What are we not permitted to do in today’s world? To strike. 
I’ll give you some examples:

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The right to strike first?

First, everything is about defense, self-defense etc. For example… You can never strike first, or hit first.

For example, in Star Wars… The whole issue with Han Solo was,

Are you allowed to shoot first?

So for example… Let us say that if you think about the art of war, Machiavelli’s ethics – according to them… Striking first can be virtuous, and the smart strategy… If you knew with 100% foresight that if you waited too long, the other person would shoot you. 

For example, let us think about the ethics of guns and gun defense. Let us say that once again, you knew with 100% certainty that in 30 seconds, the guy would pop out a pistol and shoot and kill you. And let us assume that you also have a pistol Concealed… And you have an option to shoot and kill or maim him first…  or at least shoot him in the balls. Before he kills you.

Now the issue here is when you are in such a high adrenaline situation… Human actors we are not rational. And this is where you hear all the stories of these people first shooting an African-American kid, who just had a Coca-Cola can in his pocket or whatever.

Guns are for pussies

Now, some issues:  

First, anybody who owns a gun, a “self-defense” weapon… Truth be told, I think they are secretly itching to use it. They’re almost looking for a reason to use it.

I’ll give example… Let us see that you are the police, and you live in Irvine California. Come on… You’re just looking for a reason to use all of your high-powered weaponry.

I’ll give you another ridiculous example… A few weeks ago, I was in Santa Monica… And I saw this maybe 16-year-old Latino kid was sagging pants, running away from about a highly muscular 6 foot two police officer, and after they tackled the kid, handcuff him, there’s about five or six police SUVs that pull up?

I suppose in Santa Monica… It is not very dangerous. I’m not sure if this kid pickpocketed somebody, or did something… But, the response was very overcompensation, unnecessarily heavy-handed.

When in doubt, don’t be a coward

OK… Some unorthodox ethics.

First, I think there needs to be engaged thing. Like for example if the kids are young teenagers, or obviously maybe sub 21 years old… You give them a free pass.

I think the issue is it looks like the man is in his 30s or 40s… This is where you give them no mercy?

I think men do not understand is that no death of their child is ever justified… Even if the child was in the wrong.

I think the issue is with pistols, firearms, and 9 mm guns, Glocks, whatever…  there is an asymmetry. For example you could be a 99 pound skinny fat loser, with even a basic pistol, and immediately killed somebody who is 6 foot two and looks like Thor. Assuming that the other guy doesn’t have a gun.

And I suppose the difficult ethics here is it is kind of impossible to ascertain whether someone else has a gun or not.

Now some issues:

First, there are some people who have guns, some people who do not have guns. How do you know? 

First, think about the neighborhood. If you’re driving through Compton, Watts, Inglewood, South Central LA… Assume that everyone has a gun. However, if you are in Beverly Hills, Brentwood or even Culver City… Assume that nobody has a gun.

At least in America, typically rich people do not really carry guns or self-defense weapons. I find that from a sociological perspective, gun owners tend to be from lower class, middle America, strange people in the Midwest, who “homestead”, listen to Fox News, and too much Donald Trump rhetoric. Typically liberals, left-leaning people, rich people… Don’t even think about guns? I suppose the nuances if you are rich “white-sican” in Mexico City driving the convertible Lamborghini… They probably have a self-defense gun.

Other countries

I suppose the upside of a Japan or South Korea is that nobody has guns, I think even knives are rare.

The upside is whenever you watch these South Korean or maybe even Japanese yakuza movies… Typically they don’t have guns, but samurai blades and swords, sashimi blades etc. 

I would actually prefer a world in which we assumed with 100% certainty that nobody had any guns, knives, and weapons, and if you ever gone to an argument with somebody, it would come down to like a UFC, MMA, boxing style thing…

You solve it, with your fists, your legs, your naked body.

Why did the ancient Greeks wrestle naked?

Theory… Maybe it was all about confirming that the other person did not have a weapon on them?

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Assuming no weapons

Once again… I think that ethical thing here is–

Weapons are unethical because they give you an asymmetric advantage, whereas defense or armor is virtuous.

 For example, don’t be a pussy and try to get yourself a gun. My better suggestion is if you really are concerned about your life… Buy a bulletproof vest or Kevlar equipment instead.

60 pound weight vest as a modern day body armor? 

I think one of the great things I am very proud about my 60 pound weight vest, is that certainly at least in a fistfight… I will win. If somebody tries to punch me in the chest, it will likely shatter their hand. 

Also… It might repel, or at least reduce the impact, if somebody shot me with a gun, assuming that the bullet did not go through the in-between areas?

Bulletproof car? 

Funny enough, if you were a drug dealer or you lived in a very dangerous neighborhood or whatever, funny enough it seems that cyber truck might be your best bet. It might be the only mainstream bulletproof armored vehicle?

I mean the real optimal strategy is just don’t live in a dangerous area. But then again at the same time, you don’t want to live in Irvine California. The castrated society. 

What is it that we seek? 

I think we men… Perhaps what we men desire is to become a champion, some sort of hero. 

But wouldn’t it be a better idea that you become a hero, just with your fists, and your body? And your legs?

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Think American football 

I’ve met a lot of people who play American football, or played American football, and 0% of the time they ever think or wonder whether I played or not. I think it is just a low-key racism… We assume that Asian guys are weak and effeminate, and we never see Asian American guys in the NFL, and as a consequence… we think of Asian guys as the weaker race.

Backhanded compliments

Whenever somebody calls me Bruce Lee, I appreciate it and take the compliment, but the same time, I get a bit annoyed… Because truth be told, I don’t really care for Bruce Lee at all. I didn’t grow up to Bruce Lee movies, I grew up to Arnold Schwarzenegger! I grew up to Terminator, Rocky, Rambo etc.

The problem with Bruce Lee was he was too skinny, not enough muscle. And it seems that Bruce Lee… he was more of a magician, witchcraft and voodoo.

My critique about martial arts, karate, stuff like that is if he comes almost like a secret weapon, some sort of strange mistresses, rather than raw, pure power, pure muscle.

What do you want to look like?

For me… I would prefer to look like Arnold in his prime. Yet, he was on steroids and openly admits it.

Therefore, the biggest issue we have been is here or all these guys on steroids, propagating a false vision of reality, and you have all these young impressionable teenagers, striving to become like Arnold?

Becoming yourself?

I think the strange thought is we are always taught that to become someone else’s virtuous, and to become yourself is viceful or a sin?

For example, we are always told to become like Jesus… But why is Ever says that you should become yourself? We are taught that being evil, bad,, but don’t realize that Jesus was a bad ass… And often aggressive, like when he busted out the whips, and whipped out the oxen from the Jewish temple, and said out loud “ do not sell wares inside my father home!”

Thinking of Jesus as a flesh bound human being

Pontius Pilate was a real historical figure, and Jesus of Nazareth also was. I told you with 100%  certainty that in fact, Jesus was a real human being, a real man, 100% real… A real flesh bound, physics space, biological human being man… That is assume that all the stories in his miracles were metaphors. In fact, the good thing about being Roman Catholic is that we believe in metaphor, not literals– this is where the protestants and “sola scriptura” get it wrong.

Even Catholics, we think of God as more of a metaphorical figure. Not a literal one.

We also look at the miracles of Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, Almost from a more secular perspective. Also con substantiation, Eucharist, tribute told everyone knows it is a bit of a metaphor. I don’t think anyone really really really 100% think that when the priest rings the bell, and puts his hands over the unleavened bread, that is actually really does literally and physically become the flesh of Jesus Christ. Any stories about the Eucharist turning into blood, do not trust people without sound judgment.

Anyways, I think Jesus Christ is an interesting individual because his morals and ethics were so radical and revolutionary at the time — to turn the other cheek  a bit of a nonsense.   But my suspicion; if we think about Jesus like Gondi or whatever… How much of Jesus is teaching were based on the fact that he did not have an army that could overtake the Roman Empire, if we magically gave Jesus 1000,000 centurions, would he have behaved or acted differently?

