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Malina Omut

IN THIS ISSUE The importance of forming habits Why QR codes aren't a fad A Cabela's wannabe in Minnesota

Editor's Note Good morning. Tomorrow night I’ll join the rest of the Jewish community in celebrating Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.  One of the most fascinating Rosh Hashanah customs is called Tashlich. During this ceremony, Jews head to a body of water—could be an ocean, river, or these days, I-676 in Philly—and throw in small pieces of bread. It’s not a ritualized rejection of carbs, but instead an opportunity to, quite literally, “cast off” your sins to be taken away by the current, or eaten by fish.  Tashlich isn’t a “get out of jail free” card to use when we mess up. Rather, it’s an understanding that we all do things we’re not proud of. Everyone makes mistakes, everyone’s accumulated a little bread over the past year. But instead of dwelling forever on what we’ve done wrong, Tashlich allows us to acknowledge that we're simply human...and only when you forgive yourself for your past missteps can you focus on improving in the future. And I really like that message. Wishing everyone, whether you’re celebrating Rosh Hashanah or not, a shana tovah u'metukah, a good and sweet year. —Neal Freyman

CULTURE

Stock Watch

Q&A

Icebreakers with...Habits Expert James Clear James Clear James Clear dishes out life-changing insights like they're T-shirts on a college campus. He is the author of the bestselling book, Atomic Habits, as well as the hugely popular 3-2-1 newsletter.  We tried not to bite our nails as we asked James all about building (and breaking) habits. What is one of your ideas that most resonates with your audience? There are probably two. The first is the idea of systems over goals, or rather than worrying about the outcome, focusing on the process and building better habits each day. The line that people bring up a lot from the book is, “You don’t rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your systems.”  The other one that has gone over well is what I call “identity-based habits.” Rather than worrying about the results you want, focus on becoming the type of person who could achieve those results. So instead of worrying about losing 40 pounds, focus on being the kind of person who doesn’t miss workouts. Or rather than worrying about finishing the novel, focus on being the kind of person who writes every day. Many people have been working from home for 18 months. Do you think that's made it more difficult to develop habits?  One of the things that makes it hard to stick to a habit is if you’re trying to do multiple habits in the same context. Say your couch is the place where you watch Netflix at 7pm, but you want to get in the habit of journaling each night. If you try to journal at 7pm on the couch you have this unconscious bias toward turning on the TV, because that’s what usually happens there.  One of the benefits of going into an office is that you have a defined space for work habits to live. You can utilize that idea in a practical way, by trying to create defined spaces for certain habits. If you want to get into the habit of reading, you could have a reading chair in the corner of the room. And the only thing that happens there is when you sit there you read a book. And you gradually start to associate that behavior with that context. The more explicit you can be about where the habit occurs, and it always occurs in the same place in the same way, the more likely it is that the behavior will stick. What did you learn about habit formation from being a college baseball pitcher?  I learned a lot about the importance of pregame routines. Before every start in college I went through the same sequence about 40 minutes before the start of the game. What ends up happening is that a switch flips in your mind and says, “Remember, it’s time to play now.” I think that helps not just with the physical part of the task—it helps with the mental part of the task. It helps get you in the right mindset to perform. Translating that to what I do now, since Atomic Habits has blown up I’ve been asked to do a lot of keynote speeches. And I have a pregame routine before I walk out on stage. What do you do?  It usually starts with me getting a glass of water. I take a drink of water, go through the first minute of the talk in my head, and then I put my head down and have quiet time for 10 seconds or so. Then I get up, take a deep breath, and I’m ready to go. Each of your newsletters contains two quotes. Do you have a favorite quote?  I’m going to pick two but I do just want to say I have like 100.  One is from my friend Morgan Housel: “Your personal experiences make up maybe 0.00000001% of what’s happened in the world but maybe 80% of how you think the world works. We’re all biased to our own personal history.” The second one is from the investor Josh Wolfe, who said that the most useful advice he ever got was from James Watson, the scientist who helped discover DNA. Watson said three words with two meanings: “Avoid boring people.” I like that a lot because it means a) don’t hang out with boring people and b) don’t be boring yourself. Be interesting, be fascinating, do compelling things.  This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

