So I have a pretty big idea: the general idea is that, more so than we know it… We are heavily motivated by hormones, whether hormonal responses to the direct sun, sun exposure… Maybe to the extreme heat and cold, hormonal responses being around other human beings, hormonal responses from films media video games music and even art artwork colors… also from photography street photography? Also responses from AI, market news and price movements, etc?

Why this matters

I think trying to crack the motivation code is very very interesting and tricky, like for example… I’ve discovered one of the greatest epiphanies is… In any sort of insight or clarity that I get after one rep Max lift attempt… is perhaps the best way to approach things. For example, I try to avoid doing any market or bitcoin related stuff, until after my workout and lift. why?

First, in terms of market movements whether up or down or whatever… Market sentiment… I almost feel like it is 99% hormonal. And perhaps the secret of longevity as an investor is… Not letting hormones hijack your investment strategies or tactics. 

For example, if you are a Zen investor… In the ideal world, if the price goes up or down you are mostly indifferent or unchanged. And the tricky thing is, and this is a stoic principle,,, to both… Not to become too dismayed when the price goes down, but also… Not feeling too much joy or euphoria when it goes up. Why? Then the hormonal trap becomes this:

you become an emotional and hormonal slave to the markets.

In some ways ideally you almost never look at market news or prices… And you just dedicate your time and your efforts to weightlifting, philosophy, writing reading and thinking etc. And your investment strategy could just be “set it and forget it”. 

Why this matters

I think, everything we know about hormones in terms of motivation and reward what not… Is probably very oversimplified. For dopamine serotonin cortisol whatever. I’m sure like 300 years from now, we’re going to discover and uncover there’s like at least 1000 more hormones involved to motivation movement, being outside etc.

Anyways, the first principle I think is, bodily movement and engagement with the world, the desire to lift weights, be happy joyful and gay, to be affable and Social, to love the company of others and being around others, to be a productive happy artist, writer and pinker… To always feel glad and full of vigor during the day, sleeping deeply at night, waking up the next day feeling refreshed.

hormonal foods

My new thought is, in terms of how we prioritize our food and diet… It seems like the only logical strategy is to prioritize foods which boost your hormones like testosterone, which is probably beef liver, to essentially consume more organ meats, dietary cholesterol etc. And to not consume anything which hijacks your hormones like sugar, simple starches, fake artificial sweeteners, other weird stuff.

sleep and rest

If you think about your body like you’re a cyber truck or an iPhone… Perhaps the best way to recharge is, to just take a power nap and prioritize your sleep! For example, I wonder if the big idea is sleeping well and deeply, and also napping, is just genuinely uplifting for your hormones, and your body?

So I was thinking about this morning… I do not envy the life of any big tax CEO because they simply have no control over their lives. Like for example, the Mark Zuckerberg or Elon Musk wanted to go on like a 5 hour hike in the middle of the day, not attend any meetings, they certainly could not. Maybe Jack Dorsey could, but I’m sure he even he has some sort of obligations.

First, if you run some sort of publicly treated corporation, you cannot have ultimate freedom because… Once again you are at the whims of your shareholders. Ideally, is best to run like a private company or enterprise, in which perhaps you cannot scale and grow as large, but… You have control over your life.

the ethics of self-development

So I think the equation that we currently have in modern society is, it is virtuous to focus on self-development for the sake of empowering other people. I think that’s like a pretty good idea… However, one is not permitted to simply focus on self-development for the sake of self-development. For example, if you wanted to hike and work out for like eight hours a day, and not benefit anyone else but yourself, this is seen as “ selfish”, perhaps excessive, and or a waste of time.

why this makes sense

To focus on your own self development, and to do things to develop yourself with your mind body your soul whatever… seems to be the most honest way that you could focus on autotelic use of your time your life and your energy. Why? I think most of us have enough self wisdom and self knowledge to guide ourselves, in terms of what is good for us what isn’t good for us, how to protect our time our energy our attention etc. And I think what happens is… When 90-95% of your energy your time your focus is spent dedicated on serving others, you are truly missing out on the most important asset which is yourself. 

Does and or can the self scale?

Maybe with AI… ChatGPT or grok, if you are feeding the machine with the digital view… And having reinforcement learning on itself, then maybe, but I don’t think that’s really the goal.

For example, you can max out on eating beef liver a day, getting your 10 hours of sleep, hiking and working out for five hours a day, doing hot yoga, riding your bike whatever… And your daily activity will certainly not help 1 billion people. But is that the goal?

Yourself and your family

I think the simple clarity of once you have a child is, any and every ounce of time resources or whatever dedicated to the development of your child is indefinitely worth it. Same thing goes with empowering your spouse, and your own household. My honest thought is, to simply even take care of your household it is enough time and work and effort and resources… Let alone yourself.

Therefore I think the simple self reinforcing loop is this:

Max out helping yourself, developing yourself, growing yourself and prioritizing yourself.… And then that energy will naturally flow to your kid your wife your household.

Then, that flywheel will percolate to others the rest of society etc. 

Acting upon enthusiasm not fear

So I think the first big idea is, with anything in life… Always follow enthusiasm, only do that which you are enthusiastic about, ignore or do not do things that you are unenthusiastic about. 

My general idea is, the world is big enough in which all of the social economic needs of everybody will be met through mutual cooperation if everyone simply followed what they were enthusiastic about. That is, everybody unlocking their own archimedes lever in terms of what they are enthusiastic about, rather than follow some sort of external measures of something else?

anti-success

Having reached all of the external markers of success in modern day society, I could say that… At the end of the day, the only thing which truly matters is your own autotelic sense of self motivation, and for me, my ultimate pleasure is waking up every single day with a strong sense of enthusiastic imagine a life in which, to go to sleep every single night, extremely grateful for the day, and you go to sleep excited for the next day, like a kid going to sleep before the night of Christmas.

where does enthusiasm come from?

My first idea is, typically… You must spend more time subtracting external sources of information and media, no matter how good or bad. Typically I think the only things worth reading are at least 100 years old, ideally 200 300, or 2000 years old. The Iliad and Odyssey by Homer, might be the only useful manuals in terms of human nature?

I also suppose that, spending intermittent time living abroad from your own mother country is always useful because you start to realize how ridiculous a lot things are back home, and when you open up a novel perspective, there always seems to be some good clarity that comes about.

each and day is different 

The best plan is no plan. Especially once you have kids, to treat each and every single day like a blank slate day is wise because, you unlock infinite scalability in terms of your day. 

The privilege of being spontaneous only comes around if you have nothing planned.

To have a plan beforehand is seen as prudent and wise, however it is not because you truly understand the nature of reality and the universe, you will know clearly that, with chance randomness and chaos, a lot of unforeseen things arise whether opportunistic or not, at the most random moments. Therefore, to cultivate emptiness is wise.

the body and sleep and food and fitness

To be enthusiastic involves other people being part of society, because… You always have to be enthusiastic towards somebody towards a concept that involves other humans. Enthusiasm is sociological.

Also… Maximum physical and physiological activity during the day, even if you’re like a high-powered tech CEO, the best role model is like a Jack Dorsey, who essentially is like an off the grid Zen digital monk, like the ideal idea is if you have to do meetings or phone calls or whatever, to just do them all day while hiking around in the mountains, and also… Being very selective on not getting disturbed?

don’t follow rationality

We have targets I think is also not a good idea because… You’re inquiring your measure of success and enthusiasm based on something external that you cannot control. Even enthusiasm itself, is very elusive because you cannot force yourself to be enthusiastic. But perhaps you could force yourself to not engage in things you’re not enthusiastic about? 

My general recipe is, especially on the weekends, do like a digital detox, only use your phone for like Google Maps, maximum time in the great outdoors wilderness, tending to your garden, weightlifting outside in the open sun etc. I mean it’s pretty simple, most people suffer from insomnia not because they are insomniacs, but because they are simply not engaged in enough arduous outdoor physical labor. Like on Saturday or Sunday just experiment, spend the entire day hiking or working out outside or at the beach or in the mountains or whatever… You’re going to sleep better that night.

the body and productivity

My formula is simple: better to do 30 minutes of insanely productive work when you are fit and well rested, rather than 12 hours of sleep deprived work.

In fact, the greatest blessing of AI is, if done correctly… You can selectively reduce the amount of work that you do, not increase it. I think the negative trend is, now that a lot of people have AI… They keep filling in their gaps with more AI related work rather than simply engaging on their own bodies?

In fact, the ideal is you have your AI slave working for you eight hours a day, and then you just use the whole day, walking around working out thinking, being artistic and philosophical, being social, grateful towards life?

enthusiasm channeled into your work

Have I ever met a happy painter artist or photographer? No. Therefore, the artwork they produce is like… Extremely dark and negative not even in a good way. And this is infectious, it is like painting COVID-19 on a canvas, and having other people exposed to it, catching their own negative soul?

surrounding yourself with positive souls

This also seems obvious, if your job is a trash collector, you’re probably going to smell like trash all day, or if your job is sewage, same thing.

Assuming you do not like the smell of trash sewage it is probably wise not to engage with individuals or places or societies or clubs or Internet places which are metaphorical sewage plants. Like for example, social media… Is like everyone consuming feces, and complaining about how sick they are and how much they hate consuming feces, but they are addicted to it like dopamine and keep doing it. 

Filters

Assuming that you’re an investor, certainly some connection to outside news and information is critical, and a little bit of this is where you’re using AI could be useful as a filter because at least you have some agency over it, not all. 

What’s also difficult is… You could have insight and foresight about something, and be correct… But the time span might be like 4 to 10 years. So then, being a short term trader… doesn’t seem worth it in terms of the payoff because, there is so much macroeconomic things you cannot control? Not even AI could predict black Swan events. 

Enjoying the process rather than outcomes

I’ll give you example… Some people get into hiking and walking or whatever because of a fitness but I do it simply out of an existential way, like… My body and soul genuinely loves hiking? And I do not desire any sort of outcome from it?

The same thing goes with weightlifting… To lift weights is almost like clearing out my bowels on daily basis, it will always be advantageous and feel good.

the hormones of enthusiasm

If you’re simply munching on sod all day, certainly your hormones will be depressed, and your body will not find any enthusiasm or motivation. enthusiasm comes from your stomach and your leg legs. 

Beef, pork ribs, fatty chicken, beef liver and organ meats, beef ribs, eggs including the yolk, fatty salmon avocados and things which deeply nourish you, will certainly help power your enthusiasm towards life.

empowering the human race

It doesn’t matter if you are a hermit, a philosopher, an entrepreneur etc.… I think what we all strive towards is creating tools information and ideas to empower the human race.

Even with AI… All of the negative commentary is not useful because… Once again it is like fire… You could use it to cook your beef brisket, or you could use fire to burn down your house. Those who can most intelligently learn how to use the fire are the ones who shall thrive. 

Infinitely scalable growth?

I think the ultimate optimism in life is, assuming that maybe every day, you can grow one percent, or even half a percent, every single day, indefinitely? Like an infinitely scaleable kaizen approach? 

Success and progress is highly subjective, and I suppose it is injured through your own judgments. So maybe… The best way to judge yourself is not through numbers and metrics but, your own personal self assessment, like Warren Buffett says your inner scorecard?

ERIC

BUILD ON!

Time to conquer the world.

What if we thought, that the contented were of little worth? - nietzsche

I wonder… If we thought about life like battle, life as war… I wonder if actually… This would prime us in a more positive way to live life?

to be contented in life is actually quite easy

So there are certainly have been periods in my life in which I was like definitely 100% contented, 100% Zen, 100% drink well, no troubles in my mind no regrets, no concerns no nothing. Should be told, it’s pretty awesome… But, I don’t think that’s the purpose of life.

what does life want?

Life wants growth, desires challenges to overcome… But maybe the nuance is, being able to do it in a cheerful, joyful, gleeful type of way?

a plant or a tree is never content

A tree a weed a plant whatever… You do not lecture it to become content, and expected to stop growing at a certain point. Look at the California redwoods, I’m sure there’s a certain point in which they reached an extreme height, but it doesn’t stop growing, they keep going. And they keep competing with the other trees for ascendancy, because that which is closest to the top gets the most sunlight and opportunities to grow.

sustainable growth

I think the subtle nuance is, how do we keep growing in the sustained way, that is infinitely scalable, the gradual one percent to 3% Kaizen approach? 

I think habits in rituals are a good idea. Why? Like my friend Jeff says, there’s often a lot of “activation energy”, that goes into trying to do a thing, or to establish a new routine. For certain habits and routines which are conducive to your life, like biking your kid to school every day, going for a hike every day at the same time, lifting weights at around the same time, having certain rhythms of the day makes sense. Depending on where you live, and your schedule, there are certainly times which are more conducive to hiking, walking, lifting weights, etc.

sleep is sacred

I think we often sacrifice our for “opportunities,” or even things we are interested in. However it seems that the trade-off is almost never worth it. Whether good food, good fun, good company etc. A thing to note: even the gods sleep. 

Warrior training

It is impossible to think about going to war without having a warrior body. Like that one guy said, stronger people are harder to kill.

Also I had a thought that, the more physically and physiologically strong you are, actually… You tend to have more resilience when it comes to mental things. Inside a strong body is a strong mind. 

Even I think, Elon Musk would benefit highly by intermittent fasting, cutting out all alcohol and sedatives and stimulants, just sticking to black coffee, and going on the finest 100% carnivore organ meat beef liver diet.  if I was his personal trainer I will tell him to just do 15 minutes of heavy rack pulls a day, or my patented God lift. Observation that I make is after a good pump session, and I got all of these great hormonal activation in my body, I become more courageous, less fearful, more excited and joyful to take on anything.

life is a battlefield marathon

You don’t want to be that one Greek runner who ran quickly and just died. Assuming that you’re going to live another 80 years or so, how do you pace your training in your fitness and your health, your mind soul body to strengthen yourself to the maximum?

your greatest physique is yet to come

It’s kind of ridiculous how much money we spend on our phones, our vehicles, even our homes, and our clothing accessories etc.… And how little attention we put on our body. Even purchasing simple weightlifting equipment on titan.fitness is probably the best ROI for money. That and beef liver.

the human body of capitalism

I truly wise capitalist would consider that, his body is the ultimate bank account and investment vehicle. In fact if you want to become a better investor or trader, assuming that you have the most sublime physiology and body, you will make better decisions, more rooted on rationality, less on fear and loss aversion. 

I mean just think about it, let us assume that you only slept two hours last night and feel terrible… Versus you got a glorious 12 hours of sleep, got your morning weightlifting pump in… and you got a big decision to make in terms of trading or invest investing, which version of yourself will make the better decision?

I think the reason why we spend millions on Ferraris but nothing on our ourselves is because… We do not treat our body as a respectful, noble, worthy vehicle. I still think it is funny that in American Society, it is OK to flex your muscle car or your Lamborghini Ferrari, but considered poor manners to flex your topless muscles in public. It shows that we have more fetish for wealth and object objects than we have the human body.

The deception of shapes and forms

If you’re on the freeway and you see a guy in Lamborghini or Ferrari, you might think to yourself, wow that guy is probably way more happy and joyful than I am. But what if he just lost $300 million that day, he actually might be the most miserable man in the whole city or state, but you don’t know it.

