MUSIC FOR WRITING

The sounds I hear when writing play a very big role in my work. Most times, I can't write if there are lyrics in a song, because then I can't hear my own thoughts. I can handle the ambiance of a cafe, as most conversations drown each other out with the help of the occasional coffee grinder. What I like most of all are great albums that I can just plug and play to really get me into the zone. It's taken me a long time to find these albums, but here are ten that I would love to share with you. I hope these beautiful sounds help you communicate your message as much as they have helped me.

You can see the whole playlist here.

by Jason Lam

WHAT LIVING IN TAIPEI TAUGHT ME ABOUT BEING HUMAN IN BUSINESS

Being a consumer in Taipei is very interesting because you get a much fuller experience of all the businesses around your neighborhood.

I live in the Songshan District of Taipei. It’s just north of the main downtown area, so it’s busy but not to the point where you can’t have conversations with the shop owners. 

From the delicious Taiwanese breakfast cornerspot that I visit everyday, to the fruit stand where I like to buy my pre-cut cantaloupe, and the barbershop that’s been open since 1987. I get to see all stages of every business around me from the moment they open all the way until they close.

They’re not soulless entities where I go in, give them my money, and get out. I get to talk to the workers. Ask for their advice. Directions. Where there’s good food. What I should do on the weekends. In addition, I also get to see what they’re up to. I see their children running around. I see them packing their bags and hopping on their scooters to go home. I see them taking breaks and eating lunch at the same local noodle spots that I go to. It’s comforting in a way that I’ve never experienced being raised in a big city like San Francisco.

The businesses I visit on the daily basis are not faceless corporations. They are run by people just like me. They need to grab coffee in the mornings. They laugh. Sometimes are in a bad mood, and often need a break to sit back and maybe even smoke a cigarette. I’m not being told that they are human. I’m not being tricked with clever copywriting or a fancy website. In fact, most these places don’t even have a website. And forget about Yelp, they don’t use it out here.

They are human, not because they choose to be, but because that’s just how business is done out here. The city of Taipei is way too cramped to keep the messy bits of life tucked away. Everything’s out in the open. (All the way to the meat and cabbage you see being prepped on the side of the road. Unsanitary? Maybe. Honest? Definitely.)

This is rather humbling and also quite comforting because growing up I’ve always been inspired to run my own business. But I’ve always felt a little bit at odds because I didn’t major in economics or anything of that sort. I majored in film. Storytelling. And I’ve tried to make up for my lack of business education via reading a ton of books, spending thousands of dollars on online workshops on how I can double my income while working remotely. I read clickbait articles about how my copy could be getting in the way of conversions. How the color of my newsletter subscribe button could be the reason my list hasn’t grown in 2 years. How maybe I should switch from using Squarespace to Wordpress, or how my content isn’t fully optimized for SEO.

They’re all great techniques, I’m sure, but living here in Taiwan and actively participating in the commerce here, I can’t help but think that maybe I’m just trying way too damn hard. Because most these shops don’t have fancy storefronts. In fact, I’m quite annoyed of their adamant use of overhead fluorescent lighting (I'm a photographer, it's a very unflattering type of light), and how almost everywhere I eat, there's a TV blasting the news 24/7. 

They show their guts.

And something about that makes it trustworthy enough. Something about that makes me want to come back and tell all my friends about it. Something about that makes me feel like all this time spent creating a fancy website, catchphrase, and what not is just a waste of time when really I just need to focus on one thing and one thing only. Solve a real problem that people face every day. If you do that. Nothing else matters. Forget a minimalist logo. Forget a fancy website. Forget SEO optimization and what not. Show me you’re human. Because if you have my trust, then you’ll have my business. And in a world full of fancy packaging, bright colors and false perceptions of perfection. I find comfort in knowing that you’re not that perfect either. 

by Jason Lam

ONE REASON NOT TO BE YOURSELF

I encourage you to try to be like somebody else. Because in trying to be like somebody else you will find that you have no choice but to be yourself. It is, in fact, the trying to be somebody else that gets us closer to who we really are. Otherwise, we have no “other” to compare ourselves with. No darkness to contrast with the light. No bitter with the sweet. No silence to the sound. Maybe being yourself isn’t just about being yourself. Maybe it’s about first trying to be everything but yourself. Just a thought.

by Jason Lam

THE REAL REASON FOR BRANDING

The real reason for branding is for ease of identification and communication.

