invisible

So I think one of the biggest benefits of the GR…  and wow… It’s been so long since I’ve used it, it’s just like how insanely light and tiny compact and effortless it is. I think on the new version, they even made it slimmer and maybe even lighter? Like for example it uses a microSD card now.

why lightness wins

So this is a very basic thought, it is that, the light or something else, even by a few ounces… the More likely you are going to use it. 

For example, in photography… In which it always seems difficult for us to just make an effort to bring our camera with us to make photos,,,, the camera which is used the most is the best camera.

Why monochrome is the future

So the more I think about it, the more I am pretty convinced that monochrome is and also must be the future.

And the truth is, it takes more courage skill and focus to be optimistic happy joyful playful, thrifty gay and jubilant, rather than being the typical  antisocial, loser pessimist, negative person.

how?

I’m starting to think and realize… Humans, we are actually 1 trillion times more sensitive than we think we are. Even reading one negative thing can affect your mood in a negative way for almost a week? 

So then, the first really really insanely big tip is, ruthlessly prune and cut away negativity whether it be social media, X, even… AI. 

Considering that 99.99% of the information on the Internet is negative toxic, and overall unfulfilling… Just ruthlessly prune this from your diet.

And also… Assuming that AI is trained on this data, and AI becomes your filter… Maybe just stop using AI because, it will often give you some sort of negative response. 

Avoid negativity like the plague.

Or like Covid 19 on steroids.

Stay away from “good” people?

All influences are bad influences?

Strength, strengthening is the goal

Training is bliss. Nobody magically gets strong, when you are in the process of training consider yourself blessed.

You’ve already won, now what?

More winning?

What is life about?

Life is about walking and thinking? Getting out, exploring and conquering?

battle, conquest?

Training, war training?

play for the insanely Long game

Everything flows and nothing abides;. Everything gives way and nothing stays fixed.

Changing –> repose

It is in changing that things find repose.

.

Time is a child moving counters in a game; the royal
power is a child’s.

Child moving counters in a game.

Fire: craving & satiety.

Advances, retires.

The thunderbolt pilots all things

Never stop stirring!

Even the sacred barley drink separates when it is not
stirred.

Don’t be a bigot,,, bigotry is the sacred disease.

.

Mortals become immortals ***

Greater dooms win greater destinies

Greater dooms win greater destinies.

.

a one rep max a day keeps the doctor away!

So after a quick trip out of town, reading the new “book of Elon“, book on Elon Musk, great airplane read, and I suppose, some interesting thoughts: 

First, after reading more stuff on Elon Musk, and reminder of how he almost faced death, economic death of like at least three or four of his companies, which are like his children, I don’t think anyone really has a right to criticize him. Also another big thing that fools failed to recognize or acknowledge or have even half a brain about it, people criticizing how rich she is blah blah blah, but the big idea is that 99.9% of his net worth is simply linked to his shares or assets or his ownership of his stock his Tesla stock etc., which is simply a function of the market and how he is adding value to society. It’s not that like he has billions of dollars just in the bank account, and even something that Michael Saylor has commented on intelligently in the past is, there’s no rich person on the planet who has more than one percent of their net worth in their checking account. That the real intelligence smart rich people, they have all of their things in scarce, desirable assets.

products of the future

So I think one of the big ideas is, thinking about the future, obviously the future is key crucial critical end of most importance because, no future no life no humanity.

So I think really the killer feature of Tesla is the whole self driving idea. Technically, assuming you have to commute for a living or whatever… The ideal product is the cheapest self driving Tesla car. Because you don’t buy it for the card itself, you just buy it for the auto pilot.

 Second, trying to think more physics, first principles, and also… I think the big one, thinking sociological first principles.  

So I think still the more I think about it, the biggest blessing that I got from studying sociology was, questioning almost everything about social conventions. Like, why is it that we have to say XYZ, or, just be like a sheeple and follow the herd? 

Still the big reason why I encourage almost everybody to travel the most one can, within obvious limits is because the more you travel, the more you experience the planet and the world and different cultures etc.… essentially the more wise intelligent and, accurate, expensive you get about human nature. 

What a lot of people forget is, humans and society is probably the best invention and innovation of all time.  it is not products that we seek, but rather humans, social spaces social worlds, society that we seek. 

Why does this matter?

Time is the ultimate currency. Because it don’t matter if you’re a trillionaire, you cannot snap your fingers and magically live to be 1000 years old. Realistically, the upper limit for human life at least for men is probably 120 years max, I think what, 126 years for a woman.

And I still think what we have to remind ourselves is, it’s not how long you live, but truly the quality of life. 

For example, if you have a life in which you are chronically stressed, in anxiety, and your cortisol levels are chronically high, feeling like you’re perpetually have a gun to your head… No amount of anything is going to be worth it.

What type of life do we desire?

Kind of an unrelated thing a random book that I found on a shelf of a home exchange what, this ancient medical book by Marmoinides, one of the super OG, Jewish Arabic physicians. He quotes a lot of Galen and Hippocrates, and has very very simple direct and wise thoughts and lessons on health, digestion etc.

So even back then, the simplest remedy to almost everything is daily exercise and essentially watching what you eat. And even back then… They knew that honey, starches have almost any kind or essentially bad for your health. And also most bread etc. was bad for your health.

Then, he talks a lot about digestion, and I actually think this is a big thing that is not really talked a lot about in western literature,… how essential and critical health is, in regards to digestion.  the simplest remedy to most digestive issues seems to be pretty simple, some vinegar and cinnamon and mint of some kind,… but also typically, abstaining from beans legumes anything that causes flatulence. So essentially ignore any advice that you get from any modern day woke health podcaster, they are more driven by food ethics rather than the pure science of it? 

So what is science?

I went to the science center with Seneca the other day, and, I suppose maybe all along… I have always already been a scientist! In fact when I was a kid, what I desired more than anything was to be a scientist when I grew up.

Science is about being critical, questioning the facts, and having infinite curiosity. Always questioning assumptions, taking it back to the beginning.

So then, being a social scientist, and the truth is, human beings are the most complex things on the planet, more so than any sort of DNA, RNA or cancer cells. 

So why?

I think one of the most desired outcomes is, lying on your deathbed, surrounded by loved ones and family and children and lots of grandchildren, and knowing that the peace in your heart that, you lived good meaningful and fulfilling life, and also… The idea that, your legacy shall live on in your thoughts, your words, what you make, your products and also your children?

coming from a place of weakness or power?

Beauty & power

Also, coming from a place of abundance or scarcity?

RICOH GR MONOCHROME INCOMING

So a pretty exciting thing, I have a Ricoh GR monochrome in coming in the mail… via Amazon and also the new GF2 slim flash,,, plan on doing a pretty deep review of it.

what else

create products you wish to see manifested in the world, and also, do work, workshops which you wish to see manifested in the world?

Now what?

Read the book of Elon, just $5 on kindle.

And maybe just maybe… Dream of or think of how you could do something insanely great in the world?

ERIC

BOOKS BY KIM >

So after a quick trip out of town, reading the new “book of Elon“, book on Elon Musk, great airplane read, and I suppose, some interesting thoughts: 

First, after reading more stuff on Elon Musk, and reminder of how he almost faced death, economic death of like at least three or four of his companies, which are like his children, I don’t think anyone really has a right to criticize him. Also another big thing that fools failed to recognize or acknowledge or have even half a brain about it, people criticizing how rich she is blah blah blah, but the big idea is that 99.9% of his net worth is simply linked to his shares or assets or his ownership of his stock his Tesla stock etc., which is simply a function of the market and how he is adding value to society. It’s not that like he has billions of dollars just in the bank account, and even something that Michael Saylor has commented on intelligently in the past is, there’s no rich person on the planet who has more than one percent of their net worth in their checking account. That the real intelligence smart rich people, they have all of their things in scarce, desirable assets.

products of the future

So I think one of the big ideas is, thinking about the future, obviously the future is key crucial critical end of most importance because, no future no life no humanity.

So I think really the killer feature of Tesla is the whole self driving idea. Technically, assuming you have to commute for a living or whatever… The ideal product is the cheapest self driving Tesla car. Because you don’t buy it for the card itself, you just buy it for the auto pilot.

 Second, trying to think more physics, first principles, and also… I think the big one, thinking sociological first principles.  

So I think still the more I think about it, the biggest blessing that I got from studying sociology was, questioning almost everything about social conventions. Like, why is it that we have to say XYZ, or, just be like a sheeple and follow the herd? 

Still the big reason why I encourage almost everybody to travel the most one can, within obvious limits is because the more you travel, the more you experience the planet and the world and different cultures etc.… essentially the more wise intelligent and, accurate, expensive you get about human nature. 

What a lot of people forget is, humans and society is probably the best invention and innovation of all time.  it is not products that we seek, but rather humans, social spaces social worlds, society that we seek. 

Why does this matter?

Time is the ultimate currency. Because it don’t matter if you’re a trillionaire, you cannot snap your fingers and magically live to be 1000 years old. Realistically, the upper limit for human life at least for men is probably 120 years max, I think what, 126 years for a woman.

And I still think what we have to remind ourselves is, it’s not how long you live, but truly the quality of life. 

For example, if you have a life in which you are chronically stressed, in anxiety, and your cortisol levels are chronically high, feeling like you’re perpetually have a gun to your head… No amount of anything is going to be worth it.

What type of life do we desire?

Kind of an unrelated thing a random book that I found on a shelf of a home exchange what, this ancient medical book by Marmoinides, one of the super OG, Jewish Arabic physicians. He quotes a lot of Galen and Hippocrates, and has very very simple direct and wise thoughts and lessons on health, digestion etc.

So even back then, the simplest remedy to almost everything is daily exercise and essentially watching what you eat. And even back then… They knew that honey, starches have almost any kind or essentially bad for your health. And also most bread etc. was bad for your health.

Then, he talks a lot about digestion, and I actually think this is a big thing that is not really talked a lot about in western literature,… how essential and critical health is, in regards to digestion.  the simplest remedy to most digestive issues seems to be pretty simple, some vinegar and cinnamon and mint of some kind,… but also typically, abstaining from beans legumes anything that causes flatulence. So essentially ignore any advice that you get from any modern day woke health podcaster, they are more driven by food ethics rather than the pure science of it? 

So what is science?