And this is why I’m starting to think about… in Terms of life competition, are we trying to compete in order to become the happiest person alive?

Like I’ll example… Elon Musk is the wealthiest person alive but he actually might be the most miserable person alive. Or you could have modest wealth, and be the happiest person alive. And contrary to what Buddhist monks may say, it is better to be a free Spartan with moderate wealth, rather than a 100% free monk, with no wealth. 

The body is the source of all wisdom

What are thoughts and ideas? Perhaps vibrations and electrical impulses and hormonal shifts in our body blood our brain our legs etc. This is why after lifting an insanely heavyweight towards your maximum, you’re always going to be flooded with interesting thoughts:

lift first, get the ideas after.

This is also what I find interesting about hiking, walking on uneven surfaces, in nature… Your first start doing the hike, and then the thoughts come to you. It’s not you have ideas and then you want to go on a hike.

promoting better thinking

Getting around a city I really like riding a bike, especially a manual one because more blood flow to your legs means more blood flow to your brain? Once again, assuming you think, trade or invest for a living, then, prioritizing your physiology makes the most sense. Better to be a billionaire on a bicycle, rather than driving around in a loser Ferrari.

let your mind go fallow

I think ultimately in order to have interesting thoughts, let your mind go fallow. Subtract the news, stimulants, foreign ideas … start every day new and afresh, and see what thoughts come to you!

ERIC

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If this even gave you one interesting thought, feel free to forward to a friend!

ERIC

you weren’t meant for an easy life?

So, ,,, in this glorious life of ours, what do we do? How do we utilize it?

First, the point of life isn’t to die with the most ones and zeros in the grave. In fact, in theory… The best life is in which you die with zero? Zero dollars? And that while you were alive… The most intelligently leveraged your capital, towards the most noble ends?

the market as a battlefield

If you are a market participant, an investor a trader money manager, hedge fund manager whatever… The markets are our economic life blood. There is kind of a ridiculous amount of hormones and euphoria and blood and physiology which goes into the markets, my general thought is 99.999% of the population is not fit for it.

In fact, the best physiology for being an investor or trader or whatever is a life in which you sleep 12 hours night, free of anxiety… Kind of this cool calm stoic zen approach, almost like being an AI… In which you are taking intelligent risk calculations, pricing in potential failure, and also… The philosophy of risk, danger and reward?

dying on the battlefield

So for King Leonidas and his 300… Successor failure were not the markers of being a noble Spartan. Rather, it was about doing your duty, showing no cowardice or fear, and whether you lived or died, you left that up to the gods.

Now the problem is, considering the most investors and traders are men, we seem to stake our self-esteem our manliness, our self-worth on these numbers. Yet, the reason why this is not always a good idea is because nobody could control the markets, and courage and conviction and insight is all you got. Also nobody could time the market, not even God could time the market.

why even participate in the markets?

Market, marketing, the markets, technically, in terms of society… Society cannot function without a market, marketplace, metaphorical or literal. Grocery market, financial markets, etc.

 but the deeper philosophical question… Why even play the game, assuming the markets is a game, our play thing, etc.?

Investing as an autotelic thing?

So there are certain things that you do, for the sake of it, autotelic, auto like doing it for the self… telic like telos like why are you doing in the first place?

I suppose the first thought is, you gotta love the markets, rather than dread it? Like… You just enjoy doing the thing? And that the numbers isn’t really about becoming richer or poorer, and also not tied to self-esteem, but rather, inputs and outputs, and become more detached from the results?

living for today

I think what is built into investing is this baked incense of optimism for the future. Nobody would invest their money if they did not imagine a positive gain into the future.

Yet once again… I’m starting to think that investing is less about gains, and once again… More of an autotelic thing that you do for the sake of it? And because you’re playing long game, decades, like enjoy this game for the next 50 years… With a great cheerful mood and being able to sleep at night, how do you best approach this?

Taking control

So I think the problem is a lot of external things are designed to manipulate our emotions, rather than give us critical information. For example… News bitcoin news global politics, the more sensational and dramatic, the more engagement it gets. But that’s not good for you because… You’re just playing with your emotions.

One thing I realize with bitcoin prices, is that whenever I looked at the price it would negatively emotionally de calibrate me? Therefore I built bitcoin Zen, bitcoinzen.grok.me –> using GROK build, and I tried to design it in such a way that it still gives you critical information like the price, without all of the emotional manipulations? Some insights:

1. Precise numbers are not useful, round numbers are better
2. To write the numbers like written out long form rather than numbers is less emotional. For example “eighty thousand” rather than “80,000”
3. Don’t show red and green or colors, keep it all monochrome because colors manipulate us
4. Don’t show percentage gain or loss, once again these are anchors which manipulate us
5. Don’t read the news, all of the critical news information is already baked into the price of the commodity or asset. Typically prices are an indicator of current market heartbeat and pulse, how all of the market participants are currently feeling about the markets or a thing. And reading more news doesn’t necessarily give us more insight. In fact it’s probably the opposite… The less news you read, ideally none, will give you greater insight.

Physiology, fitness & finances

 I’m like probably the most straightedge person out there, no alcohol no medication no painkillers no sleep aids, no weed, etc. And I also hike every single day, ride my bike around a lot, lift very heavy weights every day, and still… In terms of physiology… Even I have the hardest time to remain Zen and calibrate myself? I have no idea how other people do it.

So the first idea I have is, before you do any finance related stuff… Make sure you get a good pump. Like, get your morning hike walk bike ride, weightlifting session, hot yoga in before you dive into anything capital related.

 this is my insight: assume like you slept a glorious 12 hours, you ate well, you have great mood lots of overflowing strength in your muscles, when you finally do jump into the markets, you could remain a little bit more cool and detached.

Also… If you did not sleep well the night prior, or your health feels poor or off… my great suggestion is force yourself not to do anything finance related that day. Instead, just try to get your fitness back in, eat 2 pounds of beef liver in the evening, a dozen eggs, maybe do some hot yoga or an ice bath, no stimulants or downers during the day, and try to get 8 to 12 hours of sleep. If you’re like a hard-core investor or traitor, the deal would actually be to sleep every single day at 6:30 PM, always get in your 12 hours of sleep, and be ready for the next day.

I think it is also wise to have a strict cut off time for market related activities. Maybe it is noon, 1 PM, 2 PM, or 3 PM your time? Giving yourself enough time to unwind before going to sleep?

identity, self-worth.

Your net worth is not your self-worth. I think the best way to judge yourself is, how great you feel in terms of your health, mood, physiology, and how great your body feels, and also how beautiful you look like in the mirror. My general thought is if you allocate 99% of your attention to your body, everything else will fall into place.

ERIC

Own yourself

To zen out, or get personal stoic EK training –> seek perhaps booking a 1:1 investment consulting session with me via this google form. If we are a good fit, I will reach out back to you. 


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Now what?

Philosophize on your body and physiology, … then all shall follow.

ERIC

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changing up your perception

So one thing you could do is change up your perception about things. What that means is, your sense of growth is often predicated on subjective measures. If you switch up how you judge yourself, then, there’s a greater sense of growth.

Every day is a new day, every day is day one?

Each and every day is new – Heraclitus

To always adopt this Zen like line of thinking is perhaps quite advantageous. Jeff Bezos said every day is day one.

I think naturalist it probably is not natural for humans to start each and every single day without anchoring yourself to the past. However if you look at kids, I think they are better at treating each and every single day as an exciting new day, without concern of the past the future, they really truly do cherish the present moment.

I think also what gets and keeps us human beings going is the sense of hoping optimism for the future. The general idea that the future will be a little bit more prosperous, well off, and abundant.

Certainly thinking optimistically is a huge benefit, but isn’t it perhaps more strategic to think of abundance in the present moment right now?

gratitude

Sometimes I’m a little bit on the fence about the gratitude practice. In some ways, gratitude towards life in a general sense is one of the greatest ways to live. The artist paints his joy and his respect for life on his easel, and also, the life affirming philosopher does the same thing with his or her thoughts.

Certainly to promote life is a virtue, in terms of getting married having kids, spreading love joy and abundance with others, also perhaps it is useful to think about life as a generalistic thing, to apply the idea of gratitude towards life in a general sense.

gratitude for your body

Perhaps the greatest measure of all things is your body your human body. If you are unwell unfit, sleeping two hours a night, I think it is physiologically impossible to feel happy joyful or optimistic about things. And this is the greatest challenge, how can a truly great entrepreneur remain joyful, gay, happy, retain his or her mental clarity, Zen, sleep 8 to 12 hours a night, exercise much every single day, lift weights, feast on beef liver, not feel any sort of dread, anxiety or stress or fear…?

the gay monster

better to be a gay monster than a sentimental bore – galiani

To choose happiness Joy optimism, joy, gaiety in the midst of even the most dark in troublesome things, with a grim smirk, dark humor is perhaps a virtue?

weightlifting is your Nirvana

Certainly a modern day times you are not at the front lines of a Spartan phalanx , and almost none of our physical virtues carryover into socio economic ones. Like generally speaking, being insanely fit and strong and beautiful doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re going to earn more income. In fact, it is kind of the opposite… To deny your body of natural things like water sunlight, walking movement, being in the great outdoors, eating while sleeping well, not medicating yourself, in order to just make yourself more productive and efficient like a machine, are all the antithesis of modern day society.

Perhaps the critical thought I have is, is this simply a byproduct of capitalism or is it simply something else?

the Tao of capital

Assuming that you’re not the slave of your job your company your capital… Capitalism could be the most beautiful thing in terms of liberating yourself with your own individual freedom and liberty. The ancient Spartans and most philosophers believed that truly, freedom, freedom of your mind body and soul were the greatest virtues. Not necessarily how much you could invent or contribute to economic progress.

economic progress for the sake of what

This is the really hard thing to think about… It is not more capital for the sake of capital… But, capital as it means to an end or toward something else… Like for example, Elon Musk is funneling and channeling all of his capital in order to get us to Mars and beyond, he’s not just building this company for the sake of building companies.

grand life task or mission?

I think for myself… Perhaps my grand life task is, to devote my intelligence my brain my body my soul towards uncovering new philosophical insights and discoveries about the body soul, life in general? To innovate and to experiment and to come up with practical tactical and strategic things which can help other others as they have helped myself?

ERIC

that which attempts to destroy me only makes me stronger – nietzsche

Some encouraging optimistic and motivational ideas:

First, it seems that the principle of life is to become stronger. And it seems that the most practical pragmatic idea of strength, is physiological, getting your 12 hours of sleep in a night, setting a strict 6:30 PM bedtime, and also… Maximizing your physical physiological activity during the day.

My idea of Nirvana is on a daily basis, going on at least one hike, one weightlifting session, and hot yoga. I think this is the holy Trinity of fitness.

why physiology?

Certainly without a body we don’t got nothing. The mind is a fiction, anything that the mind experiences is simply an offshoot of what the body is experiencing?

Example… Being about a month without my gym, physiologically I started to get super depressed. Physiological depression as manifested through not wanting to get out of bed, sleeping a lot but still not really having any desire to do anything during the day, I’m going to sleep, not really motivated for the next day or looking forward to the next day?

a physiological reset

I do not envy astronaut, who do not even have the privilege of experiencing gravity, being able to walk on the beautiful earth, see the sun, feel the warm UV rays against your bare skin, night and day cycles.

If you thinking about  fear anxiety depression, loneliness all of the main emotions, certainly they are based in the physiological. All of the hormones, I think maybe like 80% of it could be solved from physical activity, once again, the holy Trinity of fitness.

Now the problem is most people do not have the privilege of doing such a thing. Then my simple idea is, rather than revolving your life around work, revolve your work around fitness.

That could mean, try to go on a walk or a hike if you have a lunch break, early in the morning either do your weightlifting or your hot yoga, or after work in the evening, using that chance to do the weightlifting or the yoga.

capital goals

I’ve been thinking about the Odyssey, and how… Odysseus, suffering the worst ills of any mortal man, being separated from his Kingdom, his wife his son, his fertile land, his status and position, Ithaca, and his cattle wealth.

What’s really funny about ancient Greek times is, their measure of wealth was capital in terms of cattle, head of oxen. The big issue that Odysseus had was, being away for like 10 years, crying every single day at the shore, longing to go home… Suitors or essentially feasting on all of his cattle and auction every single night, and finally when he gets back to Ithaca, kills all of the suitors with his son, and realizes that he has essentially run out of cattle and his capital, then, he realized that he has to go on more raids with his son, in order to restock the cattle capital supply.

transform your body into the Bugatti

Seeing the new Bugatti, probably the most extreme and the most elegant beautiful car made of all time… Has kind of plunged my interest into Lamborghinis and even Ferraris to nil. The general idea is that it has the most extreme proportions of any car made, and is even lower to the ground, and even wider than the track only Bugatti bolide.

Menna had me thinking about the human body, what if we could create and craft our own human body like the ultimate sculpture, the ultimate extreme elegant beautiful powerful proportions, as well as gaining the most physical physical psychological strength, aKin to horsepower and torque in a car?

My new extreme challenge is to lift either 3000 kg or 3000 pounds, whichever I hit first. What I love about weightlifting is that, 100% of the result is within your realm of control, unlike investing in which market forces is something you cannot really control.

what do men desire

A simple thought is, probably the greatest marker of success in America as Amanda is to own a home, have a loving wife, and loving kids. Beyond that, truth be told I don’t think you really need anything else.

Even if you’re a lonely single man, I think the goal of trying to find a wife, and have kids, is probably the most meaningful goal. The house thing is actually a little bit optional, but having a wife and kids, I think is a simple antidote to male loneliness or purpose in life.

physiological Joy

Everyone wants to feel joy and happiness and whatever, but the truth is all of that Joy is stemmed in the physical. The physical realm.

People want financial gains, but maybe what they really want is the physiological high that you get, which is accompanied by a financial gain. And therefore my insight is, even with monetary capital gains, it isn’t about the goal target number, but rather, the joy of seeing change overtime? And this is where maybe it’s better think about percentages and percentage gained rather than the actual dollar amount?

The same thing goes with weightlifting, I think with weightlifting, the joy isn’t actually how much you could lift but, steadily seeing your personal records go up.

What’s funny with weightlifting is everyone has these goals in terms of like hitting two plates three plates four plate plates five plates, six plate seven plates, etc. Kind of like with investing, the goal to save up $250, 500 bucks, thousand dollars, 10,000, 100,000, 200,000, 500,000, 1 million 2 million 5, million 10 million etc.

But once again, and this is where kaizen capital and kaizen approaches are interesting –>

the goal is not to hit a target round number, but rather once again, steadily overtime seeing a regular but consistent tiny incremental growth?

So in terms of physiological Joy, it’s probably better to see your portfolio go up 5% every single day, rather than a sudden 200% gain in a single day.

Maybe also the same thing with weightlifting, the goal isn’t to lift 1000 pounds it is to see that you have no limits?

ERIC.

Why so serious?

