{"id":20931,"date":"2014-10-09T12:17:53","date_gmt":"2014-10-09T19:17:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=20931"},"modified":"2014-10-10T11:57:46","modified_gmt":"2014-10-10T18:57:46","slug":"letters-street-photographer-1-live-shoot-without-regrets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2014\/10\/09\/letters-street-photographer-1-live-shoot-without-regrets\/","title":{"rendered":"“Letters from a Street Photographer” #1: How to Live and Shoot without Regrets"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Provincetown,
Provincetown, 2014<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This is Chapter 1 on a series of blog posts I will do on the philosophy of Stoicism, and how I relate it to street photography. I draw upon the book: “On the Shortness of Life<\/a>” from Seneca. The title of this series is inspired by “Letters from a Stoic<\/a>” (also by Seneca).<\/em><\/p>\n

I have recently been reading a lot of literature on \u00e2\u20ac\u0153time management\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and have discovered a new angle\u00e2\u20ac\u201c \u00e2\u20ac\u0153attention management.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

The basic premise is this: time management is overrated. We have all the time in the world. However what we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have is attention.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Everyday there are so many things which fight for our attention. If you have a smartphone you know. There isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t a minute when it isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t buzzing\u00e2\u20ac\u201c screaming for our attention. It sends us a constant barrage of text messages, voicemail notifications, Instagram and Facebook notifications, we have hundreds (if not thousands) of unread emails, and little red dots all over the place.<\/p>\n

I am an addict when it comes to self-help books. I try to read at least one self-help book, philosophy book, or anything else of interest every 1\u00e2\u20ac\u201c2 days. The reason I read so many of these books is that I am often dissatisfied with my life\u00e2\u20ac\u201c and I want to be more productive and prolific with my writing and work. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to waste time. I hate procrastinating, and being distracted.<\/p>\n

So ever since I fell into the depths of Taoism and learnt the philosophies of doing less (everyday subtract 1 thing you do rather than add 1 thing) \u00e2\u20ac\u201c this has helped me gain a lot of focus in my life. I think focus is overrated\u00e2\u20ac\u201c as long as you eliminate distractions, focusing is easy.<\/p>\n

I have also written on the idea that constraints are what breed creativity. These can be constraints in terms of having time constraints (only having 30 minutes a day to shoot in-between work and family life), constraints in terms of equipment (only having one camera and one lens), or in terms of subject matter (focusing on a project).<\/p>\n

I think one of the biggest constraints that has helped give me focus, direction, and concentration in life is knowing that time (and life) is the biggest constraint.<\/p>\n

We are all going to die (true story)<\/h3>\n

There is only one thing certain in life: that we are going to die. Nobody knows when he\/she is going to die\u00e2\u20ac\u201c but sooner or later, it is going to happen.<\/p>\n

I often find that thinking a lot about death is one of the best ways I stop dicking around, and focus on my life\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s task\u00e2\u20ac\u201c and my life\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s work (which I think is writing for this blog, spreading the love of photography and philosophy, and building communities and bringing people together). That and being a loving person.<\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve had a few near-death experiences (one being a car crash that if my front bumper was pulled to the curb just 1 more foot, I would have probably died in a lethal T-bone collision) and another foolish time I switched lanes on the freeway, and almost hit a 18-wheeler head-on (but I swerved away in the nick of time).<\/p>\n

Other instances are actually seeing other people have near-death experiences (or lying on their deathbed). So many people I know are currently living life with regrets. Regrets for not studying in college what they wanted to study, regrets for not taking a chance and starting their own business, regrets for not asking out that one person for a date, regrets for not traveling more, regrets for not pursuing a creative project, or regrets of being suck in a job they absolutely hate.<\/p>\n

Living without Regrets<\/h3>\n

I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to live life with regrets. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to be on my deathbed and ask myself: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Eric, you wasted your life\u00e2\u20ac\u201c you could have done so much more with your energy, time, money, and attention. Why did you waste it living it the way you did, just for yourself?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Even though I am 26 years old, healthy, and with no major illnesses\u00e2\u20ac\u201c I never know when I will die. Who knows, I might be driving to the gym, and some guy who is texting while driving might run a red light, T-bone me, and boom, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m dead. Or maybe I have a heart problem or some sort of rare cancer that might kill me in a year or two. Or I might be drunk one night, trip, slip on a banana, and crack my skull on the side of a curb.<\/p>\n

