EK

I believe that the best mind, or mindstate is a zen mind. But how do we do it? Some thoughts:

Real monks drink coffee and green tea

One of my very positive experiences being in Hadong South Korea was meeting this secular Zen monk, who is Korean. He told me that he drinks coffee and green tea. Also he has a smartphone, and a car. He isn’t a pretentious “woke” monk, and also not part of a monastery. He is almost like a monk entrepreneur, who teaches meditation to local folks.

What does it mean to meditate?

To meditate literally means to think (meditor). Then why is it that when we westerners think about meditation, we assume that one has to sit lotus pose, close your eyes, and do weird chanting?

Med— to measure, to give advice, to heal. The word meditate is also probably the same “med” as medicine.

I believe in the concept of meditation from a purely secular perspective. That, through activity and movement, walking and being on our legs, we think and meditate the best. And what is the point of meditation? I think it is to gain a deeper understanding of things.

What is enlightenment anyways? Enlightenment is simply gaining more insight of yourself and your life purpose and direction. Meditation isn’t a state in which you turn golden, and levitate off the floor. Enlightenment should be seen as a purely intellectual one, gaining enlightenment is just gaining self-confidence. Enlightenment from a purely etymological perspective means turning on the lights. That before, you didn’t think as critically and just followed the motions, and once you became enlightened, you gained a greater self-confidence in your life.

Philosopher?

Isn’t it funny that when we think of monks, or Buddhist people, we don’t think of them as philosophers?

Similarly speaking, why don’t we ever think of Jesus as a philosopher?

Is it possible to be a modern day philosopher?

Of course! All children are born philosophers, because they desire to seek a greater wisdom and understanding of things. Anybody who likes to ask the question “why“ is a philosopher.

And no, you do not need to study philosophy in school or get a philosophy degree. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever had an interesting conversation with somebody who formally studied philosophy, much worse got his or her PhD in philosophy. Even worse, philosophy professors tend to be bizarre people.

Why think philosophically?

First of all, I think it makes life better, and also more efficient. For example, the two most expensive things that a person will ever spend in their life includes either buying a home, and or buying a car. A philosopher is interesting, because they will think to themselves:

Should I buy a home? Why buy a home? What are the real upsides and downsides of owning a home?

With cars,

Do I even need a car in the first place? And will buying an exotic car actually make me more sexy and interesting?

After much contemplation on my end, I positively do not desire homeownership, and I do not even wish homeownership upon my worst enemy. Why? Millions upon millions of headaches, and hateful trips to Home Depot.

With cars, honestly they all suck. A Tesla car probably sucks the least, but even now, I don’t desire a Tesla. In fact, I do not desire to own any car. Why? If you own a car, your car owns you. Even if somebody offered to gift me a Lamborghini Aventador with this scissor doors for free, the intelligent thing is to not accept it. Why? The stress and expense of maintaining it, and also, the paranoia of just owning it. For example, would you drive a Lamborghini in the hood? No. The real risk that somebody might rob you at gunpoint point, or it could even get you killed.

If for some reason I wanted the worlds best car, it would probably be some sort of high-end Hyundai Genesis, as nobody has any idea what it is, or cares. Yet the interior design and comfort is unparalleled.

Even a funny idea I had, maybe the best luxury car would be a Rolls-Royce, which didn’t look like a Rolls-Royce on the outside. That you spent money to get rid of the Rolls-Royce spirit of ecstasy hood emblem, and also got rid of all the Rolls-Royce badging. A Rolls-Royce sleeper, that maybe looked more like a Chrysler on the outside, but was a Rolls-Royce on the inside.

Practical thoughts

To achieve and gain as in mind is all via negativa or, getting rid of things.

For example, don’t use email, don’t have email or any social media apps or YouTube installed on your phone, no social media, no podcast, and be very very very selective on reading books. Even reading too much books is bad.

Also, health and strength. To be able to sleep 8 to 12 hours a night, and also have great muscular strength. Weightlifting at the gym.

