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Matt Hogan's Blog Posts

Bring Sparks To Conversations

Published on April 28, 2024

Conversation starting is a lot easier when you have something non-programmed to say.

When people ask you what’s up, rather than reply with “nothing much,” reply with something specific that’s “up” and at the top of your mind. What are you excited about? What experiences stand out from your everyday norm? What have you been thinking about a lot?

When people ask you how it’s going, rather than reply with “good,” reply with an honest answer on how your day/week/month/life is unfolding. What emotions have you been feeling more of/less of lately? What obstacles are you dealing with? What victories are you celebrating?

When people ask you what’s new, rather than reply with “same old,” reply with a short highlight reel of what’s actually new in your life from when you saw that person last. What new skills are you building/thinking of building? What travel/adventure/event plans have you recently made? Who have you seen or made plans to see?

…And don’t worry too much on how any of the above will be received. Just put it out there and see where it leads. At the very least, I can tell you this much… it’ll lead to far more conversation possibilities than the above mentioned “programmed” responses.

Figuring out these non-programmed-type answers on the spot can be hard. So, maybe try taking a few minutes each morning to answer these questions for yourself ahead of time. At the very least, I can tell you this much… it’ll lead to far more internal awareness than you might’ve had before.

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

Hope For The Harder Option

Published on April 28, 2024

“I hope I get to compete against the 13 year olds and not the 15 year olds” …One of my 14 year old martial arts students said to me today.

To which I replied, “No. Hope you get to compete against the 15 year olds. Start mentally preparing for them now. Then, the only surprise you’ll get is that you have to compete against the 13 year olds.”

…So many times in life, we hope for the easy/ easier/ easiest option—it’s only natural. We humans are wired to pursue the path of least resistance. But—as I’m sure each of you reading this are all too familiar with—life doesn’t consult us on what our preferences are. Life doesn’t care what’s convenient for us or what we want. Life just happens—for better and for worst.

And rather than praying for lighter burdens—as the saying goes—we should be hoping and praying for stronger backs. By preparing for the tougher of the alternative outcomes, we prepare ourselves in the best way for any of the possible outcomes. Including the ones we hoped wouldn’t happen, but did anyway.

…Like the one my 14 year old student faced today when she found out she had to compete against the 15 year olds.

Don’t Get A Big Head

Published on April 26, 2024

At the conclusion of a martial arts tournament I’m attending this weekend, the Grand Master said the following in regards to the people who won [In a thick Korean accent]:

“Congratulations! Enjoy this victory. But, don’t get a big head.”

And in regards to the people who lost:

“If you didn’t win today—it’s okay. Now, you have something to train hard for.”

And tying it together he said (and I’m paraphrasing according to memory):

“The people who won today will become comfortable. They will relax. They don’t get the same fire inside. They get big heads. Don’t let that happen to you. Use this experience to keep training hard. Whether you win or lose.”

And it’s a great reminder I’d say to not let your head get big—in whatever space you’re in. And to always find ways you can add fuel to your inner fire—regardless of how your life experiences unfold.

Experiences are experiences. They aren’t inherently good or bad—per se. It’s what we do with the experiences—how we interpret them, shape them, use them—that counts.

…And ultimately, what’ll end up making all of the difference in each of the life experiences that have yet to come.

Lower Your Weight

Published on April 25, 2024

Doing martial arts training today, I was reminded of how important it is to lower your weight—to enroot yourself into the ground.

To lower your weight is to simultaneously lower your attention—out from somewhere in the clouds and back into the weight of the current moment.

It’s a reminder to stand your ground; to solidify your foundation; to reclaim your power.

And the beauty of martial arts training is that there are immediate physical/ tangible/ sensory feedback mechanisms in place that display the weight of your attention at various moments of the training.

If your mind floats elsewhere during a drill, for example, you might get knocked off balance. Or if you fall asleep on a sparring partner and start daydreaming, you might take a shot. Or if you try and multi-task a martial drill with a past or future concern, you might trip over your own movements.