Thus, logos, slogans, and websites. 

Because as much as we’d like to refer you to Mr. Johnson right down the road around the corner, by the way, he doesn’t take appointments, you just have to show up, and sometimes they’re closed on Wednesdays. You probably shouldn’t go around 12 pm because he’ll be eating lunch and it’s best not to — We live in a busy world and we really just don’t have time for that.

So businesses come up with logos, color schemes and what not to make it easy for us to:

• Not just easily identify.
• But for us to talk about.
• Particularly, for us to tell others about your business, versus having to tell you that Mr. Johnson right down the road around the corner… well, you get the idea.

I think that’s the real reason for branding. And I think that’s why businesses should strive to at least try and make a logo, or a slogan, or a distinctive colorway, to make it easy to identify because then the good you are doing for the world can be easily passed on.

• "Just do it"
• "You'll see the golden arches"
• "Yeah, just look for the Apple"

Let me reiterate. Fancy branding isn’t the point. It should never be the point. But it is a great tool to use in your favor. It really doesn’t hurt to spend just a little bit of time and resources on your branding especially if it means it can help grow your business exponentially.

It’s not about you. It’s about your customers. Better yet, it’s about your customer’s customers. Sure, there’s the Internet, but how do most of us decide which businesses to give our hard earned money to? By asking our friends where we should go. It’s still true, to this day, we trust our friends more than we trust Google. And I don’t think that’s ever going to change. (Unless, maybe, when it comes to directions).

by Jason Lam

WHAT I WANT NOW: A GOOD ORDINARY LIFE

Back then I wanted to change the world. To stand alone and be able to look back at myself and think that yes, I made a dent in the universe. Now? Not so much. I don’t really care. Not that I don’t actually care about the wellbeing of the world and those around me, but more like I don’t think heroism and philanthropy needs to be so dramatic. I don’t have to quit my job and travel the world. I don’t have to drop out of school. I don’t have to go it alone. I can do simple things, like write a little blog post. Have coffee and brunch with my friends on Sundays. Make sure I get a couple hours of exercise every week. And that’s enough. I once thought that being a good person was changing the world. Now I know it means changing myself. Yes. I bit that right off Rumi’s quote, “Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself." I don’t have to stand out. I don’t have to be different. In fact, there’s nothing wrong with being “the same.” If anything, it’s absolutely normal and beneficial in many ways. It’s less lonely. People understand you. And your schedule more or less aligns with everybody else so you can actually afford to go out and play frisbee with your friends at the park every once in a while. It’s not so bad. This isn’t me giving up. This is me acknowledging the changing landscape of my life and my mind.

P.S. Thank you, Grace Kim, for introducing me to that Rumi quote =)

by Jason Lam

FIND OUT FOR YOURSELF

One thing about the human animal is that while we are great learning machines, we don’t ever truly learn anything unless we try it ourselves. No, being told what and what not to do doesn’t cut it. We need to touch the flame. Fall off the tree. And get our hearts broken a couple times before anything begins to click. We need our own scars. Our own stories. Our own life lessons. We need to find out for ourselves.

by Jason Lam

HOLDING OUT FOR SOMETHING BETTER

Delaying decisions. I actually think it’s a sign of something great. It’s a sign that you believe in yourself. So much to the point where you will pass up great opportunities believing that better ones will come. The problem with that, however, is sometimes, better does not come. And you’re left alone. And your optimistic view of the world begins to crumble. Maybe you’re not that special. Maybe people don’t really have your best interests in mind. Maybe you’ve led yourself astray with your false sense of confidence. Maybe you’re just like everybody else. And in fact, in many ways, we are. That’s nothing to be ashamed about. If anything, it’s a reminder of our humanity. Nobody gets a free pass. If life throws you a bone and you ignore it enough times, eventually, life will find somebody else to take care of. All of the sudden, you’ll be left wishing for what you once never wanted. Are you holding out for something better? Maybe better will never come. Maybe what you have today, right now, that’s all the better you need.

