Stardate 09.15.2026
Yesterday, Mat and I were working together in an outside tent. It was uncomfortably hot.
I told him this is how I like to operate. I like being in a position where I'm uncomfortable because that's where I learn and grow.
Mat agreed.
He told me that's where he learns his best lessons, too.
That opened the door to a conversation I didn't expect.
Mat and I are both support staff on this assignment. We're helping build a new team. As we talked, I began learning about the journey that brought him here.
Earlier in his career, Mat received intense training involving high-end products in the $30,000 range. The training was brutal. Scripts had to be memorized word for word. Firings were common. Turnover was normal.
Mat rose to the top.
That experience gave him a foundation to build upon.
Then he discovered his passion.
Health and wellness.
Mat told me his own health had been poor. He was overweight. His journey began by getting off the couch.
Those first steps were the hardest.
He stayed with it.
He joined a gym. He learned discipline. He learned how to create patterns around his workouts. Those patterns became part of his life.
He also learned something I understand well.
The comfort zone can become a difficult place to grow from.
Eventually, Mat found a way to share what he had learned with other people. He built a tribe.
People pay a monthly fee to access his programs, and Mat provides personal coaching. He works his coaching hours around his day job so there is no interference.
He is building something because he found his passion.
Family became an important part of that journey, too.
Mat's family homeschools, which gives them the ability to travel together when his work takes him on the road. I admire the creativity he has found in turning those opportunities into family adventures.
Then came a decision that told me a lot about Mat.
His boss told him there would be a forced relocation to the home office in another state.
The job was lucrative.
Mat walked away.
His boss was shocked that he would leave such a good opportunity.
Mat had discovered something more important.
His family mattered more than a job.
I really liked that about him.
My family and I are also finding ways to travel together when my work assignments take me away from home. Hearing how Mat has built that into his life gave us another point of connection.
We also talked about health and wellness. Mat is interested in what I'm doing with DoNotAge, and I shared some of my own journey with him.
We approach healthy living in very similar ways.
We are both willing to experiment. We are both willing to learn. We are both willing to get uncomfortable and see what we can discover on the other side.
Mat is now helping people get fit by sharing what he has learned from his own journey. He has created a community around that passion while continuing to work his day job.
I admire that.
I also admire his willingness to pursue excellence.
I like surrounding myself with talented people. I believe strong teams become stronger when people bring their individual strengths to the mission.
Mat feels like an ideal teammate.
We are both support people on this assignment. We are helping build the new team together.
He mentioned that he would like to be involved in future training missions. I believe we will work together again.
I gave Mat access to my blog so we can stay connected. He gave me permission to share his journey here, and I have a picture of him to go with the story.
I like the way some connections happen.
We were standing in a hot tent doing our jobs. A conversation about discomfort turned into a conversation about growth. Growth led to health. Health led to family. Family led to passion. Passion led to helping other people.
And somewhere in that conversation, two support people discovered they have a lot to learn from each other.
"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor." — Ecclesiastes 4:9
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Captain's Addendum
Spock: Michael, your decision to have a meaningful conversation in extreme heat appears to have produced useful intelligence.
Bones: Useful intelligence? You found yourself another guy who enjoys making life uncomfortable.
Spock: An observation with considerable merit, Doctor.
I suppose there is something to that.
I keep learning that the people who cross my path during these assignments can teach me something if I take the time to listen.
Mat reminded me that growth often begins with a difficult first step.
He got off the couch.
I keep taking my own steps.
Today, I'm grateful our paths crossed in that hot tent.
