Similarly speaking, don’t treat other people‘s kids or talk about other peoples kids the way you don’t want other people to treat them, or talk about them.
Something fun I learned about CrossFit: this notion of WOD, which stands for a workout of the day. Maybe we photographer should also have the same concept: photography workout of the day.
Some ideas:
Record yourself at the gym: just use your iPhone, Ricoh GR 3, or gopro to record your workout. Then when you go home, review the footage on your laptop, and just do screenshots of things you find interesting about your work out.
Photograph your morning routine: photograph your morning coffee, your espresso machine, either shoot videos or photos. Even a fun thing: do you slow Mo of your espresso machine on your camera or your iPhone, and have fun with it.
Do a fun quick photo portrait session with a friend: just spend a day, or half-day, or even 15 minutes with a friend just doing a quick photo portrait session with them. Shoot in your style, and just do it for free. Tell them that they could use it as their profile picture, for social media, Tinder, etc.
Anti-workout: block all photography gear websites from your browsers. Download extensions for either chrome or Safari or Firefox to block certain websites which you check impulsively, for example gear review websites, camera rumor websites, etc.
Just do a quick walk around the block; it can literally take five minutes; just do a quick loop around the block, leave your phone at home, and leave your headphones at home. Just take along your digital camera, and loop around the block and just make photos of anything interesting you see. Even if you shoot one photo on a quick loop around the block, you have succeeded.
Upload a photo to arsbeta.com, and also give at least one constructive critique to another photo on the website
Start a blog: the easiest way is to just start a blog right now with wordpress.com. Or, if you’re feeling more adventurous, register your domain website on bluehost.com, install wordpress.org, and just publish your first blog post as your favorite image. Know that blogs do not need words; just photos is good enough.
Uninstall all social media apps from your phone: uninstall Instagram, Facebook, Gmail, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube from your phone. If you really want to use these websites, just do it from your laptop.
Shoot selfies of yourself: start an ongoing selfie project of yourself, and just try to shoot artsy selfies of yourself. Photograph your shadow, your reflection, yourself in a puddle of water, in the mirror, etc. The more egotistical you could become, the better.
Glitch your photos: pay for and download and install the Procreate app on your iPad or iPhone, and experiment with glitching your photos. Attempt the chromatic aberration filter, the glitch filter, and have fun with it. Strive to destroy your photos in an artistic and creative way.
If you’re a man, it seems wise to strive to become more manly. But what does this mean?
To past philosophers, they called it becoming more “virtuous†(virtus meaning “manâ€.) But funny enough, nowadays it seems that the trend is to strive towards manliness is not really a desired goal. We are trying to teach men that masculinity is “toxic“, and that instead of striving to become more manly, or masculine, we should strive to become more “compassionate“, empathetic, “inclusive“, etc.
Ultimately it comes to a philosophical code of ethics. What is philosophy? The closest answer that Nietzsche came up with is the philosopher as a legislator, or a law maker of the future. In more practical terms, I see a philosopher as somebody who tells others what they “should“ do. Also what they “should not“ to do.
The tricky thing is that nobody wants to be told what to do, at least upfront. It does seem to take more energy to think for yourself.
The teacher as philosopher-educator
What is the teacher anyways? Partly an educator of basic concepts, but teachers are also philosophers, who shape the minds of children. It seems that in today’s modern society, because a lot of the parents are always working, the teachers end up having the moral responsibility of teaching kids ethics, and a code of conduct.
For example, I was born in 1988. As a kid growing up, I was taught notions of diversity, equality, open mindedness, critical thinking, the value of being unique, and different. For the most part, I actually really liked this. I’m quite happy the way I turned out. But certainly as one becomes an adult, one should start to question the codes of ethics one was raised with, and to decide to start thinking for oneself. And to start living for oneself.
Why don’t I really know any women interested in philosophy?
Cindy is probably the first woman I have ever met in my life, who was actually interested in philosophy and the meaning of life. However the big word philosophy is not thrown around. It is more about adventuring, questioning the status quo, and dreaming big.
In actuality, in today’s world, nobody really talks about philosophy. It is not something that one questions.
So two things: first of all, maybe it is a sociological thing: society does not care for women to question the status quo and society, they would prefer women to be the child readers, give birth to children, do domestic chores, etc.