The crucifixion of Jesus 

The reason why it is not good to watch any Disney movies, or Marvel movies, Batman or Superman, or the like is most of these stories and concepts, alter ego etc.… Either come from Stan Lee, or other guys who were either raised Jewish American, protestant, Christian, certainly American… Which has strange notions of a savior complex.

For example even the movie at this, saying that you are “the special”– if you think about all traditional movies in America they are all seeking a Jesus figure, like Neo from the matrix, etc. And let us not forget that Warner brothers discovery which owns all the intellectual property of the matrix and beyond,  they just keep rehashing the same concept, ad Infinitum.

Why?

I think humans, we have a difficult time dealing with complexity, we want simple straightforward answers. Poison example, if you’re Christian in America, the goal is to be like Jesus. But why would you be like Jesus and you own a gun?  Would Jesus have owned a gun? No! He didn’t even have armor!

Americans don’t really care about guns 

I’ll give you an example… John Wick. Everyone universally likes John Wick, even women, even people who are anti-guns. Even I love John Wick!

Yet, in real life,  I am very anti-gun. Not out of any sort of virtue signaling, but rather, I just really think it is the cowardly, weakling, pussy strategy. I really think that the true manly thing to do is once again, fist fights. Not even knives, or having a nail file.

Maybe this is where boxing, Wrestling, or MMA, the UFC is virtuous.? Even American football? Or rugby? But once again… The reason why I advise against any sort of high school or collegiate sports is that there will be at least one or two guys on steroids, without anyone knowing it. or they having low-key steroids, which is “cortisol shots “, to “heal” “injuries” . Anabolic steroids, are often prescribed to heal an injury, and this is how they are fake Weaponized.

assume everyone else is on steroids?

Your favorite CrossFitter, your favorite  calisthenics guy, your favorite water polo player, whatever. Assume that 100% of people are on steroids, whether real or fake steroids.

I think I figured it out… The whole issue is about records, world records, or personal records. If there is a drive to shatter records,  there will eventually be some sort of steroid or fake steroid use. Because biologically, if you want somebody to deadlift 2000 pounds or whatever,  I doubt it is physically possible, unless you inject your asshole with all the steroids on the planet.

So whenever you’re walking around you see a dude who is much buffer than you, assume that he is just on steroids. And as a consequence you don’t really complain about it or feel bad about it… If they want to become impotent and not have kids and have their balls become marshmallows, so be it.

“Balls,,, fuck em,,, who needs them anyways”?

So I think the critical issue here is once again… Everyone is about show, performance, the real world etc.

However, if we think about Achilles and the like…  it wasn’t about competition that they sought, simply, revenge. 

Assume that everyone is lying? 

A simple way not to get scammed in Los Angeles: assume that everyone is lying and bullshitting. Because you might be  right, 1 out of 99 times, and it might save your life? 

So also I thought about life… To play defense — is to be maximally critical and suspicious of everybody. But obviously do it in the spirit of Jesus! 

As long as you are employed, you are not permitted to really speak your mind. 

Trust nobody who is employed, doesn’t matter if they are employed by YouTube, Apple Amazon Facebook etc.… As long as they are not self owned, a sole proprietor, or independently wealthy… They cannot really speak their mind. 

Also, the reason you should not trust people on YouTube is that as long as they get advertising revenue from the videos, they also cannot really speak their minds.

Telos

So I’m starting to think… Rather than thinking about goals, life goals etc.… Perhaps a better way to approach life is to think about your life like a telos, a certain purpose life direction etc. 

For example… It was my life goal to atlas lift 1000 pounds. But now that I achieved it and hit it, then… Now, I no longer have a drive to do this anymore?

And also truth be told, I’m a type of person that I want to please everybody. I think I get it from my mom.

But anyways, trying to please other people, or to live a life in which you never offend anybody… Not possible. Especially if you want to be successful.

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Prize your life, this is the only life you got. 

The philosophy of time:

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The death of film

I think this is something that changes a lot, once you have a kid. Or have a child a young child at home. Suddenly, your time becomes scarce, very very scarce.

For example, in terms of time scarcity… this is so insanely critical. If I gave you a choice… Would you rather spend 30 minutes playing and wrestling around with your kid at the house or at the park… Or would you rather spend your precious 30 minutes answering Emails from childless individuals who don’t really have anything better to do?

Also with film — fine if you don’t have kids — once you get a kid go 100% digital!

True success

I’m starting to think… true success is self ownership, time ownership, essentially… never having anything randomly put on your schedule without your own desire.

For example, I learned that apparently Taylor Swift is signed to Universal Records. Which means she has no control over her time or soul.

Also a very funny thing… apparently Taylor Swift is about my age, she’s born in 1989, I am born in 1988. I find it insanely bizarre that millions of 10-year-old girls know everything about her down to her drive-through food order?

Sign yourself

Anyways… I think some simple filters:

Trust no individual who is signed to anything.

For example, I think a very admirable thing that Kendrick Lamar did was quit top dog entertainment… And create his own record label, PG Lang. I think this is also the wisdom of a Jay-Z… The real idea of taking a real chance is to create your own label, and to avoid getting signed to any record or label… Even if they might wave a $100 million check in front of you. Because if you have to be on tour for the rest of your life like lil Wayne (via Pusha T)… Every single night performing for three hours and night, seven days a week… No sleep and rest… Do you have freedom? No!

This is why Drake is also still a slave!

And I think the foolish thing which people do is they trade their most valuable thing on the planet… Their freedom and self ownership, in exchange for cash, arbitrary notions of “fame“… For the sake of what?

Time and self ownership over money.

What is it that we truly seek?

One of my friends, Bing who I met in Singapore… The guy I am grateful for getting me into crypto bitcoin and digibyte at the time —  he said something interesting, very wise guy, saying that what he wanted in life was material desires like a purple Lamborghini, but also… more importantly, getting respect from people.

For example, he said that the primary issue in America is that there is no real notions of respect. For example even very very simply being in Korea, Southeast Asia of Vietnam etc.… On a very basic level, we use honorifics, when it comes to age. Be told, it feels really good! To have a young kid address you in an honorific way, warms your heart!

You never know who is who 

Also… I think in America one of the wise things that I’ve learned, just from myself but also echoed in people like NASSIM TALEB is a simple idea:

Treat the janitor, the hygiene sanitation guy, the security guard with more respect than the big boss.

And also… assume that everybody you meet is super super rich and successful and powerful and influential, irregardless of how they may look on the outside. Often times, the richest most powerful people are the most low-key, keep a low profile, and you would never expect it.

Don’t network

But I think the tricky thing is when it comes to human social capital… the whole “it’s not what you know but who you know”– is also a little bit misguided because technically, especially in today’s day and age, I don’t think that networking or knowing influential people is important. All you need is a website, your own self hosted blog, ChatGPT and you’re good!

100% of the time networking is a waste of time.

I got some experience now

Humans are not super great nor efficient. For example just based on my experiences, I’m 36 now… Almost 0 networking events or meeting famous successful people have led to anything substantive. The only things which have led to substantive things were things that I decided to do on my own; like hosting my own workshops, creating and developing and selling my own products engaging people directly with my own email newsletter blog, platform, etc. Everything else has been a waste of time.

Build it yourself.

I think the biggest issues here is that when you are starting off as an entrepreneur… We do things in such a way in which we think it is the proper way. For example, when we think about business and networking… We think what it means is to get to know a bunch of rich successful people, “get your foot in the door” etc. Yet, I have discovered this is a total waste of time. 

Your own website and blog is the foot in the digital door!

The way that I was able to build my digital capital my fame my power my influence was very very simple… Essentially learning everything about street photography on my own, and then creating really really insanely in-depth articles, blog posts, pages, information and resources on anything and everything street photography. And the whole time, the whole endeavor of mine was guided by passion, personal interest and curiosity.

Curiosity is antifragile.

