I love McConaughey as an actor, but I’ve always thought he was one of those Hollywood celebrities detached from the real world (especially because of those weird Lincoln ads he did). Reading Greenlights made me realise two things:
Rather than living in the Beverly Hills like other A-lists, McConaughey spent many years criss-crossing the country in an RV, meeting all sorts of interesting characters and collecting unique stories along the way.
Greenlights reinforced a number of philosophies I currently hold. First, I believe something good can always come out of a bad event. It’s either that or I keep getting lucky. McConaughey uses the analogy of traffic lights to illustrate this fact, since red lights will eventually turn green if you just give it some time. Matthew also explains that sometimes you need to give yourself some red lights when you’ve been coasting on greens for too long in order to stop and think about what is really important. Second, I want to conduct my life in a manner that would make me on my deathbed proud. That means staying true to my values and doing what I feel is right, not what is easy. Matthew seems to share this belief, since he asks himself: “can we live in a way where we look forward to looking back?” Finally, I want to make sure I don’t confuse what I love with what I am good at. You will love what you are good at, but only if you remain good at it. On the other hand, if you inherently love doing something, chances are you'll want to keep doing it and keep getting better. In his acting career, McConaughey struggles to make sense of all the roles he plays to strike a balance between what he is good at and what he wants to do. As I begin thinking about my next co-op term and beyond, I found this quite relatable.
My main complaint with the book is that some of the poems he included went right over my head even though I re-read them a few times. All in all, it was an interesting read but I don’t feel like I gained a whole lot from it.
IRL Update (03/03/2024): It’s already March!? This term is really flying by. That’s supposed to mean I’m having fun right?