“White people make money don’t spend it, I’d rather buy 80 gold chains and go ignant (ignorant)”. – Kanye

Thinking about money:

Why does this matter?

“Money sets the whole world in motion” – Publius Syrus

Do you know when people say that money makes the world go round? This is true.

So what is money anyways?

First, money is fiat, faith-based. Fiat currency.

Currency is an interesting word and term because it evokes the feeling of water, movement, river streams and tide pools.

So first of all, let us consider the notion of “income streams“. There’s this notion of “passive income”, I think first popularized or maybe coined by Tim Feriss, in his four hour work week. But I believe there to be a myth of passive income which means, income is and must be active. You cannot just sit on your butt and collect rent.

Also with rent, rent money is funny because even if you’re collecting rent, there’s a lot of work management you gotta do. For example, you have to fix and maintain your properties, make sure that your tenants pay their rent money, do background checks, deal with vacancies etc. It is one of those things that we as renters feel that the landlords have all the power, but in fact, assuming that you’re already wealthy, you actually might have more power as a renter than a landlord. Why? If you have a very good apartment and it is rent controlled, technically according to NASSIM TALEB you have greater optionality.

What that means is that you have a privilege to live somewhere, not an obligation. In theory you can leave whenever you want, and you’re not behelden to the property.

What would Aristotle, the ancient Greeks think?

In regards to the ancient Greeks, I think they may be the best model because starting from Roman times, their society already started to seep into degeneration, degeneracy. Even during Homer’s time, Homer was already saying that the ancient Greeks were falling into degeneracy, even when he was writing the Iliad. 

I am currently reading Politics by Aristotle, and I find it to be a really fascinating read. Essentially what he says about household economics etc., as well as his thoughts on substantive versus speculative finance, real versus fake finance. He essentially says that real finance has to deal with animals and fruits of the earth, everything else is just imaginary.

Also, his thoughts on slavery. Essentially in ancient Greek times, the ultimate goal was to have the laborers, slaves, craftsman, mechanics do all the dirty work, and the true nobleman and free man would just use all of his time and leisure for building virtue, philosophical thinking, and participating in politics, the politics of the local city state, the polis.

In modern-day times we always think about politics like it pertains to international politics whatever. But the original term politics referred to the polis, the immediate city-state. It was not focused on foreign affairs.

What is the ideal city state?

What I like about Aristotle and his writings is that he’s always talking about the ideal, and talks a lot about studying from the best of the past and the current, in order to formulate his thoughts. Also his writing is straight simple and clear, and very authoritative. For example, he quotes Plato and his Republic, and straight up says: “Plato is wrong.” Almost as hilarious and ballsy as when Nietzsche said: “Plato is boring.”

True financial freedom

Two things: Pay rent money, pay for food and groceries, and basic utilities, like your Wi-Fi, gas and electric, gas for your car etc. Beyond that, what else do you really need? 

Another fun experiment I’m doing is just paying for rent money by using the profit on my cryptocurrency speculations, simply using Coinbase, and profits from chainlink. For personal reference, I am currently 90% invested in chainlink, 10% in bitcoin. I believe this to be an interesting barbell for a risky yet “safe” investment speculation, in thinking the next 30 or 40 years.

Also, in terms of our cryptocurrency assets, we don’t have more than 10% of our whole life savings tied into cryptocurrency. Therefore if it all goes to zero in theory, not really a big deal. But my personal belief:

Bitcoin will never go down to zero.

Decimation

A very interesting thing that I learned from NASSIM TALEB, maybe it was written in his book ANTIFRAGILE, is this notion of decimation. The basic idea is that in ancient Roman times the army, if cowardice was suspected, at random, 10% of the army would be put to death, it was a good way to prevent cowardice, especially one facing an impressive enemy. 

10% is interesting because in theory, if you lose 10% of your army, it is not enough to significantly lose your forces. A 10% loss is more than acceptable. For example let us say that you’re playing StarCraft, and you got an army of zealots, all upgraded with dash and full armor upgrades, if you lose 10% of them, you could still kill the army of zerg maybe if you do good enough micro management of the units. 

Finances is also similar — best to have 90% of your money in insanely secure bonds, CDs or stuff that might be inflation, even a simple savings account at 5%. Then put 10% of your money in extremely speculative cryptocurrency speculations, rather than putting 100% of your money and boring “medium risk” funds.

“Never trust a risk number even if it is right.”- TALEB 

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Why we should not trust economists

First and foremost, economics, being an economist, is the new hocus pocus of modern day times. The reason why economists are so highly regarded is that currently speaking the new global religion is capital and capitalism.

Therefore as a consequence, the new modern-day priests are economists, and these fake talking Heads on the TV screen.

The reason why we should trust no economist, is that they use fake numbers statistics and fake math to justify their thoughts and positions. Even Nate Silver, who everyone thinks is some sort of genius, mispredicted Trump getting elected into office. Why? Even if you’re a statistician with 99% accuracy, the one percent of the time you’re wrong, it could cost billions of dollars.

The reason why we should also not trust no economist is that most of them are protected from the real world. Their opinions reports and thought pieces have no connection to reality. A lot of them are getting a fat salary and steady paycheck from their tenured professor positions at Harvard Yale Princeton or whatever, and therefore the predictions thoughts they have, have no bearing on their own personal finances.

Better instead to trust individual individuals who actually have skin in the game, or money in the game. That is that your opinion is tied to your own personal bank account, if your opinion is right, you make the big bucks, but if you’re wrong, you lose your shirt.

Where I am coming from

One of the best things about growing up poor and when you have seen your mom go through bankruptcy twice is that in some funny ways, it makes you more brazen, less fearful. Witnessing my mom go bankrupt, because my dad gambled away the rent money and we couldn’t pay rent, and she would just rack up credit card bills just to pay basic expenses, what I learned is at the end it’s not that bad. My mom got family support, community support, church support, and ultimately she was OK in the very end.

So for myself, the reason why I have such a high tolerance for risk is essentially nowadays, I live like a poor person. My New Year’s resolution is to buy nothing; or close to nothing, or just to not buy stuff that I consider silly or superfluous. Even acquiring free stuff; to me that is just more clutter in my mind in my life and my home; we new elite is about minimalism, even to a fault. 

Also, the American entrepreneurial spirit. Even my dad when he first came to the states, was extremely entrepreneurial. He started his own business when I was very very young, I think selling audio equipment. As he had a passion for music movies and film and cinema. I actually think his great ambition of life was to become a great film director. Even at a young age, I recall him watching Alfred Hitchcock the birds, Schindler’s list, and all these other great avant- garde films.

So now, raising Seneca, he is currently two years, around 11 months old… his training is very simple; simple, physical, Spartan. 99% of the day we are just at the local nature center, hiking on dirt paths, walking around, doing gymnastics at the playground, even now, I bought some wooden gymnast rings which I just hang from my parking spot in the back of my apartment, and he could swing around it, and hang around it! It is pretty amazing.

Another thing I learned from Aristotle’s Politics is that with children and child rearing, the logical order is first physical training and gymnastics, second is nutrition and feeding, third is the intellect. It seems some modern day tides we do the total opposite; we don’t really focus on physical exercise for kids, we just try to make them look smart. But book smarts is bad smarts; real smarts comes from the real world.

As a consequence, I probably literally spent close to no money on him. The only thing that we paid for in the early days were maybe diapers, and buying some random stuff on Amazon like training underwear, etc.

Now, he eats wagyu ground beef well in the air fryer, pro tip just toss a bunch of small broken up pieces of ground beef in the air fryer for 10 minutes, sprinkle it with some salt and pepper and give it to your kid! I think precisely because Seneca was born and fed such a high meat diet, he is the buff strong and tall boy he is today.

What should we use money for? 

What is the proper use of money?

For myself, Costco. Funny enough it looks like out of all of my normal stock investments, Costco is doing the best! Why? As inflation goes up, food gets more expensive etc., everyone likes to think that they’re not being “ripped off”– nobody likes to think that they are overpaying for anything. Costco is funny because it is almost like Walmart but with a good conscience; a lot of middle-class even rich people have thought of Walmart as akin to the devil; whereas Costco has warm fuzzy feelings. Half of the fun even myself as a kid going to Costco was getting the hotdogs at the food court, and also getting all the free samples! Costco is almost like going to Disneyland, with benefits.

Meat

To me, the only real food substance is meat. You could thrive on 100% carnivore meat red meat diet, good luck with lentils beans and potatoes. That is poverty food. 100% red meat beef lamb diet is fit for the gods.

Let us consider, the nonsenseness of veganism; the etymology and history of vegan comes from vegetarian, vegetarianism. Essentially the vegans were the more hardcore vegetarians; the word “vegan”, essentially is the word vegetarian with fewer letters.

Why do people even go vegan in the first place?

Honestly I think being vegan is more of an ethical thing rather than a physiological concern. This is where vegetarians are more honest than vegans; a lot of people who are vegetarian do it for religious regions, for example people from India or south Asia, or some people just don’t really like the taste of meat or flesh, prefer to eat cheese eggs dairy and fish instead. 

Thinking historically

What I also love about studying ancient history, Rome, the Iliad, thinking about Homer is that back then, there was none of this nonsensical being “woke“, or political correctness. The Greeks were a hard and simple race; you were either Greek or a barbarian. Even the word barbarian is originated from the notion of “bar-bar”– anyone who did not speak Greek, their language sounded like somebody saying “bar bar bar”.

And also this is where notions of “white supremacy“, or being “white”, is nonsensical. Were the ancient Greeks “white”? No. They were olive skinned, very tan.

We acknowledge and understand that the ancient Greeks were probably the peak human and society of its time; maybe it makes sense for us to go back to the fountains, and for us to seek to imitate the best of the best, the crème la crop of the past.

How did the ancient Greeks think about money?

First, in the time of Homer, the Iliad the odyssey etc.; there was no notion of coins, or coined money or currency. The notion of coin is actually pretty good, like bitcoin, because the original minted money was actually coins, not paper money.

Also, gold. Gold was always highly valued throughout all of history, even during the time of Homer and the Iliad. For example the greed of king Agamemnon, what did he want? More gold, more women, more land, more slaves, more power.

Even as a sidenote; an Achilles was told by his father figure that king Agamemnon was the superior man, because he lorded over more men. 

During the time of Homer, and the Iliad; wealth was concentrated in food and meat, oxen; the notion of a “hectacomb” was the generalized notion that if you wanted to appease the gods and make a sacrifice, you had to sacrifice 100 oxen, which was a lot. Why? An ox is interesting because you could eat it, and also you could use it as manual labor. Maybe back in the day, having one ox was almost like the modern day notion of having a Lamborghini; can you imagine sacrificing and burning 100 Lamborghinis to appease the gods?

What did Achilles want?

If I ever had to rename myself I would just need myself Achilles. Why? He is nearly invulnerable and invincible; what is it that he wanted in the Iliad? Honestly he was tired of war and conquest and battle; he just wanted to chill out, retire, enjoy his land and pastures, and enjoy Breisis his prize.

Even Achilles said wisely; No amount of wealth in the world is worth a life, my life. Not if you took all the wealth of the world, all the gold of the world, and multiplied it by 65. Once you’re dead, you’re dead forever.

Even in today’s world, I don’t think sacrificing your life your own personal life is worth anything; I would only ever ever ever sacrifice my life it was for the sake of Seneca’s life, or Cindy‘s life, or both. Otherwise, I have zero interest in being drafted to go to some sort of senseless war, in order for America to procure more oil or whatever.

And this is where I believe that war is so superficial; would you be willing to send your own personal blood son, your first born son, to fight in the front lines of Afghanistan or whatever, for some sort of strange political advantage? No.

Buying a house?