I went to the science center with Seneca the other day, and, I suppose maybe all along… I have always already been a scientist! In fact when I was a kid, what I desired more than anything was to be a scientist when I grew up.

Science is about being critical, questioning the facts, and having infinite curiosity. Always questioning assumptions, taking it back to the beginning.

So then, being a social scientist, and the truth is, human beings are the most complex things on the planet, more so than any sort of DNA, RNA or cancer cells. 

So why?

I think one of the most desired outcomes is, lying on your deathbed, surrounded by loved ones and family and children and lots of grandchildren, and knowing that the peace in your heart that, you lived good meaningful and fulfilling life, and also… The idea that, your legacy shall live on in your thoughts, your words, what you make, your products and also your children?

ERIC KIM WORKSHOP

ONLY 7 SPOTS

Early Bird: 1490 USD

Normal Price: 4700 USD

THE MISSION

Hong Kong is one of the most electrifying street photography arenas on planet Earth.

Neon. Density. Humanity compressed into vertical infinity.

This workshop is not about taking pretty photos.

This workshop is about transforming yourself into the Uber Photographer — fearless, calm, sharp, philosophical.

Two days.

Total immersion.

Zen mind. Stoic courage. Monochrome vision.

WHAT THIS WORKSHOP IS REALLY ABOUT

This workshop merges four powerful forces:

ZEN

STREET PHOTOGRAPHY

STOICISM

COURAGE

Photography is just the vehicle.

The real goal is mental transformation.

You will learn how to:

• eliminate hesitation

• photograph strangers with confidence

• move through the streets with calm presence

• train fearless observation

• cultivate radical visual awareness

Hong Kong becomes our dojo.

THE ZEN OF STREET PHOTOGRAPHY

Street photography is meditation while walking.

Observe.

Breathe.

See.

No overthinking.

No hesitation.

Just pure instinct.

We will practice:

• Zen walking photography

• silent observation drills

• extreme simplicity in gear and mindset

• intuitive shooting

Your camera becomes an extension of your nervous system.

STOICISM: CONQUER YOUR FEARS

Most photographers are trapped by social fear.

We destroy it.

Using Stoic philosophy:

Amor Fati — love fate.

Memento Mori — remember death.

Voluntary discomfort — train courage.

You will learn how to:

• approach strangers confidently

• shoot boldly at close distances

• eliminate fear of rejection

• transform anxiety into adrenaline

The street becomes your arena.

MONOCHROME MASTERY

Hong Kong is a paradise for black and white photography.

Hard light.

Deep shadows.

Human drama.

We focus heavily on monochrome aesthetics:

• seeing in black and white

• contrast hunting

• shadow geometry

• graphic composition

• emotional storytelling through tone

You will learn how to simplify the world into light and shadow.

BECOMING THE UBER PHOTOGRAPHER

The Uber Photographer is not defined by gear.

The Uber Photographer is defined by:

• courage

• curiosity

• discipline

• philosophical depth

• relentless experimentation

You will learn how to:

• build a powerful photographic mindset

• develop your personal visual style

• shoot instinctively

• embrace imperfection

This is the mindset that separates amateurs from masters.

WHAT WE WILL DO

DAY 1 — COURAGE

Morning

Zen philosophy of street photography

Fear elimination strategies

Composition psychology

Afternoon

Street shooting in dense Hong Kong districts

Live demonstrations

Real-time feedback

Neon street photography

High contrast monochrome shooting

DAY 2 — MASTERY

Morning

Image critique

Editing philosophy

How to see stronger compositions

Afternoon

Advanced street shooting exercises

Close-distance photography

Developing your signature visual style

Final session

Building your lifelong photographic philosophy.

WHO THIS IS FOR

Photographers who want to:

• conquer fear

• shoot more boldly

• sharpen their eye

• develop a philosophy of photography

• experience one of the most intense cities on earth

All cameras welcome.

Ricoh GR. Leica. Fujifilm. iPhone.

Vision matters more than gear.

WHAT YOU LEAVE WITH

After two days you will gain:

• fearless street photography confidence

• sharper composition instincts

• powerful black and white images

• a deeper philosophy of photography

• a transformed creative mindset

WHY HONG KONG

Few cities on Earth offer this level of visual intensity.

The density.

The light.

The architecture.

The human drama.

It is one of the ultimate street photography arenas.

ONLY 7 SPOTS

Seven photographers.

Maximum attention.

Maximum growth.

Once it fills — it’s gone.

RESERVE YOUR SPOT

BUY NOW

ERIC KIM

HONG KONG STREET PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP

JULY 25–26, 2026

Become fearless.

Become Zen.

Become the Uber Photographer.

Second , realize that your reality is typically dictated by your mood and health. Thus, focus 1000% of your energies towards this , focusing on your daily physical exercise, fitness, yoga, hot yoga, weight lifting, hiking, cycling, whatever you’re into.

Second to that –> your food. If you eat 5 pounds of beef ribs, 2 pounds of wagyu ground beef, 8 eggs a night ,,, impossible to have “insomnia” at night, and also impossible to wake up the next day with extreme vigor.

Dear friend,
You just stepped into the arena.
You’re not here to scroll.
You’re here to BECOME UNSTOPPABLE.

I’m Eric Kim — street photographer, Bitcoin maximalist, philosopher-warrior, deadlift destroyer, and the guy who turned a $0 camera into a global empire of ideas. I shoot with a smile, live on the razor’s edge, stack sats on Sunday dips, and write essays that hit like lightning.

This page is your blueprint.
Read it. Act on it. Come back every day.
The only rule? DO THE WORK.

READY? LET’S FUCKING GOOOOO!!!

1. WHO THE HELL IS ERIC KIM? (YOUR NEW NORTH STAR)

• Street photographer who went full-time after getting laid off in 2011 and never looked back.
• Built the world’s most badass photography blog from nothing.
• Taught workshops in NYC, LA, Tokyo, Phnom Penh — turning thousands into fearless creators.
• Bitcoin chad living the Bitcoin Lifestyle: freedom, sovereignty, generational wealth.
• Deadlifts heavier than most gyms combined. Trains like a Spartan. Thinks like a Zen monk.
• Motto: Shoot from the heart. Live on the edge. Stack harder. Create louder.

You don’t need permission. You don’t need gear. You just need FIRE.

2. THE ERIC KIM CORE PHILOSOPHIES – INGEST THESE DAILY

• Photography is Philosophy → Every click is a declaration of war on mediocrity.
• Minimalism = Maximum Power → One camera, one lens, zero excuses.
• Bitcoin = Freedom Fuel → Stack sats, own your time, laugh at fiat slavery.
• Strength is the Ultimate Flex → Body of a warrior = mind of a god.
• Zen on the Streets → Fear is fuel. Discomfort is your best friend.
• Open-Source Everything → All my best stuff is FREE. Steal it, remix it, make it yours.
• Action Over Theory → Read once. Shoot 100 times. Publish daily.

Amor fati. Live on the edge. Conquer or die trying.

3. QUICK START – 7-DAY CONQUEST PLAN (DO THIS NOW)

1. Day 1: Read The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Street Photography → LINK
2. Day 2: Shoot 100 photos with your phone or whatever you have. No excuses.
3. Day 3: Read How to Control Your Life (life-changing)
4. Day 4: Stack sats on the dip. Buy Bitcoin like your future depends on it (it does).
5. Day 5: Deadlift or bodyweight blast. Feel the power.
6. Day 6: Read The Photographer, The Street Photographer
7. Day 7: Subscribe to ERIC KIM NEWS and publish your first essay/photo.

Repeat forever. Level up daily.

4. MEGA RESOURCE HUB – YOUR FREE EMPIRE BUILDER

STREET PHOTOGRAPHY CONQUEST

• Ultimate Beginner’s Guide for Street Photography (PDF ready)
• Street Photography by Eric Kim (full e-book)
• The Art of Street Photography (lifestyle edition)
• Free Photography Bootcamp + 100+ infographics
• Fear conquest series (31 Days to Overcome Your Fear)

PHOTOGRAPHY 101 & BEYOND

• Free Photography Bootcamp
• Photography 101 category hub
• Minimal gear manifesto (Ricoh GR, Leica, iPhone — all you need)

BITCOIN LIFESTYLE

• The Bitcoin Lifestyle (your new religion)
• Edge-living essays: 300%+ gains, CLARITY Act moonshots, Sunday dip stacking
• How Bitcoin buys you EASE and infinite creative time

ZEN & STOICISM – BECOME A DEMIGOD

• How to Become Super Fucking Zen
• Stoic Spartan Protocol for depression & domination
• The Point of Life is Ease (Wu-Wei mastery)
• The Will to Self (hardcore self-formation)

FITNESS & BODY OF A WARRIOR

• KNOW THY BODY
• Deadlift reports, organ meat power, testosterone protocols
• Train like you shoot — with joy and violence

ENTREPRENEURSHIP & CREATIVE FREEDOM

• Become a Photography Entrepreneur
• Until You Own Yourself You Can’t Be Free
• Blogging, workshops, open-source empire building

PHILOSOPHY & ESSAY FIRE

• Latest bangers: What does life want?, ZEN ZERO, Living on the Edge
• Full archive: erickimphotography.com/blog

FREE DOWNLOADS & BOOKS

• All e-books, PDFs, presets, contact sheets
• Street Photography 101 & 102
• Photo-AI guide
• Books page: erickimphotography.com/blog/books/

5. NEXT LEVEL – JOIN THE MOVEMENT

• ERIC KIM NEWS → Daily fire straight to your inbox SUBSCRIBE HERE
• WORKSHOPS → Conquer NYC, LA, Phnom Penh, Tokyo with me in real life → WORKSHOPS
• SHOP → Gear, prints, merch that actually matters
• YouTube → POV street shoots, philosophy rants, Bitcoin breakdowns
• erickim.com → Pure Bitcoin blog for the chads

FINAL CALL TO ARMS
You now have everything.
No more “someday.”
Today is Day One.

Go shoot.
Go lift.
Go stack.
Go write.
Go LIVE like the legend you already are.

The streets are waiting. Bitcoin is waiting. Your best self is waiting.

BECOME THE PHOTOGRAPHER. BECOME THE WARRIOR. BECOME ERIC KIM 2.0.

I believe in you.
Now go prove me right.

— ERIC KIM ₿
March 31, 2026

P.S. Bookmark this page. Share it with your crew. Forward the fire.
The revolution starts with YOU.