But also on the other hand, society doesn’t really want men to be philosophers either. Philosophers are pretty much disobedient, unproductive folks, who refuse to be told what to do. If you think about past philosophers like Diogenes, they were kind of annoying nomadic homeless people, who would say pithy things, and just be a little bit annoying to everybody.
Also, it does seem that in order to become philosophical, or truly philosophical, there are a lot of things that one cannot have in life: a standard 9-to-5 job, dependence on money, etc. For myself, I was only able to start really thinking philosophically once I left America, and started to live abroad in Vietnam, where I realized: I will never run out of money.
If anything, a philosopher is actually the highest rank in society. A philosopher doesn’t actually need to base their opinion on first principles, they could simply state what they believe in, without having to call anybody else. It seems that the bias in today’s society is that he who is richest has the highest rank. Modern society in America valorizes really really rich people, really really rich business people, and really really rich entrepreneurs. Nobody cares for an entrepreneur who is not a billionaire.
Eat more beef liver and beef heart
Something I discovered: what is it that predators, and carnivores first eat when they kill their prey? Typically the organ meats. The liver, then the heart.
When I was in Charlottesville I discovered this really great place called “STOKâ€. They stocked this fresh organic beef liver, and it was probably one of the best things I have ever eaten in my life. I just pan fried it on a hot temperature on the skillet, and topped it with Dijon mustard and hot sauce, and what I discovered: beef liver has one of the highest concentrations of cholesterol, which is a natural steroid. My theory is this: the more cholesterol one eats, the more they boost their testosterone. And what is the difference between man and women? A man has testes, while a woman does not. Testosterone means the “sterol†in one’s testes.
So from a purely hormonal perspective, the more testosterone the man has, the better. The more testosterone the man has, the more manly he is.
The tricky thing though is that we do not want strange supplements being added to our bodies. I do not consider it manly for a man to take steroids, human growth hormones, or even to unnaturally inject themselves with testosterone, or other strange growth hormones, no matter how much they say it is “natural“. The same thing comes with these strange oral supplements. No supplements at all.
Even it seems that the most “harmless†supplement is protein powder. But even with protein powder, they stuff it with all of the strange external vitamins and things which nobody has any idea what it is. I say, just see how strong and manly you can become, purely eating meat, drinking black coffee without any sugar or white stuff added, and meat.
Manliness towards what ends?
The question is: what is the point of becoming more manly? Some thoughts:
First of all, it is to become a protector, avenger, or defender of yourself, your family, and that what you believe in. On a basic level, to protect your wife or spouse, your kids, your family, your friends, your local community, your nation, or whatever else you believe in. I find it very interesting that ultimately, all of the weapons industries in America name themselves as being suppliers of “defenseâ€. Just like Tony Stark said in the first Iron Man movie: offense is the best defense. or think about it: America calls it the department of defense, not the department of offense.
From a philosophical stoic model, first do no harm to your wife or spouse, and no harm to your kids, and your inner circle. To refrain from pettiness is the first supreme task of a man.
Secondly, it is to resist what society tells what you should do, what you shouldn’t do, what you should say, and what you shouldn’t say.
What is it that Diogenes said is the supreme good in life? Freedom of thought, and freedom of speech. To be able to say what one believes in or thinks, without fear of being told that one is being “politically incorrect“, or “unwokeâ€.
For example what I noticed in modern society is this: it is no longer permitted for a man to strive to become more “manlyâ€. Man is not encouraged nor permitted to consume more meat, become louder, more audacious, etc. Perhaps this is why everyone is so interested or obsessed with Kanye West: how reckless and audacious he is and what he says, and even though people hate him, they actually secretly are fanatical about him. And obsessed with him.
Physical courage
One of the things I really like about South Korea, and Singapore is that men are required to enter military service for at least two or three years. It is a very interesting thing, because no matter what your rank is in society, you’re putting the same footing. For example, my friends in Singapore told me how even there really really really really rich friends end up becoming like common foot soldiers, when they enter the Singaporean military service. Same thing in South Korea: one learns to live in basic “simulated poverty“ for a little bit, and at least do basic military duties. One is stripped of leisure and luxury and comfort, at least for two or three years. I think it is good because it is probably something that binds men together.
The interesting thing is in America, we are all about our freedom to have guns, etc. Yet there seems to be a strange asymmetry; if our nation allows people to own guns, shouldn’t we also require for people to enter the military service, or at least do some basic ROTC training in high school?