Things are starting to get ridiculous. In LA and Culver City, you can’t find a good single-family home for less than $2 million. Even a $2 million or $3 million home, it’s not really in the best neighborhood either which is 100% pedestrian friendly. I was looking at this brand new $3 million house, which is pretty nice, but it’s kind of in the middle of nowhere, I cannot enjoy my lovely morning walks as I do just walking from my apartment from the arts district.

Renting is superior?

I wonder if renting is actually superior than owning because you got more optionality, less obligation. 

“You work for a living, I live for a living” – Jay Z

Ultimately what is it that we really seek to do, our desired activity?

I think what we really desire to do at the end of the day is physical activity, vigorous activity, to be physical. Physics, human physics, our own human body.

We want to walk around, go on hikes, be in nature, go to the beach, swim around, walk around mountain paths, pick up heavy things, throw around rocks, do fun gymnastics things, hot yoga, lift weights etc.

The ultimate luxury in today’s world is the human body. It all matter if you own 100 Ferraris, if you are obese, old and fat, none of it is worth it.

Even I was randomly doing some research about Hugh Hefner, the big issue is that apparently he just lived in his Holmby Hills mansion for his whole life, wearing nothing but silk pajamas, taking weird hallucinogen drugs and Viagra, in poor health, having sex with all of these random women, forcing them to do drugs, get plastic surgery etc. 

I think the weird notion is a lot of men, they seek to become some sort of playboy? To grow a beard, buy a bunch of guns, have sex with all these women, massive orgies with all these beautiful women, for the sake of what?

The merchandising of women

In today’s modern day capitalistic society, women are the new objects, the new products being sold. The strange promise is this; you get rich successful and famous, you get the Lamborghini or the Ferrari, and then suddenly all these beautiful women will flock to you, want to have sex with you, fulfill all your weird sexual fantasies, etc., and suddenly you’ll be happy for the rest of your life?

It seems the weird sexual perversion we have in today’s world is that maybe… the trend is we want some sort of 100% subservient female sex bot, 100% obey us, and fulfill our sexual desires? 

But let us not forget, the purpose and function of sex is for us to beget children; the hormones and the good feelings associated with it is to promote bonding between the man and woman, and to solidify the family relationship. This is where I am pro monogamy; even Zeus was married to Hera! Although he did sleep around a lot. 

Buy nothing?

One of the greatest things that was born out of Covid was the Facebook buy nothing groups. Essentially close to 100% of all the baby stuff we got for Seneca was for free from the buy nothing group. Cindy would just message other moms, get a bunch of free baby hand-me-down stuff, and we literally paid close to nothing for all of his baby stuff. I estimate that from the buy nothing group, Cindy might’ve saved us close to $15,000.

It takes more skill to buy nothing?

Ultimately I think money is like some sort of game; the game of not spending money seems to be more interesting than spending money.

There is nothing morally or ethically wrong about spending money, the only issue at hand is when people spend money in some sort of boring way, they go into debt, credit card debt or whatever, and as a consequence, they lose their freedom?

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Financial Fitness

I don’t know if this is yet a notion, this notion an idea of “financial fitness“. The general, generalized idea is this: we talk about physical fitness, physical health or whatever, yet we never talk about financial health, financial fitness whatever.

Perhaps the reason I don’t like or trust all these other random people who talk about finances ultimately, they are selling some sort of product, service, or they are sponsored by advertising and advertisers. The big problem about this is that their opinions are not pure, also in my opinion, not critical.

I have never met anybody in real life why consider financially successful, maybe besides my friend Todd Hata, who maybe works only one day a year, and he is enjoying his digital nomad life, traveling the world. His simple studio lighting company on Amazon is genius, his bread and butter is these photo clamps. 

Another friend of mine who I consider very financially successful is Don Dillon,  who made his fortune building up his own company, later selling it, and after building an art house in Arizona, later selling it, and just opting for more low-key lifestyle, just living in a simple condo with his wife Diane in Dana point, Orange County California.

Meeting real life successful people?

Something cool about Don, he used to own a Porsche race car, has a Porsche 911 GT three, ultimately, just prefers to drive his dodge ram truck around. At this point of life, he just wants to focus on travel and photography.

Also, another private workshop student of mine, who actually designed princes phallic purple guitar, also was in the Ferrari scene, I think he might’ve owned 10 to 50 Ferraris, used to go to all these car meet ups and racing stuff, it ultimately sold all of it, and just bought a simple Lexus RX car, to deal with the Minnesota winters.

Real rich or fake rich? 

My personal hot chick in LA, being in LA, even spending a lot of time in Orange County whatever, is that a lot of people are “fake rich“, this means that it seems that they are rich and successful and wealthy or whatever, but in fact, they are living paycheck to paycheck, and also are in deep debt.  For example, as long as you have a mortgage on your house, you ain’t free. Doesn’t matter if your house is valued at five or $10 million or whatever, as long as you have to pay a monthly mortgage payment, you are still in debt. And don’t throw this nonsense, equity”, around; or even notions of “net worth”, not critical. The only true wealth is to have zero debt, zero obligations, zero mortgage, own zero property.

Even the problem about property ownership, even if you bought the house or whatever in all cash; maintenance fees.

Condo versus apartment?

 I’ve been thinking a lot about condominiums lately, no one hand it seems like a good idea and on another hand it seems like a little bit of a scam.

I suppose a good thing about having a condo or only a condo, like my friend Timothy Flanagan is that if you’re abroad a lot and travel a lot, Technically the upside of owning your own home condominium thing is that ultimately, you have a place to store your stuff, a little bit more space, maybe you have a garage or a basement or something, and you could just leave your stuff there, somebody else will maintain your property, and after you travel, you still have a place to come back home to.

One thing I am actually insanely grateful for is the fact that Cindy, Cindy‘s mom, Cindy‘s family owned their own single-family home, in Orange County, and the great upside is that while Cindy and I was traveling the world, living off the grid, no matting around, living abroad in Vietnam Japan for about two years, we still had a home address that we could send our mail to, a study home address where we could file our taxes, credit card reports, bank statements whatever. Apparently a lot of people who adopt a digital nomad lifestyle, and have no real family connections, the big issue is that still… It is good to have a solid and steady home address where you could send financial paperwork to.

Financial independence, retire early

Something also very cool that my friend Timothy Flanagan did was opting for an early retirement, I think he officially retired last year, maybe at age 52?

Also, an interesting funny thing is that a lot of people actually have the option of retiring early, if you’re in the school system you could technically retire as early as age 50! Granted your pension and your Social Security or your financial fund isn’t that much money, but still… To no longer have to show up to work, For the rest of your life, at the young and ripe age of 50 years old… Isn’t that great?

Work and identity

Perhaps the big issue here is that people put too much of their self-esteem and their self-worth into their occupation. Yet, if we think about the movie 300, and King Leonidas asks his Spartan 300; “what is your profession“? They all throw their spears into the air and go “woot!”

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So what is it that you really want and desire? 

My critical thought is that it seems that honestly speaking, most people don’t really know what they want in life, nor maybe they don’t have the courage to actually pause and assert with a truly desire and want in life?

For example, I often ask people if you magically had $100 million deposited into your personal checking account, and never had to worry about money again… What would you do with your life, how would you live your life? The typical responses are a bit Standard; travel the world, buy a house and some property etc. He had most people don’t really go beyond that.

To me the notion of financial independence retire early, “fire“, is the point in which you no longer make money cruel tied with your own personal self-esteem. Just think; once you could pay rent, pay for groceries and meet at Costco, basic utilities like gas electric Wi-Fi your phone bill etc., what else do you really need?

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So now what?

Once you retire, or once you’re financially robust, then what?

My thought is just focus on art, your arts production, your creative activities, your full self thinking and writing and production, publishing your ideas thoughts and creations etc. 

Let us consider that for most people, towards the end of their life, a lot of people who made their millions, and now are in their 80s, mid 80s, early 80s, late 80s… What is it that they focus on?

It seems art. Either art production, art purchasing, art accrual, art creation etc. What is the basic notion behind all of this? The basic notion is that people have a desire and an impetus to create art, share art, and propagate art. It is in our body, our souls, our sinews our blood. 

Financial strategies for this year this new year

Simple thoughts:

1. See how long you can go without buying nothing. Join the Facebook by nothing group in your own local city and area, and it seems a really good way to build a real community. For example, ever during pandemic, Cindy became very active in the Facebook by nothing group in Providence, and now here in Culver City, and interacting and meeting people in the flesh, sharing physical possessions is fascinating because ultimately it is not even about the stuff; rather, The stuff that people give away for free is a totem of goodwill, and having the opportunity to interact with others. 
2. Investing in your health and fitness: one of the important things to consider is that it doesn’t matter if you have $100 trillion in your bank account, if you only sleep two hours a night, are insanely sick, unwell, lack exercise and natural light, eat poorly, etc.… All of the money in the world multiplied by 1 billion isn’t worth it. Once again just think, does say that you only sleep one hour night, or addicted to methamphetamines, but you got $10 billion in your bank account, and the pain that you feel from 0 to 10 is a 50, is money and wealth worth it? No.
3. Think about digital real estate, rather than land-based real estate: it is insane, you could buy a.com domain for only 10 bucks a year, 20 bucks a year. This means you could own digital property for only one or two dollars a month! I’ve been on a bit of a digital rampage; coupling up interment. Currently I own some new fund domains which include ERICkim fitness.com, erickimphilosophy.com, erickimcrypto.com, ERICkimfood.com, eric KIM.LA,erickim.AI, and it was all inspired by Cindy who bought me the erickim.com domain for about 1000 bucks in 2017. Now I am sure it is worth millions. Typically when I am interested in a concept, I just go to godaddy.com, and I search whether the domain is available or not. Typically speaking the best domain to get is just a simple.com website, The new sexy domain which I actually really like is the dot AI domain; don’t do the iOS domain, which stands for input output, nobody has any idea what that means. Everybody knows what AI is. It seems that everyone has watched the terminator movie. They know what Skynet is.
4.  Make and design your own clothing? One of the greatest benefits of living abroad, spending time in Vietnam, and also more recently going to Korea, is that I have been designing my own ideal clothes, my own ideal equipment, products, leather products, etc. For example all the haptic products, haptic industries products… I always thought to myself “if I could design and create my own ideal things products close etc.… What would they be and what would they look like?” As a consequence I created the HENRI line, the ERIC KIM line etc. How can you design and create your own clothes and stuff? Either just make it yourself by hand, à la cart, one piece by one piece, or, a simple way to do it is find a friend or a local craftsman, share your vision with them, share your design concept, and have them physically produce it. For example I’ve been getting a lot of compliments on my ERIC KIM PORTFOLIO BAG which I designed and produced while in Saigon in Vietnam in 2017, and it still looks insanely beautiful, and I get so many compliments on it! I have zero interest, -100% interest in ever purchasing any product at any foreign store. ERIC KIM is the new Balenciaga.
5. Delete Instagram: I think the easiest way to gain a 500% boost your personal happiness is via negativa; just delete your Instagram.  When I deleted my Instagram in 2017, it might have been the best thing all time. And no, the current ERIC KIM photo Instagram account is not me; I think virtuous fan of mine re-created the profile and populated with some of my images, which I find insanely flattering. Instagram is bad because it is the new digital slavery, the new digital serfdom. You are promised this “free” land, this “free“ digital real estate, but in fact at the end of the day, you owe nothing, you are indebted to this rented land. And as a consequence, you have no personal freedom. Very very simple; create your own website blog, and all you have to do is post anything and everything to your own personal blog and website that you would otherwise post to Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube, TikTok whatever. Even Snapchat. The reason why this is such a good idea is that You built equity in yourself, rather than building equity for the platform.  Let us consider how disingenuous these foreign platforms are; you do all this hard work of creating information, pictures, artwork, videos and media, music whatever, and these sneaky advertisers insert their own advertisements in between your content? Am I the only one who thinks this is a bit denigrating?
6. Think ancient: honestly the only ideas that I trust in modern daytimes is anything that was written in ancient Greek, ancient Greece, and before. Even with lossy, my personal suggestion is don’t read anything after Socrates. Socrates was a strange fellow, ugly, and he was the original person who tried to “virtue flex“, Trying to make this weird notion of virtue as the Apex human male goal. But in fact, the only reason why Socrates took off was he had no army, no soldiers, no military power. He was the first tyrant of the soul and ethics; even my best friend Seneca the stage I think, was too influenced by Socrates. in someways we could think of Socrates like the original Kanye West; the first insanely radical thinker, who went contrary to all notions of good Greek behavior. As a consequence, a lot of the modern day philosophy we have today is perverted and weird and a bit boring.