Disable all the notifications on your phone. Only enable FaceTime, so if your wife really needs to contact you, she could just FaceTime you.

Also, no text messaging. If you really just want to chat with a friend, just FaceTime them instead.

The true zen mind would just be not be owning a phone. I didn’t own a phone for almost 2 years when I lived in Vietnam, and it was the most sublime mindset I have ever had in my life. But now that I got a kid, and emergencies could happen, I try to use my iPhone SE as little as humanly possible, and even when I go out to the park and play with Seneca, I just lock it in the glove compartment when I leave, because I know that I will easily get distracted.

Use Google products to a minimum

I am very anti-Google Chrome. I don’t have it installed on any of my devices, I just use Safari instead.

Why? The ultimate killer of your mind and focus is advertisements and advertising. Let us not forget that Google is an advertising company, and makes 99% of her profits through Google search, and advertising.

For example, Android. I am certain that the low-key plan of Android is to simply find more intelligent ways to deliver more relevant advertisements to you. For example when I was testing the Google Pixel, I cannot get rid of the Google search bar on the phone. Why? What Google wants you to do is to just google everything, and in between your searches, deliver you relevant advertisements.

Even nowadays, I have been trying to use Apple Maps over Google maps. Why? Google maps now has all of these distracting advertisements in it, which distracts me. While Apple Maps is the inferior service, at least it doesn’t have advertisements in it.

Even a philosophical thought, if you have the option of an inferior experience with no advertisements, or a superior experience with advertisements, choose the inferior option with no advertisements. This is superior for your zen mind.

Once again, I believe that all advertisements are bad for your mind. The more advertising you are subjected to, the less zen your mind.

A big culprit nowadays is magazines, and newspapers. I hate magazines, because 90% of it is just advertisements.

Also as a rule, do not trust any media source which is supported by advertising. That includes the TV news, YouTube, podcast, etc. Why? If a person or an agency or a media platform is supported by advertising, it is not in their best interest to tell you honest relevant things, as what you desire to do is to maximize your eyeball watching time, which shifts the news towards things which are more sensational.

Intermittent fasting

Also, a massively beneficial thing to think better is intermittent fasting, which means don’t eat breakfast or lunch, only dinner. In fact, it seems like a good rule to only eat food after Seneca has gone to sleep.

Why is intermittent fasting good for having a zen mind? The reason is once you eat something during the day, the insulin signaling and hormonal changes which happen, which often lead to food coma.

Just as an experiment, when it is lunchtime, eat all of the pasta and bread that you can for lunch, and see how sleepy you get after.

If you want a permanently elevated mind throughout the day, just drink a lot of water, black coffee, and green tea. First thing in the morning I like having many espressos, and powdered matcha green tea. And as the day progresses, maybe a few espresso‘s here and there, some more water, and some more bagged green tea.

What is the end?

The end of having a zen mind is to have more Zen and focus and calm, an elevated calm and insouciance about things, in order to live a happier, stronger, and more focused and productive life.

ERIC

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Think more zen

If you want the Zen photography experience of a lifetime, register intent for my first ever HADONG South Korea Zen photography retreat, June 19-23rd, 2023 (Monday to Friday).

ERIC KIM WORKSHOPS >

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Zen Resources

1. Zen articles
2. Minimalism articles

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Zen Vlogs

1. Zen mind vlog

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Zen photography book

PDF DOWNLOAD

Google drive link

Read here.

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Zen Tools

1. iPad Pro (small size)
2. Ricoh GR IIIX
3. GOPRO HERO — shoot 24FPS 1080p.

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Share the zen thoughts

If you have a friend who is passionate about Zen or minimalism, feel free to forward this to them!

