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Greenlights Hardcover â October 20, 2020
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âThe No. 1 celebrity memoir of the past 10 years.ââUSA Today
âMcConaugheyâs book invites us to grapple with the lessons of his life as he didâand to see that the point was never to win, but to understand.ââMark Manson, author of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
Iâve been in this life for fifty years, been trying to work out its riddle for forty-two, and been keeping diaries of clues to that riddle for the last thirty-five. Notes about successes and failures, joys and sorrows, things that made me marvel, and things that made me laugh out loud. How to be fair. How to have less stress. How to have fun. How to hurt people less. How to get hurt less. How to be a good man. How to have meaning in life. How to be more me.
Â
Recently, I worked up the courage to sit down with those diaries. I found stories I experienced, lessons I learned and forgot, poems, prayers, prescriptions, beliefs about what matters, some great photographs, and a whole bunch of bumper stickers. I found a reliable theme, an approach to living that gave me more satisfaction, at the time, and still: If you know how, and when, to deal with lifeâs challengesâhow to get relative with the inevitableâyou can enjoy a state of success I call âcatching greenlights.â
Â
So I took a one-way ticket to the desert and wrote this book: an album, a record, a story of my life so far. This is fifty years of my sights and seens, felts and figured-outs, cools and shamefuls. Graces, truths, and beauties of brutality. Getting away withs, getting caughts, and getting wets while trying to dance between the raindrops.
Â
Hopefully, itâs medicine that tastes good, a couple of aspirin instead of the infirmary, a spaceship to Mars without needing your pilotâs license, going to church without having to be born again, and laughing through the tears.
Â
Itâs a love letter. To life.
Â
Itâs also a guide to catching more greenlightsâand to realizing that the yellows and reds eventually turn green too.
Â
Good luck.
The short dust jacket included with this hardcover edition is an intentional design choice.
- Print length304 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherCrown
- Publication dateOctober 20, 2020
- Dimensions6.44 x 1 x 8.81 inches
- ISBN-100593139135
- ISBN-13978-0593139134
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Get to know this book
What's it about?
A celebrity memoir that invites readers to grapple with the lessons of his life as he did, and to see that the point was never to win, but to understand.Popular highlight
We cannot fully appreciate the light without the shadows. We have to be thrown off balance to find our footing. Itâs better to jump than fall. And here I am.5,147 Kindle readers highlighted thisPopular highlight
Stepping in shit is inevitable, so letâs either see it as good luck, or figure out how to do it less often.4,977 Kindle readers highlighted thisPopular highlight
Catching greenlights is about skill: intent, context, consideration, endurance, anticipation, resilience, speed, and discipline. We can catch more greenlights by simply identifying where the red lights are in our life, and then change course to hit fewer of them.3,585 Kindle readers highlighted thisPopular highlight
I never wrote things down to remember; I always wrote things down so I could forget.3,057 Kindle readers highlighted thisPopular highlight
Iâve never felt like a victim. I have a lot of proof that the world is conspiring to make me happy.2,426 Kindle readers highlighted this
From the Publisher
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Editorial Reviews
Review
âA delightful surprise, full of stories that [havenât] been shared on late night talk shows or made headlines over the years. Itâs a wild ride to be sure, but if you enjoy McConaughey and all of the eccentricities and contradictions that come with him, itâs one you wonât want to miss.ââTexas Monthly
âA brilliant memoir . . . [Greenlights] is unmistakeably âa book that only Matthew McConaughey could have written.â This is a good thing.ââThe Times Magazine (UK)
âMcConaugheyâs own story is arguably more interesting than any character he has embodied on the silver screen over the decades.ââUSA Today
âDelightfully voicey.ââGQ
âMcConaugheyâs approach to memoir is the opposite of careful, instead opting for pure candor. . . . Taken together, the stories in Greenlights paint the picture of someone who could not care less of what the world thinks of him, which hasânot coincidentallyâresulted in lots of people in the world liking the actor and his work.ââJohn Warner, Chicago Tribune