Anyways, because America does not force mandatory military service on their citizens, it seems maybe a better strategy is more practical: test your physical courage. To me it seems the best way to do this is through powerlifting: to attempt one rep max deadlifts, squats, etc.
Why? I trust no philosopher for who doesn’t deadlift. Why? One could talk all they want about metaphysics, etc., but if one has not truly tested the limits of their physical strength, one does not have deep courage. There is a difference of courage in terms of physical attempts and physical strength, and courage for one’s mind.
Also, I trust no philosopher who is either vegetarian or vegan. Why? I actually do not think it is healthy for philosophers to become to obsessed about ethics. Especially ethics around animal eating, “animal rights “, etc.
For example, let us just think about the animal kingdom. Who do you consider more “manly“— The carnivorous male lion, or the herbivore male cow?
Also, whenever you watch a Marvel superhero film, when you take a look at Superman, Thor, and these other manly male superheroes, what do they physically look like? Of course, very tall, handsome, and full of physical muscles. There is no marvel superhero that looks like Bill Gates.
Other thoughts
I also consider it very unmanly for a man to become “hangryâ€. A man should learn how to deal with hunger, through self training: intermittent fasting by not eating breakfast or lunch, and when breaking one’s fast, to eat a shitload of meat in the evenings.
And also, what helps one’s physiology? Spending more time outdoors, in the direct sun, with your shirt off, getting a nice tan. I think a lot of people would benefit by just spending more time outdoors, and getting more melanin from the sun.
Ignoring the opinions of others
I like the notion of being open minded. But also, at a certain point, it is a good idea to be close minded. For example, I’m very close minded about racism, and I think this is a good thing.
But this is the bias of modern society:
Think different! No… not like that!!
Or how Barbara Kruger said it—
“How dare you not be me!!â€
On a very basic perspective, whenever people tell me stuff, I smile, nod my head, and take their thoughts and opinions for consideration. But ultimately, I am the filter, and it is within my power to decide whether I want to integrate that idea into my life or not. I think this is the problem: when people get angry for not “listening“ to you, what they are actually angry about is for you not to obey them. Once again, there’s a difference between listening to somebody and obeying them.
When you listen to somebody, you lend an open ear to what they have to say, and consider it. But, you are not behelden to obey them.
Much of modern day consumerism is all about man trying to become more masculine
Why is it that all these guys want a Lamborghini? Because, in modern society, a Lamborghini is still considered the apex masculine vehicle. It is the most audacious, loud, aggressive, and ego driven car there is. Even though the Tesla model S Plaid is certainly the superior and better car, honestly, if I could only own one car for myself, not considering my family, etc., it would still probably be an all black matte black Lamborghini Aventador with scissor doors. Because, there is no stronger flex than having scissor doors, or what they call “Lambo doors, that swing “Up like thisâ€! We want the drama, and theatrical nature.
For example, if you search YouTube for my Tabu Shabu meat eating challenge, people like a show. My favorite part is once I finish the challenge, taking off my shirt, standing on top of the chair and swinging around. Theater drama and going a little bit berserk is considered more manly, than being quiet, passive and meek, with AirPods on, staring at your phone.
Spend more time with your shirt off
It seems that the trend is that women wear with less and less clothing. Even when going to the gym, it seems that the standard attire is for women to wear sports bras, and short short booty shorts, which essentially show nothing. I think one of the benefits of being man is that you are legally permitted to walk around outdoors in public without your shirt on.
Speedo?
Also another thought: I like that bodybuilders enter competitions with speedo‘s. Why? It should be a greater flex for a man to have insanely muscular legs, and thighs, and lower body than upper body. I actually think that it looks hilarious when you see a super buff guy with chicken legs. This is why a lot of guys like to wear long shorts, or jeans, with a tank top on. Actually, it would probably be more masculine for men to go to the gym with very very short short shorts, instead of striving to wear the most revealing top. My thought on the ideal gym attire: very very short shorts, and perhaps a T-shirt on top, or even a long sleeve on top. Go reverse: reveal more of your legs, but cover up more of your upper body.
I really like gay male fashion
I haven’t really seen any male fashion in a long time that I liked. But actually ironically the most fun thing I discovered was this store called â€Ruffâ€â€” which is essentially a gay male lifestyle brand. The clothing is very revealing, fun, flamboyant, and interesting. Also, maybe really really masculine men wear Lululemon. I have yet seen somebody who is super super buff, who could deadlift over 500 pounds wear Lululemon. As a fun idea:
Perhaps in order to become more masculine, one should strive to become more feminine.