ERIC

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Zen thoughts

1. You never step into the same river twice — Heraclitus
2. “Even a hair casts its own shadow”— (this means, even the smallest detail is significant) — Publilius Syrus

EK

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I believe that the best mind, or mindstate is a zen mind. But how do we do it? Some thoughts:

Real monks drink coffee and green tea

One of my very positive experiences being in Hadong South Korea was meeting this secular Zen monk, who is Korean. He told me that he drinks coffee and green tea. Also he has a smartphone, and a car. He isn’t a pretentious “woke” monk, and also not part of a monastery. He is almost like a monk entrepreneur, who teaches meditation to local folks.

What does it mean to meditate?

To meditate literally means to think (meditor). Then why is it that when we westerners think about meditation, we assume that one has to sit lotus pose, close your eyes, and do weird chanting?

Med— to measure, to give advice, to heal. The word meditate is also probably the same “med” as medicine.

I believe in the concept of meditation from a purely secular perspective. That, through activity and movement, walking and being on our legs, we think and meditate the best. And what is the point of meditation? I think it is to gain a deeper understanding of things.

What is enlightenment anyways? Enlightenment is simply gaining more insight of yourself and your life purpose and direction. Meditation isn’t a state in which you turn golden, and levitate off the floor. Enlightenment should be seen as a purely intellectual one, gaining enlightenment is just gaining self-confidence. Enlightenment from a purely etymological perspective means turning on the lights. That before, you didn’t think as critically and just followed the motions, and once you became enlightened, you gained a greater self-confidence in your life.

Philosopher?

Isn’t it funny that when we think of monks, or Buddhist people, we don’t think of them as philosophers?

Similarly speaking, why don’t we ever think of Jesus as a philosopher?

Is it possible to be a modern day philosopher?

Of course! All children are born philosophers, because they desire to seek a greater wisdom and understanding of things. Anybody who likes to ask the question “why“ is a philosopher.

And no, you do not need to study philosophy in school or get a philosophy degree. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever had an interesting conversation with somebody who formally studied philosophy, much worse got his or her PhD in philosophy. Even worse, philosophy professors tend to be bizarre people.

Why think philosophically?

First of all, I think it makes life better, and also more efficient. For example, the two most expensive things that a person will ever spend in their life includes either buying a home, and or buying a car. A philosopher is interesting, because they will think to themselves:

Should I buy a home? Why buy a home? What are the real upsides and downsides of owning a home?

With cars,

Do I even need a car in the first place? And will buying an exotic car actually make me more sexy and interesting?

After much contemplation on my end, I positively do not desire homeownership, and I do not even wish homeownership upon my worst enemy. Why? Millions upon millions of headaches, and hateful trips to Home Depot.

With cars, honestly they all suck. A Tesla car probably sucks the least, but even now, I don’t desire a Tesla. In fact, I do not desire to own any car. Why? If you own a car, your car owns you. Even if somebody offered to gift me a Lamborghini Aventador with this scissor doors for free, the intelligent thing is to not accept it. Why? The stress and expense of maintaining it, and also, the paranoia of just owning it. For example, would you drive a Lamborghini in the hood? No. The real risk that somebody might rob you at gunpoint point, or it could even get you killed.

If for some reason I wanted the worlds best car, it would probably be some sort of high-end Hyundai Genesis, as nobody has any idea what it is, or cares. Yet the interior design and comfort is unparalleled.

Even a funny idea I had, maybe the best luxury car would be a Rolls-Royce, which didn’t look like a Rolls-Royce on the outside. That you spent money to get rid of the Rolls-Royce spirit of ecstasy hood emblem, and also got rid of all the Rolls-Royce badging. A Rolls-Royce sleeper, that maybe looked more like a Chrysler on the outside, but was a Rolls-Royce on the inside.

Practical thoughts

To achieve and gain as in mind is all via negativa or, getting rid of things.

For example, don’t use email, don’t have email or any social media apps or YouTube installed on your phone, no social media, no podcast, and be very very very selective on reading books. Even reading too much books is bad.

Also, health and strength. To be able to sleep 8 to 12 hours a night, and also have great muscular strength. Weightlifting at the gym.

