mom<\/a> is your hero. She is 44 years old. She is the only bread-winner in the home. She cleans houses, waitresses, cashier, works 12 hour days (6 days a week), and you never see her. The good thing is she taught you good morals as a kid (the importance of self-reliance, faith, humility, and faith in God). She taught you everything you know \u00e2\u20ac\u201d to become the man you will become one day.<\/p>\n3. You had an adventurous childhood<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\n
Anyways, you have a great childhood at age 12. You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re on the cusp of puberty. You explore the city, like the world is yours. You walk probably 5-6 miles a day (not out of \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcexercise\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 \u00e2\u20ac\u201d but to explore the world). You walk with your buddies to the pier, and you go fishing with your friends, and catch crabs with Steven and his grandpa.<\/p>\n
You are introduced to diversity. All your friends are the \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcrainbow crew\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 \u00e2\u20ac\u201d Spanish, Indian, Jewish, Brazilian, Black, Peurto-Rican, Chinese (you learn as a kid that there are than 1 type of \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcChinese\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 language), and Korean. You don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t see color. But you see class\u00e2\u20ac\u201d you see your friends all working-class families, and there is tension towards the \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcrich spoiled\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 kids.<\/p>\n
You grow up playing N64, Dreamcast, and Playstation 2. You get your first computer (Pentium I MMX Processor, 1GB hard drive, 38.8k modem) and you figure out how to use the internet via AOL. You have all these free CD\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s, and you figure out how to \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcHack\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Netzero to essentially have \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcfree\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 internet (even though you racked up the phone bills, and the phone line was always busy).<\/p>\n
4. Your early \u00e2\u20ac\u02dchacker\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 roots<\/h2>\n
You learned how to become a \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcpirate\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 at age 12 \u00e2\u20ac\u201d joining AOL \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcServer\/Cerver\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 chat rooms, getting Grand Theft Auto 1 emailed to you (as 20 .RAR files), and letting that shit download for 2 days straight (you would yell at your mom when she tried to make a phone call). You learned how to be resourceful\u00e2\u20ac\u201d because you were poor.<\/p>\n
You essentially had 100% freedom at age 12. It was kind of bad, but mostly good. You started to program on Visual Basic, to make your own \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcPUNTER\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 tools (to kick people out of AOL chat rooms) or to create an \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcEmail Bomb\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 to send random folks random gibberish in code, to have their internet disconnect. It was fun, and exciting.<\/p>\n
You learned how to code your own websites pretty early in HTML. You was the master of \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcTetrinet\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 (online Tetris). You were still well-balanced, you were a black\/red belt in Tae Kwon Do, you started to lift dumbbell weights (because you were fat, eating all those hot pockets as a kid, because your parents were never home), and you walked around a lot, and played with your friends.<\/p>\n
The world was your oyster.<\/p>\n
5. Bankruptcy in New York, and moving back to California<\/h2>\n
Remember: your mom tries to borrow money from your grandpa to start a business in America. She and your dad buy a grocery store in the Bronx, and they do okay. But one day they figure out that they are being scammed\u00e2\u20ac\u201d the Korean couple they bought it from had massive debt, and that debt was transferred to your parents. They went bankrupt. We had to move back to California, to start a new life.<\/p>\n
We loaded our life\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s belonging in the 1995 Nissan Maxima, with the peeling black paint and purple-tinted windows, and drove to California, leaving everything behind.<\/p>\n
Remember, when you said your final farewell to your friends, and you thought to yourself: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I will never make as good friends.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d But you promised your friends (and they promised you) to stay friends forever. 17 years later, Spencer Gallardo and Aditya Mahan come to your wedding with Cindy. Life is good.<\/p>\n
6. Road trip through America in a 1995 Nissan Maxima<\/h2>\n
Your family barely has enough money for gas, or motels. I think I remember sleeping a few nights in the car\u00e2\u20ac\u201d I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be too sure.<\/p>\n
Your mom and dad get really tanned left arms (from driving), and you and your sister are fooling around in the back seat. You see America, and realize how big Texas is.<\/p>\n
7. Life in Middle School<\/h2>\n
