ERIC KIM

Fear as the ultimate motivator. Fear as the ultimate filter in life. Fear — knowing that you can and will (eventually) die — you don’t do no bullshit in life and only work on what’s essential to you.

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Dear friend,

Shit is hard, but remember:

You’re stronger than you think you are.

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THE FUTURE BELONGS TO GENERATORS (those whom create, generate, and procreate)!

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Not a crazy thought —

What if you could never leave your own country ever again? Could you still live a happy, meaningful, hopeful, optimistic and great life?

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The ancient greeks didn’t have any interest in traveling

Our new form of flexing your wealth and social class is travel. But what if we could never travel again? Could we still live a happy and meaningful life?

A future with closed borders?

Think the film ‘Children of Men‘. This dystopia of the future with closed borders. It ain’t impossible based on the state of the world right now.

Can we live a MORE meaningful life WITHOUT travel?

The interesting thing for myself:

Ever since everything is closed, I am actually MORE creatively productive and have been able to GENERATE MORE!

Why? So much of modern capitalism and consumerism is a distraction.

For example:

1. Coffee shops are distractions: Better to just work from your nice home apartment.
2. Better to cook your food at home. You can have more hearty meals, more meat, and get more “gains” [gain more muscle]
3. Archimedes lever: Stay in one spot, and you can move the world!

What I eat in my diet:

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What is the best way to live?

Expect the unexpected.

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Generate — genero, beget, produce, make.

As artists, it is our mission to generate. To make, to produce, to beget art works. To procreate!

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Notions of flourishing. A green shoot, a green sprout — the sign of growth!

Verdant [green and leafy and lush] pastures are good for growth. Humans like green, because it is beneficial for more food, and thus more human thriving?

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What is a steroid? It comes from “sterol” (same word as cholesterol).

Theory:

Foods with high cholesterol are good for muscle growth. Why? Increasing cholesterol increases our bodily steroid production, which increases our testosterone and human growth hormone.

Lesson:

To maximize muscular gains, eat lots of fatty meat (the fattier, the more cholesterol), the better.

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To drive: to thrust, force, act.

We need drive, we need the inner fire of being driven. Where does this come from? The desire to become stronger, to become more, to augment our ego!

The problem isn’t being “overweight”— it is about being “overfat”.

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Natty or not? Natural or not? What does this mean?

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The rules do not apply to you.

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How do I choose my photos?

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Black and white photos:

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One of the most creative things you can do while stuck at home:

Build your own website!

Register on bluehost.com and install wordpress.org. Only costs $4-10 USD a month. Cheaper than Netflix, and 100000x more productive!

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Motivation means to move. Motivate, similar to the word “motor” or “motus”.

Children are “hyper-active”. But perhaps this is good.

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Let us become like children

To move — we gotta feed our ego. My motivation to move is to augment my ego.

The ego is the primum mobile

Our desire to augment our ego is what gives us the initial urge or push to actually move and do stuff!

For example:

1. My primum mobile to blogging: The desire to flesh out my thoughts, which feeds my ego. Also the joy knowing I can be helping others also augments my ego.
2. Making videos and vlogging: I like to talk to people or share my thoughts. By sharing my thoughts, I know I make an impression on others [good or bad]. This brings me joy, and augments my ego.

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If you’re stuck at home (but can still order dumbbells or kettlebells on Amazon or online), or buy them at a local fitness store, this is a very simple workout you can do at home. Even works in my tiny apartment that is around 300 square feet.

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Growth is key. How to grow our muscles? Some thoughts:

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What is ‘respect‘? To look back at someone. ‘spek-‘, meaning to see, look, observe.

Thus when we ‘respect’ someone — what does this really mean?

Emotion: What moves us [e-moveo].

Without emotion, we wouldn’t move!

During this chaos, I like to talk to real people.

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When shit hits the fan, some thoughts.

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The brave new world of CAPITALISM 2.0 is upon us.