Disable all the notifications on your phone. Only enable FaceTime, so if your wife really needs to contact you, she could just FaceTime you.

Also, no text messaging. If you really just want to chat with a friend, just FaceTime them instead.

The true zen mind would just be not be owning a phone. I didn’t own a phone for almost 2 years when I lived in Vietnam, and it was the most sublime mindset I have ever had in my life. But now that I got a kid, and emergencies could happen, I try to use my iPhone SE as little as humanly possible, and even when I go out to the park and play with Seneca, I just lock it in the glove compartment when I leave, because I know that I will easily get distracted.

Use Google products to a minimum

I am very anti-Google Chrome. I don’t have it installed on any of my devices, I just use Safari instead.

Why? The ultimate killer of your mind and focus is advertisements and advertising. Let us not forget that Google is an advertising company, and makes 99% of her profits through Google search, and advertising.

For example, Android. I am certain that the low-key plan of Android is to simply find more intelligent ways to deliver more relevant advertisements to you. For example when I was testing the Google Pixel, I cannot get rid of the Google search bar on the phone. Why? What Google wants you to do is to just google everything, and in between your searches, deliver you relevant advertisements.

Even nowadays, I have been trying to use Apple Maps over Google maps. Why? Google maps now has all of these distracting advertisements in it, which distracts me. While Apple Maps is the inferior service, at least it doesn’t have advertisements in it.

Even a philosophical thought, if you have the option of an inferior experience with no advertisements, or a superior experience with advertisements, choose the inferior option with no advertisements. This is superior for your zen mind.

Once again, I believe that all advertisements are bad for your mind. The more advertising you are subjected to, the less zen your mind.

A big culprit nowadays is magazines, and newspapers. I hate magazines, because 90% of it is just advertisements.

Also as a rule, do not trust any media source which is supported by advertising. That includes the TV news, YouTube, podcast, etc. Why? If a person or an agency or a media platform is supported by advertising, it is not in their best interest to tell you honest relevant things, as what you desire to do is to maximize your eyeball watching time, which shifts the news towards things which are more sensational.

Intermittent fasting

Jesus — a true badass. Why don’t we ever think of Jesus as a philosopher, whose life teachings and actions was in accordance with his philosophy and beliefs?

