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Matt Hogan's Blog Posts

Balancing Prep And Go

Published on February 26, 2025

One trap I’ve fallen into in the past is spending too much time preparing and planning—and not enough time experimenting and doing.

I recognized this in myself very early into my DJing journey.

I was spending SO. MUCH. TIME. downloading music, filling in meta data, setting hot cues and memory points, and creating playlists…

So much so that I was barely doing any actual DJing.

So I’m trying to more mindfully walk this balance between prep and go. Because, yes, too much go and not enough prep leaves you confused, disjointed, and without a coherent sound… but too much prep and not enough go leaves you just as confused and disjointed as you come face to face with the decks.

So much of life is about finding the balance between these two.

…About sorting through the infinite information that’s available and acting on what’s chosen.

…About building book smarts, but also street smarts.

…About picking a direction and just as importantly… walking the path picked.

How are you doing with this balancing act?

Mixing Prompts With Initiative

Published on February 25, 2025

I called a martial arts friend from another organization yesterday and said something along the lines of, “Hey! I’m interested in doing some collaborative work with you… here’s kind of what I’m thinking… [insert thoughts here]… what do you think?”

And let me just say… you’d be surprised how far a simple prompt mixed with a little initiative like this might take you.

What Are You Looking To Find?

Published on February 24, 2025

While scrolling through Pinterest, I stumbled across a question: “What do you scroll for? What are you looking to find?”

In my case, I was looking for inspiration. Inspiration for myself and inspiration I could share with others. To take it a step further, I was looking for pathways that might take me into myself. I was looking for triggers for inner work. I was looking for understanding and depth that’s digestible and appealing.

Not too long ago, I recognized that my social media platforms of choice were causing me to undervalue myself. I was looking at everything I wanted to be… everything I wanted to have… everyone I wanted to be with…

And it was taking me further and further away from myself.

And it’s not like there isn’t anything inherently wrong with looking at those things… but, it became toxic for me. It wasn’t serving me… it wasn’t leading to growth… it was only leading to self-limiting beliefs and defeatist mentalities. So I quit and focused my attention elsewhere.

What I’m finding interesting now is that I’m back on those same platforms, but with a completely changed mindset. I started following creative music accounts—mostly DJs sharing tips, tricks, live performances, and so on. And I’m loving it again.

…What am I looking to find?

Inspiration that’ll help me build my skills and expand my musical understanding. To take it a step further, I’m looking for ways I can better connect to the present moment via music and dance… ideas that’ll help me create moments and spaces like this for others… and opportunities to just celebrate life with seas of strangers.

…What are YOU looking to find?

On Calling People When You “Don’t Have Much To Say, Though…”

Published on February 23, 2025

I had a moment twice today when I was thinking about calling someone and then thought to myself, “Ehhh… I don’t really have much to say though…”

But, I forced myself to call them anyway—in both instances.

The first call ended up lasting about 15 minutes.

And the second call ended up lasting 45 minutes.

…It was a reminder that I don’t have to have the whole conversation figured out ahead of time.

…All that’s needed is an intention, a simple train of thought or question, and a willingness to listen.

The rest tends to take care of itself.

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

The “Two Minute Thirty Second” Experience

Published on February 23, 2025

When the martial arts association I’m a part of runs tournaments, we typically offer two or three divisions that students can choose to compete in: forms, sparring, and some type of specialty theme (i.e. board breaking, weapons, synchronized forms, etc).

Most students do the standard forms and sparring.

A form is a pattern of moves, traditionally taught as a means to practice self-defense without needing a partner, that typically takes around 30 seconds to complete.

Our style of sparring is point-based where students use martial arts techniques to strike target areas to accrue more points than their opponent… it’s single round elimination, bracket style, and one match lasts around two minutes.

When meeting with the judges today, one concept we—as an association—really wanted to communicate was let’s make sure none of our students have a “two minute and thirty second” experience.

In other words, let’s make sure nobody gets a bare minimum experience.

…Because it often happens where a student will arrive, do their form (30 seconds-ish), spar and lose their first match (2 minutes), and be… done.

Our goal was to be proactive in how we upped the students’ time and experience while at our event. This includes time spent with students warming up, checking forms, practicing sparring prior to their division start as well as giving them specific feedback, drilling certain concepts, and consoling those who needed it afterwards.

I felt like this was worth sharing today because it applies to so many aspects of life.

…In what domains are you only giving the bare minimum experience?

How can you be more proactive and up the time spent and value added in those domains?

The Ego Loves To Win

Published on February 21, 2025

Winning is great. The ego loves it.

But, imagine getting to a place where you no longer feel the need to win…

A place where you can still challenge yourself… still push the boundaries of your potential… still create art and express yourself fully… still succeed in building a life you’re proud of… still explore the depths of what it means to be human…

But, in a way where you don’t have to (or feel the need to) beat others in the process.

…Maybe winning is about more than getting first place.

If You’re Going To Rep… Rep Right.

Published on February 21, 2025

While helping my students get ready for a tournament this weekend, we spent some time talking about the difference between reps and visualization reps.

They are NOT the same thing.

A rep is mindless… it’s intention-less… it’s muscles being moved around by signals from a distracted brain.

A visualization rep is the opposite.

A visualization rep is mindful… it’s completely intentional… it’s your whole being moving through a sequence that you can see in your mind, feel in your body, and connect to with your soul.

The time it takes to actually do each of these reps is identical. But the ROI is exponentially in favor of the visualization rep.

The only difference… is the minor investment required up front to connect to the future moment… The moment when the rep will be used in its most desired way… to unlock a feeling that only that well performed rep can unlock… to realize an untapped side of your potential that only that well executed rep can realize.

And what does the minor investment upfront entail? Exactly what it sounds like… careful visualization.

Visualization of the environment… the people… the sounds… the smells… the textures… the feelings. And then the moment when the rep is about to be called upon… the moment when the heart beats fast, the palms get sweaty, and the thinking clouds up… And then the moment when the decision is made to take a deep breath… and do it.

A rep done from THIS headspace is NOT equal to a rep done while thinking about what’s for dinner.

The mindset is this: If you’re going to do it… do it right.