Isn’t it funny that in modern society, gay men are permitted to be loud and flamboyant, whereas straight men are not allowed to?
It is up to you
Ultimately, you craft your own table of values. You craft your own ideal for yourself. I say this: just strive to become your ideal, and just share your thoughts and findings with others.
The goal isn’t for you to convince others to become you, but rather, in striving to become yourself, while being transparent about your process.
The news is based on sensationalism in order to maximize “engagement“. Therefore, whenever you see TVs or the news on, force your eyes to look away.
We always seem to run out of a thing, at the most inconvenient moments. For example, always pack extra facemasks, we always seem to run out of them, when we most need them.
Certainly nobody should be barred from success based on their race, class, social upbringing, etc. However, the notion of “inclusivity“ is misguided. For example, not all students get into Harvard. Harvard is an exclusive institution, and maintains their rank based on exclusivity, not inclusivity.
What we should be doing instead is focusing on meritocracy: merit.
Now the tricky thing is this: certainly if you grew up in a rich family, and had access to all these SAT prep classes, etc., you’re more likely to thrive and get higher marks, rather than a kid who grew up in the hood, without present parents, etc. What should we do about this?
A simple way to think about it is ranking based on the school, rather than an overall ranking. There should be some dynamic balancing here; perhaps a kid who is valedictorian at their school in Watts or Compton should be ranked higher than a kid in the top 5% at an elite high school.
If you really need to focus, don’t record yourself
Some thing I have noticed: when I record myself at the gym, I am less focused. Also, when I attempt a new one rep max, or attempting to lift a very heavy weight, recording myself is hugely distracting and detrimental to my focus. The take away point: if supreme focus is your goal, don’t record yourself.
Also, perhaps the downside of being tracked, is that actually it just ruins our focus. When we know we are being watched, observed, looked at, or tracked, we behave differently.
Similarly speaking, I don’t like my purchases being tracked. When I know that my purchases are being tracked, I am less likely to buy the thing.
This is also the big upside of using cash. You cannot be tracked.
Perhaps this might be the big upside of crypto, crypto technologies, and cryptocurrencies: you can engage in commerce and other things without the distraction or the annoyance of being tracked.
The question is, are you in-practice or “out-of†practice?
The goal: always stay in practice.
Even with powerlifting at the gym: to me it is more about a practice. Sometimes you hit a new personal record, sometimes you don’t. But it does not matter. Think at the decade plus level. It just requires time, practice, focus, attempts, overcompensation, and lots of meat eating.
Aspire means to breathe. Also, aspiration is the secret to optimism.
Also, Focus on growth. Relentless growth. Growth at any cost.
For physical growth, when it comes to your muscles, tendons, bones, the news, a simple rule: attempt a one rep max lift, once a week, and spend the rest of the time eating beef ribs, steak, beef liver, brisket, burger patties etc.
Become the Lamborghini
Some thing I realized about Lamborghini: it is not the car itself, but what it symbolizes. Audaciousness, recklessness, ego, mania, and Apex masculinity. However, buying a car does not make you this. For example, if you’re an obese and weak man, buying a Lamborghini will not make you masculine.
For example, let us consider three of the most masculine men of modern times: Tyler Durden of fight club, who says he doesn’t even own a car, king Leonidas of the movie 300, and also John Wick. Their masculinity comes from what they do not have, and more of their physical courage, and physical strength.
Become more loud and reckless
Would you rather be the lion, or the meek herd animal?
Some simple things you could do is like doing a beast roar or a beast hype up grunt, and being loud at the gym, and don’t use headphones.
In public, walk around without your shirt on. Just don’t break any laws.
Also, show your face. Don’t wear sunglasses, which just hides your eyes, which actually makes you less courageous.
Wave hi and smile and say hello to strangers. To be standoffish, and antisocial is cowardly.
Move the world
“Tell me where to stand, and I shall move the world!†– Archimedes
The closest thing that I personally discovered, in our quest to move the world, and maximize our impact in the world is the notion of Archimedes‘s lever. The great innovation of the mechanical lever is this: one man can multiply his strength by 1000fold, given he knows where to put the fulcrum, and where to stand.
