{"id":50053,"date":"2017-05-10T06:40:40","date_gmt":"2017-05-10T13:40:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=50053"},"modified":"2017-05-10T06:40:40","modified_gmt":"2017-05-10T13:40:40","slug":"the-key-to-happiness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2017\/05\/10\/the-key-to-happiness\/","title":{"rendered":"THE KEY TO HAPPINESS"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"cindy<\/p>\n

The key to happiness is FREEDOM<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

1. Freedom above all<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

To me, I think the secret to happiness is freedom.<\/p>\n

We all think we want money. But what we really want is freedom. Freedom to do whatever we want, whenever we want, however we want.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

My buddy (Cynic\/Stoic<\/a> philosopher Diogenes) when asked, \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcWhat is the greatest good?\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 he answered:<\/p>\n

\n Freedom of speech is the greatest good.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is why I am unapologetically-pro American. We are (as far as I know) one of the only few countries that really tries to promote freedom of speech. This is why I would never live in Singapore or Vietnam long-term.<\/p>\n

2. If I were rich, would I have freedom?<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Many of us think that money equals freedom. But it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t.<\/p>\n

You can be a billionaire slave.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Leica M9, 21mm, f\/8<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Consider this rule-of-thumb (heuristic) by Nassim Taleb:<\/p>\n

\n You know whether you are free or not if you can take a nap whenever you want.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If you are a billionaire but cannot take a nap whenever you want \u00e2\u20ac\u201d you are not free.<\/p>\n

3. The ultimate freedom: the freedom to create art<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I also think the beauty of freedom is to have the freedom over your time\u00e2\u20ac\u201d to express your creative soul through making art<\/a>.<\/p>\n

My buddy Nietzsche<\/a> taught me:<\/p>\n

\n The principal metaphysical activity in life is art.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Which means, to find more happiness and purpose in life \u00e2\u20ac\u201d make more art.<\/p>\n

Art is anything and everything.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Ricoh GR II \/\/ Hanoi, 2017 in P mode<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You can make art by making photos. You can make art through sculpture, painting, drawing, dancing, singing, or making music.<\/p>\n

Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t listen to snobby \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcart critics\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 (who actually never create their own art, but they like to criticize other artists). Be like a big-ass kid. To a child, the entire world is your canvas \u00e2\u20ac\u201d and they have a dripping paint brush, ready to paint the world to their heart\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s content. In-fact, \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcphotography\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 just means \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcpainting with light<\/a>.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/p>\n

4. Happiness means \u00e2\u20ac\u02dchuman flourishing\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 in Greek.<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Let us not even use the word \u00e2\u20ac\u02dchappiness\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 \u00e2\u20ac\u201d let us use the Greek definition for happiness:<\/p>\n

\n Human flourishing.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

To flourish as a human being means to create. To generate ideas. To generate art.<\/p>\n

The opposite of an artist is a \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcdegenerate.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Someone who is self-centered, and all they do is subdue themselves through mindless entertainment, through getting fucked up with alcohol and drugs, and by not creating anything useful or inspirational for others.<\/p>\n

\n He who lives for himself is truly dead to others.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

5. How to creatively flourish as an artist<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The answer to being \u00e2\u20ac\u02dchappy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 or to creatively flourish in life is easy:<\/p>\n

a. Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t censor yourself<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Make sure to be 1 human being. Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be two-faced (like Harvey Dent from Batman).<\/p>\n

For example, if you curse with your buddies over a few drinks \u00e2\u20ac\u201d make sure to do the same when you are with your mom.<\/p>\n

For example, as an artist, you cannot compromise. You need to say and create the art you really believe in.<\/p>\n

For example, for a long time I gave way too many fucks about what others thought of me. In real life, I curse a lot. And I am not<\/em> politically correct (PC) in real life.<\/p>\n

So to be a true human being\u00e2\u20ac\u201d I needed to be 1 person. To be \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcEric Kim\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 online, and the same \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcEric Kim\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 offline (in real life).<\/p>\n

So as a rule, just ask yourself:<\/p>\n

\n Do I act like the same person behind closed doors, and the same way online?\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

b. Create 100% genuine art.<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Art is expressing your opinion. Art is not censoring yourself, and certainly not compromising.<\/p>\n

If you compromise in your art, you are not an artist. Rather, you are a compromiser.<\/p>\n

You might need to compromise in things in life like working a 9-5 job you hate, in order to pay the bills. I think that is totally cool.<\/p>\n

But if you are making above $40,000 a year (as an American) \u00e2\u20ac\u201d make sure all your art made in your free time doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t reek of compromise.<\/p>\n

To compromise in art means to make photos and share photos that you think others<\/em> will like, and will net you a lot of likes and followers, rather than sharing photos or art that you<\/em> like.<\/p>\n

As a rule, before I share any photos or art, I ask myself;<\/p>\n

\n Do I<\/em> like my own photo?\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If the answer is \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcno\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 \u00e2\u20ac\u201d why bother sharing it? You cannot fake passion or enthusiasm. And if you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t believe in your own art, why do you care what others think?<\/p>\n

c. Have faith in yourself<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Have faith in yourself. I believe in you. Why don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t you believe in yourself?<\/p>\n

Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t fear death. Rather, always remind yourself: you need very little to be alive. You can feed yourself on $1 a day (Elon Musk<\/a> fed himself on $1 a day on spaghetti and hot dogs when he started his company with his brother). Elon Musk also slept in his rented office, which didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even have a shower (they didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have an apartment). They showered at the local gym. So if Elon can do it super poor and scrappy \u00e2\u20ac\u201d what excuse do we have?<\/p>\n

Everyday hustle<\/a> like it were your last, and make a little piece of art everyday.<\/p>\n

Unlock your inner-genius<\/a> and child<\/a>, and don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t take yourself too seriously. Have fun, and create with a grateful heart, and share a piece of your soul<\/a> with others.<\/p>\n

Be strong,
\nEric<\/p>\n

Learn more: Philosophy ><\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The key to happiness is FREEDOM.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":50055,"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-50053","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\/cindy-project-freedom-happiness.jpeg?fit=2000%2C1324&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50053","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=50053"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50053\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50055"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50053"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50053"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50053"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}