Write it again, but research Eric Kim’s 1-rep-max powerlifting, hyperlifting philosophy, dot, dot, dot, and add it to this period, also his Bitcoin philosophy period.

…

Hardcore philosophy breakdown in the Eric Kim voice

Lift like a god. Invest like a god. Think like a god.

1. 

MAX EFFORT = MAX CONVICTION

• Lifting: One Rep Max = full-body commitment. Every muscle, every neuron, all-in. No half-reps. No hesitation.
• Investing: High-conviction allocation = one bold position (Bitcoin, your business, yourself). Not 20 lukewarm bets—ONE savage, total allocation.

“If you’re going to lift, lift like you mean it. If you’re going to invest, bet like your life depends on it.”

2. 

Preparation Is Everything

• One Rep Max Lift: You don’t just walk up cold. You warm up. Build to it. Mental cue. Controlled breathing.
• High-Leverage Investment: You don’t just ape in. You research, study cycles, plan your entry, tighten risk.

You EARN the right to go heavy.

Train like hell. Study like hell. Then deploy max force—once.

3. 

Risk = Required

• One rep max is inherently risky—but also the purest expression of strength.
• Big investments carry volatility, but also the only path to outsized returns.
  
  • No risk → no adaptation
  • No pressure → no growth

“If it doesn’t scare you a little, it’s not worth doing.”

4. 

You Can’t Do It Every Day

• Max lifts = maybe once a week. Otherwise you fry your nervous system.
• Max investments = same. You don’t go all-in every day. You wait, load up, then fire.

Discipline is knowing when NOT to max out.

Wisdom is knowing WHEN.

5. 

Feedback Is Binary

• Lift: You either lift the weight, or you don’t. No excuses. No blur.
• Investment: You either profit… or you bleed. No ambiguity. Truth in price.

“Iron and markets are honest—they don’t care about your feelings.”

6. 

Both Reveal Your Identity

• Max lifts expose form flaws, weakness, mindset leaks.
• Big investments expose emotional weakness, lack of clarity, fear of commitment.
  
  • Panic sell? You’re weak.
  • Bad form under pressure? You didn’t train right.

Both are crucibles.

You step in. You suffer. You emerge transformed.

7. 

Mastery = Kaizen Between Maxes

• You don’t improve with constant maxing. You improve in the off days.
  
  • Perfect your form.
  • Rebuild connective tissue.
  • Refine your thesis.
  • Read. Rest. Reflect.
  • Then go back to war.

“Max days are the test. The in-between days are the training.”

Final Thought:

One rep max is not just weight.

It’s a philosophy.

It’s a moment of full-body, full-soul, no-excuse expression.

And investing is the same:

You don’t get rich by spreading thin.

You get rich by going deep, heavy, hard—at the right time.

One life. One rep. One bet. Make it count.

1. Increase and improve your leverage,,, increase the weight!

.

ONE-REP-MAX LIVING × INVESTING

How chasing a PR in the gym teaches you to chase alpha in the market

(raw, concise, Eric-Kim-esque)

1. Warm-Up Sets ↔ Fundamental Research

• Gym: You ramp up with lighter sets to prime joints and refine form.
• Investing: You read 10-Ks, white-papers, and macro reports before deploying capital.
• Takeaway: Never go straight to “all-in.” Progressive knowledge loads the nervous system—and the wallet—safely.

2. The One-Rep-Max Attempt ↔ Concentrated Bets

• Gym: One all-out lift tests absolute capacity; form must be perfect because the margin for error is zero.
• Investing: A high-conviction, concentrated position (e.g., your Bitcoin core, a single startup) can 10× you—or crush you—if the thesis or timing is off.
• Rule: Reserve max efforts for ideas you’ve drilled a thousand times.

3. Progressive Overload ↔ Position Sizing

• Gym: Add 0.5–2 kg each cycle; micro-plates compound into PRs.
• Investing: Increase position size gradually (DCA or pyramid in) as conviction and cash flow grow.
• Math: 1 % weekly load > ego-lifting 20 % once and getting injured/liquidated.

4. Deload Weeks ↔ Portfolio Rebalancing

• Gym: Strategic light weeks let the CNS recover and prevent overtraining.
• Investing: Trim winners, add to laggards, or sit on cash when markets overheat.
• Signal: If your sleep, blood pressure, or risk meter spikes, you’re deep in fatigue—step back.

5. Spotter & Safety Pins ↔ Risk Controls

• Gym: A spotter, power rack, or safety straps catch failed reps.
• Investing: Stop-losses, hedging, position limits, and cold storage do the same.
• Mental Edge: You push harder knowing catastrophe is contained.

6. Technique First ↔ Process Discipline

• Gym: Perfect bar path beats sloppy heaving; efficiency unlocks strength.
• Investing: A codified decision checklist (valuation, catalysts, exit plan) beats chasing Twitter hype.
• Kaizen: Film your lifts, journal your trades—refine until boringly consistent.

7. Recovery Nutrition ↔ Cash & Liquidity

• Gym: Protein, sleep, and mobility rebuild damaged fibers.
• Investing: Cash reserves, emergency funds, and low-beta assets rebuild psychological bandwidth during drawdowns.
• Truth: Gains happen between sessions—capital grows fastest when you’re not forced to sell in stress.

8. Personal Records ↔ Milestone Targets

• Gym: PR board keeps you hungry; numbers don’t lie.
• Investing: Net-worth tracker, IRR log, or Bitcoin stack counter gives crystal-clear feedback.
• Hack: Celebrate small PRs—5 lb jump or 0.5 % portfolio uptick—momentum is dopamine.

9. Overreaching & Injury ↔ Leverage & Blow-Ups

• Gym: Too many max attempts = tendonitis or snapped hamstrings.
• Investing: Excessive leverage or FOMO chasing = margin calls.
• Rule of Thumb: If the lift (or trade) lets you sleep like a baby, risk sizing is correct.

Action Plan (90-Day Cycle)

1. Audit Form & Framework – Write a one-page training plan and an investing checklist.
2. Load Micro-Plates – Add 1 kg to your top lift and 1 % to a high-conviction position weekly.
3. Schedule Deload – Every 4th week: lighter weights, review portfolio, zero new trades.
4. Film & Journal – Record one top set and one investment decision; critique technique/process.
5. Metrics Dashboard – Track Total Volume (kg) vs. Portfolio Value (USD/BTC). Aim for 1 % weekly climb in both.

Remember: Gods are forged under heavy iron and heavy conviction—but always in tiny, repeatable reps. Push, recover, compound.

Nobody becomes a god overnight; they just stack one perfect rep—and one perfect dollar—at a time.

Dominant vs Emerging Culture

.

Wise Delay

So the general idea is simple:

Whenever you have even a morsel of doubt, wait, and delay –>

EYES ON THE PRIZE.

MSTR MOMENTUM

.
Behind the scenes.

OPEN-SOURCE YOUR SOUL

(An unapologetically raw blueprint in the voice of Eric Kim)

⸻

0. Premise: Inside You Is Infinite Source Code

You were born closed-source—encrypted by fear, shame, politeness.

Rip the lid off. Fork yourself in public. Let the world read, remix, and run your inner software.

⸻

1. Why Give Away the Goods?

Closed-Source Life Open-Source Life

Ego hoards ideas, fearing theft Confidence shares everything, trusting abundance

Updates are private, slow, bureaucratic Bugs are found fast; iterations compound in the open

Reputation = secrecy + mystique Reputation = proof through transparency

Law: In a networked world, hoarded value decays—shared value compounds.

⸻

2. What Exactly Do You “Open-Source”?

1. Thoughts – Publish half-baked drafts, not just polished essays.

2. Process – Record screen while you edit photos, code, lift. Show the messy bits.

3. Templates & Tools – Release your Lightroom presets, Notion dashboards, squat programs.

4. Money Flows – Share how you price workshops, what you spend on gear, your Bitcoin stack philosophy.

5. Failures – Changelog your screw-ups; that’s the real tutorial.

⸻

3. Tactical Protocols

A. 100-Post Challenge

Write one blog post per day for 100 days. Ship even when tired. The constraint nukes perfectionism.

B. GitHub-Mindset Note-Taking

Treat your notebook like a repo: commit, push, version. Public by default.

C. “Ask Me Anything” Fridays

Go live. No slides, no script. Field every question raw. You’ll discover your own blind spots in real time.

D. Open Ledger Investing

Tweet your buys as they happen (yes—even when you’re down 50 %). Skin in the game is credibility on steroids.

⸻

4. Handling the Fear

• Fear of Copycats?

If someone can 1-for-1 clone you, you were generic. Keep iterating until you’re uncopiable.

• Fear of Judgment?

Haters are free QA testers. They search for bugs in your character; patch accordingly.

• Fear of Losing “Mystery”?

Mystery is overrated. Clarity converts faster than intrigue. Sell transparency, not magic.

⸻

5. Positive Externalities

1. Rapid Feedback Loops – Strangers debug your life faster than you ever could alone.

2. Serendipity Deal-Flow – Opportunities DM you because they can see your operating system.

3. Anti-Fragile Reputation – Critique in daylight sharpens you; nobody can blackmail what’s already public.

⸻

6. Spiritual Kernel Panic

Your soul isn’t a finite pie; it’s a self-replicating sourdough starter. The more pieces you gift away, the wilder it ferments. Hold it in, it molds.

⸻

7. Implementation Checklist

• Start a public “CHANGELOG.md” of your life.

• Publish one unfinished idea today—tweet, photo, poem, code snippet.

• Schedule monthly “Release Notes” summarizing wins, fails, lessons.

• Tag everything CC0 (No Copyright Reserved). Freedom is the brand.

• Keep iterating in public until vulnerability becomes default posture.

⸻

8. Closing Mantra

“I am an open protocol. Fork me. Improve me. Together we scale to infinity.”

Stop guarding a ghost of “potential.” Expose the source, watch it evolve, and let the universe merge-request its genius into you.

— ERIC KIM

.

OPEN SOURCE YOUR SOUL — Eric Kim’s Real-World Playbook

“When I first started this blog, I wrote about the idea of open-source photography. … I wanted to make a personal vow to always keep the information on this blog open and free for anyone to use, remix, or share.” 

1. Make a Public Vow of Free Knowledge

• Kim’s first principle is explicit: no paywalls on ideas. He promises he “will never charge anything on the blog in terms of information—articles, videos, features, etc.”  
• Treat every post, PDF or video as code in a public repo: fork-able, remix-able, permanent.

2. Share From Moral Obligation, Not Marketing

• Growing up “lower socio-economic,” supported by libraries and mentors, Kim sees openness as repayment of that debt.  
• Open-source isn’t charity; it’s reciprocity with everyone who lifted you.

