One day until spring, and New York is celebrating with freezing temperatures—aspirational at best. After sharing trivia about a $245,000 Citibank heist in 1831 (millions in today’s money), the first televised Academy Awards (1953), and Nicolae Ceaușescu becoming head of Romania’s Communist Party (1965—before his brutal fall), Matt dives into what’s on his mind today.

He’s planning a new live show on LinkedIn with a co-host, working on creative projects with clients, and being more judicious about what he says yes to. He got invited to write a magazine article, and his first thought was “Oh Lord, I can’t do it”—but really it’s just that he doesn’t know what to write about yet. So he puts the call out to his brain, and it’ll come. It always does.

Here’s the theme: the relentless power of doing the next right thing when things feel murky. He didn’t wake up with hyper clarity today—his head feels a little scattered, a little foggy—and that’s okay. Because when you have a plan with specific tasks tied to a strategy, you don’t have to reconnect with the whole thing every time. You just do the next right thing. He’s got a routine, a plan, lots of balls in the air. The clarity will come back into focus—it always does—but you give it time by moving the ball forward. So what’s your next right thing, especially when you’re feeling untethered from your clearest thinking?

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mattstone.substack.com