Eric John Kim

Searching for wisdom

[ericjohnkim]

Eric Kim: Travel Diary (Seoul), 2012

Eric Kim: Travel Diary

Eric Kim: Travel Diary

#1: Grandmothers

Being the jang-nam in the family, I have always gotten the most attention from my grandmother. She was always there for me no matter what, and would always give me endless love.

Visiting her in Korea was a huge joy, and finally introducing her to my girlfriend Cindy. Of course it was tough, because Cindy is Vietnamese and it still isn’t accepted in Korean society for a jang-nam to marry a non-Korean. Of course we are just a couple right now - however my grandmother still was concerned.

I was surprised to hear when my grandma actually liked Cindy. One of the funniest things she mentioned was how much Cindy loved Kimchi. She also mentioned how polite and kind Cindy was.

I still can’t believe that my halmunee is 77 years old, and still has the energy of someone half her age. She is incredibly active and sees her friends all the time. She is active in the church community as well, going to mass everyday.

I think that is what keeps her young- her ability to constantly be around others. She isn’t one of those typical ‘old people’ who simply sit down and watch Korean dramas all day. Being sedentary really causes you to become old and rot away.

It makes me think a lot about myself- and how I should stay active. I spend far too much time in front of a computer, and not enough time with my friends, family, and loved ones. I can also really see how I gained my extroversion from her.

I also feel guilty that I don’t contact her as much as I should. She calls me all the time, but I usually don’t even bother to call her— as my life is so busy. However she prays for me everyday, and patiently awaits when I will come visit her again in Korea.

Perhaps I should call my Grandma more often - and the rest of my family. I will always be busy, and so will everyone else out there. If we don’t ever make time for our family, we will never have time for our family.

We only live once - always put family first. I have no idea when my grandma will pass (I hate even thinking about the idea). But I definitely don’t want to regret not spending enough time with her and those closest around me.

#2: Living Out Your Passions (7/21/12) - Paris Day 3

When I was a student in school, I always had to be the good Asian son and become either a doctor, lawyer, or engineer. To pursue art or something I was passionate about was totally out of the question.

My first quarter at UCLA, I studied Biology (hoping to become a doctor) and truly hated it. It wasn't something I was passionate about -- but rather what others wanted and expected out of me.

When I was working at my old job, I wasn't quite passionate about it either. It was always about listening to the boss, and what others wanted out of you -- rather what you wanted for yourself.

I consider myself an optimist and see the world as full of possibilities and hope. The fact that I am able to do my photography full-time and travel the world is truly a blessing. Sometimes I have a difficult time thinking that I used to work in a office cubicle job.

This is the third day I am in Paris, and the streets here are so beautiful. The way that the people hang out in the streets and enjoy the sun and their wine, the colorful graffiti and the quaint boutique shops, as well as the lovers strolling the streets with one another. I would have never been able to enjoy any of this if I were still at my old job.

I ask a lot of people to give me advice about life--and especially ask those what regrets they have in life. I am surprised to find that the majority of people gave me the advice to "follow your passion". Although it is something so cliché and old -- I have discovered it to be so much truer.

If you follow your passion, you will really put your heart and soul into whatever you do, and others will feed off of that. Why live a boring life according to that of others and live by the norm? Why do you have to work an office job? Why do you need to stay in the office from 9-5 everyday? Why do you only get 2 weeks of vacation a year? Why do you need to buy a house in a nice neighborhood? Why do you need to buy a nice BMW or Mercedes-Benz? Why do you need to work until you are 65 and hope to retire one day?

Follow your passion and so many more opportunities will arise. As I read in "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho, if you follow your hearts' treasure, "the universe will conspire in your favor"

#3 Money: (7/21/12) - Paris Day 3

Why is money so important? Why do we slave our entire lives trying to get more and more of it? Of course you want to make enough money to live and support yourself, but we never seem to make enough to satisfy ourselves.

Shouldn't we simply work enough to pay for our basic necessities, and spend the rest of our time doing what we enjoy?

Who dies and regrets not having made more money? Everyone regrets not spending more time with their friends, family, loved ones, traveling, following their passion, or spending time on what they love.

As I recently read in a book, "men should work to become, not acquire."

#4: Community (7/22/12) - Paris Day 4

No man is his own island. As human beings, we strive to belong. We need other people to be close to us, to interact with us, to love us.

Why do we spend so much time in front of the computer, watching television, and alone when we long to be with others?

Having a community in every aspect in life is so important. Sure the online community is a great resource to connect with people, but there is nothing that can ever beat face-to-face interaction.

I just finished my street photography workshop in Paris, and the energy of the group and the support was overwhelming. The amount of feedback we gave each others' photographs, the sense of commodery, as well as the dinner we enjoyed together tonight.

Several of us went to a restaurant, shared our photos with one another, laughed, and shared memories from the workshop, while enjoying great French food and red wine. We lost all sense of time, space, and worries/concerns about life.

Life is all about spending times with those we love - and with others.

#5: Food (7-26-2012)

Do we eat to live or eat to live?

Food should be used as nutrition to keep us all well fed. At Taize, the way of life is so simple. You get up, pray, eat, and sleep.

For breakfast we had a piece of bread, two pieces of chocolate, and butter. We made a nice little sandwich by putting the chocolate stick in between, and spreading it with butter. It was simple but absolute bliss.

In modern day society, we eat far too much. It leads us to have a bunch of health complications, including obesity, heart problems, and early-death.

We feel that at times we are starving, but in reality we are far from it.

It is also food that brings us together. There is nothing better than meeting friends and family to share a nice meal, conversation, and company. Good food and laughter is what makes life great.

Today I met a Bosnian at Taine named Osnak. Although we knew nothing about one another, one thing we could talk about was our common love of food. He told me of all these delicious meals in Bosnia, especially the tender meats. He was more than happy to hear that I wanted to go visit for the food!

Food is life, but we eat crap. We barely have enough time to have a decent meal - as we are always busy with work. We opt for fast food, junk food, and things with little or no nutritional value.

