Skip to content

Matt Hogan's Blog Posts

Balancing Up And Down

Published on March 6, 2023

Our roots entrench themselves deeper through inner work.

Our branches extend themselves out further through outer engagement.

If you find yourself uneasy, ridden with anxiety, like your standing on unstable ground…

It’s root work that’s needed.

Don’t fool yourself into thinking that something more is needed from the outer (money, status, travel, etc). It’ll only end up making you feel more unstable by further extending out your branches without having any effect on the depth of your roots.

Proportional is what makes the tree stand firm.

We move up by going down. And the more we go down… the higher up we can go. Go too high without enough down… and we’ll tip and crash. Find the balance in up and down and stable, calm, secure, is where we’ll be found.

P.s. Know someone who may enjoy reading these? This is me kindly asking if you’d forward it to them :)

YOU TV

Published on March 5, 2023

Our self-worth increases proportionally to the amount of time spent doing inner work.

If we never prioritize our SELF… how can we expect to realize all that we are?

Like modern media, what garners the most attention proportionally holds the most worth.

Make YOU the channel you spend the most time on.

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

Custom Fit

Published on March 4, 2023

No such thing as a problem-free life.

Only a life with problems that we enjoy solving more than others.

Those who understand this stop trying to curate a utopian lifestyle and start doing the important work of exchanging/ upgrading problems for a custom-fit lifestyle instead.

P.s. This was inspired by a Mark Manson quote you’ll find on this list.

Where’s the best place to start with inner work?

Published on March 2, 2023

Good questions.

…Not good question. My answer is: with good questions. Although it is a good question.

Okay moving on.

Here’s a great starting formula:

A good question + a good block of uninterrupted time + honest attempts at answering = excellent inner work.

It doesn’t have to be any more complicated than that.

Going on meditation retreats, taking intense treks through nature, doing intensive therapy sessions are undoubtedly powerful and worth every ounce of effort that you invest into them.

But, the barrier to actually doing those things is quite high. And anything that’s hard to do will get avoided and confronted with a proportional amount of resistance.

This is why we need to simplify our process. We need to meet ourselves where we are. We need to invest in little steps, start with small inquisitions, and explore our inner caves one piece of tunnel at a time.

Step by step, question by question, day by day is the way forward that fits into the busy person’s life. You just have to decide and commit.

Questions you might consider starting with:

  • If you burned away everything you knew about yourself… what would remain?
  • What/Who makes being yourself easier? Harder? Why? What might you do with this insight?
  • What have been the defining events in your life—events that have impacted you the most both positively and negatively as a person? How have they shaped you into who you’ve become? What events might you pursue that could shape you into the person who you most want to become?

P.s. Each question above was pulled from my guide: The Art of Forward (Direction > Speed). More info here.

Move To Recharge

Published on March 1, 2023

Inner work can be exhausting.

Like changing a car’s battery.

But, once it’s done… it provides a source of sustainable energy that far exceeds what an almost dead battery could ever provide. As it is when we introspectively explore and update/change a fundamental component of our inner workings—exhausting at first, life-giving later.

Which isn’t to say inner work is a one-and-done process.

Like a car’s battery, it still needs to be recharged—which happens, counterintuitively enough, via driving. This works the same for us when we move our bodies, minds, and spirits by exercising, writing, meditating, etc. Movement, as it turns out, is how we keep ourselves charged—not depleted—with energy.

To be clear, we still need to sleep—this isn’t the kind of energy we’re talking about. What we’re talking about is the energy you get to use inside of your days after sleep—your vitality.

And if you want to raise your vibration and engage with more enthusiasm, you’ll have to invest a solid chuck of energy upfront. There is no way around this. But, once you do, and you give yourself a full night of sleep for it take, you’ll rise with a higher baseline of energy that wasn’t accessible before… that you can use to move and recharge even more… that you can use to FULLY engage with life.

P.s. I asked: How much awake time do you spend each day unplugged? Hoping the answer(s) might get you to have a think…

Life Drinking

Published on February 28, 2023

When outlining the tasks of your day—identify how many you’re doing for others vs how many you’re doing for yourself.

A day spent only doing tasks for others will leave you empty.

A day spent only doing tasks for yourself will leave you wastefully overflowing.

Like a cup you pour your favorite drink into on a scorching hot day, you want to carefully fill it up first… and then carefully pour out from it second.

Maintaining a mindful balance of both actions—which hold equal importance—is how we quench the thirst of our lives.

P.s. I also published: 34 Will Smith Quotes from Will on Hustle, Happiness, and Love.