This is why I like studying physics and thinking about physics. First principles notions and physics, going back to Aristotle is very useful. Also, to become more aspirational, it is become more childlike, more entrepreneurial, and also more philosophical.
The philosopher and child are similar in these two regards: they always question the status quote, and they never accept anything as true unless they personally attempted it.
Full stack publishing
One of my personal innovations is this: use all forms of media to publish, and share your ideas and artwork.
For example, some people prefer to read, some people prefer to watch videos, some people prefer to listen to audio. I say do it all. This means publish your ideas as YouTube video vlogs, podcasts, blog posts, text and images, open source audio files and open-source video files via VideoPress.
Also, if you’re going to publish something on Facebook, or Medium, or some external hosting party, include both the raw text, and a link back to your website.
Own it
“UNTIL you own yourself you can’t be free. Until you own yourself you can’t be me.†– JAY Z
We don’t want any limits or ceilings. No glass ceilings. How do we prevent this? You own the platform. A simple heristic on whether you own something or not:
Is the service being hosted for “free“? Or do you pay a monthly fee for it?
For example, I have zero qualms about paying my website hosting fee. It is not that much, maybe $200 a month. But to me, that is probably the most important money I pay, as my website and blog is the supreme source of my power and influence.
Own your own domain: literally and figuratively.
Overcompensation is good
We always make fun of guys who buy a big truck, in order to “overcompensate†for their lack of, something…
However, overcompensation is a physiological fact, which is good.
For example, how do we physiologically get stronger? How is it that when I was in college, I could barely deadlift two plates, and now I could deadlift over 465 pounds?
Nassim Taleb‘s theory when it comes to physiological growth is an anti-fragile notion of overcompensation. That when we attempt a very very heavy lift, our personal maximum, then after the attempt, our body overcompensates by becoming stronger, preparing itself to become “overstrong†in order to lift an even heavier weight the next week or two.
Perhaps this is also how we get stronger psychologically. When we are exposed to trauma as a child, our mind overcompensates in itself, becoming less sensitive, and more strong.
Also, with skin. When we are exposed to a lot of sun, our body overcompensates by producing more melanin, making our skin darker. This is why I never use sunblock.
Also, with coffee or caffeine consumption. Maybe it is good to overcompensate.
Also with sleep, not just the standard eight hours. Strive towards overcompensating with the 12 hours a night like a growing child. Back when I lived in Providence and would go to the gym every single day, I would naturally sleep 12 hours a night, and eat a shitload of meat every single day (at least 4 pounds) for my body to overcompensate and become stronger.
Think decade+
You can pace yourself. Think at the decade+ level.
For example, my insanely audacious desire to deadlift 700 pounds before I die. If I think to myself that I could just do this in a decade, this goal seems very attainable.
Set the bar insanely high
I think it is better to set the bar insanely high for yourself, and have something to aspire to, and fail a little bit short of it, than to set the bar too low, and achieve it. Why? This is the only life you got. Don’t you want to just use your life as an opportunity for you to discover what your personal maximum is?
Maybe it is a good idea for us to strive to become the best on planet earth for a given domain, in order for us to live the best possible entrepreneurial life.
My personal thought is that the phones in the future will be more about security. Your digital wallet to everything, your personal bank account, your cryptocurrency, your identity, two factor authentication, etc.
Perhaps my next phone will be a Google Pixel — for the most security in a phone.
What is the greatest source of inspiration and motivation in life? Ambition.
The tools
The best MacBook laptop (the fastest, smallest, lightest, most powerful) you can afford.
In-ear monitor headphones (I don’t like bluetooth headphones nor the airpods — not enough bass and high fidelity for music)
Great sleep the night prior
A bunch of coffee
Powerlifing at least once a week.
Don’t use your phone or iPhone. Lock it up when you don’t need it.
Life without music would be a mistake.
Make music that bangs, and also listen to music that bangs and gets your body moving.
Don’t care too much for your self preservation
In order to become more ambitious, and to attempt more, we must become anti-self preservation. For example, the mistake that a lot of people make in the gym is that they only work out in order to “maintain†their health. This is very boring. Far more interesting to strive to figure out the limits of your body, and supersede them.
For example, my personal curiosity is how physically strong I can become. I don’t take any supplements, no protein powder, no creatine, only coffee and meat.
Therefore, it seems that the source of ambition is fulfilling a personal curiosity about yourself, your limits, and what you’re capable of.