PHILOSOPHY BY KIM

Essays by KIM

1. To Become Greater, You Must Become *LESS* Productive!
2. Imperfect Beauty
3. The Philosophy of Pleasure
4. What Interests You?
5. Anti Theory of Everything
6. Become?
7. STRONGER OR NOT?
8. Carte Blanche Ideals
9. CHOOSE JOY
10. Don’t Judge Your Impulses
11. On Becoming Less Human
12. COWARDICE.
13. The Philosophy of Futurism
14. PHILOSOPHY IS VALUE-SETTING
15. PHILOSOPHY IS NOT LIFESTYLE
16. WHY STANDARDIZATION IS BAD.
17. YOUR OWN TABLE OF VALUES.
18. RETRO IS BAD.
19. INSANELY LOFTY THOUGHTS.
20. Strive to *Lose* Weight, Not *Gain* Weight
21. DIABLO II ANALOGIES FOR REAL LIFE.
22. If You Know Your *WHY* You Can Discover Any *HOW*
23. Life is Too Short to Be Miserable
24. What Consumption Takes Skill?
25. OFF THE GRID.
26. REALITY IS CRUEL.
27. Pain is Information
28. WHY REMOVE VULGARITY AND DISORDER FROM OUR EYES?
29. AUTOTELIC.
30. UNPLUG.
31. How to Become a Philosopher
32. SUBOPTIMAL IS OPTIMAL
33. THE LUST FOR MORE.
34. TO DO IS TO BECOME.
35. IN PRAISE OF AGGRESSIVE.
36. THE PHILOSOPHY OF OPTIMISM
37. OUR PHILOSOPHICAL WILL TO EXISTENCE
38. Is Hope a Vice?
39. MOVE MEAN
40. Carte Blanche Ideals
41. One Interesting Thought
42. What Lasts? What Doesn’t Last?
43. A WOUND STIMULATES THE RECUPERATIVE POWERS
44. Children & Purpose
45. Thoughts on Becoming a Parent
46. Where Does Our Desire to Upgrade Come From?
47. WE ALWAYS NEED SOMETHING FURTHER TO ASPIRE TO.
48. Self-Task Yourself an Awesome Mission in Life
49. Differentiation vs Equalization
50. My Passion to *Become* Something More
51. No Aesthetic or Ethos is Forever
52. What is Your Higher Purpose in Life?
53. IT WILL NEVER SATISFY YOU.
54. How to Decide
55. Things You *Want* to Do vs Things You *MUST* Do
56. Towards a More Beautiful Mode of Existence and Future
57. EXTREME GRATITUDE.
58. AMAP (As Much as Possible) or None.
59. Why or How Does it Matter?
60. The Philosophy of Time and Events
61. How *Not* to Resent
62. FORWARD LOOKING
63. DOMAIN FLEXIBILITY.
64. The Miracle of Human Growth
65. EXTREME ADAPTATION.
66. Why Plan?
67. You Don’t Need to Justify Yourself
68. The Philosophy of Ego
69. True vs False Passions
70. How to Achieve Tranquility
71. On Making Your Own Philosophy
72. The Purpose of Life is to Create New Life
73. Think On!
74. The Wisdom of Doing Nothing
75. Congruency
76. My Thoughts on Meditation
77. The Philosophy of Purpose
78. Emulate Yourself
79. Good Fear, Bad Fear
80. For the Betterment of Humanity or Just Yourself?
81. What you *really* believe in and care for is manifested through your actions (or non-actions)
82. Why Culture is Your Enemy
83. YOUR EXPERIENCES ARE KING.
84. LIFE IS INHERENTLY GOOD.
85. Artistic, Physical, and Philosophical Muscles
86. All New Experiences are Good Experiences
87. What is the Purpose of X?
88. UTILITY.
89. Philosophy is a Luxury
90. The Attempt is More Interesting than the Result
91. Joyfulness vs “Happiness”
92. Effectiveness Over Happiness
93. Self Actualization
94. MAXIMAL ENGAGEMENT
95. Life & Pain
96. On Living Every Day with No Regret
97. Learn as if you’re going to live forever, live as if you’re going to die tomorrow
98. Live Every Day Like it Were the Last Day of Your Life
99. Self-Determination
100. FALSE GRATITUDE vs REAL GRATITUDE
101. HOW TO LIVE MORE
102. THE UPSIDE OF TRAGEDY
103. Satisfaction is a Sucker’s Game
104. Supreme Repose
105. WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF LIFE? According to ERIC KIM
106. STUBBORN, FLEXIBLE
107. EVERYTHING HAPPENS AS IT *SHOULD* HAVE HAD HAPPENED
108. Good Addiction, Bad Addiction?
109. What is the Best Life?
110. The Philosophy of Thinking
111. The Philosophy of Conspiracies
112. Conspiracies
113. Growth
114. Skepticism.
115. What Do You Really Want Out of Life?
116. Seem or Be?
117. Learn Through Pain
118. Respect Yourself
119. In Praise of Elitism
120. Why Independent Thinking?
121. I Will Never Die
122. Bitter is Better
123. The Genesis of Nihilism and Existential Dread
124. The Ethics of Personal Enrichment
125. Good vs Not Good
126. Punished by Privilege
127. Abstinence Over Moderation
128. Just Leave Others Alone
