{"id":52592,"date":"2017-06-11T01:08:51","date_gmt":"2017-06-11T08:08:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=52592"},"modified":"2017-06-11T01:08:51","modified_gmt":"2017-06-11T08:08:51","slug":"it-is-better-to-beg-for-forgiveness-than-ask-for-permission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2017\/06\/11\/it-is-better-to-beg-for-forgiveness-than-ask-for-permission\/","title":{"rendered":"It is Better to Beg For Forgiveness Than Ask For Permission"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Dear friend,<\/p>\n

You only live once. Why live it according to the rules of others and society?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

You are already you.<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

You don’t need permission. You have the power to just do it, right now.<\/p>\n

You don’t need permission to be a photographer. Just go out, and make photos which brings you personal meaning. Ignore elitist assholes who say,<\/p>\n

\n Just because you have an iPhone doesn’t mean you’re a photographer.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Everyone is already a photographer. Your mom is a photographer. If you have a curiosity in making images, you are a photographer.<\/p>\n

So don’t let nobody put you inside a little box. And certainly don’t put yourself into a box.<\/p>\n

Listen to yourself.<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Often we think we need permission from others before we take a risk.<\/p>\n

We ask our parents if it is okay that we pursue our dreams in life, or choose a major in college.<\/p>\n

We don’t have confidence in ourselves. We ask the advice of others, because if we follow their advice and fail, we have someone to blame.<\/p>\n

Do you know who you are?<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

If you ask for permission or you ask the opinion of others, you are betraying yourself.<\/p>\n

If you know what you really are passionate about in life, why do you need to ask for the opinion of others?<\/p>\n

You don’t need to ask others whether your photos are good or not. Just look at your own photos and ask yourself:<\/p>\n

\n Do I<\/em> like my own photos or not?\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Why I didn’t believe in myself (at first)<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Why do we lack self-confidence?<\/p>\n

It is because of fear. Fear of looking stupid in case we fail. I don’t know about you, but when I was a kid, I was afraid of failure. If I got anything less than an \u00e2\u20ac\u0153A\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in school, I was afraid of disappointing my parents.<\/p>\n

As I got older, I started to rebel. The rules of society seemed like bullshit to me. I started to follow my own heart, and started to eschew societal norms. I studied sociology in school, to further my own self-learning, and self-growth.<\/p>\n

I hit another roadblock when I got my first office job, straight out of college. I no longer had the freedom of college. I became the slave of email, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153inbox zero\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, and pleasing my company. I wanted to take more risks.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I stopped asking for permission. I followed the advice:<\/p>\n

\n It is better to beg for forgiveness than ask for permission.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I wanted to help my buddy Jay, my younger friend. I hired him as an intern, without asking my boss. My boss found out afterwards, and I got in trouble. But not enough trouble that I would get fired. And ultimately, Jay blossomed, got work experience in this online technology space, and prospered. I’m glad I took a risk of just getting him as an intern, without asking permission.<\/p>\n

I also found out as a blogger, I hate editors. Editors are just like road-blocks in the freeway. And I like to drive my Lamborghini at 500mph, no brakes.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I like to publish. I hate editing. I hated feeling \u00e2\u20ac\u0153throttled\u00e2\u20ac\u009d by editors, who wanted to make subtle changes in my text. Often, the changes were minor, and didn’t change the overall message of my text.<\/p>\n

So now, I no longer need an editor. I edit myself, before I type words onto the digital screen.<\/p>\n

Obviously, if Cindy give some feedback, and suggestions, I go back and edit old blog posts. But now, I no longer need \u00e2\u20ac\u0153permission\u00e2\u20ac\u009d from another person before I hit publish.<\/p>\n

Practical advice<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Obviously if you have a job, it is not in your best interest to get fired. But my suggestion:<\/p>\n

\n Take the maximum risks in your job, without getting fired.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

You know the boundary. Push that boundary, and see how far you can take things. And perhaps, even getting fired might be a good thing for your career and future.<\/p>\n

How to take advantage of your day job<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

If you want to become an entrepreneur and start your own business, don’t quit your day job.<\/strong> Rather,<\/p>\n

\n Do the minimum possible work at your job without getting fired.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

For myself, when I had a job as an online community manager at ehow.com, part of Demand Media, I hustled my ass off. I worked hard to innovate but I hated not being heard. One day I was like \u00e2\u20ac\u0153fuck this\u00e2\u20ac\u009d– and I started to care less about my job, and just put in the hours, and used all my free time to build the ERIC KIM EMPIRE.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I did my job as quickly and efficiently as possible. I usually finished my days work in about 3-4 hours. For the next 3-4 hours, I would build social media connections. I would read blog posts on social media, to learn. I would ask my co-workers for advice on life, business, saving money, programming, web design, etc. I played a lot of ping pong too, and got really good.<\/p>\n

My master plan was to do my passion (this blog) full time. I had no idea how I would do that. But I hustled.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I usually woke up at around 7:30am, blog for an hour, bike to work, and get in around 10-10:30am. I would hustle until lunch, and eat lunch for an hour with my friends at work. After work, I would play ping pong, and do a little more work. Then the rest of the day, I would be plotting on building my own business. I would often escape the office for 15 minute street photography breaks. And after work at 7pm, I would shoot a little street photography around the office neighborhood. Some of my best street photos from 2011 were just a ten minute walk from my office.<\/p>\n

Getting laid off was the best thing ever.<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I was lucky enough to get made redundant from my company. God blessed me, to pursue my passion: photography blogging.<\/p>\n

When I got made redundant, I planned on making a living from teaching workshops and selling shirts. Eventually, workshops became my bread and butter– 90% of my income.<\/p>\n

6 years laters (2011-2017), and 2,700+ blog posts later, I’m #1 on Google for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153street photography.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I achieved my dream of buying a Leica, traveling the world, and saving more than 100 racks in my savings. I broke the $200,000 a year income ceiling<\/a> (thank you Cindy), and now I have \u00e2\u20ac\u0153fuck you money\u00e2\u20ac\u009d– enough money to do whatever I want.<\/p>\n

Thank you<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The only way I was able to become \u00e2\u20ac\u0153successful\u00e2\u20ac\u009d were:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Hustle (working 12-14 hours a day, 7 days a week)<\/li>\n
  2. Supreme self-confidence (knowing that I couldn’t fail)<\/li>\n
  3. Opportunity (being born American, and staring to blog when photography blogging wasn’t that big)<\/li>\n
  4. God <\/li>\n
  5. Mentors and guides <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Above all, I didn’t ask nobody for permission. I said fuck you to the gatekeepers, and made my own platform (this blog).<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    You shouldn’t do the same as me, because you are not me. But I do recommend you to make your own photography blog. Go to 1and1.com, make a WordPress.org blog, and start blogging about yourself, your own photos, and advice. Build your empire, one blog post a time. If you write 2,000 blog posts, you will become \u00e2\u20ac\u0153successful\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n

    Love risk-taking<\/h2>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    Above all, with art, photography, and life: never ask for permission. Just do it. Deal with the consequences afterwards<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    \n The more risks you take in life, the more you will win.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    \n

    Photography Entrepreneurship 101<\/a><\/h2>\n
    \"\"
    ERIC KIM x HENRI\u00c2\u00a0NECK STRAP<\/a> \/\/ Portrait by Benjamin Thompson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Learn how to make a living from your passion:<\/p>\n

    How to Make Money with Photography<\/h2>\n