Season two opens with a reunion nearly 20 years in the making. A photo appeared on Matt's phone — two young actors at the Contemporary American Theater Festival in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, clearly happy, clearly free, clearly drinking. He sent it to his old friend Michael Borrelli. Michael's response changed everything: I'm sober now. Nearly 20 years.

In this episode, Matt — six months alcohol-free himself — sits down with actor, director, and filmmaker Michael Borrelli to talk about what sobriety actually looks like from the inside. Michael shares his full story: the summer that became his bottom, the New Year's Eve that became his last drunk, the unexpected relapse through prescription medication and Kratom, the three weeks in detox that cracked him open, and the sponsor he lost who left him feeling rudderless in ways he's still reckoning with. Together, these two Pisces brothers — birthdays one day apart — explore what it means to get sober not perfectly, but honestly.

Key Takeaways

• The difference between physical addiction and the obsession of the mind — and why the absence of one doesn't mean the absence of the other
• What Michael calls being a "well-intended drunk": planning on moderation, ending in blackout
• How grief — four profound losses in three years — can disguise itself as an attention problem
• Why sobriety only guarantees sobriety, not the career or the life you imagined
• The radical idea that getting sober was the most reckless, dangerous thing Michael could do as an artist
• How the pandemic's silence gave Michael the clarity to found West 52nd Street Films and eventually direct The Last Days of Byron Bray
• What it looked and felt like to reset a sobriety date — and why doing so was the best decision he ever made
• Progress, not perfection — and why "star student of AA" was never the point
• Go where it's warm: finding your people over finding the right doctrine
• Sobriety in the first year means permission to say no to things you used to need alcohol to get through
• The justification loop is universal — and recognizing it is half the work
• Keeping it in the day is both the simplest and the hardest instruction
• Nobody ever woke up wishing they'd had that drink the night before

Connect With Michael BorrelliInstagram: @west52ndstreetfilmsWest 52nd Street Films: westsecondstreetfilms.comThe Last Days of Byron Bray — now on the festival circuit

Connect with MattWebsite: mentalnoteswithmatt.comInstagram: @mentalnoteswithmatt

In this deeply reflective conversation, Matt sits down with author and ikigai researcher Nicholas Kemp to explore the true meaning of the Japanese concept of ikigai — a word often misunderstood, oversimplified, and misapplied in Western culture.

Rather than a Venn diagram, a career formula, or a secret to longevity, Nicholas explains that ikigai is an emotional experience — the feeling that life is worth living. It’s found in small moments, meaningful connections, personal agency, and the quiet sense of being alive “here and now.”

Together, Matt and Nicholas unpack why ikigai is misunderstood, how to reconnect with intrinsic motivation, and why purpose doesn’t need to be chased — only felt. This episode is a grounding reminder that a “life worth living” is built moment by moment, not achieved all at once.

Key Takeaways

• What ikigai truly means in Japanese culture

• Why Western interpretations — including the Venn diagram — miss the point

• Ikigai as a feeling, not a life goal

• How intrinsic motivation shapes our sense of purpose

• The role of connection, agency, and belonging

• Misconceptions linking ikigai to longevity and Okinawa

• The importance of embracing ambiguity and cultural nuance

• How to cultivate everyday meaning in your own life

• Ikigai lives in everyday life, not a grand destiny

• It’s about felt experience, not achievement or productivity

• Meaning grows through connection, curiosity, and agency

• Letting go of pressure opens space for genuine fulfillment

• A “life worth living” is personal, emotional, and always evolving

Connect With Nicholas Kemp

Website: https://ikigaitribe.com
Book: Ikigai-Kan: Feel a Life Worth Living
Instagram: @ikigaitribe

Connect with Matt

Website: mentalnoteswithmatt.com
Instagram: @mentalnoteswithmatt
LinkedIn Newsletter: Morning Mental Notes

In this episode of Mental Notes with Matt, I sit down with Stewart Pearce, world-renowned voice coach and master sound healer. Stewart has worked with some of the world’s most recognized performers, leaders, and visionaries, including Princess Diana, to help them unlock the deeper resonance of their voice.

I first met Stewart over twenty years ago while studying at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London as part of my acting conservatory program. He was my voice teacher then, and even in that short window of time, his presence and wisdom left a lasting mark. This conversation felt like a return, a chance to revisit the part of me that first learned to breathe, speak, and show up with courage.

We talk about what it means to find your signature note, that inner frequency that lives beneath fear, conditioning, and self-doubt, and how reconnecting to it can change the way we move through the world. We explore authenticity, breath, sound, trauma, and the quiet, unseen ways that voice and presence can bring us back to ourselves.

It’s a conversation about resonance, healing, and the lifelong practice of learning to sound like you.

💡 In This Episode, We Explore:

• What it means to discover your “signature note”

• The connection between breath, emotion, and authenticity

• How fear and social conditioning mask our true voice

• The difference between doing and being

• Why stillness and presence are acts of resistance in a noisy world

• The physical and spiritual power of vibration and sound

• How simple practices—like humming—can help the body heal and decompress

• The importance of unlearning everything that made us doubt our voice

🧭 Key TakeawayYour voice isn’t just how you speak, it’s who you are. When you stop performing and start breathing, you don’t need to be louder to be heard; you simply resonate.

📚 Learn More About Stewart Pearce🌐 ⁠stewartpearce.com⁠📖 "The Alchemy of Voice" and Diana: The Voice of Change🎓 Founder of The Magnetic Voice Academy

You can find this episode and more at ⁠mentalnoteswithmatt.com⁠ or wherever you get your podcasts.

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