129. You Can Only Critique that Which You Truly Understand and Love
130. ERIC KIM Critique of Metaphysics
131. Only Trust Philosophers Who Deadlift
132. Heuristic: If Someone Talks Shit About Others Behind Their Back, Most Likely They’re Also Talking Shit About You Behind Your Back
133. Virtue is a Privilege
134. What Are Your Life Goals?
135. Honesty
136. Why I’m Anti Moderation
137. No Spite, No Malice.
138. Ascending Life or Descending Life?
139. Double Edged Sword
140. Ignorance.
141. Why I Don’t Trust “Nice Guys”
142. Why You Must Share Your Opinion
143. Selfish Isn’t Evil
144. Wisdom is the Goal
145. YOU ARE KING.
146. MASTER YOURSELF
147. What is “Good” for You is Often what is Bad for You
148. Care.
149. BITTERSWEET
150. ONE REP MAX
151. Morality and Ethics is the Snare
152. BY HELPING YOURSELF, YOU BEST HELP OTHERS
153. Insanity is Good.
154. Think Deep.
155. PHILOSOPHY IS THE FUTURE.
156. Open Mind vs Closed Mind
157. ENTHUSIASM IS GENIUS
158. Towards a More Critical and Rigorous Line of Thinking
159. How to Encourage and a Foster Independent and Free Thinking
160. What is the Purpose of Life?
161. WHY PHILOSOPHY IS SUPREME.
162. Elitism.
163. I Cannot Form an Opinion About Somebody Until I’ve Met Them in the Flesh
164. ALL GENETICS ARE GOOD GENETICS.
165. Happiness vs Freedom
166. The Birth of a Hater
167. My Way Isn’t the Right Way
168. Walking as an Existential Thing
169. Why I’m So Tolerant
170. Mortal Gods
171. THE HUMAN SPECIES
172. Why I’m So Skeptical
173. Just Follow the Money
174. Why Selfish?
175. WHY WE CANNOT BLAME OTHERS
176. Why Are We So Anti Elitism?
177. What Actually Interests You?
178. How to Become Yourself
179. SELF HATE
180. Optimistic Fatalism
181. Death is the Ultimate Creative Constraint
182. FLUX.
183. How to Think for Yourself
184. FLESH
185. How to Live the Best Life
186. Why Live a Life Without Regrets?
187. Why Plato Ruined Art and Aesthetics for Us
188. Self Respect
189. Hypocrite vs Contradict
190. Ideals vs Reality
191. Spaceship Philosophy
192. What is Your Ideal Life?
193. MY EXTREME GRATITUDE TOWARDS LIFE AND BEING ALIVE!
194. Critique of Utilitarianism
195. Don’t Treat Others the Way You Want to Be Treated
196. The Eternal Recurrence of Tragedy and Joy in Life
197. Elite Asceticism
198. Why I Don’t Like Numbers
199. Action and Reaction, Cause and Effect
200. The Antidote to Nihilism: The Philosophy of Nothingness
201. ERIC KIM Notes on Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
202. EXPLOIT CHAOS.
203. WHY I DON’T BELIEVE IN GENETICS
204. Self-Wisdom
205. The Future Belongs to the Fearless
206. INDIVIDUALISM
207. Why Live Forever?
208. THIS TOO WILL PASS.
209. Why Education?
210. How to Become Yourself
211. Things Shouldn’t Go Back to the Way They Used to Be
212. Why Am I So Cruel?
213. The Great Joy of Existence
214. Virtue for the Sake of Virtue
215. NO DISDAIN.
216. INTELLIGENT IGNORANCE
217. A LIFE WITHOUT PAIN, DIFFICULTY OR TRAGEDY ISN’T A LIFE WORTH LIVING
218. BITTER IS BETTER.
219. EXPLOIT THE BEST FROM TRAGEDY AND LIFE 
220. DISREGARD FOR SELF-PRESERVATION
221. PAIN.
222. WHAT IF EVERYTHING IS NOT GONNA BE ALRIGHT?
223. Tomorrow is Never
224. Life is the Ultimate Creative Constraint
225. EMBODIED REALITY
226. BLACK SWAN
227. THINGS WILL NEVER GO BACK TO THE WAY THEY USED TO BE
228. What are you *really* afraid of?
229. HAPPINESS ISN’T THE GOAL
230. Philosophy is King
231. Why is Selfish Evil?
232. YOU’RE CONSTANTLY IN A STATE OF BECOMING
233. ENTITLEMENT A SIN?
234. NARCISSISM
235. BE BRUTALLY HONEST WITH YOURSELF
236. WHY FREE WILL?
237. OBEY YOUR OPINION
238. EGO IS GOOD.
239. WHY IT IS GOOD TO BE INTO YOURSELF
240. Seek the Good Pain
241. Anti-Perfection in Photography, Art, and Life
242. Can You Become an End into Yourself?
243. WHY I LIVE
244. Why I Hate Decline
245. Why I Eat
246. Why am I So Positive and Optimistic?
247. EFFORT IS ENJOYMENT
248. Never Stop Gaining
249. TRUST YOURSELF
250. A Life of Maximal Personal Independence
251. What Do You Desire to Become?
252. What Do I Want from Technology?
253. Stratified Society
254. Do You Love or Hate Reality?
255. On the Brian, Body and Mind
256. I’m Maximally Happy, Now What?