Why don't we spend more money on good food that actually tastes good? It should be the most important monetary investment we make for ourselves that will make us feel better, live longer, and stay healthier. Buying more designer clothes gives us that false pre-tense, but won't.

We should also fast. Recent studies suggest that fasting from meals make us stronger and helps us better maintain our metabolism and overall health. I think it also brings us closer to those who are starving and suffering. It is currently the month of Ramadan, and I think we can learn much from our Muslim brothers and sisters.

Perhaps I should spend more time eating, relaxing and talking with friends and family. Eat good food, and truly taste the flavors of life.

#6: Religion (7-27-12)

Everyone needs something to believe in. Many live their lives aimlessly, longing for some direction in their life. We are too busy - life is full of noise, and there is never any time for silence, meditation, or self-reflection.

Being at Taize has been a beautiful experience. Surrounding myself with such an incredible community has truly been a blessing that only a few can experience.

People often say that religion doesn't make sense and isn't logical. I met a priest from Slovenia named Janez who was a scientist in a chemical company, who also got his Ph.D. I asked him why he believed in God. After all, aren't scientists skeptical of a higher power - because science is the ultimate "truth"?

However he told me that there are still mysterious things that he couldn't explain in his life - and the mystery of God is what leads him to religion. One day, he quit his job and went to the seminary for 6 years and then became a priest.

I feel that in life there are three things we need to be healthy:

Physical health

Mental health

Spiritual health

We always strive to become healthy in the first two, but fail to become spiritually healthy.

For the longest time, I would put so much emphasis on being only physically and mentally healthy. I would do pushups every single day, and also read a lot of books to stimulate and strengthen my mind. However over time, I knew that I lacked something in my life- which was the presence of God, community, and the Holy Spirit.

Now that I pray and sing at Taize, I feel much closer to God and a global community.

Science can teach a lot, but it is limited. We need religion to help guide us. We all need a moral compass in life.

#7: Being connected (7-28-2012)

We are constantly connected. With our smartphones, iPads, and computers. We crave notifications and a sense of self-worth through the little red circle on Facebook.

We don't want to miss out. On something. We don't exactly know what, but we don't want to miss out.

We need to feel validated with messages that affirm us. Without numbers, how can we quantify our existence and how well we are doing in life? Are we being appreciated in life or not?

I am concerned for the youth of the future. How can they concentrate in this age of distraction?

We all need to have internet fasts every now and then. Spending time to disconnect and "detox" from the ills of constantly being plugged in. Going out, taking a walk in nature, or meeting a friend for coffee. Time to clear our minds.

Being away from the computer more allows us to connect more in "real life". Sure, we can get some interaction via the internet, but how real is it? Can it be better than embracing a friend face-to-face?

The internet is wiring our brains in a different way, and we are becoming addicted. Will you simply sit back and let it consume your life, or will you fight against it?

#8: The purpose of my life (7-28-12)

What is the purpose of my life? Why do I do what I do? How am I contributing to society? Will I leave a legacy before I die? Am I doing all I can to help others?

What do I do? I spread the love of street photography to inspire others, and to also connect them with one another. As Malcolm Gladwell says, I am a connector - I like to bring people together. I want to give people purpose in their lives, and a feeling of belonging.

I am a lover. I spread everything that I have to my friends, family, community, sister, cousins, mother, father, grandmother, and girlfriend.

I have to give until it hurts. To give away all I can, to help others. How can anything bad ever happen to me if I give everything that I got?

Reminder to self: don't help others for the betterment of myself. Do it because I care.

#9: Materialism (7-28-12)

We need more and more. More stuff. More cars. More designer clothes. More electronics. Bigger houses. Flashier watches. Cameras with more megapixels.

Buy, buy, buy is what the television and Internet tell us. If we buy more stuff, we will look more beautiful, be happier, and be envied by others.

Spending money to try to buy happiness will only lead us to more misery.

But spending money can buy us happiness.

How?

Spend money on experiences, not material things.

Buy a trip to go traveling to somewhere you always wanted. Buy a paintbrush to start painting landscapes. Buy a nice dinner for your significant other to go out and experience each others' company.

Spend money to experience life.

#10: Light (7-30-12)

To photographs means to paint with light. Light makes an ordinary photograph magical.

The beautiful shadows, orange-yellow hues, and a softness that touches your heart.

Always look for the light.

#11: Living in the present (7-30-12)

What makes humans different from other animals is that we can predict the future. But that which helps us, makes us more stressed out and miserable.

To truly be happy, we need to live in the moment. To quit worrying about the past, or the future, and to live in the now.

We need to sit down, and appreciate every single breath. We need to appreciate the sound of birds chirping outside, the warm cup of coffee in the morning, or the cheery conversation with a close friend. We need to engross ourselves in these small moments, rather than being distracted with our never-ending to-do list.

Tomorrow is never. Let's live in the now.

[ericjohnkim]

Photos of family

[ericjohnkim]

