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Matt Hogan's Blog Posts

Characteristics of Freedom

Published on September 7, 2022

If you can’t:

  • Sit quietly
  • Sleep peacefully
  • Dance uncaringly
  • Love unconditionally
  • Create wholeheartedly

…You aren’t free.

No matter what your work title, bank account, or social media feed might otherwise suggest.

On People and Art

Published on September 6, 2022

“Take more pictures of the people than the art.”

—Advice given to me by a long-time Burner

At first, I didn’t get it.

The art was one of the main attractions.

Artists from all over the world would go to incredible lengths to create, transport, and feature their art in the middle of the desert—and the pull to capture images of them felt much stronger to me than the pull to capture images of the people.

It wasn’t until I left Burning Man, got cell-phone service, and saw an article featured on my Google search page: The Art of Burning Man 2022—that I finally understood what I think that experienced Burner meant.

When you take a picture of art—it’s an image of a completed, unchanging piece.

A picture of a person, however, becomes a piece of art in and of itself.

It captures an image of an ever changing being in one exact moment in time that nobody else will ever be able to capture.

This is not to say that taking photographs of art isn’t an art form in and of itself. Nor is it to say that taking photographs of people is somehow “superior.”

It’s merely an observation that struck me as I was immersed in an other-worldly society that was exploding with creativity at every turn of the eye.

And as I reflect back on this advice more and look back on the pictures I’ve taken over the years—it rings true…

Of all the art I’ve photographed, people are the art that always seem to be the most interesting to look back on.

P.s. Here’s a LIVE re-cap of my Burning Man experience.

Gone To Burning Man!

Published on August 27, 2022

From Sunday (8/28/22) to Sunday (9/4/22), I’ll be off grid.

That means, you won’t get daily emails from me until I get back on the grid on Monday (9/5/22).

Rest assured, I’ll still be writing daily—it’ll just take on a more primitive form (that’s right folks… pen and paper).

And when I get back, I’ll share what words made it to paper during what I’m expecting to be a wild, curious, mysterious, serendipitous, and nothing-short-of-inspirational week.

Don’t know what Burning Man is? I can barely explain it. But, this video does a pretty solid job.

Thank you to each of you for your ongoing support. I look forward to reconnecting when I get back. ♥

P.s. If you’re feeling generous, you can send a little love via coffee here. This trip will definitely require copious amounts of caffeine. Cheers :)

Life’s Perfect Seasons

Published on August 26, 2022

The season you’re in right now—of your life—is perfect.

Just like how winter is the perfect season for bundling up, going sledding, and drinking hot cocoa…

And how summer is the perfect season for swimsuits, beach, and getting your vitamin D on…

Where you are right now… is the perfect place to be. You only have to realize it.

Maybe you’re single, don’t have kids, and work a lot… you could dwell on this or you could see this as the perfect opportunity for spontaneous adventuring and solo tripping.

Maybe you’re in a serious relationship, have kids, and are a stay-at-home parent… you could dwell on this or you could see this as the perfect opportunity for deepening your family’s roots.

Maybe you’re in a “complicated” relationship, the person you’re seeing has a kid, and you have a part-time job… you could dwell on this or you could see this as being the perfect opportunity for introspection and identifying exactly what it is you want (and how you can get it) in life.

Learn to stop seeing the current season you’re in as “wrong/bad/invalid.”

And start asking yourself, “what is this current season I’m in the perfect opportunity for?”

Cursing the current season because you want to be in another is an excellent way to never be happy.

Maybe it’s time we stop trying to control seasons and start embracing the one we’re currently in.

P.s. If this is your first email from me and you joined a while ago… I apologize. There was an email import error I just became aware of. Here’s a backlog of the daily posts you might’ve missed. And welcome to the squad :)

Morning Hours vs. Evening Hours

Published on August 25, 2022

A belief I’ve recently identified that’s limiting me:

My brain: “11pm/12pm bed time… same thing”

Also my brain: “If I could just wake up at 7am instead of 8am, my day would go 100% smoother.”

Point being, if I can keep the importance of an hour in my mind at night—then I get to take back a crucial hour of my day in the morning.

…Because according to my body, 8 hours of sleep is non-negotiable.

And by 11pm at night, there’s really nothing I’m going to do that won’t be done better at 7am the next day.

Worth reflecting on for yourself: what’s a belief you’re holding on to that’s limiting you?

P.s. I’ll be going to Burning Man this week! If you enjoy these daily posts, you can send a little love via coffee here. I could definitely use the caffeine for this partially-insane experience. ;)

Dollars vs Energy

Published on August 24, 2022

Isn’t it funny how keenly aware we are of dollars…

But, are somewhat daft when it comes to energy…

Like, “No, I do not want to round up my purchase today for charity, thank you.”

But, “Yes, I agree to this commitment that I absolutely don’t want to do that also takes away hours of precious time from my top priorities.”

Maybe if we started treating energy like dollars… we wouldn’t be so damn tired all of the time.

On Pie

Published on August 23, 2022

The thing about overnight success, early virality, and winning lotteries…

Is that it gives you some pie…

But, no recipe.

The goal isn’t to just have pie…

The goal is to become a damn good chef.

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