DO SOMETHING FOR YOURSELF

Take an acting class. Run a marathon. Cook yourself a nice breakfast. Whatever you do, don’t tell anyone about it. It’ll be your little secret. Like going commando for your new job interview, or secretly having a classic sports car in your garage that others would drool over. Nobody has to know, it’s yours and yours only. In a world full of forced authenticity and oversharing I believe there’s great power in having something that is uniquely our own. So do something for yourself. You deserve it. 

by Jason Lam

TRUST YOUR EYES

You don’t have to understand why. You don’t have to understand how. All you need to know is that whatever it is you’re looking at moved you, so take the photo. Trust your intuition. Believe that what you feel is right and taking the photo is exactly what you need to do. Stop looking elsewhere for affirmation. Stop thinking that somebody else has a better idea. You’re it. There’s nowhere to hide. Take the photo that you know is true to who you are. Nobody can do this for you but yourself.

by Jason Lam

PURCHASES ARE FLEETING

I like buying things, but I’ve also learned throughout the years that the things you buy wear off in value over time. Like any new toy, it’s fun for a little bit, and then after a while, it just gets forgotten and collects dust in some random corner of your room.

But you know what isn’t fleeting?

Important projects you pour your heart and soul into. It's definitely not as easy as just whipping out your wallet and making a purchase, but ten times more satisfying (albeit, ten times more tiring).

This is not to say that you shouldn’t buy things. I still buy things. I love the denim jacket that I paid way too much for and almost never wear, but I kind of like having physical objects as a staple of who I am, or at least, who I aim to be.

This is to say, however, that whenever you want to buy something, maybe give it at least 24 hours to think it over, even longer if you can. Because you might find that the money can be better invested elsewhere. Like a new project. An inspiring trip abroad. Or weekend classes so you can learn a new skillset.

I'm writing this today because I was THIS close to spending 5k on a used car today. And then I didn’t. I contributed more to my investment account instead. Adulting!

by Jason Lam

ART KEEPS ME SANE

Sounds cliche but art keeps sane. Art is therapy. I need an outlet and art is that outlet. I don’t need a specific medium. I just need the freedom of time and space to create. Or in other words. To release. Because life is hard and throughout the journey, I get all this pent up energy. Conflict. Inconveniences. Arguments. Criticism. And my only way to cope is to let it all out with words on a page, or ink on canvas, or photos on... well, pixels nowadays. But you get the idea, it’s the aesthetically pleasing form of hitting a punching bag or screaming into a pillow, even road rage. Only I channel all that energy into my art, because even after a punching bag it’s still not enough, lol, jk. Art keeps me sane. Art is healing. Art helps me answer questions that need answering. It helps me better understand parts of myself that I often find rather confusing. When I’m not allowed to create, I go crazy. I operate at a lower frequency and I have trouble sleeping. I’m more irritable. Like if a tornado was forced to live inside a box. Or if your parents forced you to wear that old sweater from decades ago that you’ve clearly outgrown. So I create. I’m an artist. Surprisingly, I can’t really say it’s by choice. Honestly, sometimes, I’d just rather not, because I almost feel like most my energy for art comes from a rather negative place. My logic goes like this, if I was living a happy life I wouldn’t need to create art because I wouldn’t need to release any of this built up energy. Then again, who knows. The grass is always greener on the other side and there’s another saying that goes the grass is greener where you water it. So I won’t go hopping around from here to there. I’ll continue tending to my garden, right here, right now, with my angry tornado sweater too damn small art.

by Jason Lam

ASCEND

You don’t have to be at the very top. But you should at least try. Give yourself a fighting chance. A good attempt. And prove to yourself that you are stronger than you believe. Most times. We are. It doesn’t have to be for others. Nobody else needs to know. But do your best to get better every day, even if it’s for mundane things like making your bed or brushing your teeth. Throughout a year, it might not seem like much. But throughout a lifetime. Simple acts of improvement add up. Keep going, and you may find that you’ve always had it in you to ascend.

