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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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December 1st, 2023 | by Kyle Brennan
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Thought of the Week
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Five habits that have drastically improved my life in the last few weeks:
1) Daily 3-minute ice bath (Cold Pod $99 on Amazon)
2) Wim Hof breath work - 10 mins (YouTube)
3) Intermittent Fasting - Last meal 7pm. First meal between 11am - 1pm. Water, electrolytes, and black coffee only.
4) High protein / high fat first meal (grass-fed ground beef, 3-4 eggs, avocado)
5) Stretching before bed
I can't point to any one particular action that has driven the most positive gains, but I can say without a doubt that my energy skyrockets when I do each of these habits consistently.
Your energy is 80% body chemistry. Take care of your body and it will take care of you.
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What I'm Reading
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The US Military invaded Iraq in March of 2003. A complete war was launched on false reports & pretexts. Then there was no planning for the aftermath of the invasion - no understanding of local culture, values, and factors involved.
Thomas Ricks, one of the great historical writers of our time, raises important questions about the extent to which the American effort to create democratic nation-building in Iraq was doomed from the start.
The time frame for the book is 2001 to 2006. The US invaded a country that had nothing to do with 9/11. There were supposed to be 4 parts to this invasion but our government had virtually no coherent strategy for 4th part - occupying the country.
Ricks faults the dual response from Washington, both civilian and some military, who worked off a worst-case scenario as a reason to go into Iraq in the first place while counting on a best-case scenario for an exit strategy. This leads to poor planning for the reconstruction phase and not enough people asking “What if?
Most important (and disappointing in my opinion) were how many opportunities to adjust or correct the path were squandered.
Ricks finds fault with the civilian government, news media, Congress, and some top commanders, but he ultimately explains things in a clear and thorough manner.
Rating: 4.5 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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Song I'm Listening To
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There's something about the way Miley Cyrus's voice has evolved over the years. She sounds like she's lived a thousand lives and smoked a thousand packs of cigarettes. It adds a hardened maturity and weight to all of her songs that just make them hit a little bit harder.
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I heard this song in the car dealership the other day and I stopped what I was doing to listen for three minutes.
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Glasses I'm Wearing
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Eliminating or reducing blue light from your eyes at nighttime has massive benefits on your sleep. I usually try to stop looking at devices at around 9 pm before I go to bed at 10 pm, but that's difficult when I want to watch a show or catch up on emails late at night.
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I'd seen some blue light-blocking glasses on the internet and hated how corny they looked with the yellow or red-tinted glasses. These were the best-looking pair I came across.
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Are they a scam? I don't know, but they're only a $14 so I said what the hell, let's try 'em out.
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Coupled with taking Magnesium L Threonate and Apigenin with L-Theanine about 30 minutes before bed, I've been wearing the blue light-blocking glasses every night as I wind down by watching a show, and I've found that I do get sleepier a bit quicker than I had before. The other two things that have helped my sleep have been daily ice baths and 15 minutes of stretching before bed.
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Idea That's Shifted My Concept of Time
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This website by World Data Lab will quickly give you your estimated longevity, calculated from actuarial tables. How long you live varies depending on where you live. I turn this date into how many days I have left and use it as a countdown clock.
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According to the data, I'm scheduled to die on December 6th, 2076, which means I have 53 years left to do all the things I want to do in life. That really puts it in perspective, huh?
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I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do with this information, but I guess knowing when I'm statistically most likely to die will help me focus on important things.
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Quotes I'm Pondering
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The great Charlie Munger passed away on Tuesday, November 28th. Two months ago, I wrote this article inspired by a famous speech he once gave. He was an absolute reservoir of wisdom. Here are some of my favorite quotes from the investing legend:
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- Spend each day trying to be a little wiser than you were when you woke up — become a learning machine.
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- How to find a good spouse? The best single way is to deserve a good spouse.
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- If you want to succeed in investments, start early and try hard and keep doing it. All success comes that way.
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- The first rule of a happy life is low expectations. You want to have reasonable expectations and take life’s results good and bad as they happen with a certain amount of stoicism.
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- If you can't state the opposing view on an issue at least as well as the people supporting it, then you're not entitled to your own view. Following this rule will prevent a great deal of stupidity.
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Keith and Kyle sit down to discuss the modernization of Disney World, Keith's experience running a Half Marathon, the Bush administration's strategy, or lack thereof, during the War in Iraq, and Kyle's personal experience and opinions on the Ice Bath fad.
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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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