Matt Hogan's Blog

Guest Appearance On: Just Ask Em

Published on September 11, 2025

Just Ask Em is a podcast that aims to provide a platform for locally owned businesses, creative and entrepreneurial voices, and topics of conversation that are timely and/or deep.

In this episode (link here), we discuss the local business that captured my heart at 11 years old, talk travel and the many lessons that come from exploring new cultures, and discuss ways we can live more mindfully and present in a world that’s chronically trying to steal your attention (full topic breakdown with timestamps included below)—all in about 45 minutes!

If you don’t have time to listen to the whole episode now, I hope you’ll at least bookmark it for later. Enjoy :)

0:00 – 13:45: Martial Arts Background—Why I started training; how it became my profession; who I train under and what the mission is; and more.

13:45 – 24:35: Unpacking A Recent & Life Changing Trip To Bosnia—Why Bosnia; what was different about it; life lessons from the trip; and more.

24:35 – 29:06: Lessons from Solo Travel and Music Festivals

29:06 – 37:32: The Daily Blog—Why I write every day; why I share it with others; prioritizing inner work even when you’re busy; and more.

37:32 – 45:41: Challenges with Modern Society—And ideas on how you can reclaim your time, energy, and presence of mind.

P.s. You can watch or listen to my other podcast appearances here.

Special Is Defined By You

Published on September 10, 2025

“My dear Matt ~ I was just watching the video of us celebrating Drew. Thank you from my heart for instigating that. A few people told me that was the best moment of their Burn. It was beautiful. It was magical. It was profound. Thank you thank you thank you. Be well. And I love your move at the end of the clip. I am so grateful. My friend had the time of his new life.”

Here’s what I did: knowing it was one of our campmate’s last burns (for declining health reasons), I saw him walking home after a night out, and I instigated a dance celebration in his honor.

…Although I can’t take full credit because another campmate was playing the most phenomenal music set and I had several other campmates who were dancing their hearts out with me.

All I did was yell, “DREWWWWWW” a bunch of times really loudly… dance wildly around him… leaned into the moment that I felt was uniquely for him and got the rest of the campmates to dance on board.

It was an incredible night featuring some of my favorite moments from the burn. There wasn’t a lot of us, maybe 12 people celebrating this man’s legacy as a part of our camp, but it felt like there were 1,200.

…What’s interesting is that there were shows happening that night that probably had crowds of at least 1,200. But, what we shared right at our camp that night, with Drew being the central focus, was special. And not because it featured some major headliner at some incredible art car at some magical dawn/dusk time of day… but because we made it so.

Keep Your Eye On The Ball(s)

Published on September 9, 2025

A lot happens throughout the day.

And a lot of what happens isn’t given enough time to be fully processed, addressed, or resolved.

Taking 5-15 minutes at the end of your day to just sit and actively replay all of the happenings that unfolded can be an excellent strategy.

Maybe not to fully process, address, or resolve every single thing that comes / came up…

…But to at least plan it into your schedule or calendar to be addressed at the appropriate later time.

Because when tomorrow comes and a lot more happens throughout the day… guess what’s going to get pushed further into the background of your mind?

…You guessed it: everything you haven’t given enough time to either process, address, resolve—or schedule and later prioritize.

If you want to prevent that feeling of having “dropped the ball”—this active replaying is an excellent way to keep your eye on all of the balls that came your way throughout your day.

The Ripples Of Help

Published on September 8, 2025

Yesterday, I mentioned how during periods of prolonged rain (at Burning Man), people went out of their way to gift those who were struggling.

Let me share a story with you as an example.

Towards the end of one of the worst periods of rain, as my RV-mates and I finished our umpteenth game of rummy, I peeked my head out of the side door to look for signs of life.

There was some really great music playing somewhere in the vicinity, there was murmuring and rustling in the nearby tents, and—what really caught my eye—our camp’s bar appeared to be open. The lights were on, the curtains were pulled back, and there was movement.

Letting my curiosity take hold, I called it quits for rummy and placed my bare feet into the cold, sludgy, cement-mix-like ground and trekked towards the bar.

When I got there, I found one of my campmates walking drinks to passerby burners and offering them a place to rest before they finished the rest of their journey back to camp.

The gratitude on their faces at the sight of a drink and a chair, after having traveled much too far in the exponentially-more-difficult-rained-on-terrain—was inspirational.

