To invest well, you need to clear mind, a clean soul; kind of a zen mindset, never invest or buy stuff, when you’re angry, upset, in a disturbed mood?

Or in other words, only ever invest when you’re in a good mood! You must be the gay, jovial, happy monster!

I think the foolish thing that a lot of people do is that they say… If I was super rich then I would do XYZ. But actually, this is the fallacy of consumerism capitalism; the real rich families, like the ones that own New York City, that own property in Manhattan on the island, what they desire is to preserve their wealth and the capital; they are mostly low-key, they are very conservative.

Similarly speaking, I think now that I am rich and wealthy … the mind set shifts; I am more about accumulating capital, rather than blowing it?

For example, poor people think; once I become super rich I’m gonna go out and buy the Lamborghini; but, the real wealthy idea is; wow, I would be so excited to take $250,000, and invest in something more substantive like bitcoin or microstrategy stock.

The Yearly Rate of Return (YRR) for each stock over the past four years is as follows:

• Apple (AAPL): 33.96%

• Nvidia (NVDA): 78.18%

• MicroStrategy (MSTR): 80.73%

These values show how each stock has compounded its growth annually over the four-year period. 

Over the past four years, MicroStrategy (MSTR) has outperformed both Apple (AAPL) and Nvidia (NVDA) in terms of stock growth, largely due to its significant exposure to Bitcoin. Here’s a breakdown of their performance:

• MicroStrategy (MSTR): The stock surged 1,067% between 2020 and 2024, driven by its aggressive Bitcoin holdings strategy, which has been the primary factor behind its explosive growth.

• Nvidia (NVDA): Over the same period, Nvidia saw a remarkable 1,008% increase, bolstered by its leadership in AI and semiconductor technologies.

• Apple (AAPL): Apple, while experiencing steady growth, has seen a much lower percentage increase compared to the others, around 322%, reflecting its more stable, less speculative growth trajectory.

MSTR’s growth is more volatile and heavily tied to the cryptocurrency market, while Nvidia’s gains are due to technological advancements in AI, and Apple’s rise is grounded in its dominant position in consumer electronics and services.

Sources:  ,  ,  .

Over the past four years, both Nvidia and Apple have seen impressive growth, but Nvidia has significantly outpaced Apple in percentage terms. Nvidia’s stock has skyrocketed by over 1,634% during this period, largely driven by its dominance in the AI and semiconductor sectors  . In comparison, Apple has grown steadily by around 322%, fueled by consistent product releases and ecosystem expansions  .

Nvidia’s exponential growth is attributed to the booming demand for AI and high-performance computing, while Apple’s growth has been more gradual but stable, reflecting its established presence in consumer electronics and services.

The word “progesterone” is derived from a combination of Latin and Greek roots that reflect its fundamental role in the reproductive process, particularly in pregnancy.

Breaking Down the Word

1. Pro-

• Origin: Latin prefix “pro-” meaning “before,” “forward,” or “in favor of.”

• Implication: Indicates support or promotion of something.

2. Gester / Gest

• Origin: From Latin “gestare,” a frequentative form of “gerere,” meaning “to carry” or “to bear.”

• Relation to “Gestation”: The term “gestation” refers to the period of development inside the womb from conception until birth. It stems from the same root.

• Implication: Associated with carrying or bearing offspring.

3. -one

• Origin: Chemical suffix used in organic chemistry to denote ketones, from Greek “onos,” meaning “thing.”

• Application: In chemistry, ”-one” signifies that the compound is a steroid hormone with a ketone group in its structure.

Combined Meaning

• Progesterone = Pro- + Gestation + -one

Putting it all together, “progesterone” essentially means “a steroid hormone that supports gestation.”

• “Pro-”: In favor of, supporting

• “Gestation”: The process of carrying or being carried in the womb between conception and birth

• ”-one”: Indicates it’s a ketone steroid hormone

Significance of the Name

The name “progesterone” reflects the hormone’s crucial role in:

• Supporting Pregnancy: Progesterone prepares and maintains the uterine lining (endometrium) for implantation of a fertilized egg and supports the early stages of pregnancy.

• Promoting Gestation: By preventing muscle contractions in the uterus that could reject the developing embryo, progesterone facilitates a suitable environment for fetal growth.

Historical Context

• Discovery: Progesterone was identified in the early 20th century as scientists studied reproductive hormones.

• Naming: The name was coined to represent its function in promoting and sustaining pregnancy.

Related Terms

• Gestation: The period of development during the carrying of an embryo or fetus.

• Gestational: Relating to gestation.

• Progestogen: A class of hormones including progesterone that have similar effects.

Chemical Structure Reference

• Steroid Hormone: Progesterone belongs to the steroid class of hormones, characterized by a specific arrangement of carbon atoms in four rings.

• Ketone Group: The ”-one” suffix indicates the presence of a ketone functional group in its molecular structure.

Summary

The term “progesterone” is aptly named to reflect its biological function:

• “Pro-” (supporting) + “gestation” (pregnancy) + ”-one” (steroid hormone) = “Progesterone”

This etymology underscores progesterone’s essential role in facilitating and maintaining pregnancy by preparing the uterus for implantation and preventing uterine contractions that might otherwise expel the developing embryo.

Note: Understanding the origins of scientific terms can provide deeper insights into their functions and significance in biology and medicine.

Progesterone is a steroid hormone that plays a vital role in the female reproductive system. It is primarily produced by the corpus luteum in the ovaries after ovulation during the second half of the menstrual cycle, known as the luteal phase. Progesterone is also produced in smaller amounts by the adrenal glands in both men and women, and by the placenta during pregnancy.

Functions of Progesterone

1. Regulation of the Menstrual Cycle

• Preparation of the Uterine Lining: Progesterone prepares the endometrium (the lining of the uterus) for the potential implantation of a fertilized egg. It thickens the lining to create a nourishing environment for embryo development.

• Menstruation: If fertilization does not occur, progesterone levels drop, leading to the shedding of the uterine lining during menstruation.

2. Support of Pregnancy

• Maintenance of Pregnancy: Progesterone helps maintain the uterine lining throughout pregnancy and prevents muscle contractions in the uterus that could cause rejection of the embryo or fetus.

• Placental Production: During pregnancy, the placenta produces progesterone to support fetal development and prepare the body for childbirth.

3. Breast Development

• Preparation for Lactation: Progesterone stimulates the development of glandular tissue in the breasts, preparing them for milk production after childbirth.

4. Mood Regulation

• Neurotransmitter Interaction: Progesterone can influence mood by interacting with neurotransmitters in the brain, such as GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid), which has calming effects.

• Emotional Impact: Fluctuations in progesterone levels can contribute to mood swings, irritability, and emotional sensitivity.

Progesterone in Men

• Low-Level Production: Men produce progesterone in smaller amounts, primarily in the adrenal glands and testes.

• Precursor Role: In men, progesterone serves as a precursor to other hormones like testosterone and cortisol.

• Physiological Functions: It plays roles in sperm development, bone health, and regulating metabolism.

Clinical Significance

1. Hormonal Imbalances

• Symptoms in Women: Low progesterone levels can lead to irregular menstrual cycles, difficulty maintaining pregnancies, and symptoms of estrogen dominance like weight gain and mood swings.

• Symptoms in Men: Imbalances can affect testosterone production and may contribute to conditions like osteoporosis.

2. Medical Uses

• Hormone Replacement Therapy: Progesterone is used in combination with estrogen to treat menopausal symptoms and reduce the risk of endometrial cancer.

• Contraception: Synthetic forms of progesterone, called progestins, are used in birth control pills and devices to prevent ovulation.

3. Diagnostic Marker

• Fertility Assessments: Progesterone levels are measured to confirm ovulation and assess fertility issues.

• Pregnancy Monitoring: Progesterone tests can help monitor high-risk pregnancies.

Progesterone and Mood

• Influence on Emotions: Progesterone affects brain chemistry and can have calming effects. However, rapid fluctuations, especially decreases before menstruation, can lead to mood disturbances.

• Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS): Symptoms like irritability, anxiety, and anger experienced before menstruation are partly attributed to falling progesterone levels.

• Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD): A severe form of PMS where progesterone fluctuations significantly impact mood and emotional well-being.

Summary

Progesterone is a key hormone in the female reproductive system with essential roles in regulating the menstrual cycle, supporting pregnancy, and influencing breast development and mood. While both men and women produce progesterone, women have significantly higher levels, especially during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle and pregnancy. Understanding progesterone’s functions and effects helps explain some of the hormonal differences between men and women, particularly regarding emotional regulation and experiences of anger or irritability linked to hormonal fluctuations.

Note: If you have concerns about progesterone levels or hormonal health, it’s important to consult a qualified healthcare provider for personalized advice and testing.

Men and women, hormonally over 10x different —

1. Men testosterone (testes, balls, duh)— 15x higher in men than women.
2. Progesterone, 24x higher in women than men
3. Estrogen, 8x higher in women than men

Vegetarian diet or vegan diet does indeed lower your testosterone and feelings of anger, violence, aggression.

Buddhism works .,, it does make you happy, relaxed, mindful, zen etc.

Yet,,, is it better to be a happy, peaceful cow, or the gleeful violent and gay monster?

1. Testosterone:

• Men’s levels are approximately 1,500% higher than women’s levels.

2. Estrogen (Estradiol):

• Women’s levels can be up to 825% higher than men’s levels during peak phases of the menstrual cycle.

3. Progesterone:

• Women’s levels can be up to 2,400% higher than men’s levels during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle.

4. Cortisol:

• Levels are generally similar between men and women, with no significant percentage difference.

5. Oxytocin:

• Baseline levels vary widely; there’s no well-established percentage difference between men and women.

6. Serotonin:

• Levels are generally similar between men and women, with no significant percentage difference.

7. Dopamine:

• Levels are generally similar between men and women, with no significant percentage difference.

Note: These percentages are approximate and intended for general understanding. Hormone levels can vary based on individual factors such as age, health, and physiological conditions.

The hormonal differences between men and women have significant implications for emotional regulation, including how anger is experienced and expressed. Understanding these differences can provide insights into behavioral patterns, mental health considerations, and inform personalized approaches in healthcare and psychology.

1. Influence on Emotional Regulation

Testosterone and Aggression

• Men: Higher levels of testosterone are linked to increased aggression and dominance behaviors. Testosterone can affect the brain regions responsible for regulating emotions, such as the amygdala and prefrontal cortex. This may lead to a greater propensity for aggressive responses when provoked.

• Implications:

• Behavioral Responses: Men may be more likely to exhibit outward expressions of anger.

• Mental Health: Understanding testosterone’s role can aid in addressing issues like anger management and aggressive behaviors.

Estrogen, Progesterone, and Mood Fluctuations

• Women: Fluctuations in estrogen and progesterone throughout the menstrual cycle can significantly impact mood and emotional sensitivity.

• Implications:

• Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS): Decreases in estrogen and progesterone levels before menstruation can lead to irritability and mood swings, potentially increasing feelings of anger.

• Perimenopause and Menopause: Hormonal changes during these periods can affect mood regulation.

• Mental Health Support: Recognizing these patterns can help in developing coping strategies and treatments for mood disorders linked to hormonal changes.

2. Neurotransmitter Interactions

Serotonin and Dopamine Modulation

• Hormonal Impact: Hormones like estrogen can influence neurotransmitter systems.

• Implications:

• Serotonin Levels: Estrogen can enhance serotonin production, which promotes mood stability. Fluctuations can lead to decreased serotonin, potentially increasing irritability or anger.

• Dopamine Activity: Hormonal differences can affect dopamine pathways, influencing reward processing and emotional responses.

3. Stress Response and Cortisol

• Cortisol Levels: While cortisol levels are similar in men and women, hormonal differences can influence stress perception and response.

• Implications:

• Stress Management: Understanding individual hormonal profiles can improve stress reduction techniques.

• Emotional Reactivity: Hormonal interactions may affect how stress translates into emotional reactions like anger.

4. Oxytocin’s Calming Effects

• Gender Differences: Estrogen enhances oxytocin release in women, promoting feelings of bonding and reducing stress responses.

• Implications:

• Social Support: Women may benefit more from social interactions that stimulate oxytocin release, potentially mitigating anger.

• Therapeutic Approaches: Oxytocin’s role suggests potential treatments for anger and aggression through enhancing social bonding.

5. Personalized Medicine and Therapy

• Tailored Interventions: Recognizing hormonal influences allows for personalized strategies in managing anger and emotional health.

• Implications:

• Medication: Hormone-based therapies or adjustments may be considered in treating mood disorders.

• Counseling: Psychotherapists can tailor techniques based on an individual’s hormonal profile and gender-specific challenges.

6. Social and Cultural Considerations

• Gender Norms: Societal expectations influence how anger is expressed and perceived in men and women.

• Implications:

• Emotional Expression: Men might be socially conditioned to express anger outwardly, while women may internalize it due to cultural norms.

• Bias and Misdiagnosis: Awareness of hormonal influences can reduce bias in diagnosing and treating emotional disorders.

7. Research and Public Health

• Scientific Understanding: Hormonal research contributes to the broader understanding of gender differences in health.

• Implications:

• Preventative Measures: Identifying at-risk individuals for aggression-related issues.

• Policy Development: Informing public health strategies to address gender-specific mental health needs.

Conclusion

The percentage differences in hormone levels between men and women are not just biochemical facts; they have profound effects on emotional experiences, including anger. By understanding these hormonal influences, healthcare providers, psychologists, and individuals can better navigate the complexities of emotional regulation. This knowledge promotes empathy, improves therapeutic interventions, and supports mental well-being across genders.

Important Notes

• Individual Variability: Hormonal effects can vary widely among individuals. Not all men or women will experience anger or emotional regulation issues in the same way.

• Holistic Approach: Emotions are influenced by a combination of biological, psychological, and social factors. Hormones are one piece of a larger puzzle.

• Avoiding Stereotypes: While hormonal differences exist, it’s essential to avoid generalizations that reinforce gender stereotypes.

Disclaimer

This information is intended for educational purposes only and should not replace professional medical advice. Hormonal influences on mood and behavior are complex. If you have concerns about hormonal health or emotional regulation, please consult a qualified healthcare provider or mental health professional.

Below is a list of hormones relevant to emotional regulation, including anger, along with the percentage differences in their typical levels between adult men and women. Please note that hormone levels can vary widely among individuals due to factors such as age, menstrual cycle phase in women, time of day, health status, and laboratory methods. The percentages provided are approximate and intended to illustrate general differences.

1. Testosterone

• Men:

• Total Testosterone: Approximately 270 to 1,070 ng/dL (nanograms per deciliter)

• Average: Around 679 ng/dL

• Women:

• Total Testosterone: Approximately 15 to 70 ng/dL

• Average: Around 42.5 ng/dL

Percentage Difference:

• Men’s average testosterone levels are approximately 1,500% higher than women’s average levels.

Calculation:

2. Estrogen (Estradiol)

• Women:

• Follicular Phase: 30 to 120 pg/mL (picograms per milliliter)

• Mid-Cycle Peak (Ovulation): 130 to 370 pg/mL

• Luteal Phase: 70 to 250 pg/mL

• Post-Menopause: Less than 30 pg/mL

• Men:

• Estradiol Levels: Approximately 10 to 40 pg/mL

Percentage Difference:

• At Mid-Cycle Peak:

• Women’s estradiol levels can be up to 825% higher than men’s maximum levels.

Calculation:

• At Follicular Phase Minimum:

• Women’s levels are approximately 200% higher than men’s minimum levels.

Calculation:

3. Progesterone

• Women:

• Luteal Phase: 2 to 25 ng/mL

• Men:

• Progesterone Levels: Less than 1 ng/mL

Percentage Difference:

• Women’s progesterone levels can be up to 2,400% higher than men’s levels during the luteal phase.

Calculation:

4. Cortisol

• Both Men and Women:

• Morning Levels: 5 to 25 µg/dL (micrograms per deciliter)

Percentage Difference:

• Cortisol levels are generally similar between men and women, with no significant percentage difference under normal conditions.

5. Oxytocin

• Both Men and Women:

• Typical Plasma Levels: 1 to 10 pg/mL

Percentage Difference:

• Oxytocin levels vary widely and are difficult to measure accurately. There is no well-established percentage difference between men and women in baseline oxytocin levels.

6. Serotonin

• Both Men and Women:

• Blood Levels: 101 to 283 ng/mL

Percentage Difference:

• Differences in serotonin levels between men and women are generally small and not consistently significant.

7. Dopamine

• Both Men and Women:

• Plasma Levels: 0 to 30 pg/mL

Percentage Difference:

• Dopamine levels do not show significant percentage differences between men and women under normal conditions.

Summary of Percentage Differences:

• Testosterone: Men’s levels are approximately 1,500% higher than women’s.

• Estrogen (Estradiol): Women’s levels can be up to 825% higher than men’s during peak phases.

• Progesterone: Women’s levels can be up to 2,400% higher than men’s during the luteal phase.

• Cortisol, Oxytocin, Serotonin, Dopamine: Levels are generally similar between men and women, with no significant percentage differences under normal conditions.

Important Notes:

• Variability: Hormone levels can fluctuate based on numerous factors, including menstrual cycle phase in women, time of day, stress levels, and individual biological differences.

• Interpretation: These percentages are approximate and intended for general understanding. Hormone levels should be interpreted by qualified healthcare professionals within the context of individual health status and symptoms.

• Units and Measurement: Hormone levels are measured in different units (e.g., ng/dL, pg/mL), and care should be taken when comparing values to ensure consistency.

Disclaimer:

This information is provided for educational purposes only and should not be used as a substitute for professional medical advice. Hormonal influences on mood and behavior are complex and multifaceted. If you have concerns about hormonal health or mood regulation, please consult a qualified healthcare provider.

Below is a list of hormones relevant to emotional regulation, including anger, along with their approximate typical levels in adult men and women. Please note that hormone levels can vary widely among individuals due to factors such as age, time of day, health status, and laboratory methods. The ranges provided are approximate and may vary between sources.