10 Tips on Shooting Street Photography on Film

1. It is better to slightly over-expose than under-expose your photos. This is because it is easy to pull out details from highlights in film (while very difficult to recover details from the shadows). I have also discovered that slightly over-exposing color film brings out more saturated colors (around 1/3-2/3rds of a stop). 2. If you’re pushing your film, mark what ISO you’re pushing it to directly on the film canister with a sharpie. I generally prefer doing this before I put the film into the camera, as I often forget to do it afterwards. 3. If you are curious to shoot film and never have shot it before, don’t splurge money on a Leica. Rather, start with the cheapest film camera you can find (eBay, flea market, your parents’ closet) and experiment. If you’ve shot with film for several months and really like it— then invest in a better film camera. 4. When shooting film on a rangefinder on ISO 400 film (during a sunny day) here are some good settings: f/8 at 1/1000th of a second in extremely bright sunlight, f/8 at 1/500th of a second when it is slightly less bright, f/8 at 1/250th of a second at the “golden hour”, f/8 at 1/125th in uncovered shade, f/8 at 1/60th when in darker shade. 5. Don’t be afraid to “waste” your film by only taking 1 shot of a scene. Rather, work the scene and even shoot an entire roll of film on a scene if you think it is interesting enough. 6. When experimenting with a new film or camera, do the following: take a series of photos of a friend in different lighting conditions with different apertures and shutter speeds. For each shot, write down the settings you used in a notebook (and the lighting situations). Once you get the film developed and scanned, cross-reference your photos with your notes. Then you will get a better sense of the “ideal” settings to use on your camera for the “look” you want. 7. I think it is good to experiment with a lot of different types of films— but once you find a film you are about 80% happy with, I recommend sticking with it. It helps you have a more consistent aesthetic look — and also helps you better understand the nuances of each film (how resilient it is to over/underexposure, how it looks during the day or at night, and the color or contrast of it). 8. If you’re shooting ISO 400 film, you won’t have any problems in airport x-ray scanners. ISO 800-1600 might pose a problem. 9. I generally get 1 photo I am proud of in every 50 rolls of film. Use this as a guideline— you will rarely take good street photographs. Of course, your mileage will vary. 10. Don’t feel bad about “wasting money” shooting film. Rather, see it as an “investment” — that will bring you boundless amounts of joy (more than any digital camera ever will, imho).

[ericjohnkim]

100 productivity tips

Tomorrow is never Unsubscribe to all spam emails If you really want to get work done, turn off the Internet Use a pomodoro timer to be more efficient Set a time in the day when you turn off your computer and disconnect from the Internet for the rest of the day Do all your creation in the mornings Schedule all your social media once in the morning Disable all notifications for email, popups, sign off chat Do things 80% well and just get it done. Don't aim for perfection. Don't replace something old if it works 80% well. If it dips under that, buy something new Less is more. Buy only one of everything, but the best quality and material. Steal good ideas constantly, but give credit where due and remix it for good ideas. It is better to be controversial than ignored. Nobody says ”I wish I worked harder or earned more money” when on their deathbeds. Focus your energy on your loved ones and family. Nothing urgent ever comes via email. Dont give email too much attention. Take an mbti test and see your personality type and how you can better interact with others. Money can buy you happiness, if you spend it on experiences, not things. People should work to become, not acquire. People have an extraordinary ability to adapt to any situation. For example, a lottery winner will return to their ”base happiness” a year after. The same thing with quadriplegics. Be careful of the dangers of over-specialization. It is better to be well-versed in lots of different fields and diverse in knowledge. This is where breakthroughs emerge. Create everyday. If you have something insightful or important to share, by not sharing, you are doing humanity a dis-service Got a good idea? Start a blog. It's all about the community and other people. If you want your best work to get done, you must be alone. Sugar is poison. Eliminate it from your diet. Eat more protein and vegetables to stay healthy and improve your concentration. Dont drink caffeine after 3pm if you want to sleep well at night. Make sure to get enough sleep every night. Spend time on ”focused daydreaming”. Give yourself some time to daydream by walking on the beach, park, etc and jotting interesting ideas or notes on paper. Tv is the biggest waste of time. Eliminate it from your life. Willpower is like a tank of gas. You start each day with a limited amount of it. Luck is when preparation meets opportunity. Increase your own luck by hustling hard, and going for every opportunity possible. You will never get anything done multi tasking. Turn off all distractions, and do one thing at a time. Success is doing what you love for a living, without being homeless. Ignore the haters, show attention to your lovers Travel often to become more open-minded to the rest of the world. The grass is greener on your side. The color blue is beneficial for creativity. Paint your walls blue or make your desktop wallpaper blue. The best thing about books: you can acquire the amount of knowledge it takes for one individual to discover in a lifetime in the span of a day. It is useless to read a book without taking notes. It will help you retain what you learn afterwards, and help you stay more focused. Practice ”active reading”. The best way to become a philosopher is to walk often - n.n. taleb The world will be inherited by creative people, technical jobs will be outsourced to others for cheaper than you. Know where you get your most creative thinking done (bed, bus, bath, beer, etc) and subject yourself to it once a day. If complimented, respond with a simple ”thank you”. To get to the root of any problem, ask yourself the question ”why” three times. Don't be a dick. Be nice to everybody you meet. It is often the people at the bottom who will help you out the most if you ever fall down. Give until it hurts. The more you give, the more you will receive in return. Life is all about reciprocity. Treat others how you would like to be treated. Always ask for a second opinion. It is others who can help detect your faults and can see beyond your weaknesses. If you are feeling unmotivated, eat some protein. Recent studies of motivation suggest it is based on blood glucose levels. You are the average of the five closest people to you. Therefore, constantly surround yourself with people who are smarter, harder working, and more creative than you. When giving criticism, replace the word ”but” with ”and”. The word ”but” cancels all the things you say to someone before the word ”but” in a sentence. It was once said in the British journal of science that it would be impossible for men to fly. Dont romanticize the past. It was a lot more awful than you imagine. Give yourself low expectations, but hustle hard. This way you will never be disappointed. If you only achieve mediocrity, you will be satisfied. If you over-achieve, you will be ecstatic. Set yourself short-term goals to give you some direction, but know that nothing in life ever goes according to plan. Embrace the ”black swan” theory. There is so much unpredictability in life we cannot even begin to imagine. Read at least a book a week to gain new insights about the world. You will forget what you don't write down. ##Blogging success Blog everyday (except weekends to rest) The ”best” times to post on Facebook are at 9am, noon, 3pm, and 6pm (pacific time). Generally things at noon get the most love Try to disperse your tweets once an hour When using twitter, don't spam hash tags. Only use one hash tag per post. Ask a lot of questions on Facebook and twitter. It's all about the community. Think of creative ways to have the community be more active (contests, have them vote, submit ideas, photos, etc). Always blog in the morning when your mind is fresh. ”ten tip” posts always work well. 80% of the success of a post lies in having an effective headline. For inspiration on blog posts, read books (unrelated to your topic). Be personal. Don't put up a fake wall-- be yourself and speak from the heart. Embrace constructive criticism, eliminate trolls quickly. Write your blog posts with a minimalist writing application. I recommend iA writer on the iPad or apple (I'm writing this on an iPad on iA writer). Create a blogging schedule. Know what type of post will go out each day, and stay consistent. It took me a year of consistent blogging before opportunities to spring up. Keep hustling. Videos are the future of blogging. Adapt or die. Write the way you speak, and use short sentences. Do all your writing in one phase, and do all your editing afterwards. Don't edit while writing. Lists of 100 things you have learned always perform well. People love pictures. Disperse pictures strategically in a blog post to keep people reading. Use metaphors to get your point across. When it comes to writing, vomit all your great ideas onto paper (see previous point). To think outside the box you must add constraints to yourself. To step outside the box, you must step into shackles. When you write, don't produce crap. Write something useful and of value to the reader. Create art. Don't make boring headlines. Create controversial headlines to lure people in, and then slam them with great content. Content is king. To make a living out of blogging, find a niche and dominate it. Also don't quit the day job until you have a business model that you are 80% sure that will work well. Embrace the ”T” model. Focus on your specific field, but be diverse in your other interests and inspirations. (the long line of the ”T” is your specific skills going downward, and horizontal line is the breadth of knowledge you know in other fields). Success doesn't happen overnight. You got to put in the hours, and there are no shortcuts. Remember Malcon Gladwell’s idea of the 10,000 rule to obtain mastery in a certain field. You are happiest when creating and in the ”flow” (see mihaly citimihaliy -- sorry cant remember the spelling but google it). Be a fountain of ideas. If you have haters, it means that you are doing something right. If you want to get any real work done, turn off your wifi. Don't forget to take breaks to be more productive. Disconnect often, and go for relaxing walks when you hit mental barriers.

