🧠 Thought of the Week
The Three People You Must Become to Get Good at Anything
I'd hesitate to call myself a master of anything. But I have spent an unreasonable number of hours chasing competence across guitar, writing, jiu-jitsu, golf, fitness, and a long list of other rabbit holes.
Regardless of the domain, the one pattern I’ve noticed is that to get good at anything, you have to embody three different personalities:
The Artist
You feel the thing. You develop taste. You notice what’s elegant, what’s ugly, what’s slightly off. You care about form, intuition, and expression. Without the artist, your work is correct but dead.
The Scientist
You break the thing apart. You test, measure, and falsify. You build models, run experiments, and accept when you’re wrong. Without the scientist, your work is pretty but fragile.
The Lover
You stay. You obsess. You show up even when it’s boring, painful, and glacially slow. You guard the craft against shortcuts and your own impatience. Without the lover, you quit the moment the honeymoon phase ends.
Most people pick one
Masters integrate all three.
They feel deeply, think clearly, and stay relentlessly.
Whenever you’re feeling out a passion and don’t know which one to trust, look to the lover. Do you see myself obsessing over this for the next month, year, or decade?
h/t @oprydai
📚 What I’m Reading
Early in the year, I’ve actually been rotating through three books depending on my mood. I don’t have as much time to devour books, so I keep these three on my and will pick up whichever one I’m feeling I need in that particular moment of the day/night. Full reviews to come soon!
A non-cheesy guide to modern masculinity. Beaton teaches you how to own your shadow, take responsibility, and stop outsourcing your spine to the internet. Practical, reflective, and thankfully anti-guru.
An old-school subconscious mind classic that basically says: your thoughts run the show, so maybe stop letting them be feral. Dated language but timless ideas.
An eye-opening and borderline prophetic look at how technology erodes nation-states and rewards mobile, self-reliant individuals. Written in 1997, these authors explain how “The Information Age” will transform life, government, and the global economy into near-unrecognizable constructs.
💡My 2025 Reading List
Last year, I read 28 books. A low for me, but considering I had a baby in tow, I’d say I did pretty well. Especially given the fact that at least six of these books were well over 700 pages. Here’s the list of books and how I rated them.
In the Garden of Beasts - Erik Larson | 4.1 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Moth Presents: A Point of Beauty - The Moth | 3.9 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Lincoln Highway - Amor Towles | 5 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Lessons of History - Will & Ariel Durant 4.8 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
What is the Bible? - Rob Bell 4.4 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Incognito - David Eagleman 4.4 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Born Fighting - James Webb 4.1 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Brothers Karamazov - Fyodor Dostoevsky 5 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Wright Brothers - David McCullough 4.9 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Mosquito Bowl - Buzz Bissinger 3.7 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Meditation for Mortals - Oliver Burkeman 4.2 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Anthology of Balaji - Eric Jorgenson 3.9 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
A Gentleman in Moscow - Amor Towles 3.4 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Titan - Ron Chernow 4.1 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Art of Spending Money - Morgan House 4.4 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Intermezzo - Sally Rooney 4.2 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Anxious People - Fredrick Backman 4.5 / 5 ⭐️⭐⭐⭐️️️
The Screwtape Letters - C.S. Lewis 2.3 / 5 ⭐️⭐
The American Game - S.L. Price 3.4 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Sensitive - Jenn Granneman, Andre Solo 3.9 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Infinite Jest - David Foster Wallace 4.6 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Autobiography of a Yogi - Paramahansa Yogananda 3.4 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Wisdom Takes Work - Ryan Holiday 3.2 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Secret of Secrets - Dan Brown 4.1 / 5 ⭐️⭐⭐⭐️️️
Frederick Douglass - David W. Blight 4.2 / 5 ⭐️⭐⭐⭐️️️
Quantum Success - Sandra Anne Taylor 3.8 / 5 ⭐⭐⭐️️️
Paper Managerie - Ken Lui 3.7 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Exit Strategy - Andrew Child & Lee Child 2.7 / 5 ⭐️⭐️
😂 My Favorite Tweet of the Year
Life is as good as you treat yourself.
🎙️ Podcast I’m Listening To
Andy Stumpf is one of my favorite people to listen to. He’s a former Navy SEAL and an excellent podcast host. I was so excited when I saw his most recent guest, Andrew Child — the co-author of the Jack Reacher series.
Really cool glimpse into how the series got started and the backstory behind how Andrew got involved and collaborated with his brother Lee Child on the last five books in the series.
💭 Quote I’m Pondering
“We do not receive wisdom, we must discover it for ourselves, after a journey through the wilderness which no one else can make for us, which no one can spare us, for our wisdom is the point of view from which we come at last to regard the world.”
🎙️The Observe & Rapport Show
Keith and Kyle sit down to discuss the life of Frantz Schmidt, a sixteenth-century executioner in Nuremberg, Germany. Based on Schmidt's unique journal, the book explores his public role in executing and punishing people, his private struggles with his profession and religious faith, and his attempt to gain honor and avoid the social stigma of being an executioner. A rare, detailed look into the era's criminal justice, social customs, and even medical practices, challenging the common perception of executioners as monsters.
📚 Books discussed in this episode:
Follow us: https://observeandrapport.com/ | IG: @observeandrapport @keithsullivan_91 | X: @observeandrapport | TikTok: @observeandrapport @keithsullivan2 | Produced by Keith Sullivan
📚 Books on My Watchlist
🔗 Links to More Reading
Thanks for reading!
