Some people say that the ego is bad, however, I think that the ego is good. The ego might be one of the most useful things that we have.

The first way to augment your ego is through weight lifting. The heavier weights you can lift, the more you will augment your ego and self-esteem.

Second way is to lower your body fat percentage. Super easy to do this; 100% carnivore diet, only meat. No vegetables, no fruit, no starches, no beverages besides black coffee and water.

Third, perhaps it is physiological thing. Sleep 8 to 12 hours a night.

Fourth, challenge the ethics and morality you were raised with.

It seems that an insanely audacious goal of a lot of people is to benchpress over four plates. The hilarity is that it is extremely easy to do as you do it off the floor, and with the weight suspended above you on the power rack.

What is the point of benchpress anyways?

The hilarity is that the bench press might be one of the most useless exercises out there. Why? There is no real situation in which you were lying on your back, and somehow you have to push a massive rock away from you.

More realistic things include picking up a heavy ass rock off the floor, and then throwing it out your enemy, in order to kill them. If you read the Iliad, this is how a lot of ancient Greek heroes would combat.

Why floor bench press?

Many reasons. The first one is you could just lift heavier weights. I think 90% of weight lifting is all about augmenting your ego, so isn’t this a good thing?

Super easy — do it off the power rack and pins and do it off the floor, and crazy arched back!

It seems that in today’s cult of work, we all want to work more. Why? And towards what?

What is “work”?

*Werg— it literally means to make.

Therefore, I think the most pragmatic way we should think and approach work is about making. Building, creating.

Therefore if you want to work more, it isn’t answering more emails, or checking more things off your to do list. Rather, work is making.

What do you want to make?

There are lots of things you could attempt to make. For example, you can make blog posts, you can make articles, you can make essays, you can make videos, you can make photos, you can make music, beats, audio, podcasts, video podcasts, make illustrations using Procreate on iPad or iPhone, You can make a lot of stuff.

Therefore to work more is to make more.

Is making more better than curating?

Another funny bias I have discovered is that it looks like a lot of these pseudo woke, superficially conscientious people is all about —

It is all about quality, not quantity. I myself am working on some insanely great thing, yet, I am still in the process of thinking it through.

Something I have observed about the modern day bohemian, artistic, millennial is this:

They are very creative, artistic and ambitious, yet lack courage.

For example, when is the last time you smiled at a stranger millennial, and they made eye contact and smiled back?

Go to the gym

I don’t know about you, but I get most of my best creative thoughts when I’m at the gym, working out, getting a quick pump.

Why is this? Some thing which is productive about the gym lifestyle is that when you go to the gym, often you have this massive indoor or outdoor place, with lots of humans, physical activity, and lots of hormones and endorphins in the air. Therefore, a simple thought:

If you want to work more, just bring your iPhone, iPad, or laptop to the gym, and after you get a quick pump, do some work at the gym.

Why?

For myself, before the pandemic, I loved going to coffee shops to do creative work. There was something about the environment, the low-key stochastic resonance of all of the background noise and chatter, the activity and flurry of people, the sound of coffee grinding, the smells and aromas in the air, being around other people makes us more productive.

Thus, I have this concept of a space, imagine part powerlifting gym meets coffee shop meets daycare meets creative collaborative space.

Can you imagine a place where you could do some quick powerlifting, a quick one rep max deadlift or squat, rack pull, or at atlas lift, and then enjoy some nice coffee, and do a standing desk with your laptop and do some creative work with the free gigabit speed Internet Wi-Fi? That would be awesome.

I would also have this funny challenge that if you could successfully lift 600 pounds off the floor, you’ll get a free pound of beef ribs or coffee.

Things which need to be created:

1. Some sort of all you could eat 100% carnivore meat buffet, in which literally only meat is served.
2. Some sort of gym or space which has no stupid cardio equipment, no machines, no treadmills, etc. Only power racks and barbells.
3. A co-working space which is part gym, and also part daycare for your kids. For example as a new parent, I like this idea that you could just drop off your kid with you at the gym, and you could get a quick pump, while your kid is close by.
4. Also a fun ideas create some sort of gym for kids, not those stupid indoor playgrounds, but the space in which kids could lift heavy weights, and challenge one another to epic feats of strength.

Why do you want to make?