[ericjohnkim]

Lessons I have have learned from Steve Jobs

Focus on making great products over profits:

"My passion has been to build an enduring company where people were motivated to make great products. Everything else was secondary. Sure, it was great to make a profit, because that was what allowed you to make great products. But the products, not the profits, were the motivation. Sculley flipped these priorities to where the goal was to make money. It's a subtle difference, but it ends up meaning everything: the people you hire, who you hire, who get promoted, and what you discuss in meetings."

People don't know what they want (until you show it to them):

"Some people say, 'Give the customers what they want.' But that's not my approach. Our job is to figure out what they're going to want before ether do. I think Henry Ford once said, 'If I'd asked customers what they wanted, they would have told me, ''A faster horse!''' People don't know what they want until you show it to them. That's why I never rely on market research. Our task is to read things that are not yet on the page."

Embed humanity into your work:

"Edwin Land of Polaroid talked about the intersection of the humanities and science. I like that intersection. There's something magical about that place. There are a lot of people innovating, and that's not the main distinction of my career. The reason Apple resonates with people is that there's a deep current of humanity in our innovation. I think great artists and great engineers are similar, in that they both have a desire to express themselves. In fact some of the best people working on the original Mac were poets and musicians on the side. In the seventies computers became a way for people to express their creativity. Great artists like Leonardo da Vincini and Michelangelo were also great at science. Michelangelo knew a lot about how to quarry stone, not just how to be a sculptor."

Integrate hardware and software together:

"People pay us to integrate things for them, because they don't have the time to think about this stuff 24/7. If you have an extreme passion for producing great products, it pushes you to be integrated, to connect your hardware and your software and content management. You want to break new ground, so you have to do it yourself. If you want to allow your products to be open to other hardware or software, you have to give up some of your vision."

Don't let the sales guys take over:

"I have my own theory about why decline happens at companies like IBM or Microsoft. The company does a great job, innovates and becomes a monopoly or close to it in some field, and then the quality of the product becomes less important. The company starts valuing the great salesmen, because they're the ones who can move the needle on the revenues, not the product engineers and designers. So the salespeople end up running the company. John Akers at IBM was a smart, eloquent, fantastic salesperson, but he didn't know anything about product. The same thing happened at Xerox. When the sales guys run the company, the product guys don't matter so much, and a lot of them just turn off. It happened at Apple when Sculley came in, which was my fault, and it happened when Ballmer took over at Microsoft. Apple was lucky it rebounded, but I don't think anything will change at Microsoft as long as Ballmer is running it."

Put in the hard work it takes:

"I hate it when people call themselves 'entrepreneurs' when what they're really trying to do is launch a startup and then sell or go public, so they can cash in and move on. They're unwilling to do the work it takes to build a real company, which is the hardest work in business. That's how you really make a contribution and add to the legacy of those who went before. You build a company that will stand for something a generation or two from now. That's what Walt Disney did, and Hewlett and Packard, and the people who built Intel. They created a company to last, not just to make money. That's what I want Apple to be."

Be brutally honest:

" I don't think I run roughshod over people, but if something sucks, I tell people to their face. It's my job to be honest. I know what I'm talking about, and I usually turn out to be right. That's the culture I tried to create. We are brutally honest with each other, and anyone can tell me they think I am full of shit and I can tell them the same. And we've had some rip-roaring arguments, where we are yelling at each other, and it's some of the best times I've ever had. I feel totally comfortable saying 'Ron, that store looks like shit' in front of everyone else. Or I might say 'God, we really fucked up on the engineering on this' in front of the person that's responsible. That's the ante for being in the room: You've got to be able to be super honest. Maybe there's a better way, a gentlemen's club where we all wear ties and speak in this Brahmin language and velvet code-words, but I don't know that way, because I am middle class from California."

Never stop innovating:

"**You always have to keep pushing to innovate**. Dylan could have sung protest songs forever and probably made a lot of money, but he didn't. He had to move on, and when he did, by going electric in 1965, he alienated a lot of people. His 1966 Europe tour was his greatest. He would come on and do a set of acoustic guitar, and the audiences loved him. Then he brought out what became The Band, and they would all do an electric set, and the audience sometimes booed. There was one point where he was about to sing 'Like a Rolling Stone' and someone from the audience yells 'Judas!' And Dylan then says, 'Play it fucking loud!' And they did. The beatles were the same way. They kept evolving, moving, refining their art. That's what I've always tried to do-- keep moving. Otherwise, as Dylan says, if you're not busy being born, you're busy dying."

