ERIC KIM ₿ - ₿LOG

Advertise Your Own Stuff

Rather than advertising the wares of others, better to advertise your own stuff!

Advertise your own services, your own products; advertise yourself. Advertise you.

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THAT WHICH ATTEMPTS TO DESTROY YOU ONLY MAKES YOU STRONGER

Pain as the stimulus to growth!

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BIOLOGICAL WARFARE

Right now it is humanity vs CORONA virus.

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WALKING (OUTSIDE) IS ONE OF THE GREATEST JOYS IN LIFE

When in doubt, walk (more) outdoors!

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THOU SHALT NOT CROWD-SOURCE THY SELF-ESTEEM

Your self-esteem must be self-generated, not quantified via external likes and external affirmation.

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How to Procreate Art

Art is our primary goal and fascination!

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A HARDER LIFE IS A BETTER LIFE

Hard or soft?

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INSPIRE.

To inspire means to breathe, or to blow wind into someone. To inspire someone means to blow motivation-energy and life-force into them!

ZEN OF ERIC â€” now free.

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BECOME BRAZEN

The future belongs to the brazen:

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YOUR OPINION IS IRREFUTABLE.

Share your opinion. Why? There is no right and wrong when it comes to your opinion. And if you got a true opinion, best to share it with others!

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THE FUTURE IS DIGITAL.

This sounds silly and inconsequential, but I think truly — the future is digital.

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STOICISM FOR DUMMIES

MY INTRODUCTION TO STOICISM (simplified):

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A LESS MATERIAL SOCIETY

Our brave new society — less material-focused. More focused on digital goods, digital things, digital ideas… the future is digital!

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ZEN OF ERIC EBOOK PDF: Now Available for Free!

ZEN OF ERIC is now available for FREE in HAPTIC SHOP. Pick it up to inspire and motivate you to discover more meaning in your personal (and photographic/artistic life).

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Tomorrow is Never

Never put off until tomorrow that which you would regret not doing if you died today.

What does this mean?

One day you will die. Live today as if you were gonna die tonight. And better yet — ‘regret minimization framework‘ from Jeff Bezos. This means:

Imagine you’re 90 years old and on your death bed. What would you regret having NOT done or attempted in your life?

Or better yet:

Imagine you knew you were gonna die tonight in your sleep. If so, how would you live today as if you wouldn’t die with any regrets?

Let this guide you!

ERIC

PHILOSOPHY by KIM

Dictate your meaning and purpose in your life with ZEN OF ERIC:

Philosophical Essays

EVERYDAY IS EQUAL TO EVERY OTHER DAY

Life advice from my friend Heraclitus:

Treat everyday like it were your last. Because today is the perfect day.

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Simulated Universal Basic Income

It seems right now, we got a simulated universal basic income:

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My Best Purchases of All-Time

I don’t necessarily think that consumerism is bad. The difficulty is this:

Some stuff you buy actually improves your life, and some stuff doesn’t.

Through the last 10 years, here have been my best purchases thus far:

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Don’t Be Scared!

Like my niece Amelia says:

Don’t be scared!

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THE WORST IS YET TO COME.

DON’T BE SUCKERED. The worst is yet to come.

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POWER OVERWHELMING

Whats my goal? Power overwhelming.

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CULTURE

A thought:

It isnâ€™t about race, gender, ethnicity, genetics, etc. Itâ€™s all about culture.

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ACTOR OR REAL DEAL?

We often criticize hypocrites for saying one thing and doing another. But what is a â€œhypocriteâ€?

I did some research and the Ancient Greek for hypocrite [hupokrÃnomai] actually means â€œstage player/actorâ€. So this is my interjection:

It isnâ€™t a matter of contradicting yourself or not (because if you live long enough, youâ€™ll eventually contradict yourself sooner or later). No. It is a matter of faking (playing an actor or â€œfrontingâ€) vs being the real deal (having true beliefs).

Thus in life, it seems that our goal is to NOT FAKE and NOT PRETEND (pretentious) to be more than we are. It means for us to make ourselves naked, to wear our heart on our sleeve, and to not censor ourselves, and exclaim ourselves for who we are, and what we believe in and stand up for.

WHAT CAN YOU CONTROL, WHAT CAN YOU NOT CONTROL? STOICISM

Stoicism 101:

Focus on what you can control, not what you cannot control.

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Life is the Ultimate Creative Constraint

What makes life so sweet? The fact it is the ultimate creative constraint!

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FRESH AIR PHOTOS

Photos Which are a breath of Fresh Air. This is the type of photos I love.

Why fresh air is more important than ever.

Now that we are all stuck indoors all day, it seems that fresh air is more essential than ever. If anything, just going outside and being able to walk is the new luxury.

Do your photos give you a breath of fresh air?

My personal aspiration:

Make photos that when I look at them, I feel a huge breath of fresh air which re-invigorates me!

Let this be your new metric for your photos!

