Note: Those are just excuses.. they are not reasons. Reason: I did not focus and put the my energy in the right place!

We’ll remedy that this coming week – I promise!

I’ve been challenged!!!

In the meantime, a few weeks ago I was chatting online with my friend Kim. She commented that I needed to write more happy love songs. While I believe she may be forgetting my songs, Morning Girl, All I Want is Everything, She’s a Little Bit of Everything, Lady Love, and others, I took her words as a direct challenge.

Oh yeah.. I’m both competitive and ornery when cornered.. Happy Love Songs! Damn straight I can do that!

I wrote this a couple days later. Yesterday morning I decided to make a quick video of me performing it… (note: that was during podcast recording time.. oops).

Diana and Me (lyrics below)
Copyright © 2013 – Matthew Moran

VERSE
Oh Diana your still sleeping girl
I got sweet reflections on my mind
It’s more than the moments in the night we share
Our hearts and souls surely combine
(chorus)

CHORUS
I thought I’d been in love before
But it was only passing time
I only see, Diana and me, side by side her hand in mine
And that’s so fine

VERSE
I know that this has all been said before
The poets and the singers and the rhyme
But I’d like to try my hand and add just one more
And girl you know these words I sing are mine
(chorus)

BRIDGE
And when I feel your arms around me at night
I know you see the same thing too
(chorus)

My Excuse..er trip to Arizona

I visited my 3 oldest.. starting with a honky tonk on Friday, the river on Saturday, cliff jumping on Sunday, and then a mad dash home. Here is a video of my oldest cliff jumping at Slide Rock and some photos.

The post Happy Love Songs – yes I can do that appeared first on Author, Coach, & Songwriter Matthew Moran.

On Being Myself

I had a conversation yesterday with my friend, Val King. She is editor/owner/founder of Rock Revolt Magazine. It is pretty cool – I began speaking with her a few years back.. about songwriting, my music, her writing, and WordPress. Now she has a site that is getting thousands of views every day. I won’t take credit (well. for the tagline I will).. She is a fine writer and has thrown herself both feet into hacking wordpress as needed.

We talked about my dilemma non-dilemma of branding/positioning/who am I. Her take (paraphrase), “Matt.. you are Matt Moran. Stop over-thinking it and just be Matt Moran.” I asked for her permission and she gave it.. Thanks Val.

Note: I didn’t press her on why I haven’t been covered as an artists at Rock Revolt. It is obviously my lack of tattoos and hair.. and I don’t flip off my audience enough.. Mental note taken..  I’m buying some stick on tattoos this weekend!

My oldest daughter freaked out, visited me last week, got a plan, returned home, freaked out, got talked off the ledge and felt better – and then blogged about it.

Oh.. then she freaked out again but I’m pretty sure she is talking herself off the ledge this time. I’ll know for sure in a few hours as I am heading out to visit her and my other kids.. Pictures will be taken.

As though on queue, Ze Frank, posted a few videos… on worrying too much and on becoming a new person or growing.

About Creativity

I am often asked how I think the way I do – how to be more creative.. I don’t know how to answer that.. Kyle Cease explains – but it is always there.

Social Media/Content Strategy

My friend Dave pointed me at http://contently.com/blog/ I signed up for their Beginner’s Guide To Blogging Content Strategy but haven’t had time to give a thorough once over.

Karen pointed me at Unclutterer and Jolidrive. I signed up for jolidrive to see how it works but have not really been able to test it.

With the imminent death of Google Reader, here are two RSS Readers I’m checking out. The Old Reader & Newsblur.

And now we head into the weekend.

The post [Friday Recap] Being myself and being creative appeared first on Author, Coach, & Songwriter Matthew Moran.

In this video I talk about a bad review, a good review, my content schedule, and some t-shirts for my song, This Star-Spangled Life of Mine.

Per the video.. my content schedule is (for now):

• Monday: Video update (what’s coming up this week plus anything else)
• Tuesday: Tech Tip Tuesday or Tech & Tips Tuesday
  I might cover more than simply technology.. but something useful.
• Wednesday: The I.T. Career Toolkit Podcast
• Friday: Friday Recap
  Things I’ve seen, read, done, or thought about this week.

