Matthew McConaughey is one of my favorite actors. In his first book Greenlights, released in 2020, Matthew blends personal stories, life lesons and philosophical insights from his diaries compiled over 35 years. In recent years, he has been interviewed by leading podcasters on topics about life, success, career, fatherhood, and others. He launched his weekly newsletter, “Lyrics of Livin’,” one year ago. Through it, Matthew delivers weekly installments of his personal notes, tips and inspirations. Below are lessons from today’s newsletter.
- Be your own hero in 10 years – at age 15, Matthew was asked who was his hero. He responded “me in 10 years.” The same person asked him at 25 “so… are you your hero yet?” He said “not even close.” By then, his new hero was 35 and so on.
“Every year of my life, my hero stays ten years away. I’m never going to catch him—and that’s fine with me. Because it gives me somebody to keep chasing.”
Imagine the person you wish to be in 10 years. Envision all the details. Where do you want to be spiritually, mentally, physically, relationally, professionally and financially. Then reverse engineer it and work backwards. The goal post will be moved in 10 years.
- Embrace the chase – the goal is to be our better selves on the way to “never being our best.” Constant evolution and growth upwards is key. Embrace the process of growth. Do not strive to become your best because there’s always more room to improve.
“If we stay in the race and commit to the chase, we have a chance to get a little better. And that’s as good as it gets. Chase that.”
- Aim beyond the target – great snipers don’t aim at the target; they aim beyond it. You’ve heard the phrase “shoot for moon and land among the stars.” Set big, hairy and audacious goals for your life. The true meaning of “impossible” is “I’m possible.”
“We do our best when our destinations are beyond measure. When our reach keeps exceeding our grasp. When the finish line is immortal.”
- Oversee – expect the best and keep pushing. The goal is not the destination but the journey getting to the end.
“If we achieve them all, we’re either lying, bored, quitters, or done. Oversight means pursuing the royal flush, then letting the cards speak for themselves.”
- Write it down – writing your goals down is an invisible contract you are making with yourself. When Matthew was at Texas University, he wrote down 10 goals. Years later, he found the page he wrote it on and realized that he engaged every one of them, finished some and still maintaining others.
“Writing something down by hand does something different. It takes it out of you and puts it on the page. Now you’re looking at it. Now you’re in dialogue with it.”
Harvard University did a study on goals and they found 83% of the population does not set goals of any kind. 14% of people have a general plan, but no specific written-down goals. And just 3% of people write down specific goals. These people are thirty times more likely to succeed than others.
Action: write your goals down. Separate goals spiritually, mentally, physically, relationally, professionally and financially.
Disclaimer: Image was reproduced by ChatGPT 5.1.