Assuming that to work is to make, the question is; why do you want to make more? Why do you want to make more stuff?

The first thought is that perhaps there’s something in our human DNA in which we love to make and create. That for optimal human thriving, we must make more, attempt more, in order to become more.

Produce more

Having met a few successful folks in Hollywood and beyond, the interesting thing that I’ve discovered is that what does a producer care for? Not to sit on their laurels, but instead, to keep producing.

The joy of the producer is to produce, to make new things, to make new movies or shows, etc.

And thus, money finances and resources is simply a means to keep producing more grandiose shows films etc. To fulfill their artistic and creative vision, not to just augment their fame or their money, etc.

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So where do I put my stuff?

I think this is the more interesting philosophical question; what is the significance of the things you make?

For example, do you want 1 billion views? A billion dollars? 1 billion followers? If so, then what?

A simple intervention I have is this:

300 die-hard followers is enough.

What is the best way to accumulate followers? Your own blog, or your own email newsletter.

1. The best email newsletter to start is via sendy.co
2. The best way to start your own blog is by registering your own domain via bluehost.com, and installing wordpress.org
3. You can also start a YouTube channel, and just link back to your own website and blog

Now what?

So let us assume that you already have 300 diehard followers. What do you want from them? Do you want to make a bunch of money? This seems to be the goal of a lot of people.

Or, if you just want to turn your passion into a living? Then, if you do so, then what?

I then say that the final goal is to innovate for the sake of advancement. Advancing yourself, advancing ideas, advancing philosophy, advancing entrepreneurship, and advancing the human race.

ADVANCE ON!
EK

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New stuff

On EK BLOG

1. Investing vs Speculation
2. How to floor bench press 4 plates
3. Unorthodox life strategies
4. Muscle “quality”?

ERIC KIM WORKSHOPS

You’re on a new level:

1. BOSTON
2. ONLINE
3. HADONG SOUTH KOREA

EK EXPERIENCES

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EK TURBO NEWS

Never run out of inspiration.

ERIC KIM NEWS

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BECOME THE ENIGMA.

The tools to conquer:

1. Street Notes Mobile
2. HENRI SHOULDER STRAP: STAY HEAVY.
3. Street Notes Print

Conquer it all.

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Money thoughts?

1. Now may be a good opportunity to buy Chainlink
2. Still bullish on Bitcoin: It may not be a hedge against fiat currency or inflation, but it is still sexy to me!
3. Bearish on Ethereum — it is an insanely great innovation, but it still seems lame to me?
4. TESLA still a good standard stock investment! Just bought some more for my ROTH IRA
5. Better to buy Tesla stock than a (real) Tesla.

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Enable your friends

Feeling a bit more enabled? Feel free to forward this to a friend!

START HERE.

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Better to attempt the insanely epic and fail, than to attempt the good and succeed.

ERIC

What is the difference between investing and speculating? For example, for me, crypto, cryptocurrency, etc. is all about speculation, predicting some sort of aberrant future.

I think investing is more putting your money on real assets, real investments. For example, buying a house, buying property, putting it in a bank, getting 4% interest, etc.

CRYPTO BY KIM

Brave new world for photographers and crypto:

1. Building with Bitcoin
   DYNAMICS VS STATICS.
2. How Do You Know if the Timing Is Right?
3. BITCOIN IN THE NEWS
4. BITCOIN & UNCERTAINTY
5. Fake Money
6. Why I Bought More Bitcoin (Again)
7. How I Made Money with Crypto
8. Better to buy Dogecoin then buy a Tesla
9. NO LIMITS.
10. ALL DIGITAL FUTURE.
11. Digital over Physical Possessions
12. DIGIBYTE.
13. CHAINLINK.
14. The Excitement of Starting from Zero
15. HAPTIC INDUSTRIES NOW ACCEPTING CRYPTO AND BITCOIN
16. In Praise of Crypto
17. JUST BUY IT.
18. Why I’m So Bullish on Bitcoin
19. Bitcoin as the Simplest Cryptocurrency
20. Why I bought (more) bitcoin
21. Once You Become a Crypto Billionaire, Then What?
22. Why Crypto is Under-Hyped
23. The Joy of Speculation
24. BITCOIN AND CRYPTOCURRENCY FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS
25. Why I Bought Bitcoin
26. Crypto Photography
27. Crypto Thoughts
28. On Making Money from Nothing

Chat it up!