âAt its best moments, Greenlights . . . delivers memorable life lessons.ââPico Iyer, Air Mail
âCandid . . . Greenlights is more than an autobiography, far more than a comedy or a series of adventures. The author gives us a lively look at his life in and out of his movies and provides readers with an honest look at who he is.ââThe Florida Times-Union
âMcConaughey is a talented actor and a fine writer, but a total genius at living. He attacks life with an exhilarating ferocity. This is a wildly unexpected and delightful book you canât just read, you have to experience.ââLawrence Wright, author of The End of October
âIt shouldnât surprise you that this book is good, but it will surprise you just how good it is.âš Wise and entertaining, this is an inspiring memoir and how-to from one of the great outlaw philosophers and artists of our time.ââRyan Holiday, author of The Daily Stoic
âA Renaissance man on the big screen, McConaughey shows he is the same on the page. Mystical and spiritual but mostly just wonderful, Greenlights is an inspired memoir that celebrates the idea that itâs the journey rather than the destination that will fulfill us.ââMichael Connelly, author of Fair Warning
âWritten with great intensity and rare candor, Greenlights is a whirlwind of wisdom thatâs as singular and fervent as its author. Read the book, experience the behind-the-scenes adventures, then pursue your own greenlights full throttle.ââShaka Smart, head coach, menâs basketball, The University of Texas at Austin
âI cannot recommend it highly enough.ââJohn Mackey, co-founder and CEO of Whole Foods Market, co-author of Conscious Leadership
About the Author
Â
In 2009, Matthew and his wife, Camila, founded the just keep livin Foundation, which helps at-risk high school students make healthier mind, body, and spirit choices. In 2019, McConaughey became a professor of practice at the University of Texas at Austin, as well as Minister of Culture/M.O.C. for the University of Texas and the City of Austin. McConaughey is also brand ambassador for Lincoln Motor Company, an owner of the Major League Soccer club Austin FC, and co-creator of his favorite bourbon on the planet, Wild Turkey Longbranch.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
This is an approach book. I am here to share stories, insights, and philosophies that can be objectively understood, and if you choose, subjectively adopted, by either changing your reality, or changing how you see it.
This is a playbook, based on adventures in my life. Adventures that have been significant, enlightening, and funny, sometimes because they were meant to be but mostly because they didnât try to be. Iâm an optimist by nature, and humor has been one of my great teachers. It has helped me deal with pain, loss, and lack of trust. Iâm not perfect; no, I step in shit all the time and recognize it when I do. Iâve just learned how to scrape it off my boots and carry on.
We all step in shit from time to time. We hit roadblocks, we f*** up, we get f***ed, we get sick, we donât get what we want, we cross thousands of âcould have done betterâs and âwish that wouldnât have happenedâs in life. Stepping in shit is inevitable, so letâs either see it as good luck, or figure out how to do it less often.
Â
What is a greenlight?
Â
Greenlights mean goâadvance, carry on, continue.
On the road, they are set up to give the flow of traffic the right of way, and when scheduled properly, more vehicles catch more greenlights in succession. They say proceed.
In our lives, they are an affirmation of our way. Theyâre approvals, support, praise, gifts, gas on our fire, attaboys, and appetites. Theyâre cash money, birth, springtime, health, success, joy, sustainability, innocence, and fresh starts. We love greenlights. They donât interfere with our direction. Theyâre easy. Theyâre a shoeless summer. They say yes and give us what we want.
Greenlights can also be disguised as yellow and red lights. A caution, a detour, a thoughtful pause, an interruption, a disagreement, indigestion, sickness, and pain. A full stop, a jackknife, an intervention, failure, suffering, a slap in the face, death. We donât like yellow and red lights. They slow us down or stop our flow. Theyâre hard. Theyâre a shoeless winter. They say no, but sometimes give us what we need.
Catching greenlights is about skill: intent, context, consideration, endurance, anticipation, resilience, speed, and discipline. We can catch more greenlights by simply identifying where the red lights are in our life, and then change course to hit fewer of them. We can also earn greenlights, engineer and design for them. We can create more and schedule them in our futureâa path of least resistanceâthrough force of will, hard work, and the choices we make. We can be responsible for greenlights.