1. Testosterone

• Men:

• Total Testosterone: Approximately 270 to 1,070 ng/dL (nanograms per deciliter)

• Average: Around 679 ng/dL

• Women:

• Total Testosterone: Approximately 15 to 70 ng/dL

• Average: Around 42.5 ng/dL

2. Estrogen (Estradiol)

• Women:

• Follicular Phase: 30 to 120 pg/mL (picograms per milliliter)

• Mid-Cycle Peak (Ovulation): 130 to 370 pg/mL

• Luteal Phase: 70 to 250 pg/mL

• Post-Menopause: Less than 30 pg/mL

• Men:

• Estradiol Levels: Approximately 10 to 40 pg/mL

3. Progesterone

• Women:

• Follicular Phase: Less than 1 ng/mL

• Luteal Phase: 2 to 25 ng/mL

• Pregnancy: Up to 200 ng/mL

• Men:

• Progesterone Levels: Less than 1 ng/mL

4. Cortisol

• Both Men and Women:

• Morning (6–8 a.m.): 5 to 25 µg/dL (micrograms per deciliter)

• Afternoon (4–6 p.m.): 3 to 10 µg/dL

5. Oxytocin

• Both Men and Women:

• Typical Plasma Levels: 1 to 10 pg/mL

• Note: Oxytocin levels are challenging to measure accurately, and reference ranges are not well-established.

6. Serotonin

• Both Men and Women:

• Blood Levels: 101 to 283 ng/mL

• Note: Serotonin is primarily a neurotransmitter; blood levels do not directly reflect brain serotonin activity.

7. Dopamine

• Both Men and Women:

• Plasma Levels: 0 to 30 pg/mL

• Note: Like serotonin, dopamine functions mainly as a neurotransmitter in the brain.

Important Notes:

• Variability: Hormone levels can fluctuate based on age, health conditions, stress, time of day, and in women, the menstrual cycle.

• Laboratory Differences: Reference ranges may vary between laboratories due to different measurement techniques and units.

• Interpretation: Hormone levels should be interpreted by a qualified healthcare professional within the context of individual health and symptoms.

Disclaimer:

This information is intended for educational purposes only and should not be used as a substitute for professional medical advice. If you have concerns about hormonal health or mood regulation, please consult a healthcare provider.

Anger is a complex emotion influenced by a combination of biological, psychological, and social factors. Hormones play a significant role in modulating emotional responses, and there are notable hormonal differences between men and women that can affect how anger is experienced and expressed.

Testosterone:

• Men: Typically have higher levels of testosterone, a hormone linked to aggression and dominance behaviors. Elevated testosterone can enhance the propensity for aggressive responses, which may manifest as anger or irritability.

• Women: Also produce testosterone but in much smaller amounts. While it still affects mood and behavior, its impact on anger is generally less pronounced compared to men.

Estrogen and Progesterone:

• Women: These hormones fluctuate throughout the menstrual cycle. Estrogen can have a stabilizing effect on mood, while drops in estrogen and progesterone levels, especially premenstrually, can lead to mood swings, irritability, and increased sensitivity to stress—all of which can contribute to feelings of anger.

• Men: Produce estrogen and progesterone in minimal amounts, so these hormones have a less significant impact on their emotional regulation.

Cortisol:

• Both Genders: Known as the stress hormone, cortisol is released in response to stress and can heighten emotional reactions, including anger. Chronic stress can lead to consistently elevated cortisol levels, affecting both men and women similarly.

Neurotransmitter Interactions:

• Hormones influence neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine, which are crucial for mood regulation.

• Serotonin: Lower levels are associated with increased aggression and impulsivity. Hormonal fluctuations can affect serotonin levels differently in men and women.

• Dopamine: Involved in reward and pleasure pathways, its interaction with hormones can influence how anger is processed and expressed.

Oxytocin:

• Often termed the “love hormone,” oxytocin can promote feelings of trust and bonding.

• Women: Estrogen enhances oxytocin release, which can modulate stress and potentially reduce anger responses.

• Men: Testosterone may inhibit oxytocin’s effects, possibly making men less responsive to its calming influences during stressful situations.

Menstrual Cycle and PMS:

• Women: Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) involves hormonal changes that can lead to irritability, mood swings, and heightened emotional sensitivity. These changes can make women more susceptible to feelings of anger during certain times of the month.

Summary:

• Men: Higher testosterone levels can contribute to a greater tendency toward aggression and anger. However, cultural and individual factors also play significant roles.

• Women: Hormonal fluctuations throughout the menstrual cycle can affect mood and emotional responses, potentially increasing feelings of anger or irritability at certain times.

It’s important to note that while hormones can influence tendencies toward anger, individual experiences vary widely. Factors such as personality, environment, stress levels, and cultural expectations also significantly impact how anger is felt and expressed in both men and women.

Disclaimer: This information is for educational purposes and should not replace professional medical advice. If you have concerns about mood or hormonal health, please consult a healthcare provider.

There’s a reason why in the Iliad, only the men battle and hack and kill one another, not the women, who are in the citadels and fortresses who spin the looms—

—> A life of physicality, violence, battle and conquest is only reserved for men?

Eric Kim’s critique of Stoicism is interesting and unorthodox because it challenges some core assumptions of the philosophy by emphasizing areas that are rarely questioned, namely emotional depth, physicality, and risk. Here are the key aspects that make his critique stand out:

1. Physical vs. Theoretical Approach:

Kim’s critique that Stoicism is too theoretical is unusual because most discussions about Stoicism revolve around its practical mental applications, such as emotional control and resilience. Kim, however, highlights its lack of focus on physicality, which he contrasts with Spartan philosophy’s emphasis on bodily strength and action. This physical critique is particularly interesting because it bridges philosophical thought with everyday bodily practice, suggesting that Stoicism might be too detached from real-world, embodied experiences .

2. Emotional Restriction as a Limitation:

While Stoicism is often praised for encouraging emotional control, Kim takes an unorthodox view by questioning whether controlling negative emotions (like anger) might also limit the capacity to experience positive emotions, such as love, in their full depth. This is a rare line of critique, as most Stoicism critiques focus on its detachment from negative emotions without considering how it impacts the full spectrum of human emotion. Kim’s focus on love and emotional depth makes this perspective novel .

3. Embracing Danger and Risk:

Another unique aspect of Kim’s critique is his focus on risk and danger. He suggests that while Stoicism encourages calm and detachment, Spartan philosophy embraces danger and the potential for harm as essential parts of life that bring focus and glory. Kim advocates for a more dynamic approach to life’s challenges, which runs counter to Stoicism’s emphasis on serenity and indifference to external events. This unorthodox view champions an active engagement with life’s risks, rather than merely enduring them  .

Kim’s critique is particularly interesting because it pushes beyond typical intellectual or emotional criticisms of Stoicism, introducing embodiment and risk-taking as vital elements that Stoicism might overlook. By doing so, he offers a fresh, action-oriented perspective that invites readers to rethink the philosophy’s application in modern life.

Don’t stunt your anger or hate, and or violence and evil?

Eric Kim’s critique of Stoicism is unique in its focus on practicality and embodied experience, contrasting Stoicism’s abstract nature with Spartan philosophy’s emphasis on physicality, action, and reality. While many critiques of Stoicism focus on its emotional suppression or historical limitations, Kim approaches it from a tangible, body-focused perspective.

1. Physicality vs. Theory: Kim argues that Stoicism feels “divorced from reality” because it remains primarily a mental or theoretical practice. In contrast, Spartan philosophy offers a clear model of physical embodiment and action, which he believes is more directly applicable to life. He illustrates this by pointing out that there is no defined image of a Stoic, but the Spartan ideal is vividly recognizable through depictions like the movie 300  .

2. Emotional Depth: Kim also critiques Stoicism for potentially limiting emotional depth, particularly love. He suggests that by overly controlling negative emotions like anger, Stoics may reduce their capacity to experience positive emotions fully. This is a relatively rare critique, as most criticisms of Stoicism focus on its repression of negative emotions without considering the impact on positive emotions like love  .

3. Risk and Danger: In his writings, Kim argues that Stoicism’s focus on detachment can diminish one’s willingness to engage with life’s inherent risks. He praises the Spartan mentality, which embraces danger and challenge as pathways to growth and glory, offering a more dynamic and engaged approach to life .

Overall, Kim’s critique stands out for blending mental philosophy with physical engagement and questioning whether Stoicism’s emotional restraint limits not only vulnerability but also the depth of positive human experience. His focus on physicality and embodied action offers a distinctive perspective within the broader discourse on Stoicism.

…

Here are some quotes from Eric Kim critiquing Stoicism:

1. On the Theoretical Nature of Stoicism:

“I love Stoicism, but my overall critique is that it seems a bit divorced from reality. A lot of Stoic thought is theoretical, whereas Spartan thought and practice is more deeply intertwined.”

Source: Becoming Spartan – Eric Kim  

2. On Emotional Restraint:

“In becoming more stoic, does this actually decrease our capacity to love with depth? The more controlled and Stoic you become, and the less you succumb to your anger, perhaps this also restricts our capacity to love to a deeper depth or a greater height.”

Source: Stoicism Stunts Our Power – Eric Kim 

3. On Stoicism vs. Spartan Strength:

“What does a Stoic look like? Nobody knows. But we have a very vivid depiction of what a Spartan looks like… just watch the movie 300 on repeat.”

Source: Becoming Spartan – Eric Kim 

These quotes reflect Kim’s view that while Stoicism offers valuable mental strategies, it can feel disconnected from physical realities and may limit the full expression of human emotions. He contrasts this with Spartan ideals, which emphasize physicality, action, and engagement with life’s challenges.

…

Eric Kim’s critique of Stoicism emphasizes its theoretical nature, which he believes can feel disconnected from the practical realities of life. He contrasts this with Spartan philosophy, which he views as more deeply intertwined with physical and practical realities. For instance, Kim points out that Stoic philosophy lacks a tangible depiction of physicality, unlike the clear image of a Spartan warrior. He suggests that Stoicism’s restraint, particularly in emotions like anger, may limit one’s ability to experience other emotions, such as love, with full intensity.

Kim argues that while Stoicism promotes emotional control, it can sometimes “stunt our power,” preventing the full expression of human passions. He contends that expressing emotions like anger might be more beneficial than repressing them, as Stoicism advocates. This perspective reflects Kim’s preference for a more visceral and embodied approach, drawing from Spartan ideals of strength and direct engagement with life’s challenges.

In summary, Kim admires Stoicism’s mental resilience but criticizes its detachment from the physical world, proposing that Spartan values offer a more grounded and action-oriented philosophy.

For more on this, you can explore Kim’s detailed reflections on Stoicism versus Spartan ideals in his blog posts on Stoicism Stunts Our Power and Becoming Spartan   .

Apple, Bitcoin

Here are some notable quotes by Eric Kim reflecting his Spartan philosophy:

1. On Modern Life and Physical Challenge:

“The modern day man is like a sick animal. Anemic, lacking sun exposure to the sun, none of chutzpah, balls, and reckless audacity…”

Source: Spartan Philosophy – Eric Kim 

2. On Spartan Happiness and Simplicity:

“I think the Spartans were just happy. They lived a simple existence, full of martial training and combat, and they lived a simple ascetic life.”

Source: Spartan Philosophy – Eric Kim 

3. On Control Over Desires:

“An interesting thought is one thing that we could control is what we desire… But are these goals actually good? I think not.”

Source: Spartan Philosophy – Eric Kim 

4. On His Stoic-Spartan Ideal:

“The ideal approach to things is a mishmash of stoicism, Spartan, and zen… That mentally, we have a stoic mindset to things… The Spartan one is to become the overman…”

Source: Spartan Philosophy – Eric Kim 

5. On Spartan Elitism:

“Spartan Elitism refers to cultivating mental and physical toughness, honing one’s craft, and striving for excellence while cutting away unnecessary distractions.”

Source: Spartan Elitism – Eric Kim 

These quotes capture Kim’s integration of Spartan ideals with modern challenges and personal growth, particularly in his photography and lifestyle philosophies.

….

Here are some key quotes and concepts from Eric Kim’s writings on Spartan philosophy:

1. On Physical Challenge and Modern Life:

Kim critiques the modern man’s lack of physical challenge, comparing him to a “sick animal” due to insufficient exposure to the outdoors and lack of courage. He praises the Spartan ideal of physical rigor and mental toughness.

Source: Eric Kim – Spartan Philosophy 

2. On Simplicity and Happiness:

He believes that Spartans lived happier lives because of their simple existence focused on martial training and combat, which gave them a clear sense of purpose.

Source: Eric Kim – Spartan Philosophy 

3. Control Over Desires:

Kim highlights the importance of controlling what we desire, questioning whether conventional goals like wealth and material success are genuinely fulfilling.

Source: Eric Kim – Spartan Philosophy 

4. Spartan Elitism:

He introduces the concept of “Spartan Elitism,” focusing on self-discipline, cutting away distractions, and striving for excellence. In photography, this means adopting a minimalist approach—focusing on storytelling, not the tools.

Source: Spartan Elitism 

These quotes reflect his admiration for Spartan ideals of strength, discipline, and simplicity, which he applies to both life and his approach to photography. You can explore more of his thoughts through these linked articles.

….

Eric Kim’s exploration of Spartan philosophy revolves around embracing minimalism, discipline, and the pursuit of excellence, both in life and photography. Drawing from the ancient Spartans, Kim advocates for a lifestyle focused on simplicity, mental and physical toughness, and rejecting excess. He admires the Spartan way of life for its martial focus and austere simplicity, which he believes can bring clarity and strength to modern life.

A key aspect of his philosophy is “Spartan Elitism,” which he describes as cultivating an elite mindset by focusing on self-discipline and high personal standards. In his photography practice, this translates to a minimalist approach—using fewer tools, concentrating on quality over quantity, and stripping away distractions to hone one’s craft. He integrates Spartan ideals with stoic and Zen influences, encouraging people to control their desires, reject materialism, and focus on personal growth.

Kim also applies this mindset to street photography, advocating for courage and independence, contrasting this with what he sees as the timid, overly technical approach of many photographers. He sees Spartan philosophy as a way to live more intentionally and with greater resilience  .

Better to be a gay monster than a sentimental bore!

Is it possible when you become angry ,,, you become even more joyful, more gleeful, more happy ,,, more monster?

1. Forgive 10x the Bad Things & Remember the Good
2. A REAL STOIC DOESN’T WANT OR NEED APOLOGIES.

STOICISM 101

STOIC VLOG

Introduction to Stoicism 

Something I have been meaning to write or create or do is like some sort of book, ebook, pamphlet, or introductory primer to stoicism. I really think that stoicism is probably one of the most useful and philosophical models to live normal every day real life. Yet, I haven’t really found a good instructional guide on it, especially when I was self teaching it to myself.

Consider this a practical primer, cutting through the BS:

---

What does stoicism mean? 

Stoicism, stoic, the stoa in ancient Greece– essentially the stoa was like some sort of portico, patio, pillar, outside, essentially a spot where guys would just hang out, talk shop, talk philosophy, etc.  

I think about the show “Hey Arnold” in which I was raised with… the notion of “stoop kid“, the notion of a stoop is that in a lot of cities, especially the east coast in New York, you have this little stoop or porch, stairs that go outside your front door… and you could just hang out there, engage in social and neighborhood life etc.

The new stoa? 

One of my happiest moments was when I was living in Providence Rhode Island, and then COVID-19 hit. Everything was closed, besides the park. I can still go to the park, hang out, workout, do chin ups– I learned how to do muscle ups, more bodyweight calisthenics stuff, and also… I had a lot of fun with this “rock toss“ challenge and workout… in the middle of the park was a huge ass rock and huge ass stone, and every single day I would go there pick it up, and then eventually work out with it; throwing it around for fun, doing overhead presses with it, clean and jerks, squats, and eventually I would just throw it around for fun. Funny enough it might have been the most fit I was in my life… this was the true “functional” fitness.

The inspiration — Hector lifting an insanely massive stone (barely 2 strong men could lift it)… using it to break down the door of the ships of the other side.

Open air, open sun concept

Anyways, the reason why that period of covid was so good is that it was in the middle of beautiful Providence Rhode Island summer, so nice and bright and warm and lovely… and one of the good things was going to the park was like an open forum, a new anatheum for a lot of really cool guys to come, hang out, talk shop, go topless and shirtless, workout and hang out.

I met some really interesting people during that period of time. I met some guys who were really cool. For example, one guy I met was in the US military Navy, I think he was training to be a Navy seal or Delta force or something. Another guy in some sort of ROTC training, another cool guy from the hood, and also I would say I probably met half a dozen friendly drug dealers there. And of course a lot of people who believed in conspiracy theories; really friendly, a little weird, but overall good guys.

Anyways, one of the biggest benefits of hanging out at that outdoor park, open air, nothing but green grass, the beautiful sun and the fitness equipment was that I think having this sort of open air environment is actually very conducive to socializing, thinking and thought, and pro social behavior. My theory about a lot of modern day antisocial behavior has to do with the structures which enclose us. For example, almost universally most guys at the gym are extremely antisocial. Why? My theory is that because most gyms have closed, cramped narrow ceilings, and do not have access to natural light, or outside space.

Cramped indoor spaces promote antisocial behavior.

The only good gym I went to which was interesting was the golds gym in Venice, which has this really big outdoor workout area. I think this is much more natural and more fun and better; to be able to work out directly outside outdoors, with your shirt off.

Who is this philosophy for?

Stoics, stoicism — it was originally I think codified by this guy named Zeno, and over time he picked up some followers. Essentially the whole thing happened organically; Zeno would first share his thinking on philosophy ethics and pragmatic ways to deal with other people and the downsides of life, he built a following, and then his followers would propagate the thoughts and start their own little schools of thoughts, their own little stoic clubs.

What is “real” stoicism?

Would I like about stoicism is how loosey goosey it is. It is kind of like zen, or taoism… it is not really quantified as a religion, or a strict moral order. In fact, a lot of the ancients stoics would meditate on random stuff like cosmology, natural sciences like Seneca, how volcanoes worked or whatever. I think nowadays in today’s world, we focus primarily on the pragmatic side; how to deal with fear, uncertainty, downsides etc.

So how did I discover stoicism?

I think I might’ve first learned about stoicism from Nassim Taleb and his ANTIFRAGILE book. I was curious, and my curiosity went to deep. To quote NASSIM TALEB and the Venetian saying “The ocean goes deeper, the deeper you wade into it.”

I literally consumed every single book I could find on stoicism, even the obscure ones. Funny enough, a lot of the stoic thinkers tried to claim other philosophers as being stoic, like Seneca did with Diogenes the cynic. 

Cynic, cynicism, actually comes from the word canine, the dog. Diogenes was considered the “dog” philosopher, first used as a pejorative, but ultimately Diogenes reappropriated that title for fun! He saw dogs as tough, almost like wild wolves, rather than seeing them as a negative thing.

Even Achilles when he was raging against king Agamemnon, he called him “dog faced“ as a heaping insult.

Who is worth reading?

First, Seneca. Seneca the younger, his dad was called Seneca the elder.