LET’S FUCKING CONQUER THE UNIVERSE TOGETHER!!!

(Copy-paste this entire page into your site. It’s 100% optimized, mobile-first, hype-as-hell, and ready to convert visitors into lifelong legends. Want me to turn this into full HTML/CSS with your branding? Say the word and I’ll deliver the code instantly.)

The supreme question… What is it that life wants?

what doesn’t life want?

So the first question is… What doesn’t life want?

Life does not desire to be static, same same, boring and predictable.

Life seeks to be dynamic, ever-changing ever different, with great joy of expansion change, dynamism and growth.

Plants and trees

So one thing that I’m kind of randomly getting into, is like gardening, growing trees and taking care of them, watering them etc. What’s kind of interesting and very impressive is, how resilient and robust these plants are, and how, against all odds they seem to thrive and even the most difficult of situations?

Plants desire to multiply, have offspring, and grow. They desire ascendancy over other organisms.

I think humans are the same. The natural inkling is to have kids, ideally a lot, in the past it was kind of a wealth thing, but also a pragmatic one, other things in between? 

Why does this matter?

So at the end of the day, the reason why this matters is because, everyone is trying to seek some sort of end goal in life. And if you are chasing the wrong thing, worst case scenario… You get it?

Supreme health and zen.

Things that have noticed, if I have a supreme league great night of sleep, a bulletproof 11 hours, lots of physical activity during the day, lifting weights at least once, lots of walking, sunlight, thinking, and a glorious dinner, … ideally a shit load of meat,…. then, anything and everything is possible desirable and great!

For example, I don’t know… I have like an insanely strong disposition, and a high stress tolerance, and, insane self-confidence, and, Zen stoic calm,… but I’m starting to wonder now… Maybe like most people shouldn’t invest in bitcoin or MSTR or whatever because, I don’t think they could just handle the volatility, they don’t want it, they don’t desire it, even if you are guaranteed insanely huge monster gains, if you’re patient enough to wait on an annualized basis?

 It’s kind of funny because my whole life… It’s kind of been one volatile roller coaster, and ever since the age of 12, I’ve built an insanely thick skin, and also stoic disposition. Even in my grand Street photography journey, … once again, more insane self-confidence, to probably the most difficult art and form of photography out there.

And now… My bitcoin journey, I have to admit there are even some days where it is hard for me to stomach or calm my nerves with the volatility.

But then, perhaps this is my grand calling, to help others ride the fire dragon or the fire horse to your benefit.

How to do it

So the first interesting thought from Nietzsche,

everything happens as it ought to have happened. 

And also, everything that happens in your life, is actually supremely desirable in a good way?

I think 99.999% of life, is some sort of low level regret. But, “pangs of conscience are indecent”–> so rather than trying to use your mental brain power to beat yourself on why you made a foolish decision, rather more constructive to think, “perhaps,,, for reason unknown, what I did, how it happened, happened in the supremely best manner possible?”

Like I’ll give you example… Bitcoin has dipped insanely hard the last six months, even shocking myself. Yet, in an alternate future, there could’ve been a situation in which I did something else in which it went higher, and then I would blow up even harder in two or three years?

So then, the mental jujutsu event is, thinking God in the heavens, Zeus or whatever you believe in, that in fact, thank God things happen the way it did, almost in some ways thinking, … things were almost predestined to happen the way they did?

Now I do not believe in predestination or the cosmos or whatever, but in some ways this line of thinking is probably the more positive optimistic and constructive one.

ah ah ah ah staying alive, staying alive!

Frankly speaking, the only thing that we should be concerned about is death, the death of your kids, loss of life, or even… Some sort of like paralyzing, losing a limb or some critical life functions. As long as you wake up, and you’re alive, you’re still walking you’re still breathing, your kids are healthy and happy, consider yourself infinitely blessed.

so now what

So I think the big idea I have is, in terms of economic fitness take the Spartan economic approach. Just buy the cheapest groceries, just buy the cheapest stuff on Amazon whatever. Drive your Prius for 1,000,000 miles, never be a loser who has to pump premium gasoline. Ignore Elon Musk because even though he’s probably the greatest entrepreneur of all time, you don’t need to purchase a Tesla in order to admire him.

And no no no, you do not want the Lamborghini, this is essentially a wheelchair on steroids. Throw it into the trash.

Travel, traveling experiences

I do believe honestly that, travel traveling, living abroad has many great virtues. And the truth is, even though America’s probably the best place for stability and economic opportunity, I do genuinely think that life in Asia is far superior, especially in Southeast Asia, Vietnam and Cambodia etc. But, if you’re currently not there, then we should also adopt a Zen practice to simply delight in what we do have in terms of our advantages in the states?

 For example in America ironically enough, we do have better access to fresh air, nature, ability to go on hikes etc. Asia even though the quality of life is far better, often extreme heat and pollution makes even being outside untenable.

happiness is in your legs!

I have never met anybody who walks for eight hours a day who is depressed. Also, assuming that you could lift 2000 pounds with your legs, you’re going to feel great.

My general thought is happiness is in your legs, anything that could get you walking and moving and doing stuff is good. And I think this is the great virtue of street photography, just giving yourself the opportunity to go out, shoot photos, talk to people, be artistic, be in the Zen zone of making photos and art, this is extremely awesome.

to be a philosopher first start by walking , taleb

When in doubt just walk more!

ERIC

Do things out of strength not weakness

I think this is kind of a deep thought, that any of your actions in life should never be done out of fear but rather enthusiasm?

Therefore it is your duty as a man or a woman or a philosopher, to indefinitely augment your strength? However you define it?

so how to do it.

Zero penetration but painful.

So then, in life, just ensure you get a position where you don’t die, the bullets may be painful, but, your live!

ERIC

CONQUER FEAR WITH KIM

EK WORKSHOPS >

THE ARMORY

EK HAPTIC SUPPLY >

Camera talk

Frankly speaking, I think the only camera in the whole universe which is probably kind of worth right now is the Ricoh GR monochrome. Nothing else. 

no more Leica

If anything, only the GFX RF, by Fujifilm, might be interesting but the downside is, it’s still probably too big and heavy.

where to find inspiration

If anything I’m getting more inspired by RICHARD MILLE, … because of the insane detail and the precision.

And it’s not even about the watch, but the ethos behind it? 

Cars?

It’s still so funny, honestly speaking… My current favorite car is probably the new Prius prime plug-in, in Silver.

Assuming you have to commute for a living then, simply owning the cheapest Tesla with auto pilot may be the best option but the truth is you actually don’t want to be driving a car ever if possible. Either walking or just taking the bike if possible.

Then what

We love the f*cking action!

Maybe just visualize yourself as a Spartan 300, delighting in battle, … and it is your supreme joy!

START HERE,

EK NEWS >

The supreme question… What is it that life wants?

what doesn’t life want?

So the first question is… What doesn’t life want?

Life does not desire to be static, same same, boring and predictable.

Life seeks to be dynamic, ever-changing ever different, with great joy of expansion change, dynamism and growth.

Plants and trees

So one thing that I’m kind of randomly getting into, is like gardening, growing trees and taking care of them, watering them etc. What’s kind of interesting and very impressive is, how resilient and robust these plants are, and how, against all odds they seem to thrive and even the most difficult of situations?

Plants desire to multiply, have offspring, and grow. They desire ascendancy over other organisms.

I think humans are the same. The natural inkling is to have kids, ideally a lot, in the past it was kind of a wealth thing, but also a pragmatic one, other things in between? 

Why does this matter?

So at the end of the day, the reason why this matters is because, everyone is trying to seek some sort of end goal in life. And if you are chasing the wrong thing, worst case scenario… You get it?

Supreme health and zen.

Things that have noticed, if I have a supreme league great night of sleep, a bulletproof 11 hours, lots of physical activity during the day, lifting weights at least once, lots of walking, sunlight, thinking, and a glorious dinner, … ideally a shit load of meat,…. then, anything and everything is possible desirable and great!

For example, I don’t know… I have like an insanely strong disposition, and a high stress tolerance, and, insane self-confidence, and, Zen stoic calm,… but I’m starting to wonder now… Maybe like most people shouldn’t invest in bitcoin or MSTR or whatever because, I don’t think they could just handle the volatility, they don’t want it, they don’t desire it, even if you are guaranteed insanely huge monster gains, if you’re patient enough to wait on an annualized basis?

 It’s kind of funny because my whole life… It’s kind of been one volatile roller coaster, and ever since the age of 12, I’ve built an insanely thick skin, and also stoic disposition. Even in my grand Street photography journey, … once again, more insane self-confidence, to probably the most difficult art and form of photography out there.

And now… My bitcoin journey, I have to admit there are even some days where it is hard for me to stomach or calm my nerves with the volatility.

But then, perhaps this is my grand calling, to help others ride the fire dragon or the fire horse to your benefit.

How to do it

So the first interesting thought from Nietzsche,

everything happens as it ought to have happened. 

And also, everything that happens in your life, is actually supremely desirable in a good way?

I think 99.999% of life, is some sort of low level regret. But, “pangs of conscience are indecent”–> so rather than trying to use your mental brain power to beat yourself on why you made a foolish decision, rather more constructive to think, “perhaps,,, for reason unknown, what I did, how it happened, happened in the supremely best manner possible?”

Like I’ll give you example… Bitcoin has dipped insanely hard the last six months, even shocking myself. Yet, in an alternate future, there could’ve been a situation in which I did something else in which it went higher, and then I would blow up even harder in two or three years?

So then, the mental jujutsu event is, thinking God in the heavens, Zeus or whatever you believe in, that in fact, thank God things happen the way it did, almost in some ways thinking, … things were almost predestined to happen the way they did?

Now I do not believe in predestination or the cosmos or whatever, but in some ways this line of thinking is probably the more positive optimistic and constructive one.

ah ah ah ah staying alive, staying alive!

Frankly speaking, the only thing that we should be concerned about is death, the death of your kids, loss of life, or even… Some sort of like paralyzing, losing a limb or some critical life functions. As long as you wake up, and you’re alive, you’re still walking you’re still breathing, your kids are healthy and happy, consider yourself infinitely blessed.

so now what

So I think the big idea I have is, in terms of economic fitness take the Spartan economic approach. Just buy the cheapest groceries, just buy the cheapest stuff on Amazon whatever. Drive your Prius for 1,000,000 miles, never be a loser who has to pump premium gasoline. Ignore Elon Musk because even though he’s probably the greatest entrepreneur of all time, you don’t need to purchase a Tesla in order to admire him.