Don’t watch nothing that has advertising, or is supported by advertising.

This is almost everything.  This includes television, sports, magazines, newspapers, anything on the Internet or blogs or websites that is supported by Google sense advertising, YouTube, trust no YouTube, YouTuber who has advertisements on their channel.

The reason why it is wise to cancel advertising from your life in your brain and your eyes and your ears is that we are actually much more influenced and nudged and brainwashed by advertising then we think we are. For example, I think the mind is actually very very sensitive; and as artist, we have extreme sensitivity to ideas sounds, bodily sensations whatever… Don’t think that you are immune to it. In fact, my personal wisdom is that I know that I am actually very very easily influenced by almost anything and everything; therefore the best way to protect yourself is active defense; delete delete delete, delete all the advertising from your life.

How does one best leverage money as a tool?

My personal thought is that money is just codified human labor. For example, the best way to use money, should be hiring labor. For example you have all these people in Beverly Hills, Homeview Hills etc., who want to build these big ass mansions. Of course there’s the cost of material, but ultimately, The most critical thing to consider is people who actually build it. What I have personally observed is that a lot of these Beverly Hills mansions are actually being built by contractors, who contract out the labor to Mexican immigrant workers, whether legal or illegal.

In California, whenever you see a person who looks Latino who works in construction, just speaks Spanish to them. A lot of them are from Mexico, some of them are from Guadalajara, Honduras, other places from southern America. They almost all speak Spanish.

Speak to the janitor

It seems that the most interesting people to talk to is actually the people who run the facilities, hygiene, the janitor. Why? They really know what is behind-the-scenes.

For example, one of my new friends his name is Noel. He used to work at the California club, the extremely elite high-end exclusive club for politicians dignitaries, Ronald Reagan, Arnold Schwarzenegger whatever. He told me the true scoop behind-the-scenes, because when you work as a janitor and you clean spaces, You really do see peoples true colors behind-the-scenes.

For example, apparently Arnold Schwarzenegger is fake. In front of the other people on the cameras he smiles and takes pictures and whatever, but the second he goes behind-the-scenes, and there are all these Mexican Latino janitors workers and staff, he gives them the culture and doesn’t even acknowledge their existence.

Also, apparently a lot of the old money, the real rich people, a lot of them who have either passed away or are very very old now, or actually pretty low-key. The dress in plain clothing, and just drive some old Mercedes car, whereas a lot of their children, the air of their fortune, drive flashy exotic cars like McLaren, Lamborghinis for whatever. we must consider nepotism; a lot of these kids, whose parents are super rich, simply inherited their wealth, and they blow it on stupid things like cars, clothes, drugs, alcohol, clubs, prostitutes, strippers, women etc.

so why do I care about all this?

I personally care because I grew up poor, and ultimately money is the thing that fascinates everybody. Even these stupid fake woke and artist communist; come on, they all have iPhones, have Instagram, maybe own a dog or a pet or a cat or something, and even if they want to live off the grid in Portland or the Midwest or whatever, they still have some sort of automobile car which requires either gasoline, or even recharging their electric car. I find these fake ass hippies to be very disingenuous, the new modern day losers.

How to thrive in today’s brave New World

 First, I think it is a good idea to try to participate in local politics, the politics of your local neighborhood your local local city, local courthouse, maybe even the politics of your school, your kids school, parents association, the local nature center whatever. certainly you want to add more obligations to your life, but having the privilege in the luxury of participating in politics is the new luxury.

For example, if you get that stupid traffic ticket, the traffic camera ticket or whatever, maybe even if you are in the wrong, it is a good idea to try to contest it, show up to court, and try to make a plea before the judge. You still might be charged, but, Often you could do fun things like community service or doing other unorthodox things to get it off your record. Maybe we should think of this like a luxury; to “waste time” is the new luxury.

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Other thoughts

To me, the best way to think about all the stuff is to think ancient Greek literature, even the ancient Roman stuff. Or maybe think about the Medici, Italy, coinage, international trade etc.

Back in ancient Greek times, it seems that a lot of wealth was produced via the sea; military prowess in the sea, as well as international trade, by boat. Consider all the wealth that was made importing coffee from Ethiopia into the Middle East, the term arabica comes from Arab, because the Arabs loved coffee, and the origin of the Araica coffea Plant was from Ethiopia.  Later other strands were created in Java, and in Indonesia, I think the Dutch made a killing importing products goods from Indonesia and propagating it worldwide.

Even the international spice trade, and salt. Becken inch in Roman times, salt was one of the most prized commodities, a gold. Even the term “salary”, was based on the notion of paying a Roman legionary soldier with salt, or remember the biblical notion that a man is not “worth his salt“.

Debt 

Apparently there is a really good historical book on the history of debt. I’ve been kind of meaning to read it, but from what I understand, maybe the origin of money is actually from debt.

For example, a lot of the early cuneiform form, and early writing was simply to see who owed what to who. 

In fact, the reason why I am enthusiastic about this notion of a block chain is that you can track money on a public ledger … the original ledger once again was to record debt.

Debt is the devil

It is commonly written in the Bible, ancient Abraham religious text that debt is immoral. I think maybe even in the Torah, or Jewish law says one should not lend more than a certain percent of money to somebody else.

In fact, it seems that a lot of wealth is made on naturally, by people simply moving around debt interest as well as loans.

For example, if you buy a house, but you take out a mortgage, who owns your home? Not you, the bank.

It doesn’t matter if you put 10% down 20% down 50% down or even 90% down… As long as even a fraction of that house is mortgage, the bank technically on your house. It doesn’t matter how many times you refinance, borrow money against your home, it is still not yours.

So why does this matter?

Moral of the story: 

1. Don’t get into debt, not for any reason. No matter how good offer may seem. Don’t go to a fancy Ivy League school if you got to go into that, certainly not a UC. Don’t ever go to school for anything that requires you to go into debt. Only go to school if you have a free ride, 100% scholarship, for myself I pretty much had a free ride to UCLA, except of the fact that I had to do some work study.
2. If you’re in debt, pay it off as quickly as humanly possible.  And actually, if you’re intelligent, see if there are a special debt loan forgiveness programs, and or whether you could do some sort of logical bankruptcy, which may ruin your credit, but get that crushing debt off your shoulders.
3. Essentially live like a poor person, or broke starving college student. Cook all your food at home, quit alcohol weed and media, and make it your focus to build your own empire.

ERIC

---



Buying chainlink at mid-high $14.99 and sub a LINK, currently the other day around $15.46 a LINK… just a modest 4.91% gain … (less than 5% in a week)— is still a ~ $28,000 USD gain in just a week???

Rent for me is only $3195 a month — essentially I can pay rent money for close to 9 months, 10 months … almost a year, just from speculative bets from crypto, in just a single week?

Isn’t this what everyone wants?

Just buy Bitcoin.

Do you want an iPhone, or a Huawei phone? Or an “Honor” phone? Or a Xiaomi phone?

Coinbase.com — sexy UI/UX, seamless integration with traditional financial instructions (this “Plaid” technology seems mostly good)—

First … it just works! Super simple straight forward, it even has an advanced computer hacker day trader advanced option … looks super cool.

Second — security. Don’t be one of those weird crypto anarchists. Ultimately having a hybrid, centaur approach of barbelling and having both the security of traditional systems *AND* the radical nature of crypto is good.

Interesting with Coinbase —

Now is the time to buy more Bitcoin!

Eric Kim shares his perspective and experiences on making money with cryptocurrency, emphasizing the importance of personal interest and belief in the technology. He doesn’t view it as luck or gambling, but rather as a commitment to a technology he believes in. He began investing in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Digibyte, Chainlink, and Dogecoin between 2017 and 2018, particularly after market dips, highlighting a strategy of entering the market when others are skeptical.

Kim recommends buying cryptocurrency and then intentionally not monitoring its price frequently, as he believes staying uninformed about short-term fluctuations can prevent emotional decision-making. He focuses on long-term trends, suggesting that the future will increasingly rely on contactless, digital payments. Additionally, he mentions the potential of Bitcoin becoming a standard of value in the future, replacing the need to peg its value to the US dollar.

Overall, his approach to cryptocurrency is more of a long-term investment, driven by belief in the technology and less concern for immediate financial gains oai_citation:1,How I Made Money with Crypto – ERIC KIM oai_citation:2,How I Made Money with Crypto – ERIC KIM oai_citation:3,How I Made Money with Crypto – ERIC KIM oai_citation:4,How I Made Money with Crypto – ERIC KIM oai_citation:5,How I Made Money with Crypto – ERIC KIM oai_citation:6,How I Made Money with Crypto – ERIC KIM oai_citation:7,How I Made Money with Crypto – ERIC KIM.

Eric Kim’s approach to making money with cryptocurrency is marked by a mix of personal interest, long-term thinking, and emotional detachment from short-term market fluctuations. He views cryptocurrency as an underexploited opportunity, not driven by luck or gambling but by a belief in the technology’s future. Kim advocates for investing in crypto when others are skeptical and advises against frequently checking the market prices after purchasing to avoid emotional decisions. His strategy includes considering long-term trends and the potential for cryptocurrencies to become more integrated into everyday transactions, particularly in a future increasingly leaning towards contactless payments. Kim emphasizes the importance of reducing one’s attachment to money and focusing on the joy of speculation and the thrill of the technology itself oai_citation:1,How I Made Money with Crypto – ERIC KIM oai_citation:2,How I Made Money with Crypto – ERIC KIM oai_citation:3,How I Made Money with Crypto – ERIC KIM oai_citation:4,How I Made Money with Crypto – ERIC KIM oai_citation:5,How I Made Money with Crypto – ERIC KIM oai_citation:6,How I Made Money with Crypto – ERIC KIM oai_citation:7,How I Made Money with Crypto – ERIC KIM.

Eric Kim’s philosophy on making money with cryptocurrency is multifaceted, reflecting his diverse interests in photography, philosophy, innovation, and entrepreneurship. He sees cryptocurrency as underhyped and undervalued, not driven by luck or gambling but by a belief in the technology. Kim entered the crypto space in 2017-2018, investing in Bitcoin, Digibyte, Chainlink, and Dogecoin, and has a strategy of entering the market when others are skeptical.

His approach to cryptocurrency involves considering long-term trends and the potential for digital and contactless payments to become more prevalent. Kim advocates for buying cryptocurrency and then intentionally not monitoring its price frequently to avoid emotional decision-making. He also contemplates the broader implications of wealth accumulation through cryptocurrency, questioning the purpose of wealth beyond financial success.

Kim’s philosophy encompasses several aspects:

1. Photography and Cryptocurrency: He views cryptocurrency as a new way to understand and interact with the world, similar to the impact of photography.
2. Philosophy and Decentralization: He is attracted to the decentralized nature of cryptocurrencies, aligning with stoicism and values of ancient societies like Sparta.
3. Innovation and Entrepreneurship: He sees cryptocurrency as a way to challenge traditional financial systems and introduce new business models.
4. Unorthodox Thinking: Kim explores unconventional uses of cryptocurrency, leveraging blockchain technology for creative projects.
5. Reflection on Wealth and Cryptocurrency: He ponders the implications of wealth in the context of cryptocurrency.
6. Cryptocurrency Advocacy: Kim strongly believes in the longevity of Bitcoin, predicting it to be the “last crypto standing.”
7. Digital Gold Concept: He likens Bitcoin to “digital gold” due to its limited supply compared to fiat currencies.
8. Personal Investment in Bitcoin: Kim shares his experiences with Bitcoin investment and trading.