Catching greenlights is also about timing. The worldâs timing, and ours. When we are in the zone, on the frequency, and with the flow. We can catch greenlights by sheer luck, because we are in the right place at the right time. Catching more of them in our future can be about intuition, karma, and fortune. Sometimes catching greenlights is about fate.
Navigating the autobahn of life in the best way possible is about getting relative with the inevitable at the right time. The inevitability of a situation is not relative; when we accept the outcome of a given situation as inevitable, then how we choose to deal with it is relative. We either persist and continue in our present pursuit of a desired result, pivot and take a new tack to get it, or concede altogether and tally one up for fate. We push on, call an audible, or wave the white flag and live to fight another day.
The secret to our satisfaction lies in which one of these we choose to do when.
This is the art of livin.
I believe everything we do in life is part of a plan. Sometimes the plan goes as intended, and sometimes it doesnât. Thatâs part of the plan. Realizing this is a greenlight in itself.
The problems we face today eventually turn into blessings in the rearview mirror of life. In time, yesterdayâs red light leads us to a greenlight. All destruction eventually leads to construction, all death eventually leads to birth, all pain eventually leads to pleasure. In this life or the next, what goes down will come up.
Itâs a matter of how we see the challenge in front of us and how we engage with it. Persist, pivot, or concede. Itâs up to us, our choice every time.
This is a book about how to catch more yeses in a world of nos and how to recognize when a no might actually be a yes. This is a book about catching greenlights and realizing that the yellows and reds eventually turn green.
greenlights.
By design and on purpose . . . Good luck.
Product details
- Publisher : Crown; First Edition (October 20, 2020)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 304 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0593139135
- ISBN-13 : 978-0593139134
- Item Weight : 1.14 pounds
- Dimensions : 6.44 x 1 x 8.81 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #1,041 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #11 in Rich & Famous Biographies
- #25 in Actor & Entertainer Biographies
- #65 in Success Self-Help
- Customer Reviews:
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About the author
Academy Awardâwinning actor Matthew McConaughey is a married man, a father of three children, and a loyal son and brother. He considers himself a storyteller by occupation, believes it's okay to have a beer on the way to the temple, feels better with a dayâs sweat on him, and is an aspiring orchestral conductor.
In 2009, Matthew and his wife, Camila, founded the just keep livin Foundation, which helps at-risk high school students make healthier mind, body, and spirit choices. In 2019, McConaughey became a professor of practice at the University of Texas at Austin, as well as Minister of Culture/M.O.C. for the University of Texas and the City of Austin. McConaughey is also brand ambassador for Lincoln Motor Company, an owner of the Major League Soccer club Austin FC, and co-creator of his favorite bourbon on the planet, Wild Turkey Longbranch.
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Matthew McConaughy
5 Diamond Review
đđđđđ
Greenlights, written by Matthew McConaughy is one of the best autobiographies I have ever read and listened to. I ordered it first on Audible. I enjoyed the book so much, I ordered a hard copy as well. The actor narrated Greenlights himself and hands down he has spoiled me for every other book I will ever listen to. His flow while he narrates his book is flawless. Itâs as if he just called me on the phone and decided to tell me his stories. He narrates his book with such ease of voice you feel like you are just listening to a friend talk. This book, his manner of reading it to us and his over all story is amazing. This did not feel like a memoir but like a motivational book. It does not sound like heâs reading anything. He does a great job keeping the book fluid and you can easily follow the timeline he has laid out. I listened to it twice before I moved on to the next audiobook. It will be a book I will listen to again.
He really just seems like a very down to earth and ânormalâ person. I feel fame has not gone to his head. He is honest and brutal and captivating all at the same time. I have listened to it twice.
Letâs talk about the actual content of this book. Matthew McConaughy has lived an adventurous life. He has had the means to do things that he wants to do financially as an adult and fortitude as a child and I am fascinated with his choices. He doesnât sugar coat his words. From describing his parentâs tumultuous relationship and in the end accepting it as the only way they knew how to love to recounting memories of going to Australia or Africa. His stories are funny, sad, nail biters and anything in-between.