You restart your life in Alameda, California. You attend Lincoln Middle School, and you have family (DJ). You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re seen as a unique specimen\u00e2\u20ac\u201d you are from New York. All of the kids in your school ask you, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Did you get shot or mugged in New York?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Also remember when you first moved from California to New York \u00e2\u20ac\u201d all your classmates in 5th grade asked you, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Were there always earthquakes in California?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Anyways, middle school life is good. You make some new friends. Your best friends are Aaron, and Dave. You build good friends at church at St. Agnes in Oakland, and also Grace Kang is one of your closest friends in middle school. You learn to over-come your \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcpoorness\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 by saving all your lunch money (not eating lunch) to buy \u00e2\u20ac\u02dccool\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 clothes, like $50 all-white K-SWISS shoes, and $25 t-shirts. Remember when you tried to buy that all-white oversized Russel Hoodie ($50), and your mom said no. You bought the cheaper $20 Champion version instead.<\/p>\n
Thank God you turned out okay. Aaron ends up joining a gang, and tries to get you to join. He slangs weed, and starts to get into selling coke. I think I remember a time when he was high on coke, and I was fucking scared. Weed wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t a big deal. I never touched it though, because I saw how weed fucked up all my friends (made them lazy and unambitious) and I just hated smoking (from my dad).<\/p>\n
I remember one day when Aaron took off his shirt, and there were all these scars on his back. I asked him what happened\u00e2\u20ac\u201d he told me the neighboring gang jumped them, and he got knifed up. Scary shit.<\/p>\n
I remember my friend Tony coming over my house in 7th grade, and he offers me a pill of Ecstasy. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m like, \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcI\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m cool\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 \u00e2\u20ac\u201d I knew that E (Ecstasy) put holes in your brain. I knew some kids in 8th grade who became \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcE-heads\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 and became brain-dead. Anyways, Tony takes the full pill, and he is touching the carpet and the wall for about 3 hours.<\/p>\n
8. Trust yourself<\/h2>\n
You see the world around yourself, and shit is crazy. People joining gangs. Doing drugs. Fucking up their lives. Complaining about life, and how difficult it is. Getting depressed, and contemplating suicide. Becoming \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcEMO\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 or \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcGOTH.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Wearing all black.<\/p>\n
Remember, your friend complained that his parents wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get him a new PS3. You remember the same night you lock yourself up in your room, hearing your Dad beat your mom. You remember thinking to yourself, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153You don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know what real pain and suffering is.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
9. Thank your mentors\/guides<\/h2>\n
But the good thing is that all this tough shit made you stronger. You saw your friends go down the wrong path \u00e2\u20ac\u201d which encouraged you to go the right path. Your mentors, and guides helped you every step of the way\u00e2\u20ac\u201d illuminating the path for you. You local Boy Scouts troop scout-masters, your Sunday school teachers, and your mom.<\/p>\n
10. Your belief in the American Dream<\/h2>\n
You grew up with the American dream. The American hustle is embedded in your DNA. You are the true \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcrags to riches\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 story.<\/p>\n
Do you remember when you were a kid\u00e2\u20ac\u201d and you begged your dad to get a job at age 12? You saw how much your mom was suffering. Your dad would always make excuses. You learned to hate excuses. And you will never forget, the day your dad was sitting with you in his car, telling you outside of Sushi House: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Your mom deserves to suffer and work, because she is a bitch and deserves it.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Your dad is the ultimate anti role-model. But that was good.<\/p>\n
You learn that you can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t depend on nobody. Only yourself. You hustle at age 15 in high school, learn how to build computers, and you sell a few of them to kids in school and on eBay and make $1,000 on your own. You take that money, and your mom helps find a mechanic from Oakland (Kevin) who is selling a 1991 Nissan Sentra XE 4-door 5 speed, white, for only $1200. It is in good condition. Your mom gives you $200, and you have freedom at age 15.<\/p>\n
You get your driver\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s permit, by driving around with a Vietnamese guy for 1 hour, who signs off your paper. You pay him only $50 (instead of your sucker classmates who spend about $300 and have to train for a month).<\/p>\n
11. Learning how to become resourceful<\/h2>\n
The fast and the furious just came out\u00e2\u20ac\u201d and your dream is to have a cool car. But all you have is your 1991 Sentra. It is lame. But you make it cool. You learn how to buy primer, and through online forums, you spray paint your car. You fix your bumpers, and spray paint the entire interior black (remember how ugly the brown interior was?) You install an intake from eBay. You get your mechanic to install a 2\u00e2\u20ac\u2122\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 exhaust (mandrel bends) for your 1.6 liter engine (optimal) with a magnaflow muffler. It isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t a rice-rocket or a \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcfart cannon.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 You learn how to install headers ($200) from eBay.<\/p>\n