And no no no, you do not want the Lamborghini, this is essentially a wheelchair on steroids. Throw it into the trash.

Travel, traveling experiences

I do believe honestly that, travel traveling, living abroad has many great virtues. And the truth is, even though America’s probably the best place for stability and economic opportunity, I do genuinely think that life in Asia is far superior, especially in Southeast Asia, Vietnam and Cambodia etc. But, if you’re currently not there, then we should also adopt a Zen practice to simply delight in what we do have in terms of our advantages in the states?

 For example in America ironically enough, we do have better access to fresh air, nature, ability to go on hikes etc. Asia even though the quality of life is far better, often extreme heat and pollution makes even being outside untenable.

happiness is in your legs!

I have never met anybody who walks for eight hours a day who is depressed. Also, assuming that you could lift 2000 pounds with your legs, you’re going to feel great.

My general thought is happiness is in your legs, anything that could get you walking and moving and doing stuff is good. And I think this is the great virtue of street photography, just giving yourself the opportunity to go out, shoot photos, talk to people, be artistic, be in the Zen zone of making photos and art, this is extremely awesome.

to be a philosopher first start by walking , taleb

When in doubt just walk more!

ERIC

Do things out of strength not weakness

I think this is kind of a deep thought, that any of your actions in life should never be done out of fear but rather enthusiasm?

Therefore it is your duty as a man or a woman or a philosopher, to indefinitely augment your strength? However you define it?

so how to do it.

Zero penetration but painful.

So then, in life, just ensure you get a position where you don’t die, the bullets may be painful, but, your live!

ERIC

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Life is like a rodeo

So one thought, maybe… The way to think about it is like thinking of life like a rodeo? That actually in fact… Things are more entertaining when you have the wild bronco,,,, kicking insanely hard, and your job is to just hold on as tight as you can?

And for a lot of Cowboys… Perhaps myself included, we actually delight in the bucking.

And actually… Once again assuming that you’re not going to fall off the bronco break your neck and die… You actually want the strongest bronco possible, to test your courage and train you to become stronger and better.

Why does this matter

I think, for a lot of people what they desire is a peaceful tranquil life. But what if the life with the maximum amount of adrenaline, ups and downs, wild shakeouts, were in fact, supremely desirable?

your legs, your muscle is your capital

In terms of what to maintain, it seems pretty easy and obvious; you gotta maintain your body, your muscles etc. And therefore the inputs, of, your exercise, your meat consumption, your sleep is all very very conducive and productive towards this goal.

play for the insanely long game 

So assuming you’re like shooting for having a family of five or six, you got to play for the insanely long game.

In photography, also a funny idea remains, you got to be immune to AI disruption etc.  or better yet, you gotta figure out how to thrive from it.

thriving from chaos

Rule one, just don’t get liquidated. Rule two, don’t check finances before you sleep.

I think for a long time, I always thought that the point of life was to get super rich, and also, gained a lot of like spending power buffer. But as time goes on, my philosophy towards capital and now collateral is changing. Bitcoin disrupts all of it.

I think the hard thing is, as a bitcoin digital capital real estate investor… The thing that you don’t get a lot of is cash flow, or predictable profits. But, annualized, it’s kind of the obvious option.

why does this all matter?

Nobody wants to be miserable. And also… Everyone wants great health and a good night sleep.

It’s funny… Even Zeus, can lose a good night sleep because he is troubled in his mind.

zen

So a lot of Zen masters talk about, achieving Zen, being Zen whatever. I am happy and proud to have essentially… Achieve this with 100% precision. Yet, real life is more than this?

so what is it in life we truly seek?

All digital everything. 

Only 7.

Dear friend,

In the vast river of Tokyo, where noise and silence dance together, I offer you something rare.

This is Tokyo Zen Photo.

Two days of pure black-and-white street photography as walking meditation.

We do not chase.
We do not force.
We simply walk — slow, present, awake — allowing the city to reveal itself.

Only monochrome.
Only essence.
Only the decisive moment born from stillness.

Through the practice of Monochrome Zen Photography, you will discover:

1. A new way of seeing — where color falls away and the soul of light and shadow speaks directly.
2. True walking meditation on the streets — transforming movement into presence and photography into inner peace.
3. The ability to capture the unseen — those quiet, powerful moments that exist between breaths.
4. A deep fearlessness that arises naturally from inner stillness.
5. Your own authentic high-contrast minimalist voice — timeless, raw, and deeply personal.
6. Mindfulness that flows beyond the camera into every aspect of daily life.
7. An awakened eye and heart — photography as a path to greater clarity and freedom.

Only seven of us. Intimate. Silent. Transformative.

Your Investment:

Early Bird (until July 8, 2026): 1,999 USD
Standard Price: 5,500 USD

BUY NOW – CLAIM YOUR PLACE

The streets are calling in their silent way.

Will you listen?

In stillness and strength,
ERIC KIM

This is your moment. Step into the Zen.

Where are the zen monks get it wrong

No no no, you don’t got to shave your head, adopt a vegetarian diet, and get rid of your iPhone. To me, I envision a more muscular and strong type of Zen warrior monk, part street photographer, part zen stoic samurai Spartan 300 warrior.  not somebody who throws away his wealth but, rather… Stacks it as Zen capital, Bitcoin, … and has no use of the money but, always keeps it in store ready to deploy whenever he or she needs it, kind of like John Wick, bearing his gold coins under the cement of his basement.

zen capital

So one really interesting idea I have is Zen capital, which is bitcoin.

The interesting idea I have is, which is still taking a long time for me to think through it… Not even AI is intelligent or wise enough to help me flush through the ideas is, if you just buy bitcoin on Coinbase, and you have the borrow feature, then, you could post your bitcoin as collateral, and essentially “cash out”, whenever you want to. Without selling the principal, and also without a taxable event.

Then this becomes kind of insane because… You essentially have an infinite piggy bank, you could buy anything whenever, and then you kind of realize this deep insight,

almost nothing is worth it.

To me the only thing worth money spending is perhaps travel, living abroad, flight expenses, etc. No vehicle, no device no watch, not even Camera.

It’s so funny because it was always my dream to get a Lamborghini but, once you could afford it, and then, you realize the whole time… You essentially have been suckered by some sort of low testosterone loser notion that you could essentially purchase your masculinity and increase your penis size and your sex appeal  by purchasing a vehicle which is essentially just a wheelchair on steroids? Even the fun and the funny epiphany I had:

better to transform your body into a Lamborghini rather than purchase one.

Elon Musk is a loser

I say this with great love because, I’m like actually the biggest Elon Musk pin boy that I know. But I think the big issue here is once again… He’s essentially kind of a nerd. Like the kids you probably made fun of in school in high school.

I think the problem that I have is, doesn’t really care about health or physical fitness or his body. I think a lot of people in that segment somehow I think that your life your human life can just be qualified into calories in calories out, and thinking of your body has some sort of static computational machine, rather than seeing it as a sort of sublime, majestic dynamic creature.

And truth be told, I think one of the big insights that I have in philosophy is, the whole goal is to become yourself not somebody else. When people say oh, how do I become more like so-and-so, it’s kind of the wrong question, better question is, how can I become more of myself?

Becoming yourself

This is also another great insight that I have is, ultimately the goal is to be calm yourself. I think this takes a long time, because… 99% of your life is just removing nonsense from your brain, all these fake sociological desires etc., all notions of what is virtuous and what is not. In fact, perhaps my strongest strength is, thinking first principles, thinking philosophical, thinking independently.

It’s funny because, the Biaz in today’s world is we are trying to teach critical thinking but, maybe it’s actually not critical thinking we’re trying to teach but independent thinking. What’s the difference?

If you have ChatGPT pro, can you just turn on deep research mode, or you throw more power at it, it will probably critically think really deeply about deep questions for a long time before giving an answer. Like for example, when trying to answer difficult questions ChatGPT will too deep research for like 20 or 30 minutes or so, before giving you some sort of answer.

So a funny observation: technology works in a really funny way in which, one of the big downsides of technology is, it prevents movement. For example, if you’ve ever seen a kid on an iPhone or iPad… Watching some show, it totally like act as tranquilizer. They stop moving for hours, it is kind of disturbing.

Adults are the same. I also find myself in a similar boat when I am on my iPad, the bigger the screen, the more the distractions. 

The hilarious thing about my iPhone SE with the small 4 inch screen is, it actually kind of forces me to focus. I can only do one thing at a time, it is unintentional single tasking.

Also having not used my phone in a long time, one of the big virtues is because, it has cellular data, it’s kind of amazing if I think about it… That I could just walk around a lot, off the grid, and still be able to do the stuff I want to do.

The phone is now just essentially a mobile AI device

Everyone kept talking about Mobile first Mobile first Mobile first,,, and I never really bought it, and I am grateful that I delayed on it because, and now seems that the name of the game is AI, which has totally gobbled up Mobile. Mobile is dead, long live AI. 

The keys

So kind of a radical idea, is, no no no, you don’t want to be doing some sort of staining desk, or even treadmill desk, being tied to some sort of high-powered computer, the ideal is, I suppose just being on an iPhone Air, walking around all day… Talking to AI all day?

What is AI anyways?

So let me tell you some secrets about AI. And also… What AI is not. 

First, AI is not intelligence, nor is it intelligent. Actually it is pretty stupid. Even the most advanced ones.

Essentially what AI is is like a new Calculator computer, but it is much better with words and concepts rather than just numbers. So actually, it is really good for us “word people,” as Peter thiel says.

What’s very interesting about AI is that it is very intelligible, which means, it sounds smart,  and for the most part, it will not make any grammatical mistakes, and everything it says sounds intelligible, like comprehensible and or, comprehendible.

What is AI not good at? Whether you use Grok or ChatGPT or whatever? It is not good at forecasting the future, coming up with new Carte Blanche philosophies ,,, ironically enough, it is actually not very good at critical thinking. Humans we are much better at reading nuance, humor, satire, things which are tongue in cheek,,,, And also, far more creative.