Contribute back to society and the flow of life:

"What drove me? I think most creative people want to express appreciation for being able to express appreciation for being able to take advantage of the work that's been done by others before us. I didn't invent the language or mathematics I use. Everything I do depends on other members of our species and the shoulders that we stand on. And a lot of us want to contribute something back to our species and to add something to the flow. It's about dying to express something in the only way that most of us know how-- because we can't write Bob Dylan songs or Tom Stoppard plays. We try to use the talents we do have to express our deep feelings, to show our appreciation of all the contributions that came before us, and to add something to that flow. That's what has driven me."

Steal great ideas:

"Picasso had a saying-- 'good artists copy, great artists steal'-- and we have always been shameless about stealing great ideas."

Don't let money ruin your life:

"I never worried about money. I grew up in a middle-class family, so I never thought I would starve. And I learned at Atari that I could be an okay engineer, so I always knew I could get by. I was voluntarily poor when I was in college and India, and I lived a pretty simple life even when I was working. So I went from fairly poor, which was wonderful, because IJ didn't have to wrry about money, to being incredibly rich, when I also didn't have to worry about money.

I watched people at Apple who made a lot of money and felt that they had to live differently. Some of them bought a Rolls-Royce and various houses, each with a house manager and then someone to manage the house managers. Their wives got plastic surgery and turned into these bizarre people. This was not how I wanted to live. It's crazy. I made a promise to myself that I'm not going to let this money ruin my life."

Don't baby (good) people:

"I've learned over the years that when you have really good people you don't have to baby them. By expecting them to do great things you can get them to do great things. The original Mac team taught me that A-plus players like to work together, and they don't like ti if you tolerate B work. Ask any member of that Mac team. They will tell you it was worth the pain."

Make your products as beautiful as possible:

"When you're a carpenter making a beautiful chest of drawers, you're not going to use a piece of plywood on the back, even though it faces the wall and nobody will ever see it. You'll know it's there, so you're going to use a beautiful piece of wood on the back. For you to sleep well at night, the aesthetic, the quality, has to be carried all the way through."

Don't get stuck in old patterns:

"Your thoughts construct patterns like scaffolding in your mind. You are really etching chemical patterns. In most cases, people get stuck in those patterns, just like grooves in a record, and they never get out of them...

If you want to live your life in a creative way as an artist, you have to not look back too much. You have to be willing to take whatever you've done and whoever you were and throw them away.

The more the outside world tries to reinforce an image of you, the harder it is to continue to be an artist, which is why a lot of times, artists have to say, 'Bye. I have to go. I'm going crazy and I'm getting out of here.' And they go and hibernate somewhere. Maybe later they re-emerge a little differently."

Go the extra mile:

"The older I get, the more I see how much motivations matter. The Zune was crappy because the people at Microsoft don't really love music or art the way we do. We won because we personally love music. We made the iPod for ourselves, and when you're doing something for yourself, or your best friend or family you're not going to cheese out. If you don't love something, you're not going to go the extra mile, work the extra weekend, challenge the status quo as much."

Don't worry about cannibalizing yourself:

"If you don't cannibalize yourself, someone else will."

Remember you will die soon (so follow your heart):

"**Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life**. Because almost everything-- all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure-- these things just fall away int he face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart."

[ericjohnkim]

