Empower

empower

empower

You’re living in that 21st century,
futuristic fly shit

You got a NASA computer in your back pocket

You can do anything
as long as you put your mind to it

You have all that POWER;
don’t waste your hours.

Sometimes life will rope-a-dope you,
But stick to your dreams, like superglue

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Be like a Picasso Baby and paint your own reality,
Because anything you dream; you can make it be.

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Fuck what others think of you;
Just do you, and share your flowers.

Photograph your own reality
Anything is interesting enough,
as long as you put your heart in it.

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Fuck an aperture and shutter speed,
Just shoot whatever and let your soul breathe

Don’t care about the likes,
as long as your photos remove the strife
from your life.

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Make photos to uplift your soul,
And make yourself smile.

Live a beautiful life.


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In your heart you got all that power,
Let it bloom and just count the flowers
Never doubt yourself; you’re empowered.
Know that, the world is ours.

Dear friend,

You have all this power hidden in your heart and soul — you want to let it free.

## 1. You are already an artist

First of all,

Know that you have a beautiful seed in your heart. It is ready to bloom.

You have a great inner-light. You need to let it shine.

You were put on this earth for a great destiny.

You are matter inert. You just need to put your life into action.

## 2. Achieve your personal maximum

You are capable of epic shit in life. Life is short, why waste it trying to live according to the expectations of others?

Expect the best of yourself. And achieve your fullest potential.

But how?

## 3. Take the fullest advantage of the internet and digital tools

I think the most empowering thing ever invented for humankind was the internet. The internet has allowed you to express yourself creatively, and potentially reach millions (if not billions) of people.

With digital tools, your creativity and limit is boundless.

There are no longer any more gatekeepers.

If you want to start your own TV program, you can make a YouTube channel.

If you want to make your own music, you have Garageband or all these free apps.

If you want to publish a book, you can publish it via Kindle on the “KDP” platform. Not only publish an e-book, but publish a ‘real’ paper-back book.

If you want to start your own business, all you need is a PayPal account to accept money, and some sort of product to sell online — whether videos, ebooks, or any other product.

You can start your own Etsy store to sell your handmade goods. You can use Medium.com to publish blog posts to a wide audience. You can use Instagram to share your photos with the world. You can use Facebook to publish and share your ideas.

If you have a laptop or a smartphone, you have access to all the tools you need to create.

## 4. Empower yourself by making stuff

I feel one of the best ways to empower ourselves is to actually create.

Creativity isn’t a concept. Creativity is the action of *creating*. You cannot be creative without creating.

What can you create today?

When I was a kid, my mom gave me a blank piece of paper and some crayons. I was creative, and created my own masterpieces.

When I was a high schooler, I had Xanga and Myspace— and would blog my random thoughts about life.

In college, I had a digital camera. I captured the beauty all around me, and then after I graduated, I started a blog using wordpress.org to publish my personal learnings on street photography. I used social media tools to spread my ideas, far and wide, for free.

## 5. Let your inner-spirit sing

You already have all these hidden treasures inside of you. You just need to let it out.

Don’t have fear to share your ideas, or any of your artistic creations. Sharing is caring. It can be fun.

I know that I gain confidence in myself every time I make something. I gain confidence in myself when I create a new beat for myself in Garageband. I gain confidence when I publish something new to my blog, a new blog post on Medium, a new video I upload to YouTube, or share some random images on Tumblr.

## 6. Express yourself through art

There is no good or bad art. Only authentic or inauthentic.

Art is self-expression. About sharing your perspective with the rest of the world. There is no right or wrong way to do it.

The only way you can let your inner-artist thrive is to keep creating art. To not be afraid of how others might judge you. To know that if you are empowering at least 1 other person, you are doing your job as an artist.

## 7. Art is always a work in progress

You will never ‘arrive’ at being a master artist. Even Picasso said as he got older, he tried to become more child-like.

Each time you create a piece of art, it is an ‘attempt.’ Just like how Montaigne wrote ‘essays’ — an essay just means an ‘attempt.’

Every time you click the shutter, you are just making an attempt to create a beautiful image. Every time you put your fingers to the keyboard, you are attempting to create an idea. Every time you put your pencil to the paper, you are attempting a piece of art.

There is no perfection in art. So let us get that silly concept out of our mind. There are only attempts.

## 8. Practical tips to empower yourself through art

Some practical tips on self-empowerment through art:

1. **Publish one thing everyday**: Upload 1 photo everyday, 1 blog post everyday, 1 YouTube video everyday, 1 personal essay, or whatever. Getting in the habit of publishing or uploading or sharing something you created, will help you build self-confidence.
2. **Listen to empowering music**: Music moves and stirs the human soul. Listen to music that pumps you up and empowers you. Whether that be rock music, classical music, hip hop music — EDM, whatever. I personally like to write and create to the beat of the drums.
3. **Create the art you want to see**: Write a personal essay on your life, and make it as real, authentic, and raw as possible. Make photos you would like to see. Write blog posts which you would like to read. Make yourself your best audience.

Never stop making art.

Always,
Eric