None of us know when we are going to die. And I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to be that guy who didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t live life to the fullest, and really suck out the marrow of life.<\/p>\n

Stoicism, street photography, and life<\/h3>\n

Out of all the books I have read on the philosophy of life\u00e2\u20ac\u201c there is nothing that speaks more to me than Stoicism. What is Stoicism? Pretty much it is an ancient school of thought in which these philosophers had mental and psychological tricks to help them live in a world of death, fear, and uncertainty\u00e2\u20ac\u201c and to not just survive\u00e2\u20ac\u201c but to thrive.<\/p>\n

Out of all the Stoic scholars (my favorites being Seneca, Marcus Aurelius, and Epictetus) \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Seneca is one of my favorites. Why? I could relate with him in the sense that he didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t front as being this enlightened scholar\/philosopher and took a vow of poverty. Instead, he lived a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153normal\u00e2\u20ac\u009d life and got all the upsides of Stoic philosophy\u00e2\u20ac\u201c rather than voluntarily choosing poverty (and embracing the downsides).<\/p>\n

My favorite books by Seneca include \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Letters from a Stoic<\/a>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (the best compilation of his letters and sayings to his friends) and also \u00e2\u20ac\u0153On the Shortness of Life.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Both should be read (if you want to learn how to deal with adversity in life).<\/p>\n

I might do another article on \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Letters from a Stoic<\/a>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d later\u00e2\u20ac\u201c but I wanted to start this article on \u00e2\u20ac\u0153On the Shortness of Life<\/a>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (because it deals a lot with living everyday as if it were your last, and not wasting life).<\/p>\n

Below are some principles that I have learned from the book, that I think can be applied to photography (and just life in general):<\/p>\n

1. Live everyday as if it were your last<\/h2>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153He who bestows all of his time on his own needs, who plans out every day as if it were his last, neither longs for nor fears the morrow.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d – Seneca<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is the most simple point \u00e2\u20ac\u201c live as if everyday were your last.<\/p>\n

I know in today\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s world (unless we get hit by a car or fall victim to some rare form of cancer) we can all expect to live around 80 years old due to modern medicine, surgery, and cancer treatment.<\/p>\n

However once again as I mentioned earlier\u00e2\u20ac\u201c we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really know with 100% certainty how long we will live. You might get a drunk teen driving-and-texting to hit you while you are driving, you might get attacked by a random wild bear that mauls you to death (who knows).<\/p>\n

Anyways, I once read this thing by Steve Jobs in which every night before he goes to bed\u00e2\u20ac\u201c he asks himself if he did everything in his possible power during the day to best use his time, energy, and life. If the answer is \u00e2\u20ac\u0153no\u00e2\u20ac\u009d too many times in a row\u00e2\u20ac\u201c he decides to change something in his life.<\/p>\n

I try to do something similar. At the end of every day, I imagine that it is the last time I am going to bed (that I will be dead the next morning). I then ask myself, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Did I do everything in my power to fulfill the best use of my life?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d There are many days that I go to sleep feeling unfulfilled\u00e2\u20ac\u201c which gives me the impetus to really focus on what matters in my life (photography, writing, loving my friends and family) the next day.<\/p>\n

I know we all have busy lives\u00e2\u20ac\u201c but shoot as if everyday were your last. I think it is better to shoot consistently for 5 minutes everyday than just shooting once a week for 5 hours. Just like exercise, doing something daily gives a much higher benefit over the long run.<\/p>\n

I once read something that if you change your behavior just by 1% everyday\u00e2\u20ac\u201c that difference will compound in huge investments down the line (if you think of a financial investment analogy).<\/p>\n

So in my photography, I try to shoot as if everyday were my last. I always have my camera with me and try to take photos. Whether that is on the way to the grocery store, when I am stuck in traffic in my car (do this carefully), when I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m having coffee at a cafe, or when I am having dinner with Cindy.<\/p>\n

If I go two days in a row without taking any photos, I feel empty inside and frustrated. Similarly, I try to write and everyday. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have to write 10,000 words a day nor do I need to read a book a day\u00e2\u20ac\u201c just a little bit here and there compound tremendously over time.<\/p>\n

I know that a lot of us are busy and don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have a lot of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153free time.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d But if you ever surf reddit, watch television, go on Facebook \u00e2\u20ac\u201c you have free time. Subtract those distractions from your life, and channel them into your photography.<\/p>\n

