Today’s Chapter is based on the book “Greenlights” by Matthew McConaughey.
Matthew McConaughey is an American actor and producer who became widely known after appearing in Dazed and Confused (1993).
Here’s what I learned:
Accept the Inevitable
“Accept the things to which fate binds you, and love the people with whom fate brings you together, but do so with all your heart.”
— Marcus Aurelius
In his memoir Greenlights, one of the ideas from Matthew McConaughey is that we cannot control everything that happens to us, however, we do control on how we respond. As a matter of fact, while McConaughey does not deny that fate, luck, biology, family background, or circumstance have a major impact on one’s life, he argues that our lives are also shaped by our relationship between inevitability and choice.
He explains that there is a difference between the destination, which is ultimately unavoidable, and the journey, which remains personal. While death is inevitable, we can write our own lives. This distinction gives his life philosophy a similarity to the Stoic idea that we cannot command external events, but we can govern our judgments and actions. As he writes, “The arrival is inevitable: Death. A unanimous end, a unified destination. A noun without regard. Our eulogy. Written. Lived. The approach is relative: Life. A singular procession, our personal journey. A verb with regard. Our résumé. Write it. Live it.”
Therefore, McConaughey mentions that the best way to live life is to get relative with the inevitable at the right time. When we face an obstacle, we can either continue with the original plan, change tactics, or even accept that the goal is no longer worth pursuing. Figuring out which option we choose is what he calls the art of living. He notes, “I’m not perfect; no, I step in shit all the time and recognize it when I do. I’ve 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 fuck up, we get fucked, we get sick, we don’t get what we want, we cross thousands of ‘could have done better’s and ‘wish that wouldn’t have happened’s in life. Stepping in shit is inevitable, so let’s either see it as good luck, or figure out how to do it less often.”
“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.”
— Matthew McConaughey
McConaughey’s framework of “Persist, Pivot or Concede” is a core idea of his life philosophy. Once we accept that we cannot control everything, we can focus on what matters: what response gives me the best chance of moving forward? Sometimes the answer is to work harder. Sometimes it is to acquire new skills, change the environment, or revise the goal. Sometimes it is to accept the loss and preserve one’s energy for a more worthwhile struggle.
Therefore, once we face an inevitable situation, which McConaughey calls red lights, we must engineer our way through our choices in order to catch greenlights, which he believes, can be engineered through skill, anticipation and the disciplined refusal to hit every red light along the way. As he explains, “The problems we face today eventually turn into blessings in the rearview mirror of life. In time, yesterday’s 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.”
“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 future—a path of least resistance—through force of will, hard work, and the choices we make. We can be responsible for greenlights.”
— Matthew McConaughey
McConaughey’s philosophy reminds me of Marcus Aurelius’ philosophy that mentions that our experience of reality is not determined by events themselves, but by our perception of them. The world is neutral and it is our judgment that labels things as good or bad, harmful or beneficial. This disciple of perception is the first and most crucial step toward tranquility. In fact, Marcus Aurelius reminds us that external events are beyond our control, but our internal reaction is within our control.
As such, it is primordial to practice analyzing every impression that comes our way to prevent irrational or harmful interpretations from taking root. When we master this, we realize that most of what we fear or desire is merely a story that we tell ourselves. The event in itself is powerless, it is our narrative that causes pain or anxiety.
“To the stand-bys above, add this one: always to define whatever it is we perceive—to trace its outline—so we can see what it really is: its substance. Stripped bare. As a whole. Unmodified. And to call it by its name—the thing itself and its components, to which it will eventually return. Nothing is so conducive to spiritual growth as this capacity for logical and accurate analysis of everything that happens to us.”
— Marcus Aurelius
Closely linked to the discipline of perception is the Stoic doctrine of control. Marcus Aurelius repeatedly draws a stark dividing line between what is “up to us” and what is not. Our opinions, our impulses, our desires, and our aversions are within our control. Everything else, the actions of others, our reputation, our health, our wealth, the past, the future, is not. Much of human suffering, he argues, stems from exhausting ourselves by trying to control the uncontrollable while neglecting the one thing we truly command: our own mind.
Identity through elimination
“All I want to know is where I’m going to die, so I’ll never go there.”
— Charlie Munger
Another interesting idea from Matthew McConaughey’s memoir is his concept of finding one’s identity through the power of inversion. He describes his counterintuitive approach of finding his own identity through a process of elimination. It is a lot easier to define what we are not than to define what we are. As he mentions, “The first step that leads to our identity in life is usually not I know who I am, but rather I know who I’m not. Process of elimination. Too many options can make a tyrant out of any of us, so we should get rid of the excess in our lives that keep us from being more of ourselves.”
This idea came to him during his senior year in high school, when he traded his truck to a red sports car, believing that it would increase his popularity at school. In fact, it had the opposite effect as he lost his social confidence because this just wasn’t part of his identity, it just wasn’t who Matthew McConaughey was.
On this experience, he writes, “I wasn’t getting near as many dates as I used to. The girls seemed to lose interest in me. What happened? I wondered. Then one day it hit me. I lost my truck. I lost the effort, the hustle, the mudding, and the megaphone. I lost the fun. I was too busy leeeaaanin against that candy-red 300ZX with T-tops in the third parking lot. I’d gotten lazy, started looking in the mirror at my hair too often, relying on that red sports car to do the work for me, and it was doing a shitty job. I’d outfoxed myself when I’d traded in my truck for that red sports car, and I lost my mojo when I did. The next day after school, I went back to that Nissan dealership and traded it back in for my truck. The day after that I pulled into the first parking lot again, flirted with the ladies from the megaphone, and took them off-road muddin after school. And like clockwork, I was back.”