In fact, this is such a big deal because Cindy and I named our first son, Seneca, directly after the stoic philosopher. This is true soul in the game; if you name your kid after your favorite philosopher, certainly it is a sign that you really liked that philosopher, or found them impactful.

The reason why I really like Seneca the stoic philosopher is because he had real connections to real reality. What that means is he wasn’t just on the sidelines; he actually existed in the real world, engaged in real politics, was even advisor to the emperor Nero, the bad one, who eventually low-key coerced Seneca to commit suicide, in a manly, dignified manner.

I think this was because maybe… there was actually a plan to overthrow Nero, and essentially Nero found out. 

What makes Seneca so good?

I really like Seneca because his writing is accessible, practical and pragmatic, and interesting.

A lot of thinkers tend to lack connections to real reality, I have no tolerance for boring philosophers to talk about metaphysics, which is things which are not physical. Like thoughts ideas, the universe, electricity and energy, strange phenomenon and conspiracy theories on ghosts, “energy” whatever.

For a long time, I would hear the term “metaphysics” being thrown around, and I had zero idea what it actually meant. 

Meta– on top of. Or nestled within.

Physics — the physical, physical phenomenon like gravity, first principles.

The reason why metaphysics philosophers tend to be a bunch of losers is that they are all weak and anemic, nerds or geeks or weaklings who seem to have some sort of physiological degeneracy, which encourages them to opine or talk or think about impractical things, superficial things.

Personally speaking, I think philosophy must be practical. 

Practical, praxis, practice — to do!

The Spartan, Zen Stoic, demigod ideal

I have a very funny ideal; the general idea is that your body looks like a demigod, and your physiology is out of control. The general idea is one must be tall, strong, highly muscular, low body fat percentage, I’m not exactly sure what my body fat percentage is, but maybe it’s around 5%.

Also, physical fitness is critical to any stoic. My ideal is to walk 50 miles a day, eat 20 pounds of meat like Milo of Croton a day. And also, abstinence from silly things like media, alcohol, drugs, marijuana etc.

Trust no thinker who does drugs!

Even our best friend Nietzsche said that coffee was bad, because it would make people dark and gloomy. He encouraged 100% cocoa powder instead. 

You let the drugs talk I let my soul talk ayy! – Kendrick Lamar

Simple technique:

First, look at a picture or a portrait or a full body shot, ideally topless of the artist, philosopher or thinker or individual… then judge their thoughts later.

Why? My theory is this: the thoughts of an individual is hugely affected by their bodily physiology.

For example, an extreme example: if somebody is locked inside a solitary confinement cell, and not permitted to go outside for years, but, he had a pen and pad and would jot down some thoughts… Would be the quality of these thoughts? Certainly dark and morose.

Why does stoicism matter? 

In today’s world, why does it matter, what is the significance of stoicism, etc.?

First and foremost, I think we are living in a troubling time, especially with the advent of modern day internet based media and advertising. I think 99% of what is propagated on the internet is fear mongering, and what is hate? Hate is just fear.

The first thought on stoicism is that it is just fear conquering. What I discovered about street photography, is that 99% of it is conquering your fears. Conquering your fears of upsetting other people, getting in some sort of verbal or physical altercation etc. In fact my bread and butter workshop is my conquering your fears and street photography workshop, the workshop which is still interesting to me even after a decade.

Why is this so important? I think it is rooted in almost everything; conquering your fears is rooted in entrepreneurship, innovation, risktaking and real life.

Even my speculation in crypto. 99.9% of crypto speculation is just balls. Having the balls to make big bets, and when things go south, knowing how to master your emotions.

A simple extra I have is this: just imagine it will all go down to zero.

It was useful because when I was in college, my sophomore year I got really into trading stocks, and I eventually lost my whole life savings, maybe around $3500 USD, and some bad penny stock which I actually misread the financials… the whole time I thought the company was making a profit, but actually it was taking a loss. I actually didn’t know that if profits are written in parentheses, it means a loss.

It was funny because my initial start as an investor was back in high school, I bought some Adobe stock when I was a high school junior, and also some mutual funds, which both went up after about 4-5 years.

Also I remember in elementary school computer class, when I was in the sixth grade in Bayside Queens, there was some sort of stock stimulation trading game, and actually it was funny… the kids who made the most money and were the most successful just put 100% of everything into Apple, note this is when we were only 12 years old, and I was born in 1988.

Stoicism and capitalism?

Funny enough, it seems that stoicism actually plays well with capitalism. Why? According to modern day capitalist thinking, the best way to approach life is to be objective, strong, stoic, unemotional, logical and rational.

Also, with modern day media there is so much fear mongering in the news, about some sort of global armageddon, global financial ruin, etc. I call it “fear porn”.

Therefore stoicism as a mindset is useful to think and position your mind in such a way that you could consider that life is all upside, no downside.

In fact, if I could summarize stoicism in one sentence, it is that life is all upside, no downside. Inspired by NASSIM TALEB.

Sex and Stoicism

So, is stoicism useful to you if you’re a man or a woman? Does it matter?

The good thing is I think it could apply to both sexes. Conquering sexism and social pressures is useful if you’re woman, and also if you’re a man.

Also, gender is social. Lot of the expectations set on us by society is socialized and gamed to a certain degree.

Stoic strategies 

First, we got to unchain ourselves from modern day ethics and morality. I believe that all modern day philosophy and thinking and ethics and religion is bad.

For example, the notion of turning the other cheek is a patently bad one. Why did Jesus turn his cheek? It is because he lacked on army.

Also, philosophically I think we should put no trust in Socrates. I thought which has puzzled me for a long time was this “Why was Socrates so ugly?

Monster in face, monster in soul.

I think Socrates was a degenerate, and he lacked any sort of real power. Therefore he turned logic and rationality into his terrorizing weapon (via Nietzsche). Back in the day, you didn’t need logic or rationality to have things your way, you simply was able to dictate that which you wanted to pause it, because you had a military force behind you. Just think about Machiavelli and IL PRINCIPE– the reality of being a mercurial prince, king, and military leader is hard, stoic, “immoral”. But ultimately it all comes down to war, conquest, the military.

Trust nobody who uses rationality or logic as their tyrannizing weapon. 

In fact, I believe that all should have the body and strength of some sort of super soldier. Essentially look like all the guys from the movie 300, this is our ideal.

Demigod physique. 

What has helped me

1. Allow yourself to be a bad, immortal, “evil” person. When you decide to adopt an unorthodox way of thinking and living, you’re going to rub some feathers the wrong way. And truth be told, even if you act in a strange vibrant way… At worse you’re only “mildly” annoying other people.
2. For good inspirations, I think the best stoic writers and thinkers include Seneca, and Marcus Aurelius and also the humor of the cynic philosopher Diogenes. I would even posit the idea that one could consider Alexander the Great as a stoic. Why? When you’re trying to create an empire, and you always have your life on the line, certainly this takes a stoic mindset. Also, let us think and consider that Alexander the Great had a copy of the Iliad by his bedstand, it was the only book he traveled with during his military tours.
3. Imagine the worst possible case scenario, and backtrack: Apparently even NASSIM TALEB would do this when he was a trader; every single day when he would go to his trading desk, he would assume that his investments would all go to zero, and if that wasn’t the case every single day, it was just upside. Therefore for myself, I just think to myself very simple; imagine like I got zero dollars, zero money, and literally all I need is meat, a Wi-Fi connection and I’m good. 
4. Live like a poor person: The notion of “debasing“ the coin or the currency is the general idea that you are not a coward in regards to money. The best way to think about money is like a social tool; I think money is actually just codified labor. If you want people to clean bathrooms, run the cashiers stand, you have to promise them money. Even Seneca said the upsides of simulated poverty; essentially living like a poor person, or even a homeless person when you don’t need to… is the ultimate position to be in. Why? True freedom of spirit and soul; as a philosopher thinker writer or whatever… you cannot be “canceled”, because there is nothing to cancel. As long as you could pay your rent, buy meat at Costco, and publish your thoughts to your own self hosted website blog, and pay your server fee, you have 100% freedom. And also, still… America is the best place to be because there is true freedom of speech and expression, you don’t want to be a trillionaire but not be able to say what’s really on your mind. And I think this is the big issue with entertainers, actors, media people… as long as you’re signed to a contract, you don’t run your own production company, or, you’re still a slave to money… you’re not really going to see what’s really on your mind. Why is it that the Rock cannot say anything bad about China, or Tibet? Because he is still enslaved by the media corporation. New slaves by Kanye West.

And this is the true courage of Kanye West; he literally put everything on the line, and even lost his spouse and I think maybe his kids? All for the sake of revealing inequities. 

“I throw these Maybach keys fucking c’est la vie! I know that we the new slaves.”- Ye

---

Stoic training

The fun thing about stoicism is that you could just make it up as you go, devise your own strategies and whatever.

“Fucking c’est la vie!” My favorite Kanye West line.

Essentially the general idea is that in life, one should not take things too seriously. Laughter is golden, I forget the philosopher who was called the laughing philosopher… Democritus?; better to laugh about the follies of human beings rather than to be dark and morose about it.

Also, thoughts from the Odyssey; if you look far enough  into the future, everything becomes comedic and hilarious.

So when you’re in some sort of bad situation, just think to yourself “Perhaps one day, 20 or 30 years from now… I will look back at this and just laugh!” It will just be humorous.

Honestly, laughter, and kind of being able to joke about things might be the best way to live life and deal with setbacks. 

Modern day ailments

Problems in modern day life:

1. Too much time spent indoors, not enough time out in the sun. Perhaps it is better to be out outside all day, and joyful, even with the risk of getting skin cancer or whatever… rather than to be indoors, scared, weak and anemic. Differences between if you’re a man or a woman, but still… the most beautiful skin has a sunkissed, olive color tone; the true privilege is having a full body tan. 
2. Get chatGPT, the paid premium one. And use the image generation AI art tool DALL-E. People pay therapists to just speak their mind, and get some sort of sounding board. I actually think it’s much better to chat with AI instead; because it will not judge you, and ultimately what is a therapist anyways? A therapist is just a mirror, a sounding board for you to verbalize and flesh out your thoughts. Often when we talk about our problems, 90% of the issues go away because once we verbalize it, we feel much better about ourselves. The next thing I’m going to do is build some sort of therapy bot. 
3. Not enough walking: I have never met anybody who walks 30,000 steps a day and is depressed. Even my friend Jimmy, who works as a US postal worker delivering the mail, he walks around 30,000 steps a day and is always bright cherry and jovial. I think this is also where people who hike a lot or walk a lot in nature are so happy; when you’re able to walk around a lot, and zen out… you just feel much better. My simple suggestion is when you go on a hike or a walk in nature or even in the city… leave your phone at home, or locked inside your glove compartment, and don’t bring any headphones or speakers or Apple watches or whatever. Just bring along your camera, and enjoy. My personal ideal is the bear lifestyle; walking 50 miles a day. 

Real stoics don’t call themselves Stoics?

A funny thing I have learned is that when you call something something, it isn’t that.

For example, if someone calls something a “luxury car”, it ain’t. For example, a true modern day luxury car is maybe a Tesla, but Tesla never calls itself a luxury car. Also the ultimate luxury technology company is probably Apple… but Apple is very intelligent and not calling themselves a luxury brand.

A pro tip is when it comes to websites, read the alternative text, the header text, the stuff that shows up in the tab of your browser window. If the website, the automotive retailer tries to market themselves as a “luxury” brand, typically it is actually a sign that it isn’t a luxury brand it isn’t luxury brand.

Thought: what are some good examples of true luxury brands which don’t overly calls itself luxury? 

In someways, we can think and consider stoicism as our new luxury. In fact, having luxury, luxury of mind and soul… and luxury of freedom of speech, isn’t this the ultimate luxury?

When somebody asked Diogenes the cynic; “What is the best human good”? He said “Freedom of speech, speaking your mind, having the power to see whatever is on your mind.”

In fact, my current joy is becoming more and more free talking, and free riding. What that means is this; I’m ain’t going to censor myself no more, even if I might be politically incorrect insensitive or whatever. 

Also, I would prefer to speak my mind and seriously hurt the feelings of others, rather than soften it for the sake of the other person. 

Similarly speaking, when people call themselves “influencers”, they are not influencers.

Stoicism as a technique and tool, not the end

Ultimately I think we should think of stoicism just like having another tool inside our tool kit. For example, if you’re a chef, you’re going to have different knives for different purposes. If you’re going to cut a big piece of meat, you probably want a big ass meat cutting knife, not something you would use to slice an apple with. Similarly speaking, if you’re going to scoop out the insides of an avocado, better to use a spoon rather than using a fork, or a knife. 

I think the problem is when some people get too into stoicism (I prefer writing stoicism with a lowercase), they think that everything needs to be consistent, and must fit into this nice little neat box of what is considered “stoicism“. This is a bad line of thinking… let us consider that Marcus Aurelius never even mentioned stoicism in his writings, his collections of thoughts, which we moderns call THE MEDITATIONS… it was just essentially his personal diary, to help him conquer his own personal fears and thoughts, I don’t think he ever intended it to be published publicly. I think he just wrote it to himself as self therapy. And I think the only stoic philosopher he even mentions is maybe Epictetus.

The future of stoicism?

For myself, I just come out with certain to work out thoughts and techniques because it helps me, and when I find these tricks or techniques or secret hacks or cheat codes… My passion is to simply share it with others. 

And ultimately, things are ever in flux and evolving and changing and adapting.

For example, I’ve discovered the quality of my thinking is different when I am in Culver City Los Angeles, compared to being in the boring suburbs of Orange County.

Also depending on my social environments… my stoic thoughts are different when I am in a gym, vs just working out by myself in my parking spot in the back of my apartment.

Also, the quality of my thoughts is different when living with family members or other people versus just living with myself Cindy and Seneca.

Stoicism is all about living with other people

Assuming you’re not growing your own vegetables and living in the middle of nowhere… you probably have some interaction with other human beings. As long as you have an iPhone, an Android phone, a smartphone, a 4G or 5G internet connection, wifi, a laptop, have to buy groceries somewhere… you’re still going to have to interact with other human beings.

And this is good. There is no other greater joy than other human beings.

In fact, modern-day society is strange because in someways, the ethos is to be antisocial and to be cowardly. But in fact, the best way to think about things is that real life is interaction with other human beings, and social conquest. One can imagine a lot of modern day entrepreneurship as simply a big dick swinging contest. He who is the most masculine confident tall and strong and stoic shall win.

More ideas

Assume that everyone is mentally insane: Have you ever been out in public, and you see some sort of crackhead or strange homeless person who acts radically, smells terrible, and is obviously mentally ill? Do you hate them for it? When they say something weird to you… do you take it personally? No. Why? They are crazy. Perhaps we should just adopt this stoic mindset towards other people; some people are actually physiologically ill, mentally unwell… don’t trust the opinion of nobody.

A lot of people are trying to actually deal with their own inner demons: For example, becoming the successful photographer and street photographer I am today… I’ve dealt with some individuals who would say anonymous bad things about me, and later I found out that their mom just died or something. I cannot imagine what it feels like losing a mother… therefore if somebody spew some hate on me because something bad happened to them, I’m not gonna take it personally.

Self-flagellation: I think a lot of people who are sick, mentally or physiologically self flagellate themselves. Essentially the way that they deal with other people or themselves is some sort of metaphorical self-flagellation.

For example… you know those strange individuals who have the whip and whip themselves, and inflict pain on themselves? I think some people do this metaphorically to themselves and others.

You just want to stay away from them.

Why so scared?

My personal theory on fear is that a lot of it is tied to morality and ethics. I think the general idea is not necessarily that we are afraid of anything… I think the true fear is that we’re afraid that we are some sort of bad evil unethical immoral person.

For example in street photography, the general ethical thought is that it is immoral to take a photo of somebody without their permission, because there is some sort of it inherent evil behind it. Is this true? No. Taking photos and not really a big deal.

Why do people make such a big deal out of small things?

I think it is because some people are just overly sensitive, which once again comes from some sort of physiological weakness.

For example, if you’re a weightlifter who could lift 1000 pounds, assuming you’re not taking any steroids or anything… are small things going to bother you? No. But let us assume that you are a skinny fat man, all you do is drink alcohol and smoke marijuana and watch Netflix, and you spent too much time on Reddit… you are 40% body fat, and have never lifted in your life. And also your testosterone is low and you never go outside. Certainly the quality of your thoughts is going to be different than if you’re a happy gay monster, lifting weights outside in the direct sun, laughing and having fun. 

In fact, I’ve actually personally discovered that the reason why a lot of people hate me is because I am so happy jovial and gay. They are secretly suspicious or envious of me? 

Weather and mood

Probably one of my worst experiences was this jarring transition; I was super happy insanely happy being in Vietnam in 2017; with a beautiful weather, the beautiful light, the happy people the great amenities etc.… and then that winter Cindy and I went to Europe, in Marseille Berlin and Prague, and maybe London… seriously the worst winter of my life. Why? I wonder if so much miserable feelings and thoughts simply comes from the darkness and lack of light. a lot of Europe is actually quite miserable; dark, unhygienic, morose.

Even Nietzsche had a thought about Schopenhauer; How much of these emo European philosophers came from the fact that it was just complaining about the cold weather in Germany etc.?

For myself, my ideal weather is Southeast Asia; I love being in Phnom Penh Cambodia, Vietnam etc. In the states, am I the only one who loves living in Los Angeles? Dr. Dre and Kendrick Lamar said that LA was the best for women weed and weather… I would definitely say the biggest upside of living in Los Angeles is the light, the sunlight. It actually does get quite cold here, but usually most reliably even in December during the winter time, the sun will always come up. As long as there is bright sunny light, I will be happy. And I think maybe for myself, considering that I am a photographer, and photography means painting with light… light for me is critical.

I also wonder how much of it is a physiological thing and a genetic trait; for example I could even recall being a young child, and my mom telling me that the most critical thing in finding a home or an apartment was light and natural light. Even now… 90% of my happiness comes from being able to have access to natural light, ideally floor to ceiling windows facing directly the sun, having some sort of modern temperature regulated apartment and home. Even living in our tiny studio minimalistic luxury apartment in Providence Rhode Island, where it was always 75° warm and cozy, and not frigid and damp and cold and dark and humid… I was always good. But moving to an older house, where it always felt damp and cold… this literally lowered my happiness by 1000%.

Therefore, if you’re feeling miserable sad or whatever… I say spend three months living in Hanoi or Saigon in Vietnam, or go to Phnom Penh Cambodia. I wonder if 90% of peoples misery is simply due to the weather.