2. Time is the most valuable commodity<\/h2>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153No one sets a value on time; all use it lavishly as if it cost nothing\u00e2\u20ac\u009d – Seneca<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If I lose $100, I can earn another $100 down the line. However if I lose a year of my life, I can never gain<\/em> another year of my life. Time is the most valuable commodity that is a non-renewable resource.<\/p>\n

I know a lot of people say \u00e2\u20ac\u0153time is money.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d But rather, I would say that time is much more valuable than money. I know a lot of people who trade their time, energy, attention, and effort (for money). Rather, I think we should take the opposite approach: either use money (or forgo earning more money) in order to have more time<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

For example, I know some people who work at companies who take a smaller salary and work fewer hours a week (for a smaller paycheck). Or some employees who voluntarily spend their money to buy more vacation days from their employer.<\/p>\n

I once heard of a tale of a businessman who visits a fisherman. Long story short, the businessman tries to teach the fisherman business advice so he can get bigger boats, catch more fish, and earn more money. But the fisherman asks, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Why do I need more money in my life?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d The businessman goes, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153So you can retire and just hang out by the water and go fishing all the time.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Nowadays in my personal life\u00e2\u20ac\u201c I am trying to spend my time as my most valuable commodity. Once I earn enough money to comfortably pay for my rent, pay for my film and coffee, and put a little money into savings\u00e2\u20ac\u201c I try not to trade more time for money. I want to eventually have as much free time on my hands to spend more time writing (for this blog), researching, spending time with friends and family, working on building local photography communities, etc. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to be the guy at the graveyard with the most 0\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s in my bank account.<\/p>\n

I once read something that once you earn at least $75,000 a year (combined income with your partner) \u00e2\u20ac\u201c earning more money doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t bring you more happiness in your day-to-day life. But because you earn $40,000 a year, it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mean you need to work harder to earn $75,000 a year\u00e2\u20ac\u201c it just means that the law of diminishing returns on money go drastically down after $40,000 a year.<\/p>\n

I know a lot of people who fall into \u00e2\u20ac\u0153hedonic adaptation\u00e2\u20ac\u009d or the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153hedonic treadmill\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in which as they earn more income, their lifestyles get more fancy\u00e2\u20ac\u201c so they end up spending more money on extraneous luxury goods (BMW, big house, kids in private school, expensive camera, etc). But the irony is that the more money they earn, the more time they spend working, and the less time they have to shoot.<\/p>\n

So my practical tip: just earn enough money to live comfortably, then protect your free time at all costs. If I still worked at a company, I would just do the bare minimum of work (without getting fired) and once the clock hits 5:00pm, I leave immediately (not staying late at work trying to get a raise or whatever).<\/p>\n

Furthermore, rather than trying to earn more money\u00e2\u20ac\u201c think of how you can actually get by with less in life. So ask yourself: could you sell your car and get by on just a bicycle and public transportation (which means you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have to pay as much for a car payment, gas, insurance, etc) \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and you can end up working less at work? Can you move into a smaller apartment and save some money that way, so you can save more money and have more time to live and photograph? Personally I moved into a 2-bedroom apartment in Berkeley ($1800 a month) into a smaller 1-bedroom apartment in Berkeley (utilities included for $1300 a month) \u00e2\u20ac\u201c which means I have around an extra $700 a month to spend working less, having more freedom in terms of time, and stressing less about finances.<\/p>\n

Never trade time for money. Trade money for time.<\/strong><\/p>\n

3. Always keep death in sight<\/h2>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153If each one could have the number of his future years set before him as is possible in the case of the years that have passed, how alarmed those would be who saw only a few remaining, how sparing of them would they be!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d – Seneca<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I recently installed an application on my phone called the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153death clock\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in which it tells me (roughly) how many days I have left to live. It says that I have 20,439 days to live.<\/p>\n

Sure that is a lot of days, but everyday it ticks down. I am running out of years to live\u00e2\u20ac\u201c and it is a constant reminder that I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have that much time on this planet, so I shouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t procrastinate in my life\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s duty and to focus all of my time, energy, and effort effectively for the common good.<\/p>\n

Always keep death in mind.<\/p>\n

Another psychological trick: imagine yourself on your death bed. Now write down a fictional list of things you regret in life.<\/p>\n

There is a nice article online called \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Regrets of the dying\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u201c in which a nurse who took care of the dying wrote a list of common regrets of the dying. They included something like:<\/p>\n