The Ease of Alignment

Hey Team!

It’s Tuesday, and hard to believe I’m off traveling again this weekend. Feeling super grateful that I get to do it so often.

I’ve loved living in Tofino, partly because I get to balance it with big-city trips. It’s the best of both worlds.

This weekend I’m heading to Toronto to meet up with some of my favorite people—truly some of my best friends. We’re all going to Chris Williamson’s Live Show on Sunday. A weekend to refill the personal piggy bank with love and laughter... and then it’s straight to New York for an action-packed week around the NYC Marathon.

I’ll be attending two or three events a day for the entire week. The marathon is more than a race: it’s a cultural moment for the city and the country. Run club meetups, community panels, shakeout runs, fundraising galas... it’s going to be awesome.

A Mental Edge

I’ll be the first to admit it: I’m still figuring this thing called life out. A work in progress over here.

Tough and turbulent times, especially the past few years, have taught me a lot.

Just yesterday, someone I’ve admired for years reached out to say he’s been tracking my journey and feels I’ve carved out a niche. I was grateful. I’ve been hearing similar feedback lately, and there’s a pattern forming... maybe just a few signs.

What matters most is how I feel right now: a sense of ease. Not easy... ease.

When you’re out of alignment—wrong job, wrong pace, wrong people—everything feels like pushing uphill with a parachute on. When you’re in alignment, you still climb, but the hill starts to pull you forward. There’s a difference between hard and heavy. Hard builds you. Heavy drains you. Life will always be hard, but it shouldn’t feel forced.

For over seven years, across two businesses, it did. I was trying to put a square peg in a round hole. Looking back, I realize how much of that came down to lack of clarity.

Here’s a simple test: if you can explain what you do in one sentence and people instantly get it, your vision and energy are likely aligned. If you can’t say it cleanly, how do you know where to aim your effort?

What I’ve found: alignment doesn’t make things easier, but it makes them make sense. The friction drops. The work flows. That’s the season I’m in now. There are still hard things ahead, there always will be, but they feel like the right kind of hard.

If life feels like constant resistance, ask yourself: am I in the right arena? Am I playing the right game?

Tested This Week

If you’ve been part of this community for a while, you know I’m big on high-quality protein. A good rule of thumb: about 1g of protein per pound of body weight per day. That’s tough to hit through whole foods alone, even if you work from home and eat steak and eggs all day. That’s where protein supplements come in.

This week I tried something new: the Equip Foods Peanut Butter Prime Bar. It was so good I even did an IG reel on it.

It’s made with grass-fed beef protein and real-food ingredients, no gums, no fillers, no binders. Just clean fuel. It might be the best-tasting and healthiest protein bar I’ve had.

It’s a bit higher in sugar and calories, thanks to dates and honey. Perfect as a post-workout bar or to fuel a long run. These have officially earned a spot in my all-star lineup.

Quick Reminders Before You Start:

Opscotch Transition Sale: 22% off Creatine, EAAs, and Magnesium through Oct 31. Discount is automatic at checkout.

If you’re in NYC, join us next Tuesday, Oct 28, for Slow Down, MOVE FAST — 8 PM at McCarren Park Track, followed by recovery at Othership.

I have space for one more mentee for Performance Mentorship through year-end. Reply to this email if you’d like to connect.

If there’s one takeaway from this week, it’s that alignment doesn’t remove the hard... it just makes the hard worth it.

Keep tuning in, keep testing, and keep showing up for the version of yourself you’re becoming.

Catch you on the Start Line,
—Matty