Stoic assignments

”Better to be a gay monster than a sentimental bore!” – Fernandino Galliani, via Nietzsche

My stoic ideal is somebody who is happy, gay, smiling, no headphones or AirPods on, no sunglasses on, no hat, no facial hair, no baggy oversized clothing, no tint in their car. Somebody who makes great eye contact, laughs, stands up upright, jokes, and fools around. Like an overgrown child.

Also, lift weights at least once every day, ideally in the direct sun. Just buy some weightlifting equipment on Titan.fitness, I like the farmers carry handles, the Olympic loadable dumbbell, and also the Texas power squat bar. Just buy some cheap weights, and or buy a heavy 400 pound sandbag, and just have fun throwing it around.

True stoics are masculine

A true stoic should look something like Hercules or Achilles. Or like ERIC KIM; I have the aesthetic and the physique of Brad Pitt in FIGHT CLUB except with a lot more muscle. Like my friend Soren says, the Adonis physique and proportions.

A real stoic is sexy

I think a real stoic is sexy, happy and fun. Who doesn’t take life too seriously; and think of everything like a fun game. A real stoic would be joyful and cheery like three-year-old child without any adulteration from the outside world.

Why do adults become so dark and morose?

I don’t like talking with or hanging out with adults, uninteresting.

At what point or age do people become so emo?

Typically, highschoolers are very optimistic. Even college students. But I think at least in maybe college in high school nowadays… the bad trend is towards “over concern”, about the world the planet ethics animals etc.

I find a lot of this thinking superficial, performative, and uncritical. I think “animal rights“, “saving the planet” is this new pseudo world religion; which is just capitalism 3.0. I find the whole pet industry the whole dog industry to be insanely bizarre, and I trust nobody who talks about “saving the planet“ who owns an iPhone, owns any sort of car, or has an Amazon prime subscription. Certainly not any vegans.

A real stoic is a carnivore 

Animals are animals. They are lower on the hierarchy and totem pole on earth. Man is the apex predator, the apex bully and the apex tyrant.

Should we care for animals or “animal rights”? No. Animals are our slaves.

If you consider even dogs and pets… they are essentially our emotional slaves. People talk a lot about the virtuosity of dogs being loyal or whatever… and giving you unconditional love. This seems like some sort of emotional slavery.

The only dogs I respect are some sort of canine dogs, some sort of attack or defense dogs, or hunting dogs. For example, John Wick 3; Halle Barry and her dogs. An animal should either be a weapon, or nothing.

Why do people care about animals so much?

Essentially it looks like men no longer have a backbone. No more spine.

I trust nobody who owns a dog.

Let us not forget; they call it dog ownership, or “owning a pet”. There is no more concept of “human ownership, or “owning a human.”

End goals 

What is the end goal of humanity? To me it is towards entrepreneurship, innovation, art and aesthetics, philosophy etc. Design.

Stoicism should be considered a tool which could aid you in these things.

For example, I think 99% of entrepreneurship is courage. Stoicism could help you with that.

I also think with design, great design is also 99% courage, having the courage to attempt something that won’t sell or be received well… stoicism is all about practical courage. The only designers with courage include Steve Jobs, Jony Ive, Elon Musk, Kanye West. 

Also, weightlifting. To attempt to lift a certain weight you have never attempted before takes great courage. For example, me atlas lifting 1000 pounds; that is 10 plates and a 25 on each side, this is true stoic training. Why? The fear of injury is what holds most people back; if you had successfully conquered this fear and not injured yourself, this is pure stoic bliss.

---

The physical

I think the only and the only proper way to lift weights is one repetition maximum training. That is; what is the maximum amount of weight you’re able to successfully lift or move, even half an inch?

To me, the courage is the success. Even if you had the courage to attempt it… that is what is considered success. 

Simple exercises to do include the atlas lift, innovated by ERIC KIM, or a one repetition max rack pull.

Or, a high trap bar deadlift, heavy Farmer’s walks, or heavy sandbag carries. Or even a simple thing you could do is go to the park or to the local nature center, find the biggest rock there and just see if you could pick it up.

Now what?

If you’re interested in stoicism, and have had some interesting thoughts on stoicism, one of the most noble things you could do is start your own blog. I think blogs are 1000 times more effective than publishing some sort of static printed book; I think the problem in today’s world is that everyone is seeking some sort of legitimacy by being picked up by some sort of legitimate publisher and getting “published“, and seeing your printed book at Barnes & Noble whatever.

I say it is better to be open source, free and permissionless, decentralized. Just publish your thoughts and book as a free PDF, and just host it on dropbox, Google Drive, or your own web server. Share the link freely, and also just publish the raw text as a big blog post. 

Even Sam Bankman-Fried wisely thought; 99.9% of books could just be summarized as big blog posts.

Don’t trust any modern day published book which isn’t free, because… there is some sort of hidden clout chasing somewhere. 

Even one of the worst compromises that led to the demise of Ray Dalio was the fact that he took his Principles book, which was essentially a free ebook PDF on his website, and then took it off, because I think he got a book deal with Simon and Schuster. After he did that, he lost my respect.

If you’re already independently wealthy, and you don’t crowd source your self-esteem… why would you need to externally validate yourself by getting some sort of constipated publisher and annoying editor?

Editors are bad.

Now what?

Start your own blog and start blogging your own thoughts on stoic philosophy, and even start a YouTube channel and start vlogging on it. My generalized thought is simple: if your thought your idea your blog post your video or whatever could even impact the life of one other human being on planet earth… it is worth it.

ERIC

---

What is the secret to the maximum amount of happiness in life? The maximum amount of danger. (Nietzsche).

ERIC

FIN

Become invincible:

1. SPARTANISM.
2. Introduction to Stoicism
3. STOIC FLEX.
4. Becoming Spartan
5. MAKE IT ENTERTAINING FOR YOURSELF!
6. Stoic Aesthetics?
7. The Philosophy of Ugliness
8. Bad Stoicism
9. Stoicism 2.0
10. Becoming Stoic
11. LEMONADE.
12. Why Arguments and Confrontations Are Good
13. “I’m Over It”
14. How to Deal With Miserable People
15. How to Become a Stoic
16. How to Ignore
17. Pretend like you didn’t hear them
18. Bad Stoic Strategies
19. The Stoic Way of Dealing With Unpleasant or Miserable People
20. HOW TO BECOME A STOIC
21. Stoicism Stunts Our Power?
22. Stoicism is Mental Resistance Training
23. STOIC STRATEGIES.
24. How to Become Fearless
25. Extreme Stoicism
26. Ethics are Aesthetic
27. Indifference to Pain or Suffering
28. When is Stoicism Good? When is Stoicism Bad?
29. Why Others Criticize or Insult You
30. True Difficulty
31. What if Covid Never Goes Away?
32. SUPER STOIC
33. Anti-Hedonism
34. HOW TO CONQUER FEAR
35. ANTI FEAR
36. It is the Duty of the Strong to Help the Weak
37. The Goal is to Become Stronger
38. HYPER STOICISM
39. HYPER HERO
40. TRANSFORM EVERY DOWNSIDE INTO AN UPSIDE
41. STOICISM x Child’s Mind
42. The Art of Manly Virtue
43. Resistance Makes Us Stronger!
44. DON’T LIVE IN FEAR
45. Emotions are Good
46. Conquer Your Anger
47. BLACK EAGLE
48. DIFFICULTY AWAKENS YOUR INNER-GENIUS.
49. STOICISM IS ARMOR FOR THE MIND
50. The Spartan-Stoic Lifestyle
51. How I Conquered Fear
52. HOW TO CURE FEAR.
53. LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL.
54. The Upside of Poverty
55. How I Became Me
56. THE WILL TO POWER, OR THE WILL TO FEAR?
57. ATTACK REALITY
58. Living *THROUGH* History
59. How to Fear Less
60. Fear is the Ultimate Contagious Disease
61. STOICISM FOR DUMMIES
62. Don’t Be Scared!
63. WHAT CAN YOU CONTROL, WHAT CAN YOU NOT CONTROL?
64. HOW YOU CAN CONQUER FEAR
65. YOU’RE STRONGER THAN YOU THINK YOU ARE.
66. EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED
67. WHY AREN’T THINGS WORSE?
68. My Philosophy on Masculinity
69. A Riskier Life is a Better Life #philosophy #stoicism
70. How to Creatively Flourish in Life
71. Introduction to Stoicism
72. How to Become Stronger
73. How to Conquer Depression With Photography
74. What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger
75. How to Respect Yourself
76. How to Believe in Yourself
77. How to Steer Fear
78. How to Conquer Pessimism
79. How to Conquer Anxiety
80. How to Overcome Your Fear of People
81. How to Be Optimistic
82. Why I Don’t Take My Anger Seriously
83. HOW TO BECOME MORE POWERFUL
84. POSITIVITY.
85. HOW TO BECOME SUPERHUMAN
86. How to Give a Fuck Less
87. ALL IN.
88. Why I Cut My Dad Out of My Life.
89. Your iPhone Only Has 5% Battery Left.
90. How not to give a FUCK about your REPUTATION
91. WHAT IS A HUMAN?
92. HAPPINESS.
93. The Regret Minimization Framework in Photography and Life
94. How to Be a HERO
95. Conquer Your Fears by Making Fear Your Slave
96. Rule Circumstances; Don’t Let Your Circumstances Rule You
97. How to Love Yourself
98. How to Turn Shit into Gold
99. Your Parents Fuck You Up
100. Immortality
101. What Kills You Makes You Stronger
102. How to Be Patient
103. How to Conquer Anger
104. How to Bounce Back in Life
105. How to Overcome Resistance
106. Nothing Unlimited is Good; Nothing Good is Unlimited
107. You Have No Limits
108. Can 1’s and 0’s Hurt You?
109. The Envious Moment is Flying Now
110. Tomorrow We’ll Sail the Wide Seas Again
111. How to Forgive Others
112. Focus on Your Actions, Not the Results
113. Everything Will Be Alright
114. How to Be a Stoic Street Photographer
115. How to Be a Spartan Photographer
116. How to Overcome Your Fears in Life
117. How to Stop Worrying in Life
118. How to Use Photography as Self-Therapy
119. How to Free Your Soul From Disturbance
120. 3 Stoic Techniques that Can Help You Gain Tranquility
121. Can People Weaker than You Hurt You?
122. Does a Doctor Get Angry at a Crazy Patient?
123. Own Nothing

The Stoic Masters

Learn from the master stoics:

• Seneca
• Marcus Aurelius
• Epictetus
• Publilius Syrus
• Heraclitus

See all philosophy >

Risk vs safe and security?

Money as a means to anti anxiety?

The meaning of a “safe” investment?

Wow.,,

Assuming even 1,600 ISO used to be a lot,,, 512,000 ISO is almost 50x higher?

When a person experiences anger, the body activates its “fight or flight” response, leading to the release of several stress hormones. In men (as well as in women), the primary stress hormones secreted during anger include:

1. Adrenaline (Epinephrine): Produced by the adrenal glands, adrenaline increases heart rate, elevates blood pressure, and boosts energy supplies. It prepares the body for immediate physical action.

2. Noradrenaline (Norepinephrine): Also released by the adrenal glands, noradrenaline works alongside adrenaline to increase alertness and arousal. It helps redirect blood flow to essential organs and muscles.

3. Cortisol: Known as the primary stress hormone, cortisol is produced by the adrenal cortex. It increases glucose availability in the bloodstream and enhances the brain’s use of glucose. Cortisol also suppresses non-essential bodily functions to prioritize dealing with the stressor.

These hormones collectively prepare the body to respond quickly to perceived threats or challenges. While this response can be beneficial in short-term situations, chronic anger and prolonged exposure to stress hormones may have negative health effects, such as increased risk of heart disease, weakened immune function, and mental health issues.

If you’re concerned about managing anger or stress, it might be helpful to consult a healthcare professional or mental health specialist for personalized strategies.

Maybe then also conversely ,,, never seeks to apologize for nothing?

Never apologize, if you don’t require others to apologize to you!

Our consistent stoic ethics —

…

1. Forgive 10x the Bad Things & Remember the Good

STOICISM 101

STOIC VLOG

Introduction to Stoicism 

Something I have been meaning to write or create or do is like some sort of book, ebook, pamphlet, or introductory primer to stoicism. I really think that stoicism is probably one of the most useful and philosophical models to live normal every day real life. Yet, I haven’t really found a good instructional guide on it, especially when I was self teaching it to myself.

Consider this a practical primer, cutting through the BS:

---

What does stoicism mean? 

Stoicism, stoic, the stoa in ancient Greece– essentially the stoa was like some sort of portico, patio, pillar, outside, essentially a spot where guys would just hang out, talk shop, talk philosophy, etc.  

I think about the show “Hey Arnold” in which I was raised with… the notion of “stoop kid“, the notion of a stoop is that in a lot of cities, especially the east coast in New York, you have this little stoop or porch, stairs that go outside your front door… and you could just hang out there, engage in social and neighborhood life etc.

The new stoa? 

One of my happiest moments was when I was living in Providence Rhode Island, and then COVID-19 hit. Everything was closed, besides the park. I can still go to the park, hang out, workout, do chin ups– I learned how to do muscle ups, more bodyweight calisthenics stuff, and also… I had a lot of fun with this “rock toss“ challenge and workout… in the middle of the park was a huge ass rock and huge ass stone, and every single day I would go there pick it up, and then eventually work out with it; throwing it around for fun, doing overhead presses with it, clean and jerks, squats, and eventually I would just throw it around for fun. Funny enough it might have been the most fit I was in my life… this was the true “functional” fitness.

The inspiration — Hector lifting an insanely massive stone (barely 2 strong men could lift it)… using it to break down the door of the ships of the other side.

Open air, open sun concept

Anyways, the reason why that period of covid was so good is that it was in the middle of beautiful Providence Rhode Island summer, so nice and bright and warm and lovely… and one of the good things was going to the park was like an open forum, a new anatheum for a lot of really cool guys to come, hang out, talk shop, go topless and shirtless, workout and hang out.

I met some really interesting people during that period of time. I met some guys who were really cool. For example, one guy I met was in the US military Navy, I think he was training to be a Navy seal or Delta force or something. Another guy in some sort of ROTC training, another cool guy from the hood, and also I would say I probably met half a dozen friendly drug dealers there. And of course a lot of people who believed in conspiracy theories; really friendly, a little weird, but overall good guys.

Anyways, one of the biggest benefits of hanging out at that outdoor park, open air, nothing but green grass, the beautiful sun and the fitness equipment was that I think having this sort of open air environment is actually very conducive to socializing, thinking and thought, and pro social behavior. My theory about a lot of modern day antisocial behavior has to do with the structures which enclose us. For example, almost universally most guys at the gym are extremely antisocial. Why? My theory is that because most gyms have closed, cramped narrow ceilings, and do not have access to natural light, or outside space.

Cramped indoor spaces promote antisocial behavior.

The only good gym I went to which was interesting was the golds gym in Venice, which has this really big outdoor workout area. I think this is much more natural and more fun and better; to be able to work out directly outside outdoors, with your shirt off.

Who is this philosophy for?

Stoics, stoicism — it was originally I think codified by this guy named Zeno, and over time he picked up some followers. Essentially the whole thing happened organically; Zeno would first share his thinking on philosophy ethics and pragmatic ways to deal with other people and the downsides of life, he built a following, and then his followers would propagate the thoughts and start their own little schools of thoughts, their own little stoic clubs.

What is “real” stoicism?

Would I like about stoicism is how loosey goosey it is. It is kind of like zen, or taoism… it is not really quantified as a religion, or a strict moral order. In fact, a lot of the ancients stoics would meditate on random stuff like cosmology, natural sciences like Seneca, how volcanoes worked or whatever. I think nowadays in today’s world, we focus primarily on the pragmatic side; how to deal with fear, uncertainty, downsides etc.

So how did I discover stoicism?

I think I might’ve first learned about stoicism from Nassim Taleb and his ANTIFRAGILE book. I was curious, and my curiosity went to deep. To quote NASSIM TALEB and the Venetian saying “The ocean goes deeper, the deeper you wade into it.”

I literally consumed every single book I could find on stoicism, even the obscure ones. Funny enough, a lot of the stoic thinkers tried to claim other philosophers as being stoic, like Seneca did with Diogenes the cynic. 

Cynic, cynicism, actually comes from the word canine, the dog. Diogenes was considered the “dog” philosopher, first used as a pejorative, but ultimately Diogenes reappropriated that title for fun! He saw dogs as tough, almost like wild wolves, rather than seeing them as a negative thing.

Even Achilles when he was raging against king Agamemnon, he called him “dog faced“ as a heaping insult.

Who is worth reading?

First, Seneca. Seneca the younger, his dad was called Seneca the elder.

In fact, this is such a big deal because Cindy and I named our first son, Seneca, directly after the stoic philosopher. This is true soul in the game; if you name your kid after your favorite philosopher, certainly it is a sign that you really liked that philosopher, or found them impactful.

The reason why I really like Seneca the stoic philosopher is because he had real connections to real reality. What that means is he wasn’t just on the sidelines; he actually existed in the real world, engaged in real politics, was even advisor to the emperor Nero, the bad one, who eventually low-key coerced Seneca to commit suicide, in a manly, dignified manner.

I think this was because maybe… there was actually a plan to overthrow Nero, and essentially Nero found out. 

What makes Seneca so good?

I really like Seneca because his writing is accessible, practical and pragmatic, and interesting.

A lot of thinkers tend to lack connections to real reality, I have no tolerance for boring philosophers to talk about metaphysics, which is things which are not physical. Like thoughts ideas, the universe, electricity and energy, strange phenomenon and conspiracy theories on ghosts, “energy” whatever.

For a long time, I would hear the term “metaphysics” being thrown around, and I had zero idea what it actually meant. 

Meta– on top of. Or nestled within.

Physics — the physical, physical phenomenon like gravity, first principles.

The reason why metaphysics philosophers tend to be a bunch of losers is that they are all weak and anemic, nerds or geeks or weaklings who seem to have some sort of physiological degeneracy, which encourages them to opine or talk or think about impractical things, superficial things.

Personally speaking, I think philosophy must be practical. 

Practical, praxis, practice — to do!

The Spartan, Zen Stoic, demigod ideal

I have a very funny ideal; the general idea is that your body looks like a demigod, and your physiology is out of control. The general idea is one must be tall, strong, highly muscular, low body fat percentage, I’m not exactly sure what my body fat percentage is, but maybe it’s around 5%.