Fresh air photos

Some new photos which has given me a breath of fresh air! RICOH GR III and Lumix g9.

MOTIVATION BY KIM

ERIC KIM NECK STRAP MARK II x Ricoh GR II x RICOH MAFIA Artwear

Seek to supersede yourself and become more!

See all articles >

WHY AM I SO MOTIVATED?

Where do I get my motivation from?

My mom: She taught me self-esteem and self-confidence.
My physical strength: My strong body and physiology motivates me to move a lot (literally to walk a lot), talk a lot, and to share a lot.
My innate bull-shit detector: Whenever I smell BS, I get a great joy from trying to debunk nonsense.

WHAT LEGACY DO YOU WANT TO LEAVE HUMANITY?

We will all die. At best we will live to be 120 years old. At worst, we will die tonight (or today).

Thus the question:

How can we live and direct our lives in a way in which we can leave a meaningful legacy to humanity?

WHAT’S GONNA LAST? WHAT’S NOT GONNA LAST?

LONGEVITY is what we are aiming for.

Obviously we do not have 100% control over what will last and what won’t last. But it seems this is the secret:

The secret of lasting (longer) is to NOT compromise your artwork for anything!

WHY FEAR?

Obviously fear is a good thing, because it has kept us (human beings) alive for so long. But in today’s very safe world (relatively speaking), what is the new role of fear?

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WHO IS GONNA THRIVE IN TODAY’S BRAVE NEW WORLD?

Things will never go back to the way they were. Society and the world is like baking bread. Once you bake the bread, you cannot ‘un-bake’ it.

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TURBO COMPOSITIONS

Propel yourself with turbo compositions:

Not just abstract, but turbo photos too:

TURBO PHOTOS

What a turbo photo? A photo which propels you and gets you going!

Dynamic angles

Shooting at 24mm with Lumix G9, from an Uber low angle:

Let us draw in some perspective lines:

GIF:

Made in procreate and iPad:

Images that get you going!

Studying Stanley Kubrick is good, and his 2001 space odyssey.

Movies that get you going!

The movie 300. Anything which motivates you to move, create, and challenge!

Turbo compositions

Whatâ€™s a good composition? A composition which propels you!

Study turbo photos from the greats, and make your own!

RICOH GR III high contrast black and white JPEG preset

Donâ€™t just study the masters. Also study yourself.

Henri Cartier-Bresson Composition Simplified GIF

WHEN IN DOUBT, BE BRAVE!

In life, the best way to increase your likelihood of making a profound and deep impact on humanity â€” maximal courage, bravery, and brazenness.

Who is the enemy?

Advance!

Whatâ€™s our goal? To keep attacking, advancing. No fear, no hesitation. No cowardice.

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Thank You For Your Service

I feel there should be more respect for our armed forces:

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Freestyle It.

I never plan anything. I always “wing it” or freestyle it:

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COWARD

What is good? Bravery. What is the only bad? Cowardice.

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Is Losing Followers a Good Thing?

What if losing followers were a good thing?

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11 Practical Photography Assignments You Can Do From Home! 😃📷

DOWNLOAD PDF TEXT: HOME PHOTO ASSIGNMENTSDownload

Originally sent on ERIC KIM NEWSLETTER [see email here].

Dear friend,

Many of us are currently stuck at home, and it might be hard to stay inspired in your photography. Here are some practical words of encouragement for you:

Selfie project: Shoot selfies of yourself! Shoot your hand, face, body limbs, silhouette, reflection, shadow, etc. You can shoot monochrome or color. Experiment with flash. You can also experiment shooting with -1 or -2 exposure-compensation (film noir black and white style).
Shoot 4K video (or 1080p video), and take screenshots on your laptop of your favorite stills.
Get on the ground and do 20 pushups as quickly as you can, then run around the house and shoot photos of anything which interests you. My theory: a hormonal rush from doing a bunch of pushups will give you a hormonal and creative boost, which can help you find more interesting things to shoot at home.
Curate your portfolio. To curate means to select the photos you CARE for. You can also turn it into a slideshow of your favorite photos, and upload it to YouTube! Here is a YouTube tutorial of how I make iMovie slideshows on my Mac with my photos.
Photograph interesting textures at home. Look around the house for gritty textures. Photograph the cheese grater at home. Photograph your carpet. Photograph your towels. Anything with textures is good!
Shoot photos from your window. You might not be able to go outside, but you can still shoot outside!
Start your photography website. I recommend bluehost.com and installing wordpress.org. How to build your own website here.
Photograph your loved one. If you’re home with a roommate, child, partner, wife, husband, etcâ€¦ photograph them! Photograph what and who you love.
Face-time or video-call your friends, family, or anyone you care forâ€¦ and shoot screen-shots of you two having a good time!
Shoot a vlog and explain why you love photography. Then upload it to your blog.
Upload your best #1 photo to arsbeta.com and get real feedback, and give feedback!