How I live and lift:

super easy:

4 PLATE 405 POUND FLOOR BENCH PRESS

The best way to “cheat”:

Perhaps it is not muscle size which is important, but muscle quality.

For example, having a low body fat percentage, and having your biceps bulging with veins, being able to see tree like vein structures in your arms and shoulders is superior than just having big bloated muscles.

Some fun thoughts:

The first thought is in regards to clothing. I truly believe that if you have the right clothes, you can do anything and everything.

Especially during the winter months, what is it that holds us back? Our fear of the cold, and the pain from the cold. It seems that the best way to overcome and conquer this is to just wear the right clothes. Merino wool, down, layers, anything which can allow you to spend more time outside, outside of the house, is good.

I say that instead of spending a lot of money on your car, just have a really really cheap and free car, for example I got my mom‘s old 2009 Hyundai Sonata for free, and spent only about $2000 USD to flush out all of the transmission fluids, oil change, fix some superficial parts, etc., and now essentially it drives like a brand new car. I got a really really good family sedan, low-key, a good beater, for only $2000 USD!

My really proud point:

In my entire adult life, ever since I was 15 years old, up until age 35, I have never spent more than $2500 USD on a car.

My list of cars:

1. Age 15: $1200 USD on a 1991 Central XE, four-door, white sedan, five speed manual transmission car, no tachometer
2. Age 17: $1500 USD on a 1991 Sentra SER, two-door coupe, SR 20DE engine, white, 5 speed manual
3. Age 20:1990 Mazda Miata, red, convertible droptop, five speed manual transmission, no power steering, no air conditioning, no power anything: $2500 USD.
4. Age 34: 2003 Subaru outback wagon, five speed manual transmission, 200,000 miles on the dash, $800 USD.
5. Age 35, 2009 Hyundai sonata, $0.00

Even moving forward, I think my new record now is to not spend any money on the car. That if for some reason I get a new car, it will either be given to me for free from some car company, or some car company lets me borrow it for free. The upside of being a “influencer“.

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Photo Feed

I have this notion of photo feed; that your blog, assuming that somebody books marks it, and accesses it 50 times a day, every time they reload your blog in chrome, there will always be something new for them to witness.

Something I’ve realized is this:

The most important thing for a website or blog is to always have new things to witness and experience.

I think this is also why it is a wise idea to allow yourself to diversify your interests, and simply publish anything and everything, with less thought and consideration. For example, I would love if Kanye West restarted his blog, and instead of just posting things to Twitter, posting it to his own blog instead. Why? The blog allows for more fidelity, and also, you can hide all of those pesky social media metrics.

Stream on

Another thought I have is that it is so interesting that all of these digital technologies have some sort of water metaphor. For example, the pirate bay and “torrenting”, streaming, live stream, making waves, etc. These are all water metaphors.

This is the reason why I really enjoyed going to the Santa Monica pier with Seneca, watching the water. When surrounded by water, or even on a cruise ship, it is insanely inspiring to see the water. Why? The power of the ocean is limitless, and the waves from the wind are also limitless. A thought:

What if you could become like the ocean? Never stop flowing.

You never step in to the same river twice

Probably one of the wisest things from Heraclitus; the basic idea is that you can go back to the same place, but it will never be the same. Why? Because you have changed.

For example, every day you are changing biologically. The 35-year-old Eric Kim is very different from the 25 year old Eric Kim, and also very different from the 15-year-old Eric Kim.

The foolish thing that a lot of people do is trying to be their old selves. Why would you want to be your old self? I think it is better to be your new self than your old self.

For example, it is far better to be a Tesla model S Plaid, then some old Porsche 911 car. A lot of people think it is cool to be classic, however my personal thought is that being future is better. For example, would you rather have fiber optic Internet, or 56K? Would you rather live in the old ass house, or a brand new skyrise condominium, with floor to ceiling windows?

Why do we romanticize the old and the past?

Perhaps it is because we lack imagination?

For example, it doesn’t require imagination to think about the past. The past is already set in stone, it is easily studyable, and interpretable. The future is much more fuzzy, and impossible to decipher.