I think one of my analogies is, AI is like a new modern day bicycle, it makes getting from point A to point B much more easy.  or just like having a Calculator. The other day I tried to do long division and long multiplication with Seneca, and I realized how clumsy I have become.

Who is scared of AI and who should not?

This is my big realization, the only people who should really be scared of AI is like, higher education? Because all the ground metrics in which we measure success with children and students is totally being rewritten, Carte Blanche.

For example, math science essays whatever, I think in the past, these were metrics that we tried to measure because, it was perhaps some sort of good indicator of future success, in which children with higher order thinking would succeed.

However it seems now, having divergent thinking may be a better indicator of success.  why? Because all the lemmings are gonna all be doing the same thing like investing in Nvidia, using Google Gemini, buying a Tesla or a new iPhone Pro, rather than, thinking for themselves.

So how does one think for themselves and by themselves?

First, taking it back to first principles, and, having radical pride in yourself and the way you think?

This means, not being on social media or the news or trying to be or sound smart, because all the people who are playing that game are gonna get wiped out. 

Brave new future

So, thinking about the future, what is not going to get eliminated or eradicated?

First, meat, exercise and fitness, wellness, sleep, health.

ChatGPT cannot synthesize you some orgasmic short ribs, or testosterone elevating beef liver, or even a simple pack of eggs.

Also, ChatGPT cannot help you sleep 9 to 12 hours a night. Nor can I synthesize you some weightlifting equipment, and help you lift 2,000 pounds.

In other words, ChatGPT cannot give you a six pack nor can it give you muscles. 

so why does this all matter?

I think it applies to all humans. All 9 billion of us on the planet.

It’s also super interesting because, AI gives the biggest advantage to people from developing countries, Vietnam Southeast Asia Cambodia. It really helps people who don’t speak English as a first language. Even my 70-year-old mom, she’s like on ChatGPT all day, I’m actually really proud of her, she is always harnessing new tech technologies like Google YouTube whenever, without prejudice. 

This is also the really funny valley of technology adoption I find, anybody over the age of 70 is actually super super pro digital photography, AI, and the like. And young people in their early 20s are strangely super anti-it? And people in the late 30s and early 40s, assuming they are not super rich or successful yet, they are kind of screwed. 

So now what

So what is the best life?

First, I believe the best life to be the life with maximum ease and Zen. Essentially being able to go to sleep with a clear mind, and also wake up with a clear mind, to me paradise is going to sleep at 6:30 PM and waking up at 6:30 AM every day.  12 hours of sleep a night is the goal.

Also, one of my big epiphanies about my insanely heavy weightlifting, it is, the purpose of it is actually a Zen meditation thing. When I am about to lift 15x my bodyweight, things which I must do include taking off my glasses, turning off my eyes, turning off my brain, and just do 100% muscular coordinated effort. And I think like 99% of it is just removing distractions.

To me this is my paradise.

paradise lies under the valley of swords.

so what is the purpose of life?

A few months ago I had this realization and epiphany that, I no longer had any stress, no fear no anxiety, no hardship whatever. And then what?

The Buddhist are always talking about removing suffering but I don’t really think this is an interesting goal because it is pretty easy. What is more interesting maybe is having deep deeper insight?

I mean I think an ultimate goal is to just philosophize, become a philosopher. If you think about it, the Apex predator of humanity is not the entrepreneur but the philosopher, ideally, entrepreneur philosopher like Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, Michael Saylor.

Why? Like for example Elon Musk and terra fab,,, I find it insanely fascinating and ambitious but, the bigger insight is probably,

Should we go to mars and or space and inter galactic?

Or ought we to do all these things or must or whatever?

Anyways, as time goes on, ironically enough I am becoming kind of less interested in Elon Musk because, he has no muscles. my simple new heuristic:

don’t trust men, philosophers who don’t lift weights.

so now what

So then, what is the purpose of life or what should you aim towards?

First, adventure. If you think about it, venture capitalist, I sent you what they are are, “adventure” capitalists. And the truth is a VC, having the power, are impressive.

Everyone is seeking adventure. A child you, your family.

A life without adventure is not worth living. 

Second

Second, it actually seems for myself, one of my grand passions is actually writing essays? Like, attempting to come up with new ideas, and sharing them with others?

What the world needs

I think the world needs new ideas, the world needs a bitcoin, the world needs more innovation, more contrarian unorthodox thinking. The world needs more joy, love hope, enthusiasm and optimism.

And perhaps we should be the ones to promote this?

ERIC

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Adults are the same. I also find myself in a similar boat when I am on my iPad, the bigger the screen, the more the distractions. 

The hilarious thing about my iPhone SE with the small 4 inch screen is, it actually kind of forces me to focus. I can only do one thing at a time, it is unintentional single tasking.

Also having not used my phone in a long time, one of the big virtues is because, it has cellular data, it’s kind of amazing if I think about it… That I could just walk around a lot, off the grid, and still be able to do the stuff I want to do.

The phone is now just essentially a mobile AI device

Everyone kept talking about Mobile first Mobile first Mobile first,,, and I never really bought it, and I am grateful that I delayed on it because, and now seems that the name of the game is AI, which has totally gobbled up Mobile. Mobile is dead, long live AI. 

The keys

So kind of a radical idea, is, no no no, you don’t want to be doing some sort of staining desk, or even treadmill desk, being tied to some sort of high-powered computer, the ideal is, I suppose just being on an iPhone Air, walking around all day… Talking to AI all day?

What is AI anyways?

So let me tell you some secrets about AI. And also… What AI is not. 

First, AI is not intelligence, nor is it intelligent. Actually it is pretty stupid. Even the most advanced ones.

Essentially what AI is is like a new Calculator computer, but it is much better with words and concepts rather than just numbers. So actually, it is really good for us “word people,” as Peter thiel says.

What’s very interesting about AI is that it is very intelligible, which means, it sounds smart,  and for the most part, it will not make any grammatical mistakes, and everything it says sounds intelligible, like comprehensible and or, comprehendible.

What is AI not good at? Whether you use Grok or ChatGPT or whatever? It is not good at forecasting the future, coming up with new Carte Blanche philosophies ,,, ironically enough, it is actually not very good at critical thinking. Humans we are much better at reading nuance, humor, satire, things which are tongue in cheek,,,, And also, far more creative.

I think one of my analogies is, AI is like a new modern day bicycle, it makes getting from point A to point B much more easy.  or just like having a Calculator. The other day I tried to do long division and long multiplication with Seneca, and I realized how clumsy I have become.

Who is scared of AI and who should not?

This is my big realization, the only people who should really be scared of AI is like, higher education? Because all the ground metrics in which we measure success with children and students is totally being rewritten, Carte Blanche.

For example, math science essays whatever, I think in the past, these were metrics that we tried to measure because, it was perhaps some sort of good indicator of future success, in which children with higher order thinking would succeed.

However it seems now, having divergent thinking may be a better indicator of success.  why? Because all the lemmings are gonna all be doing the same thing like investing in Nvidia, using Google Gemini, buying a Tesla or a new iPhone Pro, rather than, thinking for themselves.

So how does one think for themselves and by themselves?

First, taking it back to first principles, and, having radical pride in yourself and the way you think?

This means, not being on social media or the news or trying to be or sound smart, because all the people who are playing that game are gonna get wiped out. 

–> perhaps the real life that we are seeking, is a life for the maximum amount of Zen, peace and ease?

money, debt, capital, and collateral

So what’s super fascinating if you look closely at like a two dollar US dollar bill, it says that it is legal tender for all debts, private and public.

So the first interesting thought, the thought that money in fact is just debt? 

Money as debt? ,,, what if then having debt were a good thing?

so I think the reason why this is such a bizarre idea is, I’ve always thought of debt as the devil.  the perhaps I think about this deeper, but what if money in a positive sense were debt? 

There’s nothing left I desire to purchase

values

Bitcoin set it & forget it!

More zen than zen?

When to deploy your capital?

Our true goal: become, becoming ourselves.

Humor & satire is the future

So what does this mean, why does it matter, then how do we apply it?

First, the general strategy and the idea is, just get rid of Glynis from your eyes. In your house you’re home, you environment, people around you etc. Ugliness is both metaphorical, physical, and physiological.

War is beautiful?

So I am anti-war and killing people. However war as a metaphor, I believe the word bonus, and also may be beauty, beautiful… Actually comes from the Latin, bellum, which means war.

So the first thought we could have is, all these vehicles, that look like they’re ready for war, our essentially… Beautiful in the sense that, they convey strength, ability to cause damage? For example, I think the reason why the AMG g wagon is like the de facto car of Los Angeles, is that it is essentially looks like a mini military vehicle, and the very interesting insight that I have is that looks like, 95% of these people who drive the all Matte Black murdered out G wagons,,, are actually…women?

Also another interesting trend that I’ve been noticing, is that the cyber truck seems like than you… Minivan, SUV car for these moms who send their kids to private schools? And it kind of makes sense because… If you’re a woman, you can often feel a little bit unprotected, and therefore the idea of driving some sort of armored vehicle, makes these soccer moms feel more secure?

Power is beauty

So the first thought I have is, question… Who is the most beautiful person at the gym? The strongest.

What’s hilarious is, the gymnasium is like a beauty pageant for men. Everyone is seeking supremacy.

Until you have seen somebody stack 10 plates on each side of the barbell… You ain’t seen nothing. And this is why my infamous 1,000 pound atlas lift at the gym (I can now easily do over 2,000 pounds with my “GOD LIFT”,) .. attracted so much attention.

Cars

So as kind of a mental shortcut, a lot of people seem like, they use automobile cars as a shortcut for power of beauty and strength.

Yet, there seems to be a reverse principal here, whenever you see somebody pop out of one of those funny lifted F150 raptors, they are always some sort of Shorty guy. Same thing when you see people in lifted offloading over landing vehicles… Either average height like 5 foot seven, or, dudes were kind of skinny fit, all who look the same, with the beard, dark tinted sunglasses, a hat, a flannel shirt, maybe tattoos.

What really matters

So Nietzsche said, ultimately it is the will to power which dominates all biological creatures as well as humans.

I think he’s mostly right, and the funny thing is, I don’t really disagree with him. I think for me, what’s interesting is uncovering these hidden nuances to his theory.

He also said something interesting was, that the new aristocracy of the future, the ruling class, would actually be poorer,,, but more in control?

