Brad Kelly

Seeker of all things good and true. Encourage curious minds.

[Christopher Rufo @christopherrufo]

EXCLUSIVE: Multiple senior HHS officials estimate that, under Gavin Newsom, California's state Medicaid program has lost 25 percent of its budget to fraud. This would mean it is currently losing $50 billion a year to scammers, fraudsters, and organized crime rings.

[The White House @WhiteHouse]

Proud to be an American. 🇺🇸🇺🇸

[Andrew D. Huberman, Ph.D. @hubermanlab]

Lifts 2hrs a day, 5am start, 7 days a week. Before work begins… and no starches, no sugar, 84 years old, cognitively and physically strong… the Mighty Twyla Tharp.
On the Huberman Lab podcast out now.

[Talkin' Baseball @TalkinBaseball_]

Shohei Ohtani's 10 strikeouts and three home runs in chronological order

[Melodies & Masterpieces @SVG__Collection]

Masterpiece.

[Alcuin Press @AlcuinPress]

Steinbeck sheds some light on the battle we're currently in...

[Mike Quindazzi @MikeQuindazzi]

On Kindness, Inspired by Seneca

I. The Nature of Kindness

Kindness is not a weakness but a strength, a force that binds humanity together in harmony. Just as anger distorts reason and leads men astray, kindness aligns us with our true nature—rational, social beings. It is the virtue that allows us to endure one another’s faults, to uplift the suffering, and to extend goodwill even to those who least deserve it.

If anger is a fire that consumes, kindness is a light that guides. The former isolates, the latter unites. Those who master kindness wield a power far greater than those who rule by fear or force, for kindness commands not through coercion but through love and admiration.

II. The Causes of Unkindness and How to Overcome Them

Just as men are often provoked to anger by their mistaken judgments, so too are they deterred from kindness by illusions. Some believe that kindness diminishes their authority, that generosity makes them weak, or that by withholding goodwill they safeguard themselves from harm. But these are falsehoods.

A ruler who governs with cruelty may compel obedience, but he will never inspire loyalty. A man who hoards his kindness out of fear of being taken advantage of is like one who refuses to light a lamp in the night for fear it will be extinguished. He remains in darkness, robbing both himself and others of the light.

To cultivate kindness, we must first recognize that our fellow men are fallible—just as we are. If we excuse our own faults and demand patience from others, why should we not extend the same generosity? The wise man does not ask whether a person deserves kindness; he offers it because kindness is his nature, just as the sun does not ask whether the earth is worthy of its warmth but shines upon it regardless.

III. The Power of Kindness in Governance and Daily Life

A ruler who tempers justice with kindness is far greater than one who rules by punishment alone. Laws can restrain actions, but only kindness reforms the soul. A father disciplines his child, not out of wrath, but out of care, and he does so with patience rather than cruelty. Should we not treat our fellow citizens with the same grace?

Kindness is also the foundation of friendships, of family, of all human bonds. It costs nothing to offer a word of encouragement, to forgive an offense, or to extend a helping hand. And yet, these simple acts have the power to heal wounds, to soften hardened hearts, and to bring peace where there was once discord.

IV. Kindness as the Mark of the Wise Man

The wise man does not wait for the world to be kind to him; he initiates kindness, knowing that to give freely is its own reward. He does not offer kindness only to those who will repay him, for that is not kindness but a bargain. Instead, he bestows it upon friend and foe alike, knowing that even if it does not change the recipient, it perfects the giver.

He understands that the greatest kindness is not always grand or public. Sometimes, it is the quiet patience with which we endure another’s shortcomings, the silent forgiveness of a past wrong, or the unnoticed generosity of a small gesture. These acts, though small, shape the world.

V. The Ultimate Triumph of Kindness

Men seek power, wealth, and conquest, yet none of these bring lasting happiness. But kindness, once given, never fades. A kingdom won by force must be maintained by fear, but a heart won by kindness is held forever.

Let us then choose to be kind, not because it is always deserved, but because it is always right. If anger is a sickness of the soul, then kindness is its cure. In practicing kindness, we are not merely better to others—we are better to ourselves. For the man who is kind is free of resentment, untouched by bitterness, and always in the company of virtue.

Thus, let us make kindness our habit, our duty, and our joy—for in it, we find true strength.