Actually, if you look at it… To be too serious about things, is perhaps like some sort of thing we are taught and socialize to be? To become grown-up or “adult“, is, to become morose,  dark, emo, taking things and life too seriously.

study children, and kids

If you look at kids, they don’t take anything too seriously. To them, life is simple, play, and opportunity! Even when kids get upset, they get upset for short periods of time, then quickly get over it, and it escapes their consciousness. It does not linger.

recovery

If you think about games, like video games, points, etc.… If your character dies, or whatever, we don’t take it too seriously, it might be a little bit, annoying that we sunk so much time into it, and that we have to start over again… But often, there is a simple joy to start a new character, a new class, a new something? 

A game without points?

If you think about Calvin and Hobbes, “Calvin ball”–> the general idea is… The game in which we played… Not to keep track with points, or numbers or whatever… But just to simply enjoy the game?

The philosophy of creation

The purpose of life to create?

The philosophy of wealth & power?

Wealth simply as a means to creation? And once you create something… You feel a surge of power? 

Always make it ever more, even more extreme?

Make it into its own character? Story telling

Scenarios?

The new Bugatti destrier–> Bugatti or nothing >

Whatever motivates you, irregardless of how strange, is good?

Every day, try to save a little bit more time

It’s just part of the routine, the same old routine,,, is good… doesn’t even matter the routine will always be a little bit different?

The invincible god

The goal!

ERIC

After-thrusters

Keep practicing, never stop practicing?

Life

To simply create one thing a day and share it every day… Maybe this is the purpose of life?

ERIC

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Why so serious?

Actually, if you look at it… To be too serious about things, is perhaps like some sort of thing we are taught and socialize to be? To become grown-up or “adult“, is, to become morose,  dark, emo, taking things and life too seriously.

study children, and kids

If you look at kids, they don’t take anything too seriously. To them, life is simple, play, and opportunity! Even when kids get upset, they get upset for short periods of time, then quickly get over it, and it escapes their consciousness. It does not linger.

recovery

If you think about games, like video games, points, etc.… If your character dies, or whatever, we don’t take it too seriously, it might be a little bit, annoying that we sunk so much time into it, and that we have to start over again… But often, there is a simple joy to start a new character, a new class, a new something? 

Health, chronic health & investing?

So, if I could promise you $600 million, but the strings attached are chronic depression, physiological depression, no desire to leave the house in the morning, no excitement or joy of waking up in the morning, going to sleep at night not knowing what the point of tomorrow is… Also aimless loss without a sense of purpose in life, would you take it?

the link between health physiological health and investing?

So I think a big connection that people do not make is the link between health physiological health and invest investing. Honestly, I might think that close to 99% of investing is simply physiological? 

For example, I’m sure there’s like 1 million cocktails of hormones that exist in your body when it comes to investing in terms of dopamine, serotonin, cortisol, and certainly there are a lot of things that does to your heart rate, adrenaline levels, etc. I think that’s also why the majority of investors and traders tend to be men… More testosterone, greater sensitivity to risk taking? 

Zen spartan stoic

So it seems that the truth is, in America and the Western world… We worship capital, capital is our new god. Even one way you could think about it is bitcoin as a digital god. 

If we take it back to ancient times, ancient sport times, it seems that the ancient Spartans only cared for freedom, individual liberty, and pride and glory in themselves. There were strict laws prohibiting amassing too much wealth and capital, and even each Spartan was restricted to just one plot of land, nothing more nothing less.

the nature of man

The desire to always want more, maybe it is a feature not a bug?

The more I get involved in wellness, Buddhist, Christian circles… Too much focus on gratitude gratitude practices, saying that desiring more is the root of all evil blah blah blah, I’m starting to get more and more suspicious of this line of thinking.

I think actually… It is a virtue to desire more. Otherwise, we would not have self driving Teslas and Waymo’s, and we would all still be munching acorns in a cave somewhere.

with greater upsides come greater downsides?

Nietzsche has an interesting idea–> in order to make man more “good”, you must also conversely make him more evil? Do you think that, we could have one without the other is nonsense?

Similarly speaking, I had a painful thought:

what if in order to maximize or Joy happiness, gratitude to life etc.… We must also conversely increase our suffering pain, all the bad stuff?

And that actually, if used correctly, maximizing your anxiety depression, and the depressive downward physiology things, we’re actually necessary for a greater upside?

life is all comparison and framing

What is more painful? Going from $1 billion down to $100 million, we’re going from $1 million down to $600,000?

Also, what’s a better situation? Going from $100 million down to $10 million, or, going from earning 60,000 a year to $120,000 a year?

We humans tend to always frame everything, and pin success or failure based on past anchoring numbers and or experiences. 

Making health your prime focus 

I think everyone has a different definition and or, way to health… What that means to them or how it is manifested in them, therefore, it seems… If you just prioritize your health, and then get your health in order… Everything else will take care of itself?

ERIC

So, if I could promise you $600 million, but the strings attached are chronic depression, physiological depression, no desire to leave the house in the morning, no excitement or joy of waking up in the morning, going to sleep at night not knowing what the point of tomorrow is… Also aimless loss without a sense of purpose in life, would you take it?

the link between health physiological health and investing?

So I think a big connection that people do not make is the link between health physiological health and invest investing. Honestly, I might think that close to 99% of investing is simply physiological? 

For example, I’m sure there’s like 1 million cocktails of hormones that exist in your body when it comes to investing in terms of dopamine, serotonin, cortisol, and certainly there are a lot of things that does to your heart rate, adrenaline levels, etc. I think that’s also why the majority of investors and traders tend to be men… More testosterone, greater sensitivity to risk taking? 

Zen spartan stoic

So it seems that the truth is, in America and the Western world… We worship capital, capital is our new god. Even one way you could think about it is bitcoin as a digital god. 

If we take it back to ancient times, ancient sport times, it seems that the ancient Spartans only cared for freedom, individual liberty, and pride and glory in themselves. There were strict laws prohibiting amassing too much wealth and capital, and even each Spartan was restricted to just one plot of land, nothing more nothing less.

the nature of man

The desire to always want more, maybe it is a feature not a bug?

The more I get involved in wellness, Buddhist, Christian circles… Too much focus on gratitude gratitude practices, saying that desiring more is the root of all evil blah blah blah, I’m starting to get more and more suspicious of this line of thinking.

I think actually… It is a virtue to desire more. Otherwise, we would not have self driving Teslas and Waymo’s, and we would all still be munching acorns in a cave somewhere.

with greater upsides come greater downsides?

Nietzsche has an interesting idea–> in order to make man more “good”, you must also conversely make him more evil? Do you think that, we could have one without the other is nonsense?

Similarly speaking, I had a painful thought:

what if in order to maximize or Joy happiness, gratitude to life etc.… We must also conversely increase our suffering pain, all the bad stuff?

And that actually, if used correctly, maximizing your anxiety depression, and the depressive downward physiology things, we’re actually necessary for a greater upside?

life is all comparison and framing

What is more painful? Going from $1 billion down to $100 million, we’re going from $1 million down to $600,000?

Also, what’s a better situation? Going from $100 million down to $10 million, or, going from earning 60,000 a year to $120,000 a year?

We humans tend to always frame everything, and pin success or failure based on past anchoring numbers and or experiences. 

Never stop stacking:

So I thought that I have with capital… What does capital want? It wants to keep indefinitely stacking. It is like the principle of growth.

I suppose the tricky thing is, thinking and considering… It is best to make micro gains indefinitely, rather than longer duration intermittent big gains?

Capital gains and physiological gains?

When you have a capital gain… You also feel a physiological gain? 

Then perhaps the inside is… It isn’t the capital gain we are seeking but the physiological high and gain? 

First do the physiological stuff, THEN do the financial stuff?

So there is a big hormonal surge which happens when you’re kind of doing anything financial money related whether it be investing stocks checking bitcoin prices whatever, there are two components: first, the technological issue and designed issue, if you see red on the screen, you’re going to feel the danger response. Red is the color of blood.

Pro tip, whenever you do anything finance or financial related, I always turn my iPad or iPhone into mono chrome mode so I am less affected by the physiological response of seeing red or green numbers.

Bitcoin zen

So a very very interesting use of grok build,,, essentially this amazing game changing feature in which, with Grok, the $30 a month version, you can instantly build and deploy a website that runs directly in your browser!

I built this bitcoin Zen website app, and the general idea is, certainly knowing the price of bitcoin and or your stocks is useful… but how to get the upside of knowing what the price is, without the emotional toil?

Check it out >

Zen capitalism, zen capitalist

Unaffected by losses or gains? 

Perhaps the principle of being a Zen investor or Zen capitalist is, you become unaffected by losses or gains, … and then the question becomes, what’s the point of stacking capital in the first place?

physiological happiness and wellness is the goal?


What’s the point of having $100 million in your capital stack if physically and physiologically you’re not joyful and happy?

Therefore it seems that the simple goal is physiological happiness over all!

ERIC

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So I thought that I have with capital… What does capital want? It wants to keep indefinitely stacking. It is like the principle of growth.

I suppose the tricky thing is, thinking and considering… It is best to make micro gains indefinitely, rather than longer duration intermittent big gains?

why do we have brains?

So… The purpose of having a brand isn’t too “think“… Rather, to coordinate movement. Being a biped , having two eyes for depth perception, balance, etc.

a hike a day keeps the doctor away

Now that I’m back in LA… I almost tried to religiously do my daily morning walk hike. To me it’s almost essential and critical?

to start thinking, start hiking

Assuming that thoughts, having interesting thoughts is our supreme joy and passion, then… Hiking and walking seems critical.

I’ve discovered for myself, walking around the block on flat surfaces is insanely boring, going on a walk in a slightly hilly area, with natural dirt and rocks, windy paths and elevation is 1 trillion times more interesting.

Even with homes, assuming you want to buy a house or something, it actually seems that the best piece of property is to buy it on a small hill or a small slope or elevation, it doesn’t need to be like super high up on top of the hills, but, living on a slightly windy road, with a bit of a elevation and a view seems preferable

Why? I think there is this uncanny Valley, of flat things surfaces elevations without any irregularity. Nothing in nature is 100% flat, if you’re on a hike even if you’re on a relatively flat surface, each step is a little bit different. With flat concrete, each step is the same.

Wellness?

A big thought I’ve been thinking about is in regards to wellness.

First, nobody on the planet wants to be unwell. So it seems that as a general tactic, trying to eradicate wellness from your mind body and soul seems to be the first step forward. However, the big thought is: once you are well, then what?

A useful thing to do is once you are well, helping other people who are unwell, which seems to be like Christian Jesus ethics.

More interesting on orthodox I have is, assuming you are 100% well, then, is the goal to become super well? Like… Rather than thinking about wellness as like a scale from 0 to 10, thinking of it like wellness… Like you could stack it indefinitely?

For example, let us say that zero is misery and unwellness, and 10 is at a point in which you have a clear mind, happy thoughts, you feel joyful, glad and clear… No mental disturbances or issues etc. Like some sort of perfect Zen tranquility. Then once you reach this goal… Could you then, increase your wellness level to hit 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 30 and beyond?

Like if you’re thinking about a video game… Like if life were like Diablo, you start off at level zero or level one, and the ideas you do not max out at level 10. That you can indefinitely increase your levels?

Never stop growing:

A very simple way to think about life is about growth. Like very very simple… getting married having kids, growing your kids growing your family etc.

I also had this idea of completion of being the goal. For example… When is nature ever “complete”? She keeps growing, no matter what.

Your body

I think one of the greatest virtues of building your body is it is more or less 100% in your control. You’re gonna decide what to consume what not to consume, whether to partake in physical activity weightlifting every day, hiking, putting on a weight vest etc. Sleep is a difficult one… But also, certainly there are certain things that you could do like turn off your phone or devices after 3 PM, if you have insomnia, reading paperback books, or in the evening, maybe getting into swimming or hot sun or cold plunges etc., sugar starches carbohydrates alcohol marijuana etc. Even this is an interesting idea, I think the reason why we are so into coffee and caffeine is we feel like we must always be productive, but now that we have the AI… And AI will be 1 trillion times more productive than us, then, we treat coffee and caffeine more like a luxury, rather than a stimulant to be productive. 

Feedback

Very simple idea, lift weights every single day, go heavy, one repetition maximum, and eat a shit load of meat beef, beef liver organs etc.… And try to sleep 8 to 12 hours a night, certainly you will see your muscles and your vascularity improve.  and the reason why this is so joyful is because, you’re essentially staring at yourself in the mirror all day, so any improvements you’ve seen in your body are immediate and rewarding.

Life as a video game

Typically we think that video games are bad. And for the most part, any sort of media or thing which discourages you to move and forces you to sit for long periods of time or certainly detrimental. Maybe an only type of video game which might be good is like having some sort of virtual reality goggles or augment to reality goggles on,.. and running around being fully physical in the real world?

Anyways… I think we tend to think of capital, capital accumulation also like a game. And certainly our self-esteem does get tied to this game.

Also what I discovered is… Maybe with capital, the goal is not to have a certain target and hit it, but rather, slowly, “kaizen capitalism” or “kaizen capital”–> it is more rewarding and motivating to slowly stack your stack indefinitely overtime, forever?

Like if you had 300 bitcoins, and then suddenly you lost it all, or you sold it all too early and now it is worth a lot more than it was in the past, certainly you will feel some regret. Or even imagine if you had 1000 bitcoins and you were reduced to 500 bitcoins 300 200 or 100 etc. The percentage loss is extremely painful and traumatic.

We are humans are tricky because we always anchor things to the past present and future, and everything is relativistic. Like for example it’s better for an ordinary person to slowly but surely and indefinitely keep growing their stack, forever… rather than a billionaire losing 80% of his stack, even though the billionaire would still be more financially well off being only worth $100M or $200M.  And I think this actually happens a lot.

No form is the best form

Be water – Bruce Lee

Do you think about water, it does not remain static it keeps flowing, taking whatever shape you put it into, and also changes form from gas to water to solid back to liquid etc. Or it fits whatever cup or vase you put it into.

A lot of people tried to pigeonhole Bruce Lee into some sort of martial art arts form or philosophy, but once again, this is bad because if people pigeon hold you into a certain style, whether karate or whatever… Then, you cannot evolve and change forms.

Therefore as a rule… When people ask me what I do or whatever, I think actually it’s kind of wise to be vague about things, rather than having some sort of pre-rehearsed answer each and every time. Because once you put on a new identity and suit, and circumstances change, you suffer extreme self identity loss, because you were tied to that certain identity.

And interesting thing is, assuming you live to be 120… It is impossible for any human being on the planet, all 8 billion of us, to not at least suffer one extreme tragedy in our lifetime. It is almost part of the contract:

you are promised at least one or two or three or several extreme deep tragedies in life… yet, you will also experience several extremely euphoric experiences.

Nietzsche had a similar idea: his idea was, if out of all existence, you just had one insanely joyful or happy moment, all of existence was worth it.

The upside of extreme tragedy is extreme clarity?

Easier said than done, but the good idea is, extreme tragedy could be very very welcome if it actually gives you extreme clarity in life?