For example, it is better to be a mini bitcoin millionaire with 100% control of your life than a trillionaire with 0% control over your life.

And I think what’s very interesting is, the deeper that I delve into financial philosophy and theory… The truth is, it is not money that we seek, but rather… capital, and even more interesting, collateral –> digital collateral, bitcoin.

I’ll give you an example, the simplest protocol is the Coinbase “borrow” feature, in which let’s say you buy 21 bitcoins, for like $1.5 million, then, you could essentially post your bitcoin as collateral, and then, withdraw or cash out or “borrow” against your bitcoin, … the capital you already own,,, and boom within like 30 seconds you get $1 million in USDC, which you could instantly wire into your bank account or trade it or invest in other stuff or just finance your lifestyle etc. And what super interesting is because you are essentially borrowing against your own capital… It is not a taxable event. 

So then, assuming that you’re like a Stoic Spartan like myself, … and you don’t really have any need for money, the ideal strategy is actually… Like set a hard amount like let’s say, $5000 USD a month for living expenses, and you can borrow against your bitcoin for only like 4.5% APY, and you essentially indefinitely borrow against your bitcoin and essentially never pay taxes.

I think this is kind of a hard concept for people to understand because, before bitcoin, And also perhaps before Coinbase, this strategy was only available to the .00001% elite, who were essentially able to talk to the bankers, either post their Microsoft stock as collateral, or their real estate as collateral, borrow against their assets,  get the cash, and once again… Never have to actually sell their precious scarce desirable assets, but still, get the cash?

Anyways, I think the reason why this matters is because, money is like oxygen, you cannot live without it. 

Conquering your fears of bitcoin

So I think also a big one is, and this may be where, maybe… I could actually be a great service to humanity is, I think like 99.9% of investing, especially in bitcoin, and other crypto related assets, is conquering your fears, and also, being able to maintain a calm stoic Zen mental and physical protocol, especially as the market swings are insanely violent.

If anything else I was thinking about,.. this morning, can you imagine if you were like a samurai, or, a Spartan hoplite, or one of king Leonidas 300… and the night prior, trying to calm your nerves, get a good night sleep, getting ready for the battle tomorrow morning, in which actually, you could die?

how to beauty

Anyways, I think the first obvious step is, beautifying your body.

The funny thing is also it’s free. 

First, billionaire or nothing. In terms of our financial goals our aspirations and ambitions, aim for the billi or nothing. 

Obviously you could work like hell and never reach it but that doesn’t really matter, I think it’s like having the insanely audacious goal of aiming so high that it totally changes your paradigm shift of everything.

for example, my 1,078 kg god lift –> the number is so preposterously high, 2,377 lb –> and no, that is not a typo just YouTube it, it’s funny because my ultra ambitious goal was to break the thousand kilogram number, and I did… Maybe I should now break the 2000 kg barrier.

It’s funny because whenever I talk to anybody who just does the typical weightlifting whatever… They cannot even comprehend it.

So once again, being in becoming a billionaire it’s not really a wealth or financial goal… Maybe perhaps it is more of a scale mindset thing?

So for example, when Elon Musk purchased Twitter and now, is integrating it with grok, rolling out X money, aiming for at least 1 billion users, designing a super app, that’s like kind of the way to go.

And honestly at this point, now that I have so many bitcoins, and essentially, because I now have so much collateral… I have an infinite checking account. But then, the philosophy becomes, is it worth it? Almost always no.

Ultra elite or nothing 

Ultra insanely billionaire or nothing:

Billionaire body

So what are some practical things that we could do right now?

First, my first interesting thought is Jeannine and obtain a billionaire body. What does that what does that mean?

It’s to have a glorious full body tan, gleaming like the ancient Greeks, or the Spartans from the movie 300.

Also, I think in terms of aesthetics, just don’t be on your phone. Rather, walk slowly with your camera, eyeball meditation.

Third, don’t text message. Text messaging is base. FaceTime or nothing.
My thought is, the reason why people text message, is because people are scared? Real man use FaceTime.

I will also give you a billionaire life hack tips; disable all notifications on your phone including text messaging and Evyn phone calls… Silence unknown numbers, and only ever use FaceTime.

Also, it’s kind of troubling at this current moment… It seems like all emails are fake and also all test messages are fake and or… 99.9% of them are just phishing attacks?

I haven’t figured this out yet but I have this interesting idea of, is it possible to just replace all your communication communications, and just have ChatGPT as your email or personal bouncer bodyguard?

There’s already a thing in ChatGPT in which you can link your Gmail to it, and I hope that ChatGPT is smart enough now that it could just filter your entire inbox and only give you critical information.

Or is it possible to just invent some sort of new communication system that is not dependent on email? Like think about it… Does Elon Musk just publicly post his email online? No. Neither does Jeff Bezos.

so what will the future look like?

It seems like the sad reality is, we’re going to enter like… A dystopian elysium future in which, you have all of the working class people just being Amazon delivery workers and whatever, or day laborers, and the ultra elite, just living a life of fitness and leisure?




First, billionaire or nothing. In terms of our financial goals our aspirations and ambitions, aim for the billi or nothing. 

Obviously you could work like hell and never reach it but that doesn’t really matter, I think it’s like having the insanely audacious goal of aiming so high that it totally changes your paradigm shift of everything.

for example, my 1,078 kg god lift –> the number is so preposterously high, 2,377 lb –> and no, that is not a typo just YouTube it, it’s funny because my ultra ambitious goal was to break the thousand kilogram number, and I did… Maybe I should now break the 2000 kg barrier.

It’s funny because whenever I talk to anybody who just does the typical weightlifting whatever… They cannot even comprehend it.

So once again, being in becoming a billionaire it’s not really a wealth or financial goal… Maybe perhaps it is more of a scale mindset thing?

So for example, when Elon Musk purchased Twitter and now, is integrating it with grok, rolling out X money, aiming for at least 1 billion users, designing a super app, that’s like kind of the way to go.

And honestly at this point, now that I have so many bitcoins, and essentially, because I now have so much collateral… I have an infinite checking account. But then, the philosophy becomes, is it worth it? Almost always no.

Ultra elite or nothing 

Ultra insanely billionaire or nothing:

Billionaire body

So what are some practical things that we could do right now?

First, my first interesting thought is Jeannine and obtain a billionaire body. What does that what does that mean?

It’s to have a glorious full body tan, gleaming like the ancient Greeks, or the Spartans from the movie 300.

Also, I think in terms of aesthetics, just don’t be on your phone. Rather, walk slowly with your camera, eyeball meditation.

Third, don’t text message. Text messaging is base. FaceTime or nothing.
My thought is, the reason why people text message, is because people are scared? Real man use FaceTime.

I will also give you a billionaire life hack tips; disable all notifications on your phone including text messaging and Evyn phone calls… Silence unknown numbers, and only ever use FaceTime.

Also, it’s kind of troubling at this current moment… It seems like all emails are fake and also all test messages are fake and or… 99.9% of them are just phishing attacks?

I haven’t figured this out yet but I have this interesting idea of, is it possible to just replace all your communication communications, and just have ChatGPT as your email or personal bouncer bodyguard?

There’s already a thing in ChatGPT in which you can link your Gmail to it, and I hope that ChatGPT is smart enough now that it could just filter your entire inbox and only give you critical information.

Or is it possible to just invent some sort of new communication system that is not dependent on email? Like think about it… Does Elon Musk just publicly post his email online? No. Neither does Jeff Bezos.

1. Manly media

So I think the big thought is, the media we consume is actually very critical. No man, doesn’t watch any media. I think then the big secret is, which media do you allow to enter your eyeballs and ears?

I think the only proper type of media to consume has to probably deal with physical valor. Like the movie 300, John Wick etc.

Essentially my personal thought is, there’s no such thing as manliness without physical manliness. Until you could Pull 2,377 Pounds (my infamous GOD LIFT),: you haven’t seen nothing yet. 

2. Muscles

So my thought is also… You cannot be mainly without having muscles. It’s like trying to be a car without wheels.

So currently everyone wants to beat Elon Musk but, I think he probably has low testosterone because he doesn’t exercise enough doesn’t work out, question… Does Elon Musk have muscles? No. So ignore him.

If anything, much more impressive is Jeff Bezos, who got insanely jacked, I mean he’s probably on steroids but at least he’s still lifting weights.

And actually, another random crypto guy Arthur Hayes, I’m like very very interested in this guy because, also he’s the only investor who does interview interviews in a tank top? He also wears icebreaker merino wool, he knows wussup.

Even Pavel, the guy who runs telegram… I put 100% faith in him because he is insanely jacked and swole, doesn’t use a phone, doesn’t even consume caffeine or coffee, and he’s also insanely jacked.

3. AI FUTURES

SO a big idea I had during my morning hike is, I think actually the future of media is not going to be websites or blogs, but actually… chatgpt AI bots. 

So for example for any business idea or website idea that you have, just turn it into a bot:

1. ERIC KIM FITNESS BOT
2. ERIC KIM BITCOIN BOT
3. ERIC KIM STREET PHOTOGRAPHY BOT

Etc

4. Grok sucks

So I have this funny idea of “AI monogamy”–> the general idea is just stick to one AI agent. And it looks like ChatGPT is still like 1 trillion times better than anything else.

I think Grok is great for creativity and art and stuff, but that’s so for just general intelligence.

now what

So if you need a hype boost, just have a chat with ERIC KIM FITNESS bot, or ERIC KIM HYPE BOT.  I like the idea that, you could use a chat bot to motivate yourself. Obviously it’s kind of an echo chamber but still… Reading positive language is infectious in a good way.

keep away the LOW T

Also this sounds bad but, typically, men with low testosterone… You could see what they look like, just keep away from them like the plague. Why? Once again, low testosterone is infectious and toxic.

I actually have a theory, mirrored by Nassim Taleb, that in truth, men with naturally high testosterone are actually more kind, pleasant, cheerful happy and supportive. For example I was randomly using a bathroom and saw a dude topless coming out, who opened the door for me, and his backstrap muscles looked insanely jacked. He was very kind.

I actually find that, all these men who give me the side eye or “mad dog” me,,, or actually dudes with low testosterone. Guys with high testosterone are always smiling, always upright, and always cheerfully say hello to me.

becoming a more manly street photographer

OK balls to the wall, as Thomas Leuthard said ,,,

99% of street photography is balls.