Also, physical fitness is critical to any stoic. My ideal is to walk 50 miles a day, eat 20 pounds of meat like Milo of Croton a day. And also, abstinence from silly things like media, alcohol, drugs, marijuana etc.

Trust no thinker who does drugs!

Even our best friend Nietzsche said that coffee was bad, because it would make people dark and gloomy. He encouraged 100% cocoa powder instead. 

You let the drugs talk I let my soul talk ayy! – Kendrick Lamar

Simple technique:

First, look at a picture or a portrait or a full body shot, ideally topless of the artist, philosopher or thinker or individual… then judge their thoughts later.

Why? My theory is this: the thoughts of an individual is hugely affected by their bodily physiology.

For example, an extreme example: if somebody is locked inside a solitary confinement cell, and not permitted to go outside for years, but, he had a pen and pad and would jot down some thoughts… Would be the quality of these thoughts? Certainly dark and morose.

Why does stoicism matter? 

In today’s world, why does it matter, what is the significance of stoicism, etc.?

First and foremost, I think we are living in a troubling time, especially with the advent of modern day internet based media and advertising. I think 99% of what is propagated on the internet is fear mongering, and what is hate? Hate is just fear.

The first thought on stoicism is that it is just fear conquering. What I discovered about street photography, is that 99% of it is conquering your fears. Conquering your fears of upsetting other people, getting in some sort of verbal or physical altercation etc. In fact my bread and butter workshop is my conquering your fears and street photography workshop, the workshop which is still interesting to me even after a decade.

Why is this so important? I think it is rooted in almost everything; conquering your fears is rooted in entrepreneurship, innovation, risktaking and real life.

Even my speculation in crypto. 99.9% of crypto speculation is just balls. Having the balls to make big bets, and when things go south, knowing how to master your emotions.

A simple extra I have is this: just imagine it will all go down to zero.

It was useful because when I was in college, my sophomore year I got really into trading stocks, and I eventually lost my whole life savings, maybe around $3500 USD, and some bad penny stock which I actually misread the financials… the whole time I thought the company was making a profit, but actually it was taking a loss. I actually didn’t know that if profits are written in parentheses, it means a loss.

It was funny because my initial start as an investor was back in high school, I bought some Adobe stock when I was a high school junior, and also some mutual funds, which both went up after about 4-5 years.

Also I remember in elementary school computer class, when I was in the sixth grade in Bayside Queens, there was some sort of stock stimulation trading game, and actually it was funny… the kids who made the most money and were the most successful just put 100% of everything into Apple, note this is when we were only 12 years old, and I was born in 1988.

Stoicism and capitalism?

Funny enough, it seems that stoicism actually plays well with capitalism. Why? According to modern day capitalist thinking, the best way to approach life is to be objective, strong, stoic, unemotional, logical and rational.

Also, with modern day media there is so much fear mongering in the news, about some sort of global armageddon, global financial ruin, etc. I call it “fear porn”.

Therefore stoicism as a mindset is useful to think and position your mind in such a way that you could consider that life is all upside, no downside.

In fact, if I could summarize stoicism in one sentence, it is that life is all upside, no downside. Inspired by NASSIM TALEB.

Sex and Stoicism

So, is stoicism useful to you if you’re a man or a woman? Does it matter?

The good thing is I think it could apply to both sexes. Conquering sexism and social pressures is useful if you’re woman, and also if you’re a man.

Also, gender is social. Lot of the expectations set on us by society is socialized and gamed to a certain degree.

Stoic strategies 

First, we got to unchain ourselves from modern day ethics and morality. I believe that all modern day philosophy and thinking and ethics and religion is bad.

For example, the notion of turning the other cheek is a patently bad one. Why did Jesus turn his cheek? It is because he lacked on army.

Also, philosophically I think we should put no trust in Socrates. I thought which has puzzled me for a long time was this “Why was Socrates so ugly?

Monster in face, monster in soul.

I think Socrates was a degenerate, and he lacked any sort of real power. Therefore he turned logic and rationality into his terrorizing weapon (via Nietzsche). Back in the day, you didn’t need logic or rationality to have things your way, you simply was able to dictate that which you wanted to pause it, because you had a military force behind you. Just think about Machiavelli and IL PRINCIPE– the reality of being a mercurial prince, king, and military leader is hard, stoic, “immoral”. But ultimately it all comes down to war, conquest, the military.

Trust nobody who uses rationality or logic as their tyrannizing weapon. 

In fact, I believe that all should have the body and strength of some sort of super soldier. Essentially look like all the guys from the movie 300, this is our ideal.

Demigod physique. 

What has helped me

1. Allow yourself to be a bad, immortal, “evil” person. When you decide to adopt an unorthodox way of thinking and living, you’re going to rub some feathers the wrong way. And truth be told, even if you act in a strange vibrant way… At worse you’re only “mildly” annoying other people.
2. For good inspirations, I think the best stoic writers and thinkers include Seneca, and Marcus Aurelius and also the humor of the cynic philosopher Diogenes. I would even posit the idea that one could consider Alexander the Great as a stoic. Why? When you’re trying to create an empire, and you always have your life on the line, certainly this takes a stoic mindset. Also, let us think and consider that Alexander the Great had a copy of the Iliad by his bedstand, it was the only book he traveled with during his military tours.
3. Imagine the worst possible case scenario, and backtrack: Apparently even NASSIM TALEB would do this when he was a trader; every single day when he would go to his trading desk, he would assume that his investments would all go to zero, and if that wasn’t the case every single day, it was just upside. Therefore for myself, I just think to myself very simple; imagine like I got zero dollars, zero money, and literally all I need is meat, a Wi-Fi connection and I’m good. 
4. Live like a poor person: The notion of “debasing“ the coin or the currency is the general idea that you are not a coward in regards to money. The best way to think about money is like a social tool; I think money is actually just codified labor. If you want people to clean bathrooms, run the cashiers stand, you have to promise them money. Even Seneca said the upsides of simulated poverty; essentially living like a poor person, or even a homeless person when you don’t need to… is the ultimate position to be in. Why? True freedom of spirit and soul; as a philosopher thinker writer or whatever… you cannot be “canceled”, because there is nothing to cancel. As long as you could pay your rent, buy meat at Costco, and publish your thoughts to your own self hosted website blog, and pay your server fee, you have 100% freedom. And also, still… America is the best place to be because there is true freedom of speech and expression, you don’t want to be a trillionaire but not be able to say what’s really on your mind. And I think this is the big issue with entertainers, actors, media people… as long as you’re signed to a contract, you don’t run your own production company, or, you’re still a slave to money… you’re not really going to see what’s really on your mind. Why is it that the Rock cannot say anything bad about China, or Tibet? Because he is still enslaved by the media corporation. New slaves by Kanye West.

And this is the true courage of Kanye West; he literally put everything on the line, and even lost his spouse and I think maybe his kids? All for the sake of revealing inequities. 

“I throw these Maybach keys fucking c’est la vie! I know that we the new slaves.”- Ye

---

Stoic training

The fun thing about stoicism is that you could just make it up as you go, devise your own strategies and whatever.

“Fucking c’est la vie!” My favorite Kanye West line.

Essentially the general idea is that in life, one should not take things too seriously. Laughter is golden, I forget the philosopher who was called the laughing philosopher… Democritus?; better to laugh about the follies of human beings rather than to be dark and morose about it.

Also, thoughts from the Odyssey; if you look far enough  into the future, everything becomes comedic and hilarious.

So when you’re in some sort of bad situation, just think to yourself “Perhaps one day, 20 or 30 years from now… I will look back at this and just laugh!” It will just be humorous.

Honestly, laughter, and kind of being able to joke about things might be the best way to live life and deal with setbacks. 

Modern day ailments

Problems in modern day life:

1. Too much time spent indoors, not enough time out in the sun. Perhaps it is better to be out outside all day, and joyful, even with the risk of getting skin cancer or whatever… rather than to be indoors, scared, weak and anemic. Differences between if you’re a man or a woman, but still… the most beautiful skin has a sunkissed, olive color tone; the true privilege is having a full body tan. 
2. Get chatGPT, the paid premium one. And use the image generation AI art tool DALL-E. People pay therapists to just speak their mind, and get some sort of sounding board. I actually think it’s much better to chat with AI instead; because it will not judge you, and ultimately what is a therapist anyways? A therapist is just a mirror, a sounding board for you to verbalize and flesh out your thoughts. Often when we talk about our problems, 90% of the issues go away because once we verbalize it, we feel much better about ourselves. The next thing I’m going to do is build some sort of therapy bot. 
3. Not enough walking: I have never met anybody who walks 30,000 steps a day and is depressed. Even my friend Jimmy, who works as a US postal worker delivering the mail, he walks around 30,000 steps a day and is always bright cherry and jovial. I think this is also where people who hike a lot or walk a lot in nature are so happy; when you’re able to walk around a lot, and zen out… you just feel much better. My simple suggestion is when you go on a hike or a walk in nature or even in the city… leave your phone at home, or locked inside your glove compartment, and don’t bring any headphones or speakers or Apple watches or whatever. Just bring along your camera, and enjoy. My personal ideal is the bear lifestyle; walking 50 miles a day. 

Real stoics don’t call themselves Stoics?

A funny thing I have learned is that when you call something something, it isn’t that.

For example, if someone calls something a “luxury car”, it ain’t. For example, a true modern day luxury car is maybe a Tesla, but Tesla never calls itself a luxury car. Also the ultimate luxury technology company is probably Apple… but Apple is very intelligent and not calling themselves a luxury brand.

A pro tip is when it comes to websites, read the alternative text, the header text, the stuff that shows up in the tab of your browser window. If the website, the automotive retailer tries to market themselves as a “luxury” brand, typically it is actually a sign that it isn’t a luxury brand it isn’t luxury brand.

Thought: what are some good examples of true luxury brands which don’t overly calls itself luxury? 

In someways, we can think and consider stoicism as our new luxury. In fact, having luxury, luxury of mind and soul… and luxury of freedom of speech, isn’t this the ultimate luxury?

When somebody asked Diogenes the cynic; “What is the best human good”? He said “Freedom of speech, speaking your mind, having the power to see whatever is on your mind.”

In fact, my current joy is becoming more and more free talking, and free riding. What that means is this; I’m ain’t going to censor myself no more, even if I might be politically incorrect insensitive or whatever. 

Also, I would prefer to speak my mind and seriously hurt the feelings of others, rather than soften it for the sake of the other person. 

Similarly speaking, when people call themselves “influencers”, they are not influencers.

Stoicism as a technique and tool, not the end

Ultimately I think we should think of stoicism just like having another tool inside our tool kit. For example, if you’re a chef, you’re going to have different knives for different purposes. If you’re going to cut a big piece of meat, you probably want a big ass meat cutting knife, not something you would use to slice an apple with. Similarly speaking, if you’re going to scoop out the insides of an avocado, better to use a spoon rather than using a fork, or a knife. 

I think the problem is when some people get too into stoicism (I prefer writing stoicism with a lowercase), they think that everything needs to be consistent, and must fit into this nice little neat box of what is considered “stoicism“. This is a bad line of thinking… let us consider that Marcus Aurelius never even mentioned stoicism in his writings, his collections of thoughts, which we moderns call THE MEDITATIONS… it was just essentially his personal diary, to help him conquer his own personal fears and thoughts, I don’t think he ever intended it to be published publicly. I think he just wrote it to himself as self therapy. And I think the only stoic philosopher he even mentions is maybe Epictetus.

The future of stoicism?

For myself, I just come out with certain to work out thoughts and techniques because it helps me, and when I find these tricks or techniques or secret hacks or cheat codes… My passion is to simply share it with others. 

And ultimately, things are ever in flux and evolving and changing and adapting.

For example, I’ve discovered the quality of my thinking is different when I am in Culver City Los Angeles, compared to being in the boring suburbs of Orange County.

Also depending on my social environments… my stoic thoughts are different when I am in a gym, vs just working out by myself in my parking spot in the back of my apartment.

Also, the quality of my thoughts is different when living with family members or other people versus just living with myself Cindy and Seneca.

Stoicism is all about living with other people

Assuming you’re not growing your own vegetables and living in the middle of nowhere… you probably have some interaction with other human beings. As long as you have an iPhone, an Android phone, a smartphone, a 4G or 5G internet connection, wifi, a laptop, have to buy groceries somewhere… you’re still going to have to interact with other human beings.

And this is good. There is no other greater joy than other human beings.

In fact, modern-day society is strange because in someways, the ethos is to be antisocial and to be cowardly. But in fact, the best way to think about things is that real life is interaction with other human beings, and social conquest. One can imagine a lot of modern day entrepreneurship as simply a big dick swinging contest. He who is the most masculine confident tall and strong and stoic shall win.

More ideas

Assume that everyone is mentally insane: Have you ever been out in public, and you see some sort of crackhead or strange homeless person who acts radically, smells terrible, and is obviously mentally ill? Do you hate them for it? When they say something weird to you… do you take it personally? No. Why? They are crazy. Perhaps we should just adopt this stoic mindset towards other people; some people are actually physiologically ill, mentally unwell… don’t trust the opinion of nobody.

A lot of people are trying to actually deal with their own inner demons: For example, becoming the successful photographer and street photographer I am today… I’ve dealt with some individuals who would say anonymous bad things about me, and later I found out that their mom just died or something. I cannot imagine what it feels like losing a mother… therefore if somebody spew some hate on me because something bad happened to them, I’m not gonna take it personally.

Self-flagellation: I think a lot of people who are sick, mentally or physiologically self flagellate themselves. Essentially the way that they deal with other people or themselves is some sort of metaphorical self-flagellation.

For example… you know those strange individuals who have the whip and whip themselves, and inflict pain on themselves? I think some people do this metaphorically to themselves and others.

You just want to stay away from them.

Why so scared?

My personal theory on fear is that a lot of it is tied to morality and ethics. I think the general idea is not necessarily that we are afraid of anything… I think the true fear is that we’re afraid that we are some sort of bad evil unethical immoral person.

For example in street photography, the general ethical thought is that it is immoral to take a photo of somebody without their permission, because there is some sort of it inherent evil behind it. Is this true? No. Taking photos and not really a big deal.

Why do people make such a big deal out of small things?

I think it is because some people are just overly sensitive, which once again comes from some sort of physiological weakness.

For example, if you’re a weightlifter who could lift 1000 pounds, assuming you’re not taking any steroids or anything… are small things going to bother you? No. But let us assume that you are a skinny fat man, all you do is drink alcohol and smoke marijuana and watch Netflix, and you spent too much time on Reddit… you are 40% body fat, and have never lifted in your life. And also your testosterone is low and you never go outside. Certainly the quality of your thoughts is going to be different than if you’re a happy gay monster, lifting weights outside in the direct sun, laughing and having fun. 

In fact, I’ve actually personally discovered that the reason why a lot of people hate me is because I am so happy jovial and gay. They are secretly suspicious or envious of me? 

Weather and mood

Probably one of my worst experiences was this jarring transition; I was super happy insanely happy being in Vietnam in 2017; with a beautiful weather, the beautiful light, the happy people the great amenities etc.… and then that winter Cindy and I went to Europe, in Marseille Berlin and Prague, and maybe London… seriously the worst winter of my life. Why? I wonder if so much miserable feelings and thoughts simply comes from the darkness and lack of light. a lot of Europe is actually quite miserable; dark, unhygienic, morose.

Even Nietzsche had a thought about Schopenhauer; How much of these emo European philosophers came from the fact that it was just complaining about the cold weather in Germany etc.?

For myself, my ideal weather is Southeast Asia; I love being in Phnom Penh Cambodia, Vietnam etc. In the states, am I the only one who loves living in Los Angeles? Dr. Dre and Kendrick Lamar said that LA was the best for women weed and weather… I would definitely say the biggest upside of living in Los Angeles is the light, the sunlight. It actually does get quite cold here, but usually most reliably even in December during the winter time, the sun will always come up. As long as there is bright sunny light, I will be happy. And I think maybe for myself, considering that I am a photographer, and photography means painting with light… light for me is critical.

I also wonder how much of it is a physiological thing and a genetic trait; for example I could even recall being a young child, and my mom telling me that the most critical thing in finding a home or an apartment was light and natural light. Even now… 90% of my happiness comes from being able to have access to natural light, ideally floor to ceiling windows facing directly the sun, having some sort of modern temperature regulated apartment and home. Even living in our tiny studio minimalistic luxury apartment in Providence Rhode Island, where it was always 75° warm and cozy, and not frigid and damp and cold and dark and humid… I was always good. But moving to an older house, where it always felt damp and cold… this literally lowered my happiness by 1000%.

Therefore, if you’re feeling miserable sad or whatever… I say spend three months living in Hanoi or Saigon in Vietnam, or go to Phnom Penh Cambodia. I wonder if 90% of peoples misery is simply due to the weather.

Stoic assignments

”Better to be a gay monster than a sentimental bore!” – Fernandino Galliani, via Nietzsche

My stoic ideal is somebody who is happy, gay, smiling, no headphones or AirPods on, no sunglasses on, no hat, no facial hair, no baggy oversized clothing, no tint in their car. Somebody who makes great eye contact, laughs, stands up upright, jokes, and fools around. Like an overgrown child.

Also, lift weights at least once every day, ideally in the direct sun. Just buy some weightlifting equipment on Titan.fitness, I like the farmers carry handles, the Olympic loadable dumbbell, and also the Texas power squat bar. Just buy some cheap weights, and or buy a heavy 400 pound sandbag, and just have fun throwing it around.

True stoics are masculine

A true stoic should look something like Hercules or Achilles. Or like ERIC KIM; I have the aesthetic and the physique of Brad Pitt in FIGHT CLUB except with a lot more muscle. Like my friend Soren says, the Adonis physique and proportions.

A real stoic is sexy

I think a real stoic is sexy, happy and fun. Who doesn’t take life too seriously; and think of everything like a fun game. A real stoic would be joyful and cheery like three-year-old child without any adulteration from the outside world.

Why do adults become so dark and morose?

I don’t like talking with or hanging out with adults, uninteresting.

At what point or age do people become so emo?

Typically, highschoolers are very optimistic. Even college students. But I think at least in maybe college in high school nowadays… the bad trend is towards “over concern”, about the world the planet ethics animals etc.

I find a lot of this thinking superficial, performative, and uncritical. I think “animal rights“, “saving the planet” is this new pseudo world religion; which is just capitalism 3.0. I find the whole pet industry the whole dog industry to be insanely bizarre, and I trust nobody who talks about “saving the planet“ who owns an iPhone, owns any sort of car, or has an Amazon prime subscription. Certainly not any vegans.