For example a lot of people in your death experiences, claim it to be the most grateful event ever, because it gave them extreme clarity but what is important in life and what isn’t. And assuming that your time your focus your attention is the most limited scarce desirable asset in existence, the magic trick we kind of need to do is try to think or give ourselves time to understand how extreme tragedy could be transmuted into our supreme benefit.

More turbo thoughts to come,
ERIC

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why traveling is so difficult

So back in LA after about 2 1/2 months abroad, the last three weeks in which I had no access to a gym or weightlifting. Now that I have my garage gym back, I definitely feel like 1 billion times happier.

I think the tricky thing is, we tend to think that, somehow there is a disconnect between the body and mind. I think the deep truth is, the mind is a fiction, the body is real.

physiological truth

I think the reason why insanely hot sauna’s baths, being in the water, swimming, being in the ocean… Or ice cold showers or ice, plunge or ice baths are so effective is… It certainly gives some sort of positive shock or distraction to your system, which is good for your emotional calibration and recalibration.

In fact, probably maybe 80% of the benefit of doing hot yoga is actually the fact that the room is insanely hot, in which… You literally cannot even think about all of your life, problems or issues, because… The heat gets you out of your mind?

access to weightlifting

For me, true happiness, enjoy is kind of simple… At least once, being able to lift weights, at least once a day? Even more fun when I am doing it with friends or buddies, etc.

If you think about the ancient Spartans, it seems like perhaps 95% of their socialization happen, during their military training, exercise exercises, I could imagine them topless in the sun or the shade, chatting in between target practice, weapons, training, etc. Recently, I’ve actually been training some local buddies of mine, and some new faces, I feel like I’m starting my own fight club, we call it “the lab.”

But anyways, I think one big thing that I overlooked in terms of happiness or optimal human thriving is actually some sort of social manly club Joy?

For example, should be told, funny enough some of the happiest moments of my life were probably in high school… When I had my tightly knit group of friends I would see every single day, multiple times a day, and we had that strong bond. College and university was great also in terms of social life, however… Funny enough high school feels a little bit more tribal, whereas University feels more cosmopolitan? Like in high school 90% of my friends were men, most of my close friends were men, and then once I went to college it was maybe like 50-50? Or because I studied sociology, maybe like 80% my friends were actually women?

the insight of fight club

My sister was telling me that apparently, the biggest issue in America is this male loneliness epidemic? My friend Chris also told me that, also apparently the amount of unhappy unmarried men are also at an all-time high?

why Social

This is actually the big thing that I have been thinking about and pondering recently, yes, what is the purpose of this all?

I think the biological physiological parts… It seems when we are social, there are certain positive bonding hormones which are emitted. Maybe with men it is testosterone, dopamine, and also… Some sort of hidden male bonding hormone? Some sort of masculine oxytocin? 

I think social skills are certainly the future, once you have the AI’s being able to solve all the difficult mathematical and scientific stuff and engineering stuff, certainly all the suicidal issues and human related issues will remain, if not become more exacerbated. This is why… Also with my son, I really try to prioritize social skills communication etc. Even our summer abroad, I’m so grateful that Seneca is learning about Khmer Cambodian culture, Hong Kong culture, Cantonese, Mandarin… As well as Japan and Japanese.

why does this matter

One interesting observation that I have made is if you think about all media, they always involve human beings. Even the cartoons are just animated versions of human social relationships.

So in some ways, when people watch media… What they really want is some sort of social connection.  this is why when you watch some sort of anime or long standing TV show series… These people actually in fact do become your friends. However the response is not reciprocal. 

is the purpose of life to be Social?

The tricky thing, once again… It seems that our supreme Joy is being social, being part of a society, having Social bonds, communities clubs etc., yet, is the goal to be Social?

My thought is, without some sort of social life, you will be quite unhappy and perhaps miserable. Even the interesting insight is, when we just are surrounded by people we actually feel more at ease, even though we may not necessarily interact with them.

However being Social for the sake of being Social, once again is kind of fun and playful, but not the end goal?

a higher purpose

“for a man who has a WHY in life can always figure out a HOW to life”- Nietzsche

I think what we are all searching for is some sort of higher purpose to life. Even Elon Musk, his grand life mission is to make humans interplanetary go to Mars etc. Capital is jet fuel, simply as a means to get there.

Another big thought that I have is, your life purpose doesn’t need to be connected to your economic output purpose. For example, it’s probably better to be some sort of investment banker and do 100% volunteering work on the side rather than being some sort of underpaid and overstressed and overworked social worker?

Cindy says in Vietnamese culture there is the left-hand job and the right hand job. The left-hand job is I think what pays the bills, the right hand job is your passion?

So now what

If we think about memento mori, the fact that, you might die today, and or, To output at least once a day, your life passion?

I think for myself, perhaps the greatest contribution I could make to humanity is perhaps philosophical, that involves these essays, or attempts of gaining deeper insights about life etc.

Therefore as a practice, my simple tactic is first thing in the morning, after I have my morning coffee, are you intentionally try to start the day without any sort of external media or information to enter my short-term consciousness, to use this valuable mind space time to think, recollect, and also write and voice dictate these essays? To also Vlog, and to propagate these ideas? Perhaps in terms of a good day, at least one hike, at least one propagation of thoughts, weightlifting, then my life should be good?

discovering your deeper life purpose

Honestly I think we all know what it is, but we always try to justify it, in terms of the economic output? However, once again… I think it is a good idea to separate the two.

The purpose or way of life is growth

Overcoming setbacks, and once again, growing and growing is perhaps the way of life and nature.

For example, imagine a tree, a huge sequoia or pine tree or even a weed, you chop it in half, 70%, 90%, or even to the bottom of the stump, and what happens? It always grows back! Whether we try to force it or not?

The stamp or the tree or the shrub or the weed, will start to regrow, have new tender shoots, and start to regrow again?

Also something I have discovered in life is, maybe a lesson from weightlifting is it is not about hitting a certain number, or after getting injured, regaining your old personal records, but rather, using the injury and pain as information to pioneer a new technique and approach, which doesn’t cause pain, but rather, increases your strength and power, simply by innovating the technique, leverage and form?

For example, I’ve certainly messed up my back my lower back, my spine several times, from dead lifting off the floor. First from conventional, then I injured myself, then, this was the stimulus to having to switch to sumo, then, another very major injury from sumo dead lift off the floor, and then after much experimentation, discovering the rack pull, then some minor injuries from using mixed grip, which caught me to using simple dead lifting straps, and then once I snapped those twice, to the figure 8 dead lifting straps?

Therefore as a principle, the big idea is, whenever you get injured, whether a small or minor, or extremely big injuries, which take months, if not years of recovery… Rather than feeling regret, instead, gaining insight wisdom and the opportunity for innovation, Like if I never injured myself just doing traditional conventional deadlifts off the floor, I would have never been able to lift 1,323.43108 KG / 2,917.19 LBS–> video link.

is the purpose of life pain avoidance?

My idea is, it’s like not paying or tragedy or all these negative emotions for the sake of things, but rather, having some sort of very grand life mission and goal, and thinking about everything in life just like a minor setback or delay or interesting challenge opportunity.

If you’re like 85, 90, 95, 100, 120 years old  and you’re on your deathbed, you probably would not care about your capital stack, whatever that number is, also I think it is fine to die with the regrets, because it is impossible for any human being on the planet to survive that long, without at least one or several deep tragedies and regrets? Perhaps the only regret we can have in life is the regret of knowing what your life passion admission and goal is, but, not adequately devoting enough energy or focus to it?

Like if Elon dies and we do not make it to Mars, certainly it will be the worst death, but at least… He knew that he gave it his all?

And maybe, the only thing which should be expected of us, is to ascertain your life mission, and to simply give it your all? And success and failure doesn’t really matter, but rather the grandeur of the attempt?

ERIC

cyber training


I’m currently pulling with the idea of maybe doing some sort of cyber online coaching for fitness health, or philosophy etc. If you’re interested, email me at eric@erickim.com

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ERIC KIM WORKSHOPS

Conquer it all:

• September 5th: ERIC KIM Introduction to Stoicism Online Workshop – Brand New, Live!
• November 11: First-Ever IN-PERSON CONQUER YOURSELF // ERIC KIM STOICISM WORKSHOP NYC 2026

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NOVEMBER 11, 2026
10:00 AM–2:00 PM
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Early-bird deadline: October 28, 2026 — two weeks before the workshop.

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THE ULTIMATE VICTORY IS VICTORY OVER YOURSELF.

What is Stoicism?

Not becoming passive.

Not becoming emotionless.

Not sitting quietly while life happens to you.

Stoicism is training for reality.

It is the art of becoming so strong internally that the outside world loses its power to disturb you.

Money rises and falls.

People praise you and criticize you.

Plans succeed and collapse.

You gain.

You lose.

You are loved.

You are rejected.

Yet you remain standing.

THIS IS POWER.

On November 11th in New York City, I am bringing together only 10 insanely motivated individuals for an intense four-hour, in-person introduction to Stoicism.

Not an academic philosophy lecture.

Not a history class.

Not four hours of sitting around talking about Marcus Aurelius.

We are going to USE STOICISM AS A WEAPON FOR MODERN LIFE.

THE GOAL

By the end of this workshop, I want you to walk through New York City with a fundamentally different relationship to:

Fear.

Anxiety.

Money.

Status.

Rejection.

Failure.

Uncertainty.

Other people’s opinions.

Death.

And most importantly—

YOURSELF.

The goal is simple:

Become harder to disturb.

You cannot completely control the economy.

You cannot control Bitcoin.

You cannot control the stock market.

You cannot control your boss.

You cannot control your spouse.

You cannot control strangers.

You cannot control whether somebody loves you, hates you, praises you, ignores you, follows you or unfollows you.

But you can increasingly master:

Your judgments.

Your actions.

Your courage.

Your attention.

Your response.

This is the beginning of freedom.

WHAT WE WILL EXPLORE

1. THE STOIC OPERATING SYSTEM

We will strip Stoicism down to its essential principles and rebuild it for modern life.

Marcus Aurelius.

Epictetus.

Seneca.

But more importantly:

YOU.

How do these ideas actually change the way you live tomorrow morning?

2. THE DICHOTOMY OF CONTROL

Perhaps the single most powerful mental model ever created:

What is actually under my control?

And—

Why am I wasting my precious life worrying about everything else?

We will practice separating signal from noise.

Action from anxiety.

Reality from imagination.

3. CONQUERING FEAR

Fear of embarrassment.

Fear of strangers.

Fear of losing money.

Fear of making the wrong decision.

Fear of being disliked.

Fear of uncertainty.

Fear of failure.

Most human beings build their entire lives around avoiding discomfort.

We will explore another path:

VOLUNTARILY WALK TOWARD IT.

STOICISM IN THE STREETS OF NEW YORK

This will not merely happen inside four walls.

NEW YORK CITY ITSELF BECOMES OUR STOIC TRAINING GROUND.

We will go into the streets.

Walk.

Observe.

Interact.

Experiment.

We can borrow techniques from street photography—not necessarily to make great photographs, but to train something even more important:

COURAGE.

Approach strangers.

Become comfortable being seen.

Become comfortable being rejected.

Become comfortable with uncertainty.

Become comfortable taking action without knowing what will happen next.

The city becomes the dojo.

4. REJECTION TRAINING

What happens when somebody says no?

Nothing.

You survive.

And every time you survive rejection, its psychological power over you becomes smaller.

Imagine becoming the type of person who is no longer terrified of hearing:

NO.

How much more boldly would you live?

5. STOICISM AND MONEY

How much money is enough?

Why does gaining more often fail to eliminate fear?

Why can somebody with millions still feel poor?

Why can somebody with far less possess enormous psychological freedom?

Money is useful.

Capital is useful.

But there is a critical question:

DO YOU MASTER YOUR CAPITAL—or does your capital master you?

Stoicism helps us separate wealth from slavery to wealth.

6. NEGATIVE VISUALIZATION

What if you lost it?

Your money.

Your possessions.

Your reputation.

Your comfort.

Your status.

Stoicism asks us to occasionally contemplate loss—not to become pessimistic, but to become fearless and grateful.

When you stop requiring permanence from an impermanent universe, you become much harder to shake.

7. AMOR FATI

Do not merely tolerate your fate.

LOVE IT.

The obstacle.

The setback.

The humiliation.

The loss.

The unexpected detour.

Instead of asking:

“Why did this happen to me?”

Ask:

“How can I USE this?”

Everything becomes raw material.

8. MEMENTO MORI

You will die.

I will die.

Everyone around us will die.

Good.

Because this means—

THERE IS NO TIME TO WASTE.

No time for petty resentment.

No time obsessing over strangers’ opinions.

No time living somebody else’s life.

Death clarifies.

Death concentrates.

Death gives urgency to life.

9. BUILD YOUR PERSONAL STOIC CODE

At the end of the workshop, you will begin creating your own personal Stoic operating system.

Your principles.

Your rules.

Your mental models.

Your standards.

A philosophy designed not merely to sound intelligent—

but to help you LIVE BOLDLY.

WHO SHOULD COME?

Come if you want to:

Become more courageous.

Become less socially anxious.

Stop obsessing over what other people think.

Become more decisive.

Become mentally stronger around financial uncertainty.

Develop greater emotional independence.

Turn setbacks into fuel.

Become more comfortable with rejection.

Take bigger risks.

Live more boldly.

Think for yourself.

And cultivate a philosophy capable of surviving contact with reality.

WHY ONLY 10 PEOPLE?

Because I do not want this to feel like a conference.

I want intensity.

Conversation.

Interaction.

Experimentation.

Individual attention.

Ten people is enough energy to create something electric—

while remaining small enough that nobody disappears into the crowd.

You will participate.

You will speak.

You will move.

You will challenge yourself.

THE EXPERIENCE

10:00 AM — STOICISM: THE FOUNDATION

What Stoicism actually is and why it matters now.

11:00 AM — FEAR, CONTROL & FREEDOM

Applying Stoic principles to anxiety, rejection, money, status and uncertainty.

12:00 PM — NYC STOIC STREET CHALLENGES

We take the philosophy into reality through walking, observation, social interaction and practical courage exercises.

1:00 PM — BUILD YOUR STOIC OPERATING SYSTEM

Integration, discussion, personal principles, action plans and the philosophy you take home.

2:00 PM — FINISH

But ideally—

the real workshop begins when you walk back into your life.

INVESTMENT

NORMAL TUITION

$1,500 USD

EARLY BIRD

$695 USD

Register by October 28, 2026 to receive the early-bird price.

After October 28:

$1,500 USD.

There are only:

10 SEATS.

PAYPAL REGISTRATION

https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/V2AYSCGUN8TEW

Payment secures your spot.

Once all 10 seats are filled, registration closes.

WHY STOICISM?

Because the ultimate luxury isn’t a Lamborghini.

It isn’t a Rolex.

It isn’t a bigger house.

It isn’t another million dollars.

The ultimate luxury is:

NOT BEING CONTROLLED BY FEAR.

Imagine walking through life knowing:

I can lose and rebuild.

I can fail and continue.