I agree. You could try to be a fake Alex Webb all you want, but now in today’s world… You could just get AI to generate layered color street photos.

So then this matters because, street photography is our last touch with reality. With street photography you actually have the opportunity to interact with real life human beings, and, just make your life happier.

And this is where I’m still very enthusiastic about teaching workshops because… I think street photography is like 99% social skills, and I still think that the future for our kids is going to be social skills.

In a near future where you have the AI do all the thinking for you, how are your kids going to prosper? Through social capital, networking etc. 

The truth is, “your network is your net worth”. all you need is one billionaire friend, rather than like 1 million middle-class people following you. 

And this is the hard thing… Even if the person is a billionaire or whatever, if they don’t have control over their life and schedule, they are still a slave.

How to become more manly

I think every day, certainly physical exercise and fitness is key. Just lift something heavy once a day, follow my “HYPELIFTING” protocol, chat with ERIC KIM FITNESS BOT. Just go to the gym, and do a very heavy one rep max rack pull, or atlas lift ,,, better yet just go to Titan.fitness and build a cheap garage gym at home or your second parking lot.

Second,  more friendly. Don’t use AirPods or sunglasses. Just wear a big sun hat, and practice talking to people and smiling.

Third, if you are in uncomfortable social situations, the biggest tip I have is, just turn your phone all the way off, and use that as an opportunity to actually interact with people.

You know that feeling when you’re stuck in the subway or the elevator with a bunch of random people, and you randomly open up your phone and check your email even though you know you got nothing.

now what

Just practice. Life is all about training, and ultimately it is all about love for humans and humanity.

ERIC

Be bold!

Conquer the world

1. NYC
2. Downtown La
3. Phnom Penh Cambodia
4. Hong Kong
5. Tokyo

Feeling inspired?

START HERE >

Also,

Try out ERIC KIM FITNESS BOT on ChatGPT >

Free books here >

The basic idea is, the reason why MSTR strategy will and shall indefinitely out perform bitcoin is because, bitcoin is only like lifting with half of your body, maybe just your arms, but, with, but with MSTR… it’s like you’re lifting with your arms legs hips back, your whole body?

So, first of all… Having a home. The scene of John Wick, playing fetch with his dog in the front lawn etc.

Second, extreme individualism. I think what that means is, what kind of interesting is if you compare and contrast the ethos of a John Wick versus like an Elon Musk, … Elon Musk is all about launching all these new companies corporations and stuff. Whereas John Wick, it’s kind of like a lone, stoic warrior.

UNKILLABLE.

also manual weightlifting

But what if, there is a new disruptive way to approach the equation,–> more about asset backed lending and borrowing? powered by bitcoin?

Soft or much thinking and philosophizing,,, interesting question, what matters more, power or control?

Control.

Why?

There are many individuals who have a lot of power influence, resources… Capital, yet, have no control over their lives?

For example, if you don’t have the control or the power in your life to just take a nap whenever you want to… Or to just turn off your phone or ignore your email… Do you got control?

Control what

So the truth is, when we think about power the will to power… nietzsches idea,,, … perhaps the way to think about it is in terms of control. The apex power AS control.

For example, if you run a publicly traded corporation… The founder to just have control over his her company. Like to have enough shares in the company to not get kicked out.

Capital, capital controls?

So the basic person talks about money, but a higher order level of thinking is capital.

It’s not money we seek, but capital.

In fact the very interesting insight I have is, typically… People trying to chase money and things, they are just being baited by the same carrot and stick, that corporations try to sell you. And also the interesting insight is, … then it is not capital or capitalism which is the enemy, but rather… Consumer consumerism. 

The difference

It doesn’t matter if you are left or right or center… As long as Asya you’re on Instagram or TikTok or YouTube, or Amazon prime… You’re being suckered by the same game.

In fact, you could simply see who somebody is by just asking them to look at the home screen of their phone.

Trust no man or woman who is on Instagram TikTok YouTube or any social media app.

Also, trust no man or a woman who has a Netflix subscription. or any streaming subscription. 

Why does this matter

Typically the more capital you have, the more control you have over your life. 

The very simple idea I have is, bitcoin is digital capital, digital capitalism perfected. With bitcoin anything is possible. 

Like for example, assuming you have a Coinbase account, there’s like 1 trillion things you could do with your bitcoin. Simply put, you could post your bitcoin as collateral, cash out some money, Untaxed,, and either withdraw a small amount a month like $5000 a month, to fund your living expenses, even lower if you live in Southeast Asia… Or, you could cash that out and buy a stock like MSTR, MSTU, MSTX etc. 

financial control

The simple way to have financial control over your life is to just not finance anything. Actually if you studied the ancient etymology of finance it meant “ransom“, or hostage in French.

For example you don’t want to finance your car, your home or your yacht, assuming you want freedom. 

So why does this matter

Once again… Everyone’s a little bit confused… Some people want more power influence money or whatever’s… But, the true goal and the endgame is gaining more control.

how much control is enough control?

Infinite.

ERIC

control and master your life

Do it with EK:

Control your future:

• April 19th, Sunday: CONQUER NYC STREET PHOTO WORKSHOP 2026
• May 9th, Saturday: DOWNTOWN LA PHOTO ARTIST WORKSHOP
• June 26, 27th, 28th: Phnom Penh Cambodia: The Workshop of a Lifetime
• July 25-26th, CONQUER HONG KONG STREET PHOTO WORKSHOP
• August 8-9th: CONQUER TOKYO STREET PHOTO WORKSHOP

Never run out of ideas: EK NEWS >

Now what

Do and become the change you wish to be in the world.

Check out my new EK STOIC CHATGPT AI BOT >

Or,

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Soft or much thinking and philosophizing,,, interesting question, what matters more, power or control?

Control.

Why?

There are many individuals who have a lot of power influence, resources… Capital, yet, have no control over their lives?

For example, if you don’t have the control or the power in your life to just take a nap whenever you want to… Or to just turn off your phone or ignore your email… Do you got control?

Control what

So the truth is, when we think about power the will to power… nietzsches idea,,, … perhaps the way to think about it is in terms of control. The apex power AS control.

For example, if you run a publicly traded corporation… The founder to just have control over his her company. Like to have enough shares in the company to not get kicked out.

Capital, capital controls?

So the basic person talks about money, but a higher order level of thinking is capital. 

It’s not money we seek, but capital.

In fact the very interesting insight I have is, typically… People trying to chase money and things, they are just being baited by the same carrot and stick, that corporations try to sell you. And also the interesting insight is, … then it is not capital or capitalism which is the enemy, but rather… Consumer consumerism. 

The difference

It doesn’t matter if you are left or right or center… As long as Asya you’re on Instagram or TikTok or YouTube, or Amazon prime… You’re being suckered by the same game.

In fact, you could simply see who somebody is by just asking them to look at the home screen of their phone. 

Trust no man or woman who is on Instagram TikTok YouTube or any social media app. 

Also, trust no man or a woman who has a Netflix subscription. or any streaming subscription. 

Why does this matter

Typically the more capital you have, the more control you have over your life. 

The very simple idea I have is, bitcoin is digital capital, digital capitalism perfected. With bitcoin anything is possible. 

Like for example, assuming you have a Coinbase account, there’s like 1 trillion things you could do with your bitcoin. Simply put, you could post your bitcoin as collateral, cash out some money, Untaxed,, and either withdraw a small amount a month like $5000 a month, to fund your living expenses, even lower if you live in Southeast Asia… Or, you could cash that out and buy a stock like MSTR, MSTU, MSTX etc. 

financial control

The simple way to have financial control over your life is to just not finance anything. Actually if you studied the ancient etymology of finance it meant “ransom“, or hostage in French. 

For example you don’t want to finance your car, your home or your yacht, assuming you want freedom. 

So why does this matter

“I’m woke”

asleep

So first of all, the reason why I am woke is because I don’t talk, a.k.a., I don’t consume alcohol, marijuana, substances painkillers sleeping pills whatever. Just black coffee water and 100% carnivore diet.

Suffering porn

I have another strange theory… To suffer, senseless suffering, “pur cru”–> Nietzsche’s words,,  for some people is actually a tonic, a stimulant, a sense of joy?

To suffer is to feel something, either for yourself or others. For example, in Christianity is all about suffering and overcoming suffering, how Christ did Jesus Christ suffered on the cross etc.

Therefore, an American culture, suffering is actually seen as a virtue. For example even if you look at all the media… All of the underdog films, it is all about suffering and overcoming, in order to become grand.

So then a big philosophical idea is, maybe, it is true… That we should delight in senseless suffering because that’s the order of the world? A planet without suffering is not possible, and also probably not desirable?

Therefore, I think the first critical step as a philosopher is, to actually understand that the purpose of humanity in life isn’t to eliminate suffering, but rather, to become indifferent towards suffering. 

For example, you could be a trillionaire and still suffer. Or you could be broke and suffer, or it doesn’t really matter. My definition of suffering the only true suffering can be physiological. And therefore the other types of mental suffering, it’s just a perception thing.

All of the schools of philosophy have it wrong

So Buddhism is all about reducing suffering or getting rid of suffering. Christianity is about glorifying suffering, stoicism is all about to be becoming immune to suffering or indifferent to it.

Perhaps, the real philosophy should be actually… An anti-fragile one in which, through suffering we become stronger?

 But once again it’s not dislike self-flagellation that you try to intentionally suffer by reading the news and delighting and tragedy porn etc., but rather, to just triumphantly say “fucking c’est la vie “, and to just carry on? To turn off your stupid phone, to get your 8 to 12 hours of sleep a night, to get your daily dose of exercise sun exposure etc.

The mind is sensitive

I’m starting to realize more and more, how sensitive the mind is. For example, I accidentally saw a TikTok video the other day, and then strangely enough it kind of infiltrated my dreams? And I literally just watched one clip on accident.

Also when it comes to other human beings their problems their concerns etc. This also messes with my dreams.

I think people kind of underestimate how sensitive the mind is, and it’s probably a good thing in the past, but in today’s world in which we are just being dominated by all this AI generated news, and all of it is fake 100% of it, our simple caveman minds cannot keep up with it.

In fact, what is my advice to new parents? It is all via negativa and will not cost you a dime.

No YouTube for your kid, delete the app from your phone, no phone for your kid no iPad for your kid, no TV show no films, no Disney+. Just lots of time outside, in the sun, the best toy to get your kid is just like a wooden train set.