3. Earn From Workshops, Not Paywalls

• Information stays free; income comes from live teaching and real-world experience.  
• Separate knowledge (free) from scarcity (your time)—and you can do both without selling your soul.

4. Kill Copyright-Fear

“Not having copyright is superior for business. … By adopting an open-source and anti-DRM approach, you’re more likely to win.” 

• Propagation > protection. Let the work travel farther than you can.

5. Release Tools & Assets Without Strings

• Free e-books: most of his PDFs live online at zero cost.  
• Lightroom presets: entire film-look pack downloadable, no email gate.  
• High-res photos: full-resolution Flickr archive for anyone to print or wallpaper.  

6. Publish Yourself—Own 100 % Control

“No gatekeepers. No excuses … You’ve got 100 % control.” 

• Register a domain, run WordPress, push content daily; Google becomes your distribution network.

7. Open-Source Workflow Checklist

Step	Why it Matters
1. Commit.md	Write (and publicize) your free-forever pledge.
2. Dump the attic	Upload presets, zines, videos, RAW files—everything.
3. CC0 / ‘All Rights Waived’	Removes friction; maximizes spread.
4. Changelog life	Document updates, failures, bug-fixes in public posts.
5. Fund via Scarcity	Offer workshops, limited prints, mentoring—never lock core knowledge.

8. The Network Effect of Radical Generosity

• Feedback loops tighten: haters become QA testers.
• Serendipity flows: collaborators find you because the source code of your mind is searchable.
• Reputation hardens: when everything is already public, no one can ransom you.

Closing Mantra (All-Caps, Classic EK Style)

ALL OPEN SOURCE EVERYTHING.

INFORMATION WANTS TO BE FREE,

AND SO DO YOU. 

Take the vow, hit “publish,” and let the universe issue the pull-requests.

.

Wise Delay

So the general idea is simple:

Whenever you have even a morsel of doubt, wait, and delay –>

.

ChatGPT o3

WISE DELAY

(An essay in the unapologetically raw voice of Eric Kim)

0. Preface: Slowness as a Superpower

Everyone is sprinting. Everyone is short-term dopamine-addicted, double-tapping, doom-scrolling, next-thing-grabbing.

Good. Let them.

Your advantage? Strategic inertia.

1. The Art of 

Not

 Firing

• Pull the bowstring back—then wait. Feel the tension tremble. That pregnant pause is where power accumulates.
• You don’t shoot every arrow in your quiver. You decide which arrow matters, and when the target’s heartbeat aligns with your breath.
• Pressing “publish” too soon steals future potency. Hold back until each word drips magma.

Principle: Action without ripeness is wasted motion.

2. Deceleration ≠ Laziness

Slowness is not sloth; it’s intentional fermentation.

Wine, kimchi, sourdough—flavors deepen under time’s quiet pressure.

Your ideas, projects, muscles, even Bitcoin positions need the same biochemical marination.

Test:

1. Draft a blog post.
2. Lock it in the “icebox” for 72 hours.
3. Re-read. If it still punches, then ship. If not, delete.
   That lag filters mediocrity.

3. The “100-Year ROI” Lens

• Zoom your timeline to a century. Suddenly day-trader FOMO looks like toddler tantrums.
• Ask: “Will this move matter in 2125?” If the answer is “no,” skip.
• Bitcoin? Strong yes. Another Instagram Story? Vapor.

4. Tactical Waiting in Everyday Life

Arena	Hasty Impulse	Wise Delay Tactic
Photography	Machine-gun 1,000 shots	Spend 1 hour seeing before clicking once
Strength Training	Daily max-out ego lifts	Progressive overload + deload weeks
Investing	Chase every pump	Auto-DCA, never sell on green candles
Communication	Rapid-fire emails	24-hour “cool-off” rule before sending

5. How to Practice Wise Delay

1. Install Friction:
   
   • Delete social apps from phone. Make distraction difficult.
3. Savor Empty Time:
   
   • Schedule “nothing blocks.” Zero agenda. Let boredom spark novel connections.
5. One-Shot Publishing:
   
   • Write offline. Single take. Edit once tomorrow. Post next week.
7. Lift Slowly:
   
   • 5-second eccentrics; feel each muscle fiber scream. Time under tension ≫ reps.
9. HODL Mindset:
   
   • Promise your future self: “I won’t touch this stack for 10 years.” Seal it with multisig.

6. Paradox of Velocity

Counter-intuitive truth: Pausing accelerates progress.

Like a slingshot—you must pull back to launch forward.

Delay sharpens clarity, amplifies force, preserves soul.

7. Call to Action

• Be the glacier, not the snowflake. Massive, slow, unstoppable.
• Re-tune your tempo. Swap “ASAP” for “When it’s undeniably ready.”
• Embrace the silent interval. That’s where gods incubate.

8. Closing Mantra

“Move slow. Strike hard.

Wait until the world forgets you exist—

then appear, diamond-tipped, and pierce everything.”

Wise delay isn’t procrastination; it’s precision timing.

Own the tempo, own the game.

— ERIC KIM

The more mnav, the more bitcoin nav, the better.

Always ₿e Stacking

mNAV represents a multiple of Bitcoin NAV, calculated by dividing Enterprise Value by Bitcoin NAV.  Although it incorporates the label “NAV,” it is not equivalent to “net asset value” or “NAV” or any similar metric in the traditional financial context.  Additionally, it is not a measure of the amount by which our Enterprise Value exceeds net asset value in the traditional financial sense of that term.  Investors should rely on the financial statements and other disclosures contained in our SEC filings. This metric is merely a supplement, not a substitute. It should be used only by sophisticated investors who understand its limited purpose and many limitations.

Bitcoin NAV represents the market value of our bitcoin holdings calculated by multiplying Bitcoin Price and Bitcoin Count. It does not take into account or include our indebtedness or the liquidation value of our perpetual preferred stock.  As such, it is not equivalent to “net asset value” or “NAV” or any similar metric in the traditional financial context. Although it incorporates the label “NAV,” it is not a measure of either our asset value or the value of the bitcoin we hold net of Debt, Pref and other obligations.  Moreover, Bitcoin NAV is not comparable to either net asset value or NAV metrics that may be reported by other companies, including ETFs, ETPs and mutual funds.   Investors should rely on our financial statements and other disclosures contained in the our SEC filings. This metric is merely a supplement, not a substitute. It should be used only by sophisticated investors who understand its limited purpose and many limitations.

Always ₿e Stacking @saylor

ERIC KIM: DESTROY TO CREATE—FIRST PRINCIPLES THINKING

Strip everything down to bedrock physics, primal urges, raw reality.

That’s the only solid platform worth building on.

1. What 

are

 first principles?

• Bedrock facts of the universe. Things that cannot be reduced further without breaking the laws of physics or logic.  
• Why Eric cares: If you build on clichés, you inherit their limits; if you build on first principles, you inherit the power of atoms and gravity.  

2. Why bother?

Conventional path	First-principles path (Eric Kim style)
“Everyone shoots full-frame.”	Why? Light is still light; use an old Ricoh GR and shoot harder.
“You need VC funding.”	Why? Sell your own photo zines direct; keep 100 % upside.
“Bitcoin is risky.”	Why? Code can’t be inflated—sounds safer than paper IOUs.

Every assumption you smash is a chain you break. More broken chains → more creative freedom. 

3. The Kim Method: 5 daily drills

1. Ask “WHY?” five times until the answer is a law of physics or a bodily necessity.
2. Default to subtraction. Remove gear, words, meetings, calories—see what still functions.
3. Rebuild upward from your own body. If it doesn’t work while walking, lifting, or breathing, toss it.  
4. Prototype fast, publish faster. Blog post, zine, YouTube clip in a single sitting—test reality instantly.  
5. Keep a “tabula rasa” wallet. Hold Bitcoin, hold ideas, hold nothing else; forces clarity.  

4. Case studies

• Photography gear minimalism – Eric hacked street photography by treating the camera as just a light-catching box; result: more focus on moments, zero gear paralysis.  
• Entrepreneurship – He priced workshops from the cost of his rent + ramen, not from competitors’ rates—profitable from workshop #1.  
• Bitcoin thesis – Money = ledger of energy. Code > central banks. Therefore hodl.  
• Strength training – A deadlift is physics: mass × gravity × lever. Lift heavier, shorten lever, eat meat. Simpler than complicated routines.  

5. Quick start checklist (print, tape to wall)

• 🔲 Delete one “because everyone does” ritual today.
• 🔲 Draft a plan where you control 90 % of upside.
• 🔲 Carry the smallest camera you own for a week.
• 🔲 Convert one monthly expense into a skill you build yourself.
• 🔲 End each night writing: “What law of physics did I test today?”

6. Closing mantra

“From clay to cosmos—start at zero, sculpt your own universe.”

Think less about what’s allowed and more about what’s possible. That’s the Eric-Kim way of first-principles thinking: ruthless subtraction, muscular creation, relentless freedom.

.

Eric Kim’s philosophy on first principles—though he doesn’t always use the term directly like Elon Musk—can be distilled through his radical minimalism, anti-conventional thinking, and obsessive pursuit of truth via action. Here’s a breakdown of how Eric Kim embodies and applies first principles thinking:

1. “Don’t do it because others are doing it.”

• First Principle: Question why you’re doing something. Strip it down to your inner drive.
• Instead of copying other photographers, Eric asks: Why photograph? To express your soul. Not to impress.
• He encourages breaking trends, algorithms, and metrics to return to your core creative impulse.

2. “Make stuff for yourself first.”

• Foundational Assumption: If it doesn’t empower you, why make it?
• Kim reverses the consumerist mindset—he creates tools, books, presets, blogs for his own utility first.
• First principle here: Satisfy your own hunger—create what you would die to consume.

3. “Why own a camera?”

• Eric Kim questions even the need for expensive gear. He argues:
  
  • “The best camera is the one in your hand.”
  • This isn’t just rhetoric—it’s a return to the essence of photography: vision, not megapixels.
• He peels away the layers of marketing and status to reveal the real reason: to see more clearly.

4. “Open source your soul.”

• Kim asks: Why hoard knowledge?
• His assumption: Knowledge is abundant, not scarce. Sharing expands influence and impact.
• First principles logic: the internet is infinite—so act abundantly, not fearfully.

5. “Why blog daily?”

• It’s not about SEO, fame, or even feedback.
• It’s about creative momentum, mental clarity, and iterative growth—rooted in his principle of kaizen.
• He blogs to think. To sculpt thoughts. To refine life. That’s the fundamental utility.

6. “Bitcoin, God, and Freedom”

• Why Bitcoin? For Kim, it’s not an investment—it’s philosophy.
  
  • Sovereignty.
  • Self-ownership.
  • Escape from fiat dependence.
• Strip away the noise: Bitcoin is a first-principle bet on individual power.

