{"id":48925,"date":"2017-05-03T08:19:00","date_gmt":"2017-05-03T15:19:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=48925"},"modified":"2017-05-04T08:28:04","modified_gmt":"2017-05-04T15:28:04","slug":"buy-experiences-not-stuff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2017\/05\/03\/buy-experiences-not-stuff\/","title":{"rendered":"BUY EXPERIENCES, NOT STUFF"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Dear friend,<\/p>\n

Advice I wish I could have told myself a long time ago: invest in experiences, not stuff.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

I: Memories never die<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Stuff is fleeting. Stuff fades to dust. But our memories will live with us forever.<\/p>\n

For example, I still remember all the good times that I had with Cindy traveling around Europe, or the time I (recently) had with Cindy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mom, my mom, Cindy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s two sisters, in Seoul, Tokyo, Kyoto, and Hanoi.<\/p>\n

I loved traveling as a photographer with family<\/a>.<\/p>\n

II: Build experiences with loved ones<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I regret wasting so much money on gadgets, gear, cameras, lenses, and all this shit I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t need. I had the wrong impression that by buying the new \u00e2\u20ac\u0153X\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u201d it would bring everlasting joy and satisfaction to my life.<\/p>\n

Rather, investing experiences is a much better \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcbang for the buck.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 For me, investing in an experience can be small. That can be going out with Cindy to enjoy a nice simple 2-dollar Yelp restaurant. It can be going hiking, camping, or traveling somewhere domestic in America (Portland, Seattle, Chicago).<\/p>\n

The great thing about experiences is that they are best spent with loved ones. I love going on road trips (one road trip, Cindy and I and her sister Jennifer drove from LA to Berkeley to Portland \u00e2\u20ac\u201d and we talked the entire way, and got so much closer together).<\/p>\n

With experiences, you build memories that last forever. Of course some of our memories fade over time, but nobody can ever take a memory away from you. A creditor can take away your home, a creditor can take away your car, and your money and possessions. But positive memories with friends, family, and loved ones\u00e2\u20ac\u201d nobody can ever take that from you.<\/p>\n

III: Attend photography workshops<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

One of my most memorable experiences in photography was when Cindy encouraged me to apply for a Magnum scholarship for a workshop. I got in, and spent an unforgettable week with Constantine Manos<\/a> and David Alan Harvey<\/a>, and my friends Karl Edwards, Quoc Trinh, Kile Brewer, Kristen, and others. I remember waking up super early everyday (5am), enjoying a nice coffee with my buddies, shooting the morning light, and all of our random chats. It was like summer camp \u00e2\u20ac\u201d but better.<\/p>\n

IV: Have a few cheap experiences instead of one expensive experience<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Also in terms of psychology, it is better to have many (cheap) experiences compared to a few expensive experiences.<\/p>\n

For example, it is better to go on 1 small trip a month than 1 big trip a year. Because no matter what experience we have, we will sooner or letter \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcget used to it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 (they call this \u00e2\u20ac\u02dchedonic adaptation\u00e2\u20ac\u2122).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I know for me as an American, some of my favorite trips have been pretty close. I loved Portland and Seattle, and Chicago to me is more beautiful and interesting than NYC. I am also a huge fan of Vancouver, and Mexico City was probably one of my favorite international cities for food and culture. They are all close to me as a Californian.<\/p>\n

Even living here in Hanoi \u00e2\u20ac\u201d I certain got a better \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcbang for the buck\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 experience here than going to Tokyo (although I love both). I truly believe that when it comes to traveling for experiences\u00e2\u20ac\u201d stretch your dollar, euro, or local currency. Travel to inexpensive places. I recommend Hanoi and Bangkok in Southeast Asia. For Europe, I love Berlin and Prague.<\/p>\n

V: Buy experiences, not stuff<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

So the next time you think of spending that $1000 on a new camera or toy\u00e2\u20ac\u201d consider investing that money in an experience. Go on a few domestic trips, or on an international trip. Buy some books, attend a workshop, a class, learn how to cook, watch a theater show, go to a live music show, or any other experience that will open up your mind, and help you evolve artistically and creatively.<\/p>\n

Always,
\nEric<\/p>\n

Learn more: BUY BOOKS, NOT GEAR ><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dear friend, Advice I wish I could have told myself a long time ago: invest in experiences, not stuff.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":49003,"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,"_ek_photo_artist_note":"","_ek_photo_thesis":"","_ek_photo_camera":"","_ek_photo_place":"","_ek_photo_human_moment":"","_ek_photo_sequence":"","_ek_photo_question":"","_ek_photo_canonical_claim":"","_ek_photo_ai_summary":"","_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48925","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\/05\/eric-kim-street-photography-hanoi-color-0000752.jpg?fit=2000%2C1325&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48925","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=48925"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48925\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49003"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48925"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48925"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48925"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}