ERIC KIM

OPEN-SOURCE YOUR SOUL

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OPEN-SOURCE YOUR SOUL

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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

StepWhy it Matters
1. Commit.mdWrite (and publicize) your free-forever pledge.
2. Dump the atticUpload presets, zines, videos, RAW files—everything.
3. CC0 / ‘All Rights Waived’Removes friction; maximizes spread.
4. Changelog lifeDocument updates, failures, bug-fixes in public posts.
5. Fund via ScarcityOffer 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.

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