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Matt Hogan's Blog Posts

Goals Minus Time Commitment

Published on May 5, 2024

If your weeks and months don’t contain pockets of time dedicated to your year and decade goals… you’re not serious about reaching them.

Think about what you want your health and fitness to be like in a year or a decade… and ask yourself, do the pockets of time inside your weeks and months match that kind of outcome?

Do the same for what you want your relationships, side hustles or finances, intellect or skill sets to be like in a year or a decade… and then take some time to reorganize this week’s or this month’s time.

…Nothing contains regret more than goals minus any kind of regular time commitment.

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

“We Don’t Quit.”

Published on May 4, 2024

“That’s alright, we don’t quit.”

I said playfully as she looked at me for a signal on how she should feel about missing her shot.

“We take that ball and we put it right back up again.”

And so she refocused on the basketball rim, scrunched her little body down like a spring, and shot the ball back up with all her might.

Missing again, she looked at me again for a signal on how she should feel.

Without even the slightest hesitation I repeated exactly the same line.

And without any further hesitation, she refocused, scrunched back down, and shot it back up.

And this continued again and again and again until around shot number 16 when she finally made it.

And what I loved the most about this experience today wasn’t just the playful acceptance of failure as being a part of the process towards success… nor was it the fact that she made one of her first ever basketball shots on a regulation rim at seven years old (and one of those outdoor double rims at that)… but it was what her little four year old brother did after watching the whole thing unfold.

He ran up and asked if he could try—and of course we let him.

And after missing his first shot… rather than cry or get mad or give up… completely unprompted he said: “That’s alright, we don’t quit.”

…And playfully asked if he could take another shot.

Legacy Is Built On Giving

Published on May 4, 2024

Whether you want to confront the reality or not: you won’t be here much longer to give your gifts yourself.

And while many people focus heavily on taking for themselves: taking educational classes, taking opportunities, taking trips/vacations, etc… it’s the ones who give back what they’ve gained from the things they’ve taken who get to participate in the pay-it-forward ripple effect.

…The one that begins with a selfless act tossed gracefully into the pond of a local community and causes an invisible series of waves that flow outward for as long as the impacted components are inspired in depth.

And if you ever want to have others give gifts to the world on your behalf, your best strategy is to give abundantly to them now.

Now, obviously, it’s hard to give without first having taken what others and the world have offered to give.

…But, it’s simply naive to think others would continue giving on your behalf if you haven’t offered anything back to others and the world from what you’ve taken.

The Antidote To Busy

Published on May 2, 2024

Today felt like a hectic, busy day.

Like whenever I finished one thing, five other things immediately came to mind that I had to do. And the more time I spent thinking about those five other things, the more stressed I felt.

One thing that helped, however, was deliberately reconnecting to the present moment.

There were a few instances throughout my day, for example, when I caught myself stressing myself out and I interrupted the pattern by deliberately focusing on a present moment task.

In one instance, I caught myself thinking about all of the things I had to catch up with at work during my morning workout and I reframed my focus towards getting the best pump I could with each strengthening rep instead.

In another instance, I caught myself thinking about all of the home chores I had to catch up on during my afternoon break and I reframed my focus towards the beautiful day we were having and stepped outside, took a seat on my porch, and meditated quietly for five minutes instead.

And in another instance, I caught myself thinking about all of my upcoming travel plans that needed to be confirmed as I was unwinding from work and I reframed my focus towards each step of my evening dog walk… and then each dish as the soap and hot water ran through my fingers… and then each word as I sat at my desk and typed this short message for you.

And it was in thinking about these moments today that I realized… the antidote to busy (that doesn’t want to change)… is presence.

You, Through Me [Poem]

Published on May 2, 2024

I want the reflection you see
Of yourself through me
To be the beauty you’ve nurtured inside
Personified and illustrated clearly

…Screw what the mirror’s got to say!

Screens, glass, and relaxed water beds
Should all want to take notes
After seeing what the iris of my eye
Sends deep within your galaxies

Your worth, your potential, your confidence
Decoded and displayed plainly
A proper reflection made foreign by society
For you to double take, glance back, and do so on repeat

No swiping required; No comparisonism or fees
Just patience, presence, and other modern day elixirs
…A vision of everything you could be
Made readily available; packaged inside but a glance

All you have to do to remember is look…
See through me.

P.s. You can read my other poems here.

When Life Is Fair

Published on April 30, 2024

“If life is fair, and it will be, it will serve you immeasurable beauties, joys and pleasures—you will feel at times that you do not have the capacity to take them in. You will. Our hearts they are boundless. If life is fair, and it will be, it will bring you huge, merciless sorrows. Devastations of your boundless heart. I wish for you the grace to persevere and accept them across time, for that is the only way these kinds of things can be taken in.”

Dan Weiss

While it is undeniably true that life is unfair in the circumstances into which we are born (i.e. socioeconomic status, parents, access to resources, etc), and in how some people are born into and taken from this world without a fighting chance, it’s also true that for most of us, life is fair in how we’re all going to feel the entire spectrum of human emotions.

…We’re each going to feel joy and pleasure just as we’re each going to feel sorrow and devastation. We’re each going to feel the mesmerizing beauty of love just as we’re each going to feel the heart-wrenching pain of loss. We’re each going to feel grateful and sentimental; nervous and insecure; jealous and enraged; lonely and shameful; amazed and confused; euphoric and peaceful…

…Not at the same times and not in equal proportions, but in full nonetheless. So when you’re thriving, soak it all the way in. And when you’re struggling, remember, you’re never alone. And just because you’re feeling something different than us, doesn’t mean we won’t or don’t feel that, too. Be patient and be kind…

…Because on this front—life is fair.

Love That Rises Above Blame

Published on April 29, 2024

“Please love your community enough to repair what we broke.”

Kiese Laymon

It can be tempting to say, “Not my fault; not my problem.”

And it can be even more tempting to point fingers at who’s fault it is and talk endlessly about who caused what problems in our community.

Enter mainstream media.

But, it takes real maturity… real character… real strength… to rise above finger pointing, gossip, and blame—and actually do something about the problems at hand.

…Which isn’t to say those at fault shouldn’t be held responsible.

It’s simply to say, don’t waste your time merely talking and pointing.

If it isn’t your job to investigate fault or decide convictions… then don’t. Or at least don’t spend all of your time on it (for those who decide the ones whose job it is to do those things aren’t doing them).

As Kiese says above, choose love instead.

Love your community and the people in it so much that your convictions to change what’s broken rises above the fingers, gossip, and blame.

Love your community and the people in it so much that you volunteer some of your free time from your crazy schedule to help with its improvement.

Love your community and the people in it so much that your focus on it and them drowns out what the finger points, gossipers, and blame-gamers have to say…

…And things actually get better as a result.

P.s. 23 Quotes on Changing the World and How To Start Making a Difference