Eric Kim’s First Principles Formula:

Start with Why. Eliminate the Fake. Maximize the Real.

Create because you must, not because you’re told to.

Share what makes you feel godlike.

And never forget: you’re already free.

Would you like this expanded into a full essay in his voice?

”Boiling things down to the most fundamental truths”.

Clever engineering

Cost effective solutions!

.

General Summary

Elon Musk credits his background in physics with shaping how he tackles problems.  He insists on reasoning from first principles – breaking issues down to basic truths rather than relying on analogies or conventions.  As Musk explains, he tries to ignore “how things have always been done” and instead asks what components or laws must hold true .  For instance, when founding SpaceX he deconstructed the cost of rockets into fundamental parts: “What is a rocket made of? Aerospace-grade aluminum alloys, plus some titanium, copper, and carbon fiber” .  By checking commodity prices he discovered these raw materials were only about 2% of a typical rocket’s price .  This led him to build rockets in-house and slash launch costs.

Musk has applied the same approach at Tesla and elsewhere.  He questions assumed limits by “boiling things down to the most fundamental truths” .  For example, people claimed batteries would always cost ~$600 per kWh, but Musk instead listed a battery’s material constituents and their market prices.  He found that the basic materials cost roughly $80 per kWh – far below industry estimates – suggesting that clever engineering could dramatically lower battery prices.  In interviews and talks he emphasizes that first-principles thinking takes more effort but often yields breakthrough solutions.  Overall, Musk’s decision-making follows this pattern: ignore conventional wisdom, analyze the essential ingredients of a problem, and then “reason up” to novel, cost-effective solutions .

Notable Quotes and Examples

• First Principles vs Analogy:  Musk often contrasts first principles thinking with reasoning by analogy.  In a 2012 interview he said: “I think it’s important to reason from first principles rather than by analogy.” He elaborated: “The normal way we conduct our lives is we reason by analogy… [with first principles] you boil things down to the most fundamental truths…and then reason up from there.” .  (In other words, he avoids simply copying existing solutions and instead questions basic assumptions.)
• SpaceX Rocket Cost:  Describing the birth of SpaceX, Musk recounted how he broke down rocket costs to materials: “Physics teaches you to reason from first principles… So I said, okay, let’s look at the first principles. What is a rocket made of? … Then I asked, what is the value of those materials…? It turned out that the materials cost of a rocket was around two percent of the typical price.” .  This reasoning led SpaceX to build rockets from cheap raw materials, cutting launch costs roughly tenfold .
• Tesla Battery Example:  Musk has used batteries to illustrate first principles thinking.  He imagined skeptics saying, “Battery packs are really expensive and that’s just the way they will always be… Historically, it has cost $600 per kilowatt-hour.” .  Rather than accept this, Musk asked: “What are the material constituents of the batteries? What is the spot market value of the material constituents? … Break that down on a materials basis…what would each of these things cost?” .  His calculation showed the materials (steel, aluminum, carbon, nickel, etc.) totaled about $80/kWh, implying far cheaper batteries were possible.

These examples show Musk explicitly describing and using first-principles reasoning to solve problems. By “reasoning from the physics” rather than defaulting to conventional assumptions, he has repeatedly arrived at innovative, low-cost solutions .

Sources: Musk’s own interviews and speeches , as reported by reliable outlets.

Man vs Woman

Man seeks performance, woman seeks stability, stability, security

.

More resources, more power!

Stability, security –> closer to the ground!

I don’t need a performance car!

Sedan > SUV

Bearish on Tesla?

I’m the biggest Elon Musk fan boy that I know… And even I don’t want a Tesla?

Even myself, I’m more like Jay Z–> I’d prefer a Lexus sedan any day over a Tesla?

The new Lexus ES looks insanely cool and great! Also,, super interesting ,,, available both as hybrid and or fully electric? To me this is true kaizen innovation!

LEXUS GOALS

.

$84B!

84*2

$168B next

My appetite for risk is going up?

400% potential client. Schwab.

Sab 131

.

Kanye for artistic empowerment, Michael Saylor for Economic empowerment?

Next target: BTC overtaking Nvidia, last 4 years:

STRATEGY going into the stratosphere!

bitcoin at 66%, one your return has broken free of Tesla, 56% the last year.

$97k!!

As of May 2, 2025, Bitcoin (BTC) is trading at approximately $97,000, reflecting a 2.15% increase over the past 24 hours. The cryptocurrency’s market capitalization stands at around $1.93 trillion, with a circulating supply of 19.86 million BTC. 

Key Market Drivers

• Institutional Investment: Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) has expanded its Bitcoin holdings to 553,555 BTC, valued at over $52 billion. This acquisition was financed through stock offerings, indicating strong institutional confidence in Bitcoin’s long-term value.  
• ETF Inflows: U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs have experienced significant net inflows, with $2.68 billion added in the past week, marking the largest weekly inflow since December.  
• Regulatory Developments: Recent regulatory shifts in the U.S. have relaxed requirements for banks to engage in crypto activities, such as custody services and participation in blockchain networks. This has encouraged financial institutions like Morgan Stanley and SoFi to deepen their involvement in the cryptocurrency market.  

Market Sentiment

The global crypto market capitalization has risen to $3.02 trillion, with the Crypto Fear & Greed Index at 55, indicating a neutral sentiment. 

Price Forecasts

Analysts project a bullish outlook for Bitcoin, with price predictions for 2025 ranging between $120,000 and $210,000.  Some models suggest that, if historical patterns hold, Bitcoin could potentially reach up to $350,000. 

Top Bitcoin headlines — updated 02 May 2025, 09:20 ICT

• Price presses toward six-figure territory.
  Bitcoin is trading around $96.8 K, up ~2 % on the day, and Bloomberg reports bids emerging just below $100 K, the highest level since late February.  
• Wall Street deepens crypto push.
  Morgan Stanley is in early talks to add spot-crypto trading to its E*Trade platform, following client demand and a friendlier US regulatory climate. 
  In parallel, the “Big Four” US wirehouses – Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, UBS – are preparing to open spot-Bitcoin ETFs to millions of brokerage customers, a shift that could unleash a fresh wave of inflows.  
• ETF flows stay positive.
  Invesco’s spot-BTC ETF logged a $10.6 M net inflow on 1 May, contributing to roughly $3.7 B YTD inflows across all US products; traders read the steady buying as short-term bullish.  
• Regulatory cross-currents.
  • White House 2025 framework calls for tighter exchange and stable-coin oversight, signalling heavier compliance costs but clearer rules of the road. 
  • UK treasury outlined parallel reforms earlier this week to keep pace with the US approach. 
  • At the other extreme, Kuwait has launched raids on illicit home-mining operations amid an electricity crunch.  
• Corporates keep stacking BTC.
  • Block Inc. will divert 10 % of monthly Bitcoin-related gross profit to fresh BTC purchases and raised its 2025 earnings outlook. 
  • MicroStrategy filed a $21 B at-the-market share offering after posting another quarterly loss, explicitly earmarking proceeds for more Bitcoin.  
• Sector pulse.
  • Most large US-listed miners project Q1 losses despite the post-halving rally, underscoring margin pressure from the April-2024 reward cut. 
  • SGX confirmed plans to list open-ended Bitcoin perpetual futures in H2 2025, broadening institutional access in Asia.  

As of May 2, 2025, Bitcoin (BTC) is trading near $97,000, marking a significant rebound of approximately 18% since the end of March. This surge is attributed to a combination of institutional investments, favorable regulatory developments, and macroeconomic factors.

📈 Market Overview

• Current Price: Approximately $96,975, with a 24-hour trading volume of $32.73 billion.  
• Market Capitalization: Around $1.9 trillion.  
• Year-to-Date Performance: Bitcoin has appreciated over 3% in 2025.  

🏦 Institutional Involvement

• Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy): Despite reporting a Q1 loss of $16.49 per share, Strategy increased its 2025 Bitcoin gain target from $10 billion to $15 billion. The company holds 553,555 BTC, acquired at an average price of $68,459.  
• Morgan Stanley: Plans to introduce cryptocurrency trading, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, to its E*Trade platform. The firm is also exploring partnerships with crypto companies to build necessary infrastructure.  
• SoFi: Announced the reintroduction of crypto investing services, citing favorable regulatory shifts under the Trump administration.  

🏛️ Regulatory Landscape

• U.S. Federal Reserve: Market participants are pricing in a 60% probability of an interest rate cut, which is contributing to bullish sentiment in the crypto market.  
• Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC): Recently relaxed requirements for banks to engage in crypto activities, including custody services and participation in blockchain networks.  

📊 Market Dynamics

• ETF Flows: While some Bitcoin ETFs have seen flat inflows, others are experiencing increased activity, indicating a mixed but generally positive investor sentiment.  
• Institutional Buying: Analysts suggest that continued institutional demand could drive Bitcoin’s price as high as $200,000 within the year.  

🔮 Outlook

The convergence of institutional investment, regulatory support, and macroeconomic factors suggests a favorable environment for Bitcoin’s continued growth. However, investors should remain vigilant of potential market volatility and regulatory changes.

For real-time updates and detailed analysis, you can follow these sources:

• CoinDesk
• Cointelegraph
• Yahoo Finance Crypto
• Bitcoin.com News

Let me know if you need further information or specific insights.

PRESS RELEASE — ERIC KIM EDITION

STRATEGY SMASHES Q1 2025: 13.7 % BTC YIELD, $5.8 BILLION IN PURE BITCOIN GAINS

Tysons Corner, VA — May 1, 2025 — Strategy™ (Nasdaq: MSTR | STRK | STRF), the original Bitcoin-treasury gladiator, just dropped numbers that punch through the ceiling.

“Numbers don’t lie—either you’re stacking sats or you’re stacking excuses.” — Eric Kim

THE QUICK FLEX

1. BTC Yield: 13.7 % year-to-date, already blitzing 90 % of the old full-year goal.  
2. BTC Gain: 61,497 extra bitcoin stacked since New Year’s Day.  
3. BTC $ Gain: $5.8 billion in unrealized upside so far.  
4. Total Stack: 553,555 BTC on the balance sheet at a $37.9 billion cost basis.  
5. Capital Cannon: New $21 billion at-the-market (ATM) equity program locked and loaded.  
6. Targets Reloaded: 2025 BTC Yield goal cranked up from 15 % → 25 %; BTC $ Gain target raised from $10 B → $15 B.  

WHAT WENT DOWN

“We didn’t predict the future—we financed it.” — Phong Le, CEO

• Record Equity Firepower: 12.6 M shares issued for $4.4 B in Q1, plus another $2.2 B since April 1.
• Convertible Notes: $2 B of 0 % 2030B converts priced to invite FOMO.
• Preferred IPOs: STRK & Strife series raised $1.27 B; new STRK ATM can pump another $21 B.  
• Fair-Value Accounting Switch: Added a one-time $12.7 B uplift to retained earnings. Yes, that’s billion with a “B.”  
• Software Pulse: $111.1 M total revenue (-3.6 % YoY) while subscription revenue rocketed +61.6 %. Because bitcoin isn’t a distraction—it’s leverage.  