Lifting 1,000 pounds

On my personal quest to lift 1000 pounds, which is beyond 10 plates on each side of the barbell, was a personal curiosity:

How far can I take it?

Essentially, my primary curiosity was a curiosity of the limits of my strength, my courage, my ability and potential?

I remember the last time I was weightlifting in Westerly, Rhode Island, and an older guy came up to me and asked “what is the purpose of that? Why are you lifting like that?” I made a joke and I said, first– to augment my ego. But the second more honest answer is I’m just curious how strong I can become.

Why curiosity is so critical

What is curiosity? Curiosity is care, curiosity is what drives us.

You cannot force somebody to be cursed about something that they don’t really care for. You cannot spoon feed or inject curiosity in the soul of somebody, against their own will.

This is why a lot of Asian parents fail, when they try to force their kids to play violin, piano, or chess etc.

Back to time

Time is the ultimate capital, the ultimate desirable non-renewable resource.

Another funny lesson: often the most seemingly bad movies, the ones with poor IMDb reviews are actually the best movies.

For example, the movie “in time” by Justin Timberlake.  probably one of the best films of all time, and also, the most underrated. The reason why it is so grand and great of a film is that it creates this metaphor, this philosophical world in which essentially time is money: literally and metaphorically.

For example, the super super rich people have 1000 years on their wrist, and hilariously enough, excuse the pun, but rich people and poor people are separated by “time zones”–

Also in this fictitious universe, real rich people take their time and move really slowly, whereas the poor laborers, are always running, because they are so short on time.

Time inflation

Another funny scene: in the early part of the IN TIME film, when Justin Timberlake is working as a laborer at a factory or whatever, do you have to scan your wrist, imagine like having Apple Pay, your checking account embedded in your wrist, and anytime you wanted to buy a cup of coffee or food or whatever… You would just scan your wrist. And one of the scenes, Justin Timberlake complains “wait… A cup of coffee used to only cost 15 minutes, why is it now costing 30 minutes?” And the guy selling coffee, shrugs his shoulder and says “that’s time inflation!”

Why it is that the only films I care for are dystopic films

The matrix, Blade Runner, and these science fiction fiction, alternate future sociological philosophical films, why? They actually change you! 

What is so interesting about science fiction typically it is just a commentary or a societal critique of our real society. And the thing exaggerated, in cinematic ways, or building up a universe, but in fact, it is really true to today’s world.

Anyways, back on the notion of time… Time is labor, money is labor time.

How renting is superior to owning

For example… One of the things I am so grateful about renting, and having the best landlord of all time, is that when something breaks, like our all-in-one washer dryer machine from LG… And the machine doesn’t even turn on anymore, I don’t have to be the one wasting my time driving to Home Depot, trying to fix it, or finding service technicians to fix it, scheduling it etc. Rather, I let the landlord communicate with his own labor task squad, his own maintenance team, to come in and fix it, when we are not home, and I could do better things like go on a hike with Cindy and Seneca, or do something fun!

DIY ain’t virtuous

In America, we have this weird virtue connection with doing the labor yourself. However, there is a differentiation between hateful labor and joyful labor. For example, I would probably prefer to have a mechanic fix my car, even though I could do the labor myself, because now that I have a kid, an hour spent fixing your car could be an hour playing with your kid at the park! Here a time becomes zero sum thing, which means:

If you only have an hour to spare, would you rather it be chatting with somebody random, spending time with somebody you don’t really care for, or doing some sort of labor you don’t really care for, or rather would you rather spend that time to do something more critical you insanely care for?

Only spend time on people you love and care for!

For example, if you had an hour, to listen to the problems of somebody, or, you had an hour to work out, do exercises, and lift weights… What would you choose? And assume you could only do one. Obviously work out!

For me, my only regret in the evening is if I spent the whole day, assuming that I was in good health and strength, not working out? To me, my nonnegotiable thing that I must do every single day, irregardless of whatever is to lift weights, at least once. 

Avoid time wasters, even the good ones.

Life before Seneca, life after Seneca

Life BC, life AD — I still think it is hilarious that in America, the way we categorize time is life before Christ, life after Christ.

Life before the christos, the lord the saviour, and life after Jesus.

For me I like to use this analogy for Seneca. Before Seneca was born, I wasted a lot of my time, in coffee shops, kind of superficial relationships, etc. Why? I had so much time to kill!

And also good thing about having kid is that it helps you understand what is truly critical to you or not.

Business is bad

For example, business. Do not forget that the original notion of business was centered around being busy, “busy-ness”–

Even the ancient Romans, otium, neg+otium–

Negotium (business) meant the exact opposite of leisure.

I think often times, people like to just stay busy because when you are busy, you don’t have to think about more important things in life, such as life purpose direction etc. And honestly, I think the reason why I philosophy is so critical for everybody is that if you cannot think philosophically, you’re just wasting your life.

Even Seneca the younger stoic (Seneca’s namesake) on his essay “On the shortness of time”– or the shortness of life… Essentially that you could live a great life, even if it is a short life, as long as you use your time well.

For example, if you had a house with 1000 marble and ivory tables, with matching golden plates, can you take that with you when you die? No!

80 years old and dying

Let us assume that the average human span now, I think it is about 92 years old for men, 94 years old for women. But then again you never know if you’re gonna get cancer or whatever, assume that it is 80 years.

If you knew that you would only live to be 80 years old, with 100% certainty, how would you spend your life, the next 10 years of your life? What would you do, what would you not do?

And also… Thinking about the mortality of our loved ones, our parents, your own mother.

For example, my mom is about to turn 70, and let us assume that she’s going to live to be 80. How would I want to spend the next 10 years in my life with her, or without her?

Certainly I’m happy for her to do stuff like travel, do her artwork, but also, more critically more time with Seneca, myself and Cindy, but more critically for her to spend time with Seneca. Why? There’s going to be a day in which my mom is no longer going to be around, and I would probably hope that Seneca could have some lovely memories with my mom.

Memento mori

I think this is also the thing… many of us live our lives, almost like we are going to live forever. Is that true? Of course not!

And also when you’re younger… Let us even assume that you’re going to live to be 80 years old. What that then means is that you have a long life ahead of you! But once again, what if you are Achilles, and your mom is a goddess, And you are known with 100% certainty that you will die at the age of 40? Then how would you spend your life, how would you not spend your life?

Think Steve Jobs, he died at only age 55?

You might die today

If you have the choice, the difference between memento mori, and memento vivre — the memory of knowing that you will die is more critical than the memory or the thought of knowing how to live.

The angel of life and or death?

What’s the story of why Cindy and I decided to have a kid, Seneca?

After this incident I had a few years ago being held up at gunpoint with me just me and Cindy, before Seneca was born in Mexico City… And fortunately I grabbed Cindy‘s hand and we ran away, and we did not get popped at the back of our head. And in our adrenaline, after the incident… What was my only one regret, Assuming that I have might have died? It was very simple, not having a kid! Then immediately after the incident, we started trying, and then Covid happened, and then we stopped…  and then we did a webinar saying that kind of babies and kids were kind of immune to Covid, and then we tried again… And boom, got pregnant within a week!

Anyways… Often it is these life or death encounters which clarify things. After this incident, I had zero thoughts about my wealth, money in the bank etc., or my fame or success or whatever. I literally had zero regrets besides the kid thing.

Don’t die childless.

The greatest joy on the planet

I was thinking this morning, what is something that never loses its novelty factor? Seeing and witnessing your kid grow up!

Also… As a man, by far a 1,000,000,000,000% gratitude thing, having a son, having at least one son, one male, one man, and especially having your first kid being a man!

Why? Speaking from the perspective if you are a man, what every man desires is at least one male heir. Certainly when you see a family with three girls, four girls or five girls, no boys, you know what the family was trying to do. 

And also… The whole second kid question…  honestly, if for some reason or another, we couldn’t have a second kid, I’d probably be fine because the joy of knowing that at least, our first child was a son!

Anti women?