The post My book gets some reviews.. both bad and good, plus other stuff appeared first on Author, Coach, & Songwriter Matthew Moran.

“Ain’t it a blessing to do what you wanna do”
- Shawn Mullins, Twin Rocks Oregon
_____________
“Someday You’ll wake up and you’ll be asking yourself why you sat there at your desk, sucking on a corporate breast, you turned out like the rest.”
- Shawn Mullins, Something To Believe In

It’s all related.. I promise. Well, loosely in any case.

Brennan Manning – “The Ragamuffin Gospel” – died last month. My two oldest children closely associate with being ragamuffins.. in a spiritual sense.. along with Rich Mullins. I consider Rich to my favorite songwriter.. IMPORTANT: not my favorite Christian songwriter.. most Christian music bores me.. He is my favorite songwriter because of his songwriting.

The oldest girl is visiting me right now – tag-teaming with her younger sister (aka: “the girl”) by controlling the radio and TV and ensuring Dad is both put in his place and is frequently serving them. I’m okay with that.

I’ve been talking with the older of the two about life and her plans – which are forming as we speak – literally. She mentioned a conversation with #1 – my oldest – who is working to head back to bible college.

Apparently, they were discussing the relative safety and conservative nature of some within the church and at the bible college he’ll be attending… and how they might react to the somewhat nomadic/gypsy and ragamuffin nature of my son.

He then said what I might consider one of the more interesting, poignant, and quotable comments I’ve ever heard.

“It’s going to be refreshing and offensive!”

That’s good!

And he doesn’t mean offensive in terms of salty language or disgusting behavior – although such things could happen. He means something more dramatic… raw transparency.. He means letting down the veil of decency that we all hide behind at times… much of the time…. MOST OF THE TIME… and pushing into a more raw and open dialogue and understanding.

Such conversation necessarily tramples the, “How are you doing? Good. And the kids? Wonderful – they grow up so fast don’t they. Nice weather we are having,” droning that we often take part in.

Those can be uncomfortable and even painful conversations. But my kids have those conversations with each other – and with me sometimes. I’m thankful for that.

And it prompts other conversations..  I seemed to have instilled somewhere in my kids a pretty solid, “F— the establishment! I’m doing what I want to,” perspective. They are still pulled – as am I – by society’s nagging, “this is how life is to be done,” call. Go to school. Get a good job. Climb that ladder (the corporate breast) and smile for the camera.

Mind you.. there is nothing wrong with climbing the corporate ladder per se. The challenge I’ve found is that for many, they are taking part in life with a, “I’ll do this until I figure out what I want to do,” attitude. In many cases, they never get raw enough with themselves or others to answer the question, “what do I want to do?”

Also, I don’t believe, and I hope I am not teaching a, “F— the establishment!” for F—ing’s sake. That’s foolishness and dangerous.

I spoke to my younger daughter’s classroom last week. I LOVED IT! Middle-school is all energy, confusion, and feigned certainty. My advice ran something like this.

1. There are no rules!
2. You can change what you are doing at any point in life and pursue something else.
3. The most important thing about school is NOT getting a degree. It is loving to learn new things!
4. If you know what you want to do.. pursue it. If you don’t, do lots of things so you can figure that out.
5. And what you want to do might change.. don’t stifle that. See #2.

But after all is said and done.. perhaps my son has it right.

Be refreshing and offensive! At least with yourself, those you love, and those who love you. You might find that you, in fact, have something to believe in.

The post Of Ragamuffins, Daughters, and Being Offensive appeared first on Author, Coach, & Songwriter Matthew Moran.

Why?

Well.. I have a technology tutorial channel,  a music channel, an advice for musicians channel, a personal – family stuff and a mishmash channel (which was mostly accidental). But I don’t really update those so much.. I’ve been frozen in this world of how to brand what I do and create a demarcation. It was exhausting and not very helpful.

I wanted to create a more open channel that would merge all the activities and match my consolidation efforts. My website is: MatthewMoranOnline.. and so, my YouTube channel is also, MatthewMoranOnline.

And because, I am often asked, “What do you do Matt?” – in sort of a quizzical, “we’ve looked into what you do and have no idea what you do,” sort of way, I decided to attempt to answer the question. Hmm..?????

What do you do Matt (view on YouTube)

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