I can be rejected and remain strong.

I can be criticized without collapsing.

I can face uncertainty without paralysis.

I can endure discomfort.

I can think for myself.

I can act courageously.

I can create my own values.

I can master myself.

That is wealth.

That is freedom.

That is Stoicism.

NOVEMBER 11 — NEW YORK CITY

10 AM–2 PM

ONLY 10 PEOPLE.

$695 EARLY BIRD.

$1,500 NORMAL PRICE.

REGISTER:

Come prepared to think.

Come prepared to walk.

Come prepared to confront yourself.

Come prepared to become stronger.

CONQUER YOURSELF.

ERIC KIM STOICISM WORKSHOP — NYC

what this means

Perhaps the bigger challenge that we have to grapple with is discovering some sort of higher purpose to life. And this is very difficult because… I think it takes an insane amount of deep introspection, thinking, and consideration to get to this point. And truth be told, because a lot of us are dealing with the daily grind of everyday life, etc.… We don’t have the time to think about this critically.

Also, maybe they’re just too many distractions. I thought is capitalism could be very productive, simply if you think of capital as a means to an end rather than the end in itself.

I came across this guy and his thought, “the dharma of money”–> it is a pretty interesting idea because I’ve never heard the word Dharma used in the context of money and or capital before. I’m more of a Zen digital cyber monk, rather than a Buddhist, so I don’t really use or think about the word, Dharma… But, let me across this interesting path, to once again think more critically about things. 

Thinking about the end and the destination in mind

As much as people like to hate on Elon Musk, I still think he is a great role model in the sense that, he could really care less about money and capital… His money and capital is simply a means to achieving some sort of greater life. Mission: interplanetary, travel, colonizing, Mars, etc. And I think everything is doing with building Starlink, grok AI, X etc ,,, is centered around this idea. Simply as a means to the final destination.

So for example, it’s not about stacking money to become worth 100 million 1 billion 1 trillion whatever… the number is actually not that important. Once again, let us say that you have a spaceship or a fighter jet, and your capital is just fuel, if you have too much fuel which is not necessary for your flight or your destination, it is superfluous.

upgrade the human race

One idea from Michael Saylor that I love is the idea of upgrading the human race. I also know for myself, perhaps ultimately… My main goal is philosophy, thinking, innovation, entrepreneurship, empowerment, art, the human race. Having kids, raising kids, family, deeper thoughts to life.

all the thoughts are a bit flawed

Recently, I’ve been going to this mindfulness meditation thing every Wednesday, and I think it’s pretty productive… But, also a lot of it is flawed. For example, I don’t think any of the practitioners truly read, philosophy, or think philosophically, would rather, more traditional media, typically liberal, well educated, and more Buddhist in nature. Also, for the most part mindfulness seems like a good idea… But upon deeper thought, I realize I don’t really care about mindfulness as much. I care more about overcoming, power, strength, the Dionysian will to power. 

The hydra

I’ve recently been thinking about these kind of mystical metaphors like the Hydra, the Phoenix… Quite good ideas of anti-fragility. I think what binds all of Stoicism is the idea of transforming adversity into jet fuel, for lift off, breaking through the atmosphere?

I think it’s also difficult because to exit atmosphere or the orbital powers of gravity, requires an insane amount of thrust. Hundred percent fine robusta, intermittent fasting, extremely heavy, weightlifting, deep sleep, beef, liver, and carnivore diet, maximum time in the outdoors, walking, hiking, riding your bike, etc.… I think are the means to get you there.

The purpose of life is activity?

When do we think about depression, perhaps the only critical way I could think about it is like physical and physiological depression. Like not having the inner motivation to wake up, act do anything. Perhaps this is different than misery angst mental conflict.

Like for example… If you were a king Leonidas or John Wick… Imagine how much is unsaid, in terms of how they experience, regret, misery, fear, anxiety, but still… On the outside, staying cool and collected.

Also, I think a big hugely critical thing I’ve discovered: which I think kind of goes against all modern notions of therapy…

typically talking about what’s on your mind or your problems, rather than deep introspection… Continues to give your negative thoughts, fuel and fire?

Like for example… Typically when I’m upset or sad about something… And I talk about it… I’ve actually found that either it makes me more angry or more miserable rather than making me feel better? Which is the paradox.

Also, taking it back… I think it’s fine to have all these negative insanely miserable emotions as long as you’re still outside doing stuff. 

Like if you think about all the great entrepreneurs, or the great performers of life or whatever… And this is where maybe sports is a good analogy because if you’re like Michael Jordan Kobe Bryant, Messi, LeBron James, Tiger Woods anybody… Typically athletes only care about winning their sport rather than money and fame and capital etc. So for example, I think most people in the NBA or whatever sport, would prefer to be number one and the most dominant, rather than having the most capital?

For example, it’s better to be number one being the Michael Jordan, but having a lot less money and capital than being number two…

So for example, better to be a poorer Messi, rather than a richer Ronaldo? 

Poor but sexy

The Berliner saying: poor but sexy.

Maybe this is also the motto of the ancient Spartans, they all admired their beautiful physical bodies, their manliness, their courage, they’re beautiful, long flowing hair, and they’re simple austere lifestyles, rather than being like a richer, but more enslaved Persian?

American values

Another interesting thought about American values, here we worship capital above all… Beyond everything. Like for example… From the outside, we would seem to admire the 5 foot two fat balding old billionaire driving the Ferrari, rather than the young handsome tall fit, but poorer alternative?

To a certain extent, you cannot really control the amount of capital you got. Certainly, you could work harder, but it doesn’t always necessarily lead to having more capital.

Perhaps I’ve lived the most interesting life of all time?

I think the grid upside of deep deep deep, dark, dark dark tragedy is… When things do turn around… It brings you 1 trillion times more Joy, then if you had stayed constant the whole time?

Also… Deep, deep deep tragedy also makes you more interesting? 


Deep thoughts

So maybe the first big idea I have is, honestly… The truth is, all of us at one point or another, has probably dealt with deep insane amounts of tragedy, hardship, terrible terrible things, whether it be economic financial, human life, even one of my kids old parkour teacher, dealt with the loss of his young child maybe at the age of seven? And discovered the hand pan drum as a way of soothing his pain, he told me in the early days he would play it like eight hours a day?

I think the very very difficult thing to understand from a long enough time horizon is that even the world’s worst tragedies, magnified by 1 billion… Will not last forever.

more turbo thoughts to come,
ERIC

Stoic workshop

If you want to learn more about stoicism or need a refresher, to empire yourself, check out my first upcoming online Stoicism workshop >

Stoic articles

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Free introduction to Stoicism ebook >

what this means

Perhaps the bigger challenge that we have to grapple with is discovering some sort of higher purpose to life. And this is very difficult because… I think it takes an insane amount of deep introspection, thinking, and consideration to get to this point. And truth be told, because a lot of us are dealing with the daily grind of everyday life, etc.… We don’t have the time to think about this critically.

Also, maybe they’re just too many distractions. I thought is capitalism could be very productive, simply if you think of capital as a means to an end rather than the end in itself.

I came across this guy and his thought, “the dharma of money”–> it is a pretty interesting idea because I’ve never heard the word Dharma used in the context of money and or capital before. I’m more of a Zen digital cyber monk, rather than a Buddhist, so I don’t really use or think about the word, Dharma… But, let me across this interesting path, to once again think more critically about things. 

Thinking about the end and the destination in mind

As much as people like to hate on Elon Musk, I still think he is a great role model in the sense that, he could really care less about money and capital… His money and capital is simply a means to achieving some sort of greater life. Mission: interplanetary, travel, colonizing, Mars, etc. And I think everything is doing with building Starlink, grok AI, X etc ,,, is centered around this idea. Simply as a means to the final destination.

So for example, it’s not about stacking money to become worth 100 million 1 billion 1 trillion whatever… the number is actually not that important. Once again, let us say that you have a spaceship or a fighter jet, and your capital is just fuel, if you have too much fuel which is not necessary for your flight or your destination, it is superfluous.

upgrade the human race

One idea from Michael Saylor that I love is the idea of upgrading the human race. I also know for myself, perhaps ultimately… My main goal is philosophy, thinking, innovation, entrepreneurship, empowerment, art, the human race. Having kids, raising kids, family, deeper thoughts to life.

all the thoughts are a bit flawed

Recently, I’ve been going to this mindfulness meditation thing every Wednesday, and I think it’s pretty productive… But, also a lot of it is flawed. For example, I don’t think any of the practitioners truly read, philosophy, or think philosophically, would rather, more traditional media, typically liberal, well educated, and more Buddhist in nature. Also, for the most part mindfulness seems like a good idea… But upon deeper thought, I realize I don’t really care about mindfulness as much. I care more about overcoming, power, strength, the Dionysian will to power. 

The hydra

I’ve recently been thinking about these kind of mystical metaphors like the Hydra, the Phoenix… Quite good ideas of anti-fragility. I think what binds all of Stoicism is the idea of transforming adversity into jet fuel, for lift off, breaking through the atmosphere?

I think it’s also difficult because to exit atmosphere or the orbital powers of gravity, requires an insane amount of thrust. Hundred percent fine robusta, intermittent fasting, extremely heavy, weightlifting, deep sleep, beef, liver, and carnivore diet, maximum time in the outdoors, walking, hiking, riding your bike, etc.… I think are the means to get you there.

The purpose of life is activity?

When do we think about depression, perhaps the only critical way I could think about it is like physical and physiological depression. Like not having the inner motivation to wake up, act do anything. Perhaps this is different than misery angst mental conflict.

Like for example… If you were a king Leonidas or John Wick… Imagine how much is unsaid, in terms of how they experience, regret, misery, fear, anxiety, but still… On the outside, staying cool and collected.

Also, I think a big hugely critical thing I’ve discovered: which I think kind of goes against all modern notions of therapy…

typically talking about what’s on your mind or your problems, rather than deep introspection… Continues to give your negative thoughts, fuel and fire?

Like for example… Typically when I’m upset or sad about something… And I talk about it… I’ve actually found that either it makes me more angry or more miserable rather than making me feel better? Which is the paradox.

Also, taking it back… I think it’s fine to have all these negative insanely miserable emotions as long as you’re still outside doing stuff. 

Like if you think about all the great entrepreneurs, or the great performers of life or whatever… And this is where maybe sports is a good analogy because if you’re like Michael Jordan Kobe Bryant, Messi, LeBron James, Tiger Woods anybody… Typically athletes only care about winning their sport rather than money and fame and capital etc. So for example, I think most people in the NBA or whatever sport, would prefer to be number one and the most dominant, rather than having the most capital?

For example, it’s better to be number one being the Michael Jordan, but having a lot less money and capital than being number two…

So for example, better to be a poorer Messi, rather than a richer Ronaldo? 

Poor but sexy

The Berliner saying: poor but sexy.

Maybe this is also the motto of the ancient Spartans, they all admired their beautiful physical bodies, their manliness, their courage, they’re beautiful, long flowing hair, and they’re simple austere lifestyles, rather than being like a richer, but more enslaved Persian?

American values

Another interesting thought about American values, here we worship capital above all… Beyond everything. Like for example… From the outside, we would seem to admire the 5 foot two fat balding old billionaire driving the Ferrari, rather than the young handsome tall fit, but poorer alternative?

To a certain extent, you cannot really control the amount of capital you got. Certainly, you could work harder, but it doesn’t always necessarily lead to having more capital.

Perhaps I’ve lived the most interesting life of all time?

I think the grid upside of deep deep deep, dark, dark dark tragedy is… When things do turn around… It brings you 1 trillion times more Joy, then if you had stayed constant the whole time?

Also… Deep, deep deep tragedy also makes you more interesting? 


what this means

Perhaps the bigger challenge that we have to grapple with is discovering some sort of higher purpose to life. And this is very difficult because… I think it takes an insane amount of deep introspection, thinking, and consideration to get to this point. And truth be told, because a lot of us are dealing with the daily grind of everyday life, etc.… We don’t have the time to think about this critically.

Also, maybe they’re just too many distractions. I thought is capitalism could be very productive, simply if you think of capital as a means to an end rather than the end in itself.

I came across this guy and his thought, “the dharma of money”–> it is a pretty interesting idea because I’ve never heard the word Dharma used in the context of money and or capital before. I’m more of a Zen digital cyber monk, rather than a Buddhist, so I don’t really use or think about the word, Dharma… But, let me across this interesting path, to once again think more critically about things. 

Thinking about the end and the destination in mind

As much as people like to hate on Elon Musk, I still think he is a great role model in the sense that, he could really care less about money and capital… His money and capital is simply a means to achieving some sort of greater life. Mission: interplanetary, travel, colonizing, Mars, etc. And I think everything is doing with building Starlink, grok AI, X etc ,,, is centered around this idea. Simply as a means to the final destination.

So for example, it’s not about stacking money to become worth 100 million 1 billion 1 trillion whatever… the number is actually not that important. Once again, let us say that you have a spaceship or a fighter jet, and your capital is just fuel, if you have too much fuel which is not necessary for your flight or your destination, it is superfluous.

upgrade the human race

One idea from Michael Saylor that I love is the idea of upgrading the human race. I also know for myself, perhaps ultimately… My main goal is philosophy, thinking, innovation, entrepreneurship, empowerment, art, the human race. Having kids, raising kids, family, deeper thoughts to life.

all the thoughts are a bit flawed

Recently, I’ve been going to this mindfulness meditation thing every Wednesday, and I think it’s pretty productive… But, also a lot of it is flawed. For example, I don’t think any of the practitioners truly read, philosophy, or think philosophically, would rather, more traditional media, typically liberal, well educated, and more Buddhist in nature. Also, for the most part mindfulness seems like a good idea… But upon deeper thought, I realize I don’t really care about mindfulness as much. I care more about overcoming, power, strength, the Dionysian will to power. 

The hydra

I’ve recently been thinking about these kind of mystical metaphors like the Hydra, the Phoenix… Quite good ideas of anti-fragility. I think what binds all of Stoicism is the idea of transforming adversity into jet fuel, for lift off, breaking through the atmosphere?

I think it’s also difficult because to exit atmosphere or the orbital powers of gravity, requires an insane amount of thrust. Hundred percent fine robusta, intermittent fasting, extremely heavy, weightlifting, deep sleep, beef, liver, and carnivore diet, maximum time in the outdoors, walking, hiking, riding your bike, etc.… I think are the means to get you there.

The purpose of life is activity?

When do we think about depression, perhaps the only critical way I could think about it is like physical and physiological depression. Like not having the inner motivation to wake up, act do anything. Perhaps this is different than misery angst mental conflict.

Like for example… If you were a king Leonidas or John Wick… Imagine how much is unsaid, in terms of how they experience, regret, misery, fear, anxiety, but still… On the outside, staying cool and collected.

Also, I think a big hugely critical thing I’ve discovered: which I think kind of goes against all modern notions of therapy…

typically talking about what’s on your mind or your problems, rather than deep introspection… Continues to give your negative thoughts, fuel and fire?

Like for example… Typically when I’m upset or sad about something… And I talk about it… I’ve actually found that either it makes me more angry or more miserable rather than making me feel better? Which is the paradox.

