Greenlights: Your Journal, Your Journey

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From the Academy Award®–winning actor, an unconventional memoir filled with raucous stories, outlaw wisdom, and lessons learned the hard way about living with greater satisfaction. Later in life, he realized that the suffering and loneliness he experienced (as a foreign exchange student in Australia) was one of the most important sacrifices of his life.

McConaughey doesn't gossip about celebrity acquaintances, women he's dated, or movie-making scuttlebutt - so readers looking for dirt will be disappointed. But folks wanting to know a bit more about Matthew himself will enjoy the book. From the Academy Award®-winning actor, an unconventional memoir filled with raucous stories, outlaw wisdom, and lessons learned the hard way about living with greater satisfaction. Written with great intensity and rare candor, Greenlights is a whirlwind of wisdom that's as singular and fervent as its author. Read the book, experience the behind-the-scenes adventures, then pursue your own greenlights full throttle. -- Shaka Smart, head coach, men's basketball, The University of Texas at Austin Part memoir, part guide to life, part collection of extracts from diaries the actor has been keeping for decades, Greenlights by Matthew McConoughey is an insightful and intimate exploration of one southern boy’s journey to stardom. Born to ‘twice divorced and thrice married parents’, I loved reading McConoughey’s honest account of being raised in a turbulent household that was peppered by violence, love and humanity, I loved reading about the time using mink-oil as acne cream went horribly wrong, about the time a stolen pizza that led to a concussion, and about an ill-fated lawsuit that his father never forgave him for.It shouldn't surprise you that this book is good, but it will surprise you just how good it is. Wise and entertaining, this is an inspiring memoir and how-to from one of the great outlaw philosophers and artists of our time.' - Ryan Holiday, author of The Daily Stoic One negative reviewer I read complained that this was “self centered” … well yeah, it’s a memoir. If you like McConaughey, you will likely find this to be an enjoyable book; he comes across as a vibrant, charismatic man who loves life. There are lots of stories about his bodily fluids and touching himself. Not one, not two, but three anecdotes about (earmuffs kids) wet dreams. After graduation, Matthew put off college for a year to be an exchange student in Australia. There, Matthew was placed with an 'insane' family as a sort of joke (those Aussies have an odd sense of humor), and this section of the book is hilarious.

Matthew McConaughey has the gift of gab. He could easily be a preacher. I can’t imagine choosing to read the physical book and missing out on hearing him narrate. Is what he’s saying worth listening to? Sometimes. Hunt, Elle (October 26, 2020). "Zen and the art of torso maintenance: Matthew McConaughey's guide to life". The Guardian . Retrieved October 26, 2020. Before the trip to Australia he was never introspective. The trip forced him to look inside himself for the first time.

Greenlights is exactly what you’d expect a memoir from Matthew McConaughey to be like, and that’s pretty great. Time and truth, two constants you can rely on. One shows up for the first time, every time, while the other never leaves. A denied expectation hurts more than a denied hope. A fulfilled hope makes us happier than a fulfilled expectation. Hope has a higher return on happiness.

Later, McConaughey ditched regular college to go to film school, and hustled hard to get into show business. The actor's first words on his first film - Dazed and Confused - were 'Alright Alright Alright', a phrase that entered the zeitgeist and will always be associated with Matthew. Mixing philosophy, 'teachable moments', self-help and Kerouac-inspired memoir, [Greenlights] takes in his remarkable career, finding love and stardom. McConaughey's filmography is extensive, and his foray into television also went well, with HBO's True Detective. Written with great intensity and rare candor, Greenlights is a whirlwind of wisdom that's as singular and fervent as its author. Read the book, experience the behind-the-scenes adventures, then pursue your own greenlights full throttle.' - Shaka Smart, head coach, men's basketball, The University of Texas at Austin 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 all knew that boy in grade 11 who was super hot, had everyone swooning as he walked down the hall, even though he was as shallow as the day is long and had zero comprehension of life outside of the school hallway. That guy who peaked at age 17, with his ‘witty’ come-ons and overly confident swagger being worn right out by the time we graduated high school. I’m not normally an audiobook guy, but how could I pass up buying the audio of this to hear that voice read his own words? Obviously if you're not a fan of his this may not work, but I really enjoyed it. And I don't read very many memoirs at all! My suggestion is to listen to the audiobook so that you can get wrapped up in that warm, friendly, country-boy voice of his as if he is talking directly to you. My suggestion is also to listen in a quiet environment because Matthew is not an overbearing narrator.

I listened to the audiobook, and Matthew is a cheerful narrator who giggles and laughs when he's amused by some aspect of his tale. Matthew couldn't be much open with us the readers. He shared alot..and I mean alot...Things that we think we knew about...umm the bongo incident...sure we all have heard about it. Yet, we don't really know what lead up to it and exactly how it all went down...do we? Well now we do. He floored me with how he traveled to RV parks with his dog. You don't get more down to earth than that. He shares why we don't see him in rom-coms anymore....Honestly...I wish he would do a rom-com, I do miss those! McConaughey has lots of humorous anecdotes about himself and his family, such as the night his brother was rousted out of bed by their dad to win a urinating contest (his brother peed highest); the family's lawsuit against a face cream company for giving Matthew acne and scarring him psychologically (the family lost when Matthew's 'most handsome' status came to light); Matthew's mom telling him (for years) that he won the Little Mr. Texas contest when he was really runner up. When Matthew discovered the truth, his mom said the winner's rich family cheated by buying him a new suit; Matthew getting arrested for excessive noise when he was playing the bongos naked; and more. There are points when he talks about lying and says that he was raised that it doesn't matter if you tell a big lie, as long as you believe it and it helps you, who cares and that's his personal choice but my thought on that throughout the book was what my parents taught me, "once a liar, always a liar" and "don't retell a lairs tale" so why was I reading one? To me this could have been a great story that he embellished and concocted and those are fine for bar tales but this is a biography and after he said that, it just didn't come off as honest to me.Matthew McConaughey on His Memoir Writing Process: 52 Days Alone in the Desert (Without Electricity!)". People. August 12, 2020 . Retrieved October 21, 2020.