In summary, Kim’s philosophy on cryptocurrency combines a passion for innovation and unorthodox thinking with a focus on long-term trends and the disruptive potential of digital currencies oai_citation:1,How I Made Money with Crypto – ERIC KIM oai_citation:2,How I Made Money with Crypto – ERIC KIM oai_citation:3,How I Made Money with Crypto – ERIC KIM oai_citation:4,How I Made Money with Crypto – ERIC KIM oai_citation:5,How I Made Money with Crypto – ERIC KIM oai_citation:6,How I Made Money with Crypto – ERIC KIM oai_citation:7,How I Made Money with Crypto – ERIC KIM oai_citation:8,Eric Kim Philosophy of crypto – ERIC KIM oai_citation:9,CRYPTO, CRYPTOCURRENCY THOUGHTS. – ERIC KIM oai_citation:10,The Philosophy of Crypto – ERIC KIM oai_citation:11,The Philosophy of Crypto – ERIC KIM oai_citation:12,The Philosophy of Crypto – ERIC KIM oai_citation:13,The Philosophy of Crypto – ERIC KIM oai_citation:14,The Philosophy of Crypto – ERIC KIM oai_citation:15,The Philosophy of Crypto – ERIC KIM.

Eric Kim’s experience with making money from cryptocurrency is grounded in a combination of strategic investment, personal belief in technology, and long-term vision. He began investing in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Digibyte, Chainlink, and Dogecoin around 2017-2018, particularly after market dips, highlighting a strategy of entering the market when others are skeptical.

Kim emphasizes the importance of not frequently checking the market prices after purchasing to avoid emotional decisions. Instead, he focuses on long-term trends and the potential for cryptocurrencies to become more integrated into everyday transactions, particularly in a future increasingly leaning towards contactless payments. Kim views cryptocurrency not as a quick path to wealth, but as an opportunity driven by interest in the technology and the thrill of speculation oai_citation:1,How I Made Money with Crypto – ERIC KIM oai_citation:2,How I Made Money with Crypto – ERIC KIM oai_citation:3,How I Made Money with Crypto – ERIC KIM oai_citation:4,How I Made Money with Crypto – ERIC KIM oai_citation:5,How I Made Money with Crypto – ERIC KIM oai_citation:6,How I Made Money with Crypto – ERIC KIM oai_citation:7,How I Made Money with Crypto – ERIC KIM.

Eric Kim’s perspective on cryptocurrency is characterized by a fascination with the technology, an appreciation for its unorthodox nature, and a focus on long-term potential. Here are some of his notable quotes:

1. “Crypto, cryptocurrency, crypto technology to me is fascinating because it is new, sexy, unorthodox, and interesting.” – This quote reflects his intrigue with the novelty and unconventional aspects of cryptocurrency.
2. “Crypto to me is interesting because it is edgy, optimistic, radical, and bold. Also a bit reckless.” – Here, Kim highlights the revolutionary and somewhat risky nature of cryptocurrency.
3. “Irregardless, I think the promise of crypto is a more brilliant future.” – Kim expresses optimism about the potential of cryptocurrency to shape the future.
4. “Only put money into crypto, assuming that it will go to zero.” – He advises a cautious approach to investing in crypto, suggesting that one should be prepared for the possibility of total loss.
5. “Ultimately what I find interesting is that crypto, people who speculate in crypto all tend to live kind of a more monastic Zen monk lifestyle.” – Kim observes a trend among crypto investors towards a simpler, more focused lifestyle.
6. “Ironically the best use of money is simply peace of mind. That means money is not really a tool or a mechanism to buy a bunch of stuff that you like, but rather, being able to live a more zen, tranquil, more focused life.” – He reflects on the broader implications of wealth, emphasizing peace of mind over material possessions.
7. “Try to think about things on a 30 year basis… in 30 years, are people going to be using crypto more or less?” – Kim encourages thinking about the long-term future of cryptocurrency and its integration into everyday life oai_citation:1,CRYPTO, CRYPTOCURRENCY THOUGHTS. – ERIC KIM oai_citation:2,The Philosophy of Crypto – ERIC KIM oai_citation:3,The Philosophy of Crypto – ERIC KIM oai_citation:4,The Philosophy of Crypto – ERIC KIM oai_citation:5,The Philosophy of Crypto – ERIC KIM oai_citation:6,The Philosophy of Crypto – ERIC KIM oai_citation:7,The Philosophy of Crypto – ERIC KIM.

What’s insanely annoying about archives, archiving —

Sooner or later, everything will and *MUST* die.

Your own business, your own sole proprietorship.

Audio

A video podcast seems like a really good idea?

Easiest is anchor.fm or Spotify for podcasters.

Becoming Rich

Becoming a True Man

Video podcast

Via negativa becoming rich —

Audio

https://videopress.com/v/ThXCWpV9?resizeToParent=1&cover=1&autoPlay=1&controls=1&loop=1&muted=1&persistVolume=0&playsinline=0&preloadContent=metadata&sbc&sbpc&sblc&useAverageColor=1

Video

https://videopress.com/v/IFhcFUy7?resizeToParent=1&cover=1&autoPlay=1&controls=1&loop=1&muted=1&persistVolume=0&playsinline=0&preloadContent=metadata&sbc&sbpc&sblc&useAverageColor=1

Seems steady enough!

Eric Kim’s quotes on masculinity and manliness from his blog posts can be summarized as follows:

1. Defining Masculinity and Manliness: “If masculinity or manliness (virtue) is the art of a man becoming the apex version of himself, then shouldn’t manliness and masculinity be the goal?” oai_citation:1,Why Masculinity? – ERIC KIM
2. Role of Strength in Masculinity: “The first thought I have is that it is your moralistic duty to be strong. To be strong for yourself, your wife, your kids, for what you believe in, etc.” oai_citation:2,Why Manliness? – ERIC KIM
3. Physical Courage: “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.” oai_citation:3,How to Become More Manly – ERIC KIM
4. On Being Open-Minded: “I like the notion of being open-minded. But also, at a certain point, it is a good idea to be close-minded.” oai_citation:4,How to Become More Manly – ERIC KIM
5. Diet and Masculinity: “The more testosterone the man has, the more manly he is.” (In reference to eating meat, specifically beef liver and beef heart, to boost testosterone) oai_citation:5,How to Become More Manly – ERIC KIM
6. Freedom of Thought and Speech: “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 ‘unwoke’.” oai_citation:6,How to Become More Manly – ERIC KIM
7. Rejecting Societal Norms: “It is no longer permitted for a man to strive to become more ‘manly’.” (Discussing societal attitudes towards masculinity) oai_citation:7,How to Become More Manly – ERIC KIM
8. Personal Journey Towards Manliness: “I always strove to become more manly, or masculine, more dominant, etc.” (Reflecting on his personal motivation to embody masculinity from a young age) oai_citation:8,Why Manliness? – ERIC KIM

These quotes reflect his views on masculinity as a combination of physical strength, personal freedom, and the importance of defining one’s masculinity independently of societal norms.

Eric Kim’s blog posts on masculinity and manliness explore a variety of themes, drawing from personal experiences, cultural references, and philosophical ideas.

1. Personal Journey: Kim recalls his childhood desire to become more masculine, influenced by media representations of superheroes and their physical prowess. This early inspiration led him to pursue physical fitness as a means of embodying strength and dominance oai_citation:1,Why Manliness? – ERIC KIM.
2. Cultural and Literary Influences: Kim refers to classical literature, such as Homer’s “The Iliad,” highlighting characters like Achilles as embodiments of manliness. He points out that ancient Greek literature often depicted strong male figures as capable of emotional expression, like crying, challenging modern perceptions of masculinity oai_citation:2,Why Manliness? – ERIC KIM.
3. Strength as a Moral Duty: He views physical and mental fortitude as essential components of manliness, suggesting that strength is a moralistic duty necessary to support oneself and one’s dependents. Kim emphasizes the importance of physical strength, advocating for weightlifting as a method to achieve ‘superhero strength’ oai_citation:3,Why Manliness? – ERIC KIM oai_citation:4,Why Manliness? – ERIC KIM.
4. Philosophy and Manliness: Kim discusses the role of philosophy in shaping one’s understanding of manliness. He criticizes the reliance on data and statistics in moral and ethical discussions, suggesting that personal beliefs and principles should guide one’s understanding of what it means to be a man oai_citation:5,Why Manliness? – ERIC KIM.
5. Diet and Physical Courage: In his post “How to Become More Manly,” Kim discusses the importance of diet, particularly the consumption of meat, in boosting testosterone and thus enhancing masculinity. He also speaks about the value of physical courage, mentioning mandatory military service in some countries and advocating for powerlifting as a way to test physical limits oai_citation:6,How to Become More Manly – ERIC KIM oai_citation:7,How to Become More Manly – ERIC KIM oai_citation:8,How to Become More Manly – ERIC KIM.
6. Rejecting Societal Norms: Kim encourages ignoring societal expectations and opinions, advocating for personal freedom in defining one’s masculinity. He also touches on consumerism and its relationship with masculinity, highlighting the desire for symbols of masculinity like luxury cars oai_citation:9,How to Become More Manly – ERIC KIM oai_citation:10,How to Become More Manly – ERIC KIM oai_citation:11,How to Become More Manly – ERIC KIM.
7. Embracing Contrasts: Interestingly, Kim also explores the idea of embracing seemingly opposite traits, such as the flamboyance found in gay male fashion, to achieve a more complete sense of masculinity oai_citation:12,How to Become More Manly – ERIC KIM.
8. Self-Definition: Ultimately, Kim’s perspective on masculinity is about crafting one’s own values and ideals, striving to become the best version of oneself without the aim of convincing others to follow the same path oai_citation:13,How to Become More Manly – ERIC KIM.

In summary, Eric Kim’s reflections on masculinity combine personal experiences, cultural references, and philosophical musings. He emphasizes physical strength, personal freedom, and the importance of defining masculinity on one’s own terms, challenging conventional norms and embracing a more holistic and individualistic approach to manliness.

Search and analyze Eric blog posts on masculinity and manliness

Eric Kim’s philosophy on masculinity appears to be multifaceted, incorporating aspects of biology, lifestyle, cultural perceptions, and personal ethos. He emphasizes the biological aspect by studying testosterone, which is produced in much higher quantities in men compared to women oai_citation:1,The Philosophy of Masculinity – ERIC KIM oai_citation:2,The Philosophy of Masculinity – ERIC KIM. His work in street photography, which demands boldness and confidence, aligns with traditional views of masculinity like decisiveness and assertiveness oai_citation:3,ERIC KIM MASCULINITY – ERIC KIM oai_citation:4,ERIC KIM MASCULINITY – ERIC KIM.

Kim’s lifestyle choices, such as engaging in activities associated with physical strength and resilience, also contribute to his masculine image. He seems to eschew conventional diets in favor of more challenging and potentially riskier choices, indicating a preference for chaos and uncertainty, which might be seen as traditionally masculine traits oai_citation:5,ERIC KIM MASCULINITY PHILOSOPHY – ERIC KIM.

Moreover, Kim’s masculinity is influenced by cultural and societal norms. The perception of masculinity can vary significantly across different cultures. In some, artistic pursuits like photography might not be seen as traditionally masculine, whereas in others, the creativity, independence, and adventurousness required by photography could be valued as masculine traits oai_citation:6,ERIC KIM MASCULINITY – ERIC KIM.

In conclusion, Eric Kim’s approach to masculinity is a complex blend of his professional activities, personal lifestyle choices, physical fitness, and the cultural context in which he operates. It appears to be rooted in a philosophy that values strength, assertiveness, and resilience, both in professional and personal realms.