Keep filtering down
In order to maximize your impact on the world, you must be very selective. For example, I think it is good to pursue all of your interests, but at the end of the day, you cannot do 1 million things. You cannot care about 1 million things, nor care about 1 million issues.
This is the big problem with politics and news: my personal reservoir of physiological energy I could spend on caring about the external world or people is limited.
For example, let us assume that your limited time on earth is 120 years, and you must sleep at least eight hours a night. And given the day, any sort of thing you do or attempt will deplete you of some of your physiological energy resources. Then the question:
Given your limited energy, how do you want to best leverage your energy, in order to maximize your impact on the world?
For me, during my waking hours, I first care about taking care of Seneca, and training him. Then, my attention and energy towards Cindy. But after that, it is energy for myself. There is nothing much else I could care for.
Even a personal realization: as much as I love going to the gym, there is a lot of wasted time. There is the time I must walk or drive to the gym, be stuck in traffic, and then once I actually do get to the gym, having to warm up, and often the equipment I want to use like the deadlift platform for the squat rack is taken, which means a lot of wasted time. At least one of the biggest advantages of just doing heavy kettlebell swings at home, with my 105 pound kettle bell, is that I could literally finish the whole workout in less than 30 seconds. Maybe if you strive to maximize your time, just buy a bunch of (very heavy) kettle bells. Maybe this is even a better investment than spending money on a car, a home, etc. 
Why did Elon Musk sell his house, and get rid of all his physical possessions?
This is the funny irony: everyone wants to become a billionaire in order to buy a bunch of stuff. They want to buy the really really nice house, in a very great location, do you want to buy the very very expensive car, and they want infinite money to travel the world indefinitely, and stay at all the nicest hotels.
But, stuff and time is a commodity. Any physical thing you purchase, or even a home you purchase, or real estate you buy has a hidden cost. For example, even if you have the worlds nicest home, there is maintenance you must do. Even if you hire a bunch of people to do it for you, you must maintain them.
It took six months to get the Maybach all matted out
And my assistant scratched it soon as he backed it out (Kanye)
Or, let us say that you have the worlds nicest Lamborghini. Do you still need to get it serviced every once in a while. Even if you had a personal assistant to take it to the mechanic to get serviced, there would still probably be a little bit of concern or anxiety if your assistant scratches your car. Even if you had a Rolls-Royce, you would still probably need to pump your own gas, which is very annoying. Or, if your assistant pump your own gas, the stress or concern about giving them your credit card, or having to always fill up a gas card.
Just use the Internet
What is the best technology which exist for us as entrepreneurs? The internet. Funny enough, I think the Internet is still very underrated in terms of what you can do. For example, one of the upside of COVID-19 is that they switched a lot of learning to online via zoom. And this is 1 trillion times more effective than going to learn in classroom. Consider that you don’t need to live in a dormitory, or you don’t need to commute to class, or wake up for the dreaded 8 AM class. Being able to just wake up in your pajamas, and attend class is much more efficient.
But what about the socialization? Just go to the local coffee shop, gym, marketplace, or cafe and chat with folks.
Scale yourself
The difficult thing is that you as one human being is not infinitely scalable. For example, even if you wanted to, you cannot answer 1 billion emails a day.
This is why I think publishing on the Internet is so great: in theory, you can have 1 billion people look at your one thing on the Internet at the same time. This includes a blog post, photos, videos, podcast, YouTube, etc.
Yet, why are we still stuck in this antiquated notion of the in-person gallery, or the printed book? I think it has a lot to do with people who have fragile egos. They feel that in order to feel “successful“, they need certain old-school markers of success, which include a printed book, preferably hardcover, a solo exhibition, etc. It is funny because I even look at a lot of very very successful Silicon Valley entrepreneurs who are trying so hard to become famous and well regarded, that it actually feels a little bit sad.
The number one advice I could give to you: create your own self hosted website. bluehost.com, and install wordpress.org, and start publishing.
Actually, I’m starting to think that perhaps coding is overrated, and blogging is very underrated.
Just have fun with it, and don’t take yourself too seriously
Some of the funniest innovations that I’ve personally made, whether on YouTube, my blog, etc. is actually very unserious. For example, my recent obsession with blogging and recording me cooking food, or eating food, with my GoPro. Or recording my workouts. Or just recording other random parts of my life.
