What is a pure thought? I thought that comes to you, first thing you do when you wake up… Without any sort of external stimulus weather reading, listening, looking.
I’ve heard this advice before… That when you go to sleep… Charge your phone in your living room, as far away from your bedroom as possible. Better yet, just turn it off completely, or also, just keep it in your backpack. And actually let it die a little bit and drain the battery of it… iPhone sucks, is overrated, and bad for your health and life.
Also… Throw your TV smart TV into the trash. If you really want to watch a movie film cinema etc.… I think the best way to do it is to just download it to your iPad Pro, and just watch it outside! Alfresco style!
For example, here in Culver City and beyond… There has been a lot of events about watching movies in the park, watching movies outside… Even the antiquated notion of the drive-through movie theater is a very interesting idea; I think media has consumed outside, outdoors etc.
For example, pro tip for parents… If your kid wants to play games on the iPad, play with your iPhone or whatever… Make it a rule that they are only allowed to do it when they are outside of the house! For example at the park, the local playground, the local nature center, etc.
This is my tactic; any time that Seneco wants to do programming on the iPad with swift playgrounds, or play poly bridge 2, or a racing game… The rule is we have to go outside, go to the Culver City steps or downtown, and then I let him play there. 80% of the time he forgets… And ends up just running around instead.
Bizarre media habits of adults
OK, taking it a step further: 
First, OK something I never understood was owning a television?
First, if you want to watch something, why not just watch it on your laptop or better yet… An iPad Pro?
I thought we were advanced techies? Why would a techie own a television?
Video games?
Video game is fine for teenagers, and children… Not men or grown adults.
Why would you be playing PlayStation, or a PC game or steam… If you are over the age of 18?
Rule: adult over the age of 18 should play video games.
Video games are essentially a good refuge for kids who grow up without parental figures. Or they grow up in the hood, I’m playing video games is safer than gangbanging.
But besides this… Video games are not becoming of us. 
Becoming a real man 
So the pure thought I had this morning was there’s notion of becoming a real man.
What are my ideals?
First, a stoic manly, spartan ethos approach and aesthetic. We are not cowards, slaves.
The best thing to read is the Iliad, Emily Wilson translation. The best and the quickest and the easiest way to put hair on your chest.
Ignore modern day media
All modern day media is bad. Why? Because media is so hyper nowadays… Things are becoming more and more bizarre.
Things are bizarre, there are no longer any divisions or boundaries, everybody gets a gold medal, everyone gets a participation sticker, everyone is made mediocre. For example, when it comes to the body, bodily physique etc.… Do not be a fool. There is obviously a clear hierarchy here. And it is not a matter of objective or subjective… Both of these are not useful philosophical ideas. Besides physics, there’s nothing objective on the planet. And subjectivity is a modern day concept which is tired.
Achilles or Hector
I think the two best role models for us is Achilles and Hector. The two Apex fighters warriors and men of antiquity, no and forever.
I actually find the Iliad to be so pure, so honest, maybe the only book worth reading. This and the Odyssey. Once I am done reading the Iliad translation by Emily Wilson, I will read the odyssey translation by her as well.
Anyways, my first thought is there is no such thing as valor without real valor, real physical valor and strength. Even the notion “valere” or “vale”, which was essentially a signature like saying “best” at the end of an email, essentially it meant “be strong!”
All strength is good, all weakness is bad. It doesn’t matter what your domain is, we all seek strength, we all hate weakness.
And certainly, you could interpret strength and weakness for yourself. But whether it be physical, mental, physiological, artistic aesthetic etc — strength, power, durability is supremely desired.
Therefore, as a man, your first duty is towards strength, power, strengthening. 
Things which strengthen you, things which don’t
 I think one of the grand clarifying things about having a child is when it comes to time and focus and mind space and zen. 
For example, even before the birth of Seneca, I barely had enough time, mind space for myself. Now after the birth of Seneca, my time is really really insanely limited, and also nonrenewable.
For example, I only have so many bucks to give, and anything which does not promote my thinking or Seneca, is time wasted.
Let us assume that you caught your good 10 hours of sleep, and even talking to somebody who is full of misery, unhappiness etc.… They are strange negative thoughts will infect you in a bad way. If you were in full health and full figure… Unfortunately The toxicity of unwell people will positively harm you. And then it becomes a feedback loop… The second you are in a bad mood, it affects the mood of your wife, your kids, etc.
Being cruel is virtuous
I wonder if we want to become grander, we must also become more cruel.
For example, the second that I realize that my dad was bad news for Cindy, and that Cindy did not feel safe around my dad, it was a very easy cut.
And also, the number one benefit of stoicism is being able to conquer all of your past trauma, and not only that… Using that past trauma almost like clay, strapping it onto your body to make you bigger stronger, buffer, more indomitable.
 This is why I think so much of modern day therapy is bad; it opens up and reopens up too many bad wounds, for example… Let us say that you fell, you scraped your knee, and it takes about a week for your skin to reheat itself. Would you then take a knife, And scalp pull it back again, promoting the cut and bleeding again?! You just leave it alone, and you do not agitate if any further! 
Or, let us say that your whole life you were just drinking dirty sewer water, a metaphor for a toxic family or upbringing. Let us say you finally leave that environment, and now you could drink Fiji clean water, do you then out of virtue, go back to the toxic place and environment, and start drinking sewer water again, just to prove something? No!
The wisdom of Dr. Dre… You get out of the hood, and you stay out of the hood! You don’t go back to the hood to “prove yourself”.
In fact this whole notion of approving yourself, I find it to be insanely bizarre.
For example Achilles is 100% confident and certain in his strength valor and power. And everyone knows it. And it isn’t his ethos to go to battle just to prove how dominant he is.. He only goes back to fighting when he wants to get revenge on Hector, but besides this… Achilles wanted to retire from fighting.
Even if you took all the wealth on the Earth and multiplied it by 100,000… It is not worth your human mortal life.
For example, would you accept $1 trillion, if you had a 99.9% mortality rate chance, in the next three months? Obviously no!
Human life, a long happy life along healthy life is the most desired thing on the planet. Even the ancient Greeks and good old Homer knew this. 
So why are we trying to trade our health our strength and our well-being for money? 
An interesting nuance with Americans versus Koreans,
Koreans seek success as a moralistic imperative. Koreans, South Korean… They don’t really care for money… Money is simply a reflection of a Confucian literati type of success. 
In America, money, US dollars is the ultimate mark of success. It seems in America… We valorize money for the sake of money. We don’t actually want anything else, we just want the money.
In the American case, we want money because we think that the money will make us happy or happier? The simple mathematical equation, a simple vector: more moneys, more happiness.
For Koreans, it is more a matter of respect. The general idea is that the more money you have, the more respect you’ll get from others.
Funny enough Americans I don’t think we really care for respect, we just want money and happiness.
Koreans want respect, respect from others, their peers etc.…  I don’t even think Koreans want happiness. Koreans just want respect.