I think if I think about it very very honestly honestly… If our first child was a girl… I’m sure I would love her 1000%, but secretly at the back of your head, you’re always thinking wishing and wondering and desiring, to have a boy.

So this is my simple thought —

If you and your wife, or partner or whatever or girlfriend, decide to have a second kid, and your first kid is a boy… Don’t push the whole second kid thing. 

Also, if I told you that let’s say that your wife decided to have birth to a second kid, and there was a 90% chance that she might die in childbirth… Would you take the risk, assuming that your first kid is already a man? No!

Back to time

Honestly just throw your iPhone to the trash. Something that people don’t understand is that the iPhone is toxic; even reading one weird thing on your phone, watching one weird movie, film, news headline, TikTok video whatever… strange pornography video or picture, can infect your mind, for a few days, randomly in the middle of the day, or even when you’re about to sleep.

Instagram is like liver pancreatic cancer

The reason why I deleted Instagram in around 2017 and no– that ERIC KIM on Instagram is not me– the person that made my @erickimphoto Instagram account was just a faithful follower, was because Instagram started to do bad things to my mind and weird things to my mind. For example I’d be driving, in the suburbs, or the city… And at around noon, while driving, I would get distracted and think to myself “wait… did I uploaded something to Instagram today?” I caught myself thinking this, and I thought “wow, this is bad. I got to get rid of this”. And in 2017, when I had about 65,000 followers, I did probably one of the most courageous and proud things in my life, which was to delete my Instagram. 

mental Freedom?

Something my friend Jeffrey Lam tells me about is this notion of mind space, ideas that was not just a timeframe but, a mental space thing.

For example, you could in theory have 12 hours of free time in a day, but as long as a strange thought lingering in your mind, you can never really focus 100%.

I think this is called the Zeignark effect. For example let us say that you read an email that needs to be attended to… And you don’t attend to it or respond to it, and it will percolate on your mind for days, sometimes even weeks, sometimes even months. This is why I avoid my inbox, or my text messages like the plague…

One strange message email or text message or communication thing can distract you for days on end.

Playing cyber defense

I also think the reason why email needs to be fixed is now, it is so easy to fake an email, ChatGPT, with bots, or generative AI, even if the person is good or bad, or even if the bot is malicious or benevolent.

For example, let me give an extreme example, let us say you are Taylor Swift, and everybody on the planet knows your email (taylorswift@gmail.com)– let us say. If you are Taylor Swift, and you literally get 1 million emails a day, would you have the time to either read every single email, or even worse… Respond to it? No? This would be mental suicide! This is why I quit email and all messaging apps Around 2016, 2017, because honestly I was just becoming too famous, too much cognitive load!

Dodge

In the Iliad, when the heroes are killing each other… They do two things, obviously they wear protective armor, like shields, helmets, etc.… But if somebody throws a spear at them, or an arrow, what they do is dodge it.

If you see an incoming spear, you are not a fool, ideally you dodge it, ideally dodging it is more effective than even raising your shield. Why? If a spear hits your shield, there is actually a chance that it might penetrate your shield, and end up either wounding you or killing you.

I wonder if we should apply the same philosophy two things. Like if you see an incoming missile, or a spear or a bullet… You don’t take the chance. Dodge a bullet, rather than testing your bulletproof vest.

“That little vest ain’t gonna do you I shoot from neck up”- JAY Z

The ghost of soulja slim —

SOULJA KIM?

The notion of soldier, like Soulja Boy etc., and interesting thought… The notion of a “soul”, period with the notion of a soldier?

And apparently, if you really really need people from the hood, like Crenshaw, where Nipsey Hussle got killed, the honorific to call somebody worth valor is “soldier”.

Kind of like calling somebody boss or chief. Like Chief Keef

ChIEF KIM! Too many Indians, not enough chiefs!

Anyways, long story short, prize your time. This is the only life you got.

ERIC

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You cannot change the universe or the planet, but you could direct yourself the opposite way to become beyond man, the ubermensch ideal:

Thoughts on immortality:

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Masculine or Feminine?

Masculino o feminino — 

Men who are into tending plants, a feminine trait.

The notion of being masculine, let us think about this.

First, let us consider a Achilles. What was Achilles? The apex of manliness, the most supreme, dominant, powerful, let us not forget that he was a demigod in the flesh. 

First, let us consider how he was so dominant on the battlefield. Ultimately when it comes to the apex or valor, it comes down to combat, physical combat, none of this shooting guns shit. Why are guns for cowards?

Asymmetric warfare. 

For example, any 400 pound obese loser can shoot you and kill you with a gun. Imagine fitting him with armor, a shield, and a spear… And put them in man-to-man, PVP, player versus player, 1v1 combat — versus an Achilles; assuming that he is 6 foot tall, handsome, around 160 pounds with pure muscle, 5% bodyfat and a 6 pack. Who would win?

Why does this matter?

Currently, it seems that at least with men, modern day capitalism, is all kind of a big dick measuring contest. Instead of measuring how many inches your penis has, what people try to do is measure their metaphorical capital by how many dollars or commas or zeros trails them.

But, let us consider some extreme examples. If you were a 4 foot man, obese, but with a 20 inch penis, would anyone care? No!

Being a “stud”

Apparently, at least with horses… A stud is a type of horse which is prime for breeding. And now with myself… I’m starting to feel like a stud. Whenever I walk around town, now I have women checking me out. Even when I am alone with my 60 pound weighted vest on! 

And also, let us consider… What women seeks is a mate. Ideally tall dark and handsome.

Even a nuance; I actually think naturalistically… A woman is less attracted to wealth, more attracted to a man’s height, attractiveness, muscularity, etc? A woman who marries a 4 foot tall billionaire man… Very bizarre. 

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IMMORTAL

Mortal, it means you will die. All of us, born on the planet are mortals.

When do we think about the immortals, an ancient Greek mythology, essentially it means somebody who cannot die. The gods who live on Mount Olympus, or people who got locked up by Zeus, these were the immortals.

I had some thoughts about economic immortality, but also a new thought about fitness in general or life in general, being a man… As I have advanced in maturity, I truly do feel wiser. 

What’s the point?

For example, the purpose of muscularity, health, etc is simple; not to be the buffest guy at the gym. In fact some insider information that I personally got was apparently, there are some weightlifters who try to dirty bulk, and get really really buff, maybe while taking steroids or whatever, and they get really really fat, end up doing a cutting phase by taking Adderall, forcing themselves not to eat food in order to lean up. True story!

Don’t trust the buff shorty (bald) guys

Also, a funny telltale sign I’ve discovered is when you meet guys who are short, really short, but insanely buff… maybe bald or balding, maybe with a beard, often a lot of these guys are taking steroids?

Why or how do you know?

Because the nuance is that as a man, no matter how rich or smart we are, we cannot add inches to our height, not even with steroids. However, you could add inches to your chest, your arms, by taking steroids. And I feel bad for these shorty guys, they will forever feel inadequate because of their short height. Even Jeff Bezos, I think he is only 5‘7“ tall? And Kanye is maybe 5‘6” tall? I think Kendrick Lamar is 5 feet 2 inches tall, and also a lot of these rappers are really short. Only tall rappers include Jay Z, I think he is 6‘2“ tall. Elon Musk is tall, I think he is over 6 feet tall.

Even a lot of action stars are pretty short. I think Tom Cruise is only 5’3” tall, even Arnold Schwarzenegger who seems like a giant onscreen is only 6 feet tall! About my height.

Vin Diesel is pretty short, maybe 5‘8“ tall? I’m quite certain he took a lot of steroids to get those massive arms, this is also why he is bald (steroid usage often leads to male balding or baldness)

Why does this matter?

Whether we like it or not, we always judge and weigh ourselves in comparison to others. This is the number one thing I learned from thinking sociologically; to be human is to judge, to weigh, to compare, to measure. We do this with height, how many inches your penis is, ones and zeros you got in your bank account, how many followers you got, how many ones and zeros you got in your bank account, how many bitcoin you own, how many inches your arms and biceps are, how much you could deadlift squat and bench press, etc.