257. Care over Fame
258. ACTIVE NIHILISM
259. Never Stop Subtracting
260. How to Live a Happier and More Epic Life
261. A Risker Life is a Better Life
262. Only Work on Things You Can Imagine Doing for Eternity
263. How to Maximize Your Happiness
264. Influence
265. The Gladiator Makes His Plans once He Enters the Ring
266. Meditations on Meaning in Life
267. There is Nothing More Interesting than Human Beings
268. Is Hope a Vice?
269. EGO
270. Why Be Unique?
271. Happiness is Metabolism Health and Strength
272. You’re the Hero
273. Is Productivity a Virtue or Vice?
274. Why Do We Prize the Rare?
275. The Joy of Uncertainty
276. How Should I Best Use My Time and Life?
277. A Life Without Pain or Suffering Isn’t a Life Worth Living
278. Free or Unfree?
279. What Do You Really Care For in Life?
280. Anti-Satisfaction in Life
281. Why Think?
282. The Eternal Return
283. Only Do What is Best for You!
284. Truthiness
285. Why Be Happy?
286. Permissionless Living
287. In Praise of Unconventional Wisdom
288. Become the Change Which You Wish to See in the World
289. Happiness
290. Beyond Freedom
291. Idolize People, Not Stuff
292. What Makes You Stronger? What Makes You Weaker?
293. Why Hate?
294. The Secret of Happiness
295. You’re Constantly in a State of Becoming
296. Life is about Choices, Not Obligations
297. Anti-Nihilism
298. First, Do What is Best for You.
299. Live Dynamic
300. How to Prosper
301. Is the Point of Life to Be Satisfied?
302. SUPREME EFFORT OF WILL.
303. How to Become more Idealistic
304. Thrivival 101
305. Create Yourself
306. Non-Small
307. Inspiration
308. How to Live a Heroic Life: Dare the Heights!
309. Human Augmentation
310. Prune
311. Happiness: Do What You Want to Do (And Don’t Do What You Don’t Want to Do)
312. Avoid Vain (Empty) Pursuits in Life
313. Modern Slavery
314. Kill the Leeches
315. Wisdom Augmentation
316. Why We Need Friction in Life
317. Straight Line Philosophy
318. What’s Your End-Game in Life?
319. Create Your Own Happiness Today
320. Desire Both Pain and Pleasure in Life
321. Try the Impossible
322. SELF-RESPECT
323. Anti-Social Extrovert
324. Never Blame Anybody But Yourself
325. Human Flourishing
326. Simpler, Not Better.
327. How to be Free
328. Embrace the Extremes
329. Cultivate Your Own Culture
330. COURAGE.
331. Thrivival
332. Inner Power
333. How to Live a Purposeful Life
334. My Definition of Happiness
335. Why Change is Good
336. Why Work?
337. How to Live the Happiest Possible Life
338. The Two-Pronged Approach to Maximize Joy in Your Life
339. You Always Have Another Option!
340. INFINITISM
341. Never Stop!
342. What is Your Self-Directed Purpose in Life?
343. Live Today Like it Were Your Last
344. Do You Photograph to Live, or Live to Photograph?
345. ARTIST-PHILOSOPHER
346. Live Life to the Fullest!
347. In Praise of Selfishness
348. Why You Must Be a YAY-SAYER to Succeed in Entrepreneurship and Life
349. Why I Love Walking
350. Live Life Like a Video Game!
351. Simple Luxuries in Life
352. Treat Your Life Like a Fun Experiment!
353. Only Prove it to Yourself
354. You Don’t Always Need to Feel Joyful to Live a Fulfilling and Meaningful Life
355. Life is Too Short to Be Bored!
356. Money Cannot Destroy Boredom
357. How to Find Inspiration in Life
358. Why You Must Ignore Haters to Succeed and Win in Life
359. An Active Life is a Happy Life
360. My Simple Joys in Life
361. Never Stop Striving
362. How to Motivate Yourself in Life
363. How to Be Optimistic in Life
364. How to Dictate Your Purpose in Life
365. In Praise of a Dynamic Life
366. PURPOSE.
367. How to Enjoy Life
368. Photography Therapy
369. How to Conquer Regret
370. Take Your Play Very Seriously.
371. How to Prosper
372. Memento Vivere
373. Destroy in Order to CREATE
374. Trust Your Body More Than Your Mind
375. Make Photos to Make Meaning in Your Life
376. Seek Knowledge, Not Information
377. The Purpose of Human Life
378. How to Overcome Impedence
379. Why I Love Death
380. How to Be Centered in the Eternal Now
381. How to Be Happy
382. Why Do You Care What Others Think of You?
383. Why I’m Happy
384. Why?
385. Why I’m So Prolific
386. How to Reduce LAG in Life