Lower your weight is a reminder to get out of your head. To come back down to earth. To dig your roots deeper into reality and suck the life from the soil of the here and now.

…And today, I want you to try and do just that. You might not have a martial feedback mechanism like I had today—but that just means you won’t get punched or hit if you forget.

…Which might be a more ideal situation for you anyways.

…Although, less on the line if you forget.

Nonetheless, make that your focus today and periodically remind yourself like you just took a shot.

…And keep it at the forefront to lower your weight.

There’s Always Something You Can Do

Published on April 24, 2024

A student of mine injured herself.

Her doctor recommended she not do any kind of intense physical activity until healed.

Some might hear those words and translate it in their mind as, “Doc said no physical activity” and use it as their golden ticket to laziness via excuse-ville.

Others—like this student of mine who shared her thoughts with me—might hear those words and translate it in their mind as, “Doc said no intense physical activity” and use it as their opportunity to get creative and build resilience.

The former group will likely come out of the injury not only with muscular atrophy, but with habitual/disciplinary/mindset atrophy as well. And have to confront an uphill battle that not only involves weaker muscles, but more problems/weight on their shoulders.

The latter group, the ones who choose to still show up and do what they can with what they have in creative ways may still face muscular atrophy in the injured area. But, will have a much more relaxed incline and less weight on their shoulders because the habits, discipline, and mindsets were all maintained.

The mantra I’ve come to adopt over the years from trying to be a person who’s a part of the latter group is, “There’s always something I can do.”

…I just might not know what that thing is yet because I haven’t evolved to that higher version of myself yet.

…And the same is true for you.

Hard Reading

Published on April 23, 2024

I (finally) finished reading Ray Dalio’s book, Principles this week.

…I say “finally,” because sheesh did this book take me a while to complete.

…Two months in case you’re wondering. And not just because of it’s length (567 pages), but because of how dry it felt to me.

What I thought it was going to be were economic principles from one of the most successful hedge fund managers of all time (i.e. when to invest and in what based on varying economic markets). But, what it ended up being were personal and company principles, laid out like a legal document, outlining every single principle he’s incorporated into his life and business over the decades of his work.

…To be clear, the value is massive and there’s a ton to learn from it.

But, to read before bed after a long day of work?

…It proved to be an incredible uphill battle.

“Why didn’t you stop and read something else?” …You might be wondering.

To which I’d reply, I almost did.

But what I always come back to, and the reason I didn’t and stayed the uphill course, was the idea of seeing challenges through.

We do hard things not so we can suffer unnecessarily, but so we can prepare ourselves better for life.

…Illustrated perfectly in how easily I’m able to read my next book, The Prophet by Khalil Gibran. One night and I’m already halfway through. And not because I’m a fast reader, but because I’ve trudged my way through hard reading—and now have context that gives my reading depth, confidence, and appreciation.

…The same kinds of things that come from doing other hard things in life, too.

Driving Forward Your Life

Published on April 22, 2024

When driving, how much time do you spend looking in the rear view mirror?

…Maybe 1% of the time?

And how much time do you spend planning out your route in advance?

…Again, maybe 1% of the time it takes you to complete the actual drive?

I think these are good proportions to apply to driving forward your life as well.

I don’t think there’s ever a time we drive our car without looking in the rear view mirror or planning out our route in advance in some respect.

Just as I don’t think there should ever be a day when we drive forward our life without looking at our past or planning out our future route in some respect.

Of the 16 hours you spend awake driving your life forward (assuming eight hours of sleep), this means ~ 10 minutes each day should be spent reviewing the past and 10 minutes should be spent planning out the future (16 hours x 60 minutes = 960 total awake minutes x .01 = 9.6 minutes).

If you can remember to spent even just 5 minutes per day looking back and 5 minutes per day looking forward, I’d say your journey forward will remarkably improve.

…Probably in at least as much as the introduction of the rear view mirror and GPS remarkably improved driving cars.

Imagine that…

P.s. Need help planning out your life’s route? My guide (now 30% off) can help. Details here.