by Jason Lam

YOU HAVE IT IN YOU

If you are unhappy with your life you have it within you to change it and make things better. I’m not saying it’s going to be easy. I’m saying it is within your realm of capabilities to make things better in your life. But you need to want it and you need to have the discipline and the patience to understand that real noticeable change starts with baby steps and could take years to really notice any sort of difference. Whatever you do, stop finding a way to justify your problems and stop looking for people to make you feel better about your sad predicament. Instead, look for people to challenge you, to offer ideas, action steps, and solutions to the problems you are trying to fix. From my experience, those people are out there, but more likely than not, you have to be the one that goes out looking for them. They won’t be looking for you. Often, you probably won’t even want to listen to the ones looking for you because that means you’re not motivated. They found you at a static state. You need to motivate yourself. Pick yourself up and get moving even if it’s a tiny increment a day. Slow progress is still progress. One step is still better than none. Stop complaining. Stop blaming. Stop making excuses. If you need to vent, sure, go ahead and vent, scream into a pillow. Hit a punching bag. But in order to improve your life, you need to act. It might not happen in a day, it might not happen in a year. But you need to try. Sure, sometimes trying will lead you down some dead ends. You might look less graceful than you’d like. Your friends might look at you weird for doing things that are out of the ordinary. But at least you’re moving. At least you’re collecting information. And the more you do, the more you learn about what’s possible, and you learn about what’s possible within you. Most people won’t do what I just said you should do because most people would rather stay exactly where they are and hope to be “saved”. But newsflash, nobody’s coming to save you. So you can sit on your ass and keep complaining for the rest of your life and play the role of the victim or you can stand your ass up and just do something. Anything. Sure, it’s hard. Sure you might know less than you think you should know. But the question becomes, what the fuck else do you have to do anyway? You already know what you’re doing isn’t working. But for some reason, you just keep doing the same damn things and complaining about constantly getting the same sorry results. Who’s responsibility does that fall on? Are you still going to keep pointing the finger towards other people? There’s a saying that goes, “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me”. Well, I don’t think that’s any different from improving your life. You got to where you are today by some combination of actions and inaction, some combination of the people you met and didn’t meet. Some combination of opportunities and missed opportunities, and so you’ve ended up here. Well, who do you think is on the losing end of the bargain if you keep going down the road you’ve been on this whole time. Shame on who? If you are unhappy with your life, you have it within you to change and make things better. Stop complaining. Stop blaming. Start doing.

by Jason Lam

WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO

What to do when you don't know what to do

Admit you don't know what to do

Get over the fact that you are a flawed human being

Summon up the courage to ask for help

Receive help

Learn from the help

Get better

Next time you encounter a similar situation you might be able to ask for less help

That will make you feel better about yourself

Because you might feel like you’re an infallible human being after all

Until, of course, you end up needing help again

by Jason Lam

"WHAT'S SOMETHING YOU WISH PEOPLE KNEW ABOUT YOU?"

My friend, Natalie, once took me to eat at Tito’s Tacos in Culver City, Los Angeles. That was when she introduced me to this amazing dish called, “chilaquiles”. For those of you who don’t know. It’s tortilla chips covered in a delicious red sauce, freshly chopped green onions, sour cream, queso, and if you want you can even add an egg on top. Of course, we had to add the egg.

During the meal, we talked about life and artistry, which is something we often talk about. I like talking to her because she is very understanding, and as an artist herself, I feel she gets me in ways that maybe other people don’t.

And as the conversation weaved through seemingly inappropriate topics like sexual organs and other disgusting things to life purposes and goals, (we’re weird like that), she asked me:

“What’s something you wish people knew about you?”

My answer: I’m actually trying to help.

This was a question no one had ever asked me. And this was a truth I noticed I never expressed.

I’m here to help.

I want to help.

As cheesy as it sounds, I want to leave this world a better place than I found it. My desire to help informs everything I do. From my seemingly lazy days where I appear to be doing nothing. To my angry rants and frustration when I feel like things aren’t quite going the way I’d like.

I travel because I want help. I create because I want to help. I write because I want to help.

Maybe it comes across a weird way. Maybe it’s a little too abstract. Maybe it sounds too uppity or preachy. But from my experience, it always served to put myself out there and share my perspective than it was to stay on the sidelines, hoping, wishing, and praying that I would get picked.

I create, I share, I put myself out there because I picked myself. I decided not to wait. I decided to fail and embarrass myself in the hopes that I get better, and that by getting better, I can help even more. That’s something I wish people knew about me. Because I know sometimes as an artist I may seem self-indulgent. I struggle with that sometimes too. But through it all. I’m here to help. I really am.

Thank you, Natalie, for creating the space to bring that out of me. And also for introducing me to the most delicious meal of my life.

I love chilaquiles! =)

by Jason Lam

1 SECOND EVERYDAY - 2018

Quite a random year. But still learned a lot. I turned 30! Yikes!

by Jason Lam