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Dear friends,

Okay looks like zombie apocalypse mode is fully on. If you’re working from home, here are some ideas to become more productive:

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THE GOAL AIN’T TO BECOME ANYONE ELSE BUT YOURSELF!

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If you got a Mac, iPhone, iPad, whatever — make beats! Use Garageband.

For Android guys, use “FL STUDIO”.

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Write your book! Or put together a photo book of your best images (PDF).

Download ‘iBooks Author’ for MacBook (laptop/desktop for Mac).

Make a PDF e-book of your thoughts, best photos, your life story, whatever!

Video

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Sample

MONSTER PDF [just made this].

I used iBooks Author, here is the video and screenshots:

The point ain’t for you to make it ‘good’.

Just fuck with it and have fun with it!

When we call someone selfish, what we really are trying to say is:

You are an evil person.

Why this bias?

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Whenever possible, stick to JPEG. Let me explain why:

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1. You need a “real” camera to make good photos. iPhone and android phones are legitimate cameras. They’re essentially cameras with phones attached to them.
2. You must shoot RAW. I shoot JPEG and prefer it. RAW is for suckers, if your camera has good JPEG settings. JPEG simplifies and quickens your workflow, and often cameras like RICOH GR III have PHENOMENAL high contrast monochrome JPEG filters which actually look superior to processed RAW images. Same goes with RICOH positive film color preset.
3. You must have Instagram: I deleted my Instagram a few years ago, and I’m 1000x happier, and more artistic and innovative as a result. My self esteem for my photography has gone up, and my overall mood is 100x improved as well.
4. You must travel to make good photos. I’ve made many good photos inside the house, and also in my own home town and city. My idea: take the familiar and make it exotic (instead of the other way around, what travel tries to do).
5. You must use Photoshop or Lightroom. As of late, I’ve been using the default Apple Photos app on my laptop, and I actually prefer it. Why? It’s faster, simpler, and its free and open!

Dopamine Resistance — an interesting theory about addiction and cravings. Not just food, but smartphone/internet addiction, video game addiction, porn addiction, drug addiction, coffee addiction, news addiction, etc.

Strategies:

1. Intermittent fasting
2. Avoid environmental cues which ‘trigger’ the undesired addictive behavior.
3. Stop consuming sugar (natural or fake), snacks, desserts, etc.
4. To extend fasting period in the day, do strenuous exercise or have a strong cup of black coffee.

‘Addiction’ isn’t inherently bad or evil.

I’m addicted to having fun, creating, walking, lifting weights, coffee, etc. To me, the notion of ‘addiction’ shouldn’t be a moralized one. Rather, it is all about YOUR personal life goals.

Think about your desired outcome, then work backwards.

Zen Brush 2 on iPad (and iPhone)— a new creative outlet for me. It is all about imputing my soul into my calligraphs.

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Practical:

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Physiology — dealing with growth, and natural organisms.

Let me share my personal philosophy on physiology, and why I am so passionate about it.

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When shit gets bad, don’t ask yourself:

Why is it so bad?

Instead ask yourself

Why aren’t things WORSE?

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If you wanna do video, I highly highly highly recommend (practically all) Panasonic/Lumix cameras.

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The philosophy of falsification from Karl Popper:

Science and knowledge can never ‘confirm’ something as truth/truthful, but can only FALSIFY things as being untrue.

For example:

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“To cure yourself of the news, spend a whole year spending last year’s news.” – Nassim Taleb

Problem of the news:

99.9999% noise, very little (if any) signal.

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But this is what allows you to become great!

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When we blame others, we take free will away from ourselves?

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We need difficulty, challenge, chaos, and tragedy in order to level up!

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My life story:

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Dear friends,

I know I personally get ‘stir crazy’ when stuck at home all day. I also get really bored. Some motivational stuff to conquer boredom when stuck at home:

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Practical ideas:

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Things which are good, but unnecessary.