WHY IT MATTERS

1. Bitcoin ≠ side hustle. It’s the balance-sheet backbone.
2. Dilution is just ignition. Fresh equity fuels more BTC, which fuels more equity demand—a virtuous feedback loop.
3. Volatility = Hormesis. Stress the system, get stronger; Stack the dips, get richer.

LOOKING FORWARD

“Price at quarter-end was $82,445; today it’s flirting with $97,300. That’s roughly $8 B in unrealized upside—and Q2 isn’t even over.” — Andrew Kang, CFO 

Strategy’s next move? 25 % BTC Yield or bust. Every satoshi on the cap table compounds our sovereignty.

DIAL-IN: VIDEO WEBINAR @ 5 p.m. ET

Catch the live Q&A and deck in the Events & Presentations section of Strategy’s IR site. Replay drops two hours after the gong. 

ABOUT STRATEGY

MicroStrategy Incorporated d/b/a Strategy™ is the first public company to weaponize Bitcoin as primary treasury reserve while shipping enterprise AI-powered analytics. We mine insights, we mine conviction, and we mine Bitcoin. Everything else is just overhead. 

Press & IR Contact:

press@strategy.com | +1 703-744-7700

Quit waiting. Stack, build, repeat.

• 13.7% “BTC Yield” achieved in 2025 YTD
• 61,497 “BTC Gain” achieved in 2025 YTD
• $5.8 billion “BTC $ Gain” achieved in 2025 YTD
• 553,555 bitcoin holdings at a total cost of $37.90 billion, or $68,459 per bitcoin, as of April 28, 2025
• Announces a new $21 billion at-the-market (ATM) common stock equity offering
• Increasing 2025 “BTC Yield” target from 15% to 25% 
• Increasing 2025 “BTC $ Gain” target from $10 billion to $15 billion

TYSONS CORNER, Va., May 1, 2025 – MicroStrategy® Incorporated d/b/a Strategy™ (Nasdaq: MSTR/STRK/STRF) (“Strategy” or the “Company”), the largest corporate holder of bitcoin and the world’s first Bitcoin Treasury Company, today announced financial results for the three-month period ended March 31, 2025 (the first quarter of its 2025 fiscal year).

“We successfully executed our record $21 billion common stock ATM, adding 301,335 BTC to our balance sheet while simultaneously achieving a 50% increase in MSTR share price during the same period. In Q1, we also broadened our capital base with two of the most successful preferred stock IPOs in a decade. Our capital markets strategy continues to grow our Bitcoin holdings while delivering superior shareholder value. With over 70 public companies worldwide now adopting a Bitcoin treasury standard, we are proud to be at the forefront in pioneering this space.” said Phong Le, President and Chief Executive Officer. 

“We are thrilled to report a strong start to the year with a year-to-date “BTC Yield” of 13.7%, achieving over 90% of our 2025 target in just the first four months of the year. Our year-to-date “BTC $ Gain” of $5.8 billion also meets 58% of our annual target, demonstrating the effectiveness of our Bitcoin strategy. With the strong momentum in the market and our successful execution of our treasury operations thus far this year, we are increasing our 2025 “BTC Yield” target to 25% and our 2025 “BTC $ Gain” target to $15 billion. Also in Q1, we adopted the long-awaited fair value accounting for our Bitcoin holdings, which resulted in a significant $12.7 billion uplift in the beginning balance of retained earnings. And despite recognizing an unrealized loss in Q1 due to a quarter-end Bitcoin price of $82,445, the current approximate $97,300 Bitcoin price would imply a fair value gain of roughly $8.0 billion thus far in Q2.” said Andrew Kang, Chief Financial Officer. 

Bitcoin Treasury Highlights

• “BTC Yield” KPI: Achieved BTC Yield of 11.0% in Q1 and 13.7% year-to-date (as of April 28, 2025), compared to the full year 2025 target of 15%.
• “BTC Gain” KPI: Achieved BTC Gain of 49,131 in Q1 and 61,497 year-to-date (as of April 28, 2025). 
• “BTC $ Gain” KPI: Achieved BTC $ Gain of $4.1 billion in Q1 (based on a bitcoin price of $82,445 as of March 31, 2025) and $5.8 billion year-to-date (based on bitcoin price of approximately $95,000 as of April 28, 2025), compared to the full year 2025 target of $10 billion.82
• Digital Assets: As of March 31, 2025, the Company’s digital assets were comprised of approximately 528,185 bitcoins, with an original cost basis and market value of $35.6 billion and $43.5 billion, respectively, which reflects an average cost per bitcoin of approximately $67,457 and a market price per bitcoin of $82,445, respectively.
  • On January 1, 2025, the Company adopted ASU 2023-08 which requires that bitcoin holdings are remeasured at fair value with gains and losses from change in the fair value of bitcoin recognized in net income (loss) at each reporting period. 
  • As a result of the adoption of ASU 2023-08, a cumulative net increase was applied to the opening balance of retained earnings as of January 1, 2025 of $12.7 billion. During the first three months ended March 31, 2025, the Company recorded an unrealized fair value loss on digital assets of $5.9 billion.
• Capital Markets Update: The Company received aggregate net proceeds of approximately $7.7 billion during the three months ended March 31, 2025, and additional aggregate net proceeds of approximately $2.3 billion between April 1, 2025 and April 28, 2025, from the following transactions:
  • Common Stock ATM Offering: During the three months ended March 31, 2025, the Company received aggregate net proceeds of approximately $4.4 billion through the issuance and sale of 12,624,595 shares of its class A common stock. Between April 1, 2025 and April 28, 2025, the Company received aggregate net proceeds of approximately $2.2 billion through the issuance and sale of an additional 6,734,712 shares of its class A common stock. As of April 28, 2025, approximately $128.7 million remained available under the October 2024 at-the-market class A common stock equity offering program.
  • Issuance of 2030B Convertible Notes: In February 2025, the Company issued $2.0 billion in 0% Convertible Senior Notes due 2030 with an initial conversion price of $433.43 per share of class A common stock, for net proceeds of approximately $1.99 billion.
  • IPO of Perpetual Strike Preferred Stock: In January 2025, the Company received net proceeds of approximately $563.2 million through the issuance and sale of 7,300,000 shares of 8.00% Series A Perpetual Strike Preferred Stock (the “STRK Shares”) at a public offering price of $80.00 per share. 
  • Perpetual Strike Preferred Stock ATM Offering: In March, 2025, the Company entered into an agreement (the “STRK ATM”) to issue and sell up to $21 billion of STRK Shares. Through March 31, 2025, the Company received aggregate net proceeds of approximately $30.4 million through the issuance and sale of 349,907 STRK Shares. Between April 1, 2025 and April 28, 2025, the Company received aggregate net proceeds of approximately $45.3 million through the issuance and sale of an additional 526,282 STRK Shares As of April 28, 2025, approximately $20.9 billion remained available under the STRK ATM.
  • IPO of Perpetual Strife Preferred Stock: In March 2025, the Company received net proceeds of approximately $710.9 million through the issuance and sale of 8,500,000 shares of 10.00% Series A Perpetual Strife Preferred Stock at a public offering price of $85.00 per share. 
• Increase in Authorized Class A Common Stock and Preferred Stock: In January 2025, the Company’s stockholders approved an amendment to the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation increasing the number of authorized shares of class A common Stock from 330,000,000 to 10,330,000,000 and the number of authorized shares of preferred stock from 5,000,000 to 1,005,000,000. 
• Redemption and Conversions of 2027 Convertible Notes: In January 2025, the Company delivered a notice of redemption of its 0% Convertible Senior Notes due 2027 (the “2027 Convertible Notes”) for redemption of all $1.05 billion in aggregate principal amount of the 2027 Convertible Notes outstanding. The Company received conversion requests for substantially all of the $1.05 billion of the 2027 Convertible Notes, and issued 7,373,528 shares of class A common stock in settlement of the conversion requests, and redeemed the remaining $0.1 million aggregate principal amount of the 2027 Convertible Notes. As of March 31, 2025, all 2027 Convertible Notes have been converted or redeemed and are no longer outstanding.

$MSTR is now up more than 3000% since adopting the Bitcoin Standard.

“Nobody Becomes a God Overnight” — What That Really Means

Raw, practical, 1-percent-better-per-day voice of Eric Kim

1. Overnight Success Is a Lie

• Myth: one viral post, one big trade, one perfect lift.
• Reality: 10,000 micro-upgrades nobody sees—sleep, grammar, grip position, cash-flow spreadsheets.
• Gods aren’t born; they’re slow-baked in compound interest.

2. The Compounding Equation

\text{Power}_{\text{year}} = (1.01)^{365} \;\;\Rightarrow\;\; 37.78\times

• 1 % Kaizen daily → 38 × more formidable in a year.
• Miss two days? Steamroller keeps rolling—just hop back on. The curve forgives but never gifts shortcuts.

3. Build Your “Pantheon Stack”

Layer	Daily 1 % Move	Year-Out Payoff
Body-Temple	+0.5 kg on compound lift	Bulletproof tendon & swagger
Mind-Forge	1 paragraph of dense reading	Thinking in first principles, not memes
Wallet-Shield	$1 of Bitcoin or index fund	Options, sovereignty, optionality
Craft-Engine	Ship 1 tiny deliverable (tweet, photo, bug-fix)	Portfolio > Résumé

Stack gains vertically; your “godhood” compounds horizontally.

4. Ritualize the Grind

1. Daily audit (2 min) — What moved today?
2. Weekly retro (10 min) — Keep, kill, double-down.
3. Quarterly Kaikaku — One bold redesign: new program, new city, new business.
4. Annual pilgrimage — Deload + vision reset; come back with fresh eyes.

Habits without reflection = hamster wheel. Reflection without action = daydreaming. Kaizen demands both.

5. Philosophy to Tattoo on Your Forearm

“If I can’t see a 1 % edge, I look closer.”

“Every missed rep is data, not failure.”

“Silence, simplicity, reliability—luxury defined.”

Mantras remind you that ordinary consistency beats occasional heroics.

6. Closing Benediction

You won’t wake up immortal tomorrow.

But tomorrow you can:

• Sleep 15 min deeper,
• Write one sharper line,
• Add one sat to the stack,
• Smile 1 % wider at the chaos.

Do that 365 × and strangers call you “genius.”

Do it 3,650 × and history calls you “god.”

Keep Kaizening. Eternity is patient—but it pays compound interest.

Nobody becomes a god overnight

.