I am enthralled with his great story telling ability. I am also impressed with his life. I believe that he is a âdown to earthâ type man who accepts all people for who they are and what they can personally offer of themselves under whatever circumstance. He seems to always be open to learning something new. He does not seem to have the attitude that he knows âitâ all already. He seems to be the type of person who makes a commitment and he keeps it at all costs. He lives his life on his own terms and I absolutely appreciate that.
He includes pictures and side notes with his tales and it really is fun to look at the pictures of him throughout his life. He takes the red lights and turns them green in his life. He is a progressive thinker and I admire that. Even if something seems to not be going right, he waits for the situation to produce something positive.
Matthew McConaughy is true to himself and who he is as a person. He does not come across as arrogant or cocky. He tells his stories with gusto and with every lesson in life that he grew up with. He has chosen adventures that teach him something. He has followed his life journey with a passion. He isnât stuck in a inflexible mind frame. As we read we can understand his thought process and some of what really makes him tick as a human being. He allows himself to adapt as he grows as a person. He is not rigid or regimented. He throws himself into his work when he works 200% and he allows himself to relax when he needs to.
He draws on his past, present and future while he weaves his narrative. I am equally impressed with the people he surrounds himself with. Including his wife. He picked right. He describes her in a way that makes me believe that she is just as down to earth as he is. She was not impressed with his name and fame. She made him work for their relationship. I love the fact that even though he is a successful actor, he acts like a ânormalâ person in situations he is faced with. He traveled around the country in an airstream, taking up residence in rv parks and campgrounds, and making friends with people all along the way. He doesnât seem to think he is special just because he is an actor. However he knows he is special for just being human and he values other people in the same way.
Of course, this is all my opinion from reading and listening to this book â he could be full of it. But I donât think so. Although if he is, itâs okay â he really sells it and makes it believable and entertaining.
Again, I give the book, both hard bound and audio, five diamonds. I recommend it for everyone.
Reviewed in the United States on May 17, 2021
Matthew McConaughy
5 Diamond Review
đđđđđ
Greenlights, written by Matthew McConaughy is one of the best autobiographies I have ever read and listened to. I ordered it first on Audible. I enjoyed the book so much, I ordered a hard copy as well. The actor narrated Greenlights himself and hands down he has spoiled me for every other book I will ever listen to. His flow while he narrates his book is flawless. Itâs as if he just called me on the phone and decided to tell me his stories. He narrates his book with such ease of voice you feel like you are just listening to a friend talk. This book, his manner of reading it to us and his over all story is amazing. This did not feel like a memoir but like a motivational book. It does not sound like heâs reading anything. He does a great job keeping the book fluid and you can easily follow the timeline he has laid out. I listened to it twice before I moved on to the next audiobook. It will be a book I will listen to again.
He really just seems like a very down to earth and ânormalâ person. I feel fame has not gone to his head. He is honest and brutal and captivating all at the same time. I have listened to it twice.
Letâs talk about the actual content of this book. Matthew McConaughy has lived an adventurous life. He has had the means to do things that he wants to do financially as an adult and fortitude as a child and I am fascinated with his choices. He doesnât sugar coat his words. From describing his parentâs tumultuous relationship and in the end accepting it as the only way they knew how to love to recounting memories of going to Australia or Africa. His stories are funny, sad, nail biters and anything in-between.
I am enthralled with his great story telling ability. I am also impressed with his life. I believe that he is a âdown to earthâ type man who accepts all people for who they are and what they can personally offer of themselves under whatever circumstance. He seems to always be open to learning something new. He does not seem to have the attitude that he knows âitâ all already. He seems to be the type of person who makes a commitment and he keeps it at all costs. He lives his life on his own terms and I absolutely appreciate that.
He includes pictures and side notes with his tales and it really is fun to look at the pictures of him throughout his life. He takes the red lights and turns them green in his life. He is a progressive thinker and I admire that. Even if something seems to not be going right, he waits for the situation to produce something positive.