Thinking about the future, and paving the future requires a lot more imagination, guts, and chutzpah. Also, audacity, and a little bit of insanity.

Name one genius that isn’t crazy

Let us consider our best friend Elon Musk; if he wasn’t so “crazy“, could he have pioneered a rocket ship that is reusable and can reset itself? Or, create a car that goes from 0 to 60 in 1.99 seconds, and costs a 10th of a comparable supercar?

I’m starting to realize more and more, in order to think about the future, create the future, or live differently, you must afford yourself a little bit of insanity. Why? No insanity, no future.

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Permit yourself to be a little bit more audacious

I think in order to see the future, we must allow ourselves to become a little bit more crazy and audacious. My personal thought is it is better to attempt an insanely audacious goal, and fall short of it, rather than setting some sort of realistic goal, and obtaining it.

ATTEMPT ON!

EK

DID YOU KNOW?

Thinking Bill Nye the science guy; did you know that the word essay comes from the French assay, which just means attempt?

Therefore, when you write an essay, it is not a definitive source of proof or knowledge, but rather, an attempt towards proving a certain point or proposing a certain idea.

Also, the word philosophy. Philosophy literally means love of wisdom, or the striving towards wisdom.

For example, back in ancient Greece, the funny thing was everyone wanted to become a sage, or a wise person. So the hilarity was when you called yourself a philosopher, it was like a humble flex;

“I am not yet wise, that I love wisdom. Therefore I am a philosopher, a lover of wisdom. And it is my life goal to become more wise.”

Therefore, maybe it is a good idea when people ask you what you are, just say that you are a philosopher. Or as I like to say, ”philoso-raptor” (online Reddit meme).

Publish today!

If you don’t already, just start your blog by signing up on bluehost.com, and install wordpress.org. Turn off all of the comments and metrics, and just start posting.

The more you post, the more you publish, the deeper you can gain more self-awareness, wisdom, self understanding, self empowerment, and also empower others.

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CONQUER REALITY

EK EXPERIENCES:

1. Conquer street photography in Boston — Saturday, March 25
2. Become more creatively confident, attend my online zoom workshop on May 5, from 9 AM to 11:30 AM Pacific time
3. If you’re in California, Southern California, Orange County, San Diego, LA, the greater LA area, state posted for my upcoming downtown LA workshop on May 20, Saturday.
4. Korea’s the future. Be the first to experience the grandeur of South Korea, and the Zen mountain side of Hadong.. The first ever Zen photo retreat, June 19 to the 23rd. Become totally transformed.

EK EQUIPMENT

Become legendary:

1. ERIC KIM NECK STRAP MARK II
2. ERIC KIM WRIST STRAP MARK II
3. HENRI WRIST STRAP PRO

Dominate reality.

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Other random thoughts

1. I think the best car color to own in Southern California is probably matte white.
2. Even if you were a billionaire, the ideal is to be unknown. Therefore, Rolls-Royce and Lamborghini is out of the question. If you wanted the nicest low-key car, just get a Genesis G90 in matte white.
3. What is the deal with inflation? My personal thought is that during pandemic, a lot of people became unemployed, and even after the vaccine was created, people no longer wanted to return back to work. I saw the other day that even Wendy’s is hiring for $16 an hour! Therefore the issue is, if you can no longer entice people to go back to work, in menial labor jobs, and even relatively high salaries, what is the future of the economy? Not good.

The future is rich

Doing some research, even renting a brand new luxury condo in Santa Monica is $4800 USD a month, a 3 bedroom is $10,900 USD — a month.

Who can afford these things? Apparently a lot of people. Because if you are a billionaire, or worth at least $100M, it is just a drop in the bucket for you. Therefore my personal thought is that the future of economics is rich, not the middle class or the poor.

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Photo Feedback

arsbeta.com

Thought feedback

Why app?

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Philz coffee

New Manhattan is the one.

Clothing

Lululemon compression clothing. License to train shorts, vital drive half tights, license to train compression top.

Men tights are good.

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Vlog

Video link

How to seize today YouTube vlog

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Forward the motivation!

If this sparked even one motivational idea within you, feel free to forward to a friend!

EK TURBO NEWS

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Carpe diem— seize today!

EK

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Whenever you have the chance and opportunity, always flex.

https://videopress.com/v/o6ZSkqpu?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true