How did we measure men before rulers and scales?

But this is where being a man in modern-day times is bizarre; we have weights and measures to compare ourselves with other men. But once again in the past, this wasn’t a concept. There would be no skinny fat loser pulling out a tape measure, or a scale to see how much Achilles weighed, his body fat composition, how tall he was, his dick size whatever. No, it was very simple, the question;

Is there, or was there, or can there be any man who could kill Achilles on the battlefield? 

And we all know the answer is no. Hector even knows this. Hector is no fool, he knows that Achilles is the superior fighter, after all, Achilles is demigod; half man, half god. His mom was a goddess, his father a mere mortal. Hector is 100% mortal and human. Not a fair chance.

Even a thing that is impressive about Achilles, he even takes on the gods! Not even Ares can kill or take on Achilles? 

And this is where the notion of immortality becomes fascinating to me; Achilles is demigod, 50% God, 50% mortal, means that he could be killed. And he does die.

How can you imagine, an immortal god like Ares taking on Achilles, 1v1– and losing? This is an insanely grand idea:

A partly mortal man can take on a god, and win. 

Lowercase god

So in modern day times, we have this Judeo Christian God, the god of Moses, the monolithic god. This is God with the capital G, who is the ultimate supreme being.

This is where I think studying ancient Greek mythology is fascinating; there were many gods! And they were just like you and me, they quarrel with their wives, sibling rivalry, mayhem and mischief, they would get angry, get spiteful, want revenge, would succumb to lust and desire, play favorites, troll around, go to sleep, have sex etc.

This is where the notion of a single God is oppressive; if there is a single supreme God, who controls everything, who is 0% human, what are we mere mortals to do? 

This is where theology is interesting, the idea that God consubstantiated with Jesus, became man, to help us mirror immortals, this is quite an innovative idea. That uppercase God would take human form, to help humanity. I suppose this is where Catholic or Christian Theology is a bit useful; at least you could imitate Jesus! Who was 100% man, and also 100% capital God?

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Goals

So obviously we take no drugs, we don’t consume alcohol, we don’t smoke weed, our only drugs include nice sunshine, the beach, the mountains, physical activity, tapwater and black coffee. No sugars no starches, no fake foods. We only consume beef oxen and cattle; we leave the plants for cows.

Becoming immoral

I think the first grand advance is becoming immoral. That means looking at all the modern day ethics morals etc., and upending all of them. Disrupting normalcy, disrupting ethics, disrupting morality.

I hesitate to say the word religion; because religion is something else. Religion is not morals and ethics, is rather a racial, geographic based power-complex; each and every region on the planet has a different religion which emerges, based on different needs of people.

For example, Moses was in fact a historical figure. A real human being. I think the best way to think about things is all the stories of him parting the Red Sea, superhuman acts, are best interpreted as metaphors. I think the only historical text on Moses is from the Roman historian Tacitus, I think Tacitus to be a good historian because not only does he praise the military prowess of the people of Judea, but he sees things the more analytical lens.

Obviously, all history is flooded. But if we think about the history of the Peloponnesian war, probably the best historical text that we have, or the histories, essentially Herodotus and the like wrote history not to have some sort of objective documentation of what happened, because back then there wasn’t somebody with a video camera to record the whole thing, but rather, it is based on allegory, ethics, morality, and virtues. And it all tends to be anti-tyranny, towards the democracy. The ancient Athenian way.

Democracy as an experiment

I do not consider myself a libertarian, I still see myself as a cold blooded, red white and blue Democrat. I believe in democracy. Even if it is wrong.

I have always voted Democrat my whole life, but I have nothing against anybody else. I don’t care if you are Republican right left middle center conservative moderate crazy whatever, you have the right, assuming you pay taxes, to your own opinion, and to your own vote!

The only thing you’re not allowed to do is incite violence, physical violence. Even hate, hate speech, I think technically legally you’re allowed to do so, but just keep it to yourself, keep it inside your own ranch, if you have something not nice to say don’t say it at all.

And also do not forget the fact that once upon a time, your family was also an immigrant, or trying to escape persecution from the British, and seeking a new life with more freedom and opportunity. Even the Chinese call America the beautiful country.

Mainland Chinese people would prefer to live in America

The big issue here is capital controls. Mainland Chinese, rich mainland Chinese, truth be told they want to take their wealth out of Beijing, out of Shanghai, and take it to America if they could. They all send their kids to American schools– they all want to send their kids to Harvard, Yale, even a UCLA or maybe even UC Berkeley.

I think if you think about it… If you think on a long enough time scale, surely but slowly, I think all power wealth and money will be concentrated in America.

Why? China is too polluted. I think mainland China is currently having a problem; all of these rich mainland Chinese oligarchs are pumping coal, producing as quickly as they can, in order to quickly get rich, and then send their kids to a more beautiful location, for example the appeal of a Vancouver; surrounded but nothing with trees, nature. Even Chip Wilson, the founder of Lululemon said that Vancouver is the perfect place to be, and also the reason why Lululemon was invented there, it could have not happened on any other city on the planet.

Culver City is our new Kyoto! (in LA)

For myself is an American, I currently believe LA, specifically Culver City to be the perfect place to be. Why? It is the only place which is actually walkable in all of Los Angeles, and also, the only place in all of Los Angeles that have seen a city having a dedicated graffiti removal team; my daily walk, one of the best telling things I discovered was there was some sort of sticker art on this one pole for a very long time, and finally, I actually saw that the Culver City public services department cleaned it up, scraped it off! Where else is this possible in any of Los Angeles?

Also, the new Apple headquarters on Washington street in Culver City. They are currently in the midst of expanding it, and building a super mega campus. This ain’t gonna go away for a long time.

Even though Apple is not as innovative as it is before, at least for our lifetime, I am certain that we will all still be using iPhones, not some loser Pixel or Samsung phone.

And I think Apple has been wise, we have all become subscribed to the Apple ecosystem and financial services; Apple has effectively become its own bank and security system; we have all of our passwords saved to iCloud, and paying with Apple Pay is 1 trillion times easier than any other competitor. And once you could pay with bitcoin from your iPhone, with touch or Face ID… Apple will truly take over the planet.

Touch ID or Face ID and your Bitcoin wallet for iPhone

Back to you

What can one man do, what can a single human being do? A lot!

Simple things; every time you see a kid, smile and wave at the kid! There’s a saying, whenever you smile at a child, the universe smiles back at you! 

Pedophiles don’t really exist

I think a very very bad thing which has been promoted by social media, mainstream news is a fear of pedophilia. Especially with child predators, men.

Now being a dad, with a three year-old four month-year-old son… honestly I think we have 0% to be fearful of pedophiles, the only real thing to be afraid of is distracted drivers, texting while driving, or even these electric scooters and electric bikes, if you’re distracted on your iPhone for even half a second, and one of these things whiz by at full speed and hit your kid, it actually might kill your kid.

Avoid potential fatal things for your kid.

For example, once again, I think 100% focus should be just be insanely careful when you are crossing the street with your kid, or with cars running red lights, or even driving while high! I’ve already seen two people smoking marijuana while driving cars stuck in traffic, Very scary.

Having at least one son, having kids

Let us think about the simple biological truth: if for some reason tomorrow, all human beings on the planet, all 8 billion of us decided to not have kids, with a generation or two we would all die off.

Certainly, the first goal, especially being a man is to have at least one male; at least one son to carry on the family name.

Or, have at least one kid, doesn’t matter whether boy or girl. Ideally more. 

For example, one of my neighbors, super friendly 70-year-old Chinese American lady, has two daughters, about my age, 34 and 37, and both of them, no serious relationship, not married and certainly no children. I feel bad for my neighbor; probabilistically, she might never have any grandchildren, even with two daughters! Maybe Seneca could just be her metaphorical grandkid.

The greatest tragedy is to die without any grandchildren? Or even worse no kids?

What is the purpose of grandparents?

Grandparents are key.

