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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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July 14th, 2023 | by Kyle Brennan
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Thought of the Week
80% of happiness is body chemistry
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Some days I wake up drowsy, others I feel energetic and jump out of bed. Some days I crash at 3 o'clock, other days I get a random burst of energy at 5.
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Mentally, it's exhausting. I'm constantly living between "Maybe I'm burnt out" and "Maybe I feel this way because I don't want to be doing what I'm doing."
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Often this brings me back to something I one of my professors in college used to ask himself when he was in a weird mood:
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"Is it a software or hardware issue?"
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Where the software is your brain, and the hardware is your physical body
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Oftentimes, simply getting back to the basics and treating your body well tends to solve 80% of your problems. What you think is burnout, anxiety or depression is commonly just not having the right body chemistry to propel you forward.
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The most important metric is your personal energy.
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Get back to basics: Sunlight, walking, exercise, quality sleep, and nutrient-dense food. If that doesn't work, it's probably a software issue.
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What I'm Reading
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Wow, what a life.
I've been wanting to read Scar Tissue since I first saw it in a bookstore back in 2004. Although, I don't think my 12-year-old self would have been quite ready to read up on the heavy tales of heroin use, cocaine runs, and wild sex parties…
The Red Hot Chili Peppers have been an iconic American rock/funk band for nearly five decades now. Anthony Kiedis seemed to have lived nine lives, and the stories he tells in this memoir are reflective of the life of a rockstar, warts and all.
Kiedis started smoking pot when he was in 7th grade, started having sex with adult women when he was 13 and snorted his first line of heroin at 14. It only escalated from there. By the time he was 21 he was a full-blown junkie - performing songs with his band at massive venues, but at the same time sleeping under the highway while shooting up with dangerous drug dealers, lying, cheating, and vandalizing his way across Los Angeles.
Scar Tissue is a story of dedication and debauchery, intrigue and integrity, recklessness and redemption--a story that could only have come out of the world of rock.
Rating: 4.6 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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Article I'm Reading
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"What AI offers us is the opportunity to profoundly augment human intelligence to make all of these outcomes of intelligence—and many others, from the creation of new medicines to ways to solve climate change to technologies to reach the stars—much, much better from here."
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My Most Recent Blog Post
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If we can seek medical professionals for something as ordinary as dental care, shouldn’t it be just as normal to seek help for the most vital part of our being—our minds?
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Re-shifting Our Problems
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There is a big difference between what kills people and what the media covers.
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Song I Can't Stop Listening To
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Blues is my favorite genre of music by far. This guy has that modern Robert Johnson sound that I've been craving.
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Quote I'm Pondering
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“Tell me to what you pay attention and I will tell you who you are.”
— Jose Ortega y Gasset
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Podcast Episode #8 is Out Now!
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Keith and Kyle sit down to discuss how bad The Grateful Dead is, the benefits of therapy even if you think you don't need it, how impactful Arnold Schwarzenegger is on American culture, and how Napoleon, all things considered, was kind of an asshole.
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Books discussed 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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