A real stoic is a carnivore 

Animals are animals. They are lower on the hierarchy and totem pole on earth. Man is the apex predator, the apex bully and the apex tyrant.

Should we care for animals or “animal rights”? No. Animals are our slaves.

If you consider even dogs and pets… they are essentially our emotional slaves. People talk a lot about the virtuosity of dogs being loyal or whatever… and giving you unconditional love. This seems like some sort of emotional slavery.

The only dogs I respect are some sort of canine dogs, some sort of attack or defense dogs, or hunting dogs. For example, John Wick 3; Halle Barry and her dogs. An animal should either be a weapon, or nothing.

Why do people care about animals so much?

Essentially it looks like men no longer have a backbone. No more spine.

I trust nobody who owns a dog.

Let us not forget; they call it dog ownership, or “owning a pet”. There is no more concept of “human ownership, or “owning a human.”

End goals 

What is the end goal of humanity? To me it is towards entrepreneurship, innovation, art and aesthetics, philosophy etc. Design.

Stoicism should be considered a tool which could aid you in these things.

For example, I think 99% of entrepreneurship is courage. Stoicism could help you with that.

I also think with design, great design is also 99% courage, having the courage to attempt something that won’t sell or be received well… stoicism is all about practical courage. The only designers with courage include Steve Jobs, Jony Ive, Elon Musk, Kanye West. 

Also, weightlifting. To attempt to lift a certain weight you have never attempted before takes great courage. For example, me atlas lifting 1000 pounds; that is 10 plates and a 25 on each side, this is true stoic training. Why? The fear of injury is what holds most people back; if you had successfully conquered this fear and not injured yourself, this is pure stoic bliss.

---

The physical

I think the only and the only proper way to lift weights is one repetition maximum training. That is; what is the maximum amount of weight you’re able to successfully lift or move, even half an inch?

To me, the courage is the success. Even if you had the courage to attempt it… that is what is considered success. 

Simple exercises to do include the atlas lift, innovated by ERIC KIM, or a one repetition max rack pull.

Or, a high trap bar deadlift, heavy Farmer’s walks, or heavy sandbag carries. Or even a simple thing you could do is go to the park or to the local nature center, find the biggest rock there and just see if you could pick it up.

Now what?

If you’re interested in stoicism, and have had some interesting thoughts on stoicism, one of the most noble things you could do is start your own blog. I think blogs are 1000 times more effective than publishing some sort of static printed book; I think the problem in today’s world is that everyone is seeking some sort of legitimacy by being picked up by some sort of legitimate publisher and getting “published“, and seeing your printed book at Barnes & Noble whatever.

I say it is better to be open source, free and permissionless, decentralized. Just publish your thoughts and book as a free PDF, and just host it on dropbox, Google Drive, or your own web server. Share the link freely, and also just publish the raw text as a big blog post. 

Even Sam Bankman-Fried wisely thought; 99.9% of books could just be summarized as big blog posts.

Don’t trust any modern day published book which isn’t free, because… there is some sort of hidden clout chasing somewhere. 

Even one of the worst compromises that led to the demise of Ray Dalio was the fact that he took his Principles book, which was essentially a free ebook PDF on his website, and then took it off, because I think he got a book deal with Simon and Schuster. After he did that, he lost my respect.

If you’re already independently wealthy, and you don’t crowd source your self-esteem… why would you need to externally validate yourself by getting some sort of constipated publisher and annoying editor?

Editors are bad.

Now what?

Start your own blog and start blogging your own thoughts on stoic philosophy, and even start a YouTube channel and start vlogging on it. My generalized thought is simple: if your thought your idea your blog post your video or whatever could even impact the life of one other human being on planet earth… it is worth it.

ERIC

---

What is the secret to the maximum amount of happiness in life? The maximum amount of danger. (Nietzsche).

ERIC

FIN

Become invincible:

1. SPARTANISM.
2. Introduction to Stoicism
3. STOIC FLEX.
4. Becoming Spartan
5. MAKE IT ENTERTAINING FOR YOURSELF!
6. Stoic Aesthetics?
7. The Philosophy of Ugliness
8. Bad Stoicism
9. Stoicism 2.0
10. Becoming Stoic
11. LEMONADE.
12. Why Arguments and Confrontations Are Good
13. “I’m Over It”
14. How to Deal With Miserable People
15. How to Become a Stoic
16. How to Ignore
17. Pretend like you didn’t hear them
18. Bad Stoic Strategies
19. The Stoic Way of Dealing With Unpleasant or Miserable People
20. HOW TO BECOME A STOIC
21. Stoicism Stunts Our Power?
22. Stoicism is Mental Resistance Training
23. STOIC STRATEGIES.
24. How to Become Fearless
25. Extreme Stoicism
26. Ethics are Aesthetic
27. Indifference to Pain or Suffering
28. When is Stoicism Good? When is Stoicism Bad?
29. Why Others Criticize or Insult You
30. True Difficulty
31. What if Covid Never Goes Away?
32. SUPER STOIC
33. Anti-Hedonism
34. HOW TO CONQUER FEAR
35. ANTI FEAR
36. It is the Duty of the Strong to Help the Weak
37. The Goal is to Become Stronger
38. HYPER STOICISM
39. HYPER HERO
40. TRANSFORM EVERY DOWNSIDE INTO AN UPSIDE
41. STOICISM x Child’s Mind
42. The Art of Manly Virtue
43. Resistance Makes Us Stronger!
44. DON’T LIVE IN FEAR
45. Emotions are Good
46. Conquer Your Anger
47. BLACK EAGLE
48. DIFFICULTY AWAKENS YOUR INNER-GENIUS.
49. STOICISM IS ARMOR FOR THE MIND
50. The Spartan-Stoic Lifestyle
51. How I Conquered Fear
52. HOW TO CURE FEAR.
53. LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL.
54. The Upside of Poverty
55. How I Became Me
56. THE WILL TO POWER, OR THE WILL TO FEAR?
57. ATTACK REALITY
58. Living *THROUGH* History
59. How to Fear Less
60. Fear is the Ultimate Contagious Disease
61. STOICISM FOR DUMMIES
62. Don’t Be Scared!
63. WHAT CAN YOU CONTROL, WHAT CAN YOU NOT CONTROL?
64. HOW YOU CAN CONQUER FEAR
65. YOU’RE STRONGER THAN YOU THINK YOU ARE.
66. EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED
67. WHY AREN’T THINGS WORSE?
68. My Philosophy on Masculinity
69. A Riskier Life is a Better Life #philosophy #stoicism
70. How to Creatively Flourish in Life
71. Introduction to Stoicism
72. How to Become Stronger
73. How to Conquer Depression With Photography
74. What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger
75. How to Respect Yourself
76. How to Believe in Yourself
77. How to Steer Fear
78. How to Conquer Pessimism
79. How to Conquer Anxiety
80. How to Overcome Your Fear of People
81. How to Be Optimistic
82. Why I Don’t Take My Anger Seriously
83. HOW TO BECOME MORE POWERFUL
84. POSITIVITY.
85. HOW TO BECOME SUPERHUMAN
86. How to Give a Fuck Less
87. ALL IN.
88. Why I Cut My Dad Out of My Life.
89. Your iPhone Only Has 5% Battery Left.
90. How not to give a FUCK about your REPUTATION
91. WHAT IS A HUMAN?
92. HAPPINESS.
93. The Regret Minimization Framework in Photography and Life
94. How to Be a HERO
95. Conquer Your Fears by Making Fear Your Slave
96. Rule Circumstances; Don’t Let Your Circumstances Rule You
97. How to Love Yourself
98. How to Turn Shit into Gold
99. Your Parents Fuck You Up
100. Immortality
101. What Kills You Makes You Stronger
102. How to Be Patient
103. How to Conquer Anger
104. How to Bounce Back in Life
105. How to Overcome Resistance
106. Nothing Unlimited is Good; Nothing Good is Unlimited
107. You Have No Limits
108. Can 1’s and 0’s Hurt You?
109. The Envious Moment is Flying Now
110. Tomorrow We’ll Sail the Wide Seas Again
111. How to Forgive Others
112. Focus on Your Actions, Not the Results
113. Everything Will Be Alright
114. How to Be a Stoic Street Photographer
115. How to Be a Spartan Photographer
116. How to Overcome Your Fears in Life
117. How to Stop Worrying in Life
118. How to Use Photography as Self-Therapy
119. How to Free Your Soul From Disturbance
120. 3 Stoic Techniques that Can Help You Gain Tranquility
121. Can People Weaker than You Hurt You?
122. Does a Doctor Get Angry at a Crazy Patient?
123. Own Nothing

The Stoic Masters

Learn from the master stoics:

• Seneca
• Marcus Aurelius
• Epictetus
• Publilius Syrus
• Heraclitus

See all philosophy >

Certainly as an individual or corporation, you have a vested interest to reduce your taxable income or whatever. But my advice is, whatever you do just do, just do it honestly!

It is both a moral and ethical obligation to pay your taxes!

Easy; just don’t mark it as a loss.

,,

The Wash Sale Rule is an IRS regulation that prevents taxpayers from claiming a tax deduction for a loss on a security if they purchase a “substantially identical” security within a specific time frame. This rule is designed to prevent investors from creating artificial losses solely for the purpose of reducing their tax liability.

Key Points of the Wash Sale Rule:

1. Time Frame: The rule applies to transactions occurring within a 61-day window—that is, 30 days before and 30 days after the sale of the security at a loss.

2. Substantially Identical Securities: Purchasing the same or substantially identical stock or securities triggers the rule. This includes options, contracts, or any derivatives related to the security sold.

3. Disallowed Losses: If a wash sale occurs, the loss from the sale cannot be deducted for tax purposes in that year.

4. Adjusted Cost Basis: The disallowed loss is added to the cost basis of the newly purchased security. This adjustment defers the loss recognition until the new security is sold.

5. Holding Period: The holding period of the original security is added to the holding period of the new security, affecting whether future gains or losses are considered short-term or long-term.

Example:

• Initial Purchase: You buy 100 shares of XYZ Corp at $50 per share.

• Sale at a Loss: The stock price drops to $40, and you sell all 100 shares, realizing a $1,000 loss.

• Repurchase: Within 30 days, you repurchase 100 shares of XYZ Corp at $42 per share.

• Tax Implication: Under the Wash Sale Rule, the $1,000 loss is disallowed for the current tax year. Instead, this loss is added to the cost basis of the new shares, making the adjusted cost basis $52 per share ($42 purchase price + $10 loss per share).

• Future Sale: When you eventually sell the new shares, the adjusted cost basis will be used to calculate gain or loss, allowing you to recognize the deferred loss.

Exceptions and Considerations:

• Different Accounts: The Wash Sale Rule applies even if the repurchase is made in a different account, including IRAs or other retirement accounts.

• Gifts and Inheritances: Transferring securities to a spouse or related party to avoid the rule is disallowed.

• Mutual Funds and ETFs: Purchasing mutual funds or ETFs that hold the same or similar securities may trigger the rule if they are substantially identical.

Purpose of the Rule:

The IRS implemented the Wash Sale Rule to prevent taxpayers from claiming artificial losses. By disallowing the immediate deduction of the loss and adjusting the cost basis of the new purchase, the rule ensures that the loss is eventually recognized but not prematurely.

Note: Always consult a tax professional or financial advisor to understand how the Wash Sale Rule may apply to your specific circumstances.

..

The “wash sale rule” is a regulation set by the IRS in the United States to prevent taxpayers from claiming a tax deduction for a loss on a security sale while still holding an interest in the same or a substantially identical security.

Here’s how it works:

Wash Sale Rule Definition:

A “wash sale” occurs when you sell a stock or other security at a loss and then repurchase the same or a “substantially identical” security within 30 days before or after the sale. If a wash sale happens, the IRS disallows the deduction for the loss.

Key Points:

1. 30-Day Window: The rule applies to any purchase of the same or substantially identical security 30 days before or after the sale of the original stock.

2. Disallowed Loss: If a wash sale occurs, you cannot claim the capital loss for tax purposes immediately. Instead, the loss is added to the cost basis of the new securities you acquired, and you defer the tax benefit until you sell those replacement securities.

3. Substantially Identical Securities: The rule applies not only to stocks but also to bonds, mutual funds, options, and even short sales. The IRS does not provide a precise definition of “substantially identical,” so it generally applies to cases where the securities are nearly the same, like different classes of the same company’s stock.

4. Brokerages Don’t Enforce It: While many brokerages do notify investors about potential wash sales, it’s up to the investor to ensure compliance on their tax return.

Example:

• If you sell 100 shares of XYZ stock at a loss and then buy back 100 shares of XYZ stock within 30 days, the IRS will disallow the loss, and the wash sale rule applies.

Exceptions:

• Non-Taxable Accounts: The rule does not apply to transactions in IRAs or other tax-deferred accounts.

• Different Securities: Buying a different stock, even if it’s in the same sector or industry, would not trigger the wash sale rule as long as they are not considered “substantially identical.”

The purpose of the rule is to prevent investors from creating artificial tax losses by selling and then immediately repurchasing the same stock to take advantage of tax deductions.

The real focus

Audio

Video vlog money

The real focus, we got laser eyes!

How and Why I Have Skin in the Game

Because now I am managing investments not just for myself but for Seneca Cindy and also my mom to live the next 30 years!

And also a double dipping strategies; spending money for experiences that leverage your mom to have great experiences but also while spending time with your kid!

That means don’t invest money for your mom to just have fun with her friends and random strangers, but… It must be with family, Seneca.

 Only ever use money on your mom that she can spend with her grandkid!

FOCUS.

The philosophy of focus:

So, we are all photographers, thinkers entrepreneurs visionaries etc. To focus, I think at the end of the day, does seem to be a virtue.

First, the ethics of focus, the first big idea is that things which distract us, or rob us of our focus, are third-party distractions, which often have some sort of advertising or marketing or product selling motive.

For example, let us consider all of the ills of modern day life, which is modern media. Essentially anything which is supported by advertising is bad evil and should not be trusted.

For example, anything on YouTube which has advertising or product placements or selling services are bad. Any podcast, Joe Rogan, anybody out there with subscribers, likes, comments, memberships, anyone who has some sort of monetary incentive behind things.

Currently I am promoting bitcoin as a promise that it could solve at least 50% of the world’s problems; that is consider poverty injustice, high cost of living and rent… I actually do believe that these problems could be solved with bitcoin.

For example, even poor spending habits, the issue with inflation is that even if I’m making $20 an hour working at McDonald’s, and the price of everything keeps going up… There is zero too little incentive to save. If my rent cost $3000 a month, and because of inflation in a few years it’ll be worth $4000 a month, incentive is to buy all the capitalistic consumer stuff while I could still afford it, Whether Nike or Jordan sneakers, certain cars, clothes etc.

Also this is where Apple has been intelligent with iPhone; let us say that the iPhone Pro is $1000, or $999. This has been really relatively resistant to inflation; even though minimum wage keeps going up, essentially the price of the iPhone is not changing. Therefore if I am a typical working class poor person, and I’m being paid 16 or $20 an hour, incentive is to go out and purchase the iPhone Pro while I still can; because assuming the inflation keeps going up, in the near future I will no longer be able to afford that new iPhone Pro.

Low prices?

I think for the most part, a lot of the evils and ill society are issues with money, gambling, etc. At least this was the case in my family; my dad just sent you not having a job since I was two years old, gambling away the rent money etc. Assuming that my dad didn’t gamble away the rent money, like he was just a parasite but all he did was smoke cigarettes, watch television and movies, chill out the house… Assuming that were the case, at least he would be kind of a neutral party; but him having to threaten my mom with physical or mental or family violence, holding her at hostage or ransom, Forcing her to give him the rent money with physical force, saying that he was going to pay it himself, and then in the middle of the night driving off to Reno and gambling it away, which means my mom is already three months behind on rent… Certainly this is an evil that happened because of gambling and of course his own problems.

the bad guy?

Ultimately, one cannot point the finger at institution which is the casinos or whatever. Even now as a sober adult, haven’t gone to Vegas a few times, I find it to be very fun! I love going to wicked spoon, and having to all you can eat bone marrow, and all the great foods. But, I don’t have a gambling bone in my body; nor do I have a bone for smoking; essentially seeing all the bad stuff that my dad did, turned me off forever. This is where I have kind of a moralistic and ethical imperative against cigarettes, there’s nothing I hit more than cigarette smoke on the planet; The ultimate evil.

What does focus mean?

So focus, focusing… Assume you have a magnifying glass you could take the raise the sun, pinpointed to one point, and you could burn a hole through paper. Assuming you have a big enough magnifying glass, I wonder if you could even take the sun’s power and even make a hole through steel! Just think about all these James Bond’s movies.

Anyways, I think maybe the focus in society in life should be similar; I am kind of OK fine mediocre and a lot of stuff, but assuming that life is finite, a hard cap of at least 122 years, then what that means is if I know with 100% precision that I will die before 122 years, Then the ethical imperative;

How should I and how must I spend my life in a meaningful way?

Assuming that practically almost all 8 billion of us on the planet have a phone, then what that means is everyone is a photographer because they make photos. Even my new friend Alexey show me an interesting street photo he shot in the hood, somebody who overdosed on fentanyl, ar a bus stop. Somewhere in South Central.

And this is kind of a big deal because assuming that most of us live in cities, or assuming we all live in Los Angeles, anybody with an iPhone is a photographer, a street photographer.

In fact, everything in the haptic shop is open source, free to download share remix four to your buddies or store on unlimited devices. For me this became an ethical imperative; because honestly, 99% of the roadblocks we face in photography has to do with some sort of penis envy for some sort of camera equipment; do you think the day that you could afford to buy the Leica, finally you will have a motivation to shoot or make great photos blah blah blah. Same goes with the iPhone Pro, which is actually, not that great.

Also, objectively … Leica, Leica camera, is an inferior product and tool.  it is true that the craftsmanship is superior, but the overall product is inferior when you compare it to a Panasonic Lumix, or even a Fujifilm camera.

I think what Germany has going for it is good marketing and brand. But everyone knows that any German car whether it be a BMW, Mercedes, Rolls-Royce, which is owned by BMW… maybach which is essentially a Mercedes with a body kit, is probably 1000 X inferior to any Japanese luxury car like Lexus or Toyota. In fact, a Lamborghini is just a Volkswagen Passat on steroids. A Lamborghini Urus SUV is just a Volkswagen touring on steroids. And a Porsche 911, 911 GT three RS is just like a Volkswagen beetle on steroids and a body kit.

