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Matt Hogan's Blog Posts

Do You Watch The Full Credit Roll At The End Of Movies?

Published on May 11, 2025

…I started to.

I never used to—because of how long they were.

Now I do—because of how long they are.

See, I now use it as a means to bring up gratitude for the experience I was gifted and try to fully absorb just how many people had to come together to make that gift possible.

…How any thousands and thousands of human hours were invested into the thing I was able to access with the click a button that does nothing short of transport me to another space and time.

It’s truly remarkable when you really think about it.

And so it is in life, too.

…How many thousands and thousands of human hours were invested into creating the reality we have come to know as modern life and how unbelievably long our life’s credit roll will be when it all comes to an end.

…Maybe we should take more time to notice and give credit to those who are going to make it on our roll before time runs out and our roll is created by someone else.

Escaping Work Shouldn’t Be Your Life Goal

Published on May 10, 2025

The goal is to build something that doesn’t need escaping from.

…Because escaping only lasts so long before your innate desire to build something arises again.

And not because we humans love to work—because we don’t.

But because we human crave fulfillment—and what’s worse than work is feeling like you’re living an empty type of existence.

So, back to work we go… because fulfillment is something building provides. Here’s how:

Building is growth—what else is building, but combining a bunch of lesser parts into some type of a greater whole?

Building is contribution—the value that’s added from this lesser parts combination becomes a creation that at the very least, serves you, which helps you to then serve others.

Building is connection/love—connecting parts, connecting minds, connecting resources, connecting ideas, connecting hearts…

Building is significance—whether it’s solely yours to build or you’re a part of a team that’s building somebody else’s dream… you get to leave your fingerprints on something that otherwise wouldn’t exist.

Building is certainty—it allows you to plan, dream, draw, shape, and mold something that starts out abstract and slowly becomes a tangible part of reality.

Building is uncertainty—and then, of course, things never go perfectly according to plan, so you get to adjust, pivot, problem-solve, fire fight, and learn by doing in an unpredictable way.

The real question you need to be grappling with isn’t—how can I escape from this work.

The real question you need to be grappling with is—how can I better incorporate each of these above elements into the work I’m choosing to do?

How Much Do You Study For Life?

Published on May 8, 2025

The good thing about studying is you know how to answer related questions when they arrive…

…Don’t study, and you won’t know the answers.

This makes perfect sense in regards to tests and exams at school… or presentations given at work… but what about how it relates to life?

Why do we place such an emphasis on math… but not financial literacy?

Why do we place such an emphasis on science… but not human relationships?

Why do we place such an emphasis on history… but not mental health and healing past trauma?

Why do we place such an emphasis on sports… but not healthy living or habit building?

Why do we place such an emphasis on art… but not creative self-expression or alchemizing pain?

There are things I just don’t think I’ll ever understand when it comes to how we prioritize certain taught topics over others…

But, one thing I do understand… is that in this world we live in… most of the topics we’re going to get quizzed on by life… are topics we’re going to have to study for on our own.

We’re going to need to read interesting books… seek out life experienced people… have tough conversations… replay, reflect on, and unpack raw experience moments… and, of course, do deliberate and consistent inner work.

Don’t be surprised when life throws you some questions you don’t know the answer to when you haven’t studied.

Remember… school teaches you how to play the game of getting good letter grades.

You need to teach yourself how to play the game of living your best life.

You Are A Piano

Published on May 7, 2025

Imagine being a piano your whole life and only randomly poking and prodding keys from time to time.

Imagine being a piano your whole life, filled with every string and key of potential to play the most beautiful of songs any of our ears have ever heard… and only making noise.

Imagine being a piano your whole life and never playing or creating a single song…

You are a piano.

And what most people do is poke and prod and make a bunch of noise. They watch tv, scroll social media, rage bait, rabbit-hole click, suppress emotions, use divisive language, pick fights, litter their waste, complain about their problems, binge eat, cheat, point fingers, and do drugs and drink alcohol to make it all feel temporarily better.

You might as well just throw the piano into the garbage at this rate.

But, if you zoom out for a second and quiet the noise of your mind…

What you might hear… very faintly and as quiet as can be… is a melody…

…Resonating from deep within—where your song potential sits patiently.

And all you have to do is continue to clear the mind and concentrate on the sound to bring the volume up slowly.

And eventually… your song and various melodies will take priority over the noise… it’ll become the new priority of your time and energy… and what you’ll soon see…

Is that you are, indeed, a piano.

And that your life’s task… is to play your song and melody.

P.s. I finished uploading quotes from A Psalm For The Wild Built to MMQ. You can read my favorites here.

All It Takes Is An Apple Eaten Wrong

Published on May 6, 2025

All it takes is an apple eaten a little too quickly…

A little too mindlessly…

For it to become lodged in your throat…

With not enough room to pass liquid, but just enough room to pass a pinch of air…

…For you to remember how fragile life is.

It took 15 minutes of coughing, spitting, and throat contorting to finally pass that apple clog.

And in each passing moment of pain and fear, I became increasingly aware of the tightrope of life I was walking.

…The same one that I’m always walking, but somehow perceive more like a curb… or sidewalk… or highway even—the longer I’m removed from run-ins with death.

But, don’t get it twisted…

The path we walk is not any wider than the width of a rope.

And each step needs to be taken deliberately and mindfully…

Because if it’s not…

All it takes is one misstep or slip up—an apple eaten wrong—for it to all go away.

Unconditional Good And Right

Published on May 5, 2025

Wanna know what’s more impressive than people showing up to the gym motivated to workout?

…People who show up who aren’t.

Wanna know what’s more impressive than people who do creative work when they’re inspired and excited?

…People who do that kind of work when they’re not.

Wanna know what’s more impressive than people who share successes, victories, and highlights?

…People who share failures, struggles, and lowlights (in a non-nagging, constructive light).

Wanna know what’s more impressive than the significant other who does cute things on birthdays, holidays, and anniversaries?

…The significant other who does cute things when it’s not.

Wanna know what’s more impressive than people who do community service and act in kindness to fulfill a requirement at their school or work?

…People who do that when it’s not.

Want to impress yourself and others more?

Do more of the things you know are good and right.

…When there’s not a condition behind it of any kind.

What I Realized Is More Important Than These 1-Minute Messages…

Published on May 4, 2025

This past weekend was busy for me.

I travelled to Pittsburgh, PA, USA for a martial arts tournament which involved planning, packing, driving, dining, coaching, judging, coordinating, problem-solving, facilitating, calming, communicating, motivating, entertaining, and of course… sleeping.

See both Friday and Saturday night… by the time I got to my Airbnb after a day involving everything mentioned above… I was exhausted.

And in both cases, I thought about my daily writing practice… and how I still needed to get something published in order to keep my schedule.

And in both cases, after some quick and calm reflection (while I laid in the Airbnb bed)… I realized that in that moment—sleep was the higher priority.

…Which is worth mentioning because this is not something I have always prioritized this way.

In previous times, the daily writing piece was prioritized higher over sleeping… and I would push myself to stay up late… sacrifice precious (and limited) sleep time… and essentially borrow exponentially into tomorrow compared to what I was putting in… affecting my entire following day.

For some crazy reason… society considers sleep a very low priority… and I FELT it for a long time. I’m slowly starting to unlearn this idea and give myself more grace when it comes to being exhausted after a long day—even when that means a daily 1-minute article will be missed.

Because you know what?

Sleep IS the higher priority over 1-minute articles… and for most other things we backwardly choose to do in its place for that matter…

My question for you is… what thing(s) have you backwardly been prioritizing that you need to unlearn?