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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 29th, 2023 | by Kyle Brennan
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Thought of the Week
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Over a year ago, Chris Williamson (@chriswillx) brought up a powerful idea on the Joe Rogan's podcast #1851 that stuck with me.
Not everything that is difficult to obtain is valuable.
You see someone driving a nice car, wearing a nice watch, or living in a luxurious home, and you think, "Wow, I wish I had that." That's unattainable to many people so it seems like it's valuable.
We think, well, a Lamborghini must be valuable, because it requires a lot of money and prestige to attain.
But then you attain it, and then you realize oh, this is not valuable, this is just difficult to get.
Owning a Lamborghini also comes with a whole host of responsibilities - maintenence, parking, insurance, upkeep, reputation, publicity, theft, speed bumps, etc.
Often we pursue difficult things just because we think they're worthwhile. And it's true. What's worthwhile is typically on the other side of something very difficult.
But what's valuable is something that fulfills you intellectually, emotonially, spiritually, lovingly.
Align yourself with the things you truly respect and admire in others and you will begin to admire and respect yourself.
"Beware the difficult things masquerading as valuable ones."
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What I'm Reading
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This book has been on my wish list for years. It retails for ~$80 on Amazon but after Charlie Munger sadly passed away at the age of 99 last month, the e-book version was freely available on Libby, so I took advantage.
Munger’s book is called an almanack for a reason. It’s not really an autobiography of the legendary investor, nor an investment guide. I would call it a portrait of a remarkable mind.
Charlie is simply brilliant, and this book is a fantastic summary of his views. He places a premium on life decisions over investment decisions. What he preaches is to understand the big ideas in all the big disciplines, instead of becoming yet another “man with a hammer”. The book is filled with references to the most important mental models in a dozen disciplines
Munger suggests that much of success in life isn’t about having great strokes of genius; rather, it’s about avoiding folly. We need to avoid addiction, avoid envy and resentment, avoid toxic and dishonest people, and avoid making disastrous mistakes.
Munger’s basic points could be distilled into:
1. Be honest
2. Be patient
3. Be reliable
4. Don’t fool yourself.
5. Don’t be a slave of one discipline, use multiple models.
“Spend each day trying to be a little wiser than you were when you woke up. Discharge your duties faithfully and well. Step by step you get ahead, but not necessarily in fast spurts. But you build discipline by preparing for fast spurts. Slug it out one inch at a time, day by day. At the end of the day - if you live long enough - most people get what they deserve.”
Rating: 4.4 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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2023 Books Rated
I read 46 books this year. See below for my definitive ratings for all 46
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- When Breath Becomes Air - Paul Kalanithi 5 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Never Finished - David Goggins 3.3 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Ego is the Enemy - Ryan Holiday 3.9 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Wooden - John Wooden 5 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Five Floors Up - Brian McDonald 3.9 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Attached - Amir Levine, M.D and Rachel S.F. Heller, M.A. 3.5 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
- A Little Life - Hanya Yanigahara 5 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Moonwalking with Einstein - Josh Foer 2.1 / 5 ⭐️⭐️
- Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus - Dr. John Grey 3.8 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Just Keep Buying - Nick Maggiulli 3.9 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
- The Greatest Beer Run Ever - John "Chick" Donahue & J.T. Molloy 3.5 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
- How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big - Scott Adams 4.1 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- The Kill Artist - Daniel Silva 3.7 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
- The Thomas Sowell Reader - Thomas Sowell 4.0 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- The Creative Act - Rick Rubin 4.5 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- The Road - Cormac McCarthy 2.8 / 5 ⭐️⭐️
- The Lost City of Z - David Grann 3.8 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
- The Prophet - Kahlil Gabrin 3.7 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Meditations - Marcus Aurelius 5 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- The 8 Rules of Love - Jay Shetty 2.8 / 5 ⭐️⭐️
- Song of Solomon - Toni Morrison 3.8 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Scar Tissue - Anthony Kiedis 4.6 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- How to Do the Work - Nicole LePera 3.1 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Only the Dead - Jack Carr 4.1 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Steal Like an Artist - Austin Kleon 4.4 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- The Go-Giver - Bob Berg & John David Mann 5 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Becoming Supernatural- Dr. Joe Dispenza 2.7 / 5 ⭐️⭐️
- The Midnight Library - Matt Haig 4.4 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Born to Run 2 - Christopher McDougall 4.2 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- The Immortality Key - Brian Muraresku 4.8 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- How to Talk to Anyone - Leil Lowndes 2.7 / 5 ⭐️⭐️
- 102 Minutes - Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn 4.5 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Honjok - Francie Healy 3.8 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
- The Road to Character - David Brooks 3.5 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Ask the Dust - John Fante 2 / 5 ⭐️⭐️
- The Paradox of Choice - Barry Schwartz 3.7 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Chaos - Tom O'Neill 4.3 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Built to Serve - Evan Carmichael 4.7 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Barbarian Days - William Finnegan 3.4 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Rise of the Reader - Nick Hutchison 4.0 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Fiasco - Thomas Ricks 4.5 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- A Little History of Philosophy - Nigel Warburton 2.7 / 5 ⭐️⭐️
- The Secret - Lee & Andrew Child 4.4 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- The Johnstown Flood - David McCullough 4.1 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- The Book of Five Rings - Miyamoto Musashi 2.2 / 5 ⭐️⭐️
- Poor Charlie's Almanack - Charlie Munger 4.4 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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Interview I'm Watching
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If you only have 90 seconds, watch this clip of major champion golfer Padraig Harrington about parenting and getting kids involved in sports. It's about making it stress-free and adding moments to create lasting memories for your children.
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I'll always remember my dad taking me to freezing cold lacrosse games in the winter and making me peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that we would eat together as we warmed up in the car. I can't recall how I played in those games, but I will always remember those moments in the car with my dad, and for making it special for me.
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My Latest Article
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Paradoxically, the discomfort of enforced rest is often what’s most necessary.
Learn how a sprained thumb forced me to slow down.
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What I'm Watching
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As you can probably tell, I don't spend much time watching TV.
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That said, I've been trying to maximize my time when I do finally sit down and pick a movie. Rather than resort to whatever random show or documentary Netflix recommends, I've tried to put together a list of "classic" movies that I have yet to see.
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Here are a few on my list:
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- 2001: A Space Odyssey
- Alien
- Blade Runner
- Blazing Saddles
- Dog Day Afternoon
- Raising Arizona
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Song I'm Listening To
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My Values Wheel
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Books I Want to Read in 2024
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Quote I'm Pondering
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"People will do anything, no matter how absurd, in order to avoid facing their own souls. One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious."
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Keith and Kyle sit down to discuss the recent senate chamber scandal, the societal influence of various political philosophers, "Time Confetti", and answer a reflective end-of-the-year question.
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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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