Audio

Mostly a via negativa thing — what *NOT* to do, what *NOT* to become:

Man is a triangle?

Podcast Video

When you no longer have money accrual the sole purpose of your life.

https://videopress.com/v/cqp1HBVM?resizeToParent=1&cover=1&autoPlay=1&controls=1&loop=1&muted=1&persistVolume=0&playsinline=0&preloadContent=metadata&sbc&sbpc&sblc&useAverageColor=1

https://videopress.com/v/nyQ9JBJo?resizeToParent=1&cover=1&autoPlay=1&controls=1&loop=1&muted=1&persistVolume=0&playsinline=0&preloadContent=metadata&sbc&sbpc&sblc&useAverageColor=1

https://videopress.com/v/083Vwl0q?resizeToParent=1&cover=1&autoPlay=1&controls=1&loop=1&muted=1&persistVolume=0&playsinline=0&preloadContent=metadata&sbc&sbpc&sblc&useAverageColor=1

https://videopress.com/v/tllJWlg1?resizeToParent=1&cover=1&autoPlay=1&controls=1&loop=1&muted=1&persistVolume=0&playsinline=0&preloadContent=metadata&sbc&sbpc&sblc&useAverageColor=1

https://videopress.com/v/khQ2iQSa?resizeToParent=1&cover=1&autoPlay=1&controls=1&loop=1&muted=1&persistVolume=0&playsinline=0&preloadContent=metadata&sbc&sbpc&sblc&useAverageColor=1

I LIFT DIFFERENT

https://youtu.be/XzjtrnY0vqU

https://youtu.be/zP5sMuDmo5Q

—

***

Money Thoughts

“White people make money don’t spend it, I’d rather buy 80 gold chains and go ignant (ignorant)”. – Kanye

Thinking about money:

Why does this matter?

“Money sets the whole world in motion” – Publius Syrus

Do you know when people say that money makes the world go round? This is true.

So what is money anyways?

First, money is fiat, faith-based. Fiat currency.

Currency is an interesting word and term because it evokes the feeling of water, movement, river streams and tide pools.

So first of all, let us consider the notion of “income streams“. There’s this notion of “passive income”, I think first popularized or maybe coined by Tim Feriss, in his four hour work week. But I believe there to be a myth of passive income which means, income is and must be active. You cannot just sit on your butt and collect rent.

Also with rent, rent money is funny because even if you’re collecting rent, there’s a lot of work management you gotta do. For example, you have to fix and maintain your properties, make sure that your tenants pay their rent money, do background checks, deal with vacancies etc. It is one of those things that we as renters feel that the landlords have all the power, but in fact, assuming that you’re already wealthy, you actually might have more power as a renter than a landlord. Why? If you have a very good apartment and it is rent controlled, technically according to NASSIM TALEB you have greater optionality.

What that means is that you have a privilege to live somewhere, not an obligation. In theory you can leave whenever you want, and you’re not behelden to the property.

What would Aristotle, the ancient Greeks think?

In regards to the ancient Greeks, I think they may be the best model because starting from Roman times, their society already started to seep into degeneration, degeneracy. Even during Homer’s time, Homer was already saying that the ancient Greeks were falling into degeneracy, even when he was writing the Iliad. 

I am currently reading Politics by Aristotle, and I find it to be a really fascinating read. Essentially what he says about household economics etc., as well as his thoughts on substantive versus speculative finance, real versus fake finance. He essentially says that real finance has to deal with animals and fruits of the earth, everything else is just imaginary.

Also, his thoughts on slavery. Essentially in ancient Greek times, the ultimate goal was to have the laborers, slaves, craftsman, mechanics do all the dirty work, and the true nobleman and free man would just use all of his time and leisure for building virtue, philosophical thinking, and participating in politics, the politics of the local city state, the polis.

In modern-day times we always think about politics like it pertains to international politics whatever. But the original term politics referred to the polis, the immediate city-state. It was not focused on foreign affairs.

What is the ideal city state?

What I like about Aristotle and his writings is that he’s always talking about the ideal, and talks a lot about studying from the best of the past and the current, in order to formulate his thoughts. Also his writing is straight simple and clear, and very authoritative. For example, he quotes Plato and his Republic, and straight up says: “Plato is wrong.” Almost as hilarious and ballsy as when Nietzsche said: “Plato is boring.”

True financial freedom

Two things: Pay rent money, pay for food and groceries, and basic utilities, like your Wi-Fi, gas and electric, gas for your car etc. Beyond that, what else do you really need? 

Another fun experiment I’m doing is just paying for rent money by using the profit on my cryptocurrency speculations, simply using Coinbase, and profits from chainlink. For personal reference, I am currently 90% invested in chainlink, 10% in bitcoin. I believe this to be an interesting barbell for a risky yet “safe” investment speculation, in thinking the next 30 or 40 years.

Also, in terms of our cryptocurrency assets, we don’t have more than 10% of our whole life savings tied into cryptocurrency. Therefore if it all goes to zero in theory, not really a big deal. But my personal belief:

Bitcoin will never go down to zero.

Decimation

A very interesting thing that I learned from NASSIM TALEB, maybe it was written in his book ANTIFRAGILE, is this notion of decimation. The basic idea is that in ancient Roman times the army, if cowardice was suspected, at random, 10% of the army would be put to death, it was a good way to prevent cowardice, especially one facing an impressive enemy. 

10% is interesting because in theory, if you lose 10% of your army, it is not enough to significantly lose your forces. A 10% loss is more than acceptable. For example let us say that you’re playing StarCraft, and you got an army of zealots, all upgraded with dash and full armor upgrades, if you lose 10% of them, you could still kill the army of zerg maybe if you do good enough micro management of the units. 

Finances is also similar — best to have 90% of your money in insanely secure bonds, CDs or stuff that might be inflation, even a simple savings account at 5%. Then put 10% of your money in extremely speculative cryptocurrency speculations, rather than putting 100% of your money and boring “medium risk” funds.

“Never trust a risk number even if it is right.”- TALEB 

---

Why we should not trust economists

First and foremost, economics, being an economist, is the new hocus pocus of modern day times. The reason why economists are so highly regarded is that currently speaking the new global religion is capital and capitalism.

Therefore as a consequence, the new modern-day priests are economists, and these fake talking Heads on the TV screen.

The reason why we should trust no economist, is that they use fake numbers statistics and fake math to justify their thoughts and positions. Even Nate Silver, who everyone thinks is some sort of genius, mispredicted Trump getting elected into office. Why? Even if you’re a statistician with 99% accuracy, the one percent of the time you’re wrong, it could cost billions of dollars.

The reason why we should also not trust no economist is that most of them are protected from the real world. Their opinions reports and thought pieces have no connection to reality. A lot of them are getting a fat salary and steady paycheck from their tenured professor positions at Harvard Yale Princeton or whatever, and therefore the predictions thoughts they have, have no bearing on their own personal finances.

Better instead to trust individual individuals who actually have skin in the game, or money in the game. That is that your opinion is tied to your own personal bank account, if your opinion is right, you make the big bucks, but if you’re wrong, you lose your shirt.

Where I am coming from

One of the best things about growing up poor and when you have seen your mom go through bankruptcy twice is that in some funny ways, it makes you more brazen, less fearful. Witnessing my mom go bankrupt, because my dad gambled away the rent money and we couldn’t pay rent, and she would just rack up credit card bills just to pay basic expenses, what I learned is at the end it’s not that bad. My mom got family support, community support, church support, and ultimately she was OK in the very end.

So for myself, the reason why I have such a high tolerance for risk is essentially nowadays, I live like a poor person. My New Year’s resolution is to buy nothing; or close to nothing, or just to not buy stuff that I consider silly or superfluous. Even acquiring free stuff; to me that is just more clutter in my mind in my life and my home; we new elite is about minimalism, even to a fault. 

Also, the American entrepreneurial spirit. Even my dad when he first came to the states, was extremely entrepreneurial. He started his own business when I was very very young, I think selling audio equipment. As he had a passion for music movies and film and cinema. I actually think his great ambition of life was to become a great film director. Even at a young age, I recall him watching Alfred Hitchcock the birds, Schindler’s list, and all these other great avant- garde films.

So now, raising Seneca, he is currently two years, around 11 months old… his training is very simple; simple, physical, Spartan. 99% of the day we are just at the local nature center, hiking on dirt paths, walking around, doing gymnastics at the playground, even now, I bought some wooden gymnast rings which I just hang from my parking spot in the back of my apartment, and he could swing around it, and hang around it! It is pretty amazing.

Another thing I learned from Aristotle’s Politics is that with children and child rearing, the logical order is first physical training and gymnastics, second is nutrition and feeding, third is the intellect. It seems some modern day tides we do the total opposite; we don’t really focus on physical exercise for kids, we just try to make them look smart. But book smarts is bad smarts; real smarts comes from the real world.

As a consequence, I probably literally spent close to no money on him. The only thing that we paid for in the early days were maybe diapers, and buying some random stuff on Amazon like training underwear, etc.

Now, he eats wagyu ground beef well in the air fryer, pro tip just toss a bunch of small broken up pieces of ground beef in the air fryer for 10 minutes, sprinkle it with some salt and pepper and give it to your kid! I think precisely because Seneca was born and fed such a high meat diet, he is the buff strong and tall boy he is today.

What should we use money for? 

What is the proper use of money?

For myself, Costco. Funny enough it looks like out of all of my normal stock investments, Costco is doing the best! Why? As inflation goes up, food gets more expensive etc., everyone likes to think that they’re not being “ripped off”– nobody likes to think that they are overpaying for anything. Costco is funny because it is almost like Walmart but with a good conscience; a lot of middle-class even rich people have thought of Walmart as akin to the devil; whereas Costco has warm fuzzy feelings. Half of the fun even myself as a kid going to Costco was getting the hotdogs at the food court, and also getting all the free samples! Costco is almost like going to Disneyland, with benefits.

Meat

To me, the only real food substance is meat. You could thrive on 100% carnivore meat red meat diet, good luck with lentils beans and potatoes. That is poverty food. 100% red meat beef lamb diet is fit for the gods.

Let us consider, the nonsenseness of veganism; the etymology and history of vegan comes from vegetarian, vegetarianism. Essentially the vegans were the more hardcore vegetarians; the word “vegan”, essentially is the word vegetarian with fewer letters.

Why do people even go vegan in the first place?

Honestly I think being vegan is more of an ethical thing rather than a physiological concern. This is where vegetarians are more honest than vegans; a lot of people who are vegetarian do it for religious regions, for example people from India or south Asia, or some people just don’t really like the taste of meat or flesh, prefer to eat cheese eggs dairy and fish instead. 

Thinking historically

What I also love about studying ancient history, Rome, the Iliad, thinking about Homer is that back then, there was none of this nonsensical being “woke“, or political correctness. The Greeks were a hard and simple race; you were either Greek or a barbarian. Even the word barbarian is originated from the notion of “bar-bar”– anyone who did not speak Greek, their language sounded like somebody saying “bar bar bar”.

And also this is where notions of “white supremacy“, or being “white”, is nonsensical. Were the ancient Greeks “white”? No. They were olive skinned, very tan.

We acknowledge and understand that the ancient Greeks were probably the peak human and society of its time; maybe it makes sense for us to go back to the fountains, and for us to seek to imitate the best of the best, the crème la crop of the past.

How did the ancient Greeks think about money?

First, in the time of Homer, the Iliad the odyssey etc.; there was no notion of coins, or coined money or currency. The notion of coin is actually pretty good, like bitcoin, because the original minted money was actually coins, not paper money.

Also, gold. Gold was always highly valued throughout all of history, even during the time of Homer and the Iliad. For example the greed of king Agamemnon, what did he want? More gold, more women, more land, more slaves, more power.

Even as a sidenote; an Achilles was told by his father figure that king Agamemnon was the superior man, because he lorded over more men. 