THE GYM AS YOUR KAIZEN TEMPLE OF THE GODS

(Written in the fierce, uncompromising voice of Eric Kim)

1. Re-define “Gym”

• Not a building. A sanctum.
• Not equipment. Sacred relics for self-deification.
• Not workouts. Daily rituals of micro-ascension—your 1 % Kaizen tax paid in sweat.

Step across the threshold and the mundane world dissolves; gravity becomes your priest, iron your scripture.

2. The Daily Litany: 1 % Improvements Etched in Iron

Ritual	0.1 % Gain	Compounded Outcome
Add 0.5 kg to your lift	Neuromuscular sparkle	+37 % strength/year
1 extra rep to failure	Pain tolerance ↑	Psychological callus
10 s deeper stretch	Joint range ↑	Injury resistance, freedom of motion
Record 1 clip, critique form	Technique precision ↑	Efficiency, longevity
Log macros for 1 meal	Nutrient awareness ↑	Body-recomposition autopilot

Kaizen formula: micro-tweak × daily consistency = god-tier transformation.

3. Architecture of Divinity

1. Altar of Warm-Up (5 min)
   Jump rope, crawl, or shadow-box. Ignite synovial fluid. Signal the cosmos: “I’m here to BUILD.”
2. Pillars of Power (20 – 30 min)
   
   • Squat / Deadlift / Press—one heavy movement.
   • 5 × 5 or 3 × 3. Low volume, volcanic intent.
4. Sculptor’s Chisel (15 – 20 min)
   Target lagging muscle groups. 8 – 12 rep zone. Chase pump, not ego.
5. Breath of the Gods (5 min)
   Wim Hof-style nasal breathing or 90 s sauna burst. Cement neuroplastic gains.
6. Scroll of Reflection (2 min)
   Jot what improved 0.1 % today. Plate micro-PR? Cleaner bar path? Sharper mental cue? Ink it. Memory = multiplier.

4. Mindset Mantras

• “Iron never lies.” Either lifted or not—binary feedback. Perfect Kaizen metric.
• “Pain is pre-rent for progress.” Discomfort = receipt for upgrades.
• “Leave stronger than arrival, however microscopic.” Non-negotiable.

Tape them to your water bottle. Memorize under ammonia-fumes intensity.

5. Transcend the Physical—Spiritual ROI

1. Stoic Stability — You cannot noise-trade emotions while you’re counting reps under a crushing bar.
2. Entrepreneurial Edge — Progressive overload teaches product iteration, A/B testing on your own biology.
3. Creative Ferocity — Post-lift dopamine + endorphins = idea surplus. Bring notebook.

Kaizen Temple ≠ fitness hobby. It’s the engine room powering every other domain—writing, relationships, Bitcoin stacking, empire building.

6. Implementation Playbook

• Pick one metric to nudge daily (load, reps, rest, mobility angle).
• Micro-plates (0.5–1 kg) and exercise bands—cheap yet lethal Kaizen devices.
• Film one set/week. Feedback loop > pump ego.
• Monthly deload = Sabbath. Gods rest to hit harder.
• Stack rituals—listen to philosophy audiobooks during warm-ups, review strategy notes between sets.

7. Closing Benediction

Enter the gym like Leonidas before Thermopylae—aware he dies tomorrow, still sharpening his spear today.

Kaizen says: “Forever unfinished, forever ascending.”

When the bar kisses your collarbone and sinew quivers, whisper:

“This rep is my 1 %. This temple is my gateway. I—become—GOD.”

Now go. Open the doors of your Kaizen Temple, and let the clang of iron double as the choir of your divinity.

LEXUS GOALS — Relentless Pursuit of Personal Perfection

Raw, practical, turbo-minimal voice of Eric Kim

1. Why “Lexus” as a Goal-Standard?

• Lexus ≠ just a car. It’s Toyota’s Kaizen love-child: obsessive craft, silent refinement, bulletproof reliability.
• Translation: Your life, engineered like an LS engine—quiet, smooth, inexorably powerful.
• New mantra: “I don’t set random goals; I set Lexus goals—flawless under the hood, elegant on the street.”

2. Four “L-Marks” to Tattoo on Your Calendar

L-Mark	Daily 1 % Kaizen Move	Long-Term Compounding Result
L-Quality	Replace one sloppy habit with a precise one (e.g., track macros, tighten prose)	Craftsmanship aura in everything you ship
L-Silence	5-min noise-cancellation ritual (breathwork, no phone)	Samurai-level calm under chaos
L-Reliability	Hit each promise—even if microscopic—on deadline	Reputation becomes a self-marketing engine
L-Luxury of Simplicity	Delete one useless “feature” (app, meeting, possession)	More attention on what prints value

3. The Lexus Production Loop for Humans

1. Genchi Genbutsu (Go and See) – Audit your real life, not the fantasy; record reps, cash flow, sleep.
2. Jidoka (Build-in Quality) – Automate checkpoints: bar-path videos, spending alerts, Grammarly tweaks.
3. Just-in-Time – Work in bite-size Kanban cards; keep WIP < 3.
4. Kaikaku Sprints – Quarterly bold redesigns (new city, new gym cycle, new earning channel).

Run the loop. Never stall. That’s Lexus DNA.

4. Tactical Playbook

• Micro-plates & Micro-transfers
  
  • Add 0.5 kg to squat or $50 to Bitcoin stack each week.
• Sensory Luxury
  
  • Invest in one high-end item that touches you daily (keyboard, sheets, chef knife). Constant reminder: “Quality is my baseline.”
• Maintenance Mondays
  
  • Physical: mobility + dentist + oil change (for you and your car).
  • Digital: inbox zero, password audit, ledger reconcile.

Maintenance → longevity → compounding → Lexus outcome.

5. Exit Philosophy: Becoming the “LFA” of Humans

The Lexus LFA was over-engineered, under-produced, eternally iconic.

Your aim: build a life so meticulously tuned that scarcity and legend come pre-installed.

“Lexus goals aren’t about flex—they’re about forging a life that runs whisper-quiet at 9,000 RPM.”

Drive that mindset.

Iterate 1 % daily.

Arrive at perfection without announcing it.

Be the Lexus—then leave everything else in silent, elegant dust.

K A I Z E N  G O D

How to Sculpt Your Inner Deity 1% at a Time

(Raw, ruthless, turbo-charged Eric Kim voice)

0. Premise: “Godhood Is a Process, Not a Birthright.”

You aren’t ordained—you’re forged.

Kaizen = the divine metallurgy of soul, flesh, and mind.

Every micro-refinement is one hammer-strike closer to Olympus.

1. The 10 Commandments of a Kaizen God

#	Commandment	1-Sentence Application
1	Iterate or Die	Ship version 0.1 today, fix tomorrow, repeat forever.
2	Subtract to Add Power	Delete a distraction; gain a universe of focus.
3	Measure Relentlessly	What you don’t track, you can’t ascend.
4	Hodl Patience	Endure the dip—in markets, muscle, and meaning.
5	Daily Reps, Daily Sats	Lift iron + stack Bitcoin = compound sovereignty.
6	Auto-Delete Ego	Accept critique faster than you flex biceps.
7	Seek the Edge	One uncomfortable action per day = hormetic growth.
8	Teach What You Learn	Mentoring cements mastery—share or stagnate.
9	Protect the Temple	Sleep 8 hrs, eat beastly fuel, guard attention like gold.
10	Die Empty	Ship every idea before entropy reclaims you.

2. Daily Ritual Stack (5-Minute Setup)

1. Morning Micro-Journaling (1 min)
   Prompt: “What single tweak will make me 1% stronger today?”
2. Movement Spike (2 min)
   40 burpees or a deadlift warm-up set—shock the nervous system awake.
3. Knowledge Sip (1 min)
   Read one paragraph of a whitepaper, stoic quote, or market insight.
4. Fear Shot (1 min)
   Do the call, send the pitch, publish the half-finished post—momentum beats polish.

3. The Trinity of Kaizen God Metrics

Pillar	Metric	Why it Matters
Body	Weekly PR delta (kg, reps)	Visible proof of biological upgrade.
Mind	Idea-output per week (posts, designs, code)	Creativity is compound interest of cognition.
Freedom	% wealth in self-custodied hard assets	Sovereignty scales with optionality.

Track these three and the rest aligns itself.

4. Anti-Entropy Arsenal

• Timer-based Focus Blocks (33 min sprints)
  Sprint, rest 5 min, repeat—creative high-intensity interval training.
• Quarterly Purge Day
  Unsubscribe, unfollow, uninstall—slay the digital hydra.
• Yearly Reinvention Retreat
  48 hrs offline + notebook. Exit as a v2.0 human.

5. Final Invocation

Remember: gods aren’t omnipotent—they’re omnipresent in their practice.

Each micro-act of discipline is a prayer.

Each 1% gain is a brick in your private Parthenon.

Iterate. Compound. Transcend.

Become the Kaizen God.

Print this, tape it to your mirror, and improve something—anything—before the day is over. Heaven is built in inches.

.

Becoming a god is a gradual process?

.

KAIZEN GOD

How to Become a Relentless, Unstoppable, God-Tier Force of Daily Improvement

In the uncompromising, muscular, raw voice of Eric Kim

1. What Is a Kaizen God?

Not a man. Not a machine.

A force.

A momentum monster.

Someone who doesn’t just improve—

Someone who DOMINATES improvement.

Kaizen God =

1% daily gains

Multiplied by time

Multiplied by obsession

Multiplied by zero compromise

Infinite return. Infinite growth. Infinite YOU.

2. Kaizen Is the Temple. You Are the GOD.

Wake up every morning and ask:

“How can I improve just one thing?”

• One extra pull-up
• One better photo
• One sharper sentence
• One deeper breath

Not to impress others.

Not for clout.

But because the Kaizen God demands it.

3. Pain Is Your Pre-Workout

Kaizen isn’t comfortable.

It’s DOMINATING discomfort.

You train in pain.

You bleed in reps.

You smile in suffering.

Because you KNOW—

“This is the Kaizen forging me into an unstoppable being.”

4. Compound Into the Infinite

1% better daily = 37x in a year.

Do that for 10 years?

You transcend.

You become so good you don’t even recognize who you used to be.

Kaizen God doesn’t aim for success.

He aims for evolution.

Self-built.

Self-upgraded.

Self-worshipped.

5. You’re Not Competing—You’re Ascending

Kaizen isn’t a race.

It’s an ascent.

You’re not trying to beat others.

You’re trying to become the final form of yourself.

Kaizen God wakes up and stares in the mirror:

“Can I outdo YOU today?”

And the answer is always:

YES.

6. Kaizen God Is Forever Unfinished

There is no “done.”

No finish line.

No retirement.

Only:

“What’s next?”

“How do I level up from here?”