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WORK LIFE

The Keys to Getting Honest Feedback Each week, our workplace whisperer Shane Loughnane answers reader-submitted questions about work in 2021. Anything bothering you at work? Ask Shane here. I'm a relatively new manager and I want to make sure I'm providing proper support to my direct reports with any challenges they may be experiencing. Do you have any advice for soliciting honest feedback? —Michael in NYC I thought we had a good thing going, Michael. The honest feedback comes to me and then I address it here on Sunday—what gives? Bad for the advice column business or not, I love this question. The number of managers who view feedback as a one-way street would make NYC’s grid blush. The last thing you want is an employee who, in a final twist of irony, provides their only honest feedback during the exit interview.  I’ve found the best strategy for collecting feedback from employees to be a diversified one. I had a manager who would ask during every 1-1 session if I had any feedback for them, a tactic I later found myself using with a few of my direct reports. I suspect that some employees might feel put “on the spot” in that scenario and would prefer to write out their thoughts beforehand. Still others will inevitably respond best to an anonymous survey or 360-degree approach.  Whether it’s delivered via carrier pigeon or metaverse avatar, the input (and actually doing something with it) is what matters. And while there are plenty of methods to solicit feedback, there are no real shortcuts if you want to track down the “honest” kind. You’ll need to earn it by being honest yourself—both with the feedback you give your direct reports, as well as by being transparent about your own challenges. The key is to model behavior that establishes feedback as part of a broader culture of continuous professional growth and trust, rather than relying on an annual performance review. Writing on the Wall Last week, I invited Brew readers to join me in helping Rachel from FL find the perfect quote to grace her blank office wall. This group is certainly not lacking inspiration—had your responses not sent me running through it, my own wall would be outfitted with vinyl lettering. In the end, though, nobody showed up in numbers quite like Ted Lasso Nation and so I’ve taken the liberty of mocking up the “goldfish” quote for production below.  “You know what the happiest animal on Earth is? It’s a goldfish. You know why? 10-second memory.”  Have a question about work you want to ask Shane? Write in here. And coming soon...HR Brew. Be one of the first subscribers to our upcoming newsletter on all things human resources.

ANALYSIS

Paper Menus Aren't Coming Back Albert Hu/Unsplash 2021 has a faint scent of 2011: The cool kids are dressing like they’re in Gossip Girl, Drake and Kanye are hyping up albums, and QR codes are trying to make it big in the US. At least one of them is succeeding.  Invented in 1994 by a Japanese engineer, QR codes have been ubiquitous in Chinese payments apps for years. But recently they've become a staple of US restaurant menus and checkout registers as companies made transactions as touchless as possible during the pandemic. Over the last 18 months, QR code downloads have increased 750%, according to Bitly.  Half of all full-service restaurants in the US have opted for QR code menus since the beginning of the pandemic, per the National Restaurant Association.  While pandemic winners like Peloton and Zoom have faltered as vaccinations have ramped up, don’t expect QR codes to disappear. Because of the many advantages they offer businesses, QR codes will be distracting us in restaurants for years to come, experts say.  What are the implications?  More tracking. While it might seem like you’re harmlessly ordering a Denny’s Grand Slam after a long day, QR codes track when, where, and how often you scan them. That info is like candy to restaurants, which can use it to more closely track consumer behavior.  Privacy experts warn that rules largely don’t exist to dictate what restaurants can and can’t do with that info, like, say, sell it to a third-party delivery app that desperately wants to send you notifications about ordering takeout. More scams. The ease of creating a QR code is one of the reasons why it’s so accessible for businesses, but it also increases opportunities for fraud. You can’t predict where a code will take you until you open it, making it difficult to know if it’s a scam or not. The Better Business Bureau even issued a warning this summer around fraudulent QR codes. Replacing human workers. We’ve been worried about technology stealing our jobs since Edison’s lightbulb replaced the candle boy. But the QR code makes it real. Without the need for servers to take orders and deliver bills, some restaurants have cut 30%–50% of labor costs by using QR code menus, according to Tom Sharon, cofounder of the startup Cheqout, which builds the tech for those menus. Economic downturns have historically been catalysts for automation, forcing struggling businesses to cut costs where they can.  Bottom line: Just like any technology, QR codes invite both promise and peril.

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REAL ESTATE

Open House Welcome to Open House, the only newsletter section that dares to ask the question, “Why go to a wildlife preserve when you can live in the hollow remains of one?” We’ll give you a few facts about a listing, and you try to guess the price.

Zillow Strap in for some more rich people nonsense as we head to Cold Spring, Minnesota—90 minutes northwest of Minneapolis. This 7,458 square-foot Cabela’s wannabe is a lakefront property with a beach, where you’ll want to spend most of your time to escape the watchful eye of the many taxidermied animals. Amenities include: 4 beds, 5 baths Indoor jacuzzi tub up rock stairs Custom, walk-in shower Warthog in the bedroom How much to be a big-game hunter in the sheets (and the rest of the home)? Scroll to the bottom of the newsletter to find out.

