Sometimes you have to laugh at the absurdity of human nature. We often think we have autonomy over our actions and choices, but Simon Sinek shared a story on Jay Shetty's podcast about how quickly we succumb to tribalism:

(I’m paraphrasing)

I’m sure you’ve been in a similar situation, but I’d never heard it put quite like that, so I was fascinated to explore the psychology behind it.

Because what really changed in that situation? Not the people necessarily, but the context. It’s like the moment we feel out of place, we latch onto the nearest thread of familiarity. I’ve done it plenty of times, whether it was bonding with a guy wearing a Knicks jersey in Denmark or joining up with strangers from Queens I met in Hawaii. We act like rational adults right up until someone signals “I’m just like you!” and suddenly we’re like shipwreck survivors waving down a boat in the distance. Hey! Over here!

We’re so desperate for belonging that Maslow put it between Safety and Self-Esteem on his hierarchy of needs. Most of the time, we’re not even aware of it, but we instinctively cling to these little micro-tribes we create for ourselves, whether it’s sports teams, podcast fandom, subreddits, churches — anything that signals: You’re one of us.

It just goes to show how powerful human connection is on our state of well-being. We spend all this time trying to be “universal" when really the fastest path to “us” is your most specific, embarrassing detail.

Alright, time to get my shit rocked. I feel like it’s my obligation as a seasoned reader to add this one to my shelf. Infinite Jest isn’t just a book by David Foster Wallace; it’s been categorized as an encyclopedic novel, featured in Time magazine’s list of the 100 best English-language novels published in the last century. At 1,079 pages, this will be by far my biggest undertaking (after The Power Broker, Crime & Punishment, and The Brothers Karamazov). All’s to say, it might be a few months until you see a full review for this one… Hang tight!

Entrepreneur Eric Siu asked ChatGPT to summarize all the books in the world in one sentence. Here were the results:

In this episode, cartoonist Scott Adams (of Dilbert) shares his use of the often cringe-labeled concept of “affirmations,” now skillfully rebranded as “self-authoring.” At one point in his career, Adams felt stuck. Without any sort of plan, he poured his efforts into writing affirmations for 15 minutes each morning about the type of life he hoped to have. Within a few years, Dilbert hit the newsstands.

Now, before I make it seem like writing down a few goals or reading The Secret will magically make all your dreams come true, I want to acknowledge the undeniable power of intention setting — particularly through writing.

I wasn’t a believer at first. But at some point around 2015, I figured jotting down some notes wouldn’t cause any harm, so I gave it a shot. After a few days, I felt nothing. But as the months went on, I began to notice a profound shift in my thinking. What I noticed was that we each live inside a story of our own making. But that story you tell yourself over and over again frames all of your emotions and attention. And it’s your story, so you have no choice but to believe it. So any affirmation that you choose to tell yourself is actually true.

Peterson explains it perfectly on the podcast. “Everything we perceive in the world, we perceive around a goal. That's how perception works. If you're driving, your visual landscape naturally filters out anything that isn’t relevant to safely arriving at that destination. As soon as you set your intention toward a specific goal, your perceptions begin to orient themselves around that goal.” So I learned that if I could just structure my perceptions around the highest possible goals, the world would lay itself out as the pathway to that goal.

Long story short, I’ve been writing affirmations since 2016, and while the majority are still pending (retire at 40, lol), a good chunk of them came true in the most unexpected ways. As Matthew McConaughey says, “Live as if the world is conspiring to make you happy.”

If you’re interested in learning more, Jordan Peterson has an online program called Future Authoring on selfauthoring.com.

I’m burnt out on what I like to call Subscription Snorkeling, where I spend 45 minutes skimming the catalogs of {pick your app} Netflix, Hulu, Prime, AppleTV, Paramount, Peacock, HBO Max —Jesus Christ there are so many, only to accept defeat and tune into some mediocre Top 10 show before picking up your phone and scrolling for an hour.

So instead, I’ve moved my TV consumption to old reliable - YouTube. It’s been there since the beginning and knows my interests better than any other app. A favorite for comfort show lately has been Hot Ones. As much as Sean Evans’ robotic personality drives me nuts, I must give him props for his phenomenal interviewing skills.

But Conan O’Brien’s appearance on Hot Ones took it to another level. I can’t remember the last time I saw someone deliver this level of comedy and commitment to the bit. Conan was already a legend in my book, and this episode was just further support.

Keith and Kyle sit down to discuss the benefits of running and the pros and cons of the current biggest brand names in the sport, the Epstein controversy, the origins of Lacrosse as told in the fascinating book The American Game and why it's in everyone’s best interest to do as they do in Copenhagen and smoke some weed, drink some alcohol and go for a bike ride.

📚 Books discussed in this episode:

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Thanks for reading!