Matt Hogan's Blog

Morning Is Important

Published on September 14, 2022

You might not think that what you did this morning was important… but it was.

In the same way that sharpening the saw before you cut the tree is…

Or in how warming up and stretching before intense exercise is…

Or in how planning before acting is…

Try and cut the tree, do intense exercise, or act without the ideal precursor and in each case—the task will suffer.

So, too, will your day.

When you get the start of your day right—you get to cut through the rest of the day with a sharpened mind, a loose and flexible body, and a clearly defined plan.

Which reminds me… you might not think that what you do at night is important… but it is.

More Than You Need

Published on September 13, 2022

Feeling distant from people?

Like you’re lacking connection?

And don’t know how to initiate a good interaction?

I have a challenge for you.

What you do is simple… in any task(s) you choose… you buy, create, make, collect, gather… more than you need.

This could be groceries, brownies, art, soup, berries, books, solar lights, coffee, tools, cups, candy, gadgets, etc.

And then the challenge is to give away the extra—for free—to whoever you think would appreciate it.

No strings attached. No expectations of return. No gift tallying.

Just a real gift given that comes from a real place in your heart.

Some examples:

My mom usually makes more soup than she needs—and gives the rest away to loved ones.
My dad usually upgrades his gadgets sooner than he needs—and gives away his unused ones to those who could use them.
My coworker always has more coffee and snacks than he needs—and gives away the extra to friends and other coworkers.

Real begets real. And if you want to form more real connections… this is an excellent place to start.

…Who’s in?

Know someone who may enjoy reading these? This is me kindly asking if you’d forward it to them :) …Did you get this forwarded to you? You can subscribe here :)

The Life Of Your Dreams

Published on September 12, 2022

You should wait for someone else to create the life of your dreams for you.

…Ridiculous.

Yet, I wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss it as being a belief you don’t—in some way—hold.

Are you waiting for your parents to give you their permission or approval?
Are you waiting for your boss to give you that raise and those benefits?
Are you waiting for some arbitrary opportunity to present itself that’ll sweep you off your feet, take you across the globe, and pay you for breathing?

…Or do you already know what the life of your dreams looks like and are you already building towards that vision each day?

Because if you’re not… how do you think the life of your dreams is going to be realized?

Are you absolutely sure you’re not waiting for someone else to create circumstances that’ll lead to the life of your dreams?

Because if you are… reality check: you will only ever live the life you create for yourself.

P.s. In case you missed it, you can read the best of what I posted to MoveMe Quotes last week, here.

On Gifting

Published on September 11, 2022

Many people don’t do it right.

Upon receiving a gift, many will try and reciprocate with something of equal-ish value.

While it might feel like this is what’s fair and rebalances a previously unbalanced situation… what it actually is is a misunderstanding.

The purpose of a gift isn’t to barter.

If the person wanted to barter, then they would’ve (should’ve) made that clear from the onset (i.e. “I’ll give you this book for that $15 gift card).

The purpose of a gift is to receive back not a material item, but an emotion in return.

When I give you a gift, I’m after the look on your face; I’m after the warmth; I’m after the liveliness/gratitude/joy that it might bring you.

And what many people don’t understand is that: what you return in barter, you take away in emotion.

Imagine on Christmas morning, after each present was given, the receiver pulling out their wallet and paying you back exactly the price of each gift.

…It would defeat the whole point!

Gifting shouldn’t be seen as an obligation (to give back what’s been given); it should be seen as an opportunity to exchange emotion.

Because ultimately, while material items might seem like the goal, emotion is what we’re always really after anyways.

And gifting is one of the most beautiful ways to evoke that warm, loving emotion that fills us up so quickly—both when giving and receiving.

Don’t rob someone of that opportunity to fill up by returning in barter what they gift graciously.

Be a good receiver and give them in emotion what their gift (or effort) genuinely provides.

Dance Uncaringly

Published on September 10, 2022

The music was banging. The vibes were insane. Seemingly everybody was entranced and moving hypnotically.

…And what was I doing? Hesitating and looking on from the edge.

This was one the first, important realizations I had while at Burning Man.

For some reason or another (or for many reasons), I was confronted with a level of self-consciousness that I didn’t realize I had.

I was so consumed thinking about what everybody else thought of me and how I danced that I resisted dancing at all—even in the midst of complete and total strangers who I’d likely never see again!

This certainly wasn’t an innate belief and was something I must’ve (mistakingly) learned along the way. Maybe from comparisonism, a comment from a person in the past, a story I was telling myself about how I had to be or act… or a combination of all of the above.

It was only after I confronted this hesitation, sat with it for a few minutes, and unpacked the feeling in full that I was finally able to let it go.

“What the hell are you doing thinking so much?!” I thought.

And I locked my bike, duck taped my ego’s mouth, and let my body do whatever the hell it wanted as I surrendered to the pull of the bass and sway of the crowd.

P.s. I’ll be sharing pictures from Burning man on my IG. The first has finally been posted. More to come :)

Thinking Of You [Poem]

Published on September 9, 2022

I think of you sometimes
And sometimes I smile
And sometimes I fall
Sometimes I channel it
And sometimes I withdrawal
Better—I suppose
Than not having anything
To move or respond to
at all.

Burning Away Everything You Know

Published on September 8, 2022

If you burned away everything you knew about yourself… what would remain?

This was one of the most remarkable questions I was asked while at Burning Man.

Worth reiterating: if everything I knew about myself…

my past experiences
my relationships
my occupation
my education
my joy/pain

…was burned away—what would I have left inside?

Before you read my answer, I encourage you to pause here and think about how you would answer this question…

Go ahead, I’ll still be here when you’re done…

The answer I came up with (which didn’t come quickly or easily) was everything I had when I was born:

my curiosity
my liveliness
my innocence
my immediacy
my compassion

Which made me think: a lot of what we carry with us in identity/ experience/ education is worth burning.

Not everything, of course, because there is a lot in identity/ experience/ and education that we carry that’s worth protecting.

But, there’s a lot that extinguishes our curiosity; deadens our liveliness; contaminates our innocence; removes our immediacy; and kills our compassion.

And that, is where the real inner work begins.

Not in trying to add to what’s already inside… but in working to subtract—to burn away—everything that’s corrupting what’s already there.

How would you answer this question? I’d love to hear. Simply send a reply :)

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