I think the simple purpose of grandparents is to take care of the grandkids! In America, we have bastardized this notion; and this is where things become very inefficient for the modern day American.

People say that daycare, having kids is expensive; not really, if you have a grandma or grandpa, ideally both around!

Is your whole family lives together, in one house or complex, and the grandparents take care of the young children, while their parents are working or doing something else.

The problem is the world has shifted towards hedonism; for example, hedonic pleasure through traveling, backpacking, seeing the world, eating good food, socializing, etc. Certainly these are all good things, but I don’t think they should be the telos of a grandparent– the ultimate telos of grandparent is to take care of the grandchildren, to instill them with wisdom, love, abilities!

And the truth is, all grandchildren universally adore their grandparents, especially the grandmother! Even now, as a 36 year-old man, I have nothing but affection for my grandma! I’m a lot more distant with my grandfather on my mom’s side, and my grandfather on my dad side passed when I was only two years old, so I have zero memories of him. But even Cindy, she has great memories of her grandfather, and I think this is a great thing!

Lineage

Ultimately, what is the point of life? I think it has to deal with lineage. Essentially, you just don’t want the family line to die off! 

Ideally, the family lineage lasts forever! The purpose or the point isn’t your personal immortality — it is the immortality of your family bloodline! Thinking about your kids kids kids.

Don’t mention things you don’t like

Don’t get free marketing or free PR or free publicity to things you don’t like.

If you really hate Donald Trump, don’t say nothing, just vote for Kamala Harris, or the other side. 

When will you hate something, or vocalize when you hate something, we actually secretly like it? 

Why else would we complain or vocalize it?

New moral rule: whenever we hate some thing or dislike something, we stay silent. More manly to pause, and emit silence than say something evil.

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A real man?

A true mensch?

What is an “uber”-mensch? My ideal, my vision is to be beyond man. To not be a mere mortal, even though we are mortal.

For example, we mortal men, we lose our shit, we get angry, we yell, we get violent, we get aggressive, etc. Maybe the goal or the path is to not see yourself as a human — maybe the best thing is to not allow yourself any human emotions– the stoic way.

“Human, all too human”

It is obvious that we are all human, and that we all have human emotions. But then, the simplest innovation we can make as an individual is to be anti-human, anti-man?

Maybe going opposite or doing the opposite?

For example, when you are angry, be kind instead? Or even the funny reverse; when you want to be kind, show fake anger instead?

There are still are many innovations we can make in ethics guys! 

ERIC

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Now what?

Time to win. Now just go out there and just do it!

ERIC

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People hate me because they wish they were as jacked, imposing, epic and dominant like me?

Becoming stronger, my goal.

Search Eric Kim 1,000 pound lift

Eric Kim’s achievement of a 1,000-pound atlas lift is highlighted as a significant milestone in his fitness journey. He views the thousand-pound club not just as an achievement but as a starting point for aiming at even higher goals, such as joining the 2,000 and 3,000-pound clubs. Kim’s approach to reaching these impressive feats includes innovative exercises like the rock pool, atlas lift, and floor bench press. By the time of these achievements, his atlas lift was close to 800 pounds, with his rock pool over 700 pounds, and his floor bench press around 500 pounds, totaling approximately 2,000 pounds. His philosophy emphasizes challenging conventional limits and striving for continuous personal growth and breaking barriers oai_citation:1,Eric Kim Thousand Pound Lift. – ERIC KIM.

Eric Kim detailed his regimen for achieving the 1,000-pound lift, which includes consistent incremental increases in weight, intermittent fasting, abstaining from supplements like steroids or creatine, and ensuring ample sleep. He also stresses the importance of a substantial meal of beef or lamb after fasting periods as part of his strategy oai_citation:2,HOW DID ERIC KIM LIFT 1,000 POUNDS? – ERIC KIM.

For more insights on Eric Kim’s fitness philosophy and journey, you might find it interesting to visit the detailed blog posts where he shares more about his approach and future goals oai_citation:3,ERIC KIM 1000 POUND ATLAS LIFT – ERIC KIM oai_citation:4,1,000 POUND ATLAS LIFT – ERIC KIM oai_citation:5,1000 POUND ATLAS LIFT – ERIC KIM.

Eric Kim attributes his strength to having an “insanely high level of self-belief and self-confidence.” He mentions specific achievements such as a 255 kg (562 pound) deadlift attempt, indicating that his physical strength is a result of dedication and confidence in his abilities oai_citation:1,How Did ERIC KIM Get So Strong? – ERIC KIM – ERIC KIM PHOTOGRAPHY.

VIDEO PODCAST

YE YE YE YE YE YE

ATLAS WALK ALL

VIDEO 2

WALK IT OUT PLAYA~

Simple — mostly via negativa:

1. Quit reddit– I actually wonder if reddit is worse for you than porn. Funny thought — don’t quit porn, quit reddit instead.
2. Quit alcohol and weed: just drink black coffee — EK 100% fine robusta. Also another pro tip — don’t drink arabica, just drink 100% robusta. Why? Less sugar content and sugar molecules and sweetness flavors — robusta also has more caffeine!
3. For coffee — only drink it first thing in the morning — a lot; allow yourself unlimited coffee first thing waking up in the morning. But for the rest of the day… strict abstinence.
4. Don’t go to the club, the mall, the strip club whatever. Just go on a (free) hike and start your own home gym instead! Titan fitness independent squat rack— I love it. Also rogue fitness 400 pound sandbag. Texas power squat bar.
5. Visit the local museum — LACMA, THE GETTY, GETTY VILLA IN MALBU ETC. The Getty in LA is free!
6. Read the classics — Plutarch, Seneca, Marcus Aurelius, Diogenes, Epictetus, Heraclitus, the philosophers who came before Socrates.

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Happy exercises and activities

1. Buy vibram 5 finger shoes, just black. I like the EL-X model. Just make this your everyday shoe. Wear it to the gym, to work, grocery store, go hiking whatever. Theory — there is more intelligence in your (bare) feet than your hands?
2. Intermittent fasting: no breakfast no lunch, only one insanely massive dinner a night. I prefer 100% carnivore diet — aim for 5 pounds of beef/lamb a night. Costco Kirkland boneless lamb leg roast only $5.50 USD a pound, the new Costco wagyu American ground beef also very good– only $5USD a pound.
3. Get a Costco membership:
4. Stop using Google (free service)– also stop using Gmail. Register your own email (like eric@erickim.com) and no more Gmail. Use the Apple Mail client on your phone or laptop. Better yet,,, uninstall email from your phone. Remember once upon a time it was seen as insanely strange to have work email on your personal private phone?

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In today’s fragile uncertain world… what’s real? What’s important?

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Think You

The first thought is you are real, you are important. You are the most critical thing in the world.

One of the big issues in today’s world is that nobody is allowed to posit themselves as an end into themselves. What that means is this:

Typically what people believe is that you must sacrifice yourself, all of your resources whatever for the sake of humanity and other people. One is not allowed to invest all your time resources energy and money into advancing and elevating yourself.

For example, venture capitalists. The goal and purpose and telos is to invest money, seed capital or whatever into these foreign, non-human companies. 

However, companies are not real. Even the notion of company companion is somebody you share bread with.

Why not invest in individuals — real life human beings?

Or better yet, why not invest in yourself?

You is the goal

My personal take is that the problem here is religion, ethics, modern-day religious thinking. Most of the planet is governed by a form of Christianity, Catholicism, Judaism, Islam etc.… even a lot of these “atheist“ people are essentially still in line with the Benjamin Franklin, protestant work ethic mode of living and thinking.

For example, if you look a lot of Caucasian Americans, whose family have been here for several generations, even though they’re not religious, they don’t go to church, they don’t believe in “God”, they still have protestant work ethics; they work hard, they save money, they spend a little bit money on themselves here and there, but for the most part they invest towards their kids their families their communities etc.