Musonius Rufus' Lessons for Living

On how to become a philosopher: "The person who is practicing to become a philosopher must seek to overcome himself so that he won't welcome pleasure and avoid pain, so that he won't love living and fear death, and so that, in the case of money, he won't honor receiving over giving." On acquiring good things by pain "In order for us to withstand more easily and eagerly the pains we would be suffering on account of virtue and noble character, it is useful to consider how much trouble those who pursue illicit love-affairs undergo because of their wicked passions, how much others put up with for the sake of gain, and again how many ills some suffer in pursuit of fame. On controlling your desires: "And yet, wouldn't everyone agree that it is much better to work to gain control over one's own desires than it is to work to gain possession of someone else's wife-- and for a person to train himself to want little instead of struggling to become wealthy? And instead of exerting effort to gain fame, shouldn't a person strive to overcome his thirst for it? Instead of searching for a way to damage a person whom he envies, shouldn't he contemplate how not to bear envy against anyone? Instead of being slavish to some so-called friends, who are actually insincere, shouldn't he make sacrifices to win true friends?"  On withstanding abuse from others: "I could name many other men who were targets of abuse, some verbally attacked and others injured by physical attacks. They appear neither to have defended themselves against their attackers nor to have sought revenge. Instead, they very calmly bore the wrong committed by their attackers. Indeed, plotting how to bite back someone who bites and to return evil against the one who first did evil is characteristic of a beast, not a man. A beast is not able to comprehend that many of the wrongs done to people are done out of ignorance and a lack of understanding. A person who gains this comprehension immediately stops doing wrong." On working and living with others: "You will agree that human nature is very much like that of bees. A bee is not able to live alone: it perishes when isolated. Indeed, it is intent on performing the common task of members of its species-- to work and act together with other bees." On having many children: "I myself think that the man who lives with many loyal brothers is most worthy of emulation, and I think that the man who enjoys these blessings is most beloved by the gods. Therefore I think that we should try to leave our children brothers rather than possessions, in order to give them greater chances for blessings." On eating: "Practice choosing food not for pleasure but for nourishment, not to please his palate but to strengthen his body. The throat was created as a passageway for food, not as an organ for pleasure… Plants take nourishment for the sake of their survival rather than for pleasure, and for humans as well, food is the medicine of life. Therefore, the goal of our eating should be staying alive rather than having pleasure-- at least if we wish to follow the sound advice of Socrates, who said that many men live to eat, but that he ate to live." "To summarize the whole subject of food, I say that the goal of eating is to bring about both health and strength. Consequently, one should eat only inexpensive foods and should be concerned with decency and appropriate moderation and, most of all, with restrained and studious behavior." On clothing: "One should seek protection for the body that is modest, not expensive and excessive. One should use clothing and footwear in the same way as one uses armor: to defend the body, not to show off. The strongest weapons and those most able to keep their user safe are the best, not those that attract attention because of their sheen. Likewise, the clothing and footwear that provide the most protection for the body, not those that can attract the gaze of foolish people, are best." On bearing the cold: "It is a mistake to bundle up the body in a lot of clothes or envelope it in shawls or wrap up hands and feet in felt or heavy cloth-- unless, that is, one is ill It is a mistake for peoplee to dress so that they never experience cold and heat. To the contrary, they should be somewhat cold in winter, get out in the sun in summer, and stay in the shade very little.  On homes: "Since we build houses to protect ourselves from the elements, these houses, too, I think should be built to provide only what is needed: to keep out cold and excessive heat, and to protect those who needed to be protected from the wind. Our dwelling, in other words, should provide us the protection we could expect from a cave-- one big enough for ourselves and our stores of food." "Why are there courtyards surrounded by colonnades? Why are there paints of different colors? Why are there gilded ceilings? Why the great outlays for stones, some used to pave the earth, some laid into walls, and some brought from very far away at very great expense? Aren't all these things excessive and unnecessary? One can, after all, not only live but flourish without them. Doesn't acquiring them involve both a lot of trouble and the expenditure of a lot of money-- money, one should add, that could be used to help many people both publicly and privately?" "Isn't it more praiseworthy to help a lot of people than to live expensively? Isn't spending money on people much more notable than spending it on wood and stones? Isn't it much more worthwhile to have a lot of friends (as a result of doing good deeds cheerfully) than to have a big house? What benefits from having a big and beautiful house could match those that could be derived from using one's possession to help one's city and its citizens?" On furnishing a home: "On the whole, we can judge whether various household furnishings are good or bad by determining what it takes to acquire them, use them, and keep them safe. Things that are difficult to acquire, hard to use, or difficult to guard are inferior; things that are easy to acquire, are a pleasure to use and are easily guarded are superior." On living in luxury: "I myself would choose to be sick rather than to live in luxury. Being sick harms the body only; living in luxury harms both soul and body, by making the body weak and powerless and the soul undisciplined and cowardly. Surely luxurious living fosters injustice because it also fosters greed. A person who lives extravagantly cannot help but spend a lot and therefore cannot want to spend little. Furthermore, because he wants many things, he can't refrain from trying to acquire them, and when he sets out to acquire them, he can't help grabbing for too much and being unjust. No one can acquire many things without being unjust." On living well: "It is not possible to live well today unless you treat it as your last day." On pleasure: "It is the height of shamelessness to think about how weak our bodies are when enduring pain, but to forget how weak we are when experiencing pleasure." On leading: "Kings should perish who make a habit of justifying their actions to their subjects by saying "I have the power" rather than "It is my duty." On wealth: "We will hold that one man and one man only is truly wealthy--he who learns to want nothing in every circumstance." On hard work: "If you accomplish something good with hard work, the labor passes quickly, but the good endures; if you do something shameful in pursuit of pleasure, the pleasure passes quickly, but the shame endures." On training the mind: "To let one's mind go lax is, in effect, to lose it." On encouraging others: "When you want to encourage someone who is tired and has given up, tell them: "Why do you stand there? What are you looking for? Do you expect the god himself to come and speak to you? Cut out the dead part of your soul, and you will recognize the god."

[ericjohnkim]

Lessons from Epictetus' "Enchiridion" (Handbook to living)

