What happens when the storm never really passes? Matt joins us for a candid, grounded conversation about living with Crohn’s disease, navigating sleep-starved years, and making the tough calls that trade comfort for health. We start with a song about mortality that turns into a lesson on gratitude, then walk through small-town mischief, parenting in a screen-first world, and what it means to let kids learn by bumping into life.
The health journey is raw and practical: ER runs, a major surgery, meds that stop working, and the looming choice of an ostomy balanced against the promise of finally sleeping through the night. Food rules change by the day, fiber becomes a hazard, and hydration turns strategic—right down to DIY electrolytes. Matt also explains why he stopped drinking without a dramatic bottom, how that disrupted the Midwest rhythm of “everything includes beer,” and why friendships that last are about presence, not pints.
Imposter syndrome gets a frank takedown. A single sentence—“If you didn’t belong here, you wouldn’t be here”—reframes self-doubt, but the daily work is mindset: growth over certainty, feedback over ego, and listening as a leadership skill. We touch AI and information overload, choosing focus instead of doomscrolling, and why “touch grass” isn’t a joke but a reset. Through it all, usefulness becomes a compass: be steady for your people, set real boundaries, and keep community close—at work, at home, and on the golf course where joy still gets a front-row seat.
If this talk gives you one sentence you needed, share it with a friend. Subscribe, leave a review, and tell us: where are you choosing growth over certainty this week?
0:00Music, Mortality, And Gratitude
2:30Childhood Bonds And Pushing Limits
5:15Parenting, Tech, And Letting Kids Learn
8:20Belonging, Best Friends, And Marriage
13:20Golf, Joy, And Mental Space
16:02Crohn’s: Diagnosis And Hard Years
27:35Food, Flares, Sleep, And Control
31:30Sobriety, Midwest Culture, And Hydration
36:40Imposter Syndrome And Growth Mindset
43:20Feedback, Ego, And Not Taking It Personally
47:40AI, Overload, And Choosing Focus
53:10Tolerance, Tribes, And Touching Grass
58:20Future Fears, Empty Nest, And Usefulness
1:04:10Boundaries, Being There, And Saying I Love You
1:08:40Work, Community, And Everyday Stories
1:12:20Reflections, Affirmations, And Closing
