What an incredible book. I listened to it on Audiobook within two days. McConaughey is an engaging and well-practiced motivational speaker.

This book is a story of McConaughey’s never-ending search for meaning in life (do I say Matthew or McConaughey? McConaughey sounds cooler so let’s go with that!)

Greenlights walks us through his life in chronological order and all of the lessons he has learnt from each part so far. McConaughey talks about how we can catch Greenlights throughout our life if we choose to pay attention to them.

How do we find Greenlights?

Firstly, when acting out of desperation and neediness, we are not our trues selves. We must learn to play the dance and trust in the universe that things will work out. McConaughey took off to travel whenever his ego grew too big and he was becoming reliant on external factors for happiness. When he was craving certain acting roles, he was always setting himself up for disappointment. Don’t place your happiness in the hands of others or ‘I’ll be happy when…’ mindset.

To find out what serves us and who we really are, start by figuring out what we are not. Deciding he didn’t want to be the rom-com prince charming character anymore was a big risk. Even though he was succeeding in that genre, he decided to stick by his guns and wait for something better to come along. He wanted to be taken seriously as an actor. So after a long dry spout of no movies, McConaughey eventually won an oscar for Dallas Buyers Club.

I found McConaughey’s honesty refreshing. He says there is no ‘final destination’, no ‘aha moment’, no finish line in life. We are constantly learning, working, growing and changing. Many of us are ignorant to this truth and believe we have it all figured out.

He stresses the importance of asking questions and listening to understand rather than responding with ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Try to understand other people’s opinions even if you don’t agree with them.

My favorite part of the book was when McConaughey became famous and was indulging in his new lifestyle. He was boasting to his friend about how his maid irons his jeans. His friend brought him back to reality by saying: “That’s great if you want your jeans ironed.”

This simple thought of ‘Do I really want my jeans ironed by this lady or am I accepting it just because I can?’ taught McConaughey a valuable lesson. Don’t just do things for the convenience of them. Find purpose in your choices and take action to design your life. He has never had his jeans ironed since.

This is an inspirational and well-written book. One of my favorite non-fiction reads.