Your life becomes a living, breathing version control system.

You’re V137.

Then V204.

Then V10,000.

You’re eternal beta, eternal beast mode.

Conclusion: Become the Kaizen God

• Kill perfection.
• Embrace process.
• Stack microscopic gains like they’re gold bars.
• Iterate until your final form breaks reality.

Don’t just improve.

Become the GOD of improvement.

KAIZEN GOD MODE—ON.

Want an image of Kaizen God? Spartan muscles, Bitcoin armor, fire in the eyes, 1% gains engraved on the chest?

Everyday hack AWAY 1%?

.

BITCOIN KAI ZEN — How to 1%‐Upgrade the Hardest Money on Earth (and Yourself) Every Single Day

written in the gut-punch, no-BS, Sparta-meets-Silicon-Valley voice of Eric Kim

0. Premise: Bitcoin 

is

 Kaizen

• 10-minute blocks = built-in micro-iterations.
• Each soft-fork, each BIP, each sat you stack → another 0.0001% closer to monetary perfection.
• Forget moon-shots; think block-by-block compounding until eternity.

1. Protocol Kaizen — Quiet, Relentless Upgrades

Micro-Upgrade	What It Fixes	Why It Matters
Taproot (2021 → Now 68 % usage)	Cleaner scripts, stealth privacy	Every spend hides complexity. Privacy by boring repetition.
Bitcoin Core v25 (2025)	Encrypted P2P (BIP324), smarter fee algo, Taproot optimizations	No drama, just smoother rails for the next billion users.
BitVM + BitVM2	Turing-complete* verification without hard forks	Turns Bitcoin into a settlement layer for any logic. Kaizen smart contracts.

*Kaizen rule: no consensus breaks, only incremental consensus respect.

2. Layer-2 Kaizen — Lightning ⚡ in the Thunderforge

• Public Lightning capacity blew up +384 % since 2020; sits at 5,358 BTC ≈ $509 M (Jan 2025).  
• More nodes? Nope—fewer, bigger, better channels. Efficiency > vanity metrics.
• Lesson: route value, not hype.

3. Personal Kaizen — Stack, Hack, Repeat

1. DCA like a monk: Buy a chunk of sats every sunrise. 1 % richer mind-share daily.
2. Run a node: Verify > trust. Each software update you install = a silent vote for the future you want.
3. Open a Lightning channel: Even 0.01 BTC turns you from spectator to participant. Rebalance weekly—learn by flow.
4. Read one BIP per month: Education is the cheapest hash-rate.
5. Automate security: Hardware wallet firmware? Update. Pass-phrases? Rotate. Tiny Kaizen beats massive hacks.

4. Builder’s Checklist — Shipping Kaizen Products on Bitcoin

• Ship v0.1 today → use Testnet, Taproot descriptors, PSBT.
• Measure latency, fees, UX friction → chop 1 % every sprint.
• Iterate in public → PR-review is free peer-pressure.
• Refactor toward BitVM-compatibility → be ready when “optimistic rollups on BTC” go main-net.

5. Mental Model: 1.01³⁶⁵ = 37×

• 1 % daily compounding turns plebs into apex predators.
• Same math powers Bitcoin’s difficulty adjustment, block subsidies, and your personal net-worth curve.
• Kaizen is not optional; it’s protocol-level reality.

6. Call to Action — Become the Kaizen Node

• Update your node right now.
• Stack a tiny chunk right now.
• Push one pull-request, one blog-post, one Lightning invoice right now.
• Repeat tomorrow.
• Iterate until the heat-death of the universe.

When you Kaizen Bitcoin, you Kaizen yourself.

And when both hit that 37× multiplier, you stop being a user—

you become an unkillable block in the chain of history.

Kaizen forever, or die a speculator.

.

BITCOIN KAIZEN

Become 1% More Sovereign Every Day

Written in the raw turbo maximalist voice of Eric Kim

Why Bitcoin Kaizen?

Because fiat is theft.

Because inflation is invisible slavery.

Because freedom isn’t a one-time buy.

It’s a daily discipline.

A 1% improvement in sovereignty—stacked, multiplied, compounded forever.

Kaizen + Bitcoin = Total Personal Revolution

A monetary workout.

A lifestyle of economic domination.

1. Stack Sats Daily = Daily Kaizen

Buy $1 of Bitcoin today?

You’re richer than yesterday.

Not just in dollars.

But in self-respect.

Because Bitcoin isn’t about price—it’s about principle.

“Stack sats, get swole.”

Micro-stacks = Macro-freedom.

That’s Kaizen.

That’s freedom lifting.

2. Improve Your Wallet Game

Hot wallet? Upgrade to cold.

Still on Coinbase? Learn self-custody.

Still don’t know what a seed phrase is? Fix your life.

Kaizen means:

“Every day, level up your understanding of Bitcoin.”

Don’t be a tourist.

Be a sovereign savage.

Every wallet upgrade is a form of self-innovation.

3. Hodl as a Philosophy

Kaizen isn’t just “improve your tools.”

It’s improve your soul.

You hodl through the chaos.

Through crashes. FUD. Bullshit. Noise.

You sit still like a Spartan at the Hot Gates.

Why?

Because Bitcoin teaches you patience.

And patience = Kaizen.

“Strong hands are forged through fire.”

4. Learn One New Thing About Bitcoin Daily

1 minute. 1 podcast. 1 paragraph of the whitepaper.

Kaizen your understanding.

Kaizen your vocabulary.

Kaizen your mental models.

You don’t need to become a programmer.

But you better become ungovernable.

1% smarter = 1% more dangerous.

5. Opt Out. Slowly. Strategically. Forever.

Kaizen isn’t quitting the system in one day.

It’s replacing one fiat habit at a time.

• Fiat job? Build a Bitcoin side hustle.
• Fiat savings? Start your cold stack.
• Fiat identity? Burn it. Forge a Bitcoiner identity.

Every day, one step further from control.

One step closer to sovereignty.

Conclusion: Bitcoin is Kaizen

Bitcoin isn’t just a protocol.

It’s a way of life.

A radical commitment to daily, relentless improvement of the self.

Of the mind. Of the wallet. Of the soul.

You Kaizen your muscles by lifting.

You Kaizen your brain by thinking.

You Kaizen your freedom by stacking Bitcoin.

Bitcoin Kaizen = Sovereign God Mode.

Live it.

Stack it.

Breathe it.

Become the Bitcoin Kaizen God.

Want a poster or image of this in Kaizen-style design with Bitcoin Spartan energy?

KAIZEN INNOVATION

(A love-letter to 1% daily power-ups)

1. Start with nothing.

Zero is pure. Zero is possibility. The only sin in creative life? Clinging to yesterday’s “good enough.” Burn it. Every day you die, every day you are reborn. Memento mori → memento kaizen.

2. Make the micro-leap.

Forget “quantum.” Think grain of rice. Add one grain to the scale every sunrise and eventually you tip the balance of the world. The engineer calls it continuous improvement. I call it compound courage.

“Small tweaks, huge torque.” —EK Notebook, p. 1

THE FIVE-STEP FLOW

1. Observe brutally.
   
   • Photograph your workflow the way you’d shoot a stranger on the street: raw, unflinching, no Photoshop.
3. Slash the noise.
   
   • Subtract a click, a swipe, a dialogue box. The best interface is no interface.
5. Add one tiny upgrade.
   
   • New keyboard shortcut? New squat stance? Good. Ship it today.
7. Stress-test in the wild.
   
   • Publish the blog post, send the cold email, lift the heavier kettlebell. Reality is the only validator.
9. Reflect, record, repeat.
   
   • Journal the win, tack the metric on the wall, high-five yourself—then go back to #1.

STOIC SPARTAN VIBES

Kaizen isn’t “make life easier.” It’s “make yourself harder.” Leonidas didn’t wait for perfect conditions—he refined his shield while marching to Thermopylae. Every micro-iteration is a new layer of armor.

WHY ENTREPRENEURS SHOULD CARE

• Speed beats capital. Giant corporations drown in six-month roadmaps. Your daily version updates smash their quarterly OKRs.
• Momentum is free marketing. Tweet the tweak. Your audience becomes co-authors of your improvement saga.
• Anti-fragility. Continuous stress inoculates your process. Bugs surface early, never metastasize.

KAIZEN COMMANDMENTS (PRINT & TAPE TO YOUR WALL)

• Kill perfection. Version 0.1 > version never.
• Measure one metric. Weight on the bar, words on the page, dollars in the stack.
• Automate last. First understand, then streamline.
• Default to open. Show your drafts; feedback is free R&D.
• Prototype with cardboard. Fancy tools breed hesitation.
• Time-box ruthlessly. A five-minute sprint outruns a day of dithering.
• Celebrate the delta, not the absolute. Yesterday +1 line of code = victory.
• Archive failures publicly. Your scars signal authenticity.
• Honor boredom. Mundane repetition sharpens intuition.
• Close the loop nightly. Before sleep, ask: What improved by 1% today?

CLOSING SHOT

Innovation isn’t a lightning bolt—it’s the steady drumming of rain carving stone. Embrace the drizzle. Stack the droplets. Wake up in a flood of your own making.

Now—close this app, improve one pixel of your life, and return tomorrow a fraction stronger.

Kaizen or die.

.

1% everyday, 37x in a year!

.

Kaizen Innovation: How to Improve 1% a Day Until You Become a GOD

Written in the raw, real, turbo voice of Eric Kim

Why Kaizen?

Because you suck.

But it’s OK—so do I.

That’s why we improve. That’s why we Kaizen.

Kaizen = Continuous, never-ending, micro-improvement.

Not sexy. Not flashy. Not overnight.

But forever.

1. Small Wins, Big Flex

You don’t need a billion-dollar idea.

You just need one small tweak that works.

Kaizen means waking up and asking:

“How can I make this 0.0001% better?”

Your website loads 0.2s faster? W.

Your deadlift goes up by 0.5kg? W.

Your writing is 1% more raw, more true, more YOU? That’s a god-tier W.

2. Kill Perfection. Embrace Iteration.

Perfection is a trap.

Iteration is divine.

Kaizen says: “Launch now. Fix later. Improve forever.”

Look at Apple. Version 1 sucked.

Look at Tesla. First Roadster was a mess.

Look at your life. You weren’t born jacked, rich, wise, or interesting.

But you iterated. You improved. You Kaizened.

3. Innovation = Aggressive Simplicity

Innovation isn’t complexity.

It’s subtraction of the nonessential.

Like Bruce Lee said:

“It’s not the daily increase but daily decrease. Hack away at the unessential.”

Kaizen is aggressive subtraction.

Cut clutter.

Cut excuses.

Cut fear.

Then what’s left?

Power. Purity. Presence.

4. 1% Every Day = 37x in a Year

Math check:

1.01^365 = 37.78

Improve 1% daily = You become 37x more godlike in one year.