Also, taking it back… I think it’s fine to have all these negative insanely miserable emotions as long as you’re still outside doing stuff. 

Like if you think about all the great entrepreneurs, or the great performers of life or whatever… And this is where maybe sports is a good analogy because if you’re like Michael Jordan Kobe Bryant, Messi, LeBron James, Tiger Woods anybody… Typically athletes only care about winning their sport rather than money and fame and capital etc. So for example, I think most people in the NBA or whatever sport, would prefer to be number one and the most dominant, rather than having the most capital?

For example, it’s better to be number one being the Michael Jordan, but having a lot less money and capital than being number two…

So for example, better to be a poorer Messi, rather than a richer Ronaldo? 

Poor but sexy

The Berliner saying: poor but sexy.

Maybe this is also the motto of the ancient Spartans, they all admired their beautiful physical bodies, their manliness, their courage, they’re beautiful, long flowing hair, and they’re simple austere lifestyles, rather than being like a richer, but more enslaved Persian?

American values

Another interesting thought about American values, here we worship capital above all… Beyond everything. Like for example… From the outside, we would seem to admire the 5 foot two fat balding old billionaire driving the Ferrari, rather than the young handsome tall fit, but poorer alternative?

To a certain extent, you cannot really control the amount of capital you got. Certainly, you could work harder, but it doesn’t always necessarily lead to having more capital.

Perhaps I’ve lived the most interesting life of all time?

I think the grid upside of deep deep deep, dark, dark dark tragedy is… When things do turn around… It brings you 1 trillion times more Joy, then if you had stayed constant the whole time?

Also… Deep, deep deep tragedy also makes you more interesting? 


This is four hours of pure social combat in one of the highest-energy people zones on the planet.

You will not sit in a conference room taking notes.
You will be on the actual streets, sidewalks, and plazas surrounding Bryant Park — where the energy is dense, the faces are endless, and every approach is live fire.

The Mission

Use the exact same street photography techniques that force you to get close, read energy, and act without permission… and turn them into unbreakable social courage.

By 2:00 PM you walk away with a new nervous system. One that no longer freezes when a stranger looks at you. One that knows how to initiate, hold presence, and treat rejection like oxygen.

Schedule (Tight. Intense. No fluff.)

10:00 – 10:45 AM | The Armory
Mindset ignition + the Eric Kim Approach Protocol.
How to open, how to hold eye contact past the discomfort, how to make “no” feel like data instead of death.

10:45 AM – 1:15 PM | Live Fire on the Streets
Multiple waves of real approaches in the Bryant Park orbit (park, surrounding sidewalks, transit nodes, high-traffic edges).
Escalating difficulty. Real-time coaching. Immediate feedback. You will approach. You will get rejected. You will approach harder.

1:15 – 2:00 PM | Integration & Identity Lock
Rapid debrief. Personal Social Operating System. Public declaration of the new standard you now hold for yourself. You leave different.

Investment

EARLY BIRD: $495
Secure your spot right now with the official PayPal link:
https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/HJRCK55953TH2

Regular price: $1,295
If you submit payment within 2 weeks of the workshop, the price jumps to full rate.

This is not just photography or street photography.
This is a short, violent upgrade to how you move through the world.

Limited spots, only to 10, brave intrepid individuals who desire to go beyond themselves.
Bryant Park does not care about your comfort zone.
Neither do we.

November 11. 10 AM. Bryant Park.
Show up ready to conquer.

ERIC

A place of boundless creativity

So Japan is kind of a magical place, especially after visiting the studio Ghibli museum the other day with the family. It’s kind of been a while since I’ve witnessed magic and awe, especially with the short film of the “boro” (caterpillar), and also the magic of seeing Seneca going on the catbus for the first time. 

 I suppose the interesting paradox of Japan is… In some ways, there is like strict regularity and conformity which bond society, yet, it is a place of great creativity. 

Theories

So the first interesting theory I have is, because there is so much conformity here… People actually want to stand out, but they do it in subtle ways.  for example, in fashion, in music art aesthetics, even their vehicles if they own one.

innovation in simplicity and conformity

For example, if you ride the subway in Tokyo…  or visit any secondhand clothing store, it is almost like 95% black and white clothing. But the innovation happens in the cuts, the silhouettes, the accessories and style. 

Simple life and living

Something very interesting about Tokyo is life here is actually very simple… You ride the subway to get to where you need or the bus, you walk a lot, there’s a lot of freedom in terms of public transportation. You definitely do not need a car.

And if you actually look at the roads… There are actually very very few cars on the road, and what’s also interesting is that… it Seems like 90% of the cars are all Toyota?

Happy?

So I think the biggest constraint about life in Japan is… Maybe the big existential question is what people should live for.

For example I’m very lucky to be doing a home exchange in which the apartment is insanely huge, also with the patio… And a great view, but ultimately for myself… I just kind of miss my home garage gym and the privilege of having my own weights to do weightlifting.

They also do have very good gyms here, 24 hour places… But for my level of weights, it does not support me.

for photo

Tokyo is amazing for photography and street photography because you’re just constantly surrounded by people whether in the metro on the way to the metro in the bus, in the park shopping or just walking around. It’s almost hard not to take photos here.

Cost of living

Right now for us Americans, it’s really really good, I think ¥1000 is only like maybe six dollars or seven dollars? And for example if you stop by at 711, you could just get chicken Karage for your kid for only like 200-300 yen,,, which is like 1-1.5 dollars?

Also if you just get a bowl of Ramen it’s like maybe 400 yen,,, like 3 bucks?

 Food options are so abundant, and everything here is so insanely convenient. It’s impossible to starve here and food prices feel like they’re almost like a 10th of what they cost in the states.

 Perhaps things get expensive in terms of housing and apartments, but in terms of just like day-to-day living for food it’s really cheap.

an ideal place to live?

If you’re like a digital nomad or you don’t really need to work in person at a certain office or whatever, and you just prefer a simple life in which you do a lot of walking thinking and photography, Japan and Tokyo seems great.

However I suppose if you want more flexibility in terms of your living housing situation or things to purchase or built, America is preferable.

Looks like there are lots of kids

Going to a lot of children museums and train museums…Eh,,, looks like there’s actually plenty of kids, also saw a lot of Japanese families with like two or three kids. Some even with four. I wonder if this whole like people aren’t having kids narrative is just some overhyped media stuff to get clicks.

independence

Another interesting new ones is seeing all these like maybe seven year-old kids, with a transit card and a smart phone around your neck, just taking the subway by themselves with their buddies, 100% independence without their parents, seems like a great way for a kid to grow up. 

adults?

Maybe if you’re an adult with kids, your life has purpose and meaning… But maybe if you’re a single salary man… Life kinda sucks?

America or Japan?

 all things considered… I think Japan is a great place to visit travel to or even semi nomadically live in, but probably at the end of the day… Living in the states is probably better in terms of personal freedom, and optional, probably even starting your own business.

What should a nation or nation state should be for?

Perhaps maximizing economic opportunities?

ERIC

CYBERLINEN SLEEVED TANK HAS ARRIVED.

 After about a year and a half of hard-core testing, traveling the planet with it, constantly editing the design, CYBERLINEN SLEEVED TANK MARK II has arrived, in an insanely limited quantity of only 4 units.

 Imagine the perfect shirt. The perfect shirt to wear every single day and, to always stay dry, cool, and also warm when it needs to be. 100% fine linen, with a glorious matte black sheen on it,,, which is undeniably beautiful.

Conquer the planet, conquer the world, conquer yourself with CYBERLINEN SLEEVED TANK >

Conquer reality

Also hyped that my first online introduction to stoicism workshop is now live!

Essentially the idea is, a highly practical, highly actionable workshop about stoicism which could essentially help you conquer anything in life. Essentially a distillation of like 15+ years of stoicism that I’ve personally learned things that have worked well for myself, and things that I think can help you as well. 

Learn more >

Secure your spot here, only 99 USD founder price >

now what?

Imagine your 12-year-old self again, or your five-year-old self… How would you approach life?

ERIC

START HERE, BOOKS, NEWSLETTER, WORKSHOPS

BECOME UNSHAKEABLE.

Saturday, September 5, 2026
12 PM–2 PM Los Angeles Time
Live Online via Zoom

What is the ultimate purpose of Stoicism?

FREEDOM.

Freedom from fear.

Freedom from regret.

Freedom from anxiety.

Freedom from needing everybody to like you.

Freedom from wishing the past were different.

Freedom from worrying about the future.

Freedom from being emotionally yanked around by money, markets, status, other people, random circumstances, or bad luck.

My thought:

THE WORLD DOESN’T HAVE TO BECOME EASIER.

YOU BECOME STRONGER.

This is the Stoicism I am interested in.

Not sitting around memorizing quotations from dead philosophers.

Not trying to become some emotionless robot.

Not passivity.

Not resignation.

STOICISM AS POWER.

Stoicism as courage.

Stoicism as self-command.

Stoicism as a practical operating system for living an insanely great life.

WHY STOICISM?

The funny thing about life:

You cannot control most of it.

You cannot control what already happened.

You cannot control the economy.

You cannot control the market.

You cannot control whether somebody likes you.

You cannot control what somebody says about you.

You cannot control random fortune and misfortune.

You cannot control the universe.

So why waste your precious life energy attempting to control the uncontrollable?

Instead:

MAXIMIZE WHAT IS ACTUALLY YOURS.

Your courage.

Your actions.

Your decisions.

Your attitude.

Your interpretation.

Your response.

Your body.

Your mind.

Your will.

This is where your power lives.

WHAT IS THE BENEFIT?

Imagine becoming 10x harder to disturb.

Somebody insults you?

Interesting.

Something doesn’t go according to plan?

Adapt.

You lose something?

Begin again.

You make a mistake?

Learn.

The future becomes uncertain?

Good.

Now you have an adventure.

Instead of asking:

“Why did this happen to me?”

Ask:

“HOW CAN I USE THIS?”

This might be one of the most useful questions in life.

TURN YOUR PAST INTO POWER

One of the worst things we do to ourselves:

We mentally attempt to rewrite history.

“If only I had…”

“If only I hadn’t…”

“If only things went differently…”

Why?

The past has already happened.

You cannot renegotiate with yesterday.

So perhaps the superior strategy is:

AMOR FATI.

Love your fate.

Not merely tolerate it.

Not merely “accept” it.

PREFER IT.

Take everything which has happened to you—the victories, failures, losses, stupidity, pain, embarrassment, mistakes—and digest all of it into greater strength.

Turn tragedy into fuel.

Turn mistakes into wisdom.

Turn loss into rebirth.

Turn the past into your advantage.

FEAR LESS.

Most anxiety is not about what is happening.

It is about what might happen.

Your imagination creates some horrible hypothetical future and then your body starts suffering from something which doesn’t even exist yet.

Why suffer twice?

If something bad happens tomorrow, deal with it tomorrow.

Today?

ACT TODAY.

The Stoic advantage:

Do not demand certainty before acting.

Have confidence in your ability to adapt.

Maybe the ultimate confidence isn’t:

“Everything will work out perfectly.”

Maybe it is:

“EVEN IF IT DOESN’T, I’LL FIGURE IT OUT.”

Now that is confidence.

STOP BEING A SLAVE TO OTHER PEOPLE’S OPINIONS.

Praise feels good.

Criticism feels bad.

But if praise controls you, criticism controls you too.

This is the trap.

The more your self-worth depends on applause, likes, money, followers, prestige, reputation or status…

…the less free you become.

What if you could simply ask:

Did I act according to my own principles?

Did I do what I believed was right?

Did I act courageously?

If yes—

Good.

Keep going.

SELF-APPROVAL OVER EXTERNAL APPROVAL.

ADVERSITY IS TRAINING.

I love weightlifting because the concept is simple:

Without resistance there is no strength.

So why should the mind be any different?

Difficulty is resistance.

Uncertainty is resistance.

Failure is resistance.

Annoying people are resistance.

Loss is resistance.

Chaos is resistance.

Therefore:

LIFE IS THE GYM.

Every difficult situation becomes another opportunity to practice your philosophy.

Anybody can be calm when everything is perfect.

The interesting question is:

Who are you when things go wrong?

WHAT WE WILL EXPLORE

AMOR FATI

How to love your fate—and potentially even prefer the unexpected path your life has taken.

MEMENTO MORI

Why remembering that you will die can make you radically more alive.

THE DICHOTOMY OF CONTROL

How to stop wasting energy fighting things outside your control.

VOLUNTARY HARDSHIP

Why deliberately choosing difficulty can increase your courage and reduce fear.

NEGATIVE VISUALIZATION

How contemplating loss can make you appreciate what you already have.

DETACHMENT FROM STATUS

How to stop living for applause.

THE OBSTACLE AS TRAINING

How to transform setbacks into strength.

FORGETFULNESS

How forgetting insults, annoyances, failures and stupid little grievances can become a superpower.

ACTION

How to stop thinking endlessly and simply move forward.

THIS IS NOT ABOUT BECOMING PASSIVE.

I think people misunderstand Stoicism.

Stoicism doesn’t mean:

“Oh well, nothing matters.”

No.

To me Stoicism means:

MAXIMUM ACTION, MINIMUM ANXIETY.

Attack what you can change.

Ignore what you cannot.

Work hard.

Think independently.

Take risks.

Create.

Build.

Fight.

Love.

Live.

And when reality refuses to obey your wishes?

Laugh.

Adapt.

Keep moving.

WHO SHOULD JOIN?

Anyone who wants to become:

More courageous.

More independent.

More focused.

More grateful.

More difficult to disturb.

Less afraid of losing.

Less obsessed with status.

Less controlled by other people’s opinions.

Less haunted by the past.

Less anxious about the future.

More capable of handling uncertainty.

More capable of beginning again.

More free.

Essentially:

STRONGER.

BRING YOUR REAL PROBLEMS.

This is live.

I don’t want this to be some boring prerecorded philosophy course.

Bring your questions.

Bring your fears.

Bring the thing you regret.

Bring the decision you’re struggling with.

Bring the person who annoys you.

Bring the setback you cannot mentally get over.

Bring the uncertainty you’re confronting right now.

And we will attack it together through a Stoic lens.

Because philosophy should not merely be something you read.

PHILOSOPHY SHOULD CHANGE HOW YOU LIVE.

ERIC KIM STOICISM WORKSHOP

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2026

12 PM–2 PM LOS ANGELES TIME

LIVE ONLINE VIA ZOOM

NORMAL PRICE: $250 USD

FOUNDER PRICE: ONLY $99 USD >

Why the founder price?

Simple:

This is the founding group.

I want people who are curious, hungry, open-minded, ready to participate, and interested in building something new together.

Normal price is $250 USD.

Founder price is only:

$99 USD.

You save $151.

JOIN THE FOUNDING GROUP

Pay via PayPal >

Saturday, September 5, 2026
12 PM–2 PM Los Angeles Time
Live on Zoom

Come with your problems.

Leave with greater courage.

Greater clarity.

Greater freedom.

And perhaps the most useful belief of all:

WHATEVER HAPPENS TO ME, I CAN USE IT.

