothing is worth it.
This is where modern day capitalism and consumerism is weird; rather than putting the emphasis on other human beings, it puts the emphasis instead on objects, nonhuman things. For example, we become obsessed with watches, cars, clothes, homes, etc. But the ultimate goal is instead, direction maximize our real life face time with other humans.
Even zoom is bad. Why? To communicate with another human being that is not facilitated in the flesh is jarring.
Even something that is interesting in regards to other human beings men and women, when I see them on the screen, versus in the flesh. Why in the flesh you could see subtle things like height. Height matters.
For example, you could see pretty girls on Instagram or social media, or showing off their body parts. Yet, if you see them in real life, and they are very short and small, like 5 feet tall, or 4 foot 11, it is different. Even Aristotle once said, â€Is there such thing as a beautiful small woman?†Or for men,
Short men are never a threat.
For example, I am very fortunate that I am quite tall, around 5 foot 11 if I exaggerate. Realistically I’m more 5 foot 10, maybe 5 foot 10 1/2. But I always like to round up. I think in Korea I’m 180 centimeters, the golden standard.
At the gym, I don’t really care if anyone is more buff or muscular than me, as long as I am taller than them, I still feel dominant.
Why does height matter?
Something that I have realized is there is a link and a connection between height and social class. Richer and more affluent people, higher class people tend to be taller. More poor working class people, or recent migrants are immigrants tend to be short.
Why is this? My theory:
In the past, there was an evolutionary benefit to height.
For example, not always but often times taller men tend to be bigger and stronger. Therefore, a woman would find a tall and strong man as more powerful and strong and beneficial.
Even for men, a trend that I see is that shorter men, or even medium sized men like the idea of marrying and having children with really really tall supermodels.
Therefore my theory:
A lot of short men tend to have a lot of money, and have the ability to attract really really tall super model women, and therefore their children and future generations of children keep getting taller and taller.
How to stand taller
You cannot change your height, but, you can change your posture. To stand upright, tall, shoulders back, chest up, chin up.
For example, even a lot of taller guys who are very very tall I see hunched over, with very poor posture. This looks very unattractive.
I also have another theory is that naturally, when your testosterone and muscle mass is high, and your body fat percentage low, your body will actually naturally assume a more dominant, upright posture.
Even another funny thing that I say is in regards to ego; when I see my testosterone insanely high, when I’m about to hype myself up before a one rep max, let’s see my 940 pound atlas lift, and my half legging compression short short tights are rolled all the way up, exposing my bare demigod thighs, and also my compression shirt is rolled up showing off my midsection and my nipples, and I am in the zone, other men around me… I see their egos deflating. When your testosterone and ego is high, and other men witness this, maybe it is a zero sum thing in which their ego also deflates.
Actually, maybe this is false. Instead, maybe only insecure men find me as a threat to their own masculinity. My new friend at the gym Taylor, insanely buff dude, always congratulates me after a successfully heavy lift. Theory:
If you are a self-confident man, and you witness great feats of strength from other men, you will always congratulate them, rather than feeling small.
ERIC KIM WORKSHOPS
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Social skill techniques, experiments, approaches
Some things you could do:
- Lock your headphones, AirPods, AirPods pros in a drawer, and don’t use them anymore. Instead, if you’re going to listen to music, just blast it on your iPhone at max volume, or play it off a bluetooth speaker. At the gym, go “raw dog†as my friend Kevin Hoang says. If you go to the gym without headphones or music on, the upside is you actually have the chance to talk to people! The gymnasium, the gym as a new social space to interact with other human beings.
- Practice hypelifting: The basic idea is that before you do a new one rep max, allow yourself to scream, shout, go primal, slap yourself in the face and legs, choke up, and just fucking lift it!
- Sign up for a yoga membership at a local yoga studio, whether it be CorePower or ra yoga. Chat with the person next to you, or when you’re in the locker room talk with other people there too. Think of going to a yoga studio as a social experience. Not “working out“
- Sign up for a local gym membership, which has a sauna. Make some small talk with other guys in the sauna.
- Cancel all of your media streaming services. If you want to socialize, just go to the gym, yoga, or the mall, and try to make small talk with anyone you meet.
ERIC KIM LIFE STRATEGIZING
ERIC [at] ERICKIM.COM
Now what?
The sociology of life and happiness:
Live more public life, live more social!
ERIC
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