During the time of Homer, and the Iliad; wealth was concentrated in food and meat, oxen; the notion of a “hectacomb” was the generalized notion that if you wanted to appease the gods and make a sacrifice, you had to sacrifice 100 oxen, which was a lot. Why? An ox is interesting because you could eat it, and also you could use it as manual labor. Maybe back in the day, having one ox was almost like the modern day notion of having a Lamborghini; can you imagine sacrificing and burning 100 Lamborghinis to appease the gods?

What did Achilles want?

If I ever had to rename myself I would just need myself Achilles. Why? He is nearly invulnerable and invincible; what is it that he wanted in the Iliad? Honestly he was tired of war and conquest and battle; he just wanted to chill out, retire, enjoy his land and pastures, and enjoy Breisis his prize.

Even Achilles said wisely; No amount of wealth in the world is worth a life, my life. Not if you took all the wealth of the world, all the gold of the world, and multiplied it by 65. Once you’re dead, you’re dead forever.

Even in today’s world, I don’t think sacrificing your life your own personal life is worth anything; I would only ever ever ever sacrifice my life it was for the sake of Seneca’s life, or Cindy‘s life, or both. Otherwise, I have zero interest in being drafted to go to some sort of senseless war, in order for America to procure more oil or whatever.

And this is where I believe that war is so superficial; would you be willing to send your own personal blood son, your first born son, to fight in the front lines of Afghanistan or whatever, for some sort of strange political advantage? No.

Buying a house?

Things are starting to get ridiculous. In LA and Culver City, you can’t find a good single-family home for less than $2 million. Even a $2 million or $3 million home, it’s not really in the best neighborhood either which is 100% pedestrian friendly. I was looking at this brand new $3 million house, which is pretty nice, but it’s kind of in the middle of nowhere, I cannot enjoy my lovely morning walks as I do just walking from my apartment from the arts district.

Renting is superior?

I wonder if renting is actually superior than owning because you got more optionality, less obligation. 

“You work for a living, I live for a living” – Jay Z

Ultimately what is it that we really seek to do, our desired activity?

I think what we really desire to do at the end of the day is physical activity, vigorous activity, to be physical. Physics, human physics, our own human body.

We want to walk around, go on hikes, be in nature, go to the beach, swim around, walk around mountain paths, pick up heavy things, throw around rocks, do fun gymnastics things, hot yoga, lift weights etc.

The ultimate luxury in today’s world is the human body. It all matter if you own 100 Ferraris, if you are obese, old and fat, none of it is worth it.

Even I was randomly doing some research about Hugh Hefner, the big issue is that apparently he just lived in his Holmby Hills mansion for his whole life, wearing nothing but silk pajamas, taking weird hallucinogen drugs and Viagra, in poor health, having sex with all of these random women, forcing them to do drugs, get plastic surgery etc. 

I think the weird notion is a lot of men, they seek to become some sort of playboy? To grow a beard, buy a bunch of guns, have sex with all these women, massive orgies with all these beautiful women, for the sake of what?

The merchandising of women

In today’s modern day capitalistic society, women are the new objects, the new products being sold. The strange promise is this; you get rich successful and famous, you get the Lamborghini or the Ferrari, and then suddenly all these beautiful women will flock to you, want to have sex with you, fulfill all your weird sexual fantasies, etc., and suddenly you’ll be happy for the rest of your life?

It seems the weird sexual perversion we have in today’s world is that maybe… the trend is we want some sort of 100% subservient female sex bot, 100% obey us, and fulfill our sexual desires? 

But let us not forget, the purpose and function of sex is for us to beget children; the hormones and the good feelings associated with it is to promote bonding between the man and woman, and to solidify the family relationship. This is where I am pro monogamy; even Zeus was married to Hera! Although he did sleep around a lot. 

Buy nothing?

One of the greatest things that was born out of Covid was the Facebook buy nothing groups. Essentially close to 100% of all the baby stuff we got for Seneca was for free from the buy nothing group. Cindy would just message other moms, get a bunch of free baby hand-me-down stuff, and we literally paid close to nothing for all of his baby stuff. I estimate that from the buy nothing group, Cindy might’ve saved us close to $15,000.

It takes more skill to buy nothing?

Ultimately I think money is like some sort of game; the game of not spending money seems to be more interesting than spending money.

There is nothing morally or ethically wrong about spending money, the only issue at hand is when people spend money in some sort of boring way, they go into debt, credit card debt or whatever, and as a consequence, they lose their freedom?

***

Via negativa money new year resolutions?

The simplest way to become rich is not to spend your money on superfluous things. This include the new iPhone iPhone Pro or whatever; real rich people either use an iPhone mini, like my friend Don Dillon or Todd Hata, or Cindy, or an iPhone SE like ERIC KIM.

Also, only poor people buy cars new cars. Real rich people just drive old Prius, white Honda Odyssey if you have a family, and all the silver Honda Civics. Even my brother-in-law whose family is super rich, a major investor in Tesla, just has the super base Tesla model 3 for the family! 

Real investors in Tesla don’t own the expensive Tesla model S or X or even Y; they only own the cheapest Tesla model 3. 

---

Join the buy nothing group?

Just go on Facebook and find the nearest “buy nothing” group close to your city. It is a fun game.

Also, if you really want to save money and stop buying so much stuff, just cancel your Amazon prime subscription.

Also, as much as I love Costco, technically Costco is a trap; it is easy to drop $600 on a simple Costco trip, maybe if you want to save money and just buy meat, go to the local butcher, meat market, Halal market, Mexican meat market, the local Carniceria.

The problem with Costco is that there are too many random temptations.

---

Do the labor yourself?

Another New Year’s resolution that I got is maybe I just want to do all the labor myself. Even though it is far less efficient and time-consuming. Even changing your oil, maybe we could just enjoy this is our new leisure. I recommend getting the full synthetic mobile 1 oil, the best.

Contest it?

Funny story: I just got a $555 speed camera traffic ticket for doing a rolling right turn through a red light. I watched the video in truth be told, I was at fault.

Maybe next time, I will just contest it and show up to court, as a fun leisure activity.

Ultimately after you become wealthy, the ultimate luxury is killing time in local city politics etc.

Now what?

The first priority is your physical health, your sleep your food your diet your exercise etc.

Quit alcohol, quit weed, quit pornography, quit sugar, whether real or fake, quit dairy, quit vegetables, quit fruit, quit starches.

Quit Netflix, any TV streaming show, stop watching movies that were produced within the last 5 to 10 years.

 Quit the news, social media, quit YouTube.

The killer app for Tesla, Tesla cars, the whole Tesla ecosystem is not really the electric car thing, nor is it the supercharging network. Rather, the artificial intelligence and the computer vision and sonar and radar which allows it to become fully self driving, fully autonomous.

For example, the other day driving from LA to Orange County, about 50 minutes there, 50 minutes back — in total, close to two hours just for a simple family New Year’s dinner.

What was very concerning was on the drive there, I was already a bit sleepy, tired, difficult to focus when driving on the five, the 405, trying to keep in my lane and in traffic.

Then feasting on beef ribs, deep-fried beef intestines, driving back with mild food coma — having to crack the window up and down, pinch my ears and squeeze my thighs just to stay awake.

Simple thought: if a Tesla, even the simple $12,000 full self driving upgrade can save your life, it might be the best $12,000, $50,000 you ever spend in your life!

In other words:

Driving a Tesla can save your life, the life of your wife, your kids etc.

This is something that money *cannot* buy— to reverse your own personal death, and even more critical — the life of your kids and wife.

Honestly, the worst possible thing that could happen to you is not your own personal death, but the death of your child. I would sacrifice my own personal life in a heartbeat to save the life of Seneca. Why? He is my progeny; he is only three years old, and has his whole life to live. I have already led a full life, I would not really be so upset trading my life to save his.

Protection?

The ideal is you have a full self driving car, and you’re also 100% present. You don’t want to just put the car on 100% auto pilot full self driving, and watch a video on YouTube or something. The best approach is a hybrid centaur approach:

100% human supervision, and also having the machine the AI help assist you.

Technically if you think about it, the best Tesla to buy is a super base level Tesla model 3, no options, which is currently the base model Tesla model three in midnight silver, black interior, and you want to spend extra $12,000 on the full self driving capability.

Perhaps the best way to think about Tesla is that Tesla is an AI company!

Big Thoughts 

Speculative thoughts 

Hedge 

Short Rivian?

GREAT.

Becoming a True man

Becoming Rich

***

My prime curiosity: what are the physical limits of a single human body?

The only proper training for a child — the physical.

$77,000 for a Plaid .. how so cheap? Only 2 years old, 18,000 miles on the dash?

Plaid is the best car! Vlog.

Besides my beloved 2010 Prius, in white, the only other car I would even consider getting is the Tesla model S Plaid?

But the funny question: why would somebody trade it in at a Toyota dealership?

For example, my infamous thousand pound atlas lift. Currently doing some atlas lifts in my ghetto off the grid parking lot spot garage gym, and I know I could just buy more weights, and keep doing my atlas lift, 1001 pounds, 1200 pounds and beyond… Yet, maybe I am hungry for a new type of innovation?

1,000 pound atlas lift video

“White people make money don’t spend it, I’d rather buy 80 gold chains and go ignant (ignorant)”. – Kanye

Thinking about money:

Why does this matter?

Money is the thing that sets the whole world in motion, Publius Syrus

Do you know when people say that money makes the world go round? This is true.

So what is money anyways?

First, money is Fiat, faith-based. Fiat currency.

Currency is an interesting word and term because it evokes the feeling of water, movement, river streams and tide pools.

 so first of all, let us consider the notion of “income streams“. There’s this notion of “passive income”, I think first popularized or maybe coined by Tim Ferris, in his four hour work week. But I believe there to be a myth of passive income which means, income is and must be active. You cannot just sit on your butt and collect rent.

Also with rent, rent money is funny because even if you’re collecting rent, there’s a lot of work management you gotta do. For example, you have to fix and maintain your properties, make sure that your tenants pay their rent money, do background checks, deal with vacancies etc. It is one of those things that we as renters feel that the landlords have all the power, but in fact, assuming that you’re already wealthy, you actually might have more power as a renter than a landlord. Why? If you have a very good apartment and it is rent controlled, technically according to NASSIM TALEB you have greater optionality.

What that means is that you have a privilege to live somewhere, not an obligation. In theory you can leave whenever you want, and you’re not be held in to the property.

What would Aristotle, the ancient Greeks think?

In regards to the ancient Greeks, I think they may be the best model because starting from Roman times, their society already started to seep into degeneration, degeneracy. Even during Homer’s time, Homer was already saying that the ancient Greeks were falling into degeneracy, even when he was writing the Iliad. 

I am currently reading politics by Aristotle, and I find it to be a really fascinating read. Essentially what he says about household economics etc., as well as his thoughts on substantive versus speculative finance, real versus fake finance. He essentially says that real finance has to deal with animals and fruits of the earth, everything else is just imaginary.

Also, his thoughts on slavery. Essentially in ancient Greek times, ultimate goal was to have the laborers, slaves, craftsman, mechanics do all the dirty work, and the true Noble man and Freeman would just use all of his time and leisure for building virtue, philosophical thinking, and participating in politics, the politics of the local city state, the polis.

In modern day times we always think about politics like it pertains to international politics whatever. But the original term politics referred to the police, the immediate state. It was not focused on foreign affairs.

What is the ideal city state?

 What do you like about Aristotle and his writings is that he’s always talking about the ideal, and talks a lot about studying from the best of the past and the current, in order to formulate his thoughts. Also his writing is thread simple and clear, and very authoritative. For example, he quotes Plato and his Republic, and straight up says: “Plato is wrong.” Almost as hilarious and ballsy as when Nietzsche said: “Plato is boring.”