by Jason Lam

CARRY YOUR OWN WEIGHT

The main thing I love about weight training is the fundamental idea behind it. It’s very simple. The weights won’t move unless you carry it. The weights stay exactly where they are, and you stay exactly where you are. You might even be going backwards as your muscles will eventually weaken from lack of use. The weight won’t change though. It’s not going anywhere. It won’t get lighter the longer you wait. Instead, it will get heavier. So much to the point where you might not be able to carry it on your own anymore. But here’s the thing, between you and the weight is time and space. And with that time and space you can make the decision to move towards it, exert the necessary energy, and exert the change you want to see in your life. And with every action you take, the weight you carry reverberates out and affects those around you. But none of that can happen if you don’t first make the decision to carry your own weight. And that’s a decision nobody can make for you, but yourself.

by Jason Lam

NOTES FROM MR. EINSTEIN

“A calm and modest life brings more happiness than the pursuit of success combined with constant restlessness” - Albert Einstein

I couldn’t agree more. This also reminds me of a quote I found way back in the day by John Wooden:

“Don’t let making a living prevent you from making a life”

I think it’s a tough balance but one that’s worth the effort. We don’t hear much praise for the “quiet life.” But that doesn’t mean it’s any worse, or that the busier, noisier life is any better. Sure, the busy life might allow you to sound a bit more impressive at parties but is it worth the extra stress and anxiety? I’m not sure.

The fact that this bit of wisdom comes from one of the most influential people on earth speaks volumes. Maybe it’s okay to be a little less “successful,” especially if it means being able to spend a little more time with those you love.

by Jason Lam

GROW WINGS ON THE WAY DOWN

“Sometimes you just have to jump out the window and grow wings on the way down” - Ray Bradbury

Been thinking a lot about how we never truly learn how to do new things until circumstances no longer allow us the luxury of not knowing…

by Jason Lam

5 WAYS WRITING CAN IMPROVE YOUR LIFE

Writing was never my forte. It was my worst subject in high school and by the time I got to college, I still needed an English tutor. Still, there’s something that always pulled me towards writing. Perhaps it was my innate curiosity that often lead me to the local bookstores in the middle of the night, or maybe it was the need to express myself when I was lost and confused. Whatever the reason, writing serves a very important role in my life, and I hope by sharing these five points it can help you too.

Here are 5 ways writing can improve your life:

1. Improve Your Thinking 

   • Writing helps you think. A lot of my writing is an attempt to decipher thoughts in my mind. I may have a question that I can’t figure out the answer to or an idea I’d like to explore. By putting down words on a page I get to see what I have going on in my brain. Sometimes, writing leads me nowhere and I end up throwing everything in the trash, but other times, it leads to new discoveries that can turn into new business ideas or art concepts. Most importantly, placing my thoughts as words on a page helps me organize my thinking that I otherwise wouldn’t be able to do through just thinking alone.

2. Inspire yourself

   • A lot of writing is about giving advice. You might be surprised to find that most of the time, you’re just giving yourself advice. While that may seem a little odd, I’ve always found it inspiring to look over my old writing only to see how encouraging it could be. It’s empowering to know that you’re the one coming up with helpful tips and ideas to improve your life. In this way, writing can be a reminder of your abilities, your power, and when done well, it can do the same for others as well.

3. Help others

   • Writing is a pretty personal activity for me but I’ve always felt moved by people who write me back and telling me how helpful my words have been to their life. Your writing can help you, but it can help others too. It’s easy to feel like sharing your writing is weird. It might feel a little too self-involved, but your writing can change someone’s life. Writing and sharing your experiences can make people feel understood and less alone. It can provide answers to questions that others have been thinking about. It can provide a different perspective, and it can be inspirational. Chances are, if you’re writing about something that is real, it will resonate with people.

4. Relax + Eliminate Stress

   • A lot of thoughts get cluttered in my brain sometimes. Writing helps me get those thoughts out. Sometimes your writing doesn’t have to make sense. It could just be a brain dump where you write whatever comes to mind. This can be quite relaxing, particularly if you are feeling a little stressed or anxious. Some people keep a journal and do this first thing in the morning AKA “brain dump.” Who knows, among all the random words that come out onto the page, you might learn a thing or two about yourself that you otherwise wouldn’t have known.

5. Learn More About Yourself

   • Regardless of the mumbo jumbo that might come up when you start picking up the habit of writing, one of the greatest benefits to writing is what it can teach you about yourself. Writing helps me understand why certain thoughts exist. Maybe there’s something I need to learn. Maybe there’s someone I need to talk to. Maybe there’s something from my past that I need to confront. Writing is as much about self-discovery as it is about self-expression, and knowledge of the self is one of the greatest feats you can achieve in this life.