RECS

Just Click It 1. No one will read your book—and other truths about publishing. (Elle Griffin) 2. The war in Afghanistan was far, far different from how it has been depicted in American media. (MSNBC) 3. The guerrilla artist who fixed LA’s worst freeway sign. (theLAnd) 4. A fleeting website about the possibility of love online. (The internet onion) 5. The perils of having an infamous name twin, written by Elizabeth Holmes. (Marie Claire) 6. On Yugoslav cuisine. (Vittles) 7. The silent architects behind the speed-climbing routes at the Tokyo Olympics. (Gym Climber) 8. An analysis of “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant.” (Strong Songs) 9. She’s the investor guru for online creators. (New York Times) 10. New York stories. (Vimeo) Got the wine aisle willies? Empathy was co-founded by Gary Vaynerchuk to bring more value to both customer and farmer. With three skus (red, white, rose) and no middlemen, Empathy delivers big savings on quality vino. Get 20% off your first order plus S&T with code WELCOME.* *This is sponsored advertising content

CONTEST

Meme Battle Welcome back to Morning Brew's Meme Battle, where we crown a single memelord every Sunday. Today's winner: Kevin in Oklahoma City, OK

This week's challenge: You can find the new meme template here for next Sunday. Once you're done making your meme, submit it at this link for consideration.

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ANSWER

$1.45 million September 3, 2021 California’s Recall Election Has Already Been Stolen California’s gubernatorial recall election is officially September 14, but “Election Day” has ceased to have any meaning, Mail-in ballots were automatically sent to every registered voter on... Read More › WAREHOUSE UPDATE: 97% Sold Out! Designed for versatility and ease of use, you can recharge EasyPower batteries pretty much anywhere there's a USB port - including solar powered devices like the Pocket Light and EnerPlex Solar Charger. The EasyPower is one of the best AA batteries for su... Read More › BREAKING: Pennsylvania Senator Calls for Hearings Next Week on Election Fraud Pennsylvania Senate leader Jake Corman joined Steve Bannon on the War Room on Thursday night.Senator Jake Corman is calling for hearings to begin next week regarding the 2020 Election in the state. ... Read More › Dan Crenshaw Slams Pelosi Dems for Covering for Biden on Afghanistan Disaster When Rep. Dan Crenshaw criticized House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a Fox News interview on Wednesday, it was much more than a response to the loggerheads moment on Capitol Hill.It was even more than an... Read More › NEW: Pro-Antifa Teacher Caught on Video Bragging About Radicalizing Students The pro-Antifa California teacher caught on undercover video bragging about indoctrinating students to become Antifa revolutionaries will be fired as a result of the Project Veritas exposé.Gabriel... Read More › Will Terrorists Be Able to Simply Walk Onto Outbound US Planes? The Biden administration’s long series of unforced errors just keeps on growing.Former FBI Special Agent Kenneth Gray, who worked in the bureau’s counterterrorism division, warned that terrorists... Read More › Dirty trick to end a fight in 3 sec You too may face a violent attacker or a bully who means you real harm. Don't end up like this I'd rather see you 'fight dirty', knock your attacker on his butt in seconds and get the hell outa dodge... Read More › SUNDAY 9.5.2021 BREAKING NEWS Study Proves Millions Are Preparing For The “Worst-Case Scenario” In Biden’s America by Daily Wire Democratic Mayor Hit With A Lawsuit From A Very Embarrassing Place by National Insiders The Dollar Is Dead, And Its Replacement Is Already Underway by Breitbart Trump Delivers a Scathing 5-Word Insult To Biden by Daily Caller DeSantis Infuriates Liberals By Merely Hinting At This Upcoming Law   Breaking News from Newsmax.com Vet Rescue Groups: Biden Tally Misses Hundreds Left in Afghanistan Special: Top Researcher Exposes the Truth About Vitamins CDC: Fully Vaxxed Shouldn't Worry About Boosters Yet Tom Brady Says He Had COVID-19 in February More Links: Insider Secret Hands You FREE MONEY From Social Security September 05 FEATURED BIOGRAPHY Crazy Horse Sioux chief READ MORE FEATURED EVENT 2001 Evidence provided for black hole theory READ MORE Advertisement Advertisement MORE EVENTS ON THIS DAY 2016: American writer and political activist Phyllis Schlafly, who was best known for her opposition to the women's movement and especially the Equal Rights Amendment, died at age 92. [Test your knowledge of female activists.] 2000: Tuvalu, a group of nine coral islands in the west-central Pacific with a population of about 10,000, became the 189th member of the United Nations. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about the islands of the world.] 1997: Mother Teresa—who was awarded the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize for her charitable work with the poor, especially in India—died at age 87 in Calcutta (Kolkata). [Take our quiz about Christian saints.] 1976: The first episode of The Muppet Show, which was cocreated by Jim Henson, aired, and the TV series became hugely popular, known for a cast of puppet characters that included Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy. [Test your knowledge of pop culture.] 1975: Lynette (“Squeaky”) Fromme attempted to assassinate U.S. President Gerald R. Ford; Fromme, a follower of Charles Manson, was sentenced to life in prison but was released in 2009. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about U.S. presidents.] 1972: Palestinian terrorists attacked the Olympic Village in Munich, West Germany, during the Summer Olympic Games, taking hostages and eventually killing 11 members of the Israeli team. [Watch an overview of the Munich massacre.] SEE ALL EVENTS ON THIS DAY ALSO BORN ON THIS DAY 1946 Freddie Mercury British singer and songwriter 1638 Louis XIV king of France 1929 Bob Newhart American actor and comedian 1942 Werner Herzog German director 1912 John Cage American composer 1766 John Dalton British scientist SEE ALL BIOS ON THIS DAY   BREAKING NEWS: Democrats Get DEVASTATING Surprise - The Last Thing They Ever Wanted! This alone could destroy them >> Donald Trump RECORD Request - Big News!   Read This Alert >>> - AD CONTENT - Today's News Articles Biden Press Conference GOES WRONG - Disturbing Report...   Read This Alert >>> Countries Just HALTED IT Without Warning...   Read This Alert >>> Leaked TALIBAN Footage Released - Look What It Shows!   Read This Alert >>> Democrats VIOLATE Key Rule... Punishment Requested!   Read This Alert >>> - AD CONTENT - Read it Here >>

