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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 13th, 2024 | by Kyle Brennan
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Thought of the Week
The world is a museum of passion projects.
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As you become an adult, you realize that the things around you weren't always there; people made them happen. But only recently have I started to internalize how much tenacity everything requires. That hotel, that park, that railway. The world is a museum of passion projects.
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It’s one of those statements that feels obvious when you hear it but still feels like it’s flipping a switch in your brain.
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You’ve probably heard a similar version of this idea before from Steve Jobs:
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Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you.
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In short? The world bends to effort. Everything we see, touch, or use started as someone saying, 'But what if we just...?' — and they stuck with it.
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I think about this every time I watch a movie. There’s a scene playing out in front of me, but what I’m really seeing is the work of hundreds of people—actors, writers, set designers, sound engineers, stunt doubles, even the lady perfecting the fake blood smear on the lead actor's cheek. That shiny new park downtown? It’s not just a park; it’s someone’s years of fighting through meetings, budgets, dozens of design iterations, and red tape. Everything real was imagined first.
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But here's the cool part: we can take part too.
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The world isn’t some immovable, pre-assembled structure. It’s more like a giant sandbox—and we’re invited to build.
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The only question is, what will your passion project be?
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What I'm Reading
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Amazon founder Jeff Bezos once said that he’s often asked what’s going to change in the next ten years. “I almost never get the question: ‘What’s not going to change in the next ten years?’” he said. “And I submit to you that the second question is actually the more important of the two.”
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Morgan Housel’s (@morganhousel) first book, The Psychology of Money, was one of my favorite takes on personal finance from a different lens. Rather than provide education on basic financial concepts or instructions on how to invest, he details the irrational decisions we often make based on our behavioral programming and misconceptions about the true value of money.
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Same as Ever’s thesis is to remind us how although the world is constantly changing, certain principles will always remain the same. Housel wants to emphasize that human behavior doesn’t really change much regardless of time period.
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Some of my favorite insights:
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- Save like a pessimist, invest like an optimist
- People who think about the world in unique ways you like also think about the world in unique ways you won’t like
- People always crave certainty, no matter how false it may be.
- Stories are more powerful than any reason or data.
This book is perfect if you’re looking for a quick synopsis of human behavior throughout history without diving into the works of Nassim Taleb, Matt Ridley, Ray Dalio, and Robert Greene.
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The world will change in unexpected ways. Human nature stays the same. Read the book, I promise you will learn something good.
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Quiz I'm Taking
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I recently listened to Saagar Enjeti on the Lex Fridman podcast. Saagar is incredibly well-read so I take his book recommendations seriously (more on that later). There was one book, in particular, he mentioned that helps explain so much of the current political divide - especially for those baffled how half the country voted for someone like Donald Trump. The book is called Coming Apart by Charles Murray.
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Description from Amazon: Coming Apart demonstrates that a new upper class and a new lower class have diverged so far in core behaviors and values that they barely recognize their underlying American kinship—divergence that has nothing to do with income inequality and that has grown during good economic times and bad.
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The quiz itself, which you can take here, has 25 questions. As you take the quiz, you inevitably begin to understand the disparities between subjects of society. For example, the typical American watches shows like Big Bang Theory or The Voice. They eat regularly at Applebee's, Denny's, and Waffle House. But I'm willing to bet your top shows this year were closer to White Lotus or Scandal, and you probably haven't visited those restaurant chains in years.
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It's easy to see how many of the things you assume to be "normal" in your circle would actually be considered behaviors of elite society by the average American.
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The higher your score, the thinner your bubble. The lower, the more insulated you might be from mainstream American culture.
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My score was 42 out of 100. I need to watch more NASCAR.
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Article I'm Reading
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In 2005, David Foster Wallace delivered the “This is Water” commencement speech at Kenyon College. It's one of the most viewed commencement speeches ever given, and if you haven't seen it, I urge you to watch the full speech here.
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In just over 20 minutes, Wallace covers the “unsexy” yet very real realities of day-to-day adult life. In this article, Douglas Murray covers how eloquently he calls out the “default setting” of the unconscious human minds that are all too common in mainstream society.
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We learn how to think, [Wallace] argued, not only to succeed at a “challenging, white-collar, college-graduate job,” but to “to keep from going through your comfortable, prosperous, respectable adult life dead, unconscious, a slave to your head and to your natural default setting.” We need to be more humble, more curious, more aware of the water in which we swim.
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The Very Best Books I Read in 2024
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The year's not over yet, but thus far, I've read 42 books in 2024. While you enjoy viewing this super pretentious photo of me reading, here are my top-ranked books from a great year of reading and my ratings out of 5:
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What I'm Listening To
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We were born the same year and yet, Saagar is vastly more well-read than me. Within the first twenty minutes of the podcast discussion, he rattles off half a dozen incredible books that I'd never even heard of. Thankfully, he is a generous sharer of knowledge and put together a full list of all of the books he spoke about on the episode, which you can find on his Substack here.
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Here are some of the books I've already added to my wish list:
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Quote I'm Pondering
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"I believe what really happens in history is this: the old man is always wrong; and the young people are always wrong about what is wrong with him. The practical form it takes is this: that, while the old man may stand by some stupid custom, the young man always attacks it with some theory that turns out to be equally stupid."
-- G.K. Chesterton
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This week, I invite my college roommate and good friend Kyle Mara. Kyle is a stand-up comedian and filmmaker based in New York City. His new half-hour comedy special "Jokes on the Upper East Side" is now on YouTube. I saw it live and can confirm it was fantastic.
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On next week's episode, we invite comedian/filmmaker (and my college roommate) Kyle Mara to discuss his new YouTube special, "Jokes on the Upper East Side"
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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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Affiliate Links!
I've had the fortunate opportunity to partner with some great brands that I love. Use the links below to find great hats, sweatshirts, and sunglasses
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- Huega House - 15% off first order with promo code: KYLEBRENNAN. My everyday hat is the Athletic Association in Green & white
- Find the Good Brand - 10% off first order with promo code: OBSERVE. I've been loving my 3 Simple Words Embroidered Hoodie in cream.
- WMP Eyewear - Excellent array of eyeglasses and stylish sunglasses. My favorite are the Sawyer Polarized for $45
- Amazon Storefront - Check out my collection of favorite books, workout gear, and tech tools for work-from-home!
- LMNT - I start every morning with LMNT's electrolyte drink, filled with salt, magnesium and potassium. It tastes delicious and contains zero sugar or any other junk. Try LMNT Risk-Free with a free sample pack (US only).
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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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