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The Observe and Rapport Newsletter
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A weekly guide of my favorite books, articles, products, and lifestyle habits.
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August 4th, 2023 | by Kyle Brennan
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Thought of the Week
In this digital age we now live in, we're constantly bombarded with inputs - movies, phones, notifications, social media, billboards, email, music, podcasts, and news.
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Cal Newport, author of Digital Minimalism has called this style of living Solitude Deprivation - a state in which you spend close to zero time alone with your own thoughts and free from input from other minds.
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If you never learn how to deal with boredom, you will never learn to enjoy peace and quiet.
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Meditation, a practice I've written about extensively, isn't about achieving a zen state of mind, but rather how to put your mind at ease with zero input.
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The way to peace passes through boredom.
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“All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”
-- Blaise Pascal
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What I'm Reading
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Jack Carr (@jackcarrusa) returns with another exceptional addition to the Terminal List series, where the main character, James Reece, is in a constant battle to outsmart those who want to eliminate him. Accused of assassinating the US president, Reece finds himself imprisoned for months, all while the CIA methodically builds evidence to prove his innocence. In this installment, Reece not only undertakes the challenge of uncovering a secretive group aiming to gain control over global affairs but also delves into an unsolved case that his father had been pursuing.
"Only the Dead" marks Carr's sixth novel in his series. A former Navy SEAL and #1 New York Times bestselling author, Carr's expertise shines through. I’m also excited for the upcoming second season of "Terminal List" on TV and the spinoff featuring Ben Edwards on Amazon.
Rating: 4.1 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
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You are a mashup of what you choose to let into your life.
This was a fun little book that I finished in under an hour on my train into Manhattan this morning. It's filled with quick quotes, images, aphorisms, and stories about why all great artists use their influences to shape their own creative work. Kobe Bryant stole all of Michael Jordan's best moves, but he made them his own. It's not where you take things from - it's where you take them to.
“All writing is in fact, cut-ups. A collage of words read heard overheard. What else?”
—William S. Burroughs
Rating: 4.4 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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My Most Recent Blog Post
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Your energy depends on your physical form. Your hardware is literally made out of what you put in it — and that’s not just food. It’s what you put into it with effort, good sleep habits, and the reduction of stressful environments (people, places, things).
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The most important metric is your personal energy.
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If you want to enjoy life you want to have as much energy as possible. And the best way to have as much energy as possible is to be fit and healthy.
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Article I'm Reading
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I was lucky enough to live through the (tail end) of Michael Jordan's playing days with the Bulls. After watching The Last Dance (one of the best docu-series you'll ever watch), I couldn't help but envy those who got to appreciate and admire all of Jordan's playing years truly. He was a magician, a truly magnetic and unique style of player that basketball had never seen before. Utterly dominant in all facets of the game.
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That is what we're currently living through with Lionel Messi. He, too, is at the tail end of his career - recently signing with MLS club Inter Miami. Reading this article puts it into perspective. Not only are we as fans lucky to witness such incredible soccer, but even the players are in awe of what Messi can do on the pitch.
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The roots of hip-hop and rap are various and stretch back in time to the antebellum South and from there to Africa. But by some accounts, a song called Noah by gospel group The Jubalaires was the first instance of recorded music that sounded like rap. Listen for yourself...the relevant bit is right around the 35-second mark:
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I'm not a music historian by any stretch, but that sounds 30 years ahead of its time. The cadence and bars are reminiscent to 70s/80s hip hop. There are several bad remixes of Noah on YouTube...this one is maybe the best at pairing their singing with a rap beat.
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Song I Can't Stop Listening To
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Quote I'm Pondering
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"One version of confidence is: I've got this figured out.
Another version is: I can figure this out.
The first is arrogant and close-minded. The second is humble and open-minded.
Be humble about what you know, but confident about what you can learn."
-- @JamesClear [Twitter]
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Check Out the O&R Podcast!
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Keith and Kyle sit down to discuss modern-day book banning, the current state of political discourse, the significance of adequate sleep, and how recent findings in genetics may provide evidence of an intelligent creator of life itself.
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Books mentioned in this episode:
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Check Out My Amazon Favorites Bookstore
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Browse my favorite book selections hand-curated by me. I also earn commissions so if you buy anything, those earnings get reinvested right back into this fancy newsletter ;)
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Kyle's Published Work
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33 Life Lessons on My 33rd Birthday
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Thirty-three was a big one. Mostly because I became a dad. Our daughter was born on New Year’s Eve — a fitting arrival for a kid destined to reset everything. It’s been a beautiful, if slightly sleep-deprived blur ever since. I’ve only been “Dad” for less than ten months, but if I’m being honest, I’ve been preparing for the role for over …
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Depth Over Downloads: Why Spending Time with Books Still Matters
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Everyone wants faster information. But no one asks if faster information leads to better understanding — or a better life. In the age of AI and tweet-sized wisdom, we’ve confused information with transformation. But there’s a massive difference between knowing what a book says and being changed by it. The Delusion of Instant Learning In a recent interview, political journalist Ezra Klein admitted he once believed …
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The Jack Reacher Approach to Never Being Caught Off Guard
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There’s no difference between a pessimist who says, ‘Oh, it’s hopeless, so don’t bother doing anything,’ and an optimist who says, ‘Don’t bother doing anything, it’s going to turn out fine anyway.’ Either way, nothing happens.” —Yvon Chouinard, Founder of Patagonia I don’t read much fiction, but I’ve always been hooked on Lee Child’s Jack Reacher. He’s not your typical …
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