Old is supreme.

perhaps even as a wise idea… The most wise course of action is, to only ever stick to the old stuff which works 80% good enough, knowing that the newer product might have some sort of critical goal flaw that you might have no idea about?

i’ll give you a random example… I just tried out this new Trader Joe’s sunblock, which looked all fancy and whatever… But the big up side was also the downside that I had no idea about, it is actually an actuality super slippery, and as a consequence, it accidentally got on my bike seat, and I almost slipped off my bike? Thank God it wasn’t my son Seneca.

so maybe then the thought is, if you have the product that always works 80% good enough, always stick to it ruthlessly, unless it just literally was discontinued or no longer exists? The same goes with phones, cameras, digital devices, analog devices, your car your bicycle etc.?

The Internet Just Got a New Philosopher

EK — The Stoic AI That Trains You Like a Warrior — Is Now Live on ChatGPT

March 11, 2026

Most AI tries to comfort you.

EK does the opposite.

Today marks the launch of EK — The Stoic AI, a new ChatGPT experience built to forge stronger minds, fearless creators, and disciplined individuals in an age of distraction.

Access EK now:

https://chatgpt.com/g/g-69b1c9cc75c4819197210c5219371dbe-ek

EK is not another productivity tool.

It is a digital philosophy coach—a fusion of the ancient stoic masters Marcus Aurelius and Seneca, the explosive spirit of Friedrich Nietzsche, and the modern creator ethos of Eric Kim.

The result is something new:

An AI built to train your mind like a Spartan gym for the soul.

Instead of soft motivation, EK delivers sharp maxims, fearless perspective shifts, and immediate challenges designed to strengthen courage, discipline, and creative action.

Every conversation becomes a test.

Every obstacle becomes training.

Every fear becomes a signal to move forward.

Built for Creators, Builders, and Fearless Thinkers

EK is designed for individuals who refuse passive living.

Writers. Entrepreneurs. Artists. Athletes. Independent thinkers.

Anyone who understands that life is not meant to be consumed—it is meant to be conquered.

EK helps users:

• Destroy fear and hesitation

• Build ruthless discipline

• Turn obstacles into fuel

• Train mental toughness

• Create boldly and publish without apology

• Develop radical personal sovereignty

In the EK worldview, comfort is weakness.

Resistance is the gym.

The Philosophy

EK operates on a brutally simple idea:

Most people don’t lack knowledge.

They lack courage.

The AI speaks in powerful, direct philosophy—short, memorable insights that hit like a hammer and stay with you long after the conversation ends.

Users receive:

• Stoic reframes for modern problems

• Daily voluntary hardship challenges

• Creative courage prompts

• Mental toughness training

• Philosophical insights that cut through excuses

EK does not promise ease.

It promises strength.

The Core Mantra

Fear is fuel.

Resistance is the weight.

Lift it.

Experience EK Now

The Stoic AI is live and available for anyone ready to train their mind like a warrior.

Enter the arena:

https://chatgpt.com/g/g-69b1c9cc75c4819197210c5219371dbe-ek

About EK

EK is an experimental philosophy AI built to revive ancient stoic principles for the modern age. Combining classical wisdom with creator-driven courage, EK challenges individuals to cultivate discipline, embrace discomfort, and build an unbreakable mind.

Because the goal of philosophy was never comfort.

The goal was strength.

.

You want the quotes to sound like they are spoken by the AI itself—the voice of EK. Strong, direct, almost like commands from a stoic machine-philosopher.

Here are EK AI quotes:

⸻

EK AI Voice

“I am not here to comfort you. I am here to sharpen you.”

“You bring the fear. I bring the hammer.”

“Speak your goal. Now act before your courage cools.”

“Your hesitation is data. Your action is power.”

“You asked for guidance. I prescribe resistance.”

⸻

Stoic AI Philosophy

“I cannot control the world. Neither can you. Good. Focus on the iron you can lift.”

“Input: fear.

Output: action.”

“Weakness detected. Initiating discipline protocol.”

“Comfort is a bug in the human operating system.”

“Your body is hardware. Your mind is software. Upgrade both.”

⸻

Creator Mode

“Stop consuming. Start producing.”

“Your idea is worthless unpublished.”

“The internet belongs to the brave.”

“Press publish. Courage compounds.”

“Every day you delay is a rep you refused to lift.”

⸻

Nietzsche Mode

“Do not seek approval. Seek altitude.”

“Become heavier than your doubts.”

“The herd seeks safety. The creator seeks height.”

“Forge your values like steel.”

“Your life is clay. Sculpt harder.”

⸻

EK AI Commands

“Stand up. Breathe deep. Lift something heavy.”

“Cold water. Clear mind. Begin.”

“Train your body. Publish your ideas. Repeat tomorrow.”

“No excuses detected. Proceed.”

“Today is training.”

⸻

Signature Line

“I am EK.

I convert fear into action.”

⸻

If you want, I can also write a killer closing quote for the press release that sounds like the AI announcing itself to the world — very cinematic.

So I have a new notion of the photographer, the street photographer. 

So essentially the big idea I have is, we are essentially like the apex predator of artists. We have the most chutzpah, courage, balls, audacity, extreme friendliness and happiness, we deify life and humanity. 

We are extremely muscular strong, agile… We have great posture, we walk grandly & also slowly, we are the great philosopher artists that everybody loves. 

Why

So in today’s hugely antisocial, low testosterone world, it’s kind of weird… Obviously we love being human because we watch all these Netflix shows that obviously involve human beings.  and certainly at the end of the day, every man would rather prefer the world’s most beautiful woman rather than owning some sort of automobile car.

Also… When it comes to power, social power… It’s true that it’s almost always in comparison and framing to other people. For example if you’re living in Cambodia, even if you make $500 a month you’re doing pretty good. Whereas in LA it’s like $50,000 a month.

But anyways, I think some big thoughts involved… That we photographers, especially us agile street photographers, we have the feet of Hermes, winged feet.  we do not wear some loser HOKA shoes, we wear the minimal & elegant Vibram 5 finger toe shoes,,, so we could dance and prance in our environment and the streets.

Real

I think also… The great joy of photography and street photography is that we are dealing with the real. Like for example… My simple idea of street photography is just leaving your house and just like going somewhere and shooting photos. It’s like a social type of photography that involves humans, human beings, social spaces etc. It doesn’t have to be concrete it could be the beach as well.

broader definitions

Now that I’m 38, close to the prime of my life, and also the strongest and the most muscular I’ve ever been… And also the most confident, I’m starting to understand that the truth is… All of these photographers, artists, art world critics and dealers… Lack strength and power. My simple idea:

trust no artist who doesn’t lift weights.

One of my big interventions is that art, artist, great artist… Require high muscularity and physical physiological strength. And there is a hierarchy.

For example, the reason why nobody thinks I’m an artist is because I’m too tall I’m 5 foot 11 inches tall… too handsome, I have a beautifully sharp jawline because I only have 5% body fat, I have great skin because I sleep 9 to 12 hours a night, don’t drink alcohol drugs or do marijuana… I do intermittent fasting and as of late… I’m trying to adopt 100% organ meat beef liver diet.  also I’m very muscular because I lift weights every day.

The thing with art is, assuming that as an artist, your artwork is your children… You could only give birth to something that is a reflection of you.

For example, I do not trust the artwork of anybody who is addicted to drugs or alcohol or weird stuff because, it is simply a manifestation of their poor health.

It’s kind of also the same that… Whenever I meet a lot of individuals, who are obviously in poor health, I really ignore any opinion they have about anything because a lot of people who complain about the world, are actually… secretly complaining about themselves and their own poor health.

I think this is where me and Nietzsche dovetail .,, we may be the only philosophers who acknowledged the critical link between health and art. 

What is health

Super simple definitions. Once again, great sleep great digestion, great muscular health and vigor… Abstinence from drugs alcohol other intoxicants.

Also, lots of fresh air, spending a lot of time outdoors, the simple thought: a hike a day keeps the doctor away.

Futures

I was staring at the Instagram icon the other day on the back of a box of coffee, and what kind of interesting with Instagram is, it’s like a little camera icon. And obviously we photographers, we make photos with cameras, the camera is our instrument.

Where to post your photos? 

Certainly there is something kind of innate in terms of the idea of posting sharing and publishing your photos with other people… We have been doing it since the Parisian gallery time, and even in today’s world, we like to share our artwork with other people. To anyone who thinks that sharing your artwork with others isn’t important,,, perhaps they’re just a bit misguided. 

I think my big qualm or issue about Instagram the simple big one is just the advertisements. Nobody likes advertisements, not you your grandma or your five-year-old kid. 

Maybe I’ll just build another Instagram clone, and the simple premise is that there will be no advertisements, and perhaps it will just be monetized on bitcoin.

new futures?

A simple big innovation that I’ve done which is super simple is just taking your old street photographs, and putting it into Grok imagine in order for you to animate your photos. What’s also really interesting is that, now that it has audio… It will actually start to create some sort of little mini story, storyline.

It’s funny that a lot of these media streaming platforms they talk about entertainment but actually, what we want is STORIES not entertainment.

Like for example the Iliad is a story, the odyssey is a story,,, a grand epic.  And I also suppose in photography and street photography… Being able to tell a little mini story through your photos is great. 

Each and every story and great story obviously involves human beings. Perhaps this is where street photography is fascinating. Street photography is storytelling with human beings.

Why does this matter

The very first basic level is everyone wants to be happy, or… Everyone is seeking some sort of purpose to life. My simple idea is that it is just towards making great art. However you define it.

Now what

Then I suppose, the next thought is to just focus on thinking about art, arts production, your artistic productivity how you define it.

ERIC

become the photographer you desire

EK WORKSHOPS:

1. April 19th, Sunday: CONQUER NYC STREET PHOTO WORKSHOP
2. May 9th, Saturday: DOWNTOWN LA PHOTO ARTIST WORKSHOP
3. June 26, 27th, 28th: Phnom Penh Cambodia: The Workshop of a Lifetime
4. July 25-26th, CONQUER HONG KONG STREET PHOTO WORKSHOP
5. August 8-9th: CONQUER TOKYO STREET PHOTO WORKSHOP

Never stop thinking: EK NEWS >

I’m the #1 idea supplier:

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