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Category: Living Well

10 Minutes Per Day Could Be All It Takes To Grow Into A Whole New Life

Published on September 24, 2025

Dear busy person,

10 minutes per day could be all it takes to grow into a whole new life.

When done right, 10 minutes of stretching per day could take you from can’t touch your toes to full split.

When done right, 10 minutes of strengthening per day could take you from uncomfortable in all of your clothes to love the way you feel.

When done right, 10 minutes of inner work per day could take you from self-sabotage and overwhelm to self-love and clarity.

When done right, 10 minutes of reading per day could take you from zero books of interest read per year to ~10 books read per year.

When done right, 10 minutes of writing per day could take you from feeling lost and confused to feeling confident in your life direction.

When done right, 10 minutes of undistracted conversation per day could take you from wanting a separation to wanting to renew your vows.

…What’s life changing isn’t the 10 minutes the one time you do it. It’s the hundredth or thousandth time you’ve done it where the real impact is felt and seen.

The question isn’t a matter of time—we all have 10 minutes in our day to devote towards growth. It’s simply a matter of devotion… how bad do you want to grow (in that domain)? Because if you can’t devote 10 minutes per day towards it, the answer is: not bad enough.

And if that’s the case, maybe you should spend 10 minutes today figuring out why or to which domain you’d like to pivot to…

“…But Look At All You Remembered!”

Published on September 21, 2025

At my grandmother’s 90th birthday party this past weekend, a family member made a comment to her that she was sorry she forgot the lighter.

…And my grandmother looked around the room—at the 23+ family members, 5 of whom were under the age of 10, 7 of whom were printed onto poster board and glued to a stick (because they weren’t able to make it from out of town), the array of eaten-clean plates and sipped-dry glasses, the custom decorated cupcakes, the private room in the favorite restaurant with the incredible waitress—and said, “but look at all that you remembered…!”

“I Don’t Match The Energy, I Set The Standard.”

Published on September 19, 2025

…Is a powerful mantra to help guide you through days filled with difficult, annoying, lethargic, frustrating, unjust type people (and more).

A coworker hit you with a bunch of negative energy? Hit them back with a bunch of the opposite. Don’t match their energy; set the standard.

Eating highly processed fast food a norm in your family? Lead by example and prepare wholesome, easy, nutrient dense meals. Don’t match their energy; set the standard.

Find yourself in a situation where something wrong is happening and everybody around you is a bystander? Stand up and speak out. Don’t match their energy; set the standard.

Did you hate the way somebody taught you (or tried to teach you) a lesson? Teach that lesson to somebody else in a way you would’ve loved to have learned it. Don’t match their energy; set the standard.

Hate how divisive news, media, and politics is making our society? Turn it all off and volunteer at a local nonprofit or soup kitchen—something that’ll connect you to other humans regardless of their background, beliefs, or political standing. Don’t match their energy; set the standard.

Now go ahead and write this on your bathroom mirror or save it as the background of your phone. And keep it at the forefront of your mind so you can help us not only set… but raise the standard.

Q4 Check-In

Published on September 17, 2025

At the martial arts school I teach at, we’re doing quarter check-ins.

This is the time when we touch base on how the last three months went and we set a goal or formulate a plan for the upcoming quarter.

This not only gives students a sense of accountability, but it forces them to reflect and plan. Which, amidst the busyness of everyday life, can easily get overlooked and postponed.

But, without these reflection and goal setting blocks… how can we course correct? How can we identify a bad trajectory? How can we set a new trajectory?

The point is it’s very hard to do so without a time block devoted to it.

The good news is that it doesn’t have to be long. Our quarter check-ins typically last 5-15 minutes. And the great news is that, generally speaking, those 5-15 minutes can alter the entire trajectory of your quarter… maybe even your whole life.

And the bad news, of course, is that if you don’t have time to do it, well… the opposite is just as true as well.

Lessons From The Playground

Published on September 14, 2025

There is so much we can learn by watching kids play at a playground.

How does one start to play? By picking something, doing something with/on it, and making it fun. A much better strategy than watching and waiting for somebody to invite you to play.

How does one play with others? By inviting them to do the fun thing you came up with or by asking others doing fun things if you can join. Sometimes this happens without even exchanging words—it can be communicated in energy. A much better strategy than sitting on the bench bored or like you’re “too cool” for any of it.

How does one keep playing without losing the fun? By playing with others who are fun to play with; by sharing the playground and being open to others’ play ideas; by making sure you’re having fun and contributing to the overall fun of the space. A much better strategy than playing with those who cheat, are mean, or hurt others; who don’t share the playground and don’t listen to others’ ideas; and who aren’t having fun or contributing themselves.

At the end of the day, our daily lives aren’t that much different from what happens on a playground… it just seems that kids are so much better at doing it and that it’s something we somehow forget along the way.

What Makes A Path *Not* Beautiful

Published on September 13, 2025

There were a few nights at Burning Man when my friends and I spent more time chasing DJs than actually enjoying DJ sets.

…And when I say chasing DJs, I mean actually chasing DJs… on bikes… in the dessert-like environment… where DJs often play on moving art-cars… and park arbitrarily all over the event.

And I’m not just talking one or two DJs… there’s a plethora of world-renowned DJs playing multiple sets… in any given direction… at all times throughout the day… in this other-worldly environment that’s packed with shiny, neon lights wherever you look… and sounds and people and art, too… all calling for your attention and steer of your bike.

…It’s quite an impressive feat to ever find anything you aimed to attend. It’s much more common to set out for that thing and end up somewhere else completely because… squirrel.

Anyway, I digress.

The secret to maximizing your time at Burning Man is the secret to maximizing your time in everyday life—because the one isn’t that much different from the other in the sense that there’s always an endless array of things we can do…

And the secret is this: When given an abundance of choices…  choose one thing fully.

If you decide to commit to a specific DJ set: commit fully.

If you decide to side-quest and have a “squirrel” moment: commit fully.

If you decide to skip it all and bring the party to you: commit fully.

And if you decide to not do anything at all: commit fully.

Each path is beautiful in its own right. What makes it not so is our desire for it to have been something else.

Special Is Defined By You

Published on September 10, 2025

“My dear Matt ~ I was just watching the video of us celebrating Drew. Thank you from my heart for instigating that. A few people told me that was the best moment of their Burn. It was beautiful. It was magical. It was profound. Thank you thank you thank you. Be well. And I love your move at the end of the clip. I am so grateful. My friend had the time of his new life.”

Here’s what I did: knowing it was one of our campmate’s last burns (for declining health reasons), I saw him walking home after a night out, and I instigated a dance celebration in his honor.

…Although I can’t take full credit because another campmate was playing the most phenomenal music set and I had several other campmates who were dancing their hearts out with me.

All I did was yell, “DREWWWWWW” a bunch of times really loudly… dance wildly around him… leaned into the moment that I felt was uniquely for him and got the rest of the campmates to dance on board.

It was an incredible night featuring some of my favorite moments from the burn. There wasn’t a lot of us, maybe 12 people celebrating this man’s legacy as a part of our camp, but it felt like there were 1,200.

…What’s interesting is that there were shows happening that night that probably had crowds of at least 1,200. But, what we shared right at our camp that night, with Drew being the central focus, was special. And not because it featured some major headliner at some incredible art car at some magical dawn/dusk time of day… but because we made it so.