On the costliness of fortune: poisonous nature of fortune: XX: "As when you see a viper or an asp or a scorpion in an ivory or golden box, you do not on account of the costliness of the material love it or think it happy, but because the nature of it is pernicious, you turn away from it and loath it; so when you shall see vice dwelling in wealth and in the swollen fullness of fortune, be not struck by the splendor of the material, but despise the false character of the morals."  On contentment: CLXXII: Epictetus being asked, What man is rich, answered, He who is content (who has enough) CXXXVII: Contentment, as it is a short road and pleasant, has great delight and little trouble. CXXIX: He is a wise man who does not grove for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has. XXIV: As it is better to lie compressed in a narrow bed and be healthy than to be tossed with disease on a broad couch, so also it is better to contract yourself within a small competence and to be happy than to have a great fortune and to be wretched. On expecting the worst: CLVIII: If you wish to live a life free from sorrow, think of what is going to happen as if it had already happened. On hearing more than speaking: CXLII: Nature has given to men one tongue, but two ears, that we may hear from others twice as much as we speak. On God: CXVII: Let your talk of God be renewed every day, rather than your food CXIX: Think of God more frequently than you breathe. CXX: If you always remember that whatever you are doing in the soul or in the body, God stands by as an inspector, you will never err (do wrong) in all your prayers and in all your acts, but you will have God dwelling with you. On (avoiding) pleasure: CX: A man should choose (pursue) not every pleasure, but the pleasure which leads to goodness On decision making: CI: Deliberate much before saying or doing anything, for you will not have the power of recalling what has been said or done." On duty: LXXXVIII: As the sun does not wait for prayers and incantations to be induced to rise, but immediately shines and is saluted by all: so do you also not wait for clippings of hands, and shouts and praise to be induced to do good, but be a doer of good voluntarily, and you will be beloved as much as the sun. LXXVIII: As the fire-lights in harbors by a few pieces of dry wood raises a great flame and give sufficient help to ships which are wandering on the sea; so also an illustrious man in a state which is tempest-tossed, while he is himself satisfied with a few things does great services to his citizens. XVII: Remember that thou art an actor in a play of such a kind as the teacher (author) may choose; if short, of a short one; if long, of a long one: if he wishes you to act the part of a poor man, see that you act the part naturally; if the part of a lame man, of a magistrate, of a private person (do the same). For this is your duty, to act well the part that is given to you; but to select the part, belongs to another. On hope: LXXXIX: Neither should a ship rely on one small anchor, nor should life rest on a single hope. On ignoring haters: LXXXV:As a goose is not frightened by cackling nor a sheep by bleating, so let not the clamor of a senseless multitude alarm you. On governing a state: LXXXII: Do not decorate the walls of your house with the valuable stones from Euboea and Sparta; but adorn the minds (breasts) of the citizens and of those who administer the state with the instruction which comes from Hellas (Greece). For states are well governed by the wisdom (judgement) of men, not by stone and wood. LXXXI: You will do the greatest services to the state, if you shall raise not the roofs of the houses, but the souls of the citizens: for it is better that great souls should dwell in small houses than for mean slaves to lurk in great houses. On speaking: LXXVII: Attempt on every occasion to provide for nothing so much as that which is safe: for silence is safer than speaking. And omit speaking whatever is without sense and reason. On business: LXXV: Lampis the shipowner being asked how he acquired his wealth, answered, With no difficulty, my great wealth; but my small wealth (my first gains), with much labor. On friendship: XLVII: Instead of a herd of oxen [wealth], endeavor to assemble herds of friends in your house. XLI: It is better to live with one free man and to be without fear and free, than to be a slave with many. On the soul: XXXI: In banquets remember that you entertain two guests, body and soul: and whatever you shall have given to the body you soon eject: but what you shall have given to the soul, you keep always. On virtue: XIII: No man who loves money, and loves pleasure, and loves fame, also loves mankind, but only he who loves virtue. On frugality: XIV: As you would not choose to sail in a large and decorated and gold-laden ship (or ship ornamented with gold), and to be drowned; so do not choose to dwell in a large and costly home and to be disturbed (by cares). On death: XXI: Let death and exile and every other thing which appears dreadful be daily before your eyes; but most of al death: and you will never think of anything mean nor will you desire anything extravagantly.  On fate: VIII: Seek not the things which happen should happen as you wish; but wish the things which happen to be as they are, and you will have a tranquil flow of life.

[ericjohnkim]

"Sophistication is born out of hunger." (artificia docuit fames)

[ericjohnkim]

"To depend on another's nod for a livelihood is a sad destiny" - Publius Syrus

Philosophy

[ericjohnkim]

Oblique Strategies

via Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt. Link

(Organic) machinery

A line has two sides A very small object -Its centre Abandon desire Abandon normal instructions Accept advice Accretion Adding on Allow an easement (an easement is the abandonment of a stricture) Always first steps Always give yourself credit for having more than personality Always the first steps Are there sections? Consider transitions Ask people to work against their better judgement Ask your body Assemble some of the elements in a group and treat the group Back up a few steps. What else could you have done? Balance the consistency principle with the inconsistency principle Be dirty Be extravagant Be less critical more often Breathe more deeply Bridges -build -burn Call your mother and ask her what to do. Cascades Change ambiguities to specifics Change instrument roles Change nothing and continue with immaculate consistency Change specifics to ambiguities Children's voices -speaking -singing Cluster analysis Consider different fading systems Consider transitions Consult other sources -promising -unpromising Convert a melodic element into a rhythmic element Courage! Cut a vital connection Decorate, decorate Define an area as `safe' and use it as an anchor Describe the landscape in which this belongs. (9 August) Destroy nothing; Destroy the most important thing Discard an axiom Disciplined self-indulgence Disconnect from desire Discover the recipes you are using and abandon them Discover your formulas and abandon them Display your talent Distorting time Do nothing for as long as possible Do something boring Do something sudden, destructive and unpredictable Do the last thing first Do the washing up Do the words need changing? Do we need holes? Don't avoid what is easy Don't be afraid of things because they're easy to do Don't be frightened of cliches Don't be frightened to display your talents Don't break the silence Don't stress one thing more than another Emphasize differences Emphasize repetitions Emphasize the flaws Faced with a choice, do both Feed the recording back out of the medium Feedback recordings into an acoustic situation Fill every beat with something Find a safe part and use it as an anchor First work alone, then work in unusual pairs. From nothing to more than nothing Get your neck massaged Ghost echoes Give the game away Give way to your worst impulse Go outside. Shut the door. Go slowly all the way round the outside Go to an extreme, move back to a more comfortable place How would someone else do it? How would you explain this to your parents? How would you have done it? Humanize something that is free of error. Idiot glee (?) Imagine the music as a moving chain or caterpillar Imagine the music as a series of disconnected events In total darkness, or in a very large room, very quietly Infinitesimal gradations Instead of changing the thing, change the world around it. Intentions -credibility of -nobility of -humility of Into the impossible Is it finished? Is something missing? Is the intonation correct? Is the style right? Is the tuning appropriate? Is the tuning intonation correct? Is there something missing? It is quite possible (after all) It is simply a matter or work Just carry on Left channel, right channel, centre channel List the qualities it has. List those you'd like. Listen in total darkness, or in a very large room, very quietly Listen to the quiet voice Look at a very small object, look at its centre Look at the order in which you do things Look closely at the most embarrassing details and amplify. Lost in useless territory Lowest common denominator check -single beat -single note -single riff Magnify the most difficult details Make a blank valuable by putting it in an excquisite frame Make a sudden, destructive unpredictable action; incorporate Make an exhaustive list of everything you might do and do the last thing on the list Make it more sensual Make what's perfect more human Mechanize something idiosyncratic Move towards the unimportant Mute and continue Not building a wall but making a brick Once the search has begun, something will be found Only a part, not the whole Only one element of each kind Overtly resist change Pae White's non-blank graphic metacard Pay attention to distractions Picture of a man spotlighted Put in earplugs Question the heroic approach Remember those quiet evenings Remove a restriction Remove ambiguities and convert to specifics Remove specifics and convert to ambiguities Remove the middle, extend the edges Repetition is a form of change Retrace your steps Revaluation (a warm feeling) Reverse Short circuit (example; a man eating peas with the idea that they will improve his virility shovels them straight into his lap) Shut the door and listen from outside Simple subtraction Simply a matter of work Slow preparation, fast execution Spectrum analysis State the problem in words as simply as possible Steal a solution. Take a break Take away as much mystery as possible. What is left? Take away the elements in order of apparent non-importance Take away the important parts Tape your mouth The inconsistency principle The most important thing is the thing most easily forgotten The tape is now the music Think - inside the work -outside the work Think of the radio Tidy up Towards the insignificant Trust in the you of now Try faking it Turn it upside down Twist the spine Use "unqualified" people. Use an old idea Use an unacceptable color Use cliches Use fewer notes Use filters Use something nearby as a model Use your own ideas Voice your suspicions Water What are the sections sections of? Imagine a caterpillar moving What context would look right? What do you do? Now, what do you do best? What else is this like? What is the reality of the situation? What is the simplest solution? What mistakes did you make last time? What most recently impressed you? How is it similar? What can you learn from it? What could you take from it? What to increase? What to reduce? What to maintain? What were the branch points in the evolution of this entity What were you really thinking about just now? Incorporate What would make this really successful? What would your closest friend do? What wouldn't you do? When is it for? Who is it for? Where is the edge? Which parts can be grouped? Who would make this really successful? Work at a different speed Would anyone want it? You are an engineer You can only make one dot at a time You don't have to be ashamed of using your own ideas Your mistake was a hidden intention

