Dear friends, a thought on my mind: seek to become more robust, more anti fragile.
Why robust?
Robur, oak. Red. Same word as rubber.
The oak tree is a good analogy because it is insanely big and strong, hard, unyielding.
Robusta coffee
Currently here in Saigon Vietnam, and a new passion and interest; towards robusta coffee, which has a higher caffeine content, and also less sugar. So purely from a health and physique perspective, robusta coffee should be superior to arabica because arabica is sweet, arabica has more sugar molecules in it than robusta.
How to lose fat
The secret of losing fat, body adipose tissue is very simple and straightforward: simply abstain or do not consume any starches, carbs, starchy vegetables, fruit, anything sweet, whether real sugar fig sugar or some other silly “zero calorie”. this means no Coke zero, no diet coke, no monk fruit, none of that nonsense.
I have a theory that if you want to become more robust, it is simple, only consume a 100% beef-based diet, and the only non-meat items you consume or bitter ones. Don’t eat anything sweet. That’s your side dish is simply really bitter dark leafy greens, whether it be Collard greens, mustard greens, perilla leaves etc.
Become more primal
Who is that the reason why so many people are miserable in modern day living is that we no longer have the privilege or opportunity to be primal. For example, we are no longer permitted to be loud, yell, scream and shout, cry, express anger, thump our chest etc.
For example something that I have observed is traditionally, in modern day society at least in the more “modern” ones, to be quiet, silent, unobtrusive, low-key, avoiding eye contact or confrontation is seen as a virtue. We often scorn people who are loud, rambunctious, having a jolly old time.
For example, what is K-12 education? Learning how to deal with boredom, learning how to become silent, sitting down and shutting up, obeying the teacher etc.
A new path
Assuming that happiness is indeed your life goal, or perhaps becoming more, allow yourself to become louder, more rambunctious, more flagrant.
For example, I think the reason why people hate Kanye West so much is because of several reasons; first and foremost, they hate how outspoken he is, how he speaks his mind without any self-censorship. Yet this is precisely what gains him diehard fans like myself, Because indeed he speaks his mind, he doesn’t lie, whether you agree with him or not, at least you know he’s not lying.
Robust thinking
With words, thoughts, philosophies, techniques methodologies etc., I believe that the robust ones are supreme.
For example, any thoughts or topics in which the ancients have touched upon, or any words and etymology which has gone back to the Proto Indo European, tend to be robust. Much of modern-day thinking is fragile at best, notions of “equality“, “justice“, “fairness”, etc. are modern day notions. In ancient times, ancient Greek times, some ancient Roman times, it was more about rank, hierarchy, power, courage, bravery, lethality etc.
For example, Achilles was seen as supreme because he was the most lethal. Nobody was even half a chance to him, he was even so lethal and powerful that not even the gods could take him. The only difference between Achilles and the gods was that Achilles was mortal whereas the gods were not.
Modern day times
What makes one fragile in modern day times? Social media numbers and followings, numeration of money, popularity, fame etc.
What makes one robust? Self-confidence, self faith, self assurance, etc.
Avoiding modern day pressures
A personal life thought is that we must seek the past for more robust modes of thinking.
For example, in modern day times it is seen as virtuous to be more “productive“, and work is also seen as a virtue. However, can you imagine an ancient Greek or Roman; they would be befuddled …
“Isn’t “work” simply for slaves?
For example, the ancient Spartans. What did an ancient spartan nobleman do? Simply enjoy his leisure, training for physical combat, hang out with his buddies, philosophizing, making pithy jokes etc. Who did all the grunt work? The helots.
Robust clothing
HAPTIC ARMOR — our solution.
What should be the purpose of coding? I believe that clothing should be seen as modern day armor. Good clothes make you feel more confident, stronger, more ready for anything.
For example nowadays, the only clothes I wear are fitness clothes, because I want to be always ready to lift.
Robust fabrics
Even though I love merino wool, I hate it because it is so fragile. It seems at best, merino wool really lasts you only maybe a year or two, then eventually it falls to shreds.
A new fabric that I’ve discovered which is surprisingly robust is linen. Why? Linen has been around ever since ancient times, apparently even the ancient Romans used something called a “Linothorax”, which was essentially armor entirely constructed out of linen, albeit that it was layered almost 50 times, with some sort of animal glue in between.
Also while on the road, lightness is godlike. Linen is insanely light, robust, and also tries insanely quickly. This new HAPTICWEAVE style of linen I have discovered is phenomenal because of the unique three-dimensional octagonal pattern, which almost looks like modern day medieval armor. Imagine like modern-day chain mail.
Clothing is a bad business to be in?
Going to the MUJI store the other day, and looking at Uniqlo, Zara, H&M, etc., Cindy commented:
Perhaps clothing is a bad industry to be in.
Why? Places like MUJI, Uniqlo etc. have thousands of different linen products, constantly new styles and innovations coming out etc. Isn’t it simply easier to just buy it, instead of designing, producing, and selling it?
A thought:
I desire to become the new Cristobal BALENCIAGA.
Why? I have always been passionate about clothing ever since I was a kid, in terms of style, and then later on into function. Being a globetrotting nomad, to me fabric is so insanely critical because when you want to pack as light as possible, you don’t want anything additional.
For example, HAPTIC ARMOR. You can simply use it every single day or several times a day as a bath towel, or you could take it to the gym to put over your yoga mat during hot yoga, or when you’re out in the brutal sun, use it as a shawl or a scarf to protect you from the sun while also absorbing moisture away from your body.
Creating beautiful products you believe in
I use my HAPTIC ARMOR many times a day, maybe 5-6 times a day. To me it brings me insane pride and joy that I designed, prototyped it, and now, it is available to purchase immediately, and available to ship immediately within the states or internationally right now!
Truth be told, we all live within a capitalist consumerist society, and I think that the reason why world peace exists is precisely because of free market capitalism. The reason why I am skeptical that China will ever go to war with America is that the rich mainland Chinese love their iPhone Pros, and their designer luxury goods. Can you imagine if suddenly overnight, rich mainland Chinese people no longer had access to iPhones, and other American goods?
Also on the flipside, what would Americans do if we no longer have access to high-quality Amazon goods, most of which are made in China. Let us also not forget that the iPhone, and pretty much all the Apple products are produced in China.
Create products you desire to see manifested in reality
The ethos behind every single HAPTIC PRODUCT is simple:
If I could design my own perfect thing of a certain thing, what would it look like?
Oh for example, the Henri neck strap was born out of my personal desire of creating the perfect neck strap. And later on, ERIC KIM strap series came out of my desire to create a perfect strap for my Ricoh GR camera— WRIST X NECK.
Now what?
Seek robust!
ERIC
Robust Life goals?
What are some robust life goals you can seek? I think ones which do not require the approval or the nod of others.
Seek more — ERIC KIM PHILOSOPHY >
Never stop thinking
Feeling a little more robust?
If so, feel free to forward this to a friend!