“Knowing who we are is hard. Eliminate who we’re not first, and we’ll find ourselves where we need to be.”
— Matthew McConaughey
Furthermore, this concept of “process of elimination” was also used by McConaughey to simplify his life and to focus solely on what mattered most to him in life. In fact, McConaughey recalls a period in his life when he felt overextended across too many ventures: managing a production company, a music label, a charitable foundation, his acting career, and his family. Realizing that spreading himself thin led to mediocre results across the board, he made the deliberate decision to shut down the extra fat. By eliminating clutter, he restored focus and elevated his output in the areas that mattered most.
McConaughey mentions that he “had five things on my proverbial desk to tend to daily: family, foundation, acting, a production company, and a music label. I felt like I was making B’s in all five. By shutting down the production company and the music label, I eliminated two of my five commitments with plans to make A’s in the other three. I told my lawyer that I wanted to take care of my family, my foundation, and be an actor for hire. Simplify, focus, conserve to liberate. Alright, alright, alright.”
Once he focused solely on what mattered most to him, he noticed that he was performing much better in those areas. While it sounds counterintuitive, he suggests that subtraction often leads to greater fulfillment and effectiveness. By eliminating what doesn’t serve us, we create space for what truly does. Similar to the Pareto Principle.
This concept of “process of elimination” reminds me of Charlie Munger’s principle of keeping things simple. Munger once said that “If something is too hard, we move on to something else. What could be simpler than that?” In fact, when it comes to investing, Munger explains that at Berkshire Hathaway, they have three baskets(in, out and too tough) in which they classify new investment ideas. And most often then not, ideas tend to go into the too tough pile. As Buffett once said, “I don’t look to jump over 7-foot bars: I look around for 1-foot bars that I can step over.”
As a matter of fact, I believe that this concept of Munger of keeping things simple comes from the power of inversion that was inspired by the famous mathematician Jacobi, who often solved complex issues by inverting the problem. Similarly, Munger came up with the concept that one can succeed in life by avoiding stupidity by using the power of inversion. Munger gives the example of a professional tightrope walker for 20 years. He is successful in his art because he knows what he cannot do, because he knows that if he gets it wrong, he won’t survive.
Similarly, Munger understands that to succeed in life, one must avoid taking stupid paths. For one, Charlie Munger mentions that “three things ruin people: drugs, liquor and leverage.”
“We all know talented people who have ruined their lives abusing either alcohol or drugs—and often both.”
— Charlie Munger
Secondly, Munger explains that envy and jealousy are extremely dangerous as nothing good will come out from enjoy or jealously. As Buffett once said, “it’s not greed that drives the world, but envy.” If one is interested in learning “how to guarantee a life of misery”, I recommend listening to Charlie Munger’s speech in 1986 at Harvard, where he advices students on a few prescriptions on how to lead a successful life.
Structure before Freedom
“Structure is required for creativity.”
— Twyla Tharp
Matthew McConaughey mentions in his memoir that creativity and individuality require borders. Without any resistance, there would only be chaos, but with carefully chosen constraints, form and art becomes possible. In fact, he writes, “Create structure so you can have freedom. Create your weather so you can blow in the wind. Map your direction so you can swerve in the lanes.”
McConaughey explains that when we first pick up a new endeavor, discipline, guidelines, context, and responsibility must come first. It is solely once you master these basics of the craft that you can explore and create freely.
“We need discipline, guidelines, context, and responsibility early in any new endeavor. It’s the time to sacrifice. To learn, to observe, to take heed. If and when we get knowledge of the space, the craft, the people, and the plan, then we can let our freak flag fly, and create. Creativity needs borders. Individuality needs resistance. The earth needs gravity. Without them there is no form. No art. Only chaos.”
— Matthew McConaughey
This key concept is useful because it resolves a common misunderstanding. Many people imagine that creativity requires unlimited choice. In reality, unlimited choice often creates paralysis. A writer facing an entirely blank page may produce nothing. A business owner with too many possible opportunities may struggle to identify the important ones. An investor who follows every market story may end up with a portfolio that reflects noise rather than conviction.
Boundaries provide form. For example, a deadline, a budget, a schedule, a process, or a set of principles can make action easier because they reduce the number of decisions that must be made in the moment. In other words, structure is not the enemy of spontaneity, but the precondition that makes authentic spontaneity possible.
“We need finites, borders, gravity, demarcations, shape, and resistance, to have order. This order creates responsibility. The responsibility creates judgment. The judgment creates choice. In the choice lies the freedom. To create the weather that gives us the most favorable wind we must first remove that which causes the most friction to our core being. This process of elimination creates order by default, therefore rendering more to go toward, for instance, and less to back away from. We then embrace these affirmations because doing so brings us pleasure and less pain. So we cultivate them until they become habits, and form our constitution, then they proliferate and become emanations of our essence. This is where true identity is born.”
— Matthew McConaughey
This concept of his came to his through his acting career. McConaughey, once he prepared himself to become the character he was auditioning for, he didn’t need to memorize any scripts, he could be free and natural to be the character in the scenes. That’s how he got successfully casted for Dazed and Confused as Wooderson without much preparations.
McConaughey writes, “I had ten days to prepare for the audition and I knew my man. But, being that this was technically a job interview, I made sure to shave and tuck in my best long-sleeve button-down. When I got there and met the director, Richard Linklater, he soon said, “You’re not really this guy, are you?” “No,” I said, “but I know who he is,” then I leaned back, lowered my eyelids, held my cigarette between the peace sign, and gave him my Wooderson. I got the job. He told me not to shave.”
Beyond the Book
Read "Turning Adversity Into Advantage" by Farnam Street
Read "Inversion and The Power of Avoiding Stupidity" by Farnam Street
Read “How to Guarantee a Life of Misery” by James Clear
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