WHATEVER HAPPENS, I CAN HANDLE IT.

BECOME UNSHAKEABLE.

Life is all upside. No downside.

the ultimate question:

What can I become?

no regrets, join now. Want to submit your tuition your spot is 100% locked in, and a few days prior to the workshop I’ll send you a private Zoom link.

get ready to conquer together!

ERIC

What’s really fascinating is when you uproot and move a bit… It gives you a totally new perspective. You see novel sites, which gives you novel thoughts, novel ways about thinking about the world.

I think this is also a big thing because… Getting stuck in your old ways of thinking is actually quite detrimental and holds you back.

Breaking into new thinking

I think for myself at the end of the day, what I value the most our thoughts, novel thoughts, Turbo thoughts, god thoughts ,,,, Which stimulate my mind body soul and physiology to go beyond.

How and why

I thought this maybe like five years ago and I still think it is true that the best life is like a kind of seminomadic life… A Hybrid… Having a foundation somewhere, and also spending the rest of the year on the road. I wonder if this is how ghenghis khan , the Mongolians, Julius Caesar, Napoleon kept so lean and fit –> typically being rooted for anywhere for too long is quite degenerative.

Thoughts on the road

The first thought is, perhaps the principle of life is movement, both metaphorical literal… And also physiological.

For example, nobody would want to live in a glass cube high-rise condo for the rest of their lives, without having the privilege of just going outside and walking.

And I think this is also where photography is so fast because it deals with embodied reality and movement. The math and calculus is simple:

Move more, see more, witness more, experience more,,, have more opportunities for the desire to make photos.

 Also typically… I think there is a deep link between movement and thoughts. Even Nietzsche said,

Trust no thought which doesn’t come to you by walking!

Even nassim Taleb says,

To become a philosopher, first start by walking … very slowly.

Why thoughts and thinking?

I think for us philosophers, to think, to have novel thoughts, or even have the mental and physical physiology to think might be one of the greatest privileges on planet earth. No thoughts, no life…. a kind of spiritual death.

 I think the whole thing about Zen Taoist stoic practice is… getting rid of BS noise and thoughts, in order to give more room energy and mental space for your own novel thoughts.

thoughts and ideology rule the world

This is the big idea and unlock, everything that runs you and the planet is actually based on ideas and ideology.

For example, capital, capitalism says, acquire more capital and build more capital and accumulate more capital by any means possible for the sake of it.

Consumerism says work hard harder to earn more money in order to earn more spending power to buy more things, with higher quality rank and caliber.

What do you truly prize?

Every single society has a different value system. Whether it be freedom (America), Social order (Japan), peace and harmony (Cambodia) etc.  and typically wherever you live does breed that kind of ideology in you. So choose carefully where you decide to live, spend your time … because where you live, experience life etc… determines much of your life!

A very very exciting advancement: first prototypes of ERIC KIM HYPERLINEN MARK I are now live!

Why

So the first thought… Why?

I might be the only one who thinks this but, I actually think that your clothes are actually more important than your iPhone. Why?

First, your body your human body is like 1 trillion times more important than the newest generation phone, and also… Assuming that happiness is physical, physiological… what that means is, anything that improves your bodily wellness is good for you.

Why linen

Linen might be the magical fiber, one of the most godlike fabrics on the planet. I’m sure Zeus wore linen, especially in Ancient Greece.

 What’s first thing about linen is that first, it is insanely strong you don’t have to baby you could just throw it in the wash, hand wash it when you’re on the road, hang dry it in it like magically dries overnight. I’m also a big fan of merino wool, yet the problem is anything that you get from merino wool ,,, might only last like six months or a year tops. Sooner or later it falls apart and then you just have to buy a new item.

Linen in some ways is antifragile –> the more you wear it, the softer it becomes, the more it molds with your body… And the more beautiful patina it develops.

Last year I made my first prototype 100% HYPERLINEN black tank top, and I’ve literally wore every single day for the last year, never babied it, threw it in the wash in the washing machine dryer or whatever… And it’s like invincible.

new concept

So I probably spent hundreds if not thousands of dollars in like all this cheap over marketed Lululemon fitness branded apparel,,, which is essentially like well designed polyester derivatives… And the big problem is, you just cannot make good products out of it because of the fabric. Polyester simply cannot make good products. in fact upon critical thinking… I’m actually not really sure what polyester is good for. 

My vision is to bring the elegance of linen, but, pairing it with fitness, photography, travel, active lifestyle stuff… Whether it be rock climbing, hot yoga, hardcore one rep max weightlifting powerlifting, travel, nomadic living etc.

Why hasn’t anyone done this before?

It seems that one of the big issues is… linen is like practically absent from the states. everyone either wears cotton or polyester, even the linen stuff that you find in the states is always a cotton linen blend, which is always a poor compromise. I’m also not sure what cotton is good for, besides being readily available. It takes forever to dry, and it’s maybe like medium-okay in terms of breathability.

Why linen wins

You cannot fool physics. The way that the flaxseed fibers work is like very fascinating and elegant, you hang it up and you shine it to the sun, and you could see the linen pattern gently lets in air, no two weaves are alike.

My pursuit

Ever since I was like a teenager, I’ve always been like insanely into clothes, even in my nomadic years in my 20s and 30s, I spend far too much time thinking about clothing, in terms of designing the perfect shirt, tank top, shorts, pants, shoes etc. It is a constant obsession of mine.

Simply put my ambition is to create design and engineer the best clothes on the planet. Bar none. The most innovative designs, and also the most supreme fabrics.

Ultimately, the motivation for the clothes is, to benefit enhance and turbo charge you:

1. To travel more, with less weight, less baggage
2. To feel more energetic and happy with your clothes
3. To derive aesthetic enjoyment from witnessing how elegant you look in the clothes
4. Clothes which improve overtime rather than typical clothes which become more boring overtime
5. To have the supreme confidence that the clothes you’re wearing isn’t in fact, the best on the planet.

Prototypes

I kind of been like a mad villain, experimenting with all of these interesting new clothes.

Some of the things that I’ve been experimenting with:

1. ERIC KIM HYPERLINEN PHANTOM SHORTS

100% HYPERLINEN, matte wabi-sabi black. Double layered for your most hardcore lifts, it loves the barbell, abrasions from rock climbing, everyday living etc.

No obstructions, maximum freedom. No pockets to weigh you down, maximum focus and zen. The summit of elegance in tailoring, elegant side cut, slightly longer in the black. Makes a statement, you could probably just wear these with the blazer, and go out for a date in them.

Essentially it is the shorts to conquer all shorts. Perfect room in the thighs, you could squat in them lunge with them, go climbing in them, travel in them, hike in them, it goes with everything,  if you wanted to travel the world in them, you could just literally bring this one pair.

2. ERIC KIM HYPERLINEN SHIRT

This one is quite ambitious, ERIC KIM HYPERLINEN SHIRT. honestly I kind of love and prefer tank tops or sleeveless shirts, but I started to experience in LA… The sun is actually unusually strong. I kept getting sunburn in my shoulders, even when applying SPF 50 sunblock. So after about a year of experimentation and thinking about it, I thought… Maybe it is a good idea to bring back the sleeves.

Anyways, the interesting design challenge was, how to design a 100% linen shirt, without buttons in the front. An elegant, one piece design, that is easy to slip on and off, and also provide provides enough mobility in the shoulders, if you wanted to do yoga or lift weights or whatever. And once again… A neck line elegant enough to go eat at a fancy restaurant in. Also a design that is totally unique and makes a statement? 

After mindful experimentation and prototyping, we finally nailed it. Maximum mobility in the shoulders in the back, killer neck line, curved with elegance also in the shoulders. Perfect length in the front and back, so the fabric doesn’t get in the way of your active life.

When you walk with it it flows with you, it is so beautiful.

3. EXPERIMENT: 100% HYPERLINEN BLAZER & HOOD

This one is kind of a random experiment, I just made a one off for myself but, if you’re interested, email me at eric@erickim.com with your size, height, etc.

Essentially, I really like the idea of a sports coat or sports blazer… Essentially for me to be able to be John Wick whenever I want. Yes the problem is… It’s just really hard to find a good blazer that looks good and once again is not some random polyester blend.

I know in France it is quite chic to have like 100% white linen blazer for formal events, but I’ve never seen a 100% black linen blazer?

Then on top of it, an interesting idea… Having a 100% linen hood attached to it, something that could either hide or you can activate it, just in case you want to protect yourself from the sun? Or actually stay warmer from the cold wind? Or something that just looks cool, unique and street?

Anyways, it’s like practically done, extremely versatile, two front pockets, you could probably fit two RICOH GR’s in them, each front pocket on the left and the right, and also a front left chest pocket.  if we think about mythical armor, or a magical item,,, putting it on feels like a cloak of invisibility? When I was trying on the prototype for myself, the thing I kept saying (to myself): “This is so cool,,, this is so cool!!”

how to order

Frankly speaking, i’m actually not 100% sure whether this is worth my time, as clothing and apparel is not really an economically good one, but… I think I care enough or I’m passionate enough about this to pursue it anyways.

1. BUY HYPERLINEN SHIRT

If you’re interested in the HYPERLINEN SHIRT, founders price is only 99 USD, you can submit payment here via PayPal >

After you submit payment just either write a note or email me at eric@erickim.com with your sizing, height etc or other specifications.

You can see HYPERLINEN shirt photos and videos here > and YouTube short video here for sizing and fit vision.

2. BUY HYPERLINEN PHANTOM SHORTS

Buy PHANTOM SHORTS 129 USD PayPal here >

Also you can write a PayPal note or just email me your sizing waist size in inches or cm etc to Eric@erickim.com

See more photos here, or a YouTube short video for sizing and fit vision here.

Now what?

Being here in Cambodia Phnom Penh is super fascinating because… essentially I’ve been using this time to just question everything. Questioning the value of things life etc. Kind of like a deep introspective period for myself.

I think the big idea is Autotelic entrepreneurship: innovations and things that you want to experiment simply because you’re interested in it… Even though from a financial economics perspective it doesn’t really make sense nor is it very profitable? To simply experiment because you’re curious about the outcome?

And become interesting because notions of successor failure don’t really matter because you’re more interested in the sake of the experiment itself?

CONQUER ON!

ERIC

STRATEGIZE WITH KIM

If you want a more tactical vision for your life, shoot me an email at eric@erickim.com so we can conquer the world together.

ERIC

START HERE, BOOKS, NEWSLETTER, WORKSHOPS

INTRODUCING ERIC KIM HYPERLINEN

Dear friends,

A very very exciting advancement: first prototypes of ERIC KIM HYPERLINEN MARK I are now live!

Why

So the first thought… Why?

I might be the only one who thinks this but, I actually think that your clothes are actually more important than your iPhone. Why?

First, your body your human body is like 1 trillion times more important than the newest generation phone, and also… Assuming that happiness is physical, physiological… what that means is, anything that improves your bodily wellness is good for you.

Why linen

Linen might be the magical fiber, one of the most godlike fabrics on the planet. I’m sure Zeus wore linen, especially in Ancient Greece.

 What’s first thing about linen is that first, it is insanely strong you don’t have to baby you could just throw it in the wash, hand wash it when you’re on the road, hang dry it in it like magically dries overnight. I’m also a big fan of merino wool, yet the problem is anything that you get from merino wool ,,, might only last like six months or a year tops. Sooner or later it falls apart and then you just have to buy a new item.

Linen in some ways is antifragile –> the more you wear it, the softer it becomes, the more it molds with your body… And the more beautiful patina it develops.

Last year I made my first prototype 100% HYPERLINEN black tank top, and I’ve literally wore every single day for the last year, never babied it, threw it in the wash in the washing machine dryer or whatever… And it’s like invincible.

new concept

So I probably spent hundreds if not thousands of dollars in like all this cheap over marketed Lululemon fitness branded apparel,,, which is essentially like well designed polyester derivatives… And the big problem is, you just cannot make good products out of it because of the fabric. Polyester simply cannot make good products. in fact upon critical thinking… I’m actually not really sure what polyester is good for. 

My vision is to bring the elegance of linen, but, pairing it with fitness, photography, travel, active lifestyle stuff… Whether it be rock climbing, hot yoga, hardcore one rep max weightlifting powerlifting, travel, nomadic living etc.

Why hasn’t anyone done this before?

It seems that one of the big issues is… linen is like practically absent from the states. everyone either wears cotton or polyester, even the linen stuff that you find in the states is always a cotton linen blend, which is always a poor compromise. I’m also not sure what cotton is good for, besides being readily available. It takes forever to dry, and it’s maybe like medium-okay in terms of breathability.

Why linen wins

You cannot fool physics. The way that the flaxseed fibers work is like very fascinating and elegant, you hang it up and you shine it to the sun, and you could see the linen pattern gently lets in air, no two weaves are alike.

My pursuit

Ever since I was like a teenager, I’ve always been like insanely into clothes, even in my nomadic years in my 20s and 30s, I spend far too much time thinking about clothing, in terms of designing the perfect shirt, tank top, shorts, pants, shoes etc. It is a constant obsession of mine.

Simply put my ambition is to create design and engineer the best clothes on the planet. Bar none. The most innovative designs, and also the most supreme fabrics.

Ultimately, the motivation for the clothes is, to benefit enhance and turbo charge you:

1. To travel more, with less weight, less baggage
2. To feel more energetic and happy with your clothes
3. To derive aesthetic enjoyment from witnessing how elegant you look in the clothes
4. Clothes which improve overtime rather than typical clothes which become more boring overtime
5. To have the supreme confidence that the clothes you’re wearing isn’t in fact, the best on the planet.

Prototypes

I kind of been like a mad villain, experimenting with all of these interesting new clothes.

Some of the things that I’ve been experimenting with:

1. ERIC KIM HYPERLINEN PHANTOM SHORTS

100% HYPERLINEN, matte wabi-sabi black. Double layered for your most hardcore lifts, it loves the barbell, abrasions from rock climbing, everyday living etc.

No obstructions, maximum freedom. No pockets to weigh you down, maximum focus and zen. The summit of elegance in tailoring, elegant side cut, slightly longer in the black. Makes a statement, you could probably just wear these with the blazer, and go out for a date in them.

Essentially it is the shorts to conquer all shorts. Perfect room in the thighs, you could squat in them lunge with them, go climbing in them, travel in them, hike in them, it goes with everything,  if you wanted to travel the world in them, you could just literally bring this one pair.

2. ERIC KIM HYPERLINEN SHIRT

This one is quite ambitious, ERIC KIM HYPERLINEN SHIRT. honestly I kind of love and prefer tank tops or sleeveless shirts, but I started to experience in LA… The sun is actually unusually strong. I kept getting sunburn in my shoulders, even when applying SPF 50 sunblock. So after about a year of experimentation and thinking about it, I thought… Maybe it is a good idea to bring back the sleeves.

Anyways, the interesting design challenge was, how to design a 100% linen shirt, without buttons in the front. An elegant, one piece design, that is easy to slip on and off, and also provide provides enough mobility in the shoulders, if you wanted to do yoga or lift weights or whatever. And once again… A neck line elegant enough to go eat at a fancy restaurant in. Also a design that is totally unique and makes a statement? 