True financial freedom

Two things: pay rent money, pay for food and groceries, and basic utilities, like your Wi-Fi, gas and electric, gas for your car etc. Beyond that, what else do you really need? 

Occur fun experiment I’m doing is just paying for rent money by using the profit on my cryptocurrency speculations, simply using Coinbase, and profits from chain-link. For personal reference, I am currently 90% invested in chain-link, 10% in bitcoin. I believe this to be an interesting parallel for a risky yet “safe” Investments speculation, I’m thinking the next 30 or 40 years.

Also, in terms of our cryptocurrency assets, we don’t have more than 10% of our whole life savings tied into cryptocurrency. Therefore if it all goes to zero in theory, not really a big deal.

Decimation

A very interesting thing that I learned from NASSIM TALEB, maybe it was written in his book antifragile, is this notion of decimation. The basic idea is that in ancient Roman times the army, if cowardice was suspected, at random, 10% of the army would be put to death, it was a good way to prevent cowardice, especially one facing an impressive enemy. 

10% is interesting because in theory, if you lose 10% of your army, it is not enough to significantly lose your forces. A 10% loss is more than acceptable. For example let us say that you’re playing StarCraft, and you got an army of Zealots, all upgraded with dash and full armor upgrades, if you lose 10% of them, you could still kill the army of Zerg maybe if you do good enough micro management of the units. 

Finances is also similar — best to have 90% of your money in insanely secure bonds, CDs or stuff that might be inflation, even a simple savings account at 5%. Then put 10% of your money in extremely speculative cryptocurrency speculations, rather than putting 100% of your money and boring “medium risk” funds.

“Never trust a risk number even if it is right.”- TALEB 

---

Why we should not trust economists

First and foremost, economics, being an economist, is a new Hocus Pocus of modern day times. The reason why economist are so highly regarded is that currently speaking the new global religion is capital and capitalism.

Therefore as a consequence, the new modern-day priests are economist, and these fake Talking Heads on the TV screen.

The reason why we should trust no economist, is that the use fake numbers statistics and fake math to justify their thoughts and positions. Even needs silver, who everyone thinks is some sort of genius, miss predicted Trump getting elected into office. Why? Even if you’re a statistician with 99% accuracy, the one percent of the time you’re wrong, it could cost billions of dollars.

The reason why we should also not trust a con is that most of them are protected from the real world. Their opinions reports and thought pieces have no connection to reality. A lot of them are getting a fat salary and study paycheck from their tenure professor positions at Harvard Yale Princeton or whatever, and therefore the predictions thoughts they have, have no bearing on their own personal finances.

Two instead of trust individual individuals who actually have skin in the game, or money in the game. That is that your opinion is tied to your own personal bank account, if your opinion is right, you make the big bucks, but if you’re wrong, you lose your shirt.

Where I am coming from

What are the best things about growing up poor and when they seen your mom go through bankruptcy twice is that it’s some funny ways, it makes you more brazen, less fearful. Witnessing my mom go bankrupt, because my dad gambled away the rent money and we couldn’t pay rent, and she would just rack up credit card bills just to pay basic expenses, What I learned is at the end it’s not that bad. My mom got family support, community support, church support, and ultimately she was OK and the very end.

So for myself, the reason why I have such a high tolerance for risk is essentially nowadays, I live like a poor person. My New Year’s resolution is to buy nothing; or close to nothing, or just to not buy stuff that I consider silly or superfluous. Even acquiring free stuff; to me that is just more clutter in my mind in my life and my home; we new elite is about minimalism, even to a fault. 

Also, the American entrepreneurial spirits. Even my dad when he first came to the states, was extremely entrepreneurial. He started his own business when I was very very young, I think selling audio equipment. As he had a passion for music movies and film in cinema. I actually think his great ambition of life wants to become a great film Director. Even at a young age, I recall him watching Alfred Hitchcock the birds, Schindler’s list, and all these other great avant- Garde films.

So now, raising Seneca, he is currently two years, around 11 months old… His training is very simple; simple, osteria, Spartan. 99% of the day we are just at the local nature center, hiking on dirt paths, walking around, Doing gymnastics at the playground, even now, I bought some wooden gymnast rings which I just hang from my parking spot in the back of my apartment, and he could swing around it, and hang around it! It is pretty amazing.

Another thing I learned from Aristotle politics is that with children and child rearing, the logical order is first physical training and gymnastics, second is nutrition and feeding, third is the intellect. It seems some modern day tides we do the total opposite; we don’t really focus on physical exercise for kids, we just try to make them look smart. But book Smart is bad smart; real smart comes from the real world.



Instead, just try not to WASTE money on silly things.

We must begin by considering the population and the territory. The former should be as small as we can make it without sacrificing independence and the capacity for a moral life. The smaller the population the more manageable it will be.

Smaller population , easier to manage!

Thus the goal: easier to manage!

The territory must be large enough to supply the citizens with the means of living liberally and temperately, with an abundance of leisure. The city should be in a central position.

Abundance of leisure.

Communication with the sea is desirable for economic and military reasons; but the moral effects of sea trade are bad. If the state has a marine, the port town should be at some distance from the city.

In dealing with the land of the state we must distinguish between public demesnes and private estates. Both kinds of land should be tilled by slaves or barbarians of a servile disposition.

Slaves or barbarians to do dirty work.

Rule

The citizens should be educated to obey when young and to rule when they are older. Rule is their ultimate and highest function.

War for the sake of peace?

war is nothing but a means towards securing peace.

Start with bodily training

But education must follow the natural order of human development, beginning with the body, dealing next with the appetites, and training the intellect last of all.

Body, food and appetite, then intellect at the very end!

It is harder to preserve than to found a Democracy.

To preserve it we must prevent the poor from plundering the rich; we must not exhaust the public revenues by giving pay for the performance of public duties; we must prevent the growth of a pauper class.

Office should be made a burden, not a source of profit.

One of my passions!

The only life worth living is a life fueled and driven by passion!

Never force nothing!

For the sake of what?

VLG 1

VLOG

NO STOP

Audio

Podcast

To play is godlike.

Bountiful

Vlog

The newest you is the best you

audio

To manage multiple partners… a degenerate trend? Also just too much work!

I am very anti this weird “poly” trend. Polygamy —

Even consider, Zeus is married to Hera (although he is a bad guy and is always sleeping around)

1. No alcohol, quit alcohol, don’t drink alcohol
2. No loser Ferrari, Lamborghini whatever
3. No alcohol, weed, cigars… other “via positiva” things of consumption
4. No porn… or no rubbing it out to porn

Weird modern day male trends?

Also weird …

Why doesn’t anyone think of him as a bad guy or womanizer?

His personal life and death

What was Hugh Hefner sexual preference and history and habits

Female attitude to Hugh Hefner

Quotes by women in his life on how he had sex

How hugh had coitus by woman in life.. search it

Quotes on exploit

More on drug, drug rape and plastic surgery

Which drugs

What’s a quaaludes and dexedrine

How it work pharmacology

Quaaludes (Methaqualone) and Dexedrine (Dextroamphetamine) work differently due to their distinct pharmacological properties:

1. Quaaludes (Methaqualone): As a central nervous system depressant, Methaqualone acts by increasing the activity of the neurotransmitter GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) in the brain. GABA is an inhibitory neurotransmitter, meaning it reduces neuronal excitability. By enhancing GABA’s effects, Methaqualone produces sedation, relaxation, and can have hypnotic properties.
2. Dexedrine (Dextroamphetamine): As a stimulant, Dextroamphetamine works by increasing the levels of certain neurotransmitters in the brain, particularly dopamine and norepinephrine. These neurotransmitters are involved in attention, focus, and arousal. Dextroamphetamine stimulates their release and inhibits their reuptake, leading to increased alertness, concentration, and energy levels.

These differing mechanisms underline why Quaaludes are sedatives (depressing the nervous system) and Dexedrine is a stimulant (exciting the nervous system). Both have potential for abuse and side effects, necessitating careful medical supervision when used therapeutically.

Quaaludes (Methaqualone) and Dexedrine (Dextroamphetamine) are two distinct types of drugs:

1. Quaaludes (Methaqualone): Originally developed as a sedative and hypnotic medication, Quaaludes became popular as a recreational drug. They produce sedative and euphoric effects, leading to relaxation and a feeling of well-being. However, due to their high potential for abuse and dangerous side effects, they were banned in many countries by the 1980s.
2. Dexedrine (Dextroamphetamine): This is a stimulant medication primarily used to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and narcolepsy. It increases focus, attention, and energy levels. In medical settings, it’s used under strict supervision due to its potential for abuse and dependency. Recreational use can lead to heightened energy and euphoria, but also carries significant health risks.

Quaaludes, cocaine, and dexedrine are drugs with distinct effects:

1. Quaaludes (Methaqualone): Historically used as a sedative and hypnotic, quaaludes became popular for their sedative and euphoric effects. They were often used recreationally for their ability to induce relaxation and a sense of well-being. However, they can also impair judgment and motor coordination.
2. Cocaine: A powerful stimulant drug, cocaine significantly increases energy levels, alertness, and feelings of euphoria. It can also cause heightened sensations and a false sense of invincibility. Cocaine use carries a high risk of addiction and can lead to severe physical and mental health issues.
3. Dexedrine (Dextroamphetamine): Primarily used to treat ADHD and narcolepsy, dexedrine is a stimulant that increases focus, attention, and energy levels. In a recreational context, it can produce feelings of euphoria, increased confidence, and sociability. However, it can also lead to dependency and adverse health effects with misuse.

Each of these drugs has significant effects on the central nervous system and can be dangerous, especially when misused or taken in uncontrolled environments.

The allegations regarding drug use at the Playboy Mansion, as revealed in the “Secrets of Playboy” documentary series, include:

1. Quaaludes: Sondra Theodore, a former girlfriend of Hugh Hefner, and Holly Madison, another ex-girlfriend, claimed that quaaludes were popular at the Mansion. Hefner was accused of pretending not to be involved in hard drug use, but this was allegedly untrue oai_citation:1,Hugh Hefner’s Ex Claims She Was His ‘Drug Mule’ On Secrets Of Playboy.
2. Widespread Drug Availability: Theodore described the Playboy Mansion as having drugs everywhere, and she claimed to have been used as a “drug mule” for Hefner oai_citation:2,Hugh Hefner’s Ex Claims She Was His ‘Drug Mule’ On Secrets Of Playboy.
3. Collection of Drugs: Theodore also alleged that Hefner had a drawer full of drugs in his bedroom, and she was given a key to it. She was reportedly sent to pick up drugs for him on multiple occasions oai_citation:3,Hugh Hefner’s Ex Claims She Was His ‘Drug Mule’ On Secrets Of Playboy oai_citation:4,Hugh Hefner’s Ex Claims She Was His ‘Drug Mule’ On Secrets Of Playboy.
4. Cocaine and Dexedrine: Along with quaaludes, cocaine and dexedrine were also mentioned as common drugs at the Mansion. These allegations paint a picture of a culture of drug use within Hefner’s empire oai_citation:5,Hugh Hefner’s Ex Claims She Was His ‘Drug Mule’ On Secrets Of Playboy.

These accounts highlight serious allegations of drug use and manipulation at the Playboy Mansion, contributing to a troubling picture of the environment fostered by Hugh Hefner.