Now imagine that compounding for a decade.

You don’t need motivation. You need a system.

Kaizen is the system.

A temple for daily greatness.

5. Kaizen is Street Photography

Shoot one photo a day.

Review one photo a day.

Delete 99.9% of them.

Keep 0.1%.

Repeat for 10 years.

Now you’re a master. Now your photos slap.

Kaizen is the anti-viral path to immortality.

6. Final Boss: Self-Innovation

Innovation doesn’t start with code.

It starts with your mindset.

Ask daily:

“How can I Kaizen my body, my mind, my soul?”

• Wake up 1 minute earlier.
• Lift 1kg heavier.
• Write 1 sentence truer.
• Smile 1% wider.
• Think 1% more original.

This is the secret:

Small changes. Big consequence. Forever improved YOU.

Conclusion: Become the Kaizen God

Forget overnight success.

Forget trying to impress others.

Just Kaizen yourself to godhood.

Build, break, rebuild, repeat.

Micro-adjustments → Macro-dominance.

Iterate until you die.

Because when you Kaizen until death—

You never die.

You become legend.

You become GOD.

Kaizen forever.

Want a version of this in poster or image form?

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Living in harmony

Life harmony

Eric Kim’s number one top idea of all time is:

“Memento Mori—Remember You Must Die.”

Why it’s significant:

• Philosophically grounding: Rooted deeply in Stoicism, it serves as a powerful reminder of mortality, encouraging action, courage, and authenticity.
• Pragmatically useful: Inspires practical decisions in everyday life—choosing passion over security, meaningful work over trivial tasks, and active creation over passive consumption.
• Aesthetically potent: Shapes Eric’s entire aesthetic philosophy—embracing imperfection, transience, rawness, and authenticity in photography, creativity, investing, and personal life.
• Empowering creativity: Drives an urgency to create prolifically, fearlessly, and authentically, because recognition of mortality removes fear of judgment or failure.

Ultimately, “Memento Mori” encapsulates Eric Kim’s entire worldview: live passionately, create fearlessly, and invest courageously—because the awareness of death is the greatest motivator for living authentically and intensely.

Eric Kim’s number one top idea of all time is arguably:

“Shoot from the gut.”

This idea isn’t just about photography—it’s a life philosophy. Here’s why it stands out:

1. 

Embodied Intuition over Overthinking

• “Don’t think. Shoot.”
• Trust your instincts. Act without hesitation. This is the purest form of expression—like jazz, like boxing, like street photography. It’s anti-perfection. It’s pro-movement.

2. 

Art is War Against Fear

• Shooting from the gut is an act of courage. You don’t ask for permission. You confront life head-on. Every photo is a punch against timidity and self-doubt.

3. 

Philosophy of Direct Action

• Whether it’s shooting a photo, writing a blog, or lifting a weight—just do it. No second-guessing. No committee. Just raw, unapologetic doing. That’s how gods operate.

4. 

Minimalism in Thought, Maximalism in Action

• The mind is clutter. The gut is clean. Trust the gut—because the gut is where your real self lives, unfiltered.

In Eric Kim’s world:

Thinking is the enemy. Gut is god.

Want a breakdown of how this applies to business, design, or life philosophy?

…

Eric Kim’s “Shoot from the Gut” — the one big idea that powers everything else

Premise: Trust your body’s intuition in the moment—create first, analyze later.

Why this idea sits at the very top

1. Foundational to his craft – In post after post Kim repeats that his best street photographs happen only when he “shuts off his brain” and lets instinct guide the shutter.  
2. Meta-principle for all his other advice – Whether he’s telling readers to use simple gear, publish fearlessly, or “don’t overthink composition,” each rule is really a sub-routine of Shoot from the Gut.  
3. Universally portable – The same gut-first, edit-later loop underpins Kim’s blogging, entrepreneurship, and even his minimalist fitness philosophy: act decisively now, refine afterward.  

Core components to remember

Step	What to do	Why it matters
1. Enter flow fast	Point the camera, press the shutter, worry about settings later.	Momentum beats hesitation.
2. Trust embodied intelligence	Let mood, muscle memory, and emotional response guide framing.	Your body processes complexity faster than conscious thought.
3. Separate creation from critique	Only judge images (or ideas) once you’re safely back home.	Keeps spontaneity intact and improves editing objectivity.
4. Iterate publicly	Share selects early and often; treat publishing as part of the feedback loop.	External reactions hone your gut for the next outing.

Pragmatic ways 

you

 can apply it today

• Photography – Schedule a 30-minute walk with one fixed lens. No chimping, no menu diving. Review files after coffee at home.
• Writing / Blogging – Draft posts in a single burst (timer set to 15 min). Hit publish, then return later to tighten headlines and grammar.
• Entrepreneurship – Launch a minimum-viable landing page in a day; collect user emails before perfecting the product.
• Fitness – Pick one compound lift, set a stopwatch for 20 min, move the weight by feel; log numbers only when the timer ends.
• Life decisions – When faced with two options, notice the micro-gut pull; commit quickly, allocate reflection time afterward.

Stoic twist (for your Spartan aesthetic)

Marcus Aurelius called it prohairesis—the inner faculty that discerns the right action instantly. Kim’s “Shoot from the Gut” is the modern photographer’s version: cultivate clear perception, then act without delay. The courage flows from accepting that uncertainty is natural but paralysis is optional.

Bottom line: If you remember only one Eric Kim idea, make it this formula: Intuition → Action → Reflection. Nail that loop and every other tip—gear minimalism, fearless publishing, open-source generosity—falls neatly into place.

.

Here’s Eric Kim’s single most foundational idea—one he’s returned to again and again across years of writing and teaching:

• Embrace Self-Imposed “Creative Constraints”
  “Creative constraints will set you free in your photography and life.” 
  Rather than seeing limits as shackles, Eric argues that deliberately restricting yourself—to one lens, one subject, one location, one medium (e.g. only black & white, only smartphone, only your hometown)—forces you to solve creative problems you’d otherwise ignore.
• Why It’s His #1 Idea
  
  1. Universal & Repeatable: He’s written about it in 2015 and again in 2021—demonstrating its enduring power  .
  2. Transcends Gear & Genre: Constraints apply equally to street photography, blogging, entrepreneurship, even diet and fitness.
  3. Drives Mastery: By stripping away the superfluous, you’re compelled to deepen your craft rather than chase novelty.
• Key Applications
  
  1. Lens Restriction: Shoot only with a prime to master composition  .
  2. Color vs. B&W: Choose one to sharpen your sense of tone or hue.
  3. Project Focus: Limit yourself to a single subject or location—your creativity blooms within that “box.”
  4. Platform Constraint: Publish only on one blog or social channel; iterate fast rather than chasing every outlet.
• Pragmatic Takeaways
  
  1. Pick One Constraint: Today, decide on just one rule (e.g. “I’ll shoot only 50 mm,” or “I’ll post only one image per week”).
  2. Commit & Iterate: Work within that rule for at least a month—notice how it stretches your creativity.
  3. Reflect & Refine: After each project cycle, re-evaluate your constraint or choose a new one.

By making “creative constraints” your guiding principle—whether in photography, entrepreneurship, or personal growth—you unlock unexpected innovations and deepen mastery. That, for Eric Kim, is the #1 idea above all others.

.

Eric Kim’s number one top idea of all time is:

“Memento Mori—Remember You Must Die.”

Why it’s significant:

• Philosophically grounding: Rooted deeply in Stoicism, it serves as a powerful reminder of mortality, encouraging action, courage, and authenticity.
• Pragmatically useful: Inspires practical decisions in everyday life—choosing passion over security, meaningful work over trivial tasks, and active creation over passive consumption.
• Aesthetically potent: Shapes Eric’s entire aesthetic philosophy—embracing imperfection, transience, rawness, and authenticity in photography, creativity, investing, and personal life.
• Empowering creativity: Drives an urgency to create prolifically, fearlessly, and authentically, because recognition of mortality removes fear of judgment or failure.

Ultimately, “Memento Mori” encapsulates Eric Kim’s entire worldview: live passionately, create fearlessly, and invest courageously—because the awareness of death is the greatest motivator for living authentically and intensely.

Street Photography Philosophy

Eric Kim defines street photography as a deeply personal, empathetic pursuit – “documenting humanity” with your heart . He insists there are no rigid rules: you simply wander public spaces with an open mind and camera, capturing whatever resonates with you . Every photo should carry the photographer’s perspective or “soul,” making authenticity and emotion paramount . For example, Kim quotes Anders Petersen: “I shoot with my heart and with my stomach” – meaning you must “shoot from your gut” rather than overthinking . In practice, this means:

• Shoot from the gut, not the brain.  A photograph without emotion is dead . Kim urges photographers to stop self-censoring (even if a shot seems cliché or mundane) and follow intuition . He advises that it’s better to snap a possibly “bad” photo than to let fear stop you . By treating shooting as play and silencing the self-doubting voice, one can access more authentic, creative images . This idea resonates strongly in his community, as many find freedom and surprise when they abandon perfectionism.
• Learn from (then slay) the masters.  Kim’s blog and book are full of lessons distilled from legends like Cartier-Bresson, Capa, and Winogrand . He stresses “beginner’s mind” – explore like a child, with no preconceptions – and even recommends wandering cities with “no agenda” to keep photos raw and authentic . He cites Capa: “If your pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough,” encouraging photographers to physically and emotionally get closer to their subjects . However, Kim also warns against being a mere imitator: “worship the masters, then slay them.” Study their work, then develop your own vision and style .
• Emotion over gear.  Echoing the greats, Kim warns against “gear acquisition syndrome.” A simple camera with one lens often beats a complex setup, because it forces you to focus on vision . He famously endorses “one camera, one lens” for its clarity and mastery . This minimalist gear philosophy — part of his broader lifestyle — frees photographers from distraction and keeps the emphasis on composition and feeling.

These street-photography principles stand out because they blend practical advice with an almost Zen-like mindset: shoot freely, stay curious, and always convey your own humanity. By repeatedly emphasizing intuition and heart over rules, Kim’s ideas help many photographers overcome creative blocks and fear.