Even Fernandinho Galliani on his treatsie on money, DELLA MONETA; he talks a lot about God, the creator, the deity whatever. So even we should take the opinion of Galliani with a grain of salt, because anybody who tries to justify their position by invoking God or whatever– it is typically a sign that their opinion is a bit feeble.

But it’s written in the Bible!

And yes, the Bible is just a mishmash of different early Christian father writers, and if you think about critical theology, or philology… You must understand and realize that this was all written by fallible men. 

How to advance

Honestly, I think the number one critical skill in today’s world or in general is critical thinking. Critical comes from Greek KRITIKOS, which essentially means judge, to judge, to weigh. 

So for example, we often get words a little bit confused. We misconstrue different words like “critic”, “criticism” with hate etc.

For example, we talk about criticism, typically we think of criticism like people just saying bad things about us or concepts etc. But, I think you could be a critic, a loving critic. The art of critique is to simply look at something, more objectively, without any hate or vitriol, and to just judge something for what you think it is. 

For example, somebody who is buried in the annals of history; Tacitus on the Jews // Book 5 the histories of Tacitus. Tacitus, one of the early Roman historians, I think reading him is interesting because honestly, he just states his opinion, gives credit where it is due, gives pros and cons, but also speaks his mind. 

For example, when he is talking about the people of Judea, and is trying to outline them, their cultures etc., he says both the good and the bad, the beautiful and the ugly. He praises Jewish people for their industry their courage and their power, but also obviously is diametrically opposed to their customs, their beliefs, which were weird foreign and anti-Roman.

In fact, I think if we critically think about Judaism, Jewish people, the descendants of Judea, it seems that the only historical thing we could really understand is that these people were the descendants of Moses. So the best way to think about Judaism as a religion, or even thinking about Christianity is to think that it was essentially a religion invented by Moses, to solidify his people, to strengthen them, And for them to persist.

Think Moses. // professor ISRAEL KHNOHL THEORY – WIKIPEDIA

And also, Islam. Yeah yeah yeah we are all politically correct and whatever, but I think the critical thing is to understand Mohammed as a real life human being, the visions that he got from God were probably just some sort of hallucinations he had while in a cave, and think that the religion of Muhammad, Islam, is essentially a religion invented from a single man, Mohammed.

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Religion and politics?

I remember the kid, I was bit confused; growing up Roman Catholic, Korean American, in the liberal Bay area… I was a bit confused that if there was one God, how is it that there were other gods in the world?

Also things which were very confusing to me; Jesus was Jewish?

Also something that I’ve been discovering and rediscovering more recently, learning that in fact, the Bible starts off with the Jewish Hebrew Torah Bible, I think the first three chapters of the typical Christian Bible is just Genesis and the ones in the original Jewish Bible?

Critical thinking

So the reason why we have so many thinkers who are Jewish Jewish American Israeli etc. is that the Jewish culture is slated towards critical introspection, thinking. For example if you’re curious, whenever you see a famous author writer influencer or whatever, just open up ChatGPT, the premium one, and ask whether they are Jewish or not, or the history of their last name.

In fact in one of these anti-Semitic texts which was sponsored by Henry Ford, and Henry Ford was overly anti-Semitic, there is this article titled “the subtle art of changing last Jewish names”, and in fact, studying the genealogy of last names is super interesting because in fact, a lot of these “Jewish” sounding last names are changed in order for Jewish people to assimilate into America, American culture, different countries etc.

For example, John Stewart I believe is Jewish American, and changed his last name to sound more “American”. The same thing goes with the actor Kirk Douglas, whose family immigrated from I think Eastern Europe, Eastern Europe Jewish people, and also changed his name to sound more “American”.

Also a weird fellow, Bob Dylan, I think his original name is Andrew Zimmerman, he is Jewish American. 

Even things that I didn’t know and understand is that Jerry Seinfeld, the whole Seinfeld show, which I watched a lot as a kid of reruns and stuff like that is essentially a story about Jewish American culture in America?

Unchaining yourself from religious, ethical, or moralistic thinking

Who are the best thinkers? The ancient Greeks, the ones who came before Socrates. But still… we should take the opinion of the ancient Greeks with a grain of salt because even them, were greatly influenced by the “gymnosophists“ – gymnos in ancient Greek means naked, essentially imagine these weird hippie naked Indian people from India, who would share their sophistry or their philosophy and thinking with others.

I think a lot of early Greek thinkers like Heraclitus, Democritus etc. their thinking was hugely inspired by the gymnosophists, from India… that is why a lot of these pre-Socratic thinkers have philosophies which sound very Buddhist in nature.

1. You never step into the same river twice – Heraclitus
2. Even a hair cast its own shadow – Publius Syrus
3. The path up and down is the same – Heraclitus

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Why is our thinking still so basic? 

OK, it is 2024– we live in insanely advanced world, how is it and why is it that we still think so basic? 

For example, it’s still befuddles me that people still take religion literally — don’t people understand that religion is all just a metaphor?

Assuming that there are no gods, no afterlife, no “immortal soul”, whatever, then the simple question is how do you wish to live your life? 

And also, what are you doing with your life? How are you using your energy time and metabolic resources, to build something beyond yourself?

Health

Health, wellness. How does it matter and what does it mean? 

The first simple thought is the quality of your thoughts, your ambitions your hopes and your dreams, your entrepreneurial spirit is rooted in your health, your body, the physical. No no no, the “mind“, doesn’t exist, it is just a fiction.

> In mens sano, alma sano.

The “soul“, is simply an offshoot of your body. When your body dies, your soul also dies.

If your body is healthy, your bodily composition your health is healthy, your mind will be healthy. People who have mental disease, whatever, the big issue is that their body is sick.

For example, I think about my father and my dad, and he was a very sick man. I have a low-key suspicion that maybe he caught syphilis somewhere? I actually recall that he had a lot of anal issues, and I still remember when I was pretty young, maybe I was 11 years old or 10 years old or nine years old? Then my mom bought him a douche, to clean out his bowels?

A lot of people who have bodily and physiological disease, end up getting mental disease. I think ultimately, I’m not 100% certain, but ultimately my dad I think either got Syphilis or it might have advanced his schizophrenia? Seeing fake images ghosts and visions, etc?

What is schizophrenia?

Schizophrenia I think in Greek just means split mind. This is an overly simplistic way of thinking about the mind because the mind cannot be “split”, according to these basic notions.

My personal theory is when one catches some sort of disease, syphilis, other ancient diseases whatever, it does weird stuff to your mind. Even Friedrich Nietzsche towards the end of his life descended into madness, he lost his mind his body his soul, was taking care of by his sister until his death.

There are some competing theories on how and why Nietzsche went mad. One theory was he was gay and caught syphilis from another guy, and apparently there is a spurious connection or correlation, not causation, of being gay, syphilis, gay sex and syphilis?

I think this is probably false because apparently Nietzsche was madly in love with this one woman, who did not requite his love, and therefore if you look at his writings, he is very very salty about it… therefore a lot of his anti-women misogyny thoughts maybe is because he couldn’t get the girl of his dreams? 

Philosophers acting badly

The reason why it is important and critical to think about, and consider the personal life of thinkers, their physiology, their muscle mass composition, their body fat composition, their height and stature etc. is that ultimately, the question we must critically think about is this:

The philosopher as a human being… how does his physiology body and mind soul affect his writings? 

For example, Nietzsche apparently had quite poor health his entire life, and I think a lot of his personal writings is for him to personally grapple with his poor health. He apparently traveled around a lot in Italy, Europe, to find an ideal climate for his poor bodily constitution.

Even NASSIM TALEB – the only modern-day thinker philosopher worth following… apparently he always grew up as kind of a fatty boy, and I think a lot of his thoughts on diet health physical exercise etc. should be taken with a grain of salt, because I think he is still addicted to carbs, squid ink pasta? 

Tell me what you eat, how you eat, how frequently or infrequently you eat, and I will tell you who you are

One of the +1s that I give to Jack Dorsey, apparently he is like me! He just eats one meal a day, maybe the difference is that I eat 100% carnivore diet, only beef and lamb, aiming for 4 to 5 pounds of meat every single dinner, and if you look at Jack Dorsey, it doesn’t seem like he lifts weights. 