Action Step:

Set a time and a date in your calendar just for writing. This is your chance to see what comes to mind. A chance to peer into that topsy turvy brain of yours. A chance to challenge yourself, relax, and maybe learn a thing or two about yourself. You can write in the comfort of your home, or in one of your favorite cafes. Whatever you do, don’t judge yourself, just write and see what comes out.

by Jason Lam

DIRECTING MODELS

When you’re giving direction to your models, what you want to do is think “broad strokes.” Meaning, don’t fuss over the little details about where to put their hand or which way to turn their head. Instead. Tell them to sit down. Stand up. Turn to the right. Turn to the left. Give broad strokes. Most times, this is more than enough to get your model to the position you want versus trying to micromanage your way there. Often times, you’ll just end up with a very bad version of them trying to do the robot. Lol.

by Jason Lam

I LOSE MY TRAIN OF THOUGHT QUITE OFTEN

I don’t know if it’s because I’m stupid, or because my mind is just moving so quickly that sometimes I just lose track of things. I like to think it’s because of the latter. Because, well, who likes to think of themselves as stupid. Then again, given the standard in which I view myself, I must admit, in fact, I know for sure, that I am, quite stupid. And that was a rather hard fact to bear growing up. But now, I take it wholeheartedly. The world’s just too vast and there’s just too many things for me to know in order to ever reach the status of being called “smart”. If anything, the only smart people in the world are those who are smart in clearly defined areas. Nobody is smart in the worldly sense of the word. And, well, if this person does exist, I’d like to meet him (or her). But for now, I’ll continue doing what I can with what little I have. Grabbing at thoughts whenever possible. Fleshing them out with words on paper for as long as I remember. And moving my fingers across this keyboard to share it with you. I lose my train of thought quite often, and this post is no exception.

by Jason Lam

HAVE A LITTLE MORE FAITH IN YOUR RESILIENCE

There’s a wonderful quote I discovered the other day:

“We should have more confidence in our resilience than our ability to make predictions”
- Alain de Botton

I love that.

How many of you have wasted time sitting and trying to think your way into making the “right” decision? I have. I do it too often. 

It doesn’t really work that well. Surprise surprise. And I think that happens because we’re afraid of making the wrong decision. 

But I also found another quote recently:

“Sometimes you just have to jump out the window and grow wings on the way down”
- Ray Bradbury

Because I’ve been thinking about how people feel like they must first be 100% ready before they start a new endeavor, take on a new job, ask somebody out on a date, or whatnot. 

But I can say with 100% confidence that all things I’ve ever done, I never knew exactly how I was going to do it. Whether it was moving to New York City for the first time, backpacking Europe, or starting my YouTube channel. I never knew how exactly I was going to do any of those things. I had to figure it out along the way. 

I think this is very powerful. Perhaps we don’t give ourselves enough credit for our inherent resilience. There’s immense power in simply believing that we’re capable even if we are not fully capable at the moment.

So, have a little more faith in your resilience.

by Jason Lam

DON'T BE TOO PRECIOUS

This is still a hard lesson for me to learn. Don’t be too precious with your work. Regardless of how big or small it is. A mini personal photo project. Or something as huge as a fully fledged business. The most important thing I've learned as an artist is to accept the difference between what you want something to be, and what it actually is. It’s this discrepancy and the unwillingness to accept something for what it is that causes all the unnecessary friction. I can point to many photo projects of mine that struggled with this. Inside the Lion, Street Dance Project, LINES Ballet Training Program. And most recently, my YouTube channel - Barely Evolved Apes - I’m not even sure what it’s for anymore. To help people? Sure. But then I started making random cooking and travel videos. I’m not even sure anymore. But maybe I just need to keep going, embrace it for what it is and see what happens. 

