Matt Hogan's Blog

Singular Lines and Snapshots Memories

Published on May 14, 2023

“He was a good man; he lived a good life.”

…Was said to me by a friend in regards to his father who reached the end of his life.

And I couldn’t help but think about how, after everything—after the millions of minutes lived and experienced in this lifetime—people will generally remember us in singular lines and snapshot memories.

Which is why before you’ve done everything you’ll ever be able to do (a sobering thought), you should consider what you would most like people to say and remember about you now… and live more often from that place so you don’t end up authoring something you later regret.

Inner work prompt: What do you hope people will say about you after you pass? Can you boil it down to one line?

Using Busy For Good

Published on May 13, 2023

If you have time to:

Complain, then you also have time to express gratitude.
Explore the internet, then you also have time to explore nature / reality.
Talk poorly about people behind their back(s), then you also have time to speak constructively about people to their face.
Stop at a fast food restaurant to buy junk food, then you also have time to stop at a restaurant that can make your food fast and buy healthier food.
Rack up hours of unintentional screen time daily (e.g. constant social media refreshing), then you also have time to rack up hours of intentional screen time daily (e.g. digital / audio books).

Don’t use busy as an excuse to make poor choices. Use the momentum that comes from busy to carry you forward from one good choice to the next with more ease. Learn to use busy as a facilitator that allows you to do more good with less effort—not the opposite.

Modeling The Way

Published on May 13, 2023

While I was sitting in my office the other day, a parent knocked at my door and asked if I had a minute to chat.

I replied, “Of course” and invited him in.

He took a seat, tilted up his hat, rubbed his head, and with a somewhat heavy face said, “My son is having a hard time finding motivation to come to Martial Arts class…”

Having had this conversation countless times before, I started downloading potential replies from my brain on the benefits of persevering, how discipline is built, habit formation, befriending momentum, being creative in approach, etc.

And just as I was finishing my thought process, he continued by saying something I can’t remember hearing another parent say (in this order) in all my 20+ years of teaching martial arts…

He said, “…So I think I’m gonna sign up myself.”

Somewhat dumbfounded, I sat there for an awkward minute, trashed the previously downloaded files and started writing fresh script in real time on how… damn impressive hearing that was.

What usually follows from the parent after that initial comment are excuses, justifications, additional challenges, membership questions, and/or requests to pause/cancel.

But, to hear a parent say: so I’m going to lead the way and show him how to persevere through my example… was incredibly refreshing and an example I think we all—not just his son—can learn from.

On Mowing The Lawn

Published on May 11, 2023

I wasn’t able to finish mowing my lawn… again.

While I was out traveling the past several weeks, and while everyone else in my neighborhood was getting in their first mow of the season after a long, cold, and arduous winter—my grass invited over all the neighbor’s weeds, had a party, and got its grow on.

And then, of course, when I committed to getting in my first mow, it rained and cut my mowing time short (pun definitely intended).

Now, my grass is two, and in some areas, three times the size of the mower itself and pushing the damn thing feels like I’m doing weighted sled sprints at the gym.

Part of me is cool with this and mentally adds a tally to the workout column for the day.

But, the other part of me sighs in frustration because I know that this is what happens when you procrastinate.

Getting the job done on a regular mowing day is no problem. Sometimes even therapeutic.

Waiting to get the job done past that ideal mowing day doesn’t just add to the challenge of the mowing… it multiplies the challenge.

And the same is true with so many of the things in life that we’d be much better off doing in regular, well-timed intervals rather than in a singular, herculean interval done once every when I feel like it.

A little bit done often, is oftentimes much more effective than a lotta bit done too late.

The Sun’s Hand [Poem]

Published on May 10, 2023

Love is the sun's hand
Reaching into cornered darkness
Bringing light where light
Has no path of its own

Love is the sun's hand
Warming frozen beings
From long harsh winters
Weathered alone

Love is the sun's hand
Lifting broken hearts
From battlefields of hate
Left to mend on their own

Love is the sun's hand
Building places of refuge
Places of connection
Places for those cold, hurt, and alone

Love is the sun's hand
And you are the hand
Of the sun
Warming, reaching, lifting

Everywhere the sun alone
Can not

P.s. You can read more of my thoughts on love here.

The Rest of the Way [Poem]

Published on May 9, 2023

I never understood the idea
Of fighting to keep
The ones you love
From walking away

If life leaves you
With a choice between
Them and away
And you choose away

Wouldn't fighting for you
To instead choose to stay
Be selfish and unloving
And only cause resentment

The rest of the way?

I say honor their decision
And deepen your response
Love doesn't possess or keep
Love paves the way

P.s. You can read my other poems, that I occasionally write, here.

Insist On Fresh

Published on May 8, 2023

No day should pass without fresh content for your mind to wrestle with.

And no, I don’t mean social media posts consisting of selfies and superficial intentions. I mean content that’s been carefully observed and documented within the pages of a book, scenes of a documentary, or bites of a podcast—starting, maybe, with the highest rated ones.

There is too much certified fresh content hidden with pages, scenes, and bites that’s just waiting to paint color inside the sometimes graying and dull walls of your mind. Not because we’re graying and dull, but because we prioritize too heavily comfort and oftentimes unknowingly submit to a type of color-draining redundancy.

We must insist on something fresh every day. Whether that comes from new experiences lived or past experiences shared carefully from others. Otherwise, gray becomes our reality.

P.s. I share fresh insights daily from the pages, scenes, and bites that I consume. To read those, you can bookmark and check-in regularly with this page.

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