You learn how to tinker. You take apart your car, and strip it down. You take out the back seats, and roll around with Justin to save weight.<\/p>\n
You get into audio. You get two 12\u00e2\u20ac\u2122\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 subwoofers in the trunk, 1000 Watt Amplifier from your buddy Paul, and Alpine speakers and head unit. You bump heavy hip hop with your rattling trunk. You think you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re pretty cool.<\/p>\n
Your dream car is the 1991 Sentra SE-R (2-door, with SR20 140HP engine, instead of the weak 1.6 102 HP engine on your current car).<\/p>\n
Your 4-door 1991 Sentra XE doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t pass smog. So you get a $1,000 rebate from the state of California to junk it. You use that money, and scrape another $500 to buy your dream 1991 Sentra SE-R (also white). You get it from a grandma who barely drove it. You love it, it is your dream car. You paint the rims bronze, and keep it \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcclean\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 (your coach Lowe calls it a \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcSleeper\u00e2\u20ac\u2122).<\/p>\n
You have pride in being an underdog. You have pride in building up your car (and yourself) \u00e2\u20ac\u201d whereas all the spoiled kids in school with BMW\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s are self-entitled. You learn to have extreme pride that you are self made\u00e2\u20ac\u201d you work, you make your own money, and you create your own future and destiny.<\/p>\n
12. Others have it worse than you<\/h2>\n
Never forget where you came from Eric. Do you remember when you first looked at your bank account, and you accrued your first $1,000 in your savings account? Then your first $10,000 in bank account? Then your first $100,000 in your savings? Never forget how proud you were of yourself.<\/p>\n
Never forget when you worked at Sushi House at age 14 as a busboy, working 2 months, probably 10-12 hours a day, and that $3000 you saved up (in tip and wages) that you saved in your shoebox. Remember how hard the Mexicans in the back worked\u00e2\u20ac\u201d and how impressed you were with their work ethic, and how you realized how privileged you were (even though your job was hard). You learned you can never complain.<\/p>\n
Then remember that your dad said he had an \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcopportunity\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 in LA to make money. But he needed money (he always did). You gave him your $3,000 \u00e2\u20ac\u201d tears in your eyes, telling your dad, \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcI believe in you.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 He betrays you. He actually never went to LA. He disappears for a month, and apparently he gambled it all away (probably in Reno). Remember when your mom used to track the mileage in his red 1995 Acura Integra, and how he would disappear randomly in the middle of the night, gambling away our rent money.<\/p>\n
Remember how your dad would threaten your mom\u00e2\u20ac\u201d that he wanted the rent money (to \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcpay it himself.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122). Remember, how your mom had to file bankruptcy. How your dad treated your mom like a slave. You learned to respect women, especially hardworking single moms. You knew that age 16, the day you would become \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcsuccessful\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 you would devote your life helping others \u00e2\u20ac\u201d especially those in need like yourself.<\/p>\n
13. Why were you so lucky?<\/h2>\n
Eric \u00e2\u20ac\u201d why were you so lucky? How come you didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t end up joining a gang, getting addicted to weed and ecstasy, getting thrown in juvie, and stayed clear of all these negative influences\u00e2\u20ac\u201d when your best friends were gang-affiliated?<\/p>\n
One thing to be grateful for your Dad and Mom: they knew that Alameda was becoming \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcbad\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 (all these gang-banging kids moving in from Oakland), and we decided to move to Castro Valley. You no longer saw your friend Aaron. That ended up being good for me.<\/p>\n
Castro Valley (my high school from 9th grade to 12th grade) was a good school. Good teachers, good AP classes, and no \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcbad influences.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Your freshman year, the school was 80% white. No gangs, only fake gang-bangers (remember how lame Roger was?) You ended up building a crew of your homies, and you were a trouble-maker (spray-painting graffiti at school), but mostly good.<\/p>\n
You knew that education was the answer<\/strong>. You hustled hard to get into a good college. You were mostly self-driven. You wanted to make your momma proud. You saw how hard she suffered (how much she sacrificed, she only lived for you and your sister) \u00e2\u20ac\u201d she was like Mother Mary.<\/p>\n14. Advice to you<\/h2>\n
Sorry I got a bit detracted, and jumped around in time a bit.<\/p>\n
But I just want to encourage you. To give you advice, that you are 12 years old \u00e2\u20ac\u201d don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t let nobody tell you that you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re too young. You already know your shit. Have faith in yourself, your morals, and your world-view.<\/p>\n
You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re lucky to have got good morals from your family, church, and mentors.<\/p>\n