Protein powder and supplements are unnecessary

I’ve built my physique with NO protein powder, NO supplements, no weird stuff. Only fatty meat, eggs, and bitter greens (kale, collard greens). All cheap cuts of meat (99 cent a pound pork or chicken), and beef steak around 2.99 a pound (or ground beef, ground pork, etc).

I am convinced:

Protein powder, supplements are all based on FEAR MARKETING.

Fear marketing:

If you don’t buy x, y, z … then you will LOSE OUT on your potential to make EVEN GREATER gains and growth.

I follow this line of thinking:

If it ain’t 100% necessary, don’t fuck with it.

Who knows all the other weird stuff they put in protein powder and supplements. Better to stick with eating animals than eating minerals, vitamins, and powderized weird stuff.

Photography

You can do much with simple equipment. For example, RICOH GR II (~$550 USD) has helped me create some of the best photos in my portfolio:

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And also — newer photos I live on RICOH GR III ($890 USD):

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To me, it is all about information. If you got access to the right information, the right thoughts, and you have open and free access … then if you fail in life (you can blame yourself). Or if you don’t put in enough effort, you can blame yourself. But you cannot blame yourself for not having the same information as everyone else.

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What we are currently witnessing might be a sign of things to come. A new society. Society 2.0.

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Ultimate contrast, focus on shapes and forms. Gives movement to our feet and inspires us!

How I make abstract black and white images

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Procreate app and iPad. I use lasso tool, then create a “visual gist”, then make the image. Sometimes based on a photo or art work. Sometimes not.

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It’s all an impression and creative power

I love how I don’t gotta take it so seriously. It’s fun, simple, yet concentrated and solid.

Just have fun!

don’t take it too seriously. Just have fun and screw around with it!

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Our brain can fill in the blanks

Which is which? What do these look like?

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I know personally I have a negative bias against fat and fatness in humans.

Why is this? Some thoughts:

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DON’T FORGET — you can still leave the house. But why?

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When old industries are becoming destroyed, new ones are giving birth.

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A thought:

In life, consider what your desired outcome is, and work backwards.

For example, you gotta ask yourself:

What do I REALLY want?

What do you really want from life, and how bad do you want it? What are you willing to sacrifice for it? Also, how do you best want to re-arrange your life or lifestyle in order to achieve your desired outcomes in life?

For example,

1. If your desired outcome is to empower your partner, change your actions or approach which empowers them.
2. If your desire is to make artwork, arrange your life to best give you the ability to make artwork!

Start with the end then work backwards.

ERIC KIM

Practical assignments to get you shooting and moving! 😃👍

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Street vlogging– a brave new world!

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Motivation literally means ‘to move’. Thus photography motivation is this:

How to inspire ourselves to MOVE MORE and SHOOT MORE?

Practical thoughts:

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“ALL PHOTOS ARE ACCURATE, NONE ARE TRUTH.” – Richard Avedon

PHOTOS CAN NEVER TELL THE TRUTH:

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Seek to Gain Muscle Mass and Lower Bodyfat. Over-Fat vs Over-Weight.

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Movement is the source of all creative thought, joy, happiness, and life.

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1. Go on a walk with your camera
2. go to the gym and lift weights (deadlift, squat, bench). Powerlifting style.
3. make beats in GarageBand
4. write a blog post about something which interests you
5. take a cold shower
6. call a friend on the phone and say hello
7. go to a coffee shop, have a nice cup of coffee, chat with the barista or some strangers. Write, read a book, or just people watch
8. drive to some nature area or park, and go on a quick walk or hike.
9. go swim
10. learn something: learn something online, in a book, or somewhere in person
11. make illustrations with procreate app on iPad or iPhone, or calligraphy with zen brush 2.
12. write a poem that rhymes and share it on your blog
13. shoot a vlog and upload it to your YouTube channel
14. look through your old photos, and update your photo portfolio on your website
15. read some novels you’ve been wanting to read. The Iliad or Odyssey by Homer, or the Odes of Horace.
16. shoot some selfies of yourself at home. Share them or just view them for yourself for fun.
17. watch some movies or cinema on your laptop, and screenshot the compositions you like, annotate them, and publish to your blog.
18. start your own website (WordPress.org).
19. make a slideshow of your favorite photos using iMovie.
20. Draw or sketch stuff around the house using a pencil and paper, or pen and pad.