[Andrew D. Huberman, Ph.D. @hubermanlab]

The big one for me was realizing that humans and the human brain are amazing, but very prone to having our thinking controlled by where we place our attention and the inputs we get there. A recent guest on the podcast (not out yet) basically explained thinking as a progressive layering of different sensory modalities on a seed event. Once you realize that your thinking is more under your control than you thought and that you have to be careful to not let those cascades take you down unhealthy and unproductive paths, all the business of discipline and careful contemplation becomes much easier. If this seems vague, I should probably just do a podcast about it but there’s real science to back it up. I wish it for everybody because it gives you a real sense of internal calm. You can really start to formulate your thoughts and actions in the best possible way. Life gets so much easier.

[Brad Kelly @brad4dkelly]

I'm an LA native, not an engineer or hard tech person, I work in the entertainment advertising industry here, and I want to share how inspired I felt listening to the entrepreneurial spirit and hopeful energy of this discussion. I hope the mission you guys have catches on across America 🇺🇸

[Ti Morse @ti_morse]

WTF is happening in El Segundo?!

Isaiah Taylor (@isaiah_p_taylor), Augustus Doricko (@ADoricko), Ted Feldmann (@tfeldmann), Cameron Schiller (@cameron62s), Zane Mountcastle (@zanemountcastle), Soren Monroe-Anderson (@soren_ma)

0:24 WTF is happening in El Segundo?!
5:34 What's shifted since the party bus
10:03 Winning in meaningful ways
15:24 Think bigger & build in the real world
19:12 Own the atoms
21:52 Abstracting away from the physical world
28:59 Attracting great talent to work on important missions
33:03 Why Gundo worked
37:18 Intermission
37:25 What's gone wrong in the past 18 months
59:23 Pressing on the gas as things start scaling
1:10:04 Why it's important to have a community & group of peers
1:14:32 Why fight for America

[Greg Price @greg_price11]

This is by far my favorite video of Charlie Kirk and it should be required for everyone in America to see

[Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump]

TO MY GREAT FELLOW AMERICANS…

[Anthony Pompliano 🌪 @APompliano]

The smartest people I know:

1. Obsessively read books
2. Pursue new mental models
3. Enjoy intelligent discourse
4. Quickly admit when they're wrong
5. Comfortable changing their opinion
6. Surround themselves w/ intelligence
7. Seek to understand every perspective on a topic

[Mark Manson @Markmanson]

20 Rules for a Better Life

[Boze Herrington, Library Owl 😴🧙‍♀️ @SketchesbyBoze]

The big temptation of our age is the temptation to let your brain become mush. Read daily. Write your own words. Shun the machines that promise to do your thinking for you. Ten years from now when millions are suffering cognitive decline, you’ll be glad you kept your mind sharp.

[BaseballHistoryNut @nut_history]

It took 70 years but it finally happened

[Orange Book 🍊📖 @orangebook]

When it comes to investing, swimming against the tide and being right once with enough conviction will earn you a lifetime of wealth;

when it comes to building a happy life, swimming against the tide is often a recipe to become a jaded, frustrated, angry version of yourself.

If you are living in a place where you need to constantly fight to be respected and accepted, you're gonna waste all your energy just to build an average life.

Your "home" will be a place where your common sense and values will be aligned with everyone else's;

you will be able to focus on becoming who you want to be, you will be able to build a circle of loyal family and friends, you will be able to leverage your talents and create what you are uniquely suited for.

Life doesn't care about your efforts, it only cares about efforts made in the right direction, and it all begins with being in the right environment.

[Zak Williams @zakwilliams]

Today would have been my dad’s 74th birthday.

This season carries gravity. Father’s Day, his birthday, and the anniversary of his passing all fall within 60 days.

For me, grief has no straight path. It revisits, reshapes, and rises when I least expect it.

But alongside it lives a legacy built on generosity and kindness.

He made people feel seen. Gave permission to feel deeply and to laugh through pain. That mission continues.

To those carrying loss right now: you’re not alone.

Happy birthday, Dad. Love you forever.

[Melodies & Masterpieces @SVG__Collection]

Happy birthday to the legendary Vince Guaraldi, born on this day in 1928!

He’s best known for composing music for animated television adaptations of the Peanuts comic strip.

His compositions for this series included their signature melody "Linus and Lucy" and the holiday standard "Christmas Time Is Here".