Even with my early very viral videos of me shooting Street photography gopro POV, it was out of a personal sense of curiosity, and unseriousness.
Even our obsession with Elon Musk and his Memes is very fun, because Elon Musk is just having a fun time with it. He actually doesn’t take himself too seriously.
The same goes with Kanye West: in the early days he tried to hard to be serious, and well regarded, but now, he has taken a more playful turn, which I think is good. For example, his innovation in “dad“ fashion. In the past, it was regarded as very lame to dress like a dad, but Kanye West thought to himself: what if we just lean into this aesthetic? And does he innovated with his Yeezy sneakers, to make cool looking “dad shoes†(the 700 series)
And therefore, in order to become more ambitions, perhaps it is better to be adventurous and fearless like a child. No regard for social norms, or cultural norms.
On becoming a more ambitious photographer
Photography is our craft. How can we leverage our ambition in the context of photography? I see it as simple: strive to become more ambitious to innovate a new aesthetic, a new approach, new techniques, and always strive to make new images. This involves infinite travel, and infinite genres.
What is the most limiting thing you could do for yourself as a photographer? To just limit yourself in one genre. For example, it is very unfortunate that Trey Radcliffe has pigeonholed himself into the HDR genre. Also, Henri Cartier Bresson also pigeonholed himself too much into the street photography genre, even though it seemed that Henri was actually more passionate about making portraits.
One for for who has done a good job of escaping being pigeonholed is Joseph Koudelka. For example, he got famous for his Gypsies project, shooting with a very wide 25 mm lens on a film SLR camera, and then soon he realized he had to move on, and just got a Leica and 35 mm and 50 mm lens, and kept traveling. Then, eventually he started shooting panoramics and epic landscapes.
All great artists and entrepreneurs in the past have always allow them self to encroach on different genres. For example, even though we know Picasso as the painter, he also did sculpture. Or, Andy Warhol not only did paintings, but photography. Even the great innovation of Kanye West is that even though he started off as a music producer, he got into rapping, and fashion, and now technology (His very innovative STEM player).
Even Steve Jobs: even though Apple was his primary pursuit, he also greatly innovated with Pixar.
I know for myself personally, the worst thing I did for myself was pigeonhole myself in street photography. Now, I just pursue all photography, all video, and all forms of recording, whether a screen recording, or life recording, or life vlogging.
Unlearn the notion that selfish is evil
What is the worst thing that holds us back as entrepreneurs and innovators? Morality. A lot of the morality of America is based on Puritan and Quaker ethics, protestant ethics, Judeo Christian notions, Catholic guilt, etc. all of these religions say to be selfish and focused on yourself is evil, and will cause you to burn in hell. Even a lot of Caucasian Americans who grew up without religion still feel this guilt, for uncertain reasons.
Therefore, in order to become more ambitious, prune away a lot of these antiquated, self limiting morality.
For example, I think actually being selfish is the most virtuous thing you do. Why? You focus on yourself, without blaming or praising others. Also, in today’s world, to pursue selfish ends can also be very altruistic. For example, even if you devote your life to altruism and helping others, there is a certain personal ego boost you get from helping others, less fortunate than you. And I don’t think this is a bad thing. It is a good thing. If there was no personal ego boost that we got from helping others, a lot more poor and suffering people would be in a bad position.
Therefore, moving forward, I say become more selfish, yet, don’t hoard things for yourself, just share it openly and widely. When in doubt just open source it. 
Self speculation
Self speculating yourself. Self speculation funds. Spend your money based on your physical fitness, health, diet (get a Costco membership, and go to the Costco business center and buy lots of beef brisket and beef ribs), eat more grass fed beef, purchase pasture raised eggs. Buy more kimchi, without sugar added (look at the list of ingredients on the jar).
Invest in your own personal travels, accommodations, lifestyle experimentations, and yourself.
Don’t track progress
The worst modern idea comes from Peter Drucker, the notion that in order to improve, or to feel progress, you must track things. I say this is bad. Why? The grandeur of the human being is a quadrillion times more important than mere numbers. It is man who invented numbers, not the numbers who invented man.
Spread the wealth
Share your thoughts and personal findings in your blog posts
If you prefer, just make a podcast out of it, or upload it to YouTube.
Send your own email newsletter. I recommend using a self hosted option like sendy.co instead of mailchimp
Never stop posting: the goal is to become like a stream of water: never stop flowing.
