KARLA — one of my best friends at the gym, and aspiring doctor:

When it comes to street photography (and many things in life), best to simply ‘set it and forget it!’

Why buy a Lamborghini when you can transform your body into a Lamborghini?

We are often told that ego is evil, and ego is bad. To be ‘egotistical’ means:

You are too into yourself and not concerned with the well-being of others. Thus, you are a contemptible person, and you (might) go to hell.

Why do I think ego is good? Let me share:

Lesson: Focus on yourself, not others.

New Orleans as one of my new #1 destinations in America for travel:

Anything (and everything) in life can be achieved with enough time and training:

A life without having the ability to walk isn’t a life worth living:

The best reality is embodied reality:

Life is a stream of becoming. The point ain’t to make perfect things, it is to keep on streaming (until you die at age 120!)

To destroy is also a creative act. Consider the joy of children — bulldozing buildings, Godzilla on cities, etc:

The goal in life isn’t to become the best artist, it is to become the most AUTHENTIC artist.

1. Stoicism: Don’t be petty.
2. Physical grandeur: Gain muscle mass, physical strength (one rep max in powerlifting), and reduce body fat. Eat tons of meat.
3. Don’t bully others to augment your own self-esteem. Self-contained ego-aggrandizement is the goal.

Practical ideas to re-kick-start your passion for photography:

1. Shoot JPEG (smaller file sizes).
2. Shoot black and white
3. Shoot selfies (you cannot deny yourself)
4. Don’t shoot any category (defy all categories, or create your own category of yourself).
5. Allow yourself to be a child and photograph whatever you want!

Creatorism: a new idea. The anti-consumerism.

The basic notion is this:

To derive the maximal joy from existence, optimize your life for CREATION!

That means, create much. Make a lot of stuff. Anti-perfectionism. More focus on quantity over quality.

New batch of videos (open source and free download):

Downloads:

• 4gb (all videos in zip)
• All audio (ZIP) – 49MB

Google Drive:

• 1080p Videos
• Audio

See more on YouTube >

The goal is creative productivity (to make a lot of stuff), not for some sort of artistic perfection!

Generally speaking based on my personal life, bigger is generally worse. For example, bigger cars are worse to drive, park, and live with. Bigger cameras are worse to carry, cause pain in your wrist or neck, and you shoot fewer photos. Bigger houses are worse, because they require more cleaning and maintenance.

But certainly there are some conditions in which bigger is better. This is something I’ll try to essay.

It ain’t about work-life balance, but work-life integration.

My work is my pleasure and passion, and my life is my work. The two are yin-yang and inseparable.

Is this the key to the most happy and creatively productive life? I think so.

Something I think about:

Discovering new methods in life which proves certain POSSIBILITIES.

And also, something I think about:

What is more important, striving towards new possibilities or what is “optimal” or best?

Don’t strive to criticize, change, or critique others. Instead, strive to formulate your own opinions, and share them with others!

Share your own opinion without censoring yourself. Strive to reach your ideal followers.

A thought on success:

Don’t strive to accumulate trillions of followers for the sake of it. Instead, strive to accumulate your IDEAL followers.

What is an ideal follower of yours? Let me share:

Strive towards artistic purity. That means, do it purely for yourself. Strive to master your own art, for yourself, with disregard for others.

Something I think about a lot:

What is truly holding us back?

Is it lack of time? Lack of resources? Lack of ideas and inspiration/motivation? Lack of money? Lack of intelligence? Lack of courage? Lack of the proper tools and devices?

What is it that we lack?

I’ve always been curious how others work. I cannot speak for others, but let me invite you into my mind and my personal creative working process:

When we think of ‘creativity’, we often think of being “creatively original”. However, a better definition of creativity is ‘propensity to create’, or “the tendency to create (a lot) of stuff”.

So why this term ‘creative productivity’? Well, my thought:

When we tell others to be ‘creative’, they think we mean to say: “Do this in a novel fashion which has never been done before.”

This line of thought is paralyzing. Better to say:

“Be creatively productive! Just make a bunch of stuff! Perfection can be damned!”

What’s the purpose of life and our human metabolism? Not to consume, but to create!

The super human: synthesis of monster and child?

Sweet, naive, open minded, curious, and friendly like a child but also having the ability to turn into a monster, a beast, and a chaos?

All black clothing, but white skin. Black cars with white accents, or white cars with black accents. Black and white photos or black ink on white paper.

What mysteries can black and white uncover?

A thought:

Perhaps life is more interesting and enjoyable when we strive towards infinite gains, in a slow and steady manner.

For example when it comes to powerlifting, I love the idea that as long as I keep eating, training, and giving it all of my courage, my “one rep max” will continue to grow indefinitely; infinite gains, although slow and steady. For example, striving to increase my one rep max by 5 pounds every week, or every other week (forever).

Infinite money?

It ain’t about how much money you got; I think it’s more enjoyable to think about your money always growing. Better to grow your money infinitely higher, slowly and steady, instead of earning tons of money in few chunks.

Better to get lots of steady serotonin daily (or weekly), instead of in infrequent (but huge) chunks

For example, I know I will live a long time, and I also desire to live a long time. If this is the case, then I want to feel maximally empowered as much as possible. And it seems to get infrequent but massive gains is frustrating. Better steady, consistent slowly, and infinitely more than inconsistent gains.

Should we work with human bias, or try to override it?

It seems philosophers and psychologists say:

Humans are dumb and defective because we get suckered by our “bad” or “irrational” human biases.

But what if there is insane amounts of wisdom in our folly and “irrationality”?

Thought:

Should we give more respect and credence to “irrationality”?