by Jason Lam

THE HUSTLE IS NOT GLAMOROUS

I think there’s a misconception that artists, photographers especially, live this glamorous life. I was surely mistaken when I first pursued photography. I thought it was going to be all lights, camera, action! And when I found out otherwise I became mildly depressed. Quit photography for a while and didn’t really know what to do with myself for quite some time. Until I realized that this is normal. This is the real thing. It’s not like what you see in the magazines. The hustle is not glamorous. And when I came to accept the messiness of it all, I came to accept myself. I was turned off when I felt I had to keep this facade of having it all together when I first started off. I don’t really care anymore. I allow myself to be the broken, confused, messy artist that I am. In fact, I like my photos a little messy and imperfect. It’s more of who I am. And I like being me.

by Jason Lam

HOW I LEARNED TO BE MYSELF

I didn’t learn to be myself out of choice. I learned to be myself because I failed to be like everybody else. Like most people, I used to try to be like someone else for the sake of making friends and getting jobs, but none of that worked. So I had no choice but to say, “Fuck it”. I had nothing to lose anyway. I was already living at home with my parents, saving no money, having no income and the list goes on and on, it’s so damn embarrassing I would never wish it upon my worst enemy. But I guess it was all for a reason? I really don’t know. But that’s how I learned to be myself. To write the way that I do. To dance the way that I do. To take pictures the way that I do. Because I actually tried really damn hard for a really long time to not be myself and it just didn’t work. Who knows. Maybe this was life’s way of pushing me where I need to go instead of where I thought I wanted to go. Thank you, life. I guess.

by Jason Lam

IS IT WORTH IT?

The sleepless nights. The long weekends. The moments where you feel like no matter how hard you try, your work just seems to fall flat? The low pay. The failed negotiations. The inability to answer the question “So what do you do?”

Is it worth it?

—

Maybe

You get the freedom, flexibility to do what you want when you want, but you also lose the security. The stable income. The ability to talk to your friends about more or less the same things and be more or less understood.

Is it worth it?

—

Maybe

On the rare occasions. You get paid a ton of money to be doing what you’d essentially do for free. On other occasions, you don’t get paid enough to do what you absolutely hate. “I didn’t spend a decade of my left perfecting my craft to make this bullshit!” You say to yourself.

Is it worth it?

—

Maybe

Other occasions you just so happen to be in downtown and you see people shuffling up and down the sidewalks with their coffees in hand rushing from here to there and you can’t help but think to yourself, “Glad I’m not that guy,” as you cruise on by at your own leisure. You spend as much time as you want at the park soaking up the sunshine. Life is good. But then you can’t afford to pay rent. Let alone a bowl of ramen.

Is it worth it?

—

Maybe

You have a chance to change the world and if you’re really good, maybe end up in the New York Times or at the MoMa or end up being one of the most important figures of your generation. Who cares if you have to go a couple of nights sleeping on your friend's couch? Who cares if you can’t answer the question “So what do you do?” Who cares if your parents think you’re an utter failure. Who cares? Who fucking cares?!

Is it worth it?

by Jason Lam

YOU CAN ONLY EVER BE YOURSELF

There’s no finding out who you are. There’s only letting yourself be who you already are. 

I came to this idea with my experiments working under different names. I think I'm just lonely. Barely Evolved Apes. JLam. Whatever it is. I’m still me. I’m still Jason Lam. And nothing’s going to change that. If anything, the different names only help me stay organized. Like how you keep clothes in the closet and eating utensils in the kitchen drawers. It’s all part of the same house. And it’s best not to neglect the house, as it’s the foundation that holds all the separate rooms together. As much as you change and evolve, you can never abandon your home. You’re really just creating a new room or a bigger room in the same house. You can never run too far, and even if you think you do, often you’ve only run back to the beginning. 

by Jason Lam

SPINNING MY WHEELS

I used to think that writing about productivity and living a better life would indeed, lead to a better life, both professionally, and personally. However, I’ve come to realize that it doesn’t really. If anything, they only serve as reminders (if I ever have the chance to look back at my work) for times when I had moments of clarity and had the discipline to sit and write everything down. But progress? I’m not quite sure. I feel like maybe I’m just a really lazy person who’s trying to get out if his default state like how the fat kid in Willy Wonka tried to get out of the chocolate river (he failed, btw). I’m moving forward. Sure, but at a snail's pace. And often times, I’m also moving backward. Instead of a straight line, I feel like I’m just zigzagging most of the time, running in circles, spinning my wheels. But at the same time, maybe that’s what progress is. Knowing that I’m in fact, not making much progress…? Who knows.

by Jason Lam