Conquer Yourself
If all the land in the world has been conquered, all the roads are paved, and there are no good reasons to go to battle, maybe we should just conquer ourselves.
Forever a Student
Our thoughts shape our reality.
If we tell ourselves that we’ve seen it all, done it all, and learned it all, then what more is there to life after all? I feel like because we have the Internet, iPhones, and unlimited information, entertainment, and technology, we like to think that we’ve seen it all or just know it all. I can tell you that this is not how I think.
I seek to forever be a student of life, an adult with a childlike spirit and an open heart and mind. Honestly, my main goal in life is to just never miss another sunrise again.
Why?
I believe being eager for the sunrise goes hand in hand with curiosity. Each day, when the sun rises above the horizon, I remind myself how infinite the possibilities in life are. I think about all of the questions I have, how much there is left to do, to explore, and to understand. There’s not enough time in the day to figure it all out, but I know that when I’m awake in the morning with my eyes wide open, and the sun is coming up, I have another chance—another opportunity to try to figure some stuff out.
Everything Is a Work in Progress
Everything I’m working on is simply a work in progress. I think a lot of artists seek to create the perfect masterpiece, to get things to the point where they no longer need to work on it or finish a project. The thing is, nothing is ever complete, nothing will ever be perfect or finished how you want it to be. I think recognizing this idea is very empowering and will help any artist out there who ever feels burnt out.
For instance, I’m currently going through years and years and years of photographs, and it’s very daunting. I could never finish this project if I didn’t allow myself the idea that it will never be finished. I could put the photos in a book, sequence it how I desire, and even then, I’ll always look back at it as imperfect or incomplete, as there will always be something I could tweak to make it better or improve it.
Because of this, perhaps embracing this notion that everything is a work in progress is empowering. This idea gives me the freedom to continue pushing, to continue doing and creating, because I know that I can always come back and refine things. Nothing will ever be complete. Nothing will ever be perfect. Everything in flux!
Eliminate Choice
Freedom is the elimination of choice.
For instance, when I walk along the Schuylkill River Trail here in Philadelphia, there’s only one path: onward. All the decisions to make have been removed because, when you think about it, you can only go forward or backward. This is where I thrive—on a path like this, moving my body onward, endlessly. If I move to the left, I’ll freeze to death after I fall into the river. If I move to the right, I’ll get hit by a car and die in a tragic accident.
Eliminating the decision of whether or not I want to go left or right, I feel free to continue moving, upward, and onward toward the cliffside behind the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where I can stand on top of the city, look out toward the horizon with a panopticon view of my surroundings, feeling abundance and power. When I look out at the skyline and the river, I have this childlike spirit that just wants to come out and play, and embrace the day with curiosity.
Decision Fatigue
When you wake up in the morning with this child spirit and you’re just eager to go out there and explore and create and do and think and tinker with life, it can become overwhelming as an artist, knowing the amount of possibilities and choices you can take each day. Because of this, I like to stick to a very disciplined lifestyle. For instance, waking up in the morning and deciding what you want to wear and what kind of coffee you want is a choice. This choice is something I completely eliminate the night before I go to sleep.
The night before I wake up, I already have my clothes laid out for the day, so that when I get out of the shower in the morning, I can slip right into what I need and go straight out my door. Actually, before I go to bed, I even pre-prepare four espresso shots and leave them in my fridge so that when I wake up, I can take four shots and just move on with my day. Even though making espresso is really fast, especially when you have a machine, it’s actually taking up way too much time in my morning. I just want to get that energy boost and move on.
For me, the goal is simple: to get myself outside, to get under the sunrise, and to start moving right away.
When I arrive at work, I go to a corner in the greenhouse where I do some yoga stretching and align my body for the day. This is one of the most important parts of my day, especially when it comes to stretching my legs, as I’m always on my feet and moving throughout the day. Because of this, I prioritize this immediately. While I’m working, I’ll listen to lectures from the Peterson Academy, which is absolutely fantastic, and I highly recommend. I’m currently taking the courses on biology.
On my break, and during my lunch, I always make sure that I go for a 30-minute walk around the trails in the woods to read a book. When I read, I prefer to read while walking outside, and I will sometimes even read out loud to myself.
Eliminating breakfast and lunch is another choice that simplifies my life. By fasting throughout the day, I’m not thinking about what I need to eat or what I desire to eat. The night before, I simply have my meat thawed, ready to go in my fridge for when I come home to cook on the stove, throw in the oven, or slow cook. The carnivore diet is an elimination diet, removing all carbs, sugars, vegetables, etc. It has simplified my life so that I know all I need before I go to sleep is a few pieces of meat and I’m good to go. I treat food like fuel, and it sure as hell does the job.