You know all those who got fucked over in life weren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t because they were \u00e2\u20ac\u02dclazy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 \u00e2\u20ac\u201d they just didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have the same opportunities you did. Not only that, but some of them had parents that didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t care about them. Even Aaron\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mom \u00e2\u20ac\u201d she didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t care about Aaron. At least you had a mom that loved you and cared about you.<\/p>\n
But you never complained about your disadvantaged background. You started your RPG (role playing game, like Diablo II) at Level 0. Or maybe Level -10. While others started at Level 10, Level 20, or Level 50. But the goal is to become Level 99. And you were able to hustle, grind hard, and make it to Level 99.<\/p>\n
15. Helping others level-up<\/h2>\n
Know that life isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t a competition. Everyone can become Level 99. You don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t need to tear others down, to become the ultimate level.<\/p>\n
Not only that, but know that not having<\/em> money is never an excuse. You have to use it to your advantage\u00e2\u20ac\u201d get a job. Hustle, start teaching English on the side, learn how to program, and get a job programming (the future is in Computer Science).<\/p>\nBe practical\u00e2\u20ac\u201d be an idealist, but get a job that pays the bills. Pursue your passion on the side, and maybe one day you can do it full-time.<\/p>\n
Know that you can be rich and do social good. At age 29, you are rich. You never need to worry about money no more. You have enough in your savings to live for a full 2 years in America. In theory, you can live the rest of your life in Saigon and never \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcwork\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 another day in your life.<\/p>\n
You do social good by empowering others. Giving free ebooks, articles, and videos. The purpose of your life is to help empower others. You have enough to be happy in life\u00e2\u20ac\u201d you got your laptop, camera, and brain. You have loved ones\u00e2\u20ac\u201d you got the most beautiful and amazing wife (Cindy), you have your family (and a new family from Cindy), and you got strength, power, and many hours to devote yourself to helping others.<\/p>\n
Also realize how technology has empowered you so much. From the early days of AOL 3.0 and your 38.8k modem, to teaching yourself programming, how to build computers (which helped you get a work-study job at UCLA at Undergraduate Admission earning a good $12 an hour, which helped you buy your first $600 Canon Rebel XT 350D DSLR). You hustled hard, but you also got lucky \u00e2\u20ac\u201d and got the right opportunities. But you had confidence, no fear, and took those opportunities.<\/strong><\/p>\nBut what also helped you was having faith in God \u00e2\u20ac\u201d and knowing that \u00e2\u20ac\u02dceverything happened for a reason.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Be humble. Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think that your hard work alone got you to where you are. God not as a dude in a cloud with a white beard. But the spirit of \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcGod\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 manifested through your mom, through your mentors, your teachers, and your own inner-spirit that led you down the right path.<\/p>\n
16. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m fucking proud of you<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\n
Never forget where you came from Eric.<\/p>\n
Also 12 year old Eric \u00e2\u20ac\u201d know that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m fucking proud of you. You went through so much suffering, yet it helped you build a thicker skin. Instead of having \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcpost-traumatic harm\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 \u00e2\u20ac\u201d you gained \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcpost-traumatic GROWTH<\/strong>\u00e2\u20ac\u2122. You didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t let all this bullshit and suffering in life tear you down. Rather, it helped you \u00e2\u20ac\u02dclevel up\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 to level 99.<\/p>\nIn life, if you want to become Level 99 in Diablo II \u00e2\u20ac\u201d you need to fight bosses, and keep grinding, and risk death. You cannot just keep killing little low-level orcs.<\/p>\n
And the day you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re level 99 \u00e2\u20ac\u201d don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t despair. There is still a reason to live. To devote the rest of your life helping others become level 99.<\/strong><\/p>\nBe strong Eric,<\/p>\n
Always,
\n(29 year old) Eric<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u201d<\/p>\n
Learn more: ERIC KIM FACTS ><\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/memento-mori-800x490.jpg?resize=800%2C490\")
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Dear Eric, You are 12 years old. Here is some advice I would give you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":48017,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47599","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-posts"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/eric-kim-photography-portrait13.jpg?fit=667%2C1000&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47599","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47599"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47599\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48017"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47599"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47599"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47599"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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