Matthew McConaughy is true to himself and who he is as a person. He does not come across as arrogant or cocky. He tells his stories with gusto and with every lesson in life that he grew up with. He has chosen adventures that teach him something. He has followed his life journey with a passion. He isnât stuck in a inflexible mind frame. As we read we can understand his thought process and some of what really makes him tick as a human being. He allows himself to adapt as he grows as a person. He is not rigid or regimented. He throws himself into his work when he works 200% and he allows himself to relax when he needs to.
He draws on his past, present and future while he weaves his narrative. I am equally impressed with the people he surrounds himself with. Including his wife. He picked right. He describes her in a way that makes me believe that she is just as down to earth as he is. She was not impressed with his name and fame. She made him work for their relationship. I love the fact that even though he is a successful actor, he acts like a ânormalâ person in situations he is faced with. He traveled around the country in an airstream, taking up residence in rv parks and campgrounds, and making friends with people all along the way. He doesnât seem to think he is special just because he is an actor. However he knows he is special for just being human and he values other people in the same way.
Of course, this is all my opinion from reading and listening to this book â he could be full of it. But I donât think so. Although if he is, itâs okay â he really sells it and makes it believable and entertaining.
Again, I give the book, both hard bound and audio, five diamonds. I recommend it for everyone.
I chose to listen to Greenlights because I wanted to hear Matthew McConaugheyâs words in his Texan twang. Then I bought the hardcover for the pictures. Not knowing much about him, I didnât have expectations other than thinking the book would be glamourous and glitzy like all of Hollywood. Boy, was I wrong.
I had seen a few of his movies and enjoyed all of themâeven the romantic comedies, which he chose to step away from to rebrand himself. I honestly didnât realize how interesting Matthew was until listening to his book.
Matthew (donât call him Matt) writes his book based on his diaries he kept over the years and views life as catching a series of greenlightsâsigns that say keep going and carry on. âThis book is about catching greenlights and realizing that the yellows and reds eventually turn green.â
Growing up, he subscribed to outlaw logicâbar fights, rites of passages, cussing, concussions, and scarsâmaking him appear a little cocky with a tough exterior. Yet he comes across as likable and down to earth with his Ram truck and charm that seduced all the ladies.
He recounts many adventures through Australia, South America, and Africa, leaving the reader wondering how many of his stories are exaggerated. That aside, he is an incredible storyteller, interweaving nuggets of wisdom throughout like, âSometimes we need to leave what we know to find out what we know.â
I am a travel lover too, so I enjoyed how he packed up and left whenever he wanted. Ah, the sweet freedom. Not on a private jet or a yachtâhe drove a van he named âCosmo,â hooked up an Airstream to the back of it, and traversed the U.S., stopping at trailer parks. In my mind, celebrities travel in style with an entourage or a bodyguard, but Matthew set out on his own with his dog and took the dirt roads (cue up John Mellencampâs âSmall Townâ song here). Many of the lessons he learned in life came from his travels, and he shares them in this book.
After he became famous from the movie A Time to Kill, he traveled somewhere to find answers, and that somewhere made me gaspâThe Monastery of Christ in the Desert in Abiquiu, New Mexico. Up until last year, my dad lived down the road from this monastery, and I had visited it in 1996. Itâs secluded and in the middle of the desert. Matthewâs mention of Abiquiu, a town of 231 people, took me completely by surprise. This part of his journey brought tears to my eyes because I had experienced similar feelings that he divulged at the exact place he was feeling them, and around the same time! âSometimes we donât need advice. Sometimes we just need to hear weâre not the only one.â
Although he talks about acting, itâs secondary to getting to know Matthew as a person. However, now I want to go back and watch his other movies. I think Iâll see him through a new lens of appreciation and understanding.
Overall, this was an uplifting read with a lot of great takeaways from a man who has lived and traveled through many green lights.
Top reviews from other countries
McConaugheyâs got to be one of the most naturally talented and most poetic story tellers of our time and itâs an absolute joy to read his memoir. 10/10
Must read.