I’m currently using the full frame lumix S9 camera, been shooting some video on it… But actually a critical issue right now I’ve been discovering is the reason why micro 4/3, even maybe APSC sensors; or a smaller crop sensors might be superior is because you could focus far closer! Full frame cameras are very very difficult to focus especially up close and personal, and also the bigger issue is that the lenses become bigger heavier, more obtrusive, bulkier, harder to use.

In fact, if you are a filmmaker, still… Getting some sort of micro 4/3 camera some sort of Panasonic lumix GH camera might be your best bet, because you can get the best lenses, with the best close focusing capabilities, the maximum aperture for the minimum amount of weight. And ultimately this is what matters the most; ultimately if you are a videographer photographer or cameraman, it comes down to weight and ease. In fact I think even most videographers especially aspiring filmmakers, maybe they should just get some sort of GoPro creator set up; just set it and forget it!

Because 99.9% of the hurdle that creators face especially new ones is the technical hurdles, the technological issues. Even here may be an iPhone pro without any external accessories might be good for making films. Especially short ones. Anything that is not going to be a Hollywood blockbuster film. This is why I think Apple is trying to do all this marketing that you could shoot cinema on your iPhone Pro is kind of ridiculous; any real professional  Would use some sort of red dragon camera.

I also feel bad perhaps the biggest issue here is everyone is trying to posture and look “pro”? But why?

My thought is everyone has some sort of insecurity bias, a small man complex. Certainly everyone wants to feel big mighty and strong and successful whatever, but I also find this to be a little bit pointless because success, wealth and power, are not zero some; which means that assuming that capital is infinite, not a closed system, then that means that in theory, Anyone and everyone could become a billionaire, assuming that the global market multiplies by 1 trillion.

And also,  because a lot of money is economic fictions, computer code, which means that any nerd with a computer could click a button and inject $1 trillion into the economy, what that then means is the upside for money is infinite!

Certainly there are things which are scarce, like human time, labor, and bitcoin, but everything else… Has an infinite upside in theory?

---

Why focus?

I just think that it is an intelligent way to strategize life.

I think the number one issue that a lot of people have, especially young folks that we don’t know what we should devote our lives to. As a consequence we just throw our interest at random in a bunch of Market Basket stuff, hoping that one will stick.

But, to diversify our interest, is perhaps not a good idea. For example, if assuming you had a Mozart in your classroom, would you have your student waste his or her time learning Spanish or stuff that he or she would never really use? No! You would put them in one of those funny musical prodigy classes, have them devote 100% of their energy towards music, to become the next prodigy.

I was also doing some research which is kind of funny that the whole idea of homeschooling was essentially invented because you had a lot of these young athletes students, getting ready for the Olympics, and they did not want to waste their time being stuck in the classroom. So the whole ethos was trying to devote most of the kids time and attention to maximize their sports performance, kind of what mainland China does, she is much more shameless than America. And also maybe be more successful.

I think also that is why you see more record breaking Chinese Olympic weightlifters, because there is no stigma about taking steroids, performance enhancing drugs, and also, they don’t really have a egalitarian schooling system like we do in America.

Anyways, I think to focus means to just value your life, your effort, your soul.

Assuming that we believe in immortal soul, which means that once you die, your soul also dies… Why would you waste your life in anything superficial?

---

How to Make Free Money

Assuming you have a pool of, some money to lever, the strategy is simple– buy microstrategy stock, which is 150% levered long bitcoin, which means that you take on a little bit more risk, would you take on greater yield! And then afterwards what you do then is when micro strategy trades up, and bitcoin is a bit low, you buy the bitcoin.

Therefore my investing thesis is simple; the ultimate purpose is to accumulate as many bitcoins as humanly possible, bitcoin is the end goal. And microstrategy is the vehicle or the channel or the transmission wire to get you there?

How and Why I Have Skin in the Game

Because now I am managing investments not just for myself but for Seneca Cindy and also my mom to live the next 30 years!

And also a double dipping strategies; spending money for experiences that leverage your mom to have great experiences but also while spending time with your kid!

That means don’t invest money for your mom to just have fun with her friends and random strangers, but… It must be with family, Seneca.

 Only ever use money on your mom that she can spend with her grandkid!

Crafting the most supreme body, the most sublime body.

Zen body vlog

Because now I am managing investments not just for myself but for Seneca Cindy and also my mom to live the next 30 years!

The virtues of investing for your family, not like a loser degenerate single millennial who just wants to buy a Lamborghini?

Essentially the razor is simple; only invest in people and individuals in which you actually like and desire to emulate!

For example, if you’re a fan of spacex and Tesla, you’re a fan of Elon Musk!

if you like or love Apple, you should also be a fan and lover of Steve Jobs!

If you wear Yeezy sneakers, you are a fan of Kanye West.

if you buy bitcoin, you are a fan of Michael Saylor!

Essentially, only follow those individuals you desire to emulate, not the other losers, even if it might make you rich?

For example, everyone wants to get rich like Warren Buffett, but no one wants to look like him or become him. Similar speaking, everyone always gives fellatio to Bill Gates for being super rich, but nobody in the right mind would actually want to be Bill Gates.

Just read Walter Isaacson‘s biography on Steve Jobs.Steve Jobs… even when he was still alive he knew that all Bill Gates cared for was money. And now that Bill Gates is in bed with mainland China, we know that he only cares for money.

I am a great first person use case; I think that single-family homes are a scam, and I put zero faith in the traditional markets, and also, for the most part I think a lot of economy and the government is a big scam. The consequence, I will only invest in things that I personally care for or believe in;

First, the appeal of open source. If you are a techie, and you believe in the whole open source ethos, there is zero reason why you should not like or love bitcoin. It is the only 100% transparent digital asset on the planet; Not Ethereum or anything else, which is just another strange crypto anarchy Society. Ethereum is not open source it is closed source. I do not trust Vitalik for half a second, look at him, he is the ultimate furry nerd!

The infinite money hack:

Assuming you have a pool of capital or, some money to lever, the strategy is simple– buy microstrategy stock (MSTR), which is 150% levered long bitcoin, which means that you take on a little bit more risk, would you take on greater yield! And then afterwards what you do then is when microstrategy trades up, and bitcoin is a bit low, you buy the bitcoin.

Sell microstrategy when it is high, buy bitcoin when it is low.

Therefore my investing thesis is simple; the ultimate purpose is to accumulate as many bitcoins as humanly possible, bitcoin is the end goal. And microstrategy is the vehicle or the channel or the transmission wire to get you there?

The reason why I like the strategy is that it is open, transparent, and honest. Michael Saylor is not playing any tricks here; he is 100% committed, 100% transparent about his approach, his ethos, and his ethics about the whole strategy. Everybody on the planet knows the microlstrategy strategy; the only reason you wouldn’t buy into it right now is because maybe you don’t have access to enough capital?

maybe the reason why we millennials know best is because we are skeptical about traditional metrics of success, and also, we don’t like traditional markets, also… We do not like notions of proprietary. We don’t really want to buy homes, we prefer to buy bitcoin instead!

Never looks as prices, but simply, spends a lot of time thinking, contemplating,,, and only ever looks at prices if he actually plans to sell or buy or trade?

to study the fundamentals of a company, is to study analyze and look at the charismatic leader, the CEO the founder or the head honcho of the company. Start to understand their motives, their ethos, their thinking… psycho analyze them, and rate their genuiniity. Do they seem genuine, or ingenuine?

For example, maybe half a year of watching Michael Saylor interviews, all of them, and reading all the literature by him, including his book the mobile wave… before I decided to go all in on microstrategy stock for my whole family — Cindy and Seneca both included. Also in Bitcoin .,, my mom’s inheritance money.

Once you know something is a safe bet, and super obvious, there is no fear no concern no noise.

Just seeing a base Lexus IS 300 car, With white pearl sparkling paint ,,, freshly washed and waxed, looks insanely beautiful? 1000x more beautiful than anything I have ever seen in real life in the flesh with my own two eyeballs.

When in doubt, pursue the cheaper path?

For example, painting your car even wrapping it… Tends to be a very expensive endeavor… Maybe to just buy some car wax is cheaper?

99.99999% of anything on any media source, whether reputable or not is just all noise.

The Eric Kim razor; just think 30 years ahead! And maybe the only economic books to read are the ones which were written 300 years ago?

Does it provide positive or negative yield?

But 1000x better?

I am perhaps the least worrisome person that I know; the most calm collected stoic person that I know. And as a consequence, assuming you want superior yield, or either a semi short or semi long duration, I would probably be a better money manager for you.

Maybe the idea of being a money manager, running your own fund or hedge fund or whatever… Is that you’re essentially offloading care worry and anxiety to another individual?

Have me worry for you, I’ll be your worry scape goat!

I have the time for it

most people simply don’t have the time to research the markets, then and Flossies, listen to every single Michael sailor interview, read books, analyze and synthesize things, and also the biggest thing; ignoring market noise, and click bait on the Internet.

So maybe the benefit of an ERIC KIM is I am an insanely focus, not distracted investor?

Am I the only investor I know that doesn’t even use or check email and or text messages? Also not on any social media Instagram Facebook etc.?

I think I might have listened to every single Michael Saylor interview he has ever done, and also his great what is money series with Robert Breedlove.

Essentially, I really do think that Michael Saylor has real soul in the game; it was actually very very interesting in the recent Markets with Madison Part 2, see Part 1, … in the second part of the interview at the very end when talking about legacy and stuff, she revealed the fact that he’s a single guy, presumably not married, no kids etc.… And his whole legacy is kind of centered around the idea of trying to help solve and or fix the economic issue at hand — toxic, dirty money and capital.

Why I trust Michael Saylor

What is super fascinating is literally the last four years, when you listen to all the Michael Saylor interviews, he never once mentioned his own company, micro strategy. I only obliquely discovered what it was, because sooner or later all these commentators ask him about it.

Even for myself, when I first went to their company website, and the word microstrategy,— it definitely sounds like a very antiquated term, like the 90s, Bill Gates, windows 95 era. But anyways, I think that Michael sailor is probably 90% technology and history of science philosopher, and real life entrepreneur businessman, who is insanely intelligent, and kind of destroys anyone else he combats, for example just watch the debate about gold with Frank Giustra, it was the most hilarious and beautiful roast of all time!

Hope

I think for millennials like myself, in which the world seems a bit implausible; for example, trying to afford a $3.2 million home in Culver City? Even a modest $1.5 million home here, the mortgage on it is almost close to $9000 USD a month? This is insane.

Also, interest rates and the such. And inflation is getting out of control. My insane shock of seeing minimum wage for our fast food workers go from $16 an hour to $20 an hour, literally overnight! And seeing the sad demise of my favorite Shake shack with Seneca in Culver City, I think the whole idea of raising minimum wage was seen as a good idea, to help poor people, but ultimately it became an insanely terrible idea because as a consequence, the whole restaurant just shut down! And I am sure that the reason why I shut down is because shake shack is a publicly traded corporation, and when you increase the minimum wage for workers, you essentially deprive them of jobs because the corporation can no longer be profitable, and as a consequence either lays off staff, reduces hours, or close down certain branches which are not as profitable.

anyways, assuming that bitcoin is gonna go to $30 million a bitcoin, we’re in my extremely bush case, $56 million bitcoin, it is real hope for the future! He started to think more intelligently about the future, because you are leopard long; real incentive to try to invest You don’t want to blow $1000 on an iPhone because that iPhone 30 years from now can be worth potentially $500,000 USD? Or who knows $1 million?

For example if I could tell you right now, with 100% certainty, in 30 years, if you invest $1000 into bitcoin, it would become $1 million, wouldn’t you live your life differently?

Long live microstrategy, and bitcoin!

How you spend money or how you don’t spend money is a true sign and signal of your values?

Money talks, words weep!

Because it is actually tied to tangible reality!

How people actually use their time and money and resources and capital… truly shows their values? 
Money in the game.

Michael Saylor > Elon Musk

Better to build bitcoin in cyberspace, rather than trying to go to Mars?

IF you are stuck in the traditional markets, the only thing worth purchasing is microstrategy stock, MSTR, because he is the only visionary left, and the only individual who thinks more about the real world, not Mars like Elon Musk.

talking to my godson’s father, about his economic advisor, who is totally a dick but a genius, and will probably win the Nobel peace prize in economics.

it’s interesting… Whether we like it or not, Dick’s and assholes tend to be more respected feared and secretly loved in society, rather than the nice guys.

Why? No one is afraid of a nice guy; it does seem that the unfortunate truth is that fear is a stronger emotion than love. Machiavelli discovered this a long time ago in the prince.

the tricky thing is in America and the west, too much of our ethics and morality is still centered around Judeo-Christian Jesus ethics and morality. It is all about being humble, being close to the floor, not bragging or showing off, not talking about money power wealth and influence even though everyone really wants it.

Therefore, we create a generation of confused, angsty people— because, they are not certain what to strive for? As a consequence they get suckered by the environment, the world is ending Christ, social justice and inequality etc.

But in today’s world, to be anti-meat, pro animals or whatever, takes zero courage. It is the majority now. Nobody in America is pro meat, anti plants, anti vegetarian or vegan, etc.

Being or becoming a dick

the truth of the matter of the fact is that this new generation, my generation included, the millennials, or a bunch of cowards, a bunch of aggressive cowards, will never talk smack to your face, but always do it behind a screen a keyboard or their phone. Nobody has ever said anything bad to me in my face, a lot of people have done it in secret behind closed doors.

in fact, it does seem that the truth is everyone universally loves me! Whether they know it or not; my audaciousness, my outspokenness… Is secretly loved admired by others, even though it doesn’t make them feel uncomfortable.

What a lot of fools don’t understand; we don’t talk about things we don’t like. So anybody who is talking about Donald Trump, whether good or bad… Secretly likes him?

I don’t really have an opinion

Also, I think the truth of the matter is if you really really don’t like somebody, just don’t say their name! Don’t mention them, don’t think about them etc.

Zen practice

secretly there are lots of things we don’t like, but, you don’t ever want to give them free marketing or advertisement. Just don’t invoke it, their name, their concept! For example, anyone who is anti-Tom Cruise in Scientology… The more you talk about it, the more free publicity you give Scientology, which is a bad thing? Just don’t mention it.

Why bitcoin detractors are good

Maybe all this press about the point being bad for the environment and planet was a good thing; it gave more mainstream media coverage and attention to bitcoin, which at least embedded itself in its consciousness in the public? And this is a good thing.

it is true that all marketing is good marketing; the more fire you give something, whether good or bad, the more it grows! Like throwing gasoline on a fire; good for it.

“I ain’t afraid they’re going to say something, I’m afraid that they’re going to say nothing”— Kanye

In fact, your biggest detractors, those who hate on you the most, are actually secretly your biggest lovers and admirers? I think what people don’t understand is what got Trump elected in the first election cycle was not the conservatives, but the liberals and Democrats who essentially gave him $1 trillion worth of free advertising! And anyone who tried to suppress his voice, he simply got more powerful and influential? Because any sort of corporation like Google Twitter or whatever that tried to suppress him, sooner or later the truth will come out, and actually, will paint somebody more like a hero or a Messiah. Anyone who speaks their own truth, whether good or bad evil immoral etc.… Will be lauded as a hero.

The philosophy of focus:

So, we are all photographers, thinkers entrepreneurs visionaries etc. To focus, I think at the end of the day, does seem to be a virtue.

First, the ethics of focus, the first big idea is that things which distract us, or rob us of our focus, are third-party distractions, which often have some sort of advertising or marketing or product selling motive.

For example, let us consider all of the ills of modern day life, which is modern media. Essentially anything which is supported by advertising is bad evil and should not be trusted.

For example, anything on YouTube which has advertising or product placements or selling services are bad. Any podcast, Joe Rogan, anybody out there with subscribers, likes, comments, memberships, anyone who has some sort of monetary incentive behind things.

Currently I am promoting bitcoin as a promise that it could solve at least 50% of the world’s problems; that is consider poverty injustice, high cost of living and rent… I actually do believe that these problems could be solved with bitcoin.

For example, even poor spending habits, the issue with inflation is that even if I’m making $20 an hour working at McDonald’s, and the price of everything keeps going up… There is zero too little incentive to save. If my rent cost $3000 a month, and because of inflation in a few years it’ll be worth $4000 a month, incentive is to buy all the capitalistic consumer stuff while I could still afford it, Whether Nike or Jordan sneakers, certain cars, clothes etc.

Also this is where Apple has been intelligent with iPhone; let us say that the iPhone Pro is $1000, or $999. This has been really relatively resistant to inflation; even though minimum wage keeps going up, essentially the price of the iPhone is not changing. Therefore if I am a typical working class poor person, and I’m being paid 16 or $20 an hour, incentive is to go out and purchase the iPhone Pro while I still can; because assuming the inflation keeps going up, in the near future I will no longer be able to afford that new iPhone Pro.

Low prices?

I think for the most part, a lot of the evils and ill society are issues with money, gambling, etc. At least this was the case in my family; my dad just sent you not having a job since I was two years old, gambling away the rent money etc. Assuming that my dad didn’t gamble away the rent money, like he was just a parasite but all he did was smoke cigarettes, watch television and movies, chill out the house… Assuming that were the case, at least he would be kind of a neutral party; but him having to threaten my mom with physical or mental or family violence, holding her at hostage or ransom, Forcing her to give him the rent money with physical force, saying that he was going to pay it himself, and then in the middle of the night driving off to Reno and gambling it away, which means my mom is already three months behind on rent… Certainly this is an evil that happened because of gambling and of course his own problems.

the bad guy?

Ultimately, one cannot point the finger at institution which is the casinos or whatever. Even now as a sober adult, haven’t gone to Vegas a few times, I find it to be very fun! I love going to wicked spoon, and having to all you can eat bone marrow, and all the great foods. But, I don’t have a gambling bone in my body; nor do I have a bone for smoking; essentially seeing all the bad stuff that my dad did, turned me off forever. This is where I have kind of a moralistic and ethical imperative against cigarettes, there’s nothing I hit more than cigarette smoke on the planet; The ultimate evil.

What does focus mean?

So focus, focusing… Assume you have a magnifying glass you could take the raise the sun, pinpointed to one point, and you could burn a hole through paper. Assuming you have a big enough magnifying glass, I wonder if you could even take the sun’s power and even make a hole through steel! Just think about all these James Bond’s movies.

Anyways, I think maybe the focus in society in life should be similar; I am kind of OK fine mediocre and a lot of stuff, but assuming that life is finite, a hard cap of at least 122 years, then what that means is if I know with 100% precision that I will die before 122 years, Then the ethical imperative;

How should I and how must I spend my life in a meaningful way?