A good way to live life:

Simply avoid being a sucker (however you define this for yourself).

For example, when it comes to economic matters or purchasing decisions– don’t get suckered. Don’t get suckered into buying things which are contrary to your own personal preferences.

What does it mean to get suckered?

It is all subjective. My definition is this:

If you get tricked or fooled into doing something contrary to your own personal benefit, you’re getting suckered.

Obey yourself

Don’t let others try to superimpose their code of ethics or morality upon you. Stay firm, and have the courage to state:

These are my personal preferences, only for myself. My preferences aren’t for you, nor are your preferences for me!

Lesson:

There is no such thing as being “smart”, but there is such thing as being a sucker.

Thus in life, the best way to be “smart” is to avoid being a sucker!

I love faces:

Share YOUR THOUGHTS, YOUR IDEAS, use the word “I” more often.

Focus on you:

Who are the best people to surround yourself with? Your equals.

Don’t let others lord over you; lord over yourself!

Media and entertainment is good when it empowers and motivates us to do stuff. Entertainment and media is bad when it pacifies us.

Creating is good for ourselves, our ego, and our sense of changing and altering the world.

Creating as the ultimate joy!

If you want to achieve your most epic self, you MUST become self-employed.

How strong can you become? Test your own strengths as a point of personal curiosity for yourself.

Don’t let anyone talk down on you, or discourage you from attempting your own epic life goals:

For more joy, create more!

This Taoist notion that I follow and love:

Never do anything that your body, gut, or instinct doesn’t do intuitively. 

This means, more faith in yourself, your instincts, and your own animal like predilections than to force yourself to do what is “responsible”, “necessary”, and “productive”.

Striving for perfection is paralyzing. Better to produce and make a lot (quantity) rather than aim for ‘quality’.

I’m so motivated because I’m in hyper-health, physiologically thriving, through powerlifting and sleeping a lot, through intermittent fasting, and eating lots of meat.

Also, the child-like curiosity in creating new things!

Creativity isn’t this superpower you’re born with (or not). Creativity is having the DESIRE or the motivation to CREATE and make stuff!

Also, creativity is something which can be trained (like our muscles)!

To conquer photography, we must kill all prior notions of photography, and declare to ourselves:

I shall become the most epic photographer of all-time, and build up all my creative/visual faculties to the maximum!

The future of art and philosophy: photography.

What is the best camera? Currently it is the RICOH GR III, then probably iPhone Pro. Let me explain:

“Unless you expect the unexpected, you will not find it, for it is hidden and thickly tangled.” – Heraclitus

This is what makes street photography so fun — discovering compositions which are hidden — in plain sight, in everyday life. Your challenge as a street photographer is to find it!

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With sketches:

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Side by side:

Forcing compositions, when there isn’t an obvious composition there

Another fun game — finding and discovering a composition which doesn’t obviously exist, but we make it anyways!

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So what is your goal? As a street photographer, discover those hidden compositions in everyday life!

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An image is something you see. An idea is also based on the notion “to see”. Thus as a photographer, you’re both an image maker AND an idea maker.

Sad thing — I’ve seen a lot of street photographers come and go. It seems they’ve run out of inspiration or motivated. Here is what has been my secret to keep going!

Better to be misunderstood than understood.

People who aren’t easy to read are more interesting?

Epic attempts are more interesting than how much you can ultimately lift or do.

An idea as image:

My thought:

To maximize your impact and change in the world, embrace MAXIMUM SELFISHNESS, and barbell ‘maximum altruism’ on the other end.

What is the best life? The life of the maximal self-independence, and maximal self-augmentation.

My thought:

In life, we always want to feel that our power, influence, and strength is ASCENDING. It brings us great dismay when we feel our power is descending. 

There are no ultimate morals or ethics in street photography:

In order to MAXIMIZE your productivity, you must SIMPLIFY your life to the maximum as well!

The point of simplifying your life isn’t in order to become a more ‘virtuous’ person. To simplify your life is a highly pragmatic matter:

The more you simplify your life, the more you can maximize your personal creative productivity.

Practical tips on how to become a more productive artist and creator:

To blog, vlog, and log yourself on the internet —

To share your stream of constantly becoming with others.

To photograph yourself means:

1. Select a certain aesthetic to convey your personal aesthetic tastes, moods, or attitude towards life.
2. Only photograph what you consider beautiful. Or if you want to photograph what you consider ugly, do it with intent.
3. Don’t strive to make “good” photos. Strive to make HONEST photos that reveal part of yourself and your own soul.

There is the saying “You are what you eat” which means:

If you consume nutritious foods, you shall become powerful. If you consume bad foods, you shall become weak and fat.

Perhaps we can approach this attitude to photography —

If you are what you photograph, by photographing what brings you joy will make you more joyful and happy!

What is the worst thing holding us back?

This obsession for views, likes, and followers.

To truly thrive as a photographer and visual artist, you must learn to DISDAIN views, likes, and followers.

My thought:

The perfect conditions of existence is the optimal circumstances you need to maximize your artistic and philosophical output.

Notions of “cheating” or “unfairness” are only problems or issues if you’re competing with others.

A thought — perhaps it is better to live a life that is ANTI competition? You are only competing against yourself. No competition with anyone else means you don’t need to feel jealous or envious towards others. Also, you don’t need to pay attention to others.

I am a pessimistic optimist— I love and accept all the cruelty, tragedy, and unfairness in the world, yet I am optimistic about our individual ability to change ourselves and change the world.

Apparently there is a saying in Chinese:

Health begins from your feet upwards.

Which made me think:

The source of all photography begins in your feet!