Needless to say, I jumped on board and helped how I could—And did so for a while into the night.

…But, you know who it was helping just as much as anybody who was passing by, exhausted and demoralized? …Us.

It was helping us get through the misery of the weather and it brought all of us closer together.

…It was a beautiful reminder that helping is never just about the one on the receiving end.

Why Do Anything Hard Ever?

Published on September 8, 2025

The start of Burning Man was rough.

There were record breaking wind storms that wreaked havoc, and in many cases, completely ruined people’s camp and art installation setups.

There were rain storms that turned the ground into a feeling of cement mix and halted all travel in any direction for hours and hours on end.

And because of the above, there were unprecedented delays that left burners stranded in the entry line, in their vehicles, for in some cases, 21+ hours—and this was after having driven 6, 8, 12 hours to get into that line.

Burners had to build camp not once—which is already labor intensive and taxing enough as is—but twice because of the above mentioned ordeals, on very little sleep, all well before anything of the event itself could be experienced.

…So, why the heck do it?

Because during those record breaking wind storms, people came together to fight back.

During the periods of prolonged rain, people went out of their way to gift those who were struggling.

When the camp had to be torn down, the team not only did that, but built it back up better and stronger than before.

…Why do anything hard?

Because nothing worthwhile comes easily.

If Burning Man was “plug-and-play” and all people had to do was show up to five star campsites and well paved roads… to perfect weather via seamless flows… without any obstacle or issue or concern…

…Then there wouldn’t be any coming together, no triumph, no victory, no down-and-dirty, no reward.

So much of what makes the reward so rewarding is the challenge and adversity that had to be overcome along the way.

Setting Your Uncompromised Soul Free

Published on September 5, 2025

While at Burning Man, a campmate made a comment that resonated deeply with me. She said, “I’m very selfish when it comes to Burning Man. I’m happy to introduce, give people the 101, and even travel with friends to and from the burn. But, while there? I need to be completely free. This isn’t just building, gifting, and dancing—there’s a spiritual component for me. And like any spiritual journey in life—I need to follow my uncompromised soul.”

This goes back to one of the points I made in yesterday’s post: Do more alone… together requires compromise and while there’s nothing wrong with that, there IS something wrong with never following your uncompromised soul.

My first year at Burning Man, I went completely alone and knew nobody there. Since then, my soul has found and connected with so much of what it needed. From workshops and classes to art and expression, from trial and tribulation to triumph and celebration, from one-off conversations to deep and long lasting connections… there are spiritual happenings that can only happen when your soul is given that uncompromised freedom.

Again, this isn’t to say there’s anything wrong with compromise. Sharing time and experiences with others also feeds the soul in equally nourishing ways. It’s simply a reminder to balance shared, compromised experiences with solo, uncompromised ones—not just at Burning Man, but in whatever ways your soul needs in everyday life.

12 Ways To Connect With The Core Of A Person (First)

Published on September 4, 2025

As a continuation from yesterday’s post, here are some ways you might be able to connect with the core of a person first in a world that prioritizes social hierarchy and status: (in no particular order):

Give more gifts… think less in terms of transactions.
Do more with art… do less with passive entertainment.
Go where love goes (i.e. music festivals), not where hate goes (i.e. news / media).
Less money on luxury and name brand… more money on experience and worldly travel.
Don’t shy away from hard tasks/situations/questions… easy only ever reveals the superficial.
Less time fighting the other national political side… more time volunteering at the local soup kitchen.
Ask better questions: “What are your political beliefs?” vs “What charities do you love to support?”
Rather than joining clubs based on status, (i.e. country clubs) join clubs that have nothing to do with status.
“What do you do for a living?” Rather than job title/company/history/trajectory… try reason/feeling/vision/dream.
Do more alone… together requires compromise and while there’s nothing wrong with that, there IS something wrong with never following your uncompromised soul.
Take on a project and team up with people who are ready/willing to help problem solve… distance yourself from people who exacerbate problems and problem compile.
And maybe most important, do the inner work and get to know who YOU ARE at your core first… because we can only ever meet people as deeply as we’ve met ourselves.

Inner work prompt: What would somebody have to do to connect with the core of who you are? How might they act? What might they say? Where might they be? …What situations/circumstances/experiences bring out the vulnerable, raw, real you?

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