Look inside their fridge

One of the bad things that I love to do whenever I visit peoples homes is always love to open up the fridges and look inside. Sometimes ask for permission, sometimes I just do it; because… If you see what is inside the fridge or freezer, you get to know a lot about about them.

For example, for the most part, I put zero faith in anybody who shop at Trader Joe’s. Why? Trader Joe’s is just snacks with a good conscience.

Also, I put zero trust in anybody who drinks Coca-Cola, Coke zero, or talks about “calories”. They obviously have no idea about any human physiology. 

Also in terms of how the exercise, how frequently the exercise etc.; I’ve learned to distrust anybody who goes to the gym, or anybody who uses Reddit, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube etc., because… any fitness influencer who uses Instagram, or any social media platform, what they are trying to do is maximize their followers and views, and sooner or later, they’re going to dip into the gummy bears, a.k.a. steroids.

Becoming the ideal version of yourself

I have certain ideas for myself. Essentially I want to look like a Greek demigod, Achilles in the flesh. I think I’m there.

For example, I look like Brad Pitt in fight club but on steroids. Much more muscular, with the same lean low body fat percentage. I’m not sure what my body fat percentage is at right now, but I could definitely see my suspect. This is where measuring body fat percentage is inaccurate, just pinch your belly fat and see whether you could see your abs.

The secret of getting a six pack?

Very simple. Intermittent fasting, no breakfast no lunch, only a 100% carnivore dinner. Quit vegetables, starches, carbs, fruit and fiber, fake sugars real sugars milk dairy etc.

No no no, you don’t need a “balanced diet”. This is just a basic line of thinking for mediocre people who don’t have the courage to experiment and try out the extremes.

The faucet of this notion of calories is propagated by the Coca-Cola corporation, who wants you to keep drinking more their diabetes water, even let us reclassify Alzheimer’s as type 3 diabetes, purely something that you get infected with according to what you eat and what you drink.

Real men drink tapwater

Another really big scam that I’ve discovered, especially living here in LA, is this ridiculous notion of “alkaline water“. Anyone who believes in that nonsense is a fool.

Also talking to a truck delivery driver, he told me that apparently, bottled water is actually more expensive than gasoline?

A very simple thought, for this year or the New Year’s or in general… only drink tapwater or filtered water! And don’t get one of those loser Hydro flask things, I think a simpler solution is to just drink out of the water fountain, just drink tapwater at the house, and if you want a portable bottle get the path water bottles, they are very cheap, Think maybe only $3? And you could reuse them! They are very lightweight, I like it in matte black.

Elon Musk drinks tapwater, and so can you!

The reason why I think it is important to read biographies of people you are inspired by, or learning more about their eating living habits is that a lot of who we are is predicated on what we put into our bodies. 

For example, I am very inspired by Elon Musk but I also take him with a grain of salt because he is too addicted to alcohol, and Red Bull. Also it seems like Elon Musk is a fatty boy, he thinks too “scienticism-y”– which means he doesn’t understand hormones, and that drinking Red Bull and drinking alcohol is a bad idea. I think a real entrepreneur, a true innovator should be quite sober. This means no drugs no alcohol no Red Bulls.

Elon Musk lessons

I also love Kanye West, and also Jay Z, but both of them are out because both are alcoholics.

Alcohol is the worst drug?

When I was in Providence Rhode Island, I randomly met one of my fans on the street, and he told me that he recently returned from Afghanistan the front lines or something, had some sort of PTSD, and street photography was his therapy. He told me he was also addicted to all the drugs, all the bad ones and I asked him… “Which drug is the worst”? He told me: the worst drug is alcohol.

I think the big problem in today’s world is that now in today’s world, anywhere you go besides maybe the Middle East, drinking alcohol is the standard. To not drink alcohol, for some reason you’re the weirdo?

This is why if next time somebody tries to pressure me to drink alcohol, I’ll just tell them I’m Muslim. And also a lot of people ask me about how I’ve been doing my intermittent fasting so religiously the last seven years; I just joke and say for me it is Ramadan every single day!

Let us consider all the people who die from alcohol, either from alcohol overdose, or drinking while driving. I think the reason why alcohol is still legal is because for the most part, people have a good time with it, there’s a lot of advertising money behind it, think about all these fat guys with beards and tattoos who watch football and basketball, drink beer and get fat, and jerk off to other guys being physical and masculine.

Also, the ancient Greeks. Dionysus, Baccaus was the Greek god of drunkenness, and wine.

It seems that wine was a critical part of ancient Greek society, as it was for the Romans. And in modern day times, wine is considered the peak of luxury and success. But don’t forget, wine will make you fat, wine is just sugary grape juice with alcohol with a good conscience. And no no no, all that fake science about reservatrol and one glass of red wine being a healthy thing for you is fake; it is centered around fake science and statistics which I think, was bankrolled by an individual who was trying to sell reaervatrol supplements? 

Why I am anti-vegan anti-plant-based diet

If people want to be vegetarian or vegan for ethical reasons, I think that is fine. But all this fake nonsense about eating meat or being a carnivore as being “bad for the planet”, or “unethical”, I find as nonsense.

For example, all of these fake virtuous folks go to Trader Joe’s and buy all this vegan candy and microwavable food; that is so much trash and pollution for the environment, and I don’t even care about the environment that much, and also I’m a Boy Scouts eagle scout. So don’t get at me with all this fake virtuosity of saving the planet and whatever.  

Environmentalism is the new moneymaking scheme?

Al Gore, didn’t he make a bunch of money from saying that an inconvenient truth and that the polar caps are going to melt and we were all going to die? 

Also, I believe James Cameron, the guy who produced avatar and the titanic and made a bunch of money is also best friends with Arnold Schwarzenegger, and is peddling all this fake propaganda about eating plants is good for the environment whatever, in order to peddle his billion dollar pea plant protein powder company?

***

Own your own opinion

I think a big thing to consider is you must own your own opinion when it comes to diet health fitness etc. How and why?

First, it seems that the big issue here is that nobody has any criticality when it comes to diet health fitness etc. Everyone is just following the same old script, nobody is pioneering, risking, or experimenting for themselves.

For example when I talk to people that I am 100% carnivore, people are more shocked than anything, and I think they’re skepticism is in regards to “sustainability“, and when I tell them I’ve been doing it the last seven years, and also interment fasting no breakfast no lunch, only dinner the last seven years or so… people are shocked. And yet, I am just a mere mortal. 

Think economics

Perhaps one of the most useful things I learned studying sociology was to become more critical of almost everything. Everything that we have in modern-day society, we should consider society like a technology; tekhne in ancient Greek means technique and approach.  

Society is like a well oiled machine which gains from the adherence of its constituents. That means, a big modern day society with a large population can only exist and function if everybody plays by the same rules.

For example, society would probably be very dysfunctional if everyone acted like ERIC KIM, and just disdained everybody else. That is why living different and being different is the privilege of the fuse; 99.99% of people cannot do what I do, nor would they actually desire to do so.

You are your own privilege

The most privileged person to be is yourself. To ignore others, and to just follow your own path.

Why don’t more people do this?

My theory is that it comes down to ethics. To just do yourself, in your own weird way, seems unethical.

For example, to be ignorant is seen as bad and evil, and to ignore “experts“, is also seen as foolish.

Maybe becoming more foolish is a good idea?

One man’s foolishness is another man’s wisdom. We should take this idea to heart. 

For example, the insanity of an Elon Musk starting a SpaceX, or transforming Tesla into what it is today. Or, the insanely radical idea bitcoin, from Satoshi, also, an insanely radical idea.

Or Steve Jobs; then saying audacity of him to create a device with no keyboard, no stylus? 

Become more audacious

My new current life goal and path is to become more audacious, more unconventional, more unexpected.

Life is too short for the basic. Go advanced.

ERIC

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