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Matt Hogan's Blog Posts

Can’t Make Dinner

Published on April 5, 2026

A friend invited me over for Easter dinner—featuring vegan main dishes and all.

After responding with a bunch of gratitude, I realized it wouldn’t work out because I would be out of town.

Rather than say, “Sorry, I’m gonna be out of town and can’t make it. Thanks though!”

I took a little extra time and wrote:

“Dear V,

Matt here. Writing to you this afternoon to inform you, with regret, that I will be unable to attend your, what’s sure to be off-the-effin-chain, Easter dinner gathering. I apologize for any additional forethought and work that may have gone into your thinking/preparation for this event with my vegan butt in mind. See what happened is, my vegan butt will be planted in a chair at my aunties in Philly at, more than likely, the same time you and your amazing guests will be planted in theirs in Buffalo. Flights back are out of the question because I am my mom and grandma’s chauffeur home on Monday. I hate to back out of a good time offer, but twas necessary in this case. Please accept my apology and keep me in mind for future threats of potential good times.

Thank yew.”

To be clear, I’m not recommending you reply like this to everything you need to reply to.

However, every now and again, or whenever you think to do it, it’s never a bad thing to do.

People notice the effort. They appreciate the energy. And it becomes a memory that gets talked about over and over and over again.

…All from a 5-minute investment.

And don’t think even for a second that you “don’t have that kind of time.”

On Arriving Quick

Published on April 4, 2026

I went on a 6-hour roadtrip with my mom and grandmother today—neither of whom I get to spend too much time with on a regular basis.

This was not the time to be in a hurry to arrive… or to bring an anxious energy into the space… or to cycle through thoughts in my own head…

This was the time to slow roll… to bring a relaxed energy into the space… to ask interesting questions…

The point of a trip isn’t to quickly get where you’re going and then back (otherwise, why go at all?). The point of the trip is to uniquely experience as much as you can while you’re gone.

And nothing blocks experience like rushing and trying to arrive elsewhere quick.

On Practicing Death

Published on April 2, 2026

We practice death every day.

Every time something comes to an end we’re given a chance.

A song. A dance. A day.

We can practice kicking and screaming or ignoring and suppressing or distracting and distancing…

Or we can accept that what made it so beautiful was that it ended after all. And we can cherish… savor… appreciate…

…And try to more fully receive all that’s packed inside the moments that come next.

…In those moments where we so fortunately get to practice again. And again. And again.

…All the way until The End.

Worrying Can Be Productive… Until It’s Not.

Published on April 1, 2026

Worry can be productive so long as it’s turned into strategy.

If you’re packing for a trip, for example, and you’re worried about forgetting something… that energy can be converted into building a list that you can check and double check before you leave.

But understand this: once the strategy is done, worry is no longer productive.

…It becomes an energy leak.

One that drains you of one of your most precious life resources—especially before and during a trip. And it’s here that you should shift strategies away from building lists and focus that energy on plugging leaks.

What I tell myself, for example, is that I’m resourceful, I’m flexible, and I trust I’ll find a way to figure things out—even if I forget something. Heck, I’ll try to even turn forgetting into an adventure and lean into serendipity.

This past weekend, for example, I left my $600 music show wristband at home. Which was probably one of the most important items to NOT FORGET. And, yup, I didn’t even realize it until I was already 1,000+ miles away, driving to meet up with my friends for the event.

But… guess what? …After a quick freak out and some calls… I figured it out.

Things won’t always have a neat and tidy and exciting ending. But, excessive and unnecessary worry won’t help that either.

…When you can learn how to plug energy leaks, though? And how to let go of worry? And how to trust in yourself? …I suspect things actually WILL turn out in the aforementioned ways WAY more often than you might think.

Hot N Cold

Published on March 31, 2026

I saw some of the best DJs in the entire world play music this past weekend.

And yet… one of my favorite moments was the last night when a friend was driving a group of us back to an Airbnb and right before we went inside… Katy Perry’s “Hot N Cold” came on the car’s stereo…

And I told everybody to wait… to stop… that we couldn’t go in until we sang it as LOUD AS WE COULD.

…And we cranked it all the way up and sang our little hearts out.

This is the energy I was trying to lead with all weekend: we can’t wait for the event to give us the energy… we have to give the energy to the event.

…And that happens long after the event ends too.

Ask Me To Walk 45k Steps…

Published on March 31, 2026

…And it’d more than probably be a drag.

…Put me at a music festival with banging dance song after banging dance song after banging dance song and friends who match big dance energy?

…And at the end of a 45k step night, you may just find me wanting more. Like it wasn’t enough. Like all I wanted to do was go back and do the 45k steps all over again.

…Something you’d more than probably not catch me saying if I just walked the 45k steps straight up.

Alignment makes everything exponentially easier.

Somebody’s Gotta Do It

Published on March 28, 2026

While staying at a friend’s house in Florida, I came to find out that his girlfriend is the president of their Home Owners Association (HOA).

I asked what a day in the life of an HOA President looks like and she said, “Listening to a ton of complaints—even when trying to sit by the pool, devoting a ton of extra time to fixing things—and doing all the hiring of others to fix things, and trying to convince people to budget more money towards the Association (that comes out of their pocket) so they all can have a better living space vs just letting everything go.”

I asked her what the incentive was for her to be doing all of this extra work… and she said, “Welp, somebody had to do it. Because the path they were on wasn’t future focused and things were taking a turn for the worse.”

…And she’s not getting paid a dime.

…Just going above and beyond to make their shared living space—one that supports 300+ people—a better place.

…An example we all might be able to learn from.