I am a photographer, and I make photos.

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The holy grail:

The ability to ADD MUSCLE and SUBTRACT FAT at the same time.

I think I figured it out. Essentially intermittent fasting throughout the day [no breakfast, no lunch, only dinner], no sugar in your diet, no alcohol, no carbs. For eating, only eat bitter greens [kale, collard greens], fermented foods [kimchi, saurkraut], and lots of fatty meats [pork picnic roast, steak, dark chicken meat, etc].

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Made with iPad and Procreate:

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An interesting way to see composition–

Think about bounding boxes around your subjects.

This is effective for multiple subjects, layers, and more.

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Seize your opportunity! With all this craziness, think:

This is my chance and opportunity to seize it — and benefit from it!

For example, let us say you gotta work from home. That is great! You can milk your employer, and start building your business on the side [side-hustle]. You have MORE freedom working from home — no boss constantly peering over your shoulder. Isn’t this phenomenal?

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To become more prolific means to make and produce more:

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My thought–

Once you got a universal basic income [rent, food, water, wifi, coffee, electricity covered], and assuming you cannot travel [outside of your city], what should you do with your life?

My thoughts:

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READ WHAT AUGMENTS YOUR COURAGE.

My list (in no particular order):

1. The Iliad – Homer
2. Steve Jobs – Walter Isaacson
3. Antifragile, Bed of Procrustes, Skin in the Game – Nassim Taleb
4. The Will to Power, Twilight of the Idols, The Joyful Wisdom – Nietzsche
5. All Poems by Horace
6. Fragments from Heraclitus
7. Aphorisms by Publilus Syrus

Pretty much all the books I download for free as .epub on Gutenberg.org, and I read with default Books app on iPad.

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If you’re stuck at home or indoors, here are some practical ideas to motivate yourself to make art [from the comfort of your own home]!:

1. Make illustrations: Use ProCreate on iPad or iPhone to make illustrations. Or you can use Adobe Illustrator on your laptop to make images. Or simpler yet– practice drawing by hand! Just draw on a piece of printer paper, or any scrap paper. Channel your inner-2 year old, and have fun with crayons and more!
2. Curate your portfolio: Look through your portfolio of images, and select your favorite images, and publish them to your own website/blog! Remember to curate is also a creative act.
3. Make a slideshow of your favorite photos using iMovie or any other slideshow maker: For an added bonus, practice to use GarageBand to make your own beats. If you need free music, you can download my beats.
4. Write: Write articles, a blog post, start your autobiography, write poetry [this is how I write poetry], and publish it to your own blog. If you don’t got a blog, just use wordpress.com or medium.com.
5. Use this opportunity to start your own website: This can be your chance to (finally) start your own self-hosted website! I recommend bluehost.com, and installing WordPress.org. Building a website ain’t hard; learning how to use aperture and shutter-speed on a digital camera is far more complex!
6. Shoot a vlog: Use the selfie mode on your iPhone, Android, or digital camera, and upload it to your own YouTube channel. You can just use the YouTube app on your phone, or go to YouTube.com/upload on your laptop to start uploading videos.
7. Explore all the filters on your camera or phone: If you’re stuck at home, experiment with all the filter modes on your iPhone, digital camera, or Android device. And just shoot random stuff at home, or shoot selfies of yourself.
8. Remix or re-process your old photos: Experiment with filters in Photoshop, or inverse your photos, blur them, or draw over them!

Turbo — turbine, disorder, to rotate, swirl.

To turbocharge yourself:

Harness that inner-chaos and inner-disorder of yourself in order to PROPEL YOURSELF HIGHER!

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