 

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Columnists What Biden Has Done Is Unforgivable Katie Pavlich The Afghanistan Clown Show Couldn't Have Gotten Any Worse, But Then It Did Kurt Schlichter Is Joe Biden Senile or Just Dumb? Derek Hunter Press Gives Jen Psaki Raves for Latest Non-Answer She Got Wrong Multiple Ways Brad Slager Donors, Alumni Enraged by University of Kansas Student Government’s “Death to America” Message Todd Starnes Why We Are Divided: The Case of Larry Elder John C. Goodman The Government and CDC Are Lying About COVID-19 Vaccine and Ivermectin; The Question Is Why? Wayne Allyn Root A Quick, Compelling Bible Study Vol. 77: What the Bible Says About Work Myra Kahn Adams US Leaders Don’t Help American Hurricane Victims as Well as Castro, Guevara Helped Cubans, Says WaPo Humberto Fontova		Tipsheet This Online Pollster Shows Just How Bad It Looks for Biden in 2022 Rebecca Downs This Australian Method of Tracking COVID Compliance is Downright Creepy Rebecca Downs Happy Labor Day! Californians to Pay Their Highest Gas Prices Ever For This Time of Year Rebecca Downs Navy Declares 5 Missing Sailers Died from Helicopter Crash Landon Mion Oregon Governor Sued Over Vaccine Mandate Rebecca Downs John Kerry Once More Pushing for Cutting Emissions at Cost of Addressing China's Human Rights Abuses Rebecca Downs NBA Hall of Famer Says Pro Athletes Refusing to Receive the COVID Vaccine are 'Selfish' Landon Mion
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Texas Is the Reason Kathryn Lopez Woke Companies Must Wake Up on ESG Paul Driessen Iran’s Air Defense, an Empty Bluff! Cyrus Yaqubi We Need a Hero – and This Book Delivers Robert “Buzz” Patterson What to Believe? Rob Jenkins Once Again, a Word to Pro-Life Evangelicals Who Voted for Biden Michael Brown The Troubles with Biden's Brain Michael Reagan Picture This: The 2024 GOP Dream Team Deroy Murdock Biden Claims to Protect Women While Sending Afghanistan’s Back to the Stone Age Mary Szoch		Poll: Majority Blame Biden for Death of 13 Service Members Rebecca Downs At Best, 13 American Heroes Are Dead. At Worst, Treason Congressman Brian Mast The Taliban Says China Is a 'Trustworthy Friend' Landon Mion GoDaddy Drops Texas-Based Website for Abortion Tipsters Landon Mion Political Cartoons Bearing Arms Unarmed Uber Drivers Targeted In Chicago Carjackings | Cam Edwards David Frum To Gun Owners: "All Y’all Look Alike!" | Ranjit Singh Armed Barber Speaks Out After Defensive Gun Use | Cam Edwards New Texas Law Aims At Anti-Gun Banks | Cam Edwards NM Democrats Propose "Crime Prevention" Measures | Tom Knighton
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