Masters of Philosophy »

• Seneca
• Marcus Aurelius
• Publilius Syrus

Personal Philosophy »

• You Are the Light of the World
• Your Soul is a Diamond in the Rough
• Why Live?

Stoicism »

• How to Be a Stoic Street Photographer
• How to Use Photography as Self-Therapy
• How to Free Your Soul From Disturbance

Zen Philosophy »

• How to Be a Zen Street Photographer
• Zen in the Art of Street Photography
• How to Find Tranquility in Your Photography

Life Lessons »

• How to Conquer Your Fears in Life
• Conquer Yourself
• How to Focus

Learn more: Start Here >

I am still so blown away and shocked to see how much insane detail there is in the Ricoh GR 3X photos that I shoot, just shooting JPEG.

Video

It seems nowadays the bias is to just consume more protein. And for some myopic reason people assume that all protein is alike, and the only thing which is important is the total number of grams of protein you consume.

Traps — the trapezius muscles on top of your shoulders and neck.

How do you build monster traps? Simple:

1. Insanely heavy rack pulls, or trap bar / open hex bar deadlifts. I believe that any able-bodied men should be able to rack pull at least six plates with enough effort.
2. Muscle ups
3. Attempt to lift the heaviest dumbbells at the gym. For example, just see if you could pick it up and rerack it, and then place it back. For example my gym has dumbbells that go up to 150 pounds, and simply lifting it up is quite difficult. For the heavier dumbbells, use chalk. It took me a while before I was able to successfully lift 150 pound dumbbell with my left hand, which has the weaker grip.
4. Should I use straps? I say no. Even though it is true that using straps will allow you to lift heavier weights, it prevents you from building your grip strength, and your forearm strength, which I think ultimately translates into your whole body strength. It is my thought that grip strength is strength

Food

Go to the Costco business Center, you can go if you have a normal Costco membership. Buy beef ribs, beef brisket, etc.

Why beef? The fattier the meat, and the closer it is to the bone, the more cholesterol and nutrition it will have. Cholesterol is a steroid. The more cholesterol you consume, the more muscular gains you will get.