Greenlights, by Matthew McConaughey

It’s Saturday. I’m gearing up to go for a longer run, during which I like to listen to audiobooks. I open Spotify and see a recommendation for Greenlights. It piqued my interest so I click it and scan the page. “Written and read by Matthew McConaughey”? Sounds cool. I hit play and start my run.

Greenlights isn’t a biography. It’s a collection of stories, memories, and experiences from Matthew which he collected in his journals throughout his life. In it he covers his “greenlights”, “yellowlights”, and “redlights”. Sometimes it stretched the imagination a bit, but that didn’t hold me back from learning from it and enjoying it a lot.

How I ‘read’ it

So, I’m running and listening to Matthew in my ears. For me, that matters. If you can listen to a book, voiced by the author, you get a better shot at the message landing the way it was meant to. They can put the emphasis where they imagined it when they wrote it. And Matthew did that wonderfully, although it did take some getting used to his narration.

The narration

Matthew is very dynamic. He could be enthusiastically telling you about something he experienced, his voice slightly raised, speaking a bit quicker. Then at the end, he’d pause, and with a softer but determined voice say: “Greenlight”.

The first time, that felt odd. The second time felt normal. After that I was waiting for it. Something about the way he labelled his experiences at the end was captivating, and I started looking forward to it.

The same thing would happen the other way. Out of nowhere, voice raised and full of energy, he’d hit you with “Bumpersticker!” right before or after one of the many life lessons or nuggets of wisdom he shares.

This, and exactly this, is what I mean when I say I prefer author-narrated audiobooks. No one would’ve been able to bring that the way he does.

What stuck with me

The book is packed with smaller lessons and experiences from a man’s life. And for that alone I would recommend it to you. However, there is one section that stuck with me most. Perhaps because it’s an inspiring lesson in and of itself. Perhaps because I read it at the right time in my life.

In this part Matthew decides he does not want to do romantic comedies anymore. It’s no longer fulfilling for him, and he wants to go in a different direction. Backed by his wife, he tells his agent that he’ll no longer accept rom-com roles.

That, as it turns out, is easier said than done. He’s offered plenty of roles, but they’re all the things he doesn’t want to do. It leads to Matthew not landing a role for over 18 months, and turning down big-paying offers.

This is inspiring to me for a few reasons. First, he reflects and realises, “this ain’t it”, and is willing to change that. Second, he talks it through with his wife, who backs him up and motivates him to pursue what fulfils him. Not what pays the bills. Finally, and this is the best part to me, even when the offers increase significantly, he sticks to his plan. He’s not seduced by the money into work that no longer lights him up.

An honest caveat, and thought that crossed my mind while listening: I don’t know about his finances at the time, but hearing he was successful with rom-com roles before, I’m guessing he was also able to not accept roles for 18 months. Other people, myself included, would probably not have the luxury to do that. That doesn’t diminish his choices and character, but is still good context to keep in mind.

The people around him

I’m convinced people are generally better together. Put the right people together and you’ll see that 1 + 1 = 3. I believe this to be true at work, at school, and in marriage. Sure, sometimes it turns out the two (or more) people are not as good together as they seem and the equation falls apart. But in my experience, this holds up.

And I feel Matthew’s writing demonstrates that as well. He praises her throughout: supportive, understanding, but not afraid to say her piece. The best example is her being the push he needs to stop talking about writing the book and actually start it. When Matthew goes a long time without roles because of his shift in direction, she tells him: “We’ll get through this together.”

This one hits close to home. I’ve got a supportive wife myself, and I know the difference it makes. Someone who backs my silly ideas and tells me the truth when I need it. What I don’t want to skip is the other half of it: getting to be that person for her too. That’s the 1 + 1 = 3 I was on about. Not one of you carrying the other, but both of you adding up to more than you’d manage alone. So, a shoutout to her. “Greenlight!” 😉

Not a goody two-shoes

A final thing I want to highlight about the book is that he’s not a goody two-shoes. There are stories and experiences in the book where he breaks the law, has run-ins with law enforcement, or skirts the edge dangerously close. This is good. It shows he’s human and he makes mistakes too. He could ignore all that. Instead he owns up to it, reflects, and tries to do better. It makes it more relatable.

He’s not portraying himself as a flawless person. Quite the contrary: he goes into detail about a 32-hour partying streak with friends that sees him smoking marijuana and playing bongos naked in the house at 2:30 in the morning. How that ends, you’ll have to read for yourself.

Verdict

Full disclosure: I don’t watch many shows or films, and I couldn’t name you a single role Matthew has played (although I’m sure I’ve seen some of his work). So I’ve got no reason to be biased here. I still came away recommending it. And not just the book, the audiobook. Read by him, it’s a different thing. His voice, his pauses, that soft “Greenlight” to close out a story: that’s half of why it lands, and I doubt a hired narrator would get near it.

The lessons might not all apply to you, and yes, some of the stories stretch belief a little. But that doesn’t matter. It’s a warm, funny, human few hours with someone who’s lived a full life and written down the good and the bad.

Worth your time? For me, greenlight.