The “Secrets of Playboy” documentary series brought forward numerous allegations regarding Hugh Hefner’s conduct at the Playboy Mansion:

1. Sondra Theodore’s Account: Sondra Theodore, a girlfriend of Hefner’s from the late 1970s, described him as a “vampire” who “sucked the life out of all these young girls for decades” oai_citation:1, Secrets of Playboy ‘s Hugh Hefner Allegations Are Graphic .
2. Cult-Like Atmosphere and Drug Use: Holly Madison, another former girlfriend, described a “cult-like atmosphere” around Hefner. Allegations included rampant drug and alcohol use, with Hefner’s influence ensuring that what happened at the Playboy Mansion remained concealed oai_citation:2, Secrets of Playboy ‘s Hugh Hefner Allegations Are Graphic .
3. Forced Sexual Encounters and Pressured Plastic Surgery: Women reported being forced into sex with Hefner and sometimes others, often without protection. Additionally, there were allegations of women being pressured to undergo plastic surgery, and Hefner berating them over their appearance oai_citation:3, Secrets of Playboy ‘s Hugh Hefner Allegations Are Graphic .
4. Use of Blackmail and Surveillance: Hefner allegedly used hidden cameras around the Playboy Mansion to capture photos and videos of sexual acts, which he then used for blackmail. Madison and Crystal Hefner (Hugh’s widow) confirmed the existence of such materials oai_citation:4, Secrets of Playboy ‘s Hugh Hefner Allegations Are Graphic .

These accounts depict a troubling and oppressive environment at the Playboy Mansion, far removed from the public image of glamour and consent that was often portrayed.

Several women who were involved with Hugh Hefner and the Playboy Mansion have shared their experiences, many of which highlight exploitation and negative treatment:

1. Holly Madison: She described the Playboy mystique as “all a lie,” suggesting that the lifestyle wasn’t about women’s empowerment but rather about breaking down women oai_citation:1,Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Empire Was Built on the Abuse of Women – Ms. Magazine.
2. Jennifer Saginor: Growing up in the Playboy Mansion, Saginor recalled seeing dazed “girls” on the floor, indicating that the environment was not empowering but rather detrimental to women oai_citation:2,Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Empire Was Built on the Abuse of Women – Ms. Magazine.
3. Playboy Mansion’s Reality: The “Secrets of Playboy” documentary revealed that the Playboy Mansion was a place where women were drugged and raped, with Hefner exerting control over their lives and imposing strict rules and expectations, including compulsory plastic surgery oai_citation:3,Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Empire Was Built on the Abuse of Women – Ms. Magazine.
4. Surveillance and Control: Holly Madison also reported that Hefner used surveillance to collect compromising images of women, creating a culture of fear among those who lived there. She described her coping mechanism as heavy drinking due to the oppressive environment oai_citation:4,Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Empire Was Built on the Abuse of Women – Ms. Magazine.
5. Linda Marchiano: Marchiano, known for her role in “Deep Throat,” was forced into bestiality, illustrating the extreme and abusive treatment some women endured oai_citation:5,Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Empire Was Built on the Abuse of Women – Ms. Magazine.

These accounts paint a picture of a culture at the Playboy Mansion that was far from the glamorous image often portrayed, highlighting serious issues of exploitation and abuse.

While specific details about Hugh Hefner’s sexual experiences are not publicly documented in explicit terms, various women who were part of his life have shared their perspectives on their relationships with him:

1. Crystal Hefner’s Experience: Crystal Hefner, who married Hugh in 2012, initially implied that the physical aspect of their relationship was less than satisfying, though she later retracted these statements oai_citation:1,Inside Crystal Hefner’s Relationship With Hugh Hefner. She described the experience of living at the Playboy Mansion and sharing Hugh with other women, indicating that she was aware of his lifestyle and accepted it oai_citation:2,Inside Crystal Hefner’s Relationship With Hugh Hefner.
2. Decision to Marry: Crystal explained that her decision to marry Hugh was complicated, especially considering she wasn’t the only woman in his life. This dynamic was a factor in their initial breakup before their eventual marriage oai_citation:3,Inside Crystal Hefner’s Relationship With Hugh Hefner. After they married, she noted a significant change in Hefner, claiming he treated her with respect and that their relationship improved oai_citation:4,Inside Crystal Hefner’s Relationship With Hugh Hefner.
3. Life After Hugh’s Death: Following Hugh’s death in 2017, Crystal reflected on their marriage, expressing that she felt lost and ingrained in his world to the extent of losing her own identity. This highlights the complexities of their relationship and her dependence on him oai_citation:5,Inside Crystal Hefner’s Relationship With Hugh Hefner.
4. “Secrets of Playboy” Documentary: The release of the “Secrets of Playboy” documentary series brought forward many stories from women involved with Hugh Hefner and the Playboy empire. Crystal mentioned feeling exploited in some ways during her time at the mansion, indicating a more complicated and nuanced relationship than what appeared publicly oai_citation:6,Inside Crystal Hefner’s Relationship With Hugh Hefner.

These accounts provide insight into the personal experiences and dynamics of Hugh Hefner’s relationships, showcasing the multifaceted nature of his interactions with women in his life.

Hugh Hefner, throughout his life and career, was quite open about his sexual preferences and history, although much of what is known comes from his own accounts, media portrayals, and anecdotes from those who knew him.

Sexual Preference

• Heterosexual: Hefner publicly identified as heterosexual. His relationships and marriages were with women, and Playboy magazine, which he founded, predominantly featured female models catering to a heterosexual male audience.

Sexual History and Habits

• Multiple Relationships: Hefner was known for having multiple simultaneous relationships, particularly during certain periods of his life. This was part of his public persona and something he did not shy away from discussing.
• Marriages: He was married three times – to Mildred Williams, Kimberley Conrad, and Crystal Harris. His marriages, especially the first, were reportedly affected by his infidelity.
• Playboy Mansion Lifestyle: The Playboy Mansion, Hefner’s residence, was famous for its parties and a libertine lifestyle. Hefner lived there with numerous girlfriends and Playmates over the years. The mansion became a symbol of his sexual openness and hedonistic lifestyle.
• Public Statements: Hefner often spoke about sex and sexuality in interviews and writings. He presented himself as a proponent of sexual freedom and liberation, which was also a key theme in Playboy magazine.
• Criticism and Controversy: His lifestyle and the culture he promoted through Playboy were not without criticism. Some accused him of objectifying women, while others credited him with contributing to the sexual revolution and more open discussions about sexuality.

Legacy Regarding Sexuality

• Sexual Revolution Figure: Hefner is often associated with the sexual revolution of the 1960s. He advocated for loosening sexual norms and was a vocal proponent of sexual freedom.
• Complex Legacy: His legacy is complex, with some viewing him as a champion of sexual liberation and free speech, while others criticize him for perpetuating a culture that objectified and commodified women’s bodies.

It’s important to note that much of what is known about Hefner’s private life comes from his self-representations and media portrayals, which can be subjective and may not provide a complete picture. His lifestyle and views were both reflective of and influential on the changing attitudes towards sexuality in the 20th and early 21st centuries.

Female attitudes towards Hugh Hefner have been varied and complex, reflecting the diverse perspectives on his influence and legacy.

1. Criticism for Objectification: Many feminists and women’s rights advocates have criticized Hefner for objectifying women, particularly through his magazine, Playboy, which often portrayed women as sexual objects. This criticism is part of a larger discourse on the portrayal of women in media and its impact on societal views of women.
2. Acknowledgment of Sexual Liberation: On the other hand, some women have acknowledged Hefner’s role in the sexual revolution. They see his work as having contributed to a more open discussion and expression of sexuality, which, in some views, has been empowering.
3. Contrasting Views Among Playboy Models: The women who worked with Hefner, including Playboy models and Playmates, have expressed a range of opinions. Some have spoken fondly of him, citing his professionalism and positive impact on their careers. Others have criticized their experiences, pointing to issues of exploitation or uncomfortable encounters.
4. Role in Civil Rights and Free Speech Advocacy: Hefner was also known for his advocacy in areas like civil rights and free speech. Some women recognize and appreciate these efforts, seeing him as a complex figure with both positive and negative aspects.
5. Changing Perceptions Over Time: Perceptions of Hefner have also evolved over time. What was once seen as progressive or liberating in one era may be viewed more critically in another, as societal attitudes towards gender, sexuality, and women’s rights continue to evolve.

In summary, women’s views on Hugh Hefner range from critical to appreciative, reflecting the multifaceted nature of his legacy and the evolving conversation around gender and sexuality.

Hugh Hefner, the founder of Playboy magazine, was a prominent and often controversial figure, known for his influence on media, culture, and sexual attitudes. His personal life was as high-profile and colorful as his professional life.

Personal Life

• Marriages: Hefner was married three times. His first marriage was to Mildred Williams in 1949, ending in divorce in 1959. His second marriage was to Kimberley Conrad in 1989, with whom he had two sons. They separated in 1998 and eventually divorced. His third marriage was to Crystal Harris in 2012.
• Children: He had four children – Christie and David from his first marriage, and Marston and Cooper from his second marriage.
• The Playboy Mansion: Hefner was famous for his residence, the Playboy Mansion, in Los Angeles, which became synonymous with lavish parties and a libertine lifestyle.
• Public Persona: He was known for his silk pajamas and smoking jacket, embodying the lifestyle promoted by his magazine. He was both criticized and praised for his open approach to sexuality and the lifestyle he represented.
• Activism and Advocacy: Beyond entertainment, Hefner was also an advocate for various social and political causes, including First Amendment rights, sexual liberation, and civil rights.

Death

• Date and Cause: Hugh Hefner passed away on September 27, 2017, at the age of 91. The cause of death was sepsis secondary to an E. coli infection.
• Legacy: At his death, Hefner was remembered as a figure who significantly influenced American culture and media. His role in the sexual revolution of the 1960s, his business successes with Playboy, and his outspoken views on social issues left a lasting impact.
• Reactions: His death elicited a wide range of reactions, reflecting the complex and often divisive nature of his legacy. While many praised his contributions to free speech and sexual liberation, others criticized the objectification of women associated with his work.

Hefner’s life, characterized by its glamour, controversies, and impact on culture and media, continued to be a topic of interest and debate even after his passing.

Hugh Hefner, the founder of Playboy magazine, was known for his provocative and often controversial statements. Here are some notable quotes attributed to him:

1. “Life is too short to be living somebody else’s dream.” This quote reflects Hefner’s philosophy of individualism and living life on one’s own terms oai_citation:1,TOP 25 QUOTES BY HUGH HEFNER (of 150) | A-Z Quotes.
2. “Picasso had his pink period and his blue period. I am in my blonde period right now.” This humorous remark showcases Hefner’s well-known preference for blondes and his tendency to draw analogies between his life and art oai_citation:2,Hugh Hefner Quotes – BrainyQuote.
3. “Sex is the driving force on the planet. We should embrace it, not see it as the enemy.” This quote illustrates Hefner’s open and embracing attitude towards sexuality, which was a central theme of his life and work oai_citation:3,Hugh Hefner Quotes to Remember Playboy Founder – Newsweek.
4. “In my own words, I played some significant part in changing the social-sexual values of our time. I had a lot of fun in the process.” Here, Hefner acknowledges his role in the sexual revolution and the impact of his work on society oai_citation:4,Top 10 Hugh Hefner Quotes – BrainyQuote.
5. “I’m never going to grow up. Staying young is what it is all about for me.” This quote reflects Hefner’s philosophy of youthfulness and his approach to life, which emphasized maintaining a youthful spirit oai_citation:5,65 Hugh Hefner Quotes On Success In Life – OverallMotivation.

These quotes offer a glimpse into Hugh Hefner’s mindset and the principles that guided his life and career.

Pornography … pornos just means prostitute.

But if you create your own beautiful women in ChatGPT, DALL-E 3… then is it still porn? No.

Nothing wrong with porn morally or ethically … the bigger issue is online advertising and porn (weird stuff), and also … just issues with pirating porn (Pirate Bay and using torrents and VPN’s whatever). Just think —

How many Google engineers watch porn in secret, at home, at night … when nobody is home, when they turn on their private VPN?

Easy spot — open up their MacBook Pro, and see if they habe uTorrent or Transmission or whatever torrenting app on their Applications folder.

Anyways my simple idea:

If you need some sort of sexual stimuli or stimulus, just hit the gym and talk to the pretty ladies, or just join a hot yoga studio and chat with the pretty women there!

It doesn’t need to be sexual.

hot8yoga is good, even corepoweryoga

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