Time is tough, but remember friend–

What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger!

ERIC

What I’m reading right now

I find deep motivation and inspiration from reading, even when stuck at home. Some things I’m reading and really enjoying:

The Iliad by Homer [Alexander Pope PDF translation here]
Calvin and Hobbes comic (I grew up to this!). See PDF here.
Skin in the Game by Nassim Taleb (Kindle). Good essay by Nassim Taleb on Medium [for free here]. You can also find different download options on Penguin website (I read it on iBooks on my iPad).
Brave New World (Aldous Huxley, free pdf here).
The History of the Peloponnesian War, by Thucydides [free epub here]

Use this chance to catch up with great literature to inspire and motivate you to create more artwork!

Create like today were your last!

ERIC

Inspirational Films and Cinema to Motivate You From Home

If you wanna watch some great cinema, here are some of my personal favorites:

Ghost in the shell anime (1995)
2001 Space Odyssey
300 (SPARTA!!!!)
John Wick (all of them are good. My favorites are the 2nd John Wick, then the 1st John Wick, then the 3rd John Wick)
The Matrix (classic)

Suggestion:

When you watch these films, see them on your laptop and take screenshots of any stills you like!

ERIC

Which of Your Photos Do You Truly Care For?

To curate your photos means to choose the photos you care for.

So friend– which photos do you truly care for?

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PHOTOGRAPHY ASSIGNMENTS YOU CAN DO IF YOU’RE STUCK AT HOME ALL DAY

Practical ideas:

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How I Plan on Living to Become 120 Years Old

I don’t know about you, but I desire to live to become 120 years old, hopefully in hyper-epic health.

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In Praise of Double-Dipping

In life, you can have your cake and eat it too! Or, how to kill two birds with one stone.

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HYPER-HAPPINESS IS PHYSIOLOGICAL

CURRENTLY I feel hyper-happy. Why? My physiological strength is off the Richter.

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CREATE LIKE TODAY WERE YOUR LAST: MEMENTO MORI ARTISTIC PHILOSOPHY

You don’t know when you’re gonna die. So perhaps make and create art-works like today were your last day on planet earth. And of course, share it with others! Share it on your own website, blog, YouTube, or directly with friends via email, messenger, text message, email newsletter!

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LIFE IS AND REALITY IS WORTH IT, EVEN FOR A FEW GREAT PHOTOS!

What makes life so sweet? The opportunity to create art.

RICOH IS KING

I have spoken. RICOH IS KING. The best camera on the market, at any price-point.

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EMBODIED REALITY

What is reality? Going outside.

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BLACK SWAN

A concept I learned from Nassim Taleb I find very practical in thinking about life:

There will always be â€œfreak accidentsâ€ (black swans, things that come out of nowhere) in reality.

The benefit of studying the past â€” realizing that so many people in the past are generally caught with their pants down before a crisis or calamity happens.

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How to Create Motivational Artwork

Whatâ€™s the best type of artwork? Artwork which motivates others, and yourself!

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How to Add to Economic Activity

How does one become rich or make money? Simple â€” add to economic activity, and take as much as you can (as long as you give more than you take!)

Also, add to the wealth of others. Wealth can be metaphorical (health wealth, physical wealth, mental wealth, creative wealth).

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WE GONNA BE ALRIGHT!

We gonna be alright. Take away the fright and the scare. No need for faith weather, because you’re already seasoned and weather-proof. Gore-Tex it up, step it up.

You’re stronger than you think. Stronger than mink or the sword. You’re the lord and the ruler. Never judge yourself according to someone else’s yard; the point is to go HAM — go hella hard!

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BRAVE NEW SOCIETY

Time for us to hunker down and prepare ourselves for this dystopian-esque ‘brave new society’:

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CONQUER YOUR FEARS

Death is nothing to us.

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JUDGE FOR YOURSELF

You’re the judge.

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HAM

Time to go H.A.M. — hard as a motherfucker.

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WHY I’M SO SKEPTICAL

Why am I so skeptical and suspicious of everything and everyone?

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What is My Duty?

What is my duty? What is my duty to myself, Cindy, my family, friends, society, and humanity?

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COURAGE, RISK TAKING, ENTREPRENEURSHIP

In uncertain times, best to take an insanely epic risk, and become an entrepreneur.

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VIRTUE FLEXING

I always get very suspicious when people engage in â€œvirtuousâ€ acts of valor, and highly broadcast it, and also sort of make you feel bad for not acting as virtuously as them.

Nassim Taleb calls it â€œvirtue signalingâ€. I call it â€œvirtue flexingâ€.

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It is (mostly) fear porn.

What is fear porn? Let me explain:

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New Goals for Humanity?

A thought â€”

Assuming traditional capitalism and consumerism is dead… what are our new goals for humanity?

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Why Money?

In todayâ€™s brave new economy â€” whatâ€™s the practical purpose of us as private individuals for money besides buying meat, buying coffee, and paying rent?

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