Wagons Optional

Wagons Optional

From The First Play w/ Matt Stone by Matt Stone Enterprises

May 22, 2026 · 15 min

About this episode

Matt Stone discusses a paradigm shift in social media, a Hollywood project, and reflections on ambition and personal growth.

It’s been a week — the kind that’s equal parts exhausting and exhilarating — and Matt is back Backstage to fill you in. He digs into a paradigm shift around LinkedIn and social media (turns out treating the feed like a room full of people beats posting and running), teases a Hollywood project bridging entertainment, business, and leadership development, and reflects on why holding up a mirror to show people how great they already are sits at the heart of The Bigger Stage. Then there’s the trivia that lands the plane: on this day in 1843, a wagon train of 100-plus left Missouri for Oregon. Most of the people made it. Their wagons mostly didn’t. Matt unpacks what that says about the vehicles we ride into our ambitions — franchises, old habits, comfortable assumptions — and why the thing that carries you part of the way isn’t always the thing that gets you home. What got you here, as the saying goes, won’t get you there. 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

People in this episode

Host: Matt Stone

Topics covered

  • LinkedIn
  • social media
  • business
  • leadership development
  • self-improvement
  • paradigm shift

Keywords

  • LinkedIn
  • social media
  • business
  • leadership
  • self-improvement
  • ambition
  • trivia

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: LinkedIn, The Bigger Stage

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