Observe & Rapport 📚
@observe_rapport
Wisdom, perspective, and lifestyle habits gained from books 📚
Books helped me navigate my life. I'm obsessed with reading and writing - and my mission is to encourage as many people as possible to discover more about themselves and the world around us through books 📚
The American Game by S.L. Price is a fascinating exploration of lacrosse, it’s Native American roots, and the role of sports in American culture 🥍
Throughout my life, I've found myself in a ton of new environments, and it's taught me that the fastest way to connect is just to share something oddly specific about yourself. A weird fact or a shared hobby can turn a stranger into a trusted friend in seconds.
Going to be using this from now on
I was explaining to my Ukrainian colleague the phrase ‘There’s no such thing as a free lunch’. She told me the equivalent in Ukrainian is ‘The only free cheese is in the mousetrap’ - which is so much better
As we age, it feels like time is moving faster. But it's actually that we fall into routines, and our actions no longer have as much novelty and intensity. "...if time is memory and we want more time, then what we really want is more memories." - From @ChrisWillx 3MM Newsletter
Lately, I’ve been making it a daily goal to "plant seeds." Tiny actions that seem insignificant, yet add a little sparkle to the day. Compliment a stranger's shirt. Ask about their tattoo. I call it adding texture to life. Every moment suddenly becomes rich with potential.
The 5 most impactful habits I’ve built over the last 5 years
Books are one of the few places where you can safely confront uncomfortable ideas without immediately needing to defend yourself. They offer a kind of mental rehearsal, a space to try on someone else’s worldview without the real-world cost.
The value of a book isn’t just what it says — it’s in who you become while reading it.
Nonfiction sharpens how you think. Fiction stretches how you feel.
The power of long-form content (books, podcasts, essays) is in the time you spend with it. Reading a book is not just about acquiring information; it’s about forming a relationship with an idea. Wisdom doesn’t stick because it’s summarized — it sticks because it’s felt.
"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." medium.com/@kjbrennan3/de…
