Lean your elbow out the window and cruise down story lane with Matthew McConaughey—a father, actor, and walking wisdom whisperer.
Greenlights, according to Matthew McConaughey, are an affirmation of our way. They signal go, advance, carry on, continue. They are a shoeless summer and give us what we want. He uses green (street) lights as an affirmative analogy to follow the signals of our universe.
Persist, pivot, or concede.
Life is this simple. Sometimes greenlights are all about timing and intuition and the ability to let go and go with the flow. Matthew McConaughey was born to middle-class parents in Uvalde, Texas. His parents fought their own demons, divorced, and remarried twice. His childhood was anything but a greenlight. Yet, he doesn’t reflect on his challenges with grief or guilt, but with a caring almost forgiving optimism. It is an acceptance that he his who is because of his past.
One memorable story illustrates the value of effort. In high school, McConaughey owned a pick-up truck that he used to take girls muddin’ and make his way to the front row of concerts. He traded it for a shiny red sports car, hoping it would do the work for him. Instead, he found his social life dwindling—realizing that effort, not appearances, makes connections. There are other stories worth recounting. A time when he thought he could wing an acting job only to learn on set that his entire monologue is in Spanish and he hadn’t memorized a single line. Another time when all the jobs he could get were romantic comedies and how he felt stuck in a rut.
McConaughey writes not to remember, but to forget—a practice that explains his ability to stay present and live fully in the moment. Thought is the enemy of flow is an expression to counter procrastination. McConaughey illustrates with Greenlights how we can gain freedom from downloading all our thoughts and ideas and notions and worries and excitements onto paper, shelf them, and allow ourselves to enjoy this life while we get to live it.
First impressions matter, and the hardcover design of Greenlights delivers. From inspirational quotes, self-reflection, and notes from the past to photographs from all stages of his life. It’s an interesting size too, not too big, not too small. Just browsing through it, without reading specific paragraphs, is a boon in and of itself. McConaughey’s writing comes across as authentic, sometimes raw, and it is an entertaining style that makes it hard to put this one down. While he reflects on acting roles, this book is by no means an acting guide nor a 101 to make it in Hollywood.
McConaughey is a walking wisdom whisperer. As such, I believe it only makes sense to close out with much needed wisdom for all of us who are afraid to step into the light:
Time to get rid of the filters. Make my life my favorite. Movie. Live my favorite character. Write my own script. Direct my own story. Be my biography. Make my own documentary, on me. Nonfiction. Live, not recorded. Time to catch the hero I’ve been chasing, see if the sun will melt the wax that holds my wings or if the heat is just a mirage. Live my legacy now. Quit acting like me. Be me.