[ericjohnkim]

"Happiness; we don't know what it means, how to measure it, or how to reach it, but we know extremely well how to avoid unhappiness." - Nassim Nicholas Taleb (via in The Bed of Procrustes)

[ericjohnkim]

"'Wealthy' is meaningless and has no robust absolute measure ; use instead the subtractive measure 'unwealth,' that is, the difference, at any point in time, between what you have and what you would like to have." - Nassim Nicholas Taleb (Via The Bed of Procrustes)

[ericjohnkim]

On Success

We shouldn't think about success in terms of what to do to win. Rather, what to do not to lose.

For example:

Success in wealth: not losing money

Success in sports: not losing

Success in relationships: no devastating arguments 

So let's take an opposite view of success-- maybe that of "anti-success." Instead of seeking success, let's avoid failure that will destroy us [1]. By definition, then you will be successful.

--

[1]: Of course, small downsides and failures are fine. It is only big blowup failures that will ruin us (like losing all of your money in the stock market, versus small losses in trades). 

[ericjohnkim]

Leaning Forward

We all face adversity in our everyday lives. However the question is: should we face our adversities head-on, or should we try to ignore them?

Seneca gives us some timeless insight from from "Letters From a Stoic.” He shares the analogy that facing adversity is like climbing up a mountain in which we must lean forward. When we take the easy way in life, it is like leaning backwards, like when we go down a mountain:

“Do you not see how different it is the method of descending a mountain from that employed in climbing upwards? Men coming down a slope bend backwards; men ascending a steep place lean forward. For, my dear Lucilius, to allow yourself to put your body’s weight ahead when coming down, or when climbing up, or throw it backward is to comply with vice. The pleasures take one down hill but one must work upwards toward that which is rough and hard to climb; in the one case let us throw our bodies forward, in the others let us put the check-rein on them.”

So when we face difficult times in life– let us not cower and take the easy way down the mountain. Let us keep pressing forward, and lean forward.

[ericjohnkim]

Why Small is Beautiful

Being an entrepreneur, I have always been told that 'bigger is better.' Therefore the existence of my company was to grow as big as I could (in number of employees) as well as my profits. This caused a lot of angst, as even though I was earning enough money to survive comfortably, I was still working harder and harder, trying to grow bigger and earning more money (by expanding the services I offered)-- never considering "temperantia," or knowing when "enough is enough." I was first brought onto the idea of "small is beautiful" by Nassim Taleb in "Antifragile"-- often citing nature as his example. For example, humans evolved to live as hunter-gatherers, rather than to grow into 100,000+ employee companies. I also wondered why I kept on working more and more, when I earned enough money. I recommend in addition to reading this, to read How Much is Enough?: Money and the Good Life. It also gives great practical philosophies on the insanity of growing for the sake of growing. Some quotes from the book I enjoyed:

Ghandhi: "Earth provides enough to satisfy every mans need, not for every man's greed"

"What were luxuries for our fathers have become necessities for us."

"An ounce of practice is worth more than a ton of theory"

"The rate of real leisure is inversely proportional to the amount of time-saving devices they own"

Probably the best chapter in this book is Chapter 4: "Buddhist Economics" in which the author gives Buddhism as an example that yes, you can have a sort of "ethical economics" -- not just squeezing the proletariat for profits. There is also a free text available online if you just google "buddhist economics schumacher" that is also a great accompaniment. The big takeaway I got from the book is this: know when "enough is enough" (if you work as an entrepreneur or in an office, to just earn enough to fulfill your basic needs--then spending the rest of your energy on creative pursuits). Not only that, but the idea that smallness is definitely beneficial (and more natural) when it comes to an organization. After all, in nature things don't continue growing forever-- there are natural limits in which things stop growing. Think of our eyebrows (they miraculously know when to stop growing). Also highly recommend reading Schumacher's A Guide for the Perplexed which is a very fun and practical read on how to use philosophy to live a fulfilling and purposeful life.

[ericjohnkim]

Depth vs breadth?

It isn't so much of a matter of depth over breadth (to specialize or to generalize). Rather, you seek depth and in your quest to discover the true essence of things, you will have to delve into other subjects outside of your field to gain true clarity. Therefore depth is the most important, but it can only be understood after studying and mastering many other fields. My biggest break through in street photography haven't been through photography books, but sociology and philosophy books.

[ericjohnkim]

Limiting my Internet time

Heuristic : no Internet before 12pm. No internet after 6pm