Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey
The depth of this autobiography pulled me into the soulful conversations he had with himself. These are the lines I took a highlighter to and typed them up here to remember forever—
A denied expectation hurts more than a denied hope, while a fulfilled hope makes us happier than a fulfilled expectation.
“I’d rather lose money having fun than make money being bored” - McConaughey’s father
My identity shaken, I needed some resistance to find my footing, something to overcome, a discipline to adhere to, a sense of purpose so I could better maintain my sanity in the strange place I was in.
It occurred to me that it was a bad habit to lie to myself any longer.
“Don’t walk in there like you want the role, Matthew, walk in there like you own it.” -McConaughey’s mother
I needed to be in the industry’s eyeline, work the town, take meetings, be around the creatives that were making decisions.
It’s better to play your own game in Hollywood than to do your business playing Hollywood’s game. You have get the joke, and the joke is, nothing’s personal. From the I love yous to the unreturned phone calls when your last picture didn’t perform they will pick you up in a limo, but you might have to catch a cab home. It’s not personal, it’s just business.
Spiritually, I was strong; challenging my reliance on God’s existence in order to rely more on my own was proving a valuable practice. Like the time when my dad moved on, I practiced being less impressed, more involved once again.
Time to get truly selfish and see what I could life without.