Assuming that practically almost all 8 billion of us on the planet have a phone, then what that means is everyone is a photographer because they make photos. Even my new friend Alexey show me an interesting street photo he shot in the hood, somebody who overdosed on fentanyl, ar a bus stop. Somewhere in South Central.

And this is kind of a big deal because assuming that most of us live in cities, or assuming we all live in Los Angeles, anybody with an iPhone is a photographer, a street photographer.

In fact, everything in the haptic shop is open source, free to download share remix four to your buddies or store on unlimited devices. For me this became an ethical imperative; because honestly, 99% of the roadblocks we face in photography has to do with some sort of penis envy for some sort of camera equipment; do you think the day that you could afford to buy the Leica, finally you will have a motivation to shoot or make great photos blah blah blah. Same goes with the iPhone Pro, which is actually, not that great.

Also, objectively … Leica, Leica camera, is an inferior product and tool.  it is true that the craftsmanship is superior, but the overall product is inferior when you compare it to a Panasonic Lumix, or even a Fujifilm camera.

I think what Germany has going for it is good marketing and brand. But everyone knows that any German car whether it be a BMW, Mercedes, Rolls-Royce, which is owned by BMW… maybach which is essentially a Mercedes with a body kit, is probably 1000 X inferior to any Japanese luxury car like Lexus or Toyota. In fact, a Lamborghini is just a Volkswagen Passat on steroids. A Lamborghini Urus SUV is just a Volkswagen touring on steroids. And a Porsche 911, 911 GT three RS is just like a Volkswagen beetle on steroids and a body kit.

I’m currently using the full frame lumix S9 camera, been shooting some video on it… But actually a critical issue right now I’ve been discovering is the reason why micro 4/3, even maybe APSC sensors; or a smaller crop sensors might be superior is because you could focus far closer! Full frame cameras are very very difficult to focus especially up close and personal, and also the bigger issue is that the lenses become bigger heavier, more obtrusive, bulkier, harder to use.

In fact, if you are a filmmaker, still… Getting some sort of micro 4/3 camera some sort of Panasonic lumix GH camera might be your best bet, because you can get the best lenses, with the best close focusing capabilities, the maximum aperture for the minimum amount of weight. And ultimately this is what matters the most; ultimately if you are a videographer photographer or cameraman, it comes down to weight and ease. In fact I think even most videographers especially aspiring filmmakers, maybe they should just get some sort of GoPro creator set up; just set it and forget it!

Because 99.9% of the hurdle that creators face especially new ones is the technical hurdles, the technological issues. Even here may be an iPhone pro without any external accessories might be good for making films. Especially short ones. Anything that is not going to be a Hollywood blockbuster film. This is why I think Apple is trying to do all this marketing that you could shoot cinema on your iPhone Pro is kind of ridiculous; any real professional  Would use some sort of red dragon camera.

I also feel bad perhaps the biggest issue here is everyone is trying to posture and look “pro”? But why?

My thought is everyone has some sort of insecurity bias, a small man complex. Certainly everyone wants to feel big mighty and strong and successful whatever, but I also find this to be a little bit pointless because success, wealth and power, are not zero some; which means that assuming that capital is infinite, not a closed system, then that means that in theory, Anyone and everyone could become a billionaire, assuming that the global market multiplies by 1 trillion.

And also,  because a lot of money is economic fictions, computer code, which means that any nerd with a computer could click a button and inject $1 trillion into the economy, what that then means is the upside for money is infinite!

Certainly there are things which are scarce, like human time, labor, and bitcoin, but everything else… Has an infinite upside in theory?

---

Why focus?

I just think that it is an intelligent way to strategize life.

I think the number one issue that a lot of people have, especially young folks that we don’t know what we should devote our lives to. As a consequence we just throw our interest at random in a bunch of Market Basket stuff, hoping that one will stick.

But, to diversify our interest, is perhaps not a good idea. For example, if assuming you had a Mozart in your classroom, would you have your student waste his or her time learning Spanish or stuff that he or she would never really use? No! You would put them in one of those funny musical prodigy classes, have them devote 100% of their energy towards music, to become the next prodigy.

I was also doing some research which is kind of funny that the whole idea of homeschooling was essentially invented because you had a lot of these young athletes students, getting ready for the Olympics, and they did not want to waste their time being stuck in the classroom. So the whole ethos was trying to devote most of the kids time and attention to maximize their sports performance, kind of what mainland China does, she is much more shameless than America. And also maybe be more successful.

I think also that is why you see more record breaking Chinese Olympic weightlifters, because there is no stigma about taking steroids, performance enhancing drugs, and also, they don’t really have a egalitarian schooling system like we do in America.

Anyways, I think to focus means to just value your life, your effort, your soul.

Assuming that we believe in immortal soul, which means that once you die, your soul also dies… Why would you waste your life in anything superficial?

---

Kind of accurate translation, but I actually planned to become a doctor:

…

Here’s the full translation of the article:

Headline:

“Castro Valley High School -> Admission to UCLA, Kim Sang-jin becomes an Eagle Scout.”

Main Headline:

“Selected as an Eagle Scout, the highest honor in Boy Scouts.”

Article:

Sang-jin (English name Eric, in the photo) visited Korea last summer. It wasn’t a relaxing vacation with time off; instead, he spent his time doing part-time work. Although no one asked him to do it, he voluntarily helped others.

Boy Scout Sang-jin, who knows the value of service, returned to America and took the spotlight in a meaningful ceremony. Last Saturday afternoon, at 4:00 PM, at Castro Valley, he became the main character in a special Boy Scout Eagle Award ceremony. He was selected as an Eagle Scout, the highest honor in Boy Scouts. This is an achievement that Kim Sang-jin’s family and friends are incredibly proud of, marking his entry into the ranks of those who have reached the highest level of Boy Scouts.

The Eagle Scout rank is only given to those who complete rigorous requirements, which include earning 21 merit badges (12 of which are required), passing various tests, and successfully leading a community service project. Sang-jin also fulfilled all these requirements and was proudly awarded this top-level rank.

During the ceremony, his mother (51, surname Jeong) expressed her pride, saying, “I am truly grateful and so happy. Even though it was difficult to support him through his busy scouting and school life, my son’s achievement makes it all worthwhile.”

Kim Sang-jin’s next goal is to become a doctor. He will enter UCLA this year and is currently living in a UCLA dormitory. He expressed his gratitude to his family and the people who supported him by saying, “Thanks to my family, I’ve been able to come this far, and I’m thankful to all my teachers and scout leaders who guided me. I will continue to strive to live up to the name of an Eagle Scout, both in my studies and in my service to the community.”

This is the full translation of the article. Let me know if you need any further details!

***

Here is the full translation of the Korean text in the image:

Castro Valley High School → UCLA Enrolled: Kim Sang Jin

Selected as Eagle Scout in the Highest Honor of Boy Scouts

Sang Jin Kim (photo on the right) was selected as an Eagle Scout, the highest rank in the Boy Scouts, in April, after four years of effort. Eagle Scout is the highest rank in the Boy Scouts and is given to those who have achieved the highest level of leadership, responsibility, and community service. The rank is given to only 1% of all Boy Scouts worldwide, making it a significant achievement.

Sang Jin Kim, a graduate of Castro Valley High School, successfully completed his Eagle Scout project in April, which was the final requirement to earn the rank. His project involved leading the construction of benches and tables for the San Leandro library, thereby improving the community facilities for library visitors. He organized and supervised volunteers for this project, further demonstrating his leadership abilities.

Sang Jin, who has been involved in scouting for several years, expressed his gratitude to his family and fellow scouts for their continued support throughout his journey to becoming an Eagle Scout. He shared that this achievement is not just a personal accomplishment but also a tribute to everyone who has helped him along the way.

Now enrolled at UCLA, Sang Jin Kim plans to major in economics. He hopes to use the skills and experiences he gained from scouting, such as leadership and community service, to further his education and career. In the future, Sang Jin aims to give back to the community in meaningful ways, whether it be through volunteer work or professional endeavors.

Sang Jin’s parents expressed their pride in their son’s accomplishments. His father noted that Sang Jin always strived to do his best, even when faced with challenges, and that his dedication has clearly paid off. His mother emphasized that Sang Jin’s achievement was a reflection of his hard work, persistence, and a desire to serve others.

Both his parents expressed their hopes for Sang Jin’s continued success in his future endeavors, including his studies at UCLA and beyond.

**(Reporter: 정태수 / Taesu Jeong, tjteong@koreat

There is no second best ***

Over $1T!

Exposure to the price through the stock market

.

Photo making photos is practice and training

RAW BITCOIN ***

Preferred stock

Half upside of capital gain, converts no downside

50% upside, no downside –> best strategy !

Institutional vehicles

1880–> electricity

First guy with fire

No one wants to get burned –> world without fire?

Electricity, shocked–> idiom, 90% –> new technology is scary

10 MPH, oxygen get sucked from cabin?

.

Extract energy from matter

Water extract energy from gravity

Most guys are short?

Stand tall

Engine, spins

Steam engine exterminates slavery

Gasoline, ICE

ENERGY REVOLUTIONS, 30 year reject

James Watt

Steam engine work

Digital energy

Transfer and store and channel energy without intermediary

Profound idea

.

Jan 2024

Year 0 institutional adoption

Accountancy acceptance year 1

75% ETF,

Regulatory

In Kind creation and redemption

Fair value accounting… mark up and mark down set like Apple stock

BNY melon, state street custody and buy and or sell

.

Bank? Institutions engineered to be custodians

.

Digital electricity

Vendor support

.

Indefinite intangible

Elevator in your house

1880

.

1906, 1915 nyc no cars

.

No yield

Central Park no yield

Generate yield

Counter party risk

Too big to fail

BTC yield ***

Risk security MSTR

Treasury, cash

.

Banking ,,,

Get a yield?

Big vision

Bitcoin as collateral

Loan Stock to short sell

.

2009

E cash p2p

15 years

94.11%

19M

.

Don’t trust vegans ***

.

99.9% of traditional market

The war on money, money is going to win

Capital controls … regulation is good !

Regular normal

S&P SPYDER

Paranoid crypto anarchists

20 dollars to the ounce of gold!

Franklin deleanor Roosevelt … devalue dollar

34 dollars per ounce

We weren’t in the chicken and pot standard

Gold standard

What is your standard?

The dollar standard

LA is the best place to be an investor? Always sunny, and happy?

Sun & Happiness –> Yes, they are linked!

.

Why is it so sunny in LA

I want you to give me your money!

Trust? ** trust economics

Inflammatory

2% fee, and 20% upside

.

152 asset classes

Fear mongering

Sell you a gun, hardware wallet, sell you a … XYZ.

million times faster, smarter. Stronger .,, more elegant than analog physical capital

Technology transformation ***

.

10M books, travel, music …

It is just a computer with digital files on it!

Fear, scam ,,, end of the world

Quantum resistant token?

Make me rich!

Asteroid bunker

.

Fear mongering

.

Why would you give up computers?

Haha!

Better computers

$10B a year to upgrade

Mini me in the basement ?

.

Billion times easier to hack and make profit on what?

Hardest thing to hack ***

Yo-yo quantum algorithm

Alarmism

Most profitable use of power to protect money

Incentivized

.

Teenage boys

Hack twitter

.

Why is Bitcoin better?

100 rich families

.

Keep money for 1,000 years

The god bank. 21 million god coins

Transact telepathically

People looking to heaven to solve problems

Intelligent engineer

Semi conductor technology. TCIP internet

Crypto Coin

.

We will all run the software

Cheat gets kicked off

I want a scarcity

Time and bitcoin .,, the only two scarce things on the planet?

.

Coins haven’t moved in 15 years

Crazy entrepreneur

Craziness is rewarded! ***

$250M on any other crypto asset ,., ever

Nobody put in $100M in anything else

All the rich powerful people chose English

Base 10 math . Base 2, 8, 16 math

Protocol Rich smart powerful people chose .

Stupid poor people to buy yours ***

The most powerful crypto network

709 exahash, 40B special semi conductors

.

18 gigawats

Hash rate, 1%

$10 B to get 1.2%

.

99% of real money went into bitcoin!

I got 99 problems but a Bitcoin ain’t one!

.

Instruments are backed by Bitcoin

Back to the source! All other crypto is pegged to BTC!

Double every 30 years, gold

Ai won’t want the gold

Gold isn’t digital!

$100M, gold

.

2% inflation rate

And 0% inflation rate?

Living 30 years vs living forever!

One is mortal

Take the gold pill you’re half dead in 30 years

Mortal or Immortal Life

10-20-50% a year awful. Commodity is awful ,,, ethically sound. Asset without issuer, chicken in pot

Promote commodity vs

.

Promoting fasting

No copyright, royalty

Ethically sound

Bitcoin as commodity, technically sound.

.

Entropy benefits Bitcoin?

.

The philosophy and ethics of Bitcoin?

Asset

Big tech digital network

Don’t waste your time

Economic leverage, monetary leverage ***

.

Wealth on your iPhone last forever

..

300 years from now?

No company last 300 years from now?

.

100 year seized

99.9% value over scarce asset is the winner

.

Anxiety inducing counter party risk

.

Why do you bother

JACK DORSEY

to fix the money —

Open source. Engineering idea?

.

Legacy

Monetary protocol which is true

.

Will Durant, civilization 15 thousand pages

Died of gout, drank wine ….

King of England didn’t get clean water

Got bit malaria. Tuberculosis . No penicillin or antibiotic, mosquito

.

Clean air, clean water

Dirty food dirty water dirty air

Bled him to death

.

Causation

Dirty money ! *** dirty capital

Capital > Money

3% sovereign, 13% cost to capital

Forcible Chemo therap

2 pints of blood drain?

Medieval ?

Human progress?

Clean light

.

Fix the money! ***

10 year life expectancy when you can live forever.

Toxic chemicals in their veins

Toxic capital

Clean silent energy

Won’t solve half stuff ,,l materials. But will solve the other 50%–> economic energy

Half the world’s problem! ***

Recharge an Apple Watch?

Battery which lasts forever! ***

.

7% of energy … 99.0% over 100 years

.

Investor.

32 years don’t find tenant

.

Economic energy

Profound step forward for the human race

Art to science! ***

Non defective

.

Steel will stop a bullet!

Steel weight vest?

.

99th floor… build civilization

Steel vault! ***

Highest form of energy

Take the steel away –> wood, nice.

5 story

Steel, electricity, elevator , fall

.

Steel or Wood?

---

Almost indestructible

Building the modern world!

Aluminum is lighter?

Straw houses on swamps

Build your house on a rock, solid granite

Granite.

Recipe for civilization

.

Crypto steel ***!

.

Clay & Cotton candy

There is no second best ***

Over $1T!

Exposure to the price through the stock market

.

Photo making photos is practice and training

RAW BITCOIN ***

Preferred stock

Half upside of capital gain, converts no downside

50% upside, no downside –> best strategy !

Institutional vehicles

1880–> electricity

First guy with fire

No one wants to get burned –> world without fire?

Electricity, shocked–> idiom, 90% –> new technology is scary

10 MPH, oxygen get sucked from cabin?

.

Extract energy from matter

Water extract energy from gravity

Most guys are short?

Stand tall

Engine, spins

Steam engine exterminates slavery

Gasoline, ICE

ENERGY REVOLUTIONS, 30 year reject

James Watt

Steam engine work

Digital energy

Transfer and store and channel energy without intermediary

Profound idea

.

Jan 2024

Year 0 institutional adoption

Accountancy acceptance year 1

75% ETF,

Regulatory

In Kind creation and redemption

Fair value accounting… mark up and mark down set like Apple stock

BNY melon, state street custody and buy and or sell

.

Bank? Institutions engineered to be custodians

.

Digital electricity

Vendor support

.

Indefinite intangible

Elevator in your house

1880

.

1906, 1915 nyc no cars

.

No yield

Central Park no yield

Generate yield

Counter party risk

Too big to fail

BTC yield ***

Risk security MSTR

Treasury, cash

.

Banking ,,,

Get a yield?

Big vision

Bitcoin as collateral

Loan Stock to short sell

.

2009

E cash p2p

15 years

94.11%

19M

.

Don’t trust vegans ***

.

99.9% of traditional market

The war on money, money is going to win

Capital controls … regulation is good !

Regular normal

S&P SPYDER

Paranoid crypto anarchists

20 dollars to the ounce of gold!

Franklin deleanor Roosevelt … devalue dollar

34 dollars per ounce

We weren’t in the chicken and pot standard

Gold standard

What is your standard?

The dollar standard

LA is the best place to be an investor? Always sunny, and happy?

Sun & Happiness –> Yes, they are linked!

.

Why is it so sunny in LA

I want you to give me your money!

Trust? ** trust economics

Inflammatory

2% fee, and 20% upside

.

152 asset classes

Fear mongering

Sell you a gun, hardware wallet, sell you a … XYZ.

million times faster, smarter. Stronger .,, more elegant than analog physical capital

Technology transformation ***

.

10M books, travel, music …

It is just a computer with digital files on it!

Fear, scam ,,, end of the world

Quantum resistant token?

Make me rich!

Asteroid bunker

.

Fear mongering

.

Why would you give up computers?

Haha!

Better computers

$10B a year to upgrade

Mini me in the basement ?

.

Billion times easier to hack and make profit on what?

Hardest thing to hack ***

Yo-yo quantum algorithm

Alarmism

Most profitable use of power to protect money

Incentivized

.

Teenage boys

Hack twitter

.

Why is Bitcoin better?

100 rich families

.

Keep money for 1,000 years

The god bank. 21 million god coins

Transact telepathically

People looking to heaven to solve problems

Intelligent engineer

Semi conductor technology. TCIP internet

Crypto Coin

.

We will all run the software

Cheat gets kicked off

I want a scarcity

Time and bitcoin .,, the only two scarce things on the planet?

.

Coins haven’t moved in 15 years

Crazy entrepreneur

Craziness is rewarded! ***

$250M on any other crypto asset ,., ever

Nobody put in $100M in anything else

All the rich powerful people chose English

Base 10 math . Base 2, 8, 16 math

Protocol Rich smart powerful people chose .

Stupid poor people to buy yours ***

The most powerful crypto network

709 exahash, 40B special semi conductors

.

18 gigawats

Hash rate, 1%

$10 B to get 1.2%

.

99% of real money went into bitcoin!

I got 99 problems but a Bitcoin ain’t one!

Fear is very profitable!

Just follow the profits