Around five years ago I met a person who has been an inspiration for me ever since moving back to the United States. The person’s name is Matt Liston, and he is a filmmaker and a sports activist. His mission is to tell inspirational stories that combine positivity and sports and feature someone overcoming adversity.

I met Matt working on the story of Wendell Brown, an American football player in China serving a prison sentence for a dubious incident. I was part of a team of people who came together to help accelerate Wendell’s release from prison in Wuhan. More on that in a second.

Matt and I have been meeting regularly in Los Angeles since 2020.  We share worldviews, his optimism is infectious, and we have a lot in common. In fact, the intent of the Monday Morning Mojo is very similar to what he does: unearth stories that make you feel good about humanity.

After a lunch earlier this month, Matt shared a short tick tock video he did to keep his grandmother’s memory and love of reading top of mind with his children.  That Tik Tok is below.

With the Philadelphia Eagles preparing for the Super Bowl, I was reminded of this film Matt created years ago, combing his love for film, storytelling, and fun, positive stories.

To understand more about what Matt does, he shared other films he created that received wonderful responses, one of which was about a man in Canton, Ohio, home of the Football Hall of Fame, and his “pay it forward” community commitment.  If you have ten minutes, watching this is a great way to spend your time.

Matt has another video on the wish of one woman who wanted to spread her father’s ashes at Dodger stadium, which is also quite touching.  That is here if you have the time.

Finally, I mentioned we worked together on Wendell Brown’s release. I wrote about that in the March 15, 2021 issue of the Monday Morning Mojo.  A Ted Talk held in Detroit, where Matt introduced Wendell, and Wendell told his story, is here as well.  Both Matt and Wendall are most inspirational.

Stay tuned for more of this type of content coming from Matt under the title of something related to “goodness.” It has been a delight to watch him do what he does and be a fly on the wall of the platform he is creating.

In the spirit of “all things good”, a big shout out to my sister, Dana, who bought me the book by Robert Waldinger entitled, “The Good Life”, about the longest study on happiness.  I have featured Waldinger’s own Ted Talk many times in the Monday Morning Mojo and can’t wait to dive into this book.  Thank you Dana.

Wishing you a great week ahead and thanks for being part of this community.