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Matt Hogan's Blog Posts

Freedom Is A Feeling

Published on December 8, 2022

Some of the most liberating feelings in life:

  • Realizing you don’t need anyone’s approval
  • Remembering you are your only competition
  • Releasing yourself from society’s expectations
  • Reclaiming your power from overbearing forces
  • Removing yourself permanently from toxic people/ situations
  • Reminding yourself that you are not ahead or behind—you are right where you need to be (via Hasheem)

And maybe the most liberating thought of them all… maybe freedom isn’t something that is a lifetime away and is actually something that’s far closer than we’ve been trained to believe.

…Because freedom is a feeling; not a seven figure fund.

P.s. I published 57 quotes from The Mountain Is You by Brianna Wiest. They’re incredible.

The Best Comfort

Published on December 7, 2022

Remember this about comfort:

It’s a lot more enjoyable when it’s closely preceded by discomfort.

E.g. Think about the couch after hard exercise or bed after the demanding day.

Comfort minus discomfort leads to a sort of long-term discomfort that’s far more brutal than anything we push ourselves through in the short-term.

Reflection Is The Way

Published on December 6, 2022

Remember this: the only time you DON’T grow from what happens in life is when you DON’T reflect.

Mindlessly moving from one experience to the next is what leads to repeated mistakes, cyclical thinking, and stagnation.

Which means, if reflection is in your life… regardless of the hardships, trials, and challenges… you can, at minimum, count on the fact that you’re steady growing with every happening as a result.

And if you can put trust in your growth (which you should), you can also count on the fact that you’ll eventually outgrow your current hardships, trials, and challenges (which is how it works).

…And they won’t, in fact, be an unending source of pain and suffering in your life.

Each of these situations, too, shall pass (in proportion to the quality of your reflections)—believe it.

Remember this, when you say you don’t have time for reflection in your “busy” life.

P.s. Everyone who says you should never look back is wrong.

Goals for 2023

Published on December 5, 2022

I find myself thinking a lot about duality lately.

How things are far more gray than they are black-and-white.

Which is why, as we move into the new year, I’m going to focus more on the balancing forces in all that I do in life—so that I may stay more mindfully in the middle of any which extreme.

Some of my initial thoughts:

  • A strong body… with a soft touch.
  • A serious focus… with a playful heart.
  • Concrete boundaries… outlining a warm host.
  • A “stay hard” mindset… that knows how to relax.
  • An uncanny hustle… that knows when to slow down.
  • An indomitable spirit… that knows when to surrender.

What are some of your goals for 2023?

Slow Hustle

Published on December 4, 2022

Knowing I’m going to die, I hustle to unleash my full potential while I can.

Knowing I’m still alive, I slow down so I don’t miss the life that’s right in front of me.

Somewhere in between the two is a dance.

Knowing this, I practice my two step and slow hustle my way forward at each chance.

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

Self-Imposed Freedom

Published on December 3, 2022

I don’t care what anybody says…

  • Forcing myself to write daily
  • Trapping myself in the gym regularly
  • Locking myself into a monotonous routine
  • Restricting myself to a tight eating window
  • Limiting my access to certain people/ media

…is the ultimate expression of freedom.

4k Visualizations

Published on December 2, 2022

Don’t just visualize.

Do deep visualizations.

They are not the same practice.

Until you can see in 4k clarity who you want to become, you’ll continue acting in standard definition—i.e. in the same standard manner you always have.

But with 4k clarity, you can start acting in ways your most powerful version would… because you can see, feel, and even hear everything that that version of you does—all the way down to how they move their arm from bed to alarm clock first thing in the morning.

It’s just a matter of bringing that version into focus by upgrading the TV of your mind.

Referencing a 1990’s, box and antenna, blurry-at-best definition screen won’t take you to 4k land.

4k land requires 4k vision.

It’s time to upgrade.