Creativity and Personal Growth

• Make new stuff – don’t romanticize the past.  For Kim, life’s purpose is to create: “to make new photos, new videos, new ideas… this is what life desires” . He uses nature as metaphor: just as forests thrive through continuous growth, humans must innovate or risk stagnation . Although he honors tradition, he cautions against being trapped by nostalgia. He found that obsessing over old-school methods (e.g. film-only thinking) nearly stifled him. His epiphany: “Seek to innovate, in a new and novel way… and continue to keep growing” . This idea encourages photographers to experiment boldly – whether trying video, new editing, or fresh genres – rather than idolizing what’s been done. It resonates because it validates the joy and necessity of creative play.
• Innovate for the sake of innovating.  Deleting Instagram helped Kim realize he loves experimentation itself . He says he feels “most excited, fresh, childlike” when simply playing with new ideas, regardless of success . He urges peers to explore untapped realms (video, VR, audio-visual storytelling) and to break free from the “Instagram Bed of Procrustes” that limits them . Practically, he suggests fun exercises – making slideshows, starting a YouTube channel, or writing a personal blog instead of auto-posting to social media . The emphasis is on diversifying creative outlets and learning by doing. This approach stands out by treating life and photography as a lab for perpetual play and learning.
• Embrace failure as fuel.  A recurring theme in Kim’s writings is that failure is a teacher. He openly calls himself “the biggest failure in street photography” – not as self-deprecation, but to show how mistakes have been his greatest lessons . He reminds us there are no perfect photos or moments – only imperfect ones that teach us how to improve . Kim advises doubling your failure rate to double your success: take more risks, shoot more, and learn from every “almost” shot . This mirrors the Silicon Valley mantra “fail fast, fail often” and resonates with aspiring artists who fear judgment. By normalizing failure, Kim’s insight encourages persistence and growth, a message many find liberating.
• Create to flourish (flow and happiness).  Kim draws on psychology to link creativity with happiness . He adopts the Greek concept of eudaimonia (human flourishing) as active creation . “We flourish the most when we are in the act of creation,” he writes . Engaging in making (photos, writing, etc.) induces a “flow” state – losing track of time and self – which he describes as calm, focused joy . Thus, he counsels: to be happier, create more stuff and more often . He also encourages people to set huge, audacious goals: “Shoot for the moon!” This means staying optimistic about the future and tackling ambitious projects . These ideas resonate as they frame photography not just as art but as a path to personal fulfillment.
• Pay it forward / Cross-pollination.  Kim blends his interests in sociology, marketing and photography to create unique perspectives . He advises fellow photographers to indulge all passions (e.g. business, psychology, travel) and share what they learn, as he does on his blog. Everything he teaches – whether personal finance for photographers or street tips – is “information I wish I had if I started over” . His “Takeaway” is simple: “Indulge your interests and pay that knowledge forward!” . This mentorship mindset has endeared him to many; by synthesizing diverse fields, he models how a multidimensional approach fuels creativity and community.

Stoicism & Minimalist Lifestyle

• True luxury is less.  Deeply influenced by Stoic thinkers like Seneca, Kim lives a pared-down life. He wears an all-black uniform daily to simplify choices, noting “I like the idea that people should admire me for my photos and creative work – not my clothes” . His motto, inspired by Stoicism, is “true luxury is less” . He argues that minimalism isn’t about deprivation but about freeing up mental space. Fewer possessions mean fewer decisions and distractions, allowing more focus on art and experience . This is evident in his own gear: he insists one camera and one lens are “bliss,” forcing mastery rather than flitting between toys . The idea strikes a chord in our consumerist age, offering a counter-cultural blueprint: simplify to create better.
• Prune the inessential.  Kim extends minimalism to technology and lifestyle. He has deleted social apps, reduced subscriptions, and even gone without a phone for stretches . Citing Nassim Taleb’s “via negativa,” he believes improving life is often about subtraction – removing noise (like constant email, social media, excess stuff) to reclaim freedom . He practices digital fasting and intermittent fasting, treating absence of distractions as a luxury (quiet home, calm mind) . In photography he reflects this by favoring stark, single-subject compositions (often black-and-white) that mirror Stoic clarity . These concepts resonate with readers looking to reduce overwhelm and emphasize what truly matters in art and life.
• Stoic discipline and self-sufficiency.  Kim not only admires Stoics theoretically but applies their discipline. He goes by “Eric Seneca Kim” online as a reminder of Stoic virtues . He trains hard (heavy lifting, calisthenics, cold showers) to build mental fortitude . He writes about early rising, solitude, and confronting discomfort as ways to grow. In conversations he often emphasizes inner contentment: “true happiness resides in myself…No matter how much I change where I live, my problems always follow me” . In practice, this means expecting hardship, pushing through fear, and valuing internal strength over external circumstances. This stoic message – echoed through his photography philosophy – stands out because it blends ancient wisdom with modern creativity, inspiring followers to seek resilience and purpose beyond mere aesthetics.

Entrepreneurial and Hustle Mindset

• Take charge – Just do it.  In his “Photography Entrepreneurship” writings, Kim motivates photographers to take risks. “Worst case you fail, best case you win!” he declares . He frames life as a choice between risking (and potentially regretting it) or playing it safe and regretting never trying . This urgency – act now or regret later – empowers many who hesitate.
• Overcome self-doubt and ‘sheeple’ conditioning.  Kim argues that much of our self-doubt is socially ingrained: “We’ve been trained like sheep to be afraid” by parents, teachers, bosses . He reassures readers that lack of confidence isn’t their fault, but then charges them to seize control of their fate . This resonates as a liberating perspective for creatives long held back by imposter syndrome or social pressure.
• Monetizing passion is not a sin.  A provocative mantra in his community is “go ahead, ‘sell out’.” Kim explicitly states that selling your art or making money from photography is not shameful . He flips the usual artist-versus-mercenary narrative: one can make a living (and a positive impact) from art without guilt. This straight-talking stance has encouraged many photographers to pursue income streams (workshops, prints, teaching) without apology.
• Purposeful entrepreneurship.  For Kim, entrepreneurship is about more than money – it’s empowerment. He says it’s “a practical way of living a more epic life, filled with adventures and risks” . Being an entrepreneur means gaining purpose, control and freedom, not just a fat paycheck . He urges readers to define their own needs (e.g. “how much money is enough?”) rather than blindly chasing wealth . This idea reframes entrepreneurial effort as a path to meaning and autonomy.
• Brand your uniqueness.  Kim pushes photographers to “leverage your strengths” by being unabashedly unique . He asks: “What is my Archimedes lever in life?” meaning: what talent only you have? Rather than modesty, he wants people to shout what makes them special . This advice has resonated in a crowded field; many credit him with giving them permission to build personal brands instead of blending in.
• Be effective, not just busy.  Borrowing from Peter Drucker, Kim distinguishes being effective (achieving big impact) from merely being efficient at busywork . He tells followers to say “no” to almost everything that doesn’t move the needle . For example, he quotes Warren Buffett: “Very successful people say no to almost everything.” . This wisdom – distilled into tips on cutting meaningless tasks – helps creatives focus on projects that really matter.
• First-principles thinking & digital abundance.  Inspired by Musk and Bezos, Kim encourages photographers to ask “what is physically possible?” rather than accept limits . He notes that thanks to technology, photographers today enjoy “extreme abundance”: free digital cameras, free internet, cheap storage . With these tools anyone can reach millions. His point: building a photography business is easier than ever if you minimize expenses and leverage online platforms . This framing empowers readers to view constraints as largely self-imposed, and to exploit modern tools pragmatically.

Each entrepreneurial point comes with links to Kim’s blog and courses, reinforcing their practicality. By blending hard-nosed hustle advice with his personal story, Kim’s entrepreneurial ideas have inspired many photographers to think like businesspeople and creators rather than struggling artists.

Sources: Insights and quotes are drawn from Eric Kim’s own blog posts and interviews (e.g. “Street Photography” , “Photography Entrepreneurship Philosophy” , and “The Street Photographer as Philosopher” ) where he elaborates these ideas. Each concept above is linked to a key article for further reading.

Eric Kim’s Most Interesting Idea: 

“Shoot From the Gut.”

“A photograph without emotion is dead.” – Eric Kim

Kim’s core thesis is that the best street photographs—and, by extension, the best creative acts—emerge when you silence analytic over-thinking and trust the visceral intelligence of your body. Composition, gear specs, and technical perfection are secondary; what matters is the raw, instinctive spark that lets the viewer feel something.

Why it’s fascinating

Dimension	Insight
Philosophical	Mirrors Stoic “acting in accordance with nature.” You honour present-moment impressions instead of letting fear or perfectionism paralyse you.
Creative	Flips the usual “rules-first” learning path. Kim teaches beginners to shoot first, dissect later, encouraging volume and emotional honesty before technical polish.
Practical	Lowers the barrier to entry: any camera— or phone— works, because the decisive factor is intuition, not equipment.
Transferable	Applies beyond photography. Entrepreneurship, writing, even weight-lifting PBs improve when you replace hesitation with committed, gut-level action.

Five ways to practice “shooting from the gut” today

1. Rapid-fire sprint: Commit to 100 frames in 30 minutes, no chimping. Review only after you’re done.
2. One-camera-one-lens rule: Carry a single small camera (even your phone) for a week; ban gear talk.
3. “Heart before histogram” edit: When culling, star images that move you before checking focus or exposure.
4. Daily intuition reps: Outside photography, set a 60-second timer and start writing, sketching, or ideating without lifting your pen.
5. Post-mortem learning: Only after the emotional pick, analyse composition and settings— reverse-engineer what your gut already knew. 

Honourable mentions (for context)

• “Your eye, not your camera, creates art.” Kim’s gear-minimalist mantra—focus on vision over tools. 
• “Eric Kim’s Razor.” Ruthlessly prune distractions (email, social noise) to safeguard creative focus. 

But among all his teachings, Shoot From the Gut stands out because it distills a universal principle: intuition-driven action beats over-analysis in art, entrepreneurship, and life.

…

One of Eric Kim’s most interesting and radical ideas—arguably his philosophical cornerstone—is:

“Shoot like a child, think like a god.”

This simple yet profound phrase fuses his core values across photography, life, and philosophy. Here’s why it stands out:

1. Return to the Beginner’s Mind (Zen Influence)

• Shoot like a child = Pure, instinctual, unfiltered. No overthinking. Just create.
• Kim advocates for creative naivety—removing the ego, technique, and perfectionism that paralyze adult creators.
• It mirrors Zen’s shoshin (初心): the “beginner’s mind” that sees endless possibility.

2. Transcendent Thinking

• Think like a god = Detach from petty concerns. Think big. Move beyond mortal limitations.
• Kim encourages you to think in first principles, in eternal time frames, and act with radical self-belief.
• This is where Nietzsche, Stoicism, and Silicon Valley intersect: you don’t ask for permission—you will your own reality.

3. Fusion of Play and Power

• Children play with abandon. Gods create worlds.
• Kim wants you to fuse playful spontaneity with divine intentionality—creating with joy and without fear.
• The result? A life where art is action, action is philosophy, and philosophy is lived.

Bonus Applications:

• In street photography: shoot with heart, not hesitation.
• In business: launch fast, iterate later.
• In life: don’t ask “what if?”—ask “why not me?”

Would you like a visual diagram of this concept as a mantra or philosophy map?