One huge and very big decision that I’m very proud of, and I encourage you to do as well if you’re interested, is to stop going to grocery stores. Just go to a local farmer and buy meat in bulk. I’ve been buying from an Amish farmer recently, and I store all of my meat in a deep freezer at home. The meat tastes 1,000 times better and it’s just a much better way to go about this thing. Just think—you only ever have to go out there and buy food maybe four times per year. Eliminating all of these very small decisions to make when it comes to the food I eat, I feel so much more free and light.
Another choice that I eliminated is car ownership. I don’t desire or want to own a car. Living in the city, there’s really no need to own one. I can walk, take the bus, or Uber if I really want to go somewhere. I just love having the option and the freedom of movement that comes with not owning a car. My goal is to actually own as little as possible. A car is just a headache and something that will suck up your money.
In terms of investments and money, it seems foolish to diversify. When you figure out that the best place in the universe to store your time and energy is Bitcoin, why would you even store your money in a bank account? Fiat currency will lose its purchasing power each year, and it’s probably most wise to store money in hard money, digital gold, digital capital—in Bitcoin—that outperforms every other asset. Once you figure out what Bitcoin is, there’s no going back. You just go all in, eliminating all decisions to make when it comes to investing and saving money.
Just Do
As photographers, we often get caught up with the point of photography—why we photograph, or what we’re photographing, and what it all means. We think about what the project or theme and topic should be. But what if I were to say that you just need to go out there and make more photographs?
What if your ultimate aim and goal was to simply archive your town, and to have documents that show proof and existence of your town in the future? My goal is to make an archive, to continue pushing the boundaries, and to continue photographing in an artistic way that not only makes the photographs that showcase where I was and where I am, but also how I feel about where I was and how I perceived where I am. I believe that the archive is a much more open-ended and liberating goal to strive toward because it’s simply endless.
Think of Eugène Atget and his documents of Paris and how he photographed a number of different subjects. He didn’t just pigeonhole himself to one way of photographing, but he photographed the entirety of Paris and left these documents behind that, to me, evoke the essence of street photography. This is where I get my direct inspiration. Not to mention, Paris and Philadelphia have a very interesting connection and are practically the same city in terms of layout, architecture, etc.
I Photograph, Therefore I Am
I like to think of a photograph as a thought. A thought is something that comes to you very suddenly, spontaneously, and is also something that is forever fleeting. However, when a thought arises, you might seek to write it down, to remember that idea, to come back to it on a later date.
A photograph is similar in this way. As I’m walking and moving and recognizing life, a spontaneous moment might arise that I photograph. That photograph is like a thought, an idea, something that comes quickly, something that comes randomly, but I make sure to take a note of it and come back to it later.
The Importance of Mindset
I’m starting to really understand the power of mindset and how it can fuel you on your everyday journey of life.
Every morning, I’ve been starting the day off with a simple prayer, and a moment of gratitude for the day. By uplifting my spirit with these positive thoughts, and considering the things that I’m most grateful for in life, like the simple fact that I have another day to wake up and catch the sunrise, and move my two legs and stand upright, have clean water and a piece of meat before I go to sleep, listening to the sound of birds chirping, and observing the chaos of city life, I’m fueled with abundance and this mindset that sets me up for success each day.
There’s a famous quote from the Book of Matthew where Jesus is giving his sermon on the mount:
“Seek, and you shall find. Knock, and it shall be opened to you.”
When you approach the day with gratitude and prayer and this divine connection to God, you are on the path to seeking truth. When you are open to divine guidance, when you are open to God entering your life, when you knock at the door of prayer, you are seeking intentionally through the pursuit of growth, knowledge, and curiosity. By setting the day up this way with prayer, I lead the day with purpose, reminding myself that the answers I’m looking for will come through faith.
The notion of faith is much more interesting to me than hope, as hope is something that you can maybe just brush off or use as an excuse that you’re hoping or wishing for something more. But having faith is having conviction, and is a much more powerful mindset.
Keep Going
Nothing can break my spirit with a camera in hand.
The power of photography lies in the ability for the individual to give their life deeper meaning. When you make a photograph, you are affirming life. When you go out there, and you make more photographs, you’re conquering yourself through the act of creation.
Creating a flow state of walking and observing life’s patterns and complexities is an experience that becomes very meditative. When you slow down and you let life come toward you, and you just keep moving your body onward, endlessly, life will deliver you beautiful gifts. These beautiful gifts will be everlasting memories that you cherish in the photographs you make.
If you’re out there in the world, and you have no direction, turn to your camera as a compass. For the camera and curiosity will lead you, guide you in life, and find yourself in situations that you can only dream of. It’s like a key that unlocks the door, and all you need to do is pick it up and start knocking. Chip away each day, and photograph in the spirit of play. Recognize the power you possess as a creator, wielding light as your medium, creating upon the world—our canvas—and making more photographs in this open, honest, and joyful spirit.