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Matt Hogan's Blog Posts

Forcing Original

Published on January 26, 2022

Don’t “try” to be original.

You already are original.

Just surrender to your originality.

And stop trying to force what’s already there.

Anything Will Do

Published on January 25, 2022

The quality of your life is a byproduct of your standards and how well you hold yourself to them.

If you want to live your best life, you have to hold yourself to your best (realistic) standards.

This isn’t to say you can’t update and revise your standards as you grow, change, and mature.

It’s merely to say, if you don’t have standards set then anything will do.

And living your best life isn’t something that happens where anything will do.

Present In 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…

Published on January 24, 2022

You know what time it is?

—A great time to relax that mind of yours.

Stop what you’re doing and name out:

  • 5 things you see.
  • 4 things you hear.
  • 3 things you feel.
  • 2 things you smell.
  • and 1 thing you taste.

Ground yourself into the present moment and enjoy the beauty that’s already here.

When It’s Time (To Ship)

Published on January 23, 2022

I had the pleasure of hearing Aminatta Forna (7x Author) speak at Kleinhans Music Hall in Buffalo, NY on Thursday, October 14th, 2021.

One of my favorite questions from the night was: “How do you know when a piece is done?”

Her reply: “It’s never done. But, when you can’t stand looking at it anymore, then it’s time.”

Looking For Creative Inspiration?

Published on January 22, 2022

Try adding the 3 “C’s” to your day:

  • Curate: To fill your mind up. Read books from brilliant minds. Listen to fascinating conversations. Explore the minds of others by asking deliberately deep and intriguing questions. Your mind will start thinking like the minds you most explore. If you want to start thinking big/ different—immerse yourself in the minds of those who already are.
  • Create: To empty your mind. Don’t just regurgitate the same information from those minds you curated ideas from. Add your own experiences, opinions, and insights. Remix anything and everything you come across and make it your own. And give yourself plenty of uninterrupted time to do it. Even if that means staring at a blank page for an hour.
  • Connect: To guide your process forward. We curate and create for ourselves—because it’s what keeps us calm, clear, and collected. But we don’t keep our created gifts to ourselves. We share them with others. Not everybody will like or appreciate our gifts and that’s okay. It isn’t meant for them. Give your gifts to the people they’re meant for. As you would a special gift during the holiday season. Special gifts aren’t meant for just anybody. Give them to the specific people they’re for.

Act It

Published on January 21, 2022

We are not who we want to be.

We are not who we think we are.

We are what we DO.

If we don’t choose our actions carefully, we’ll end up carelessly becoming a person we didn’t intend to become.

And what a tragedy that would be.

Once we decide who we want to be, we must act it.

Here [Poem]

Published on January 20, 2022 
What a waste
to miss out on what’s here
because we're too busy
whining about
dreaming about
scheming about
what’s over there.