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Matt Hogan's Blog Posts

Learn From Those Later To The Game Than You

Published on February 13, 2025

When learning something new, don’t look at who has already mastered whatever it is you’re trying to learn that’s your age or younger…

…Look at who has mastered it that’s five or ten or twenty or even thirty years older than you.

Our ability to learn never dies.

Our decision that we’re “too old” or “too far behind” or “too late to the game” will, however, kill our ability to learn long before we ever die.

P.s. There is definitely somebody out there who’s doing the thing you’re interested in learning who started LONG after you did. Believe it (and stop making excuses).

What’s Your Storm Mentality?

Published on February 12, 2025

I uploaded a quote today that said, “When fisherman cannot go to sea, they repair their nets. When the sea is too rough to sail, the smart ones don’t wait—they get to work. They mend their nets, sharpen their tools, and prepare for the moment the storm breaks. Because even in stillness, there’s progress…“

When you cannot go to the gym… what do you do?

…What about when you cannot prepare the healthy dinner you had planned?

…Or when you cannot devote as much time to your project that you originally intended/needed to?

…What do you do when the storm hits? Do you have a plan? Or do you just throw your hands up in the air and use it as an excuse to cozy up to your comfort zone self? …To revert back to a lower version of yourself? …To turn stillness into regress?

One thing is for sure… the storms will come.

The question for you to reflect on today is… what will be your mentality (and action steps) when it does?

P.s. ICYMI you can read the best of what I posted to MoveMe Quotes last week, here.

Two Simple Ways To Better Utilize Your Limited Daily Energy Allowance

Published on February 11, 2025

Two ways to better utilize the limited amount of energy you get each day:

1. Daisy chain tasks—physics says it’s easier to keep a body in motion than it is to start a stopped body… So, daisy chain tasks one to the next to the next so that you can keep momentum on your side and reduce the energy suck that comes from having to start back up after coming to a full stop.

2. That said, plug yourself back in strategically—we humans don’t recharge very well while our bodies are in motion. That happens best when we come to a full stop… like our phones when we plug them back into the wall. Sure, there’s coffee and other stimulants that we can take on the go, but nothing beats rest. Too many rest breaks, however, can mess with idea #1… and actually make rest a counterproductive effort to our day.

So the art, then, comes from figuring out how to optimize your tasks so that you’re daisy chaining everything together that can be daisy chained while mindfully making time for full stop rests.

…And not letting full stops turn into a counter productive daisy chain of full stopped tasks that last way longer than they’re supposed to (i.e. taking a power nap, which leads to social media scrolling, which leads to TV viewing, etc).

Ask yourself: where are the full stops in my day? Can I daisy chain tasks in their place instead? Can I combine my full stops into one strategic full stop that’s placed at my most needed time? And how can I make it easy to start back up after that full stop?

Ice and Movement

Published on February 10, 2025

I went to swat the ball out of another player’s hands while playing basketball the other day and I either bent my pointer finger in a way it shouldn’t have or jammed it real good (or both)… because it was immediately very painful after that swat.

After finishing the game (and when the adrenaline was wearing off and it started to swell), I quickly got it on ice and rotated back and forth between that and movement for about an hour… and then just kept moving it as much as I could after that.

The idea was simple: ice constricts blood vessels which reduces swelling. Movement keeps things, well, moving in the area so that, again, there’s less swelling (pooling) and fresh cells can continue to make their way in to heal and repair (no traffic jams).

When you get hit with emotional type pain in life (or do the hitting which results in pain) following a similar type of response can be helpful.

We ice emotions (cool off) to constrict overwhelmingly unnecessary responses… so we can choose other than a regretful, knee-jerk response… so we can prevent any unnecessary life swelling that might happen when we allow ourselves to act when fully heated up.

We then keep the emotions moving so that we can prevent pooling which can turn suppressed emotions toxic… so that we can create space for other emotions to arrive (healing and repairing type emotions)… so that we can fully feel (and eventually fully release) what’s meant to be felt.

And we do this with space… with journaling… with meditation… with walks… with inner work…

And when we don’t… we get badly swollen and bruised instead.

How To Get Ahead Of Most

Published on February 10, 2025

Seth Godin said something to me years ago that has lingered in my mind ever since.

When helping him set up for a presentation he was about to give, we got to talking about creative work and creative projects… and he said something along the lines of, “If you’re not watching TV, you’re way ahead of most.”

In the past few years of my life, I got in the habit of watching TV on weekends for a few hours on Friday, Saturday, and sometimes Sunday.

Lately, I’ve replaced just about all of my passive TV time with active music time.

And it’s incredible how much more life I feel I get from my day with that one simple switch. Even if you cut just a few hours from how much TV you watch in a month… I think you’d be surprised how worth it it feels upon reflection… especially when you find something that makes the time go by just as fast.

…Never stop searching and experimenting for that thing.

You’re The Expert

Published on February 9, 2025

A friend shared an experience she had in her martial arts class the other night.

She partnered up with a new student and just before they started the designated drill, the new student said, “You go first… you’re the expert. My coordination is so bad.”

My friend said that comment hit her like a ton of bricks.

…Really bad coordination was why she started.

And after just having recently gotten her black belt… to hear, “You’re the expert” felt… shocking.

From one perspective, this friend probably still feels very much like the same poorly coordinated girl who showed up to her first martial arts class all those years ago…

But from another perspective, this friend also accumulated hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of martial arts classes which has trained her body otherwise.

The reminder for me from this is a simple, but powerful one.

Day by day… nothing changes. But when you look back after a while… everything is different.

The key is to never underestimate the power of small choices made over extended periods of time.

…The decisions to eat one less treat or one more healthy item.

…The decisions to take class on days when you’re leaning towards couch cozying instead.

…The decisions to read or listen to audiobooks instead of binge watch passive entertainment.

Big sweeping changes made in a day rarely make a difference over the course of a life.

…But the little things done daily??

It’s hard to find a lasting formula that makes a greater difference.

Favorite Moments Rhyme

Published on February 8, 2025

Close your eyes and bring to mind your favorite moment from yesterday…

Now bring to mind your favorite moment from last week…

And then bring to mind your favorite moment from last month…

And keep going back for a year… maybe two… maybe ten…

It’s impossible to know for sure what your favorite moment of tomorrow will be.

Or from next week, next month, or over the next few years…

But one thing is for sure… your favorite moments from your past are excellent indicators as to what might lead to favorite moments in your future.

Maybe not in an identical way… but at the very least in a way that rhymes.

…Trust the rhythm of your life.