After mindful experimentation and prototyping, we finally nailed it. Maximum mobility in the shoulders in the back, killer neck line, curved with elegance also in the shoulders. Perfect length in the front and back, so the fabric doesn’t get in the way of your active life.

When you walk with it it flows with you, it is so beautiful.

3. EXPERIMENT: 100% HYPERLINEN BLAZER & HOOD

This one is kind of a random experiment, I just made a one off for myself but, if you’re interested, email me at eric@erickim.com with your size, height, etc.

Essentially, I really like the idea of a sports coat or sports blazer… Essentially for me to be able to be John Wick whenever I want. Yes the problem is… It’s just really hard to find a good blazer that looks good and once again is not some random polyester blend.

I know in France it is quite chic to have like 100% white linen blazer for formal events, but I’ve never seen a 100% black linen blazer?

Then on top of it, an interesting idea… Having a 100% linen hood attached to it, something that could either hide or you can activate it, just in case you want to protect yourself from the sun? Or actually stay warmer from the cold wind? Or something that just looks cool, unique and street?

Anyways, it’s like practically done, extremely versatile, two front pockets, you could probably fit two RICOH GR’s in them, each front pocket on the left and the right, and also a front left chest pocket.  if we think about mythical armor, or a magical item,,, putting it on feels like a cloak of invisibility? When I was trying on the prototype for myself, the thing I kept saying (to myself): “This is so cool,,, this is so cool!!”

how to order

Frankly speaking, i’m actually not 100% sure whether this is worth my time, as clothing and apparel is not really an economically good one, but… I think I care enough or I’m passionate enough about this to pursue it anyways.

1. BUY HYPERLINEN SHIRT

If you’re interested in the HYPERLINEN SHIRT, founders price is only 99 USD, you can submit payment here via PayPal >

After you submit payment just either write a note or email me at eric@erickim.com with your sizing, height etc or other specifications.

You can see HYPERLINEN shirt photos and videos here > and YouTube short video here for sizing and fit vision.

2. BUY HYPERLINEN PHANTOM SHORTS

Buy PHANTOM SHORTS 129 USD PayPal here >

Also you can write a PayPal note or just email me your sizing waist size in inches or cm etc to Eric@erickim.com

See more photos here, or a YouTube short video for sizing and fit vision here.

Now what?

Being here in Cambodia Phnom Penh is super fascinating because… essentially I’ve been using this time to just question everything. Questioning the value of things life etc. Kind of like a deep introspective period for myself.

I think the big idea is Autotelic entrepreneurship: innovations and things that you want to experiment simply because you’re interested in it… Even though from a financial economics perspective it doesn’t really make sense nor is it very profitable? To simply experiment because you’re curious about the outcome?

And become interesting because notions of successor failure don’t really matter because you’re more interested in the sake of the experiment itself?

CONQUER ON!

ERIC

STRATEGIZE WITH KIM

If you want a more tactical vision for your life, shoot me an email at eric@erickim.com so we can conquer the world together.

ERIC

START HERE, BOOKS, NEWSLETTER, WORKSHOPS

INTRODUCING ERIC KIM HYPERLINEN

Dear friends,

A very very exciting advancement: first prototypes of ERIC KIM HYPERLINEN MARK I are now live!

Why

So the first thought… Why?

I might be the only one who thinks this but, I actually think that your clothes are actually more important than your iPhone. Why?

First, your body your human body is like 1 trillion times more important than the newest generation phone, and also… Assuming that happiness is physical, physiological… what that means is, anything that improves your bodily wellness is good for you.

Why linen

Linen might be the magical fiber, one of the most godlike fabrics on the planet. I’m sure Zeus wore linen, especially in Ancient Greece.

 What’s first thing about linen is that first, it is insanely strong you don’t have to baby you could just throw it in the wash, hand wash it when you’re on the road, hang dry it in it like magically dries overnight. I’m also a big fan of merino wool, yet the problem is anything that you get from merino wool ,,, might only last like six months or a year tops. Sooner or later it falls apart and then you just have to buy a new item.

Linen in some ways is antifragile –> the more you wear it, the softer it becomes, the more it molds with your body… And the more beautiful patina it develops.

Last year I made my first prototype 100% HYPERLINEN black tank top, and I’ve literally wore every single day for the last year, never babied it, threw it in the wash in the washing machine dryer or whatever… And it’s like invincible.

new concept

So I probably spent hundreds if not thousands of dollars in like all this cheap over marketed Lululemon fitness branded apparel,,, which is essentially like well designed polyester derivatives… And the big problem is, you just cannot make good products out of it because of the fabric. Polyester simply cannot make good products. in fact upon critical thinking… I’m actually not really sure what polyester is good for. 

My vision is to bring the elegance of linen, but, pairing it with fitness, photography, travel, active lifestyle stuff… Whether it be rock climbing, hot yoga, hardcore one rep max weightlifting powerlifting, travel, nomadic living etc.

Why hasn’t anyone done this before?

It seems that one of the big issues is… linen is like practically absent from the states. everyone either wears cotton or polyester, even the linen stuff that you find in the states is always a cotton linen blend, which is always a poor compromise. I’m also not sure what cotton is good for, besides being readily available. It takes forever to dry, and it’s maybe like medium-okay in terms of breathability.

Why linen wins

You cannot fool physics. The way that the flaxseed fibers work is like very fascinating and elegant, you hang it up and you shine it to the sun, and you could see the linen pattern gently lets in air, no two weaves are alike.

My pursuit

Ever since I was like a teenager, I’ve always been like insanely into clothes, even in my nomadic years in my 20s and 30s, I spend far too much time thinking about clothing, in terms of designing the perfect shirt, tank top, shorts, pants, shoes etc. It is a constant obsession of mine.

Simply put my ambition is to create design and engineer the best clothes on the planet. Bar none. The most innovative designs, and also the most supreme fabrics.

Ultimately, the motivation for the clothes is, to benefit enhance and turbo charge you:

1. To travel more, with less weight, less baggage
2. To feel more energetic and happy with your clothes
3. To derive aesthetic enjoyment from witnessing how elegant you look in the clothes
4. Clothes which improve overtime rather than typical clothes which become more boring overtime
5. To have the supreme confidence that the clothes you’re wearing isn’t in fact, the best on the planet.

Prototypes

I kind of been like a mad villain, experimenting with all of these interesting new clothes.

Some of the things that I’ve been experimenting with:

1. ERIC KIM HYPERLINEN PHANTOM SHORTS

100% HYPERLINEN, matte wabi-sabi black. Double layered for your most hardcore lifts, it loves the barbell, abrasions from rock climbing, everyday living etc.

No obstructions, maximum freedom. No pockets to weigh you down, maximum focus and zen. The summit of elegance in tailoring, elegant side cut, slightly longer in the black. Makes a statement, you could probably just wear these with the blazer, and go out for a date in them.

Essentially it is the shorts to conquer all shorts. Perfect room in the thighs, you could squat in them lunge with them, go climbing in them, travel in them, hike in them, it goes with everything,  if you wanted to travel the world in them, you could just literally bring this one pair.

2. ERIC KIM HYPERLINEN SHIRT

This one is quite ambitious, ERIC KIM HYPERLINEN SHIRT. honestly I kind of love and prefer tank tops or sleeveless shirts, but I started to experience in LA… The sun is actually unusually strong. I kept getting sunburn in my shoulders, even when applying SPF 50 sunblock. So after about a year of experimentation and thinking about it, I thought… Maybe it is a good idea to bring back the sleeves.

Anyways, the interesting design challenge was, how to design a 100% linen shirt, without buttons in the front. An elegant, one piece design, that is easy to slip on and off, and also provide provides enough mobility in the shoulders, if you wanted to do yoga or lift weights or whatever. And once again… A neck line elegant enough to go eat at a fancy restaurant in. Also a design that is totally unique and makes a statement? 

After mindful experimentation and prototyping, we finally nailed it. Maximum mobility in the shoulders in the back, killer neck line, curved with elegance also in the shoulders. Perfect length in the front and back, so the fabric doesn’t get in the way of your active life.

When you walk with it it flows with you, it is so beautiful.

3. EXPERIMENT: 100% HYPERLINEN BLAZER & HOOD

This one is kind of a random experiment, I just made a one off for myself but, if you’re interested, email me at eric@erickim.com with your size, height, etc.

Essentially, I really like the idea of a sports coat or sports blazer… Essentially for me to be able to be John Wick whenever I want. Yes the problem is… It’s just really hard to find a good blazer that looks good and once again is not some random polyester blend.

I know in France it is quite chic to have like 100% white linen blazer for formal events, but I’ve never seen a 100% black linen blazer?

Then on top of it, an interesting idea… Having a 100% linen hood attached to it, something that could either hide or you can activate it, just in case you want to protect yourself from the sun? Or actually stay warmer from the cold wind? Or something that just looks cool, unique and street?

Anyways, it’s like practically done, extremely versatile, two front pockets, you could probably fit two RICOH GR’s in them, each front pocket on the left and the right, and also a front left chest pocket.  if we think about mythical armor, or a magical item,,, putting it on feels like a cloak of invisibility? When I was trying on the prototype for myself, the thing I kept saying (to myself): “This is so cool,,, this is so cool!!”

how to order

Frankly speaking, i’m actually not 100% sure whether this is worth my time, as clothing and apparel is not really an economically good one, but… I think I care enough or I’m passionate enough about this to pursue it anyways.

1. BUY HYPERLINEN SHIRT

If you’re interested in the HYPERLINEN SHIRT, founders price is only 99 USD, you can submit payment here via PayPal >

After you submit payment just either write a note or email me at eric@erickim.com with your sizing, height etc or other specifications.

You can see HYPERLINEN shirt photos and videos here > and YouTube short video here for sizing and fit vision.

2. BUY HYPERLINEN PHANTOM SHORTS

Buy PHANTOM SHORTS 129 USD PayPal here >

Also you can write a PayPal note or just email me your sizing waist size in inches or cm etc to Eric@erickim.com

See more photos here, or a YouTube short video for sizing and fit vision here.

Now what?

Being here in Cambodia Phnom Penh is super fascinating because… essentially I’ve been using this time to just question everything. Questioning the value of things life etc. Kind of like a deep introspective period for myself.

I think the big idea is Autotelic entrepreneurship: innovations and things that you want to experiment simply because you’re interested in it… Even though from a financial economics perspective it doesn’t really make sense nor is it very profitable? To simply experiment because you’re curious about the outcome?

And become interesting because notions of successor failure don’t really matter because you’re more interested in the sake of the experiment itself?

CONQUER ON!

ERIC

STRATEGIZE WITH KIM

If you want a more tactical vision for your life, shoot me an email at eric@erickim.com so we can conquer the world together.

ERIC

START HERE, BOOKS, NEWSLETTER, WORKSHOPS

 so one of the big benefits of modular clothing, like using merino wool leggings paired with shorts, or even wearing vests, blazers, layers, linen long sleeves, linen tank tops or even linen shirts, is that… They are modular. You can mix and match as you want, when it gets too hot you could just take off modular layers, when it gets cold you can add on modular layers, button zippers, interchangeable things makes sense.

Even I’m having a problem with my lumix S9 camera,,,  mysteriously another day, the camera started to make a strange responsive clicking sound, and then it gave me an error message that I had to turn off the camera and then turn it on again. It’s essentially broken, not sure if a lens issue or a body issue or whatever… but at least the upside is, in theory… If it was just a lens issue I could just buy another lens which is a cheap fix, the body is a bigger issue… But at least you could break it down.

Vehicles

Once again this is the issue with the electric car or a Tesla or whatever… You cannot detach the engine from the body, it is all one modular system. Kind of like an iPhone with wheels.

And this is still where… I am very suspicious of iPhone, because once again… Once you purchased it you can’t upgrade it anymore, you cannot swap out the parts or whatever… you’re essentially stuck.

Therefore the ideal strategy with iPhone is, in theory purchased the cheapest iPhone like the iPhone E,,, but, have like the maximum storage because down the road you’re probably going to run out of storage. And actually storage issues are a bigger issue than processing power. For example on my iPhone SE,,, I got the middle option which was 128 GB, 164 GB was the base… And already I hit the limit so many times. I should’ve just spent a few extra hundred bucks and got the maximum storage knowing that down the line… Storage would be an issue.

Modular capital

I think this is also where bitcoin is fascinating because… You could infinitely break down bitcoins into Satoshi’s or any infinitely small amount. Like for example, you cannot break down 1/10 of an apartment on fifth Avenue to sell or rent out or use as collateral… But you could do it with bitcoin.

So with bitcoin it becomes fasting because… Whether you have .1, .5, 12345678 910, 1112 1314 1516 1718 1920, 21 2223 2425 316 728 2930, 42, 84, 164, whatever… You could break it down infinitesimally.

Why modular?

Goals?

So the first insight: certainly number go up is a great feeling. To see your Whether you measure it in US dollars or bitcoins or whatever.

However, if we think about this critically… Typically the idea is that the more wealth you have the more you have the more powerful you feel, the more happy and joyful you feel, the more secure you feel, the more pride you feel etc. but is this the case? 

Numbers

For example, let us say that you have $500, thousand dollars, $5000, $10,000, $20,000, $40,000, $80,000, $100,000, $200,000, 20 $50,000, $500,000, 700,000, 800,000, 1 million, 2 million, 3 million, 4 million, 10 million, 20 million, 50 million, 100 million, 200 million, 500 million, 1 billion, 2 billion etc. At what point do you feel strong and prosperous?

Framing

Certainly it is all a framing and inquiring thing. For example, once you hit a certain number, you become fixated on that number, and truth be told… It is very difficult to shake yourself from that number. I know this especially in bodybuilding and weightlifting and powerlifting, it is all about numbers. Like bodybuilders want to weigh 200 pounds with a six pack, power lifters want to dead lift over 1000 pounds etc., numbers matter.

Why? Typically the numbers and the feeling of progress is happiness. Yet, consider;

What’s better? Somebody who starts with $500 in their checking account and then gets $10,000, or somebody who has $50 million in their Investments and sees it go down to like 9 million?

The person in the first scenario because, once again… It is like the relative growth and the percentage growth up or down which matters the most.

Spartan grim perspective

We Spartans don’t ask how many are the enemy… We ask where they are.

a man once telling the Spartans, the enemy is close by! In the Spartan smiles and says, then also… they are close to us.

towards a more Dionysian line of thinking, perhaps some sort of grim and dark humor is actually beneficial?

a Persian emissary saying — “our arrows shall blot out the sun!” Spartan: “Then we shall fight in the shade”.

If you think about it, life real life, assuming that you’re an entrepreneur, risk taker, and or risk loving human being… It’s impossible to go throughout all of life without some sort of damage or wounds, or to suffer in injuries from attacks?

Hyper growth

 I actually had a really optimistic thought last night, the idea of hyper growth. That deep severe wounds are actually insanely